Part 11 of my Estonian language notes~!
Eesti Notes Part 11
Estonian Textbook Lesson 2
WORD ORDER!
Like in English, the word order is straightforward (subject, verb, object. EXAMPLE: Poiss loeb raamatut (the boy reads a book)
Adjectives precede nouns like in English. EXAMPLE: Noor poiss ‘young boy’, vana mees ‘old man’
Adverbs of time come before adverbs of place in Estonian, unlike in English. Ta tuleb homme siia ‘he will come here tomorrow’ (literally ‘tomorrow here’). Poiss on täna kodus ‘the boy is at home today’
QUESTIONS!
Questions usually begin with a question word in Estonian. After the question word, the sentence is usually an ordinary sentence.
| Kus poiss elab? | “Where does the boy live?” (Where the boy lives? |
| Mis see on? | “What is that?” (What that is?) |
| Millal sa tuled? | “When are you coming?” (When you are coming?) |
Questions such as “Are you reading?” or “Is the boy coming?” whcih can be answered with a simle ‘Jah’ or ‘Ei’ can begin with Kas in Estonian followed by a regular Declarative sentence.
| Poiss loeb. | “The boy is reading. |
| Kas poiss loeb? | “Is the boy reading?” |
| | |
| Sina tuled. | “You are coming.” |
| Kas sina tuled? | “Are you coming?” |
On occasion in both written and spoken language, however, you may come across questions which dont start with a question word, and are in the opposite direction as English.
Tuled sa? – Are you coming?
Oled sa kodus? – Are you at home?
Just like an English, a declarative sentence can become a question with a change in tone or inflection.
Sa tuled ju homme? – You are of course coming tomorrow?
Just like in English, you can do this by raising the tone… but in Estonian the middle is raised and then brought down to a normal narrative level at the end.
ANSWERS!
Occasionally the answer to a question is given by the verb of the sentence agreeing with the implied subject. Emphasis is given on the word küll ‘sure(ly)’.
Kas sa oled kodus? - ‘Are you home?
Olen küll. – ‘(Yes,) I sure am.
Kas te tulete? - ‘Are you (all) coming?’
Tuleme küll. – ‘(Yes,) we sure are.”
LESSON 2 VOCABULARY!
Aga – but, however
Armas – dear
Ema - mother
Hallo - hello
Isa- father
Ise – (-)self (myself, himself, etc.)
Istu/n - (I) sit
Jah - yes
Ju – Of course
Kas – Question (Is it true that…)
Kes – who
Kuid – although, but
Kuidas - how
Kuidas läheb? – How’s it going?
Kus - where
Küll – sure(ly)
Küsi/n - (I) ask
Laud – table/board
Loe/n - (I) read
Mis – what
Näe/n - (I) see
Poeg – son
Poiss - boy
See – this
Seisa/n - (I) stand
Tea/n – (I) know ;D
Tee/n - (I) do, make
Tool – chair
Tore – fine, great, fun
Tüdruk - girl
Tütar – daughter
Vasta/n - (I) swear
Vend – brother
Õ
de – Sister
Raamatut – book
EXERCISES!
1). Translate into English:
Kes see on? See on poiss. Kes seal on? Seal on tüdruk. Mis see on? See on laud. Seal on tool. Kas poiss istub? Poiss seisab, aga tüdruk istub. Mis nad teevad? Nad räägivad. Kas teie ka räägite? Meie õpime. Kus te olete? Me oleme siin. Kus tema on? Ta on seal. Mis ta teeb? ta loeb ja kirjutab. Kas sa tead, mis see on? Tean küll, see on tool. kas te teate, kus ta elab? Teame küll, ta elab siin.
2). Conjugate the following verbs in the present tense in Estonian:
do, know, ask, answer, sit, stand.
3). Translate into Estonian:
Where do you(sing) live? Who is asking? Are you(sing) at home? Where are they? What are you(pl) doing here? We are sitting and talking. Is the boy standing? Yes, he is standing here. What is the girl doing? The girl is sitting and reading. What is this? Do you(pl) know? Do you(sing) know what this is? Brother is here, but sister is there. Where is father? What is mother doing? I will ask, and you will answer. Please (accept this)! Thank you so much!
4). Translate into English:
Kas sa tuled homme? Kes seal on? Kus sa elad? Kuidas läheb? Mis see on?
ANSWERS TO EXERCISES!
1). Who is that? That's the boy. Who is there? There's the girl. What is that? There's the table. There's the chair. Is the boy sitting? The boy is standing, but the girl is sitting. What are they doing? They are talking. Are you also talking? We're studying. Where are you? We are here. Where is he/she? He/she is there. What are they doing? He/she is reading and writing. Do you know what this is? I know, it is a chair. Do you know where he/she is living? Yes we know, he/she lives there.
2). | | Do | Know | Ask | Answer | Sit | Stand |
| Mina | teen | tean | küsin | vastan | istun | seisan |
| Sina | teed | tead | küsid | vastad | istud | seisad |
| Tema | teeb | teab | küsib | vastab | istub | seisab |
| Meie | teeme | teame | küsime | vastame | istume | seisame |
| Teie | teete | teate | küsite | vastate | istute | seisate |
| Nemad | teevad | teavad | küsivad | vastavad | istuvad | seisavad |
3). Kus sa elad? Kes küsib? Kas sa kodus? Kus nad on? Mis te siin teete? Meie istume ja räägime. Kas poiss seisab? Jah, poiss seisab. Kas tüdruk teeb? Tüdruk istub ja loeb. Mis see on? Kas te teavad? Kas sa tead, mis see on? Vend on siin, aga õde on seal. Kus on isa? Mis on ema teeb? Ma küsin, ja sa vastad. Palun! Tänan väga!
4). Are you coming tomorrow? Who is there? Where do you live? How are you? Where is it?
I used a boook called
Estonian Textbook for these notes, and got some help from my good friend Tea!
I continue to learn more :)
My MSN: innermobius@live.com
Contact me if you wish to discuss Estonian with an American English speaker!
