Language/Standard-estonian/Grammar/Nouns
Hi Standard Estonian learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will cover the basics of Standard Estonian nouns - how they are classified, declined, and used in sentences. Nouns are one of the most important parts of the Estonian language, so it's essential to master their grammar and usage to become fluent in Standard Estonian.
Don't miss the chance to check out these pages as you wrap up this lesson: Standard Estonian Grammar → Introduction to Estonian → Alphabet ..., Introduction to Estonian grammar ..., Question Words and Formation & Gender.
What are Nouns[edit | edit source]
Nouns in Standard Estonian are words that name people, places, things, ideas, and concepts. They can be singular or plural, and they are classified as masculine, feminine, or neutral.
Here are some examples of Standard Estonian nouns:
| Standard Estonian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| koer | /koer/ | dog |
| maja | /ma-ya/ | house |
| laud | /laud/ | table |
| armastus | /ar-mas-tus/ | love |
| naine | /nai-ne/ | woman |
| auto | /au-to/ | car |
| sugulane | /su-gu-la-ne/ | relative |
Classifying Nouns[edit | edit source]
Nouns in Standard Estonian are classified according to their gender and case. There are three genders in Standard Estonian: masculine, feminine, and neutral. The gender of a noun determines the declension of the noun, and the case of a noun determines its function in the sentence.
Here are some examples of masculine, feminine, and neutral nouns:
| Gender | Standard Estonian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine | mees | /mees/ | man |
| Masculine | koer | /koer/ | dog |
| Feminine | ema | /e-ma/ | mother |
| Feminine | naine | /nai-ne/ | woman |
| Neutral | maja | /ma-ya/ | house |
| Neutral | auto | /au-to/ | car |
Declension of Nouns[edit | edit source]
Declension is the process of changing the form of a noun to indicate its grammatical function. In Standard Estonian, nouns are declined according to their gender, case, and number. There are fourteen grammatical cases in Standard Estonian.
Here is a table showing the declension of a masculine noun:
| Case | Standard Estonian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | mees | /mees/ | man |
| Genitive | mehe | /me-he/ | of a man |
| Partitive | meest | /meest/ | man (object of the sentence) |
| Illative | mehesse | /me-hes-se/ | into a man |
| Inessive | mehes | /me-hes/ | in a man |
| Elative | mehest | /me-hest/ | out of a man |
| Allative | mehele | /me-he-le/ | to a man |
| Adessive | mehel | /me-hel/ | on a man |
| Ablative | mehelt | /me-helt/ | from a man |
| Translative | meheks | /me-heks/ | as a man |
| Terminative | meheni | /me-he-ni/ | up to a man |
| Essive | mehena | /me-he-na/ | as a man (essence) |
| Abessive | meheta | /me-he-ta/ | without a man |
| Comitative | mehega | /me-he-ga/ | with a man |
And here is a table showing the declension of a feminine noun:
| Case | Standard Estonian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | naine | /nai-ne/ | woman |
| Genitive | naise | /nai-se/ | of a woman |
| Partitive | naist | /naist/ | woman (object of the sentence) |
| Illative | naisesse | /nai-ses-se/ | into a woman |
| Inessive | naises | /nai-ses/ | in a woman |
| Elative | naisest | /nai-sest/ | out of a woman |
| Allative | naisele | /nai-se-le/ | to a woman |
| Adessive | naisel | /nai-sel/ | on a woman |
| Ablative | naiselt | /nai-selt/ | from a woman |
| Translative | naiseks | /nai-seks/ | as a woman |
| Terminative | naiseni | /nai-se-ni/ | up to a woman |
| Essive | naisena | /nai-se-na/ | as a woman (essence) |
| Abessive | naiseta | /nai-se-ta/ | without a woman |
| Comitative | naisega | /nai-se-ga/ | with a woman |
And finally, here is a table showing the declension of a neutral noun:
| Case | Standard Estonian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | maja | /ma-ya/ | house |
| Genitive | maja | /ma-ya/ | of a house |
| Partitive | maja | /ma-ya/ | house (object of the sentence) |
| Illative | majja | /ma-jja/ | into a house |
| Inessive | majas | /ma-jas/ | in a house |
| Elative | majast | /ma-jast/ | out of a house |
| Allative | majale | /ma-ja-le/ | to a house |
| Adessive | majal | /ma-jal/ | on a house |
| Ablative | majalt | /ma-jalt/ | from a house |
| Translative | majaks | /ma-jaks/ | as a house |
| Terminative | majani | /ma-ja-ni/ | up to a house |
| Essive | majana | /ma-ja-na/ | as a house (essence) |
| Abessive | majata | /ma-ja-ta/ | without a house |
| Comitative | majaga | /ma-ja-ga/ | with a house |
Using Nouns in Sentences[edit | edit source]
Nouns are used in Standard Estonian sentences to name or refer to people, places, things, ideas, and concepts. Here is an example of a sentence using a noun:
- Ma näen koera. (I see a dog.)
In this sentence, "koera" is in the partitive case because it is the object of the sentence. Without the noun, the sentence would not make sense.
Let's look at another example, this time in dialogue format:
- Person 1: Kus on maja? (Where is the house?)
- Person 2: Maja on tänaval. (The house is on the street.)
In this dialogue, "maja" is in the nominative case because it is the subject of the sentence. Person 2 uses the same word ("maja") in the nominative case to refer back to the house in their response.
Cultural Information and Interesting Facts[edit | edit source]
Standard Estonian is spoken by approximately 1.1 million people in Estonia, which is roughly one-third of the country's population. Estonian is also spoken by the Estonian diaspora in other countries, particularly in Finland, where there is a sizable community of Estonian speakers. Estonia is a small country located on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the south and Russia to the east. Estonia has a rich cultural heritage that includes traditional folk music, dance, and handicrafts.
If you want to improve your Standard Estonian Grammar, you can also use the Polyglot Club website. Find native speakers and ask them any questions!
Sources[edit | edit source]
➡ If you have any questions, please ask them in the comments section below.
➡ Feel free to edit this wiki page if you think it can be improved. 😎
Other Lessons[edit | edit source]
- Give your Opinion
- How to Use Have
- Adjectives
- Negation
- Questions
- Adverbs
- Conditional Mood
- Plurals
- Articles
- Pronouns