õppivate

Õppivate is an Estonian participial form derived from the verb õppima, meaning to learn. The base adjective or participle õppiv describes someone who is learning or who engages in learning, and the form õppivate marks a plural, often genitive or partitive, usage. In practice, õppivate is used to refer to groups of people who are in the process of learning, such as students, learners, or participants in educational activities. The word is commonly found in educational and research texts and can be translated as “learners” or “those who are learning,” depending on the grammatical context.

In Estonian, õppivate functions as a descriptive modifier that can pair with different nouns to specify the group being talked about. Because Estonian uses cases rather than prepositions to indicate relationships, the ending of the phrase changes with the sentence structure. For example, it can appear in phrases like õppivate inimeste arv (the number of learners), õppivate noorte motivatsioon (the motivation of young learners), or õppivate gruppide vajadused (the needs of learning groups). The form is typical in formal writing, academic studies, and policy documents, though it can also appear in journalistic contexts when referring to groups involved in education.

Examples:

- Õppivate inimeste motivatsioon oli uuringu põhiteema. (The motivation of learners was the main focus of the study.)

- Uuring keskendub õppivate gruppide eri vajadustele. (The study focuses on the different needs of learning groups.)

- Selles jaotises käsitletakse õppivate noorte haridusteed. (This section discusses the educational journey of young learners.)