Põhisõnavorm

Põhisõnavorm, meaning "basic word form" in Estonian, refers to the canonical or dictionary form of a word. This is the form that is typically listed in dictionaries and used as a base for inflectional processes. For nouns, the põhisõnavorm is usually the nominative singular. For verbs, it is the infinitive. Adjectives and adverbs also have their own characteristic base forms.

The concept of põhisõnavorm is crucial for understanding Estonian grammar, particularly in morphology and lexicography. When a word is inflected, it changes its form to indicate grammatical function such as case, number, tense, or person. However, all these inflected forms are derived from the single, uninflected põhisõnavorm. For example, the noun "maja" (house) has various cases like "maja" (genitive), "maja" (partitive), "majja" (illative), and so on, but its põhisõnavorm remains "maja". Similarly, the verb "lugema" (to read) has forms like "loen" (I read), "luges" (read - past tense), and "loetakse" (is read), all stemming from the infinitive "lugema".

Identifying the correct põhisõnavorm is essential for language learners and for computational linguistic tasks like natural language processing. It allows for consistent data representation and accurate grammatical analysis. Dictionaries organize their entries by the põhisõnavorm, enabling users to look up words efficiently. Understanding this concept simplifies the study of Estonian morphology by providing a stable reference point from which all variations originate.