mõistsid

Mõistsid is a finite verb form of the Estonian verb mõistma, meaning "to understand." It expresses past tense and can function as either second person singular past tense or third person plural past tense, depending on the subject. In normal use the subject is often explicit (sa you, nad they), but it may also be omitted when the context makes it clear.

Conjugation in a simplified view: The present tense forms of mõistma are mõistan, mõistad, mõistab, mõistame, mõistate, mõistavad. The past tense forms include mõistsin (I understood), mõistsid (you understood; or they understood), mõistis (he/she understood), mõistsime (we understood), mõistsite (you understood, plural), mõistsid (they understood). The form mõistsid can thus appear with either a second person singular subject or a third person plural subject, with the context clarifying the meaning.

Usage: Mõistsid is used to denote comprehension of information, events, or situations. Examples include: "Sa mõistsid kohe, mida ma mõtlen." ("You understood right away what I mean.") and "Nemad mõistsid, miks see juhtus." ("They understood why this happened.") It is common in both everyday speech and written Estonian and can appear in subordinate clauses as well as main clauses.

Relation to related forms: The infinitive is mõistma, and the noun mõistus means "mind" or "intellect" (unrelated semantically but sharing the same root). Mõistsid is a regular past tense form of a commonly used verb and is a standard element of Estonian verbal conjugation.