passiiviks

Passiiviks is the translative singular form of the Estonian noun passiiv, meaning “into passive” or “to become passive.” In grammar, passiiviks is used to refer to the act or result of transforming a clause or sentence into the passive voice, and it appears in instructional wording such as muuda lause passiiviks (change the sentence into the passive).

In Estonian, the passive voice is formed with verb endings that indicate the action is performed without a stated agent. Common present-passive endings include forms like -etakse, -atakse, -itakse, and -dakse, which attach to the verb stem depending on phonology and conjugation class. The agent of a passive clause is often omitted, but when specified, it is typically expressed with a phrase in the genitive or with a postpositional construction meaning “by.” The term passiiviks is thus used to describe the target state produced by applying these forms.

Usage and function: Passiiviks is primarily a grammatical descriptor used in teaching, grammar descriptions, and linguistic analysis. It helps distinguish between active constructions (where the agent performs the action) and passive constructions (where the focus is on the action or its recipient).

Examples:

- Lause muutub passiiviks. (The sentence becomes passive.)

- Lauset kirjutatakse. (The sentence is being written; a standard passive form.)

See also: Passive voice (grammar), Estonian grammar, sentence transformation.