Laulva

Laulva is an Estonian term that refers to the present active participle of the verb laulma, which means to sing. As a present participle, laulva conveys ongoing singing action and can function as an attributive adjective or appear in predicative constructions to describe someone or something that is performing the action of singing. The form is derived by adding the suffix -va to the infinitive stem laulma; in use, it agrees with the noun it modifies in case and number, reflecting Estonian’s adjective-like behavior of participles.

In ordinary language, laulva occurs mainly in descriptive or literary contexts, where it might appear before a noun to indicate that the noun is performing singing, for example in phrases translated as “the singing boy” or “a singing chorus.” In everyday speech, speakers may choose other expressions to convey ongoing singing depending on register and context.

The related form laulnud is the past participle, meaning “having sung” or “sung,” and it participates in forming perfect and other compound verb constructions. The root verb laulma is related to other Estonian words such as laul (song) and laulja (singer). Laulva thus functions within a family of forms built from laulma that express different aspects and times of singing.