Learn how to use the verb "to do"
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| Hei, minun nimeni on Paula. Hi everybody! I’m Paula. |
| Welcome to FinnishPod101.com’s “Suomea kolmessa minuutissa”. The fastest, easiest, and most fun way to learn Finnish. |
| In the last lesson, we learned how to use the verb mennä which means "to go" in Finnish. |
| In this lesson, we will continue our lesson series dedicated to common Finnish verbs. |
| The second verb in our series is tehdä, which means "to do." |
| Here’s how the verb conjugates with pronouns. |
| Minä teen, “I do”, sinä teet, “you do”, hän tekee, “he or she does”, me teemme, “we do”, te teette, “you do”, he tekevät, “they do”. |
| So when someone asks you Mitä sinä teet? |
| it means "What are you doing?". |
| If you were just preparing a meal, for example, you will say Minä teen ruokaa. |
| [slowly] Minä teen ruokaa. |
| This would literally mean “I am doing food”. |
| Let’s break down this answer. |
| First we had- |
| Minä teen which is "I am doing." |
| Next was ruokaa. Now the basic form of “food” would be ruoka, but when it becomes the object of the doing, it gets the ending -a. |
| Here’s another example of how to use this grammatical case with the verb tehdä. |
| Let’s say you are doing a crossword puzzle. The Finnish word for that would be sanaristikko. So how would the sentence turn out? |
| Minä teen sanaristikkoa. |
| Here are a few other ways you can use the word tehdä. |
| I brought up the verb aikoa, “going to”, in the last lesson, when we used it in the form “where are you going to go?” |
| It is often also used together with tehdä. |
| Mitä sinä aiot tehdä? |
| [slowly] Mitä sinä aiot tehdä? |
| So as you already learned how to ask your friend where they will be going for the weekend, here’s another way to ask about their plans. |
| Mitä sinä aiot tehdä viikonloppuna? |
| What are you going to do this weekend? |
| [slowly] Mitä sinä aiot tehdä viikonloppuna? |
| Now it’s time for Paula’s Points. |
| Here’s a useful word derived from tehdä: tekeminen. In English it could be translated roughly as “doings”, and in Finnish it’s often used in the form tekemistä. |
| You can use it when you want to know if your friend is doing something, or in other words, if she is busy. |
| Onko sinulla jotain tekemistä? “Are you doing something?” |
| Or if you are bored, you could say |
| Minulla ei ole mitään tekemistä! Which would mean “I have nothing to do!” |
| In this lesson, we learned how to use the verb tehdä in different contexts. |
| Next time we’ll learn another very useful verb, pitää. |
| Can you guess what it means? |
| I’ll be waiting for you in the next Suomea kolmessa minuutissa lesson. |
| Nähdään pian! |
Comments
HideWhat do you like to do in your spare time?
Hienoa! Kiitos kommentistasi, Sveta! ?
Parhain terveisin, Best Wishes,
Päivi
Team FinnishPod101.com
Vapaana aikana minä tavallisesti katson tv-ohjelmia tai pelaan tietokonepeliä.
Hei Elsie!
Well noticed!
In some circumstances, you can indeed use the verb "tehdä", "to do" or "to make", to explain what you do for a living. This requires however, that you clarify the sentence by explaining 'what' you are doing - just like you did in your sample sentences. Usually Finns explain their profession with the verb "olla", "to be". Here are a few comparisons and examples:
Minä olen muusikko. ("I am a musician").
Minä teen musiikkia. ("I make music".)
Minä olen opettaja. ("I am a teacher")
Minä teen töitä opettajana. ("I work as a teacher", but literally "I make work as a teacher.")
Minä olen kokki. ("I am a chef")
Minä teen ruokaa. ("I cook", literally "I make food")
Best Wishes, Parhain terveisin,
Päivi
Team FinnishPod101.com
Moi, Päivi-
Can't you also use "tehdä" to mean "do" as in what you "do for a living", (your occupationa)?
Mitä sinä teet?
Minä teen musiikkia.
Hän teet musiikkia.
Me teemme musiikia.
He tekevät musiikkia.
ELSIE
Päivää, Päivi
Haha, kiitos paljon! :heart: En luule että olen vielä kovin hyvää, mutta tykkään vielä piirtää. :grin:
Okay, I'll remember that. :smile: "Aikoa" it is, then! :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:
Moi Corinna!
Thank you for sharing your DeviantArt profile - you're talented!! :open_mouth: :thumbsup:
Beautiful work.
You can use both 'aikoa' and 'meinata', but 'aikoa' is perhaps more common and more general language. Therefore I'd advice you to use that one. :wink:
Best Wishes,
Päivi
Team FinnishPod101.com
Hei, Päivi!
Haha, joo, piirän vähän, vaikka en luule, että olen kovin hyvää. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye: (If you really want to see them you can look up my DeviantArt profile, northernaurora77. :laughing: I don't have a lot posted, though.)
Ah, haha okay. So it doesn't really matter which one is used most of the time?
Moikka Corinna!
Ai sinä piirrät! Hienoa! Taidettasi olisi hieno nähdä! :smile:
(Oh you draw! Great! It would be great to see your art!)
“Aikoa” and “meinata” both mean 'to aim', 'to intend', 'to going to do something'. "Meinata" is perhaps a bit more "folksy" way of saying it though. :wink:
Päivi
Team FinnishPod101.com
Oh, and what exactly is the difference between "aikoa" and "meinata"?
Minä teen joskus piirustuksia. :grin: Tykkään myos lukeasta ja kirjoittasta (Not sure if that's right) ja kuunnella musiikkista. I'm still not sure which cases use gradation and which ones don't. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:
Hi Jerry,
Thank you for posting!
If you have nothing to do!
How about studying Finnish :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:
Cheers!
Laura
Team FinnishPod101.com
tehdä - to do
minä teen - I do
sinä teet - you do
hän tekee - he or she does
me teemme - we do
te teette - you do
he tekevat - they do
Mitä sinä teet ? ( What are you doing? )
Minä teen ruokaa. ( I am making food. )
Minä teen sanaristikkoa. ( I am doing a crossword puzzle. )
Mitä sinä aiot tehdä viikonloppuna? ( What are you going to do this weekend? )
Onko sinulla jotain tekemistä ? ( Are you doing something? )
Minulla ei ole mitään tekemistä ? ( I have nothing to do. )