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Past Tense Verbs

The past tense is formed by introducing the infix -si- between the root of the verb and the regular endings.

If the stem ends in a consonant, -i- must be inserted in the 3rd person. Example: teadma 'to know' - ta teadis (ma teadsin, etc..)

The exception to his rule is envoked when the verb has two syllables, whose root ends in -e, such as olema 'to be' and tulema 'to come'. In such cases the e is changed to i to which you add the regular verb endings, except for the 3rd person singular which is endingless:

The verb minema [to go] is one of those verbs that never seems to follow the rules.

Rääkima - to speak
ma rääkisin I spoke
sa rääkisid you spoke
ta rääkis he/she/it spoke
me rääkisime we spoke
te rääkisite you (all) spoke
nad rääkisid they spoke
Tulema - to come
ma tulin I came
sa tulid you came
ta tuli he/she/it camee
me tulime we came
te tulite you (all) came
nad tulid they came
Minema - to go
ma läksin I went
sa läksid you went
ta läks he/she/it went
me läksime we went
te läksite you (all) went
nad läksid they went