The Guardian World 6d ago Original

Kaksi amerikkalaista kuoli Meksikossa.

Two Americans died in Mexico.

Finnish · A1 level

Simple Finnish

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1.

He olivat CIA:n työntekijöitä.

They were CIA employees.
2.

He ajoivat autolla kotiin.

They were driving home by car.
3.

Auto suistui tieltä.

The car veered off the road.
4.

Auto putosi rotkoon.

The car fell into a ravine.
5.

Rotko oli 200 metriä syvä.

The ravine was 200 meters deep.
6.

Tapahtuma sattui sunnuntaina.

The event occurred on Sunday.
7.

Meksiko tutkii tapausta.

Mexico investigates the case.
8.

Meksiko kysyy Yhdysvaltojen roolista tapauksessa.

Mexico is asking about the US role in the case.

Key Words

Word	English	Form
kuolla kuoli	to die died	past tense (3rd person singular)
ajaa ajoivat	to drive were driving (they drove)	past tense (3rd person plural)
tie tieltä	road off the road	elative case (singular)
rotko rotkoon	ravine into a ravine	illative case (singular)
tutkia tutkii	to investigate investigates	present tense (3rd person singular)
rooli roolista	role about the role	elative case (singular)

0. Kaksi amerikkalaista kuoli Meksikossa.

This sentence uses the inessive case ('-ssa') to indicate location. The inessive case answers the question 'where?' and is formed by adding '-ssa' or '-ssä' to the noun stem, depending on vowel harmony. Here, 'Meksiko' becomes 'Meksikossa' to show that the event happened 'in Mexico.' Learners can use this case to describe where something is or happens, e.g., 'Helsingissä' (in Helsinki).

4. Auto putosi rotkoon.

This sentence uses the illative case ('-Vn', where V is a vowel) to indicate movement into something. The illative case answers the question 'into what?' and is formed by adding '-Vn' to the noun stem. Here, 'rotko' becomes 'rotkoon' to show the car fell 'into a ravine.' Learners can use this case to describe movement into places, e.g., 'huoneeseen' (into a room).

7. Meksiko tutkii tapausta.

This sentence uses the partitive case ('-a/-ä') for the object of the verb. The partitive case is often used with verbs that describe ongoing or incomplete actions. Here, 'tapaus' becomes 'tapausta' to show that the investigation is ongoing. Learners can use the partitive case for objects in sentences like 'Syön omenaa' (I am eating an apple).