Language use: grammar and vocabulary
What the language-use section asks
This part tests grammar and vocabulary in context: gaps in sentences or short texts, choosing the correct form, forming questions, matching words to meanings, and correcting or completing phrases. The exam expects control of basic Estonian morphology and syntax at B1, not rare exceptions.
Core rules
- Estonian has 14 cases. Learn them as functions, not lists: nominative (subject), genitive (possessor, total object), partitive (partial object, after numbers), illative/inessive/elative (into/in/from), allative/adessive/ablative (onto/on/from), translative (becoming), terminative (until), essive (as), abessive (without), comitative (with).
- Object case is a major marker. Use the partitive for ongoing or incomplete actions, after negation, and after numbers greater than one: Loen raamatut 'I am reading a book'; Ei loe raamatut 'I am not reading a book'; kaks raamatut 'two books'. Use the total object (genitive or nominative) for a completed result: Loen raamatu läbi 'I'll read the book through'.
- Negation: ei + the stem without a personal ending: ma ei tule, sa ei tule, ta ei tule; past: ei tulnud.
- Verbs have four main moods you need: indicative, imperative (Tule! 'Come!'), conditional (-ks: tuleksin 'I would come'), and quotative (-vat: tulevat 'allegedly comes'). The jussive is rarer.
- Word order is flexible but neutral is subject–verb–object. The object and adverbs move for emphasis; keep the verb second in a main clause where possible.
- Postpositions are common: laua peal 'on the table', maja taga 'behind the house'. They govern the genitive: maja taga, not maja tagas.
Worked example
Gap: Ma loen hommikust õhtuni ____ (raamat). The phrase hommikust õhtuni 'from morning to evening' describes an ongoing activity, so the object is partitive: raamatut. If the sentence were Ma loen selle raamatu läbi, the action is completed and the genitive raamatu is correct. The trap is choosing the nominative raamat because it looks like the dictionary form.
Traps that cost marks
- Using the nominative after numbers: kaks raamatut, not kaks raamat.
- Forgetting that postpositions take the genitive.
- Mixing -ma and -da infinitive forms: õppima 'to study' vs õppida 'to study' after certain verbs.
- Translating 'will' with a future tense; Estonian uses the present plus a time word: Homme lähen kooli.