Põhilaused

Põhilaused on Estonian grammar terms for main clauses, i.e., independent clauses that can form a complete proposition and stand as a sentence on their own. They express the central claim of a clause and are not dependent on another clause for their grammatical structure. Põhilaused differ from alamlaused (subordinate clauses), which function as parts of larger sentences and rely on a main clause to convey a complete idea.

In Estonian, põhilaused can be declarative, interrogative or imperative. They usually contain a finite verb that agrees with the subject in person and number. The language’s case system allows relatively flexible word order, but the finite verb typically occupies the second position in declarative main clauses (the common V2 pattern). The subject may appear before or after the verb depending on focus, given information structure, and discourse context. Objects and other elements follow the verb or appear in various positions due to the freedom provided by case markings.

Examples: Declarative main clause: Ma lähen kooli. (I am going to school.) Interrogative main clause: Kas sa tuled homme? (Are you coming tomorrow?) Imperative main clause: Tule kohe! (Come now!). Põhilaused can also form coordinated structures through conjunctions like ja or või, as in Ta luges raamatut ja märkis märkmeid. In complex sentences, põhilaused can stand together with alamlaused, for example: Ma tean, et sa oled tubli. Here the main clause remains syntactically independent while the subordinate clause depends on it.