olema + Predicate

Saying What Something Is

Level 1

To say who or what something is, use olema and a word in its basic form: Maja on suur. (The house is big.)

How It Works

Noun or adjective after olema

  • A noun says who or what: Ma olen õpetaja. (I am a teacher.) Tallinn on Eesti pealinn. (Tallinn is the capital of Estonia.)
  • An adjective says what kind: Maja on suur. (The house is big.) Ilm on ilus. (The weather is nice.)

Both are in the nominative, and there is no article (see Estonian Has No Articles).

Plural subject, plural describing word

When the subject is plural, the describing word takes the plural -d too:

  • Maja on suur. → Majad on suured.
  • Ma olen õpilane. → Me oleme õpilased. (We are students.)

This is the same agreement you see in Adjectives Agree with the Noun.

Polite teie to one person. When you say teie to one person out of politeness, the verb is plural but the describing word stays singular: Te olete väga lahke. (You are very kind.) Said to a group, it is Te olete väga lahked.

Negative. Use ei ole or pole. The describing word does not change: Maja ei ole suur. Ta pole õpetaja. It is not an object, so the partitive after negation does not apply.

A place is different. When olema says where something is, the place takes a place case, not the nominative: Ma olen kodus. (I am at home.) Raamat on laual. (The book is on the table.)

Later on. A few set phrases use other cases after olema, such as Ta on pikka kasvu. (He is tall.) At this level, use the nominative.

Examples (6)

  1. Ma olen õpetaja.

    I am a teacher.

    No article: õpetaja alone means a teacher.

  2. Maja on suur.

    The house is big.

  3. Majad on suured.

    The houses are big.

    The subject is plural, so suur becomes suured.

  4. Me oleme sõbrad.

    We are friends.

  5. Te olete väga lahke.

    You are very kind.

    Polite teie to one person: the verb is plural, but lahke stays singular.

  6. Ilm on täna ilus.

    The weather is nice today.

Common Mistakes

  • Leaving the adjective singular with a plural subject.

    Majad on suur.
    Majad on suured.

    A plural subject needs a plural describing word: suur becomes suured.

  • Using the partitive after a negative olema.

    Ta ei ole õpetajat.
    Ta ei ole õpetaja.

    The partitive after ei is for objects. The word after olema is not an object, so it stays nominative.

  • Using the basic form to say where someone is.

    Ma olen kodu.
    Ma olen kodus.

    kodu is home as a thing. To say where you are, use a place form: kodus (at home).

How It Connects

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

olema + PredicateLevel 1Saying What Something Is

Learn This First

A predicate after olema agrees in number.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

olema