Kysymässä

Kysymässä is a Finnish form of the verb kysyä (to ask) used as the present active participle with the suffix -mässä. It roughly corresponds to the English phrase “in the act of asking” and is used to indicate ongoing or imminent action. The form often appears with the auxiliary olla to express a progressive aspect, as in a present-tense clause.

Morphologically, kysymessä is built from the stem kysy- and the participial suffix -mässä. It is a non-finite participle and does not stand alone as a finite verb; it functions in clauses or noun phrases alongside other elements. The standard, simple present tense of kysyä is kysyn, kysyt, kysyy, etc., while kysymässä is the non-finite participle form used for ongoing action.

Usage typically involves expressing that someone is engaged in asking something. Commonly you will find it in sentences like Hän on kysymässä neuvoa, meaning “He is asking for advice.” It can also appear in non-finite clauses that describe ongoing activity, such as in contexts where multiple agents are involved in asking questions. In contrast to the attributive present participle kysyvä (a person who asks), kysymässä signals ongoing action rather than a defining trait of the subject.

Kysymässä is part of Finnish participle forms that enable progressive meaning without a dedicated finite verb. It can be complemented by objects in the partitive (for example, neuvoa) and by other elements in the sentence to specify what is being asked and to whom. The form is more common in written or formal contexts but is understood in everyday speech when expressing ongoing inquiry.