-des Form
While Doing (-des)
Ta laulis süüa tehes means she sang while cooking. tehes comes from teha and adds a second action happening at the same time.
How It Works
The des-form is a verb form that never changes for person or tense. It adds a second action to a sentence, much like English "-ing" in "while cooking" or "by reading".
How to build it: take the da-infinitive and replace its last -a with -es.
- lugeda → lugedes, elada → elades
- hüpata → hüpates, joosta → joostes
- teha → tehes, näha → nähes, minna → minnes, olla → olles
- käia → käies, süüa → süües, juua → juues
So an irregular da-infinitive gives an irregular des-form too. Never build it from the ma-infinitive.
What it means.
- At the same time: Ta laulis süüa tehes. (She sang while cooking.)
- How, or by what means: Lugedes õpid palju. (You learn a lot by reading.)
- When: Koju jõudes helistasin emale. (When I got home, I called my mother.)
Who does it. Normally the -des action belongs to the subject of the main sentence: in Koju jõudes helistasin emale, I both arrived and called. The des-form can have its own object and other words, which usually come before it: süüa tehes, raamatut lugedes.
Commas. A des-phrase before the main clause usually has no comma: Hommikul kohvi juues loen uudiseid. A des-phrase after the main clause that begins with the des-form gets a comma: Ta lahkus toast, paugutades ust.
The negative partner of the des-form is the -mata form: Ta lahkus midagi ütlemata. (He left without saying anything.) A few des-forms have become fixed words, such as alates (starting from) and võrreldes (compared with).
Examples (6)
- Ta laulis süüa tehes.
She sang while cooking.
Word by Word: she sang food making
teha becomes tehes. süüa is the object of tehes: süüa tegema means to cook.
- Lugedes õpid palju uusi sõnu.
By reading, you learn a lot of new words.
- Koju jõudes helistasin kohe emale.
When I got home, I called my mother right away.
The same person arrives and calls.
- Poisid jooksid naerdes õue.
The boys ran outside laughing.
naerda becomes naerdes.
- Hommikul kohvi juues loen uudiseid.
In the morning I read the news while drinking coffee.
juua becomes juues. No comma, because the des-phrase comes first.
- Ta lahkus toast, paugutades ust.
She left the room, slamming the door.
A comma, because the des-phrase comes after the main clause and starts with the des-form.
Common Mistakes
Building the des-form from the ma-infinitive.
Raamatut lugemes jäin magama.Raamatut lugedes jäin magama.The des-form comes from the da-infinitive lugeda, not from lugema.
Adding -des to an irregular verb instead of using its da-infinitive.
Ta laulis süüa tegedes.Ta laulis süüa tehes.The da-infinitive of tegema is teha, so the des-form is tehes.
Negating the des-form with ei.
Ta lahkus ei öeldes midagi.Ta lahkus midagi ütlemata.The des-form cannot take ei. For "without doing", use the -mata form.
How It Connects
Learn This First
The des-form is built from the da-infinitive.
Related Patterns
- Irregular da-Infinitives
Irregular da-infinitives give irregular des-forms: süües, tehes, nähes.
Level 2 - -mata FormWithout Doing (-mata)
The negative partner: doing something without doing another thing.
Level 3 - Who Does the -des Action
Explains in more detail who performs the -des action.
Level 5 - Having Done (olles teinud)
olles with a -nud form describes an action completed before the main one.
Level 5 - Commas Before Clauses
When a des-phrase takes a comma depends on where it stands.
Level 3
Practice -des Form in Bubblegum
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