DW English World 4d ago Original

Kongon demokraattisessa tasavallassa jännitteet nousevat uuden perustuslain takia.

Tensions are rising in the Democratic Republic of Congo due to a new constitution.

Finnish · A1 level

Simple Finnish

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1.

Oppositio lykkää mielenosoituksia kahdella viikolla.

The opposition is postponing protests by two weeks.
2.

Burundin presidentti yrittää sovitella tilannetta.

The Burundian president is trying to mediate the situation.
3.

Oppositio syyttää presidentti Tshisekediä vallan kaappaamisesta.

The opposition accuses President Tshisekedi of seizing power.
4.

Tshisekedi haluaa mahdollisesti kolmannen kauden.

Tshisekedi may want a third term in office.
5.

Kesäkuun mielenosoituksissa kuoli ihmisiä.

People died in the June protests.
6.

Kirkko kritisoi hallituksen suunnitelmia.

The church criticizes the government's plans.
7.

Itä-Kongossa on edelleen sotia ja levottomuuksia.

Eastern Congo still faces wars and unrest.
8.

Kansainväliset tahot pelkäävät tilanteen pahenevan.

International actors fear the situation will worsen.

Key Words

Word	English	Form
nousta nousevat	to rise are rising	Present tense, 3rd person plural
lykätä lykkää	to postpone is postponing	Present tense, 3rd person singular
syyttää syyttää	to accuse accuses	Present tense, 3rd person singular + partitive case (Tshisekediä)
kuolla kuoli	to die died	Past tense, 3rd person singular
sota sotia	war wars	Partitive plural
mielenosoitus mielenosoituksia	protest protests	Partitive plural

0. Kongon demokraattisessa tasavallassa jännitteet nousevat uuden perustuslain takia.

This sentence uses the inessive case ('-ssa') to indicate location. The inessive case answers the question 'where?' and is formed by adding '-ssa' or '-ssä' to the stem of the word. Here, 'Kongon demokraattisessa tasavallassa' means 'in the Democratic Republic of Congo.' Learners can use this case to describe where something is happening, e.g., 'Helsingissä' (in Helsinki).

1. Oppositio lykkää mielenosoituksia kahdella viikolla.

This sentence uses the adessive case ('-lla') to indicate means or instrument. The adessive case answers the question 'with what?' or 'by what means?' and is formed by adding '-lla' or '-llä' to the stem. Here, 'kahdella viikolla' means 'by two weeks.' Learners can use this case to describe time spans, e.g., 'kolmella päivällä' (in three days).

5. Kesäkuun mielenosoituksissa kuoli ihmisiä.

This sentence uses the past tense ('imperfekti') to describe completed actions. The past tense is formed by adding '-i' to the verb stem. Here, 'kuoli' means 'died.' Learners can use the past tense to talk about events that happened in the past, e.g., 'Hän söi' (He/She ate). The past tense is essential for narrating events.