Vocab: hoiduma - to refrain from
to refrain from; to avoid; to abstain from; to try to avoid an undesirable or dangerous situation; to maintain a certain position or direction;
Building blocks
hoid- → related to hoidma (to keep, to hold)
-u- → reflexive (the action is being done to oneself)
-ma → infinitive ending
So the literal meaning of hoiduma is "to hold oneself back." Used when someone consciously avoids or refrains from doing something.
How to use it
What to remember
What you refrain from is in the Elative case (ending -st). When using hoiduma to indicate refraining from something, the noun or pronoun representing the thing being refrained from is placed in the Elative case, which typically ends with -st.
What you refrain from doing is in the -mast form. When hoiduma is followed by another verb to indicate refraining from an action, the second verb is used in the ma-infinitive elative form, which ends with -mast.
See these in use ⬇️
Examples
Ta hoidus alkoholist
Literally: “He/She refrained alcohol-from”
Idiomatically: “He/She refrained from alcohol”
Ta - Pronoun - Nominative Singular: "He/She"
hoidus - Verb - 3rd Person Singular, Past Tense: "refrained"
alkoholist - Noun - Elative Singular: "from alcohol"Ta hoidus rääkimast
Literally: “He/She refrained speaking-from”
Idiomatically: “He/She refrained from speaking”
Ta - Pronoun - Nominative Singular: "He/She"
hoidus - Verb - 3rd Person Singular, Past Tense: "refrained"
rääkimast - Verb - -ma Infinitive, mast -form: "from speaking"