The second main class of questions is question-word questions, which are
answered more precisely (not just ‘yes’ or ‘no’). The most important question
words in Finnish are the following (cf. §56):
mikä what, which (more concrete, definite meaning)
mitä what, which (more abstract, indefinite meaning; partitive
of mikä)
millainen what kind of
missä wher
mistä from wher, whence
mihin wher to, whither (more precise)
minne wher to, whither (less precise)
miten how, in what way
koska when
milloin when
kuka who
kuinka how
kumpi which of two
74 Finnish: An Essential Grammar
Mikä, kuka and millainen decline in different cases like ordinary nominals.
In fact, mitä, missä, mistä and mihin are inflected forms of the pronoun
mikä. Kenen ‘whose’ is the genitive of the pronoun kuka.
Question Answer
Mikä tämä on? (Se on) kynä.
What is this? (It is) a pen.
Mitä tämä on? (Se on) olutta.
What is this? (It is) beer.
Missä Auli on? (Auli on) luennolla.
wher is Auli? (Auli is) at the lecture.
Mistä tulet? (Tulen) Oslosta.
wher do you come from? (I come) from Oslo.
Mihin panen vaatteeni? (Pane ne) sohvalle.
wher shall I put my clothes? (Put them) on the sofa.
Millainen mies hän on? (Hän on) mukava (mies).
What kind of a man is he? (He is a) nice (man).
Koska John tuli Suomeen? (Hän tuli Suomeen) viime
vuonna.
When did John come to Finland? (He came to Finland) last year.
Kuka tuo pitkä nainen on? (Hän on) Tyyne Nyrkiö.
Who is that tall woman? (She is) Tyyne Nyrkiö.
Kuinka paljon pullo olutta maksaa? (Se maksaa) kolme markkaa.
How much does a bottle of beer cost? (It costs) three marks.
Kenen lasi tämä on? (Se on) Jorman.
Whose glass is this? (It is) Jorma’s.
Kenellä pallo on? (Pallo on) minulla.
Who has got the ball? I have. (lit. [The ball is] ‘at’ me.)
(lit. ‘At’ whom is…)
