The Guardian World 2d ago Original

Kevin González kuoli Meksikossa.

Kevin González died in Mexico.

Finnish · A1 level

Simple Finnish

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1.

Hän oli 18 vuotta vanha.

He was 18 years old.
2.

Hänellä oli syöpä.

He had cancer.
3.

Hänen vanhempansa olivat Amerikassa.

His parents were in America.
4.

Hänen vanhempansa olivat vangittuja.

His parents were imprisoned.
5.

Kevin halusi vanhempansa vapaiksi.

Kevin wanted his parents to be free.
6.

Hän tapasi vanhempansa Meksikossa.

He met his parents in Mexico.
7.

Kevin oli sairas pitkään.

Kevin was sick for a long time.
8.

Hän oli syntynyt Chicagossa.

He was born in Chicago.

Key Words

Word	English	Form
kuolla kuoli	to die died	past tense (3rd person singular)
olla oli	to be was	past tense (3rd person singular)
vanhemmat vanhemmat	parents	nominative plural
vanki vangittuja	prisoner imprisoned (plural)	partitive plural (past participle)
haluta halusi	to want wanted	past tense (3rd person singular)
sairas sairas	sick	predicative adjective (nominative)

0. Kevin González kuoli Meksikossa.

This sentence uses the past tense of the verb 'kuolla' (to die), which is 'kuoli' for the third person singular. In Finnish, past tense verbs often end in '-i'. Here, it tells us what happened in the past. To use this structure, take a verb like 'syödä' (to eat), remove the '-dä' ending, and add '-i' to form 'söi' (ate).

2. Hänellä oli syöpä.

This sentence uses the adessive case ('-llä') with the verb 'olla' (to have) to express possession. 'Hänellä' means 'on him' but translates as 'he had'. This is a common way to show ownership or possession in Finnish. For example, 'Minulla on kirja' means 'I have a book'.

5. Kevin halusi vanhempansa vapaiksi.

This sentence uses the translative case ('-ksi') to indicate a change of state. 'Vapaiksi' means 'to become free'. The translative case is often used with verbs like 'haluta' (to want) to show what someone wants to happen. For example, 'Hän haluaa isoksi' means 'He wants to become big'.