Ettevalmistust

Ettevalmistust is the partitive singular form of the Estonian noun ettevalmistus, meaning preparation or preparatory work. It is used to refer to an unspecified amount of preparation or to the act of preparing in a general sense. In everyday language, the form often appears in phrases describing planning or preliminary steps before a main activity.

Etymology and morphology: The word ettevalmistus is built from ette- meaning before or pre- and valmistus meaning preparation. The partitive singular form, ettevalmistust, marks an indefinite quantity or scope and is commonly used in contexts where the exact amount of preparation is not specified or when referring to preparation as an ongoing activity.

Usage and contexts: Ettevalmistust occurs across domains such as law, construction, project planning, education, and event organization. It may appear in sentences like Meil on vaja ettevalmistust enne projekti algust (We need some preparation before the start of the project) or in phrases describing preparatory measures and steps that precede a main task.

Nuances: In Estonian, the partitive case often signals indefiniteness or non-completion, so ettevalmistust can denote “some preparation” rather than a fixed, counted portion. It is frequently contrasted with the full form ettevalmistus when referring to preparation in a more general sense or as a bounded unit.

See also: ettevalmistus, ettevalmistustöö. These related terms cover the base concept of preparation and specific preparatory activities, respectively.