Breakdown of Tekeekö hänen mieli nukkua?
hän
he / she
nukkua
to sleep
tehdä
to do
mieli
mind / opinion (mind, mood)
Questions & Answers about Tekeekö hänen mieli nukkua?
Why is the pronoun hänen in the genitive case, and why does it come after the verb here?
In the tekee mieli (feels like) construction, the person experiencing the desire must be in the genitive case. Because this is a yes/no question, the verb tekee takes the question particle -kö and must move to the very beginning of the sentence, pushing hänen to the second spot.
Why is the verb tekee in the third-person singular if the sentence is about 'he'?
In this construction, 'he' (hänen) is not the grammatical subject; the word mieli (mind) is. The literal translation is 'Does his mind make sleeping?'. Because mieli is the grammatical subject, the verb is always locked in the third-person singular regardless of who is experiencing the feeling.
Can I attach the question particle to the pronoun instead, like Hänenkö tekee mieli nukkua?
Yes, but it changes the meaning. Attaching -kö to hänen shifts the focus to the person. Hänenkö tekee mieli nukkua? means 'Is it he who feels like sleeping?' rather than just asking a general question about his state.
Why do we use the basic form nukkua here?