Little Red Riding Hood part 1 (Estonian)

Little Red Riding Hood in Estonian part 1

Text docs part 1
Audio part 1

Retelling part 1 video


Copy paste this Estonian part of the story from the text doc you'll find at the beginning of this section into an exchange with your AI assistant of choice followed by this prompt:

Give the text in estonian
Then explain each word in english
After each word explanation give the estonian sentence in full again

As you saw in part 2, you will get an explanation of the meaning, grammar and use for each word in the story text, and it will be followed (or should be) by the Estonian text again in full.

Listen, practice, repeat.

Gemini Learning (260202)

The introduction of Gemini Learning as an option added a dimension to self-study of Estonian.
Use the prompt:
Activate Gemini Learning'
Give Gemini your source text - here Little Red Riding Hood in Estonian - and give the same instruction as above but asking for exercises and practice.
'Give the text in estonian
Then explain each word in english
Give analysis and practice'. 
(I didn't ask - After each word explanation give the estonian sentence in full again' - but may try that also.)

My first engagement went like this:

To begin your Estonian learning journey with the opening of Little Red Riding Hood, let's break down this classic introductory sentence.
 
"Elas kord väike tüdruk, keda kõik armastasid."
(Once upon a time there lived a little girl whom everyone loved.)
 
1. Lexical Focus: Vocabulary Breakdown
Here are the building blocks of the sentence:
 * Elas: (He/she/it) lived. From the infinitive elama.
 * Kord: Once / one time. Used in "Once upon a time" (elas kord).
 * Väike: Little / small.
 * Tüdruk: Girl.
 * Keda: Whom. This is the relative pronoun kes (who) in the partitive case.
 * Kõik: Everyone / all.
 * Armastasid: (They) loved. From the infinitive armastama.
 
2. Grammatical Focus: The "Object" and the Past Tense
Estonian grammar often feels like a puzzle. Here are two key pieces from this sentence:
 
A. The Past Tense (Imperfect)
In Estonian, the past tense is often formed by adding -si- or -i- before the person ending.
 * Elama (to live) → Ela + -s (3rd person singular: he/she lived).
 * Armastama (to love) → Armasta + -sid (3rd person plural: they loved).
 
B. The Partitive Case (Keda)
In the source text provided, you saw how spatial relationships work. Here, we see how emotions work. In Estonian, the object of "love" (armastama) must always be in the partitive case.
 * Who: kes
 * Whom (partitive): keda
> Example: If you love the girl, she becomes tüdrukut (partitive). Because everyone loves "her" (the relative pronoun), kes becomes keda.
 
3. Practice Exercises
 
Exercise A: Vocabulary Match
Match the Estonian word to its English counterpart:
 * Väike — A) Everyone
 * Kõik — B) Little
 * Tüdruk — C) Lived
 * Elas — D) Girl
 
Exercise B: Sentence Transformation
How would you change the sentence if there were two little girls?
 * Elasid kord kaks väikest tüdrukut...
(The verb elas becomes plural elasid).
 
Exercise C: Translation
Using the structure from the source text where the house "stands" (seisab), try to translate this:
"The little girl stands under the tree."
(Hint: Use "väike tüdruk," "seisab," and "puu all.")
 
In Estonian, changing a sentence from singular to plural involves more than just the noun; the verb and adjectives must also "agree" with the new number.
 
Here is the breakdown of "Elasid kord kaks väikest tüdrukut":
 
1. The Verb: Elasid (They lived)
 * Singular: Elas (He/She/It lived).
 * Plural: Elasid (They lived).
 * The ending -id is the marker for the third-person plural in the past tense.
 
2. The Number: Kaks (Two)
 * In Estonian, when you use a number (other than one), the words following it must change their case.
 
3. The Noun & Adjective: Väikest tüdrukut
This is where it gets interesting. After any number (except 1), the adjective and noun move into the Partitive Singular case.
 * Nominative (Subject): Väike tüdruk (A little girl).
 * Partitive (After a number): Väikest tüdrukut (Little girls—literally "two of little girl").
 
Comparison table


If you were to look at your source text about the house "under three large oaks", you see a similar rule:
 * "kolme suure tamme all"
 * Here, because of the word "under" (all), the number "three" (kolme) and the "large oaks" (suure tamme) change their endings again.