alamsõned

Alamsõned are subordinate clauses in the Estonian language, forming dependent parts of a sentence that cannot stand alone. They attach to a main clause and provide additional information such as time, place, reason, condition, purpose, or content. Subordination is signaled by conjunctions and by relative pronouns, and in written Estonian they are typically separated from the main clause by a comma.

Common types of alamsõned include adverbial clauses, relative clauses, and noun clauses. Adverbial alamsõned answer questions like when, where, why, or under what condition, and are often introduced by conjunctions such as kui (when/if), kus (where), because of kuna (since) or sest (because). Relative alamsõned modify a noun in the main clause and typically begin with pronouns like kes (who), mis (that/which), or millal (when). Noun clauses function as subjects or objects within the larger sentence and usually express content or belief, as in statements beginning with et (that) or mida (what).

Examples in Estonian illustrate these functions: Ma ütlesin, et ta tuli. (I said that he came.) Kui ta tuleb, helistan. (If he comes, I will call.) Olen huvitatud, sellest mida ta ütles. (I am interested in what he said.)

In practice, alamsõned enrich sentence structure by linking ideas and specifying relationships between events, participants, and propositions. They are a standard and essential part of Estonian syntax, studied in grammar and language teaching as a way to analyze sentence complexity and coherence.