The Guardian World 3h ago Original

Venäjä auttaa Malin hallitusta sotilailla.

Russia helps Mali's government with soldiers.

Finnish · A1 level

Simple Finnish

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1.

Malin johtaja Goïta tapasi Putinia viime kesänä.

Mali's leader Goïta met Putin last summer.
2.

Mali on suuri autiomaa.

Mali is a large desert.
3.

Venäjällä on Malissa noin 2000 sotilasta.

Russia has about 2,000 soldiers in Mali.
4.

Venäjä haluaa vaikuttaa Afrikassa.

Russia wants to influence Africa.
5.

Kapinalliset hyökkäävät usein Malissa.

Rebels often attack in Mali.
6.

Venäjän apu ei pysäytä kapinallisia.

Russian help does not stop the rebels.
7.

Malin hallitus on sotilasjuntta.

Mali's government is a military junta.
8.

Länsi ei ole tyytyväinen Venäjän toimintaan.

The West is not happy with Russia's actions.

Key Words

Word	English	Form
auttaa auttaa	to help helps	present tense, 3rd person singular
sotilas sotilailla	soldier with soldiers	plural adessive case (instrumental meaning)
olla on	to be is	present tense, 3rd person singular
hyökätä hyökkäävät	to attack attack	present tense, 3rd person plural
hallitus hallitusta	government government (partitive)	partitive singular
vaikuttaa vaikuttaa	to influence wants to influence	present tense, 3rd person singular

0. Venäjä auttaa Malin hallitusta sotilailla.

This sentence uses the adessive case ('sotilailla') to indicate the means or instrument by which an action is performed. In Finnish, the adessive case often translates to 'with' in English. Here, it shows that Russia helps Mali's government *with* soldiers. To use this structure, take the plural form of the noun and add '-lla/-llä' (depending on vowel harmony). For example: 'kirjoitan kynällä' (I write with a pen).

3. Venäjällä on Malissa noin 2000 sotilasta.

This sentence uses the adessive case ('Venäjällä') to indicate possession, similar to 'have' in English. In Finnish, 'olla' (to be) with the adessive case expresses ownership or existence. For example: 'Minulla on kirja' (I have a book). The location ('Malissa') is in the inessive case, which indicates 'in' or 'inside' a place. The inessive case is formed by adding '-ssa/-ssä' to the noun.

5. Kapinalliset hyökkäävät usein Malissa.

This sentence uses the inessive case ('Malissa') to indicate the location where the action happens. The inessive case is formed by adding '-ssa/-ssä' to the noun, depending on vowel harmony. For example: 'Hän asuu Suomessa' (He lives in Finland). The verb 'hyökkäävät' is in the present tense, 3rd person plural, which is used for plural subjects like 'kapinalliset' (rebels).