ise / end

Self (Ise, End)

Level 3

Ma tegin seda ise means I did it myself. Ta pesi end means He washed himself.

How It Works

ise has two jobs.

  • Emphasis: ise next to the doer means myself, yourself and so on: Ma tegin seda ise. Nad ise ei teadnud. It can also mean without help: Laps sööb juba ise. After a word in another case, it takes that case: Pilt meeldis talle endale ka.
  • Reflexive: when the action goes back to the subject, use the other forms of ise: partitive end or ennast, genitive enda or enese, and forms built on enda-, such as endale, endast and endaga. Ta pesi end. Ma tunnen end hästi. Ta rääkis endast.

One form for every person. English changes myself, yourself and himself, but Estonian keeps end: Ma pesen end. Sa pesed end. Nad pesevad end. A personal pronoun points to someone else: Jüri nägi end peeglis (himself), but Jüri nägi teda (another person). This works like oma: Ta ostis endale auto means she bought it for herself, while Ta ostis talle auto means for someone else. enese is more formal than enda.

Examples (6)

  1. Ma tegin seda ise.

    I did it myself.

    Word by Word: I did it self

  2. Ta pesi end külma veega.

    He washed himself with cold water.

  3. Ma tunnen end täna hästi.

    I feel well today.

    The verb tundma uses end for feelings: tunnen end.

  4. Ta ostis endale uue auto.

    She bought herself a new car.

  5. Räägi mulle natuke endast.

    Tell me a little about yourself.

    endast is the elative, because rääkima takes the elative for a topic.

  6. Laps sööb juba ise.

    The child already eats by himself.

Common Mistakes

  • Using a personal pronoun to mean myself.

    Ma tunnen mind hästi.
    Ma tunnen end hästi.

    When the action goes back to the subject, Estonian uses end or ennast for every person.

  • Using talle when you mean for herself.

    Ta ostis talle uue auto.
    Ta ostis endale uue auto.

    talle points to another person. endale refers back to the subject.

  • Using end for emphasis.

    Ma tegin seda end.
    Ma tegin seda ise.

    The emphatic myself is the nominative ise. end is only used as an object.

How It Connects

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

ise / endLevel 3Self (Ise, End)

Learn This First

end is the reflexive object form.

Words in This Pattern

ise