to be late
Building blocks
hili- - late
-ne- translative (indicates a change of state)
-ma - infinitive ending
The Estonian word "hilinema" (to be late) is derived from the Proto-Finnic word *hilja, which means "silent."
How to use it
Keep in mind when using the word “hilinema”:
Due to what you are late is in the Genitive case (second base form) and the word tõttu (“due to”) is added.
Hilinesin vihma tõttu kooli (I was late to school because of the rain)
You can use the word hilinema:
Literally, when something or someone is late:
"Kas ta hilineb? (Is she going to be late?)
In a more figurative sense to indicate that something is behind schedule or progressing slowly:
"Projekti elluviimine hilineb" (The implementation of the project is delayed)
Examples
Õpilased hilinevad kooli
Literally: “Students are late school-into”
Idiomatically: “The students are late to the school”
Õpilased - Noun - Nom Pl, "Students"
hilinevad - Verb - 3P Present Sg, "are late"
kooli - Noun - Short Illative Sg, "school-into"
Töötaja hilines avarii tõttu
Literally: “Worker was late accident due to”
Idiomatically: “The worker was late due to an accident”
Töötaja - Noun - Nom Sg, "Worker"
hilines - Verb - 3P Past Sg, "was late"
avarii - Noun - Gen Sg, "accident"
tõttu - Postposition - "due to"