Language/Standard-estonian/Grammar/Past-Tense

Standard Estonian → Grammar → 0 to A1 Course → Past Tense

Introduction

In this lesson, you will learn how to form and use the past tense in Estonian. You will understand the conjugation of regular and irregular verbs and practice using them in sentences and questions. This lesson is part of the "Complete 0 to A1 Standard Estonian Course", designed for complete beginners who want to learn Standard Estonian from scratch.

Regular Verbs in Past Tense

Regular verbs in Estonian form the past tense with the suffix -sid. The -sid ending is added to the stem of the infinitive form of the verb. The table below shows the conjugation of the verb "sööma" (to eat) in the past tense:

Standard Estonian	Pronunciation	English
ma sõin	ma ˈsɤ.in	I ate
sa sõid	sa ˈsɤi̯d	you ate (singular)
tema sõi	ˈtema ˈsɤi̯	he/she ate
meie sõime	ˈmejej ˈsɤi̯.me	we ate
teie sõite	ˈtejej ˈsɤi̯.te	you ate (plural)
nemad sõid	ˈnemɑd ˈsɤi̯d	they ate

Note that the verb "sööma" has a vowel change from "ö" to "õ" in the first-person singular and plural forms.

Here are some other examples of regular verbs in the past tense:

• sa ootasid (you waited)
• tema käis (he/she went)
• meie rääkisime (we talked)
• teie tegite (you did)
• nemad küsisid (they asked)

Irregular Verbs in Past Tense

There are several important irregular verbs in Estonian that have different forms in the past tense. Here are some of the most common ones:

• tegema (to do):

Standard Estonian	Pronunciation	English
ma tegin	ma ˈte.gin	I did
sa tegid	sa ˈte.kit	you did (singular)
tema tegi	ˈtema ˈte.gi	he/she did
meie tegime	ˈmejej ˈte.gi.me	we did
teie tegite	ˈtejej ˈte.ki.te	you did (plural)
nemad tegid	ˈnemɑd ˈte.kit	they did

• minema (to go):

Standard Estonian	Pronunciation	English
ma läksin	ma ˈlæk.sin	I went
sa läksid	sa ˈlæ.kit	you went (singular)
tema läks	ˈtema ˈlæks	he/she went
meie läksime	ˈmejej ˈlæ.ksi.me	we went
teie läksite	ˈtejej ˈlæ.ksi.te	you went (plural)
nemad läksid	ˈnemɑd ˈlæ.ksit	they went

• saama (to get):

Standard Estonian	Pronunciation	English
ma sain	ma ˈsɑin	I got
sa said	sa ˈsai̯d	you got (singular)
tema sai	ˈtema ˈsɑi̯	he/she got
meie saime	ˈmejej ˈsɑi̯.me	we got
teie saite	ˈtejej ˈsɑi̯.te	you got (plural)
nemad said	ˈnemɑd ˈsai̯d	they got

These verbs have different stem forms and vowel changes in the past tense, so you will need to memorize them separately.

Negative Form of Past Tense

To form the negative of past tense in Estonian, add the particle "ei" before the verb and conjugate the verb in the present tense. Here is an example with the regular verb "sööma" (to eat):

Standard Estonian	Pronunciation	English
ma ei söönud	ma ˈei ˈsɤi̯.nut	I did not eat
sa ei söönud	sa ˈei ˈsɤi̯.nut	you did not eat (singular)
tema ei söönud	ˈtema ˈei ˈsɤi̯.nut	he/she did not eat
meie ei söönud	ˈmejej ˈei ˈsɤi̯.nuð	we did not eat
teie ei söönud	ˈtejej ˈei ˈsɤi̯.nuð	you did not eat (plural)
nemad ei söönud	ˈnemɑd ˈei ˈsɤi̯.nut	they did not eat

Here is an example with the irregular verb "tegema" (to do):

Standard Estonian	Pronunciation	English
ma ei teinud	ma ˈei ˈtei̯.nut	I did not do
sa ei teinud	sa ˈei ˈtei̯.nut	you did not do (singular)
tema ei teinud	ˈtema ˈei ˈtei̯.nuð	he/she did not do
meie ei teinud	ˈmejej ˈei ˈtei̯.nuð	we did not do
teie ei teinud	ˈtejej ˈei ˈtei̯.nuð	you did not do (plural)
nemad ei teinud	ˈnemɑd ˈei ˈtei̯.nut	they did not do

Questions in Past Tense

To form questions in the past tense in Estonian, use the question word "kas" (did) and place it before the subject. Here is an example with the regular verb "sööma" (to eat):

• Kas sa sõid? (Did you eat?)

Here is an example with the irregular verb "tegema" (to do):

• Kas sa tegid? (Did you do?)

Note that you can also use question words like "kes" (who), "mis" (what), and "kui palju" (how much) to ask questions about the past.

Practice Exercises

Now that you have learned how to form and use the past tense in Estonian, it's time to practice! Use the verbs below to create sentences in the past tense:

• sõitma (to drive)
• mängima (to play)
• töötama (to work)
• tulema (to come)

Conclusion

Congratulations! You have learned how to form and use the past tense in Estonian. Keep practicing with different verbs and contexts to improve your skills. In the next lesson, you will learn about adjectives and adverbs in Estonian.

{{#seo: |title=Standard Estonian Grammar → Past Tense |keywords=Standard Estonian,

Table of Contents - Standard Estonian Course - 0 to A1

• Course Presentation

  ---

Introduction to Estonian

• Alphabet and Pronunciation
• Basic Sentence Structure

  ---

Greetings and Introductions

• Common Greetings
• Introducing Yourself

  ---

Nouns and Pronouns

• Noun Cases
• Personal Pronouns

  ---

Numbers and Time

• Numbers 1-100
• Telling Time

  ---

Verbs and Tenses

• Present Tense
• Past Tense

  ---

Daily Activities

• Daily Routine
• Hobbies and Free Time

  ---

Adjectives and Adverbs

• Adjective Declension
• Adverbs

  ---

Food and Dining

• Food and Drinks
• Eating Out

  ---

Estonian Traditions

• Holidays and Celebrations
• Traditional Music and Dance

  ---

Travel and Transportation

• Modes of Transportation
• Travel Phrases

  ---

Prepositions and Conjunctions

• Prepositions
• Conjunctions

  ---

At Home and Work

• Home and Furniture
• Work and Professions

  ---

Estonian History

• Historical Overview
• Estonian Language History

  ---

Negation and Questions

• Negation
• Question Words and Formation

Related Lessons

• Gender
• Verbs and tenses
• Cases and pronouns
• Pronouns
• Adjectives and comparison
• Nouns
• Conditional Mood
• 0 to A1 Course
• Basic Sentence Structure
• Adverbs