Decode Estonian

Decode Estonian

Share this post

Decode Estonian
Decode Estonian
Grammar: verbs of becoming

Grammar: verbs of becoming

Add "-nema" to an adjective to turn it into a verb of becoming the thing expressed by the adjective.

May 17, 2023
∙ Paid

Share this post

Decode Estonian
Decode Estonian
Grammar: verbs of becoming
Share

We’ve covered how to turn a verb into a noun and how to create a noun for the actor of a verb in previous articles.

But what can you do with adjectives, besides turning them into adverbs?

One productive mechanism for creating verbs is to create verbs of “becoming”.

Here “productive” means you can use this mechanism for any adjective and readers/listeners will understand you.

The critical component here is the “-ne-” infix that you can add to the stem of an adjective to derive the “becoming”-verb.

Keep reading with a 7-day free trial

Subscribe to Decode Estonian to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2025 Dario Hamidi
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture

Share