sõltusid

Sõltusid is a form of the Estonian verb sõltuma, which means to depend or be contingent. It denotes a past state in which something depended on another factor. The form is used with plural subjects and can also appear in other past-tense contexts depending on clause structure.

In use, sõltuma expresses dependence on a condition, cause, or factor in the past. It appears in narrative or factual descriptions of how outcomes were determined by external factors. For example: Need asjad sõltusid ilmast. Those things depended on the weather. Meie tulemused sõltusid mudelist. Our results depended on the model.

Grammatical note: sõltusid marks a finite past-tense form. Estonian verb conjugation distinguishes person and number in past tense, so other past forms exist for different subjects. The infinitive form of the verb is sõltuma, and related nouns include sõltuvus (dependence, addiction) and sõltuv (dependent).

Etymology and related terms: sõltuma is the base verb from which sõltusid derives; related lexical items such as sõltuvus and sõltuv are used to express the broader notions of dependence or being dependent in Estonian. The word appears across formal and informal registers, especially in reports, analyses, and descriptive prose discussing past contingencies.