Vocab: ennetama

to prevent

to prevent something by taking measures in advance, to get ahead of someone or something

Building blocks

• enne- - before

• ta- - factitive (“make something be X”)

• -ma - infinitive ending

"Ennetama" is derived from the word "enne" which translates to "before" or "in front of". Therefore, "ennetama" literally translates to "to do something before" or "to be in front of something."

This derviation aligns with the translation of ennetama:

1. preventing/averting (doing something before)

2. getting ahead of (being in front)

How to use it

To prevent, to avert:

1. In safety:

   • "Tulekahjusid tuleb ennetada" (Fires must be prevented).

2. In healthcare:

   • "Tervislik eluviis aitab haigusi ennetada" (Healthy lifestyle helps prevent diseases).

3. In conflict resolution:

   • "Aus ja avatud suhtlus aitab konflikte ennetada" (Honest and open communication helps to prevent conflicts).

4. In planning:

   • Valitsus ennetas kriisi rakendades vajalikke meetmeid. (The government prevented the crisis by taking the necessary measures)

To anticipate, to get ahead of:

1. In sports:

   • Sportlane ennetas oma konkurenti ja püstitas uue rekordi. (Athlete outran her competitor and set a new record.)

2. Figuratively:

   • Ma ennetan su negatiivset vastust ja lahkun enne selle kuulmist. (I will prevent (anticipate) your negative response and will leave before hearing it.)

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Things to note when using hoiatama:

1. What (or whom) you prevent is in the Partitive case (third base form)

Look at the example below to see this case in use ⬇️

Examples

Vaenukõnega tegelemine ennetab kuritegusid

Literally: “Hate speech-with dealing prevents criminal offences”

Idiomatically: “Dealing with hate speech prevents criminal offences”

Vaenukõnega - Noun - Comitative Sg, "Hate speech-with"
tegelemine - Gerund - "dealing"
ennetab - Verb - 3P Present Sg, "prevents"
kuritegusid - Noun - Partitive Pl, "criminal offences"

NB! A gerund is derived from a verb (in this case it’s derived from tegelema - to attend/to deal) + adding a suffix like "-ing" in English and "-mine" in Estonian ("tegelemine" being an example). Gerunds cannot act as the main verb in a sentence