In this lesson we'll learn about the Indicative mood of verbs and the Accusative (ACC) case.
Accusative case
Without the Accusative case, we can't form transitive verbs that allow nouns to affect other nouns. The Estonian Nominative case marks the subject and the Accusative case marks the direct object. Here are some examples of declension:
| English | Nominative | Genitive | Accusative |
|---|---|---|---|
| this | see | selle | seda |
| home | kodu | kodu | kodu |
| house | maja | maja | maja |
| curtain | kardin | kardina | kardinat |
| machine | masin | masina | masinat |
| book | raamat | raamatu | raamatut |
| dog | koer | koera | .koera |
| cat | kass | kassi | .kassi |
| I/me | mina | minu | .mind |
| you (singular) | sina | sinu | .sind |
| him/her | tema | tema | teda |
The last two provide an example of the Estonian Long and Overlong "quantities" or "stress". The syllables that are Overlong are marked with a dot. In Estonian, the stress in a word is usually on the first syllable. The stress on Overlong words is required (but not always incomprehensible to the listener), and the overlong syllable can be stretched 'forever' while Long syllables cannot.
.kassi can be stretched easily from the ss without becoming incomprehensible. .koera can be stretched from the e, or the oe diphtong, although the latter might be more difficult for the listener (and the speaker). Not all Accusative cases infer the Overlong quantity, and this makes Estonian cases for each word more difficult to remember. The last 3 words in the table are the singular pronouns - two of these are Overlong but have only one syllable.
Morphological types
The Estonian Language Institute publishes with each grammatical dictionary a list of morphological types (muuttüübid) that classify each noun, adjective and verb according to a type number for words that decline or conjugate in a similar way. There are 26 types for words that decline (nouns and adjectives) and 11 types for words that conjugate (verbs).
First Estonian verbs
| English Infinitive |
Estonian Infinitive |
Indicative Present | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I mina | you sina | he/she tema | we meie | you teie | they nemad | ||
| to be | olema | olen | oled | on | oleme | olete | on |
| to know | teadma | tean | tead | teab | teame | teate | teavad |
| to want | tahtma | tahan | tahad | tahab | tahame | tahate | tahavad |
| to see | nägema | näen | näed | näeb | näeme | näete | näevad |
| to hear | kuulma | kuulen | kuuled | kuuleb | kuuleme | kuulete | kuulevad |
| to eat | sööma | söön | sööd | sööb | sööme | sööte | söövad |
| to look for | otsima | otsin | otsid | otsib | otsime | otsite | otsivad |
| to read | lugema | loen | loed | loeb | loeme | loete | loevad |
Example Phrases
Estonian has no definite or indefinite articles, so "a/an" and "the" can be used interchangeably.
Words that might need explanation are in blue and can be hovered over to reveal their meaning and/or case.
- See on tüdruku
- This is a/the girl
- Ta sööb õuna
- He/She eats a/the apple
- See maja on minu kodu
- This house is my home
- Ta tahab õuna
- He/She wants an/the apple
- Sina tead seda
- You know that
- Ma kuulen sind
- I hear you
- Ma loen raamatut
- I read a book
- Poiss otsib tüdruku koera
- The boy is looking for the girl's dog
Adjetives
Omadussõna
The adjetives have a positive, comparative and superlative degree.
Ainsus  |
Singular  |
|---|---|
| Punane auto | Red car |
| Kollane lill | Yellow flower |
| Roheline pall | Green ball |
| Loll laps | Stupid kid |
| Sinine pliiats | Blue pencil |
| Mitmus |
Plural |
|---|---|
| Punased autod | Red cars |
| Kollased lilled | Yellow flowers |
| Rohelised pallid | Green balls |
| Lollid lapsed | Stupid kids |
| Sinised pliiatsid | Blue pencils |
- Ma olen kurb : I am sad
- Ma olen vihane : I am angry
- Ma olen rõõmus : I am happy
- Ma olen sihud : I am tired
Asted
| Degree |
Ainsus |
Singular |
Mitmus |
Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Positive | ilus | beautiful | ilusad | beautiful |
| Comparative | ilusam | more beautiful | ilusamad | more beautiful |
| Superlative | ilusaim | most beautiful | ilusaimad | most beautiful |
In singular
- Kiire : Fast
- Kass on kiire : The cat is fast
- Kiirem : Faster
- Lõvi on kiirem : The lion is faster
- Kiireim : Fastest
- Gepard on kiireim : The cheetah is the fastest
In Plural :
- Nartsissid on ilusad
- The daffodils are beautiful
- Tulbid on ilusamad
- The tulips are more beautiful
- Roosid on ilusaimad
- The roses are most beautiful
Võrdlus
| Võrdlused |
Comparisons |
|---|---|
| Noorem kui | Younger than |
| Sama noor kui | As young as |
| Väga noor | Very young |
| Liiga noor | Too young |
- Ma olen noorem kui mu õre
- I am younger than my sister
- Ta on sama noor kui tema naine
- He is as young as his wife
- Meie uss kolleeg on väga noor
- Our new colleage is very young
- Ta on liiga noor et autot juhtida
- He is too young to drive a car
Comparison in creates adjetives with the suffix -ne
- Poisi pikkune : As tall as the boy
- Lillel õhnaline : Small like the flowers
- Sambla roheline : Green as the moss
Postpositions
Tagasõna
| Tagasõnad |
Postpositions |
|---|---|
| Taga | Behind |
| kõrval | Near |
| Ees | In front of |
| All | Under |
| Sees | Inside |
| Peal | On |
| Vahel | Beetwen |
In phrases
- Laua peal : On the table
- Diivan all : Under the diván
- Karbi sees : Inside the box
- Staadioni kõrval : Next to the stadium
- Kapi taga : Behind the cupboard
- kaks tooli vahel : Beetwen two chair.
In tenses
- Kell on seina peal
- The clock is on the wall
- Jari on ema kõrval
- Jari is next to mother
- Pookal on laua peal
- The cup is on the table
- Siga on akna juures
- The pig is near the window
- Ma panen vihiku laua peale
- I put the notebook onto the table
- Vihik on laua peal
- The notebook is on the table
- Ma võtan vihiku laua pealt
- I take the notebook off the table