Kuka on siellä?

Who is there?

Breakdown of Kuka on siellä?

• olla: to be
• siellä: there
• kuka: who

Questions & Answers about Kuka on siellä?

What does each word in Kuka on siellä? literally mean and what are their grammatical roles?

• kuka – who

  • Interrogative pronoun (question word) for people
  • Nominative singular
  • Acts as the subject of the sentence

• on – (he/she/it) is

  • 3rd person singular present tense of the verb olla (to be)
  • The verb (also called the copula here)

• siellä – there

  • A place adverb meaning “there (in that place)”
  • Formed historically from se (that/it) + adessive ending -llä
  • Functions as an adverbial of place (tells where)

So grammatically the sentence is: Who (subject) + is (verb) + there (place adverbial)?

Why do we need the verb on? Can you say just Kuka siellä??

In standard written Finnish, you normally include the verb on in sentences like this, so:

• Correct standard: Kuka on siellä?

However, in everyday spoken Finnish, people very often drop the verb on in this kind of short question, especially on the phone or at the door:

• Kuka siellä? – literally “Who there?”

This shorter version is very natural in speech but is considered elliptical (incomplete) in formal writing. So:

• Speaking informally: Kuka siellä? is fine.
• Writing or speaking carefully: prefer Kuka on siellä?

Can I change the word order to Kuka siellä on?? Does it change the meaning?

Yes, both orders are grammatical:

• Kuka on siellä?
• Kuka siellä on?

The basic meaning is the same: Who is there?

Nuance:

• Kuka on siellä? – neutral subject–verb–place order.
• Kuka siellä on? – slightly more focus on siellä (“there”), like “Who is (the one) there?” instead of somewhere else.

In everyday speech, Kuka siellä on? and Kuka siellä? are probably the most common versions, especially when answering the phone or door.

What exactly does siellä mean, and how is it different from täällä, tuolla, and siinä?

All of these are “here/there” words but with different distances/contexts:

• täällä – here (near the speaker)

  • Minä olen täällä. – I am here.

• siellä – there (in some known place not here, often not visible or not part of our shared immediate space)

  • Kuka on siellä? – Who is there?

• tuolla – over there (usually somewhere you can point to or see, but not very close)

  • Kuka on tuolla? – Who is over there?

• siinä – right there / there by you / at that specific spot

  • Often near the listener or at a specific object both people know.
  • Mitä siinä on? – What is there (at that spot / by you)?

So Kuka on siellä? usually implies “Who is in that (known) place that is not here with me?” – for example, in another room, another house, at the other end of the phone line, etc.

Is kuka singular or plural? How do you say “Who are there?” about several people?

Kuka is singular: it asks about one person.

For plural “who” as the subject, Finnish has ketkä:

• Ketkä ovat siellä? – Who are there? (Which people are there?)

You will also see keitä (partitive plural), especially when you’re asking “Who is there (among others)? / Who’s there (what people)?”

• Keitä siellä on? – literally “Who (some people) are there?”

Summary:

• Kuka on siellä? – Who (one person) is there?
• Ketkä ovat siellä? – Who (which people) are there?
• Keitä siellä on? – Who (what people) are there? (more about the composition of a group)

How is kuka declined in other useful cases like “whose” and “whom”?

Here are the most common forms of kuka:

• Nominative (who, as subject): kuka

  • Kuka on siellä? – Who is there?

• Genitive (whose): kenen

  • Kenen kirja se on? – Whose book is that?

• Partitive singular (whom, in some uses): ketä

  • Ketä sinä odotat? – Whom / who are you waiting for?

• Nominative plural (who, plural subject): ketkä

  • Ketkä ovat siellä? – Who are there?

• Partitive plural: keitä

  • Keitä siellä on? – Who (what people) are there?

• Illative (into whom): kehen / keneen

  • Kehen sinä luotat? – Whom do you trust?

• Allative (to whom): kenelle

  • Kenelle soitit? – To whom / Who did you call?

Forms like kenen, ketä, ketkä, keitä are all from the same base word kuka.

How would you answer Kuka on siellä? in Finnish?

Several natural answers are possible:

1. Just giving your name

   • Matti. – Matti.
     Very common and natural in speech.

2. Full sentence with the verb

   • Minä olen täällä. – I am here.
   • Minä olen. – I am. (context makes it clear)

3. Identifying someone else

   • Se on Matti. – It is Matti.
   • Matti on täällä. – Matti is here.

At the phone or the door, simply giving your name (Matti, Laura, etc.) is often enough and sounds polite and natural.

Is kuka used only for people, or can it refer to animals or things?

Normally:

• kuka is used for people
• mikä is used for things, animals, and abstract entities

Examples:

• Kuka hän on? – Who is he/she? (a person)
• Mikä se on? – What is it? (a thing or animal)

However, in informal speech people may use kuka for an animal when they treat it like a person (a pet):

• Kuka se pieni söpö on? – Who’s this little cutie? (to a dog, for example)

But in neutral, textbook Finnish, think: kuka = who (person), mikä = what (thing/animal).

Why doesn’t this question use the ending -ko/-kö, like in Onko hän siellä??

In Finnish:

• -ko/-kö is used to form yes/no questions.

  • Onko hän siellä? – Is he/she there? (yes/no)

• Question words like kuka, mitä, missä, milloin already mark the sentence as a question, so you don’t add -ko/-kö to the verb:

  • Kuka on siellä? – Who is there?
  • Missä hän on? – Where is he/she?

You normally have either a question word or -ko/-kö, not both.

Is there a difference between Kuka on siellä? and Kuka se on siellä??

Both can be translated as “Who is there?”, but there is a nuance:

• Kuka on siellä?

  • General “Who is there?”
  • Neutral: you just want to know who the person is.

• Kuka se on siellä?

  • Literally “Who is that (one) there?”
  • The se (“that / it”) points more directly at a specific person already somewhat identified as “that one there”.
  • In English it can feel closer to “Who is that there?” or “Who is that person over there?”

Also, in spoken Finnish se is often used instead of hän even for people, so Kuka se on siellä? sounds very colloquial and natural.

How would this sentence typically sound in casual spoken Finnish?

Common spoken variants:

• Kuka siellä? – very common on the phone / at the door (verb on dropped).
• Kuka siel on? – colloquial pronunciation: siellä → siel.
• You may also hear Kukas siellä? (with -s added; a slightly softer, sometimes friendlier tone).

So the full standard form is Kuka on siellä?, but daily speech often shortens it.

Does the intonation change in Finnish questions with a question word like kuka?

Yes. Finnish intonation patterns are different from English:

• In wh-questions (with kuka, mitä, missä, etc.) like Kuka on siellä?, the intonation is usually:

  • Slight rise at the question word (Kuka)
  • Then falling towards the end.

• In yes/no questions with -ko/-kö, like Onko hän siellä?, there is often a more noticeable rise towards the end.

So Kuka on siellä? typically has a falling tone at the end, not the strong rising tone that English “Who is there?” might have.