Estonian Grammar

Welcome to the 8th lesson about Estonian grammar. We will first learn about prepositions, negation, questions, adverbs, and pronouns including: personal, object and possessive pronouns.

We will start with prepositions. In general, they are used to link words to other words. For example: I speak Estonian and English the preposition is [and] because it connects both words Estonian and English. The following is a list of the most used prepositions in Estonian.

Prepositions - Estonian
and ja
above kohal
under all
before enne
after pärast
in front of ees
behind taga
far from eemal
near lähedal
in sees
inside seespool
outside väljaspool
with koos
without ilma
about umbes
between vahel
but aga
for jaoks
from juurest
to kuni

Preposition Grammar Rules

The following examples use prepositions in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence.

Prepositions + Rules - Estonian
I eat without a knife [preposition + noun] ma söön ilma noata
she lives near the church [verb + preposition] ta elab kiriku lähedal
he is taller than her [adjective + preposition] ta on pikem kui tema
he came with his small dog [preposition + pronoun] ta tuli koos oma väikese koeraga
can you come with me? [preposition + pronoun] kas saate minuga tulla?

Negation in Estonian

Now let's learn how to make a negative sentence (negation). For example: Saying no, I can't, I don't ... The following examples use negation in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence.

Negation + Rules - Estonian
I understand you [affirmative form] ma saan teist aru
I don't understand you [negation + verb] ma ei saa teist aru
this is not the correct word [negation + adjective] see ei ole õige sõna
don't leave me [imperative negation] ärge jätke mind
no problem [negation + noun] pole probleemi

Negative Sentences - Estonian
I don't speak French [negation + present tense] ma ei räägi prantsuse keelt
she didn't visit Germany [negation + past tense] ta ei käinud saksamaal
he cannot see us [negative modal verb] ta ei näe meid
can't she play chess? [interrogative negation] kas ta ei oska malet mängida?
we will not come late [negation + future tense] me ei jää hiljaks

Questions in Estonian

Now let's learn how to ask questions (interrogative). Such as: what, why, can you ...? Here are some common examples:

English - Estonian
how? kuidas?
what? mida?
who? kes?
why? miks?
where? kus?

More of the interrogative form, now in a sentence:

Questions + Rules - Estonian
where do you live? [interrogative + verb] kus te elate?
does she speak Chinese? [interrogative verb] kas ta oskab hiina keelt?
how much is this? [interrogative preposition] kui palju see maksab?
can I help you? [interrogative modal verb] kas ma saan teid aidata?
what is your name? [interrogative preposition] mis su nimi on?

Adverbs in Estonian

It's time to learn the adverbs in Estonian. But what is an adverb? In general, adverbs modify verbs and adjectives. For example: You speak fast. The adverb is [fast] because it describes the verb and answers the question how do you speak?. Here is a list of the most common ones:

Adverbs - Estonian
now nüüd
yesterday eile
today täna
tonight täna õhtul
tomorrow homme
soon varsti
quickly kiiresti
slowly aeglaselt
together koos
very väga
almost peaaegu
always alati
usually tavaliselt
sometimes mõnikord
rarely harva
never mitte kunagi

The following examples use the adverbs in different ways and places to demonstrate how it behaves in a sentence.

Adverbs + Rules - Estonian
do you understand me now? [pronoun + adverb] kas saate minust nüüd aru?
I need help immediately [noun + adverb] vajan kohe abi
she is very intelligent [adverb + adjective] ta on väga intelligentne
I will always love you [verb + adverb] ma jään teid alati armastama
can we learn German together? [adverb in a question] kas me võiksime koos saksa keelt õppida?

Pronouns in Estonian

We're almost done! This time we will learn the pronouns in Estonian. In general, a pronoun can be used instead of a noun. For example instead of saying my teacher speaks 3 languages, you can use the pronoun he, and say he speaks 3 languages. Here is a list of the most common ones:

Personal Pronouns - Estonian
I ma
you sa / teie
he tema
she tema
we meie
they nad

Object Pronouns - Estonian
me mulle
you sulle / teile
him talle
her talle
us meile
them neile

Possessive Pronouns - Estonian
my minu
your sinu, teie
his tema
her tema
our meie
their nende

I think it's better to put the above example in a sentence to better assist you. The following examples use pronouns in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence. We will start with the personal pronouns.

Personal Pronouns - Estonian
I am your friend [1st pronoun + verb] ma olen teie sõber
you speak very fast [2nd pronoun + adverb] te räägite väga kiiresti
he has three dogs [3rd pronoun + verb] tal on kolm koera
she can speak German [3rd pronoun + verb] ta oskab saksa keelt
we will not come late [1st plural pronoun] me ei jää hiljaks
they bought milk and bread [3rd plural pronoun] nad ostsid piima ja leiba

The object pronoun is used as a target by a verb, and usually come after that verb. For example: I gave him my book. The object pronoun here is him. Here are more examples:

Object Pronouns - Estonian
can you tell me your name? [1st object pronoun] palun öelge mulle oma nimi
I will give you money [2nd object pronoun] ma annan teile raha
she wrote him a letter [3rd object pronoun] ta kirjutas talle kirja
they visited her yesterday [3rd object pronoun] nad külastasid teda eile
can she help us? [1st pl. object pronoun] kas ta saab meid aidata?
he gave them food [3rd pl. object pronoun] ta andis neile toitu

Possessive Pronouns - Estonian
my name is Maya [1st possessive pronoun] minu nimi on maya
your brother lives here [2nd possessive pronoun] teie vend elab siin
her mother cooks for us [3rd possessive pronoun] tema ema teeb meile süüa
his hobby is reading books [3rd possessive pronoun] tema hobi on raamatute lugemine
our dream is to visit Paris [1st pl. possessive pronoun] meie unistus on külastada pariisi
their house is not far [3rd pl. possessive pronoun] nende kodu ei ole kaugel

One more thing you need to know is the demonstrative pronouns. They're very easy to learn.

Demonstrative Pronouns - Estonian
this is my house see on minu maja
that restaurant is far see restoran on kaugel
these apples are delicious need õunad on maitsvad
those stars are shiny need tähed on säravad

I hope you learned a lot about the Estonian grammar in this lesson. Please check out our main menu here for more lessons: homepage. The next lesson is below, have fun!