märkad

Märkad is a present-tense, second-person singular form of the Estonian verb märka, meaning to notice or to mark. It is used when addressing someone directly to indicate that they currently notice or observe something.

In Estonian grammar, märka is a regular verb, and its present tense forms follow standard endings. The second-person singular form is märkad, which corresponds to the English “you notice.” The corresponding infinitive is märka, and related forms include märkan (I notice) and märgab or märkab (he/she notices), with te märkate (you notice, plural) as the second-person plural form. The word märkad itself functions as a finite predicate and can appear in clauses such as “Sa märkad, et ta naeratab” (You notice that he is smiling).

Usage notes and nuance: märkad can convey both noticing something perceptible and recognizing or marking something as noteworthy. Context often clarifies whether the sense is perception, attention, or marking for emphasis. The term also appears in everyday phrases and can be part of longer constructions involving subordinate clauses or adverbial phrases.

Etymology and related forms: märka derives from the root märg-, related to marking or signaling. The noun form betyds related is märkimine (noticing or marking). Related verbs include märgata (to notice, to perceive) in other Baltic Finnic languages with cognate meanings.

See also: Estonian grammar, märka, märkimine, noticing in Estonian.