The Guardian World 4d ago Original

Kaksi hävittäjää törmäsi toisiinsa ilmassa vuonna 2021.

Two fighter jets collided in the air in 2021.

Finnish · A1 level

Simple Finnish

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1.

Pilotti otti selfieitä lennon aikana.

The pilot took selfies during the flight.
2.

Törmäys aiheutti 600 000 dollarin vahingot.

The collision caused $600,000 in damage.
3.

Etelä-Korean ilmavoimat pyysi anteeksi tapahtunutta.

South Korea’s air force apologized for what happened.
4.

Yksi lentäjä sai rangaistuksen.

One pilot received punishment.
5.

Lentäjä ei saa enää lentää.

The pilot can no longer fly.
6.

Lentäjä erosi armeijasta.

The pilot resigned from the military.
7.

Ilmavoimat kertoi tapahtuneesta lehdistötilaisuudessa.

The air force announced the incident at a press conference.
8.

Pilotti maksaa osan vahingoista.

The pilot will pay part of the damages.

Key Words

Word	English	Form
törmätä törmäsi	to collide collided	3rd person singular past tense (imperfect)
hävittäjä hävittäjää	fighter jet fighter jets (partitive plural)	partitive plural
ottaa otti	to take took	3rd person singular past tense (imperfect)
lentäjä lentäjä	pilot pilot (nominative)	nominative singular
antaa pyysi anteeksi	to give apologized (asked for forgiveness)	verb phrase (pyytää anteeksi)
maksaa maksaa	to pay will pay	present tense (infinitive or 3rd person singular)

0. Kaksi hävittäjää törmäsi toisiinsa ilmassa vuonna 2021.

The partitive case ('hävittäjää') is used here because the noun is the object of a transitive verb ('törmäsi') and refers to an indefinite quantity (two jets). In Finnish, the partitive case is often used for objects that are not fully affected by the action. For example, 'Söin omenaa' (I ate some apple) vs. 'Söin omenan' (I ate the whole apple).

1. Pilotti otti selfieitä lennon aikana.

The past tense ('otti') is formed by adding the past tense marker '-i-' to the verb stem. For example, 'ottaa' (to take) becomes 'otti' (took). This is a common way to express completed actions in the past. Remember that Finnish verbs do not conjugate for person in the past tense, so 'otti' can mean 'he/she/it took.'

3. Etelä-Korean ilmavoimat pyysi anteeksi tapahtunutta.

The phrase 'pyysi anteeksi' (asked for forgiveness) is a fixed expression in Finnish. The verb 'pyytää' (to ask) is followed by the partitive case ('anteeksi'). This is a useful phrase for apologizing or expressing regret. For example, 'Pyydän anteeksi' (I apologize).