Learn Hardcore Finnish: Teen läksyt heti koulun jälkeen. - I do my homework right after school.

Finnish verbs carry person and number in their endings, so the subject pronoun is usually dropped. Teen already means “I do.” You can add Minä teen for emphasis (“I, not someone else, do it”), but it isn’t required.

What verb form is teen, and what’s the full present-tense pattern?

Teen is the present indicative, 1st person singular of tehdä (“to do; to make”). Present forms:

minä teen
sinä teet
hän tekee
me teemme
te teette
he tekevät Negative present: en tee, et tee, ei tee, emme tee, ette tee, eivät tee.

Does teen mean both “I do” and “I will do”?

Yes. Finnish uses the present tense for near-future as well. Context (like heti “immediately”) makes the future meaning clear. A more explicit future is possible (e.g., tulen tekemään), but it isn’t needed here.

Why is läksyt plural when English “homework” is uncountable?

Finnish treats homework as individual tasks. Läksy = a homework task; läksyt = the set of homework tasks assigned. So Teen läksyt ≈ “I do (all) the homework.”

Why läksyt and not läksyjä?

Object case depends on meaning:

Teen läksyt (total object): I will complete all the homework.
Teen läksyjä (partitive object): I’m doing some homework / working on homework (quantity open or ongoing).

What case is läksyt here?

It’s the nominative plural form used as a total object. In Finnish, total plural objects appear as nominative plural. Compare singular:

Teen läksyn = I do/complete the homework (one assignment; genitive singular as total object).

How do I say “I’m doing some homework / I’m in the middle of homework”?

Teen läksyjä (partitive plural, unspecified amount, ongoing)
For one assignment: Teen läksyä
More formal synonym: Teen kotitehtäviä

What does heti mean, and where can it go?

Heti means “immediately; right away.” Common placements:

Teen läksyt heti koulun jälkeen.
Heti koulun jälkeen teen läksyt. You’ll also see koulun jälkeen heti; the most idiomatic chunk is heti koulun jälkeen.

Why is it koulun and not koulu?

Because jälkeen (“after”) is a postposition that requires its complement in the genitive case: koulun jälkeen (“after school”). Other examples: ruoan jälkeen (“after the meal”), tunnin jälkeen (“after the lesson”).

Is jälkeen a preposition or a postposition? Any related words to know?

It’s a postposition: it follows its complement (Xn jälkeen). A useful contrast is ennen (“before”), which is typically used as a preposition and takes the partitive: ennen koulua (“before school”).

How would I say “after the school day” or “after class”?

“after the school day”: koulupäivän jälkeen
“after class/lesson”: tunnin jälkeen
“after the lesson(s)”: oppitunnin jälkeen / oppituntien jälkeen

How do I explicitly say “my homework”?

With a possessive suffix: Teen läksyni (“I do my homework”).
With an emphatic pronoun: Teen minun läksyni (emphasis on “my”).
With “own”: Teen omat läksyni (stresses they’re my own assignments). In everyday speech, people often just say Teen läksyt, and context supplies “my.”

How does negation change the sentence?

En tee läksyjä heti koulun jälkeen. (“I don’t do homework right after school.”) Negation triggers the partitive object (läksyjä). The verb becomes the negative + base form (en tee).

How do I say it in the past?

Affirmative: Tein läksyt heti koulun jälkeen. (“I did the homework right after school.”)
Negative: En tehnyt läksyjä heti koulun jälkeen. Past of tehdä: tein, teit, teki, teimme, teitte, tekivät; negative uses the past participle: en tehnyt.

Any quick pronunciation tips for these words?

teen: long vowel ee; length matters (tee-n).
läksyt: front vowels ä and y; ä like “a” in “cat,” y like French “u” in “lune.” Consonant cluster ks is [ks].
heti: both vowels short.
koulun: diphthong ou (glide from o to u).
jälkeen: stress on the first syllable; long ee in the second syllable; “ä” as above. Note the lk cluster: jäl-keen.

Are there synonyms or alternative ways to phrase the sentence?

Teen kotitehtävät heti koulun jälkeen. (more formal for “homework”)
Replace heti with near-synonyms per register: samantien, välittömästi, oitis (“immediately”).
Different emphasis with fronting: Heti koulun jälkeen teen läksyt.

What’s the difference between koulun jälkeen and jälkeenpäin?

koulun jälkeen = after (the) school (specifically after that event/time).
jälkeenpäin = afterward(s), later on (vague, not tied to a specific noun). You could say: Teen läksyt myöhemmin, jälkeenpäin.

Can I front the object for emphasis, e.g., Läksyt teen heti koulun jälkeen?

Yes. Läksyt teen heti koulun jälkeen emphasizes the object (“It’s the homework that I (will) do right after school,” perhaps contrasting with other tasks). Finnish word order is flexible for focus and emphasis.