Lihtnimetavas

Lihtnimetavas is a term used in Estonian linguistics to describe a nominal form associated with the nominative case in a simple or base usage. The name combines liitht with nimetav (nominative), and it is used in some grammars to refer to the basic, dictionary-like form of a noun.

In standard Estonian grammar, the nominative singular is the base form of a noun and is typically the form in which a noun appears in dictionaries and in simple declarative phrases. Some descriptive grammars label this basic form as lihtnimetavas to distinguish it from inflected forms that appear in other syntactic contexts or with different endings. The term therefore marks a functional distinction rather than a separate inflectional category.

Usage and scope of the term vary. Lihtnimetavas is not universally standardized and may be found mainly in specific teaching grammars or regional descriptions of Estonian. It serves to discuss the role of the base form in straightforward noun phrases, without delving into the full range of inflected variants that appear in other cases or number forms.

Example: The Estonian noun koer has the nominative singular form koer, which in teaching materials can be treated as the lihtnimetavas form when illustrating the base or dictionary form of a noun.

See also: nimetav kääne (nominative case), osastav (partitive), omastav (genitive).