Vocab: kartma - to be afraid
to be afraid (of); to feel fear; not to dare to do something; to assume that something bad or unpleasant may happen; to be sensitive to something; to be unable to tolerate something
Building blocks
kart- → verb stem (core meaning: fear / being afraid)
-ma → infinitive ending
What to note here: in kartma, the “t” in the stem changes to “d” in most forms (kardan, kardab), even though the infinitive keeps the original t.
How to use it
What to remember
What or Whom you are afraid of is in the Partitive case (third base form)
Example
Lapsed kardavad pimedust, eriti öösel üksi olles
Literally: “Children are afraid darkness, especially at-night alone being”
Idiomatically: “Children are afraid of the dark, especially when they are alone at night”
Lapsed - Noun - Nominative Plural: "Children"
kardavad - Verb - 3rd Person Plural, Present Tense: "are afraid"
pimedust - Noun - Partitive Singular: "darkness"
eriti - Adverb - Indeclinable: "especially"
öösel - Adverb - Indeclinable: "at night"
üksi - Adverb - Indeclinable: "alone"
olles - Verb - -des participle: "being"