Sõnadevorm

Sõnadevorm refers to the inflected form of a word in the Estonian language. Estonian is an agglutinative language, meaning that grammatical functions are typically expressed by adding suffixes to a word stem. These suffixes modify the word's meaning to indicate grammatical case, number, tense, mood, or other grammatical categories.

For example, the noun "maja" (house) can take various sõnadevormid to express different grammatical roles. "Majas" means "in the house" (inessive case), "majast" means "from the house" (elative case), and "majale" means "to the house" (allative case). Similarly, verbs change their sõnadevorm to indicate person, number, and tense. The verb "lugema" (to read) becomes "loen" (I read), "loeb" (he/she/it reads), and "lugenud" (read, past participle).

Understanding sõnadevorm is crucial for both native speakers and learners of Estonian to correctly construct sentences and comprehend the grammatical relationships between words. The system of suffixes is extensive, covering numerous cases for nouns and a complex system of verb conjugations. Mastering sõnadevorm allows for nuanced expression and precise communication in Estonian.