Participles in Estonian

The present (-v) participle

The present participle is used as an adjective, like the English -ing form. E.g kasvav tüdruk 'a growing girl'. It may also be translated as a relative cause. E.g 'a girl who is growing'

It is formed by adding the suffix -v to the stem of the -ma infinitive.

Here are some examples of how the present participle is formed:

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The -nud participle

The -nud participle is used for forming the negative past, present perfect and past perfect tenses. In some instances, it may also be used as an adjective, like in English.

E.g Kulunud riided 'worn-out clothes'

The -nud participle is derived from the stem of the -da inifnitive, by replacing the -da suffix with -nud.

Examples of forming the -nud participle:

The -tud participle

The -tud participle corresponds to the past participle in English, which usually ends in -ed, -en or -t. In both Estonian and English, this form can be used as an adjective that describes what has happened to a noun. E.g haavatud sõdur 'wounded soldier'; keelatud vili 'forbidden fruit'

The -tud participle may end in either -tud or -dud, depending on the sound that precedes the suffix.

1) -tud: when the suffix is preceded by a short vowel or the consonant s or h

2) -dud: when the suffix is preceded by a long vowel, diphthong, or the consonants l, n, r