Mikä/mitä...

[Rob A.]

I'm sure this has been addressed before...but I'm curious what the "logic" would be for using the partitive form, mitä, in questions....

Mitä on lumi?... and the direct object seems to have to stay in the nominative.... Mitä
on maito?.... All I can think of is that essentially you are saying: Lumi on mitä?....and the object is "unbounded"...it could be a number of unspecified things.... How does that sound ??

Mikä on...?? Could it be used this way with something that could only be a definite thing???...Any examples?

I found this:

Mikä on munuaissyöpä?....Why couldn't it be .....Mitä on munuaissyöpä?...What's the distinction?

[mary88]

I'm not sure either, but I found this for you http://www.uusikielemme.fi/mitamika.html

[Rob A.]

Thanks...I didn't think to check there...

[Upphew]

Mitä on lumi?... and the direct object seems to have to stay in the nominative.... Mitä
on maito?.... All I can think of is that essentially you are saying: Lumi on mitä?....and the object is "unbounded"...it could be a number of unspecified things.... How does that sound ??

Didn't grasp what you were asking... but Mitä on lumi? vs Lumi on mitä?!? difference is almost 1:1 with What is snow? vs. Snow is what?!?

Mikä on...?? Could it be used this way with something that could only be a definite thing???...Any examples?

I found this:

Mikä on munuaissyöpä?....Why couldn't it be .....Mitä on munuaissyöpä?...What's the distinction?

Hmm, I'll try to answer and translate those questions...

Mikä on munuaissyöpä? Se on munuaisissa esiintyvä syöpä.
Mitä on munuaissyöpä? Se on munuaisten huonolaatuinen kasvain.

What is renal cell carcinoma?
What is renal cell carcinoma made of?

[Jukka Aho]

Mikä on munuaissyöpä? Se on munuaisissa esiintyvä syöpä.
Mitä on munuaissyöpä? Se on munuaisten huonolaatuinen kasvain.

Does not compute for me. I’d expect the answer to a Mitä on... question to be in the partitive.

[Tuonelan Joutsen]

Mitä on lumi?... and the direct object seems to have to stay in the nominative.... Mitä
on maito?.... All I can think of is that essentially you are saying: Lumi on mitä?....and the object is "unbounded"...it could be a number of unspecified things.... How does that sound ??

Didn't grasp what you were asking... but Mitä on lumi? vs Lumi on mitä?!? difference is almost 1:1 with What is snow? vs. Snow is what?!?

Is there also a difference between "Mitä on lumi?" and "Mitä lumi on?" (New vs. old information, maybe?)

Mitä kello on?

How would you ask, "What's a clock?"

[Jukka Aho]

Is there also a difference between "Mitä on lumi?" and "Mitä lumi on?" (New vs. old information, maybe?)

Very slight, I’d say. The latter allows putting a more natural additional emphasis on the word on. “Mitä lumi on?” (“Yeah, I know it’s called ‘snow’. But what is snow?”

Mitä kello on?

How would you ask, "What's a clock?"

Mikä on kello?

But the old cheeky schoolyard joke is based on answering the standard what-is-the-time question “Mitä kello on?” with something like “Terästä ja nahkaa.”... i.e. intepreting it as a what-materials-is-it-made-of type question.

[AldenG]

And before you ask the logical next question, the standard way to ask what a clock is made of is:

Mistä kello on tehty?

[Rob A.]

Is there also a difference between "Mitä on lumi?" and "Mitä lumi on?" (New vs. old information, maybe?)

Very slight, I’d say. The latter allows putting a more natural additional emphasis on the word on. “Mitä lumi on?” (“Yeah, I know it’s called ‘snow’. But what is snow?”

Mitä kello on?

How would you ask, "What's a clock?"

Mikä on kello?

But the old cheeky schoolyard joke is based on answering the standard what-is-the-time question “Mitä kello on?” with something like “Terästä ja nahkaa.”... i.e. intepreting it as a what-materials-is-it-made-of type question.

Yes....and again that distinction between the nominative and partitive is coming through.... The nominative implies "complete", "defined", etc...the partitive leaves you expecting more....

[Pursuivant]