Arvavad

Arvavad is an Estonian verb form. It is the third-person plural present tense of arvama, meaning to think or to believe. It is used to attribute a belief, opinion, or assumption to a plural subject and often appears in statements or discussions about what others think.

Conjugation and forms: Infinitive arvama; present tense forms include ma arvan, sa arvad, ta arvab, me arvame, te arvate, nad arvavad. In Estonian, this class of -ama verbs is regular in the present tense. The past tenses are formed with separate endings, but the present tense forms are the focus when using arvavad.

Usage: Arvavad expresses a belief or opinion held by they. Examples include Nad arvavad, et see on õige (They think that this is right) and Nad arvavad, et ta tuleb täna (They believe that he will come today). It is common to follow arvavad with a clause introduced by et to report a proposition or claim.

Etymology and related terms: The verb arvama comes from the Estonian root arv-, associated with thought or estimation. Related nouns include arvamus (opinion) and arv (number), reflecting a historical link between counting, reasoning, and belief.

See also: mõtlema, usaldama, arvamus.