Breakdown of Lähetän sinulle tekstiviestin hetken kuluttua.
sinä
you
hetki
the moment
lähettää
to send
kuluttua
after
tekstiviesti
the text message
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Questions & Answers about Lähetän sinulle tekstiviestin hetken kuluttua.
What does lähetän mean and why is it in the present tense when referring to a future action?
lähetän is the 1st person singular present form of lähettää (“to send”). Finnish often uses the present tense to talk about near-future events. Where English adds “will,” Finnish simply stays in the present: Lähetän can mean “I send” or “I will send” depending on context.
What case is sinulle and how is it formed?
sinulle is the allative case (“to/for you”), marked by the suffix -lle on the pronoun sinä (“you”). It indicates the recipient of the action.
What case is tekstiviestin in, and why isn’t it in the partitive?
Here tekstiviestin marks a complete, single object. Grammatically it’s the accusative (its form coincides with the genitive singular). If you wanted an incomplete amount or a vague quantity, you’d use the partitive tekstiviestiä (e.g. “I’m sending you some text message(s)” or “I’m sending you a bit of a message”).
Why isn’t there an article like “a” before tekstiviesti?
Finnish has no articles. Definiteness or indefiniteness is inferred from context and case endings. tekstiviestin without an article still conveys “a text message” when the situation makes it clear.
What does the phrase hetken kuluttua literally mean, and how is it used?
Literally “after a moment has passed.” It’s a time expression built with the genitive hetken (“of a moment”) plus kuluttua (“after … has passed”). It corresponds to English “in a moment” or “shortly.”
How is kuluttua formed, and what role does it play?
kuluttua derives from the verb kulua (“to pass,” as in time passing). In expressions of time you pair [genitive noun] + kuluttua to mean “after [noun] has passed.”
Could I say pian instead of hetken kuluttua, and what’s the nuance?
Yes. pian means “soon.” You could say Lähetän sinulle tekstiviestin pian. pian is shorter and more general, while hetken kuluttua highlights that a short “moment” will elapse before the message is sent.
Is the word order fixed, or can I rearrange elements for emphasis?
Finnish word order is flexible. Neutral is Subject–IndirectObject–Object–Time (Lähetän sinulle tekstiviestin hetken kuluttua). To emphasize time you could say Hetken kuluttua lähetän sinulle tekstiviestin, or to highlight the message Tekstiviestin lähetän sinulle hetken kuluttua.