Negative Perfect

Level 2

To say that something has not happened, use ei ole or the short form pole with the -nud form: Ma ei ole seda filmi näinud. (I haven't seen this film.) Ta pole veel tulnud. (He hasn't come yet.)

How It Works

How to build it

  • person + ei ole or pole + -nud form
  • Ma pole käinud. Sa pole käinud. Ta pole käinud.
  • Me ei ole käinud. Te ei ole käinud. Nad ei ole käinud.

ei ole or pole?
Both are standard Estonian and mean exactly the same. pole is short for ei ole. It is very common in speech and in everyday writing, while ei ole sounds a little more careful. The same short form appears in the present of olema: Ta pole kodus. (She is not at home.)

When to use it

  • Something has not happened up to now: Ma pole teda täna näinud. (I haven't seen him today.)
  • Not yet, with veel: Buss pole veel tulnud. (The bus hasn't come yet.)
  • Never, with kunagi: Ma pole kunagi Pariisis käinud. (I have never been to Paris.)

Negative perfect or negative past?
The negative past uses the same -nud form, but without olema. It talks about a finished time in the past: Ta ei tulnud eile. (He didn't come yesterday.) The negative perfect looks from now back to the past: Ta pole veel tulnud. (He hasn't come yet.)

Objects become partitive
Because the sentence is negative, an object is always in the partitive: Ma olen raamatu läbi lugenud. (I have read the book.) → Ma pole raamatut lugenud. (I haven't read the book.)

Examples (6)

  1. Ma ei ole seda filmi näinud.

    I haven't seen this film.

    Word by Word: I not be this film(PART) seen

    seda filmi is partitive because the sentence is negative.

  2. Ta pole veel tulnud.

    He hasn't come yet.

    Word by Word: he not-is yet come

  3. Ma pole kunagi Pariisis käinud.

    I have never been to Paris.

    Word by Word: I not-is ever Paris-in been

    käima in the perfect means "have been somewhere (and come back)".

  4. Me ei ole veel söönud.

    We haven't eaten yet.

    Word by Word: we not be yet eaten

  5. Kas sa pole seda raamatut lugenud?

    Haven't you read this book?

    Word by Word: Q you not-is this book(PART) read

  6. Nad pole sellest midagi rääkinud.

    They haven't said anything about it.

    Word by Word: they not-is it-from anything spoken

Common Mistakes

  • Adding a personal ending to olema after ei.

    Ma ei olen seda näinud.
    Ma ei ole seda näinud.

    After ei, verbs lose their personal endings. It is always ei ole (or pole), whatever the person.

  • Using a past tense form instead of the -nud form.

    Ma pole nägin seda filmi.
    Ma pole seda filmi näinud.

    The perfect is olema plus the -nud form. nägin is the simple past and cannot follow pole.

  • Keeping the whole-object genitive in a negative sentence.

    Ma pole raamatu lugenud.
    Ma pole raamatut lugenud.

    A negative sentence always takes a partitive object, so raamatu becomes raamatut.

How It Connects

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

Negative PerfectLevel 2

Learn This First

The negative perfect negates the perfect.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

poleolema-nud