Tapetakse

Tapetakse is the Estonian present passive form of the verb tappa, meaning to kill. It expresses that someone or something is killed, without specifying the agent. In English, tapetakse is typically translated as “is killed” or “are killed.”

Formation and usage: In Estonian, the present passive is formed by adding the suffix -takse to the verb stem. For tappa, the stem is tapp-, so the form becomes tapetakse. The passive voice is used to emphasize the event or to omit the doer, and it can refer to humans, animals, or other objects being killed. It is common in news reporting, legal or factual descriptions, and encyclopedic writing.

Examples: Tapetakse mitmeid inimesi. (Several people are killed.) Tapetakse loomi metsas. (Animals are killed in the forest.)

Past passive form: The corresponding past passive form is tapeti, meaning “was killed” or “were killed.” Example: Ohver tapeti eile. (The victim was killed yesterday.)

Notes: Tapetakse is part of a larger system of Estonian passive forms, which allow precise expression of voice and focal point without naming the agent. It is a standard grammatical construction in formal Estonian and appears across journalism, documentation, and academic texts.