aastasele

Aastasele is an Estonian grammatical form that occurs when the adjective meaning annual or yearly, aastane, combines with a following noun in a dative/allative-type construction. In this usage, the attributive form aastase acts as the stem that helps indicate a relation to time or recurrence, and it is placed before the noun it modifies.

Usage of aastasele tends to be found in more formal, ceremonial, or legally styled Estonian texts rather than in everyday speech. It appears in phrases where something is directed toward or designated for a yearly instance, event, or period. Examples are typically of the form aastasele [noun], such as aastasele sündmusele or aastasele tähtpäevale, translating roughly to “to the annual event” or “to the yearly anniversary,” though exact translations depend on the governing noun and case endings.

In modern standard Estonian, such forms are relatively rare and often replaced by more straightforward constructions. The form is more commonly encountered in historical documents, fixed expressions, or stylistically marked prose. Learners may encounter aastasele when studying adjective declension and the interaction of attributive adjectives with case endings in Estonian grammar.

See also: Estonian grammar, Adjective declension in Estonian, Allative and dative case in Estonian.