Võrdlevad

Võrdlevad is the third-person plural present tense form of the Estonian verb võrdlema, which means to compare. In English, võrdlevad translates roughly as they compare or they are comparing. The form is used in ordinary sentences to describe multiple subjects performing a comparison.

The stem of the verb is võrdle-, to which the present-tense plural ending -vad is added. This makes võrdlevad a regular conjugation for verbs of this class in standard Estonian. The subject of the sentence is indicated by the verb form rather than by additional inflection on the noun.

Usage examples:

- Õpilased võrdlevad kahte meetodit. (The students compare two methods.)

- Nad võrdlevad erinevaid valikuid, et teha otsus. (They are comparing different options to make a decision.)

Võrdlevad can also appear in broader discussions of comparison in Estonian grammar, where võrdlev aste (the comparative degree) is described as a separate grammatical category from the verb form. In such contexts, võrdlevad as a verb form is distinguished from võrdlev (as an adjective meaning "comparative") and from other ways of expressing comparison, such as periphrastic constructions with words like rohkem (“more”).