täheldasid

Täheldasid is the Estonian past tense form of the verb täheldama, meaning to notice, perceive, or become aware of something. It is used to describe that a group of subjects detected or observed something in the past. As a past tense form, täheldasid corresponds to third-person plural: “they noticed.”

Morphology and usage notes: täheldama belongs to the group of Estonian verbs that form simple past tense with the -sid ending for third-person plural. Other conjugations include täheldasin (I noticed) and ta täheldas (he/she noticed), with related noun forms such as täheldus or phenomenon-like uses in analytic expressions. In everyday language, täheldasid is common in reporting, research, journalism, and literary narration, though it can be somewhat formal or literary compared with more everyday verbs such as märkasid.

Examples:

- Töötajad täheldasid, et toodang tõusis märgatavalt. (The workers noticed that production rose noticeably.)

- Nad täheldasid, et helid olid ebaühtlased. (They noticed that the sounds were uneven.)

Pronunciation and spelling notes: täheldama is written with a front rounded vowel and the dative-like ending -ma for the infinitive. The past tense plural ending -sid marks the subject number and person. As with other Estonian verbs, verb forms agree with the subject in person and number, while word order remains relatively flexible.

See also: tähelepanu, märkamine, tähelepanek. These related terms cover attention, noticing, and observation in Estonian language and usage.