ammugi
Let Alone (Ammugi)
Ta ei oska veel kõndida, ammugi joosta means he can't walk yet, let alone run. The first part is already a no, and ammugi adds something even further out of reach.
How It Works
Start with a negative sentence. Then add ammugi and something even less likely:
- Ta ei oska veel kõndida, ammugi joosta. (He can't walk yet, let alone run.)
- Ma ei tea isegi tema nime, ammugi tema aadressi. (I don't even know his name, let alone his address.)
The verb is not repeated. The added word takes the same case it would have in the first sentence. After a negative verb, an object is in the partitive, so both nime and aadressi are partitive.
Other ways to say the same thing:
- ammugi mitte, often at the end: Ta pole kunagi Tartus käinud, Pariisis ammugi mitte.
- veel vähem (even less): Ma ei räägi soome keelt, veel vähem ungari keelt.
When the first part is not negative, ammugi (often ammugi siis) means all the more or especially: Oma perele on raske andeks anda, ammugi siis võõrastele. (It's hard to forgive your own family, let alone strangers.)
ammugi comes from ammu (long ago), and it can still mean that: See on ammugi teada. (That has long been known.) The sentence shows which meaning is meant: let alone follows a negative, all the more follows a positive statement, and long ago describes a time.
Examples (6)
- Ta ei oska veel kõndida, ammugi joosta.
He can't walk yet, let alone run.
Word by Word: he not can yet walk, even-less run
- Ma ei tea isegi tema nime, ammugi tema aadressi.
I don't even know his name, let alone his address.
- Ta pole kunagi Tartus käinud, Pariisis ammugi mitte.
She has never been to Tartu, let alone Paris.
- Ma ei räägi soome keelt, veel vähem ungari keelt.
I don't speak Finnish, much less Hungarian.
- Oma perele on raske andeks anda, ammugi siis võõrastele.
It's hard to forgive your own family, let alone strangers.
- See on ammugi teada.
That has long been known.
Here ammugi has its time meaning, long ago, not let alone.
Common Mistakes
Using ammugi to add something harder after a positive statement.
Ta oskab kõndida, ammugi joosta.Ta oskab kõndida ja isegi joosta.Intended meaning: he can walk and can even run. As let alone, ammugi needs a negative first. After a positive statement it means all the more, which would suggest that running is easier than walking. To add something harder, use ja isegi.
Putting the added word in the nominative.
Ma ei tea tema nime, ammugi tema aadress.Ma ei tea tema nime, ammugi tema aadressi.The added word copies the case from the first sentence. After ei tea, the object is in the partitive, so it is aadressi.
How It Connects
Learn This First
ammugi follows a negative.
Related Patterns
- isegi / ainult / justEven, Only, Exactly
isegi (even) often sets up ammugi: Ma ei tea isegi tema nime, ammugi ...
Level 3 - Strong Negation (üldse, sugugi)Strong Negation
Other words that make a negative stronger.
Level 5 - Negation with ei
ammugi follows a sentence negated with ei.
Level 1 - ei ... egaNeither ... nor
Another way to add a second negative item: ei ... ega.
Level 3 - Partitive After Negation
The word after ammugi keeps the partitive that the negative verb requires.
Level 1
Words in This Pattern
Practice ammugi in Bubblegum
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