Estonian equivalents of the Latvian verb prefix aiz-
Estonian equivalents of the Latvian verb prefix aiz-

Summary/Abstract: This article discusses the equivalents of the Latvian verb prefix aiz- in Estonian. The main purpose of verb prefixes in Latvian is to make imperfective verbs into perfective ones, but they also add some additional (i.e. spatial, quantitative, qualitative) meaning to the basic verb. Estonian lacks verb prefixes and perfectivity/imperfectivity is expressed rather differently from Latvian, for example by direct object case and/or verb particles and other means. These differences may be difficult to comprehend for language learners of both Latvian and Estonian, and therefore it is important to identify the means of expressing the Latvian verb prefixes in Estonian. This article focuses on the Latvian prefix aiz- as used with verbs of motion, leaving its other meaning variations (quantitative, qualitative) for further research. The analysis is done using a contrastive method, comparing examples from six Latvian literary works and their translations into Estonian.

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