Learn Hardcore Finnish: Työssä meidän täytyy noudattaa sääntöjä tarkasti. - At work we have to follow the rules carefully.

Työssä is the noun työ (work) in the inessive case (-ssa/-ssä), which often means in/at a place or context.
So työssä is like at work / in (the context of) work.
It can also be understood more broadly as in our work rather than a physical building.

Why is meidän used instead of me? Is it a possessive?

Meidän is the genitive form of me (we). In this construction (meidän täytyy), the genitive marks the “person who has the obligation.”
It looks possessive (and it is genitive), but here it’s not “our” as a possession—it’s more like for us / we have to.

How does täytyy work? Why doesn’t it change for person (like “I must / we must”)?

Täytyy is an impersonal modal verb in Finnish. It stays in the 3rd-person singular form no matter who has to do it.
So you say:

minun täytyy = I have to
meidän täytyy = we have to
heidän täytyy = they have to
The person is shown by the genitive pronoun, not by changing täytyy.

Could I leave out meidän? Would it still be correct?

Yes, you can omit it if it’s clear from context:

Työssä täytyy noudattaa sääntöjä tarkasti. = At work, you have to follow rules strictly. (general statement)
Including meidän makes it explicitly we.

Why is noudattaa in that form? What “tense” is it?

Noudattaa is the first infinitive (dictionary form) of the verb meaning to follow / to comply with.
After täytyy, Finnish uses an infinitive: täytyy + infinitive.
So it’s not a tense like past/present—it’s “must + do” structure.

Why is sääntöjä in the partitive plural, not something like “the rules” in a definite form?

Finnish doesn’t have the/a articles, and many verbs require a specific object case.
Noudattaa typically takes a partitive object, so:

noudattaa sääntöjä = follow rules
Here sääntöjä is partitive plural of sääntö. It’s the normal object form with this verb.

Does sääntöjä mean “some rules” or “rules in general”?

In this sentence, it most naturally means rules in general / the relevant rules.
Partitive plural can sometimes feel like “some,” but with noudattaa, it’s more about the verb’s government (the case it requires) than about “some vs. all.”

What does tarkasti modify, and where can it go in the sentence?

Tarkasti means carefully / strictly / precisely, and it modifies noudattaa (how you follow).
Common placements:

Työssä meidän täytyy noudattaa sääntöjä tarkasti. (neutral)
Työssä meidän täytyy tarkasti noudattaa sääntöjä. (more emphasis on “strictly”)

Is täytyy the only way to say “must/have to”? What alternatives are common?

Common alternatives include:

Meidän pitää noudattaa sääntöjä. (very common, similar to täytyy)
Meidän on pakko noudattaa sääntöjä. (stronger: we are forced to / we have no choice)
Meidän tulee noudattaa sääntöjä. (more formal: we are to / we should)

How would I negate this sentence?

With täytyy, negation is usually done by negating the main action (or using a negative obligation expression). Common options:

Työssä meidän ei pidä noudattaa … is not right if you mean “we don’t have to”; it sounds like “we shouldn’t.” To say we don’t have to follow the rules:
Työssä meidän ei tarvitse noudattaa sääntöjä (tarkasti). = we don’t need to / don’t have to
To say we must not follow the rules (rare/odd meaning here):
Työssä meidän ei saa noudattaa sääntöjä. = we must not / are not allowed to (sounds strange with “rules,” but grammatically works)

Why is the sentence starting with Työssä? Is the word order flexible?

Yes, Finnish word order is fairly flexible, and putting Työssä first sets the context/topic: “As for work / at work…”
A more neutral “subject-first” style is also possible:

Meidän täytyy noudattaa sääntöjä tarkasti työssä.
But sentence-final työssä can sound slightly heavier; starting with it is very natural.

How is this sentence pronounced (especially täytyy and the double letters)?

Key points:

Työssä: the öö is long (työ-ssä), and ss is a long consonant.
täytyy: roughly TAY-tyy, with äy as a diphthong and a long yy sound at the end.
Finnish double letters (like ss in työssä) are held longer, and that length difference can change meaning in Finnish.