The Guardian World 6d ago Original

Yhdysvaltalainen vene törmäsi kalastajiin.

An American boat collided with the fishermen.

Finnish · A2 level

Simple Finnish

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1.

Kalastajat olivat Ecuadorista.

The fishermen were from Ecuador.
2.

He kalastivat silloin Tyynellämerellä.

They were fishing in the Pacific Ocean at the time.
3.

Vene tuli yllättäen ja törmäsi heidän veneeseensä.

The boat came suddenly and collided with their boat.
4.

Kalastajat pelkäsivät kuolevansa.

The fishermen were afraid they would die.
5.

He yrittivät soittaa apua puhelimellaan.

They tried to call for help on their phone.
6.

Apua tuli vasta tunnin päästä.

Help arrived only after an hour.
7.

Kalastajat selviytyivät hengissä, mutta olivat vielä peloissaan.

The fishermen survived but were still frightened.
8.

He eivät ymmärtäneet, miksi vene törmäsi heihin.

They did not understand why the boat collided with them.

Key Words

Word	English	Form
törmätä törmäsi	to collide collided	3rd person singular past tense (imperfect)
kalastaja kalastajiin	fisherman to the fishermen	illative plural case (-iin)
vene veneeseensä	boat into their boat	illative singular case with possessive suffix (-Vnsa)
pelätä pelkäsivät	to fear were afraid	3rd person plural past tense (imperfect)
soittaa soittaa	to call to call (for help)	1st infinitive (dictionary form)
selviytyä selviytyivät	to survive survived	3rd person plural past tense (imperfect)

0. Yhdysvaltalainen vene törmäsi kalastajiin.

The verb 'törmätä' (to collide) is used with the illative case (-iin) to indicate the direction or target of the action. Here, 'kalastajiin' (to the fishermen) shows who was affected by the collision. Learners can use this structure to describe actions that impact someone or something, e.g., 'Hän törmäsi autoon' (He collided with the car).

3. Vene tuli yllättäen ja törmäsi heidän veneeseensä.

The illative case with a possessive suffix (-Vnsa) is used in 'veneeseensä' (into their boat) to show both direction and possession. This structure combines the illative case (-Vn) with the 3rd person plural possessive suffix (-nsa). It is useful for describing actions involving someone's possession, e.g., 'Hän meni taloonsa' (He went into his house).

7. Kalastajat selviytyivät hengissä, mutta olivat vielä peloissaan.

The phrase 'olla peloissaan' (to be frightened) uses the inessive case (-ssa) with the possessive suffix (-an) to describe a state of being. This is a common way to express emotions or conditions in Finnish. For example, 'Hän on iloissaan' (He is happy). Learners can use this pattern to describe how someone feels.