Adverbs - Estonian Grammar

In Estonian grammar, adverbs are an essential part of speech that modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. They provide additional information about the manner, time, place, or frequency of an action or a state.

One important aspect of the adverbs theory in Estonian grammar is the distinction between two main types of adverbs: qualitative and adverbial. Qualitative adverbs provide information about the quality or manner of an action, such as “hästi” (well), “kiiresti” (quickly), or “valesti” (wrongly). Adverbial adverbs, on the other hand, indicate the time, place, or frequency of an action, for example, “homme” (tomorrow), “üleval” (upstairs), or “sageli” (often).

Another significant aspect of the adverbs theory is the formation of adverbs by adding the suffix “-sti” to adjectives or nouns. For example, the adjective “suur” (big) becomes the adverb “suuresti” (greatly), and the noun “tähtis” (important) turns into the adverb “tähtsasti” (significantly).

Understanding the proper usage and placement of adverbs is crucial for achieving clarity and precision in Estonian language expression.