Moving Words for Emphasis

Level 4

Mari kirjutas raamatu tells what Mari wrote. Raamatu kirjutas Mari tells who wrote the book.

How It Works

Compare these answers. The words and endings are the same, but the order changes the message.

  • Mida Mari kirjutas? (What did Mari write?) — Mari kirjutas raamatu.
  • Kes raamatu kirjutas? (Who wrote the book?) — Raamatu kirjutas Mari.

In both sentences raamatu is the object and Mari the subject, because the endings tell you so. English needs a new structure for this, such as It was Mari who wrote the book. Estonian usually just moves the words.

Keep the verb second. Whatever comes first, the verb normally follows it in a positive main clause: Eile käisime kinos. Kinos käisime eile. With a short pronoun as the subject, Eile me käisime kinos is also possible, but keeping the verb second is usually more natural.

Emphasis words go right before the word they stress. Ka, isegi, just and ainult point at the word that follows them: Ka mina tahan tulla. (I want to come too.) The ending -gi or -ki attaches to the stressed word instead.

In speech, you can also stress a word with your voice without moving it. In writing, the order does this job, so put the key information at the end.

Examples (6)

  1. Mari kirjutas raamatu.

    Mari wrote a book.

    The sentence is about Mari; the new part is the book.

  2. Raamatu kirjutas Mari.

    It was Mari who wrote the book.

    Word by Word: book-GEN wrote Mari

    The book is already known; the new part is who wrote it. Raamatu stays genitive.

  3. Eile käisime kinos.

    Yesterday we went to the cinema.

    The time is the starting point; the news is where we went.

  4. Kinos käisime eile.

    We went to the cinema yesterday.

    Now the cinema is known, and the news is when.

  5. Selle maali ostis minu vanaisa.

    This painting was bought by my grandfather.

    The object comes first, so the verb comes second and the subject last.

  6. Ka mina tahan tulla.

    I want to come too.

    Ka stands right before the word it stresses.

Common Mistakes

  • Leaving the new information in the middle of the sentence.

    Žürii eelistas tuntud tegijaid konkursil.
    Žürii eelistas konkursil tuntud tegijaid.

    The news is who the jury preferred, so tuntud tegijaid goes at the end, after konkursil.

  • Putting ka next to the wrong word.

    Leiti, et keelepäevi võiks edaspidi ka korraldada.
    Leiti, et keelepäevi võiks ka edaspidi korraldada.

    The meaning is in the future too, so ka goes right before edaspidi. In the first sentence it stresses the verb instead.

How It Connects

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

Moving Words for EmphasisLevel 4

Learn This First

Emphasis builds on verb-second order.