Põhisõnavormi

Põhisõnavormi refers to the base or dictionary form of a word in Estonian linguistics. It is the form that typically appears in dictionaries and is used as the citation form for lexical entries. For nouns, this is usually the nominative singular. For verbs, it is the infinitive form. For adjectives, it is the nominative singular masculine form. This standardized form is crucial for grammatical analysis, comparison, and learning the lexicon of the language.

Understanding the põhisõnavormi is essential for anyone studying Estonian grammar or vocabulary. It serves as a reference point from which other inflected forms are derived through grammatical processes like declension and conjugation. For example, knowing the põhisõnavormi of a noun allows one to construct its genitive, partitive, or illative cases. Similarly, knowing the infinitive of a verb enables the formation of present, past, or future tenses.

The concept of a põhisõnavormi helps to organize and systematize the study of Estonian. It simplifies the process of memorization by providing a single, canonical representation for each word, rather than requiring learners to memorize every possible inflected variation. This principle is common in the study of many languages, where a headword in a dictionary represents the fundamental form of a word.