täna / homme / eile

Basic Time Words

Level 1

Words like täna, homme and eile say when, and they never take an ending: Homme on laupäev. (Tomorrow is Saturday.)

How It Works

Common time words

  • täna today · homme tomorrow · eile yesterday
  • ülehomme the day after tomorrow · üleeile the day before yesterday
  • nüüd now · praegu at the moment · kohe right away · varsti soon · hiljem later
  • alati always · tihti often · mõnikord sometimes

No endings. These words answer millal (when) just as they are. Days of the week need -l (esmaspäeval), but täna, homme and eile never do.

With a time of day. Add a part of the day in -l: täna hommikul (this morning), eile õhtul (yesterday evening), homme päeval (tomorrow during the day). See Times of Day with -l.

nüüd or praegu? Both mean now. praegu means at this moment: Ma olen praegu kodus. (I am at home right now.) nüüd often marks a change or the next step: Nüüd on sinu kord. (Now it is your turn.)

Tense. Estonian has no separate future tense, so homme simply goes with the present tense: Homme töötan. (Tomorrow I will work.) With eile, use the past: Eile töötasin. (Yesterday I worked.)

Word order. A time word often starts the sentence. The verb then tends to stay in second place: Homme tuleb Mari. (Mari is coming tomorrow.) See Verb in Second Place.

Examples (6)

  1. Homme on laupäev.

    Tomorrow is Saturday.

  2. Täna on ilus ilm.

    The weather is nice today.

  3. Ma olen praegu kodus.

    I am at home right now.

  4. Eile õhtul olin kinos.

    Yesterday evening I was at the cinema.

    eile with õhtul in -l. With eile, the verb is in the past.

  5. Ta hilineb alati.

    He is always late.

  6. Lähme nüüd!

    Let's go now!

Common Mistakes

  • Adding -l as with days of the week.

    Ma tulen tänal.
    Ma tulen täna.

    Days of the week, parts of the day and seasons (suvel, talvel) take -l, but täna, homme and eile never take an ending.

  • Leaving the part of the day without -l.

    Ma helistan homme õhtu.
    Ma helistan homme õhtul.

    The part of the day needs -l: homme õhtul means tomorrow evening.

Words in This Pattern

eilenüüdpraegualatitihti