teadnud vs teadsin
Hi all,
Question about usage of past tense in Estonian. I am studying at one online learning app, and came across this phrase:
Ma ei teadnud seda enne

Doesn't this have to be "Ma ei TEADSIN"?

As I understand tenses in Estonian:
1. past tense is "Ma teadsin, ma küsisin" = "I knew, I asked" just stating simple facts about the past
2. Perfect tense is "Ma olen teadnud, ma olen küsinud" = "I have known, I have asked" with the meaning "Yes I have indeed already asked" or other phrases which highlight the fact of me asking.

Can someone clarify this a bit please.

Thanks,
Andrei

Question

teadnud vs teadsin
Hi all,
Question about usage of past tense in Estonian. I am studying at one online learning app, and came across this phrase:
Ma ei teadnud seda enne

Doesn't this have to be "Ma ei TEADSIN"?

As I understand tenses in Estonian: 
1. past tense is "Ma teadsin, ma küsisin" = "I knew, I asked" just stating simple facts about the past
2. Perfect tense is "Ma olen teadnud, ma olen küsinud" = "I have known, I have asked" with the meaning "Yes I have indeed already asked" or other phrases which highlight the fact of me asking.

Can someone clarify this a bit please.

Thanks,
Andrei

Answer

The examples you provided are correct but you seem to be a bit confused about the meanings of the words.

Teadma= to know 
Mina tean= i know
Mina teadsin= i knew
Ma ei teadnud= i didn't know

You can't use "ei" and "teadsin" together, it HAS to be "teadnud"

So.. " mina ei teadnud" would be correct.

If you say " mina ei teadsin" it would translate into English as " i didn't knew"

Answers · 2

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