Omastussõna

Omastussõna is the Estonian term for a possessive word used to express ownership or close relation in a noun phrase. In Estonian grammar it covers both the standard possessive pronouns (minu, sinu, tema, meie, teie, nende) and the special reflexive determiner oma, which marks ownership connected to the subject of the clause. The latter is invariable and does not change with person or number, while the possessed noun carries the case endings.

The primary function of omastussõna is to indicate who possesses something or has a particular relation to it. Personal possessives are used when the possessor is outside the subject or when the speaker wants to state ownership without emphasis on the subject’s own relation. For example: minu auto (my car), tema maja (his/her house), meie sülearvuti (our laptop). The word oma, in contrast, signals “one’s own” and is usually tied to the subject of the sentence: ta võttis oma raamatu (they took his/her own book, i.e., the subject’s own book). Oma emphasizes ownership by the subject and is often preferred to avoid ambiguity in sentences involving multiple potential possessors.

Usage notes include the fact that omastussõnad concord with the possessor in the sense of person and number only for the personal forms, while the noun they modify takes the grammatical case. In contexts where possession involves a possessor other than the subject, or where emphasis on ownership by a third party is needed, personal possessives are used instead of oma.

Overall, omastussõna encompasses Estonian possessive expressions, with oma playing a distinctive role as a reflexive, “one’s own” marker.