Questions & Answers about Missä avaimen omistaja on?
Why is the word for key written as avaimen here instead of avain?
It is in the genitive case, which shows ownership (like the apostrophe 's' in English). The basic word is avain. Nouns ending in -in change to -imen before adding case endings, so avain becomes avaimen (the key's).
Can I put the verb on right after the question word, like Missä on avaimen omistaja?
Yes, you can! Finnish word order is quite flexible. However, putting the verb at the end (Missä avaimen omistaja on?) is a very common and natural way to ask about the location of a specific subject. Both are perfectly correct.
The word omistaja looks like it comes from a verb. How is it formed?
You are right! It comes from the verb omistaa (to own). By taking the verb stem and adding the suffix -ja or -jä, you create a noun for the person doing the action. So, omistaa becomes omistaja (owner). Another common example is opettaa (to teach) becoming opettaja (teacher).