Breakdown of Meillä on kotona selvä järjestys: ensin läksyt on tehtävä, sitten saa pelata.
Questions & Answers about Meillä on kotona selvä järjestys: ensin läksyt on tehtävä, sitten saa pelata.
Meillä literally means “on us / at us”, but in idiomatic Finnish it often means:
- “at our place” (our home, our household)
- “in our family / in our house (as a rule)”
So Meillä on kotona selvä järjestys is essentially “At our house we have a clear order (set of rules).”
The adessive -lla/-llä is very often used in Finnish to mean “at someone’s place”:
- Meillä = at our place
- Teillä = at your (pl.) place
- Heillä = at their place
It doesn’t literally refer to physical possession here, but to the situation or rules that exist in our household.
They overlap in meaning, but each adds a nuance:
- Meillä = at our place / in our family
- kotona = at home (as opposed to somewhere else)
Together, Meillä on kotona selvä järjestys emphasizes both:
- Whose home: our household (meillä)
- The setting: at home, as opposed to at school, outside, etc. (kotona)
You could say just Meillä on selvä järjestys (“In our family we have a clear order”) or Kotona meillä on selvä järjestys (“At home, we have a clear order”). The version in the sentence is a natural, slightly emphatic way to say “In our home, there is a clear system/rule.”
Literally:
- selvä = clear, obvious, unambiguous
- järjestys = order, arrangement; also “orderliness, system”
So selvä järjestys means a clear order / a clearly defined system of rules. It doesn’t necessarily mean “strict” in the sense of harsh or severe; it just means the rules are clear and well-defined.
Depending on context, in English you might translate it as:
- “We have a clear system at home…”
- “We have clear rules at home…”
- “There’s a clear order at home: …”
The colon introduces an explanation or example of what that “clear order” is:
- Meillä on kotona selvä järjestys:
→ This is what that order is: ensin läksyt on tehtävä, sitten saa pelata.
This is very similar to English:
- “We have a clear rule at home: first you must do your homework, then you may play.”
These are two different structures:
läksyt on tehtävä
- on = “is” / “must be” (as part of a necessity construction)
- tehtävä = “to be done” (a necessive form, based on the verb tehdä = “to do”)
→ together: on tehtävä = “must be done / has to be done”
So ensin läksyt on tehtävä = “first, the homework has to be done.”
läksyt on tehty
- on = “are” (auxiliary for perfect tense)
- tehty = past participle of tehdä, “done”
→ together: on tehty = “have been done / are done”
läksyt on tehty = “the homework is done / has been done.”
So on tehtävä talks about an obligation (“must be done”), while on tehty states a completed action (“are already done”).
In Finnish, läksyt is normally used in the plural for “homework”:
- läksy (singular) = one exercise / one particular assignment
- läksyt (plural) = all your homework (as a whole), or multiple assignments
So ensin läksyt on tehtävä literally: “first, the homework assignments must be done.” In everyday speech Finnish almost always uses läksyt (plural) to mean what English calls homework in general.
In läksyt on tehtävä, the verb on does not agree with läksyt as a normal plural subject. Instead, this is a necessity construction:
- [Something] on tehtävä = “[Something] must be done / has to be done.”
Here, on tehtävä functions almost like a fixed phrase meaning “must be done.” The plural ovat is not used in this structure.
Compare:
Läksyt ovat vaikeita. = “The homework (assignments) are difficult.”
- Ordinary sentence, verb agrees with plural läksyt.
Läksyt on tehtävä. = “The homework must be done.”
- Necessive construction; on tehtävä stays in singular, regardless of läksyt.
So the singular on is correct and natural here.
Yes. Both are grammatically correct and common, but the nuance is slightly different:
Ensin läksyt on tehtävä.
- More impersonal, rule-like: “First, the homework has to be done.”
- Sounds a bit like a stated regulation or clear rule.
Ensin pitää tehdä läksyt.
- Using pitää (“must, have to”) + infinitive
- Slightly more colloquial / conversational: “First you have to do your homework.”
For everyday speech, pitää tehdä läksyt is very common; the original sentence’s style fits well with the idea of a household rule, so the more “rule-like” on tehtävä fits nicely.
ensin means “first, first of all, first in order”.
In this sentence:
- ensin läksyt on tehtävä = “first, the homework must be done”
Word-order-wise, ensin typically appears near the beginning of the clause, often before the verb or before what is done first:
- Ensin syödään, sitten mennään. = First we eat, then we go.
- Ensin minä teen läksyt. = First I do my homework.
Here it comes directly before läksyt for emphasis on what comes first, but you could also say:
- Ensin on tehtävä läksyt. (also correct and natural)
Here saa is from the verb saada, and it expresses permission:
- saa pelata = “is allowed to play / may play”
So:
- sitten saa pelata = “then (you) may play” or “then you’re allowed to play.”
It does not mean physical or practical ability (like “can”), which would be expressed with voida:
- saa pelata = may, is allowed to play
- voi pelata = can play (is able / it is possible)
In this context, we’re clearly talking about a rule that allows playing only after homework is done, so saa is the right verb.
Finnish often uses impersonal or generic constructions where English would say “you,” “we,” or “one.”
- sitten saa pelata literally: “then may play / then one may play.”
The subject is understood from context. In this sentence, it clearly refers to the people in that household, especially the children: “then you (kids) are allowed to play.”
You could make the subject explicit:
- sitten saa pelata tietokoneella = “then (you) may play on the computer.”
- sitten lapset saavat pelata = “then the children may play.”
But it’s not necessary; the impersonal saa pelata is very natural.
You could, but the meaning shifts:
sitten saa pelata
- Focus on permission: “then you’re allowed to play.”
- Fits well in the context of rules or house policy.
sitten voi pelata
- Focus on possibility / ability: “then you can play (it’s possible / you’re able to).”
- Could be interpreted more as a statement of practicality than a rule.
In the context “At our home, we have a clear order: …” we are talking about rules, so sitten saa pelata (permission) fits best.
Yes, the comma is standard and natural. We have two coordinated clauses describing the order:
- ensin läksyt on tehtävä
- sitten saa pelata
They are linked in a kind of list (“first…, then…”). In Finnish, separate main clauses connected only by adverbs like ensin / sitten are normally separated by a comma:
- Ensin syödään, sitten juodaan kahvia.
- Ensin pesen pyykit, sitten siivoan.
So ensin läksyt on tehtävä, sitten saa pelata follows the same pattern.
järjestys has several related meanings:
- order / sequence:
- Numerojärjestys = numerical order
- system / rules / organization:
- Koulussa on tarkka järjestys. = There is a strict system/order at school.
- tidiness / being in order:
- Huoneessa on hyvä järjestys. = The room is in good order (tidy).
In this sentence:
- Meillä on kotona selvä järjestys: ensin läksyt on tehtävä, sitten saa pelata.
the following explanation (first homework, then play) makes it clear that here järjestys means a rule / system of order—not physical tidiness. It’s about the order of actions and household rules, not about cleaning.
Both are correct; the difference is subtle and about emphasis:
Meillä on kotona selvä järjestys
- Slightly stronger focus on meillä = “at our place / in our family.”
- “In our home, we have a clear order…”
Kotona meillä on selvä järjestys
- Slightly stronger focus on kotona = “at home.”
- “At home, we have a clear order…” (possibly contrasting with outside home, e.g. at school, at friends’ houses)
In practice, either word order is fine; the original one is perhaps the most neutral and common way to phrase such a general statement about household rules.