Partitive for Some Amount

Level 1

Ma ostan leiba. (I am buying some bread.) Kas sa tahad vett? (Do you want some water?) Klaasis on mahla. (There is some juice in the glass.)

How It Works

Substances as objects
Food, drinks, materials and abstract things like money and time are usually partitive when you mean an open amount:

  • Ma ostan leiba ja piima. (I am buying bread and milk.)
  • Ta joob hommikul teed. (He drinks tea in the morning.)
  • Mul on vähe raha. (I have little money.)

Substances in there-is sentences
The same partitive appears when you say that some amount is somewhere: Klaasis on vett. (There is water in the glass.) Poes on värsket leiba. (There is fresh bread in the shop.) See partitive subject in existential clauses.

A whole or a measured amount
If you mean one whole item or a measured amount, the object of a finished action is genitive instead:

  • Ma ostsin leiba. (I bought some bread.)
  • Ma ostsin leiva. (I bought a loaf of bread.)
  • Ma ostsin liitri piima. (I bought a litre of milk.) The measure word takes the case and the substance stays partitive.

See total object in the genitive.

Known, specific things stay nominative
When the substance is the topic of the sentence, it is in the nominative: Vesi on külm. (The water is cold.) Piim on külmkapis. (The milk is in the fridge.)

Common partitive forms
vesi → vett, leib → leiba, piim → piima, kohv → kohvi, tee → teed, suhkur → suhkrut, supp → suppi, raha → raha. See partitive singular endings.

For several countable things, use the plural partitive: Ma ostan õunu. (I am buying some apples.) See plural partitive.

Examples (6)

  1. Ma ostan leiba ja piima.

    I'm buying bread and milk.

    Word by Word: I buy bread(PART) and milk(PART)

  2. Kas sa tahad vett?

    Do you want some water?

    Word by Word: Q you want water(PART)

  3. Klaasis on veel mahla.

    There is still some juice in the glass.

    Word by Word: in-glass is still juice(PART)

  4. Ta joob hommikul teed.

    He drinks tea in the morning.

    Word by Word: he drinks in-morning tea(PART)

  5. Mul on vähe raha.

    I have little money.

    Word by Word: to-me is little money(PART)

  6. Piim on külmkapis.

    The milk is in the fridge.

    Word by Word: milk is in-fridge

    Here the milk is a known, specific thing, so it is in the nominative.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the nominative for an open amount.

    Ma ostan leib ja piim.
    Ma ostan leiba ja piima.

    An unmeasured amount of a substance as the object takes the partitive.

  • Adding a regular -t to vesi.

    Kas sa tahad vesit?
    Kas sa tahad vett?

    vesi has a special partitive: vett. Check the partitive of each word in a dictionary.

How It Connects

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

Partitive for Some AmountLevel 1

Learn This First

Some amount of a substance is partitive.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.