Alistuvate

Alistuvate is a form used in Estonian grammar, representing the plural genitive form of the present active participle alistuv, meaning "submissive" or "pliant." As a participle, alistuv denotes an agent performing the action of the verb alistuma (to submit). When declined in the plural genitive, alistuvate is used to modify nouns in noun phrases or to express possessive or relational meaning related to a group described as submissive.

Etymology and morphology: alistuvate derives from the verb alistuma, with the participle stem alistuv- combined with the genitive plural suffix -ate. This formation is consistent with Estonian adjective/participle declension, where genitive plural forms often end in -ate for feminine and mixed-gender groups and for many common attributive phrases.

Usage and function: In practice, alistuvate is typically employed in descriptive or evaluative phrases to characterize a group or set of entities as submissive. It is not a standalone noun; its primary function is as a modifier within noun phrases (for example, alistuvate inimeste väärtused would refer to the values of submissive people). It can also appear in more complex constructions where a participle acts as a nominalized modifier within a sentence.

See also: alistuma (to submit), alistuv (submissive), alistuvus (submission).

Notes: Alistuvate is specialized and most common in formal, descriptive, or literary contexts rather than everyday language. Its use depends on precise grammatical agreement with the head noun it modifies.