attribatiivse

Attribiivne is a term used in Estonian linguistics to describe the attributive use of modifiers within a noun phrase. In this sense, a modifier directly qualifies a noun, forming a noun phrase whose head is the noun and whose modifiers convey properties such as color, size, possession, or quantity. The concept helps distinguish how words function when they describe a noun versus when they appear in a predicate.

In Estonian grammar, attributive modifiers include adjectives that precede the noun and agree with it in number and case, as well as other prenominal modifiers that specify possession or relation. A typical attributive construction places the modifier before the noun: punane auto (red car), suur maja (big house). Possessive or genitive pre-nominal forms also function attributively, as in poisi raamat (boy’s book) or ema köök (mother’s kitchen). Since Estonian has no definite or indefinite articles, attributive modifiers play a central role in signaling specificity within noun phrases.

Attribiivne is distinct from predicative usage. In predicative position, the adjective describes the subject after a linking verb, as in Auto on punane (The car is red). Here the adjective is not part of a noun phrase before the noun but serves a different syntactic function as a predicate.

The concept is part of broader discussions of noun phrase structure and agreement in Estonian. Understanding attributive usage clarifies how adjectives and other modifiers contribute to meaning without relying on articles, and how possession and relation are encoded within noun phrases. See also predikatiivne (predicative) and noun phrase syntax.