Tag Questions (eks, vä)
Sa tuled ka, eks? means You are coming too, right? Päriselt vä? means Really?
How It Works
Besides kas questions, spoken Estonian often uses a normal statement with a tag at the end.
- eks, eks ju and eks ole ask the listener to confirm, like English right? or isn't it?: Sa tuled ka, eks? Me leppisime kokku, eks ju? Ilus ilm, eks ole?
- jah? works the same way: Sa oled eestlane, jah?
- vä is a colloquial form of või (or). At the end of a statement it makes a real question, often with some surprise: Sa tuled vä? Päriselt vä? It is common among friends and in text messages.
In casual speech you will also hear onju (from on ju) as a tag: See on sinu oma, onju? In careful speech and formal writing, ask with kas instead: Kas sa tuled ka?
A tag follows a statement. It does not go after a question that already starts with a question word such as kus or mis. To disagree with a negative statement, answer with küll: Sa ei tule, eks? Tulen küll! At the start of a sentence, eks has a different job: Eks me näe means We will see.
Examples (6)
- Sa tuled ka, eks?
You are coming too, right?
- Sa oled eestlane, jah?
You are Estonian, aren't you?
- Me leppisime kokku, eks ju?
We agreed, didn't we?
- Sa tuled vä?
Are you coming?
Colloquial: vä turns the statement into a question.
- Päriselt vä?
Really?
A very common casual reaction.
- — Sa ei tule homme, eks? — Tulen küll!
— You are not coming tomorrow, right? — Yes, I am!
küll disagrees with the negative statement.
Common Mistakes
Adding a tag to a question-word question.
Kus sa elad, eks?Sa elad Tartus, eks?A tag asks the listener to confirm a statement. Kus sa elad? already asks for information, so it takes no tag.
Answering jah when you disagree with a negative tag question.
— Sa ei tule homme, eks? — Jah, tulen.— Sa ei tule homme, eks? — Tulen küll!After a negative statement, jah agrees with the negative, so Jah, tulen contradicts itself. To say that you are coming after all, use küll.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Tags turn statements into yes-no questions.
Related Patterns
- jah / eiSaying Yes and No
jah can also be used as a tag.
Level 1 - Yes to a Negative (küll)
küll is the way to disagree with a negative tag question.
Level 3 - ju / küll / vist / ometiParticles Ju, Küll, Vist, Ometi
ju appears in the tag eks ju and in onju.
Level 3 - Written vs Spoken Estonian
vä and onju belong to spoken Estonian.
Level 3 - Spoken Fillers (nagu, noh, mingi)Spoken Fillers
Other small words that mark relaxed speech.
Level 3
Words in This Pattern
Practice Tag Questions (eks, vä) in Bubblegum
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