Omadussõnalisus

Omadussõnalisus is a grammatical category that describes the form of a word that expresses a quality or state of being. In Estonian, omadussõnalisus is used to modify nouns and pronouns, providing additional information about their attributes. For example, the word "punane" (red) is an omadussõnaline word that describes the color of an object. Omadussõnalised words can be adjectives, which are words that describe qualities or states of being, such as "punane" (red), "suur" (big), or "kiire" (fast). They can also be nouns that function as adjectives, such as "õpilane" (student) in the phrase "õpilaselaps" (student child), where "õpilane" describes the child's status. Omadussõnalised words can be inflected for case, number, and definiteness, similar to nouns. They often agree with the nouns they modify in case and number, a phenomenon known as concord. For instance, in the phrase "punane auto" (red car), the adjective "punane" agrees with the noun "auto" in case (nominative). Omadussõnalisus plays a crucial role in Estonian grammar, contributing to the language's rich and expressive nature.