Tõmba

Tõmba is the imperative singular form of the Estonian verb tõmmata, meaning to pull or to draw. The verb describes the action of pulling an object toward the speaker or in a particular direction, often involving physical force. It is used for concrete actions such as pulling a door open, pulling a rope, or drawing something toward oneself, and it can also appear in common phrases where movement is produced by pulling.

Morphology and usage can be illustrated with basic forms. Infinitive: tõmmata. Present tense: ma tõmban (I pull), sa tõmbad (you pull), ta tõmbab (he/she pulls), me tõmbame, te tõmbate, nad tõmbavad. Imperative: tõmba (pull! singular), tõmmake (pull! plural). Past tense forms include tõmbasin, tõmbasid, tõmbas, tõmbasime, tõmbasite, tõmbasid. The past participle is tõmmanud, used in compound tenses (e.g., olen tõmmanud – I have pulled).

Noun-derived forms include tõmme, meaning a pull or a tug, and tõmbamine, meaning pulling as an activity. The root tõm- is shared with related expressions in Estonian that describe pulling actions or momentum generated by pulling.

Etymology and related terms: tõmba originates from the Estonian verb tõmmata, with the noun tõmme forming from the same root. The word is part of a productive class of motion verbs in Estonian that describe directional force applied to an object, and it commonly appears in everyday speech as well as in instructional or descriptive contexts.

See also: tõmmata, tõmbamine, tõmme, tõmmand.