The Guardian World 6d ago Original

Nathan Law kertoo Kiinan vakoojista Britanniassa.

Nathan Law talks about Chinese spies in Britain.

Finnish · A1 level

Simple Finnish

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1.

Kaksi miestä tuomittiin vakoilusta.

Two men were convicted of spying.
2.

He kuvasivat Lawia Oxfordissa marraskuussa 2023.

They photographed Law in Oxford in November 2023.
3.

Lawilla on 100 000 punnan palkkio päästään.

There is a 100,000-pound bounty on Law’s head.
4.

Law ei ollut yllättynyt kuvista.

Law was not surprised by the photos.
5.

Tuomio oli ensimmäinen lajissaan Britanniassa.

The conviction was the first of its kind in Britain.
6.

Kiina haluaa saada Lawin kiinni.

China wants to capture Law.
7.

Law asuu ulkomailla.

Law lives abroad.
8.

Law puhui Oxford Unionissa.

Law spoke at the Oxford Union.

Key Words

Word	English	Form
kertoa kertoo	to tell/talk about talks about	Present tense, 3rd person singular
tuomita tuomittiin	to convict were convicted	Passive past tense
pää päästään	head on his head	Elative case (possessive suffix -nsä)
haluta haluaa	to want wants	Present tense, 3rd person singular
asua asuu	to live lives	Present tense, 3rd person singular
puhua puhui	to speak spoke	Past tense, 3rd person singular

1. Kaksi miestä tuomittiin vakoilusta.

This sentence uses the passive past tense ('tuomittiin'). In Finnish, the passive is often used to describe actions where the doer is unknown or unimportant. Here, it emphasizes the conviction rather than who convicted them. To form the passive past, take the passive present stem (e.g., 'tuomitaan' → 'tuomita-') and add '-ttiin'. This structure is common in news reports and formal writing.

3. Lawilla on 100 000 punnan palkkio päästään.

This sentence uses the adessive case ('-lla') with the verb 'olla' (to be) to indicate possession. The structure 'X:lla on Y' means 'X has Y'. Here, 'Lawilla' (on Law) shows that the bounty is associated with Law. This is a fundamental way to express possession in Finnish, similar to 'have' in English. Remember to use the adessive case for the possessor (e.g., 'Minulla on kirja' = I have a book).

7. Law asuu ulkomailla.

The word 'ulkomailla' (abroad) is in the adessive case ('-lla'). In Finnish, the adessive case is used to describe location, often with the meaning 'on' or 'at'. Here, it indicates where Law lives. This is a common way to express location with certain nouns (e.g., 'kadulla' = on the street, 'maalla' = in the countryside). Note that 'ulkomailla' is a fixed expression and always uses the adessive case.