Compressed News Sentences

Level 5

Eile toimunud kohtumine means the meeting that took place yesterday. Everything before toimunud belongs to it, and the whole phrase describes kohtumine.

How It Works

News writing likes to pack information into one sentence. Instead of a relative clause, it puts a participle phrase before the noun:

  • kohtumine, mis toimus eile Tartus → eile Tartus toimunud kohtumine (the meeting that took place in Tartu yesterday)
  • raport, mis avaldati hommikul → hommikul avaldatud raport (the report published this morning)

Chains. One participle phrase can sit inside another:

Eile Tartus toimunud kohtumisel osalenud ministrid leppisid kokku uues eelarves. (The ministers who took part in the meeting held in Tartu yesterday agreed on a new budget.)

How to read it. Find the main noun first: ministrid. Then go left. Osalenud (who took part) describes ministrid, and everything before it says what they took part in: eile Tartus toimunud kohtumisel. Inside that, toimunud describes kohtumisel.

The four participles:

  • -nud: who or what did something: osalenud (who took part)
  • -tud: what was done: avaldatud (published)
  • -v: who or what is doing something: Tartus elav (living in Tartu)
  • -tav: what is being done or will be done: ehitatav (being built, to be built)

Agreement. Before a noun, -nud and -tud forms never change: toimunud kohtumisel, avaldatud raportist. The -v and -tav forms agree with the noun like adjectives: Tartus elavatele peredele.

Word order. All the words that belong to the participle come before it: eile toimunud, never toimunud eile, in front of the noun.

News often uses -nud where -v would be clearer, for example korjanud inimesi instead of korjavaid inimesi (people who were picking). When something happens at the same time, the -v form is preferred. In speech, people usually use a relative clause instead.

Examples (6)

  1. Eile Tartus toimunud kohtumisel osalenud ministrid leppisid kokku uues eelarves.

    The ministers who took part in the meeting held in Tartu yesterday agreed on a new budget.

    Word by Word: yesterday in-Tartu taken-place at-meeting taken-part ministers agreed together in-new budget

    Two phrases are stacked: eile Tartus toimunud describes kohtumisel, and the whole thing plus osalenud describes ministrid.

  2. Valitsus arutas hommikul avaldatud raportit.

    The government discussed the report published in the morning.

  3. Tallinnas elavatele peredele makstakse toetust.

    Families living in Tallinn are paid an allowance.

    Elavatele agrees with peredele because -v participles act like adjectives.

  4. Politsei pidas kinni poest raha varastanud mehe.

    The police arrested the man who had stolen money from the shop.

  5. Järgmisel aastal ehitatav sild ühendab saart mandriga.

    The bridge to be built next year will connect the island to the mainland.

  6. Tormis kannatada saanud majade omanikud saavad abi.

    The owners of houses damaged in the storm will get help.

Common Mistakes

  • Putting the words that belong to the participle after it.

    Ta rääkis toimunud eile koosolekust.
    Ta rääkis eile toimunud koosolekust.

    Every word that belongs to the participle must come before it. Eile belongs to toimunud, so it goes first.

  • Leaving a -v participle without agreement.

    Tartus elav peredele makstakse toetust.
    Tartus elavatele peredele makstakse toetust.

    A -v participle agrees with its noun like an adjective, so it needs the same plural allative ending as peredele. Only -nud and -tud forms stay the same.

How It Connects

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

Compressed News SentencesLevel 5

Learn This First

News prose chains participle phrases.