suundusid

Suundusid is the Estonian past tense form of the verb suunduma, meaning to head toward, to set one’s course for a destination, or to orient oneself toward a direction. This form is used with a plural subject to describe that a group or several agents moved in a specific direction. In narrative and reportage, suundusid helps convey collective movement, such as groups of people, vehicles, ships, or animals choosing a course.

Grammatical notes: Suunduda is an intransitive verb; suundusid is a finite past tense form used with plural subjects. There are corresponding past tense forms for other subjects. The word derives from the noun suund (direction) plus the verb suffix -uda.

Examples: Nad suundusid põhja poole. Lapsed suundusid randa. These sentences illustrate the plural past tense describing movement toward a destination.

Usage and nuance: The form emphasizes the action of starting to move in a direction rather than the destination itself. It is common in descriptive writing, news reports, and everyday speech when telling what a group did.

See also: suunduma, suund, liikumine.