Vajutaks

Vajutaks is an Estonian verb form that functions as the third-person singular conditional mood of the verb vajutama, meaning to press or push down. It expresses a hypothetical action and is commonly translated into English as would press. In standard Estonian, the conditional mood is used to describe what someone would do under certain circumstances, as well as in polite requests and in some reported-speech contexts.

Formation and usage: The form vajutaks is derived from the verb stem vajuta- plus the conditional ending -ks, agreeing with the subject ta (he/she/it). It is used in clauses that describe a hypothetical action or in subordinate clauses introduced by kui (if). For example, Ta vajutaks nuppu, kui ta näeks, et see töötab. This sentence means “He would press the button if he saw that it works.” Another example is Kui ta vajutaks nuppu, ei peaksime ootama, which translates to “If he pressed the button, we shouldn’t have to wait.”

Notes: Vajutaks is not a standalone lexical item but a grammatical form. Its use is typical in written and spoken Estonian when discussing potential actions or conditions. Like other conditional forms, it can appear in various tenses and with different modal nuances depending on the surrounding context.

See also: vajutada, Estonian grammar, conditional mood.