viitame

Viitame is the first-person plural present tense form of the Estonian verb viitama, which means to indicate, refer to, or cite. In neutral usage, viitame signals that the speakers are guiding the reader to a source, piece of evidence, or part of the text being discussed.

Grammatical details: Viitama belongs to Estonian verbs that conjugate with standard person-number endings in the present tense. The present tense forms include ma viitan, sa viitad, ta viitab, me viitame, te viitate, nad viitavad. The negative form is ma ei viita (and similarly for other persons), and the imperative forms are viita (singular) and viitake (plural). Viitame is used when the subject includes the speaker and others, such as in formal or academic writing.

Usage and style: Viitama is often employed to introduce citations, references, or directions to other parts of a document. Examples: “Viitame järgmisele allikale” (We refer to the following source) or “Viitame varasema uuringu tulemusi” (We cite the results of a previous study). In scholarly or legal texts, the phrase viitame is common when explicitly indicating support or direction to evidence.

Etymology and related terms: The verb is built on the root viit-, connected to concepts of reference and indication. It is related to the noun viide (reference, citation) and the noun viit (footnote or pointer) in Estonian vocabulary.