Puuduvate

Puuduvate is an Estonian grammatical form that functions as the genitive plural of the adjective puuduv, meaning missing or absent. It is used to describe a group of nouns that are characterized by absence or lack. In standard Estonian, adjectives agree with the nouns they modify, and the genitive plural form of puuduv is puuduvate. For example, Puuduvate inimeste arv kasvab translates to “The number of missing people is increasing,” with puuduvate modifying inimeste in a genitive plural construction.

Etymology and formation: Puuduvate is formed from the root puuduv plus the genitive plural suffix -ate, conforming to the patterns of Estonian adjective inflection. This pattern appears in formal writing, statistics, and news reporting when detailing quantities or characteristics of missing or lacking entities.

Usage considerations: Puuduvate is not a proper noun and is not used as a standalone name. It typically appears in noun phrases where a noun in the genitive case follows the adjective, describing the missing or lacking group. The form is most common in formal or technical contexts, such as official reports, surveys, and media coverage of incidents involving missing persons or unavailability.

Related terms: The form is linguistically related to the base adjective puuduv and to other Estonian inflection patterns for adjectives that modify plural genitive nouns. It illustrates how Estonian marks plurality and possession or description in a compact morphological unit.