soovisime

Soovisime is a verb form in Estonian, functioning as the past tense first-person plural of the verb soovima, which means to want or to desire. As such, soovisime translates to we wanted or we hoped, depending on the context. It is used to describe a desire or intention held in the past by the speakers.

Morphology and usage notes: The form soovisime is built from the stem soov- (related to desire) with tense and person endings that mark first-person plural in the past. In sentence structure, soovisime typically appears with a direct object or complement that indicates what was desired, such as a future outcome, a state, or an action. It can also occur in subordinate clauses introduced by constructions like et (“that”) to express a past wish or expectation, for example: Me soovisime, et see projekt õnnestuks.

Semantic range: While primarily conveying a past desire, soovisime is commonly used to express hopes or intentions that were not necessarily realized. In literary or formal contexts, it can carry a reflective nuance, referring to collective or shared aspirations at a past time.

Etymology and related forms: Soov- is the root related to desire or wish; soovima is the infinitive meaning to want/desire. Other related forms include soovi (noun: wish, desire) and present-tense forms like soovime (we want) or soovid (you want).

See also: Estonian language; soovi; soovima; conjugation in Estonian verbs.