The Guardian World 2d ago Original

Poliisi syyttää entistä lentäjää luvattomasta lentämisestä 16 vuoden ajan.

Police are charging a former pilot with unauthorized flying for 16 years.

Finnish · A2 level

Simple Finnish

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1.

Geoffrey Wall lensi yli 900 lentoa vuosina 2009–2025.

Geoffrey Wall flew over 900 flights between 2009 and 2025.
2.

Hän toimi Air Canadan kapteenina ilman oikeaa lentolupaa.

He worked as Air Canada’s captain without a proper flying license.
3.

Poliisin mukaan Wall lensi ilman lupaa vuosina 2009–2025.

According to police, Wall flew without a license from 2009 to 2025.
4.

Wall asuu Barrie:ssa, Ontariossa.

Wall lives in Barrie, Ontario.
5.

Poliisi tutkii tapausta Peelin alueella.

Police are investigating the case in Peel region.
6.

Wallin toiminta paljastui vasta nyt, vaikka se jatkui vuosia.

Wall’s actions were only discovered now, even though they continued for years.
7.

Hän lensi sekä kotimaassa että ulkomailla.

He flew both domestically and internationally.
8.

Poliisi ei vielä kommentoi mahdollisia syitä.

Police have not yet commented on possible reasons.

Key Words

Word	English	Form
syyttää syyttää	to charge (legally) are charging	Present tense, 3rd person singular
lentää lensi	to fly flew	Past tense, 3rd person singular
lupa lupaa	license/permission license (partitive)	Partitive singular
toimia toimi	to act/work worked	Past tense, 3rd person singular
tutkia tutkii	to investigate are investigating	Present tense, 3rd person singular
paljastua paljastui	to be revealed was discovered	Past tense, 3rd person singular

0. Poliisi syyttää entistä lentäjää luvattomasta lentämisestä 16 vuoden ajan.

The sentence uses the elative case ('-stä') in 'luvattomasta lentämisestä' to indicate the reason for the charge. The elative case is often used after verbs like 'syyttää' (to charge) to specify the offense. For example, 'Hänet syytetään varkaudesta' (He is charged with theft). This structure helps learners express legal or formal accusations clearly.

1. Geoffrey Wall lensi yli 900 lentoa vuosina 2009–2025.

The past tense ('lensi') is used here to describe completed actions. Finnish past tense is formed by adding '-i' to the verb stem, e.g., 'lentää' → 'lensi'. This tense is essential for narrating events that happened in the past, such as 'Hän asui Suomessa' (He lived in Finland). Learners should practice this form for storytelling.

6. Wallin toiminta paljastui vasta nyt, vaikka se jatkui vuosia.

The sentence uses the impersonal passive ('paljastui') to describe an action without specifying the agent. This structure is common in Finnish news reporting, e.g., 'Tapaus tutkitaan' (The case is being investigated). It emphasizes the action rather than who performed it, which is useful for formal or neutral contexts.