Why 誰か and not 誰?

Question

I thought that 誰 meant 'who', such as in:

彼は誰ですか。'Who is he?'

Then, why in this sentence it is 誰か ('someone') which is used and not 誰?

彼女が誰か知っていますか。'Do you know who she is ?'

Okay, just wanted to make sure if it was you or someone else who analyzed it as 誰か rather than 誰+か. Does this answer your question? Usage of か after a clause? — Leebo, Aug 30 '21 at 12:48
It does, thanks. To be sure, here (https://ejje.weblio.jp/content/%E8%AA%B0%E3%81%8B) you have the definition ('someone') for 誰か. So it's two different things? — Starckman, Aug 30 '21 at 13:07
Yes, you would need to identify which it is by the overall grammar of the sentence. — Leebo, Aug 30 '21 at 13:14

score -1 · Answer 1 · answered Aug 30 '21 at 14:08

-1

In this context, you can think of 誰か as a contraction of 誰なのか which stands for who it is.

answered Aug 30 '21 at 14:08

Daishi

1 Answers1