Vahetatakse

Vahetatakse is the present passive form of the Estonian verb vahetama, meaning to exchange, swap, or replace. The form indicates that the action is performed on the subject, while the doer is not specified. In Estonian, the passive is formed with the suffix -takse, so vahetatakse can refer to both singular and plural subjects depending on the noun it accompanies.

The construction is common in instructional, maintenance, and news language, where the focus is on the change itself rather than who performs it. It can describe physical substitutions (replacing worn parts) as well as more abstract replacements within processes or systems.

Examples:

- Auto rehvid vahetatakse kevadel. (Car tires are replaced in spring.)

- Vanad osad vahetatakse uute vastu. (The old parts are exchanged for new ones.)

Related forms include the active vahetada (to exchange/replace) and the noun vahetus (exchange, substitution). The word is widely used in everyday Estonian and is a standard element of the vocabulary related to change and replacement.