Vocab: väitma
to state, to argue, to claim, to allege
Building blocks
We can break down enamus into two parts:
väit - state, claim, argue
-ma - infinitive ending
The Estonian verb "väitma" is derived from the Proto-Finnic word "väittä," which means "to assert" or "to claim."
How to use it
It’s possible to use the verb "väitma" in different contexts:
To express personal claims:
"Ta väitis, et ta on maailma parim kokk." (He claimed that he is the world's best chef.)
To argue a case (in legal context):
"Kaitseadvokaat väitis, et tema klient on süütu." (The defense attorney asserted that his client is innocent.)
Examples
Kas sa väidad vastupidist?
Literally: “Do you claim contrary”
Idiomatically: “Do you claim the opposite”
Kas - Adverb, "Do"
sa - Pronoun - Nom Sg, "you"
väidad - Verb - 2P Present Sg, "claim"
vastupidist - Adjective - Part Sg, "contrary"Ma ei ole seda väitnud
Literally: “I haven’t that claimed”
Idiomatically: “I haven’t claimed that”
Ma - Pronoun - Nom Sg, "I"
ei ole - Verb - 1P Past Sg Negative, "haven't"
seda - Pronoun - Part Sg, "that"
[ei ole] väitnud - Verb - 1P Past Perfect Sg Negative, "[haven't] claimed"