tuvastab

Tuvastab is the third-person singular present tense form of the Estonian verb tuvastama, meaning to identify, ascertain, detect, or verify. The verb is transitive and commonly used in formal or technical contexts, such as investigations, quality control, health surveillance, and research. It emphasizes establishing facts or confirming the existence of something rather than merely discovering it.

Etymology and forms. Tuvastama is a deverbal verb derived from the noun tuvastus (identification, verification) and related forms include tuvastamine (the act of verifying) and tuvastaja (an identifier or detector). Besides tuvastab, common finite forms include: past tense tuvastas, tuvastasin, and the present perfect forms like on tuvastanud. The imperative forms are tuusta (singular) and tuvastage (plural). The passive participle is tuvastatud.

Usage notes. Tuvastab is frequently used in official, scientific, and investigative language. It often appears in sentences describing findings, verifications, or detections, for example: Ta tuvastab rikkumisi kontrolli käigus. Uuringud tuvastavad nakkuse varases staadiumis. In contrast to avastama (to discover, to find out), tuvastama stresses verification and identification of specific facts or objects.

Related terms. Tuvastus refers to the act or result of identification or detection; tuvastamine denotes the process of verifying something. Tuvastaja can denote an identifier or detector, a person or device that performs the identifying task.

See also. The word is part of standard Estonian vocabulary used in legal, administrative, scientific, and technical writing, and is often contrasted with synonyms such as avastama and leidma, which carry nuances of discovery rather than formal verification.