Choosing the Object Case

Level 4

Võtit, võtme or võti? Ask whether the sentence is positive, the verb allows a whole object, the action is finished and the object is a whole. If any answer is no, use the partitive.

How It Works

This entry puts the object rules together into one checklist. Go through the questions in order and stop at the first answer that fits.

  1. Is the sentence negative? Then use the partitive: Ma ei leidnud võtit. (I didn't find the key.) Only in a mitte ... vaid contrast is the whole form also possible: Ta ei leidnud mitte võtit (or võtme), vaid rahakoti. (He found the wallet, not the key.)
  2. Does the verb always take the partitive? Some verbs take only the partitive, including many verbs of feeling, seeing and touching: armastama, nägema, aitama, alustama, puudutama, tahtma. Ma aitan sõpra.
  3. Is the action unfinished, or is the amount open? Then use the partitive: Ma otsisin võtit. (I was looking for the key.) Osta leiba. (Buy some bread.)
  4. If none of these apply, the object is whole. Now choose its form:
    • one thing: genitive, Ma leidsin võtme. (I found the key.)
    • plural, or a number phrase: nominative, Ma leidsin võtmed. Ostsin kaks piletit.
    • one thing after a command, an impersonal form, or tuleb or on vaja with a da-infinitive: nominative, Võta võti kaasa! Võti leiti diivani alt. Sul tuleb võti tagasi tuua.

Pronouns are special. Mina, sina, meie and teie use their partitive forms mind, sind, meid, teid where a noun would be nominative: Mind kutsuti tuppa. (I was invited in.) Where a noun would be genitive, mind is common too, though minu is also possible: Nad jätsid mind maha. Tema is not special: Tema jäeti maha.

In a whole object with a number, the number is nominative and the noun partitive singular: Ma ostsin kolm raamatut. Üks behaves like a singular noun: Ma ostsin ühe raamatu.

Examples (6)

  1. Ma ei leidnud võtit.

    I didn't find the key.

    Negative sentence, so the object is partitive.

  2. Ma otsisin võtit terve hommiku.

    I was looking for the key all morning.

    The search has no result yet, so the object is partitive.

  3. Lõpuks leidsin võtme diivani alt.

    In the end I found the key under the sofa.

    A positive, finished action and one whole key: genitive.

  4. Leidsin kõik võtmed diivani alt.

    I found all the keys under the sofa.

    A whole plural object is nominative.

  5. Võta võti kaasa!

    Take the key with you!

    After a command, a singular whole object is nominative.

  6. Võti leiti diivani alt.

    The key was found under the sofa.

    Leiti is impersonal, so the whole object is nominative.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the genitive in a negative sentence.

    Ma ei leidnud võtme.
    Ma ei leidnud võtit.

    In a negative sentence the object is partitive, even when you mean one whole key.

  • Using the genitive after a command.

    Võta võtme kaasa!
    Võta võti kaasa!

    After a command, a singular whole object is nominative, not genitive.

  • Putting mina or sina in the nominative as an object.

    Nad jätsid mina maha.
    Nad jätsid mind maha.

    A pronoun object is never mina. Use mind (minu is also possible where a noun would be genitive).

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Choosing the Object CaseLevel 4

Learn This First

The summary gathers all the object rules.

Words in This Pattern

tulema