Vocab: suvitama

to spend the summer

to spend the summer (e.g. by the sea, at the countryside), to spend the summer vacation

Building blocks

• suvi - summer

• -ta- factitive (“make something be X”) or ("engage in the activity of X")

• -ma - infinitive ending

So "suvitama" literally means "to engage in the activity of summer" or "to spend the summer."

The Estonian word "suvi" (summer) is derived from Proto-Finnic. The Proto-Finnic form is reconstructed as *suvi, which also means "summer."

How to use it

1. Family Vacation:

   • “Meie pere plaanib sel aastal suvitada Pärnus.” (Our family plans to spend the summer in Pärnu this year.)

2. Summer Activities:

   • “Nad lähevad igal aastal maale suvitama.” (They go to the countryside to spend the summer every year.)

3. Holiday Homes:

   • “Meil on suvila, kus me saame suvitada kogu suve.” (We have a summer cottage where we can spend the whole summer.)

4. Visiting Relatives:

   • “Lapsed lähevad vanaema juurde suvitama.” (The children are going to spend the summer at their grandmother's place.)

Examples

Sel suvel suvitame Itaalias

Literally: “This-on summer-on we spend the summer Italy-in”

Idiomatically: “This summer we spend the summer in Italy”

Sel - Pronoun - Adessive Sg, "On this"
suvel - Noun - Adessive Sg, "on summer"
suvitame - Verb - 1P Present Pl, "we spend the summer"
Itaalias - Noun - Inessive Sg, "in Italy"