Questions & Answers about Kuka tämä henkilö on?
Why do we use tämä here instead of a personal pronoun like hän?
In Finnish, tämä is used to single out a person who has just been introduced, pointed out, or is the focus of immediate attention (like pointing to a photo). While hän means 'he' or 'she', tämä firmly anchors the reference to 'this specific person right here' before they become the established subject of the conversation.
If the text continues describing this person after answering the question, would it keep using tämä?
Generally, no. Once this person is established as the main topic or subject of the narrative, the text will switch to using hän. You use tämä to grab the reader's attention and point to a newly introduced reference, and hän to maintain the ongoing story about them.
Is it common to say tämä henkilö in everyday spoken Finnish?
At a B2 level, you have likely noticed that spoken Finnish heavily favors se (it) or tuo (that, often spoken as toi) for people. Kuka tämä henkilö on? sounds quite formal or written. In casual speech, you would usually just ask Kuka tää on? or Kuka toi on?
As a quick refresher, why is the verb on at the end of the sentence rather than right after Kuka?
The English 'Who is...' structure can sometimes tempt learners to put the verb too early. In Finnish, question-word questions follow the structure: Question Word + Subject + Verb. Here, Kuka is the question word, tämä henkilö is the subject, and on sits at the end.
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