The Guardian World 9h ago Original

Nelson Haase Mazzei on vankilassa Víctor Jaran murhasta.

Nelson Haase Mazzei is in prison for Víctor Jara's murder.

Finnish · A1 level

Simple Finnish

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1.

Víctor Jara oli kuuluisa chileläinen laulaja.

Víctor Jara was a famous Chilean singer.
2.

Mazzei tuomittiin vuonna 2023.

Mazzei was sentenced in 2023.
3.

Hän pakeni Chilestä vuonna 1990.

He fled Chile in 1990.
4.

Mazzei oli eversti.

Mazzei was a colonel.
5.

Jara kuoli 53 vuotta sitten.

Jara died 53 years ago.
6.

Mazzei oli yksi seitsemästä sotilaasta, jotka tuomittiin.

Mazzei was one of seven soldiers who were sentenced.
7.

Sotilaat tuomittiin poissaolevina vuonna 2023.

The soldiers were sentenced in absentia in 2023.
8.

Jara oli kuuluisa chileläinen laulaja ja runoilija.

Jara was a famous Chilean singer and poet.

Key Words

Word	English	Form
olla on	to be is	3rd person singular present tense
vankila vankilassa	prison in prison	inessive case (location inside)
murha murhasta	murder for murder	elative case (reason or cause)
paeta pakeni	to flee fled	3rd person singular past tense
tuomita tuomittiin	to sentence was sentenced	passive past tense
sotilas sotilaasta	soldier of a soldier	elative case (partitive meaning)

0. Nelson Haase Mazzei on vankilassa Víctor Jaran murhasta.

The inessive case ('-ssa/-ssä') is used here to indicate location inside something. In this sentence, 'vankilassa' means 'in prison.' The inessive case is commonly used with places to show where something or someone is. For example, 'Hän on koulussa' means 'He is at school.' Remember to match vowel harmony: '-ssa' after back vowels (a, o, u) and '-ssä' after front vowels (ä, ö, y).

2. Mazzei tuomittiin vuonna 2023.

The passive past tense ('-ttiin/-tiin') is used here to describe an action done to the subject. In this sentence, 'tuomittiin' means 'was sentenced.' The passive is often used in Finnish to focus on the action rather than the doer. For example, 'Ovi avattiin' means 'The door was opened.' To form the passive past, add '-ttiin' or '-tiin' to the verb stem, depending on vowel harmony.

3. Hän pakeni Chilestä vuonna 1990.

The elative case ('-sta/-stä') is used here to indicate movement out of a place. In this sentence, 'Chilestä' means 'from Chile.' The elative case is often used with verbs of motion or origin, such as 'tulla' (to come) or 'paeta' (to flee). For example, 'Hän tulee kaupasta' means 'He comes from the store.' Again, vowel harmony applies: '-sta' after back vowels and '-stä' after front vowels.