ANDRA   KALNAČA,   ILZE   LOKMANE

“Latvian Grammar” was written to make information about the

Latvian language and its grammatical system more easily available
not only within Latvia, but also beyond its borders. A modern
grammar of Latvian written in English is as important for native
speakers of Latvian as for those who have learned Latvian as a
second language and is of great value for anyone interested in the
culture and history of Latvia or the Latvian language itself. The need
for a reference grammar of Latvian written in English is especially
important right now due to the existence of a large Latvian diaspora
community abroad, particularly in English-speaking countries where
children and young people are educated in the language of their
home countries rather than in Latvian. A Latvian grammar written
in English will also be useful for those who are learning Latvian as
a foreign language and wish to learn more about its grammatical
system and unique features so that they are able to use Latvian more
effectively and speak it more correctly. Likewise, “Latvian Grammar”
will be a useful reference and source for examples for teachers of
Latvian – both those who teach it to speakers as a school or university
subject and those who teach it as a foreign language. Latvian

LATVIAN GRAMMAR
also is a rather unique combination of ancient as well as relatively
new features, which are of interest to researchers abroad and are
important for the typological, cognitive, pragmatic, functional, and
contrastive analysis of language.

Andra Kalnača is Professor of Latvian Linguistics at the University

of Latvia, Rīga, Latvia. Her research interests relate to morphology,
morphosyntax and morphophonology, functional and cognitive
grammar, modality and evidentiality, her core work is focused on
Latvian grammar and the theory of grammar.

Ilze Lokmane is Associate Professor of General Linguistics at the

University of Latvia, Rīga, Latvia. Her research interests relate to
syntax, morphosyntax, pragmatics, functional and cognitive grammar,
modality and evidentiality, her core work is focused on Latvian
grammar and the theory of pragmatics.

ANDRA   KALNAČA
ILZE   LOKMANE
ISBN 978-9934-18-635-6

LATVIAN GRAMMAR
ANDRA KALNAČA, ILZE LOKMANE

LATVIAN GRAMMAR
ANDRA KALNAČA, ILZE LOKMANE

LATVIAN GRAMMAR

University of Latvia Press

Rīga
2021
UDK 811.174`3
Ka270

Andra Kalnača, Ilze Lokmane. Latvian Grammar. Rīga: University of Latvia Press, 2021,
560 pages.

This monograph was published in accordance with the  University of Latvia Council of
the Faculty of Humanities Decision No. 26-3/93 of 17.06.2020 and the University of Latvia
Council of Humanities Decision No. 10 of 06.07.2020.

This monograph was planned and written as part of the  University of Latvia research
project “Modern Latvian Grammar (in English)” and the State research program “Letonika –
the history, languages, culture, values of Latvia” project No. 3 “Latvian language studies in
the context of 21st century science” sub-project “Latvian Grammar”.

Reviewers
Helle Metslang, University of Tartu
Bonifacas Stundžia, Vilnius University
Daiki Horiguchi, Kyoto University

Editor – Uldis Balodis, University of Latvia Livonian Institute

Map of Latvian dialects – Edmundas Trumpa, University of Latvia
Letter-sound correspondence in Standard Latvian – Ilze Auziņa, University of Latvia Institute
of Mathematics and Computer Science
Layout – Andra Liepiņa
Cover design – Baiba Lazdiņa

© Andra Kalnača, Ilze Lokmane, 2021

© University of Latvia, 2021

https://doi.org/10.22364/latgram.2021
ISBN 978-9934-18-635-6 (hardback)
ISBN 978-9934-18-646-2 (PDF)
Contents

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Abbreviations and symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Map of Latvian dialects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Letter-sound correspondence in Standard Latvian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

1. MORPHOPHONOLOGY (Andra Kalnača) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

1.0 Introductory remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
1.0.1 Allomorphs, their structure, and functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
1.0.2 Units of morphophonology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
1.1 Adaptation of morphemes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
1.1.1 Phoneme alternation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
1.1.2 Interference of morphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
1.1.3 Reduction of the word formation/inflectional stem . . . . . . . 44
1.1.4 Interfixation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
1.2 The morphophonological functions of vowel alternations . . . . . . . . 50
1.2.1 Apophony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
1.2.2 Metaphony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

2. MORPHOLOGY (Andra Kalnača) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

2.0 Introductory remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
2.0.1 Morphemics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
2.0.2 Word formation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
2.0.3 Inflection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
2.0.4 Word classes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
2.1 Nouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
2.1.0 Introductory remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
2.1.1 Declension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
2.1.2 Gender . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
2.1.3 Number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
2.1.4 Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
2.1.5 Word formation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
2.2 Adjectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
2.2.0 Introductory remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
2.2.1 Declension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
2.2.2 Comparison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
2.2.3 Definiteness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
2.2.4 Word formation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
2.3 Numerals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
 2.4 Pronouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
2.4.0 Introductory remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
2.4.1 Personal pronouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
2.4.2 The reflexive pronoun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
2.4.3 Possessive pronouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
2.4.4 Demonstrative pronouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
2.4.5 Interrogative pronouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
2.4.6 Relative pronouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
2.4.7 Indefinite pronouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
2.4.8 Definite pronouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
2.4.9 Negative pronouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
2.5 Verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
2.5.0 Introductory remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
2.5.1 Conjugation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
2.5.2 Person . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
2.5.3 Tense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
2.5.4 Mood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
2.5.5 Voice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
2.5.6 Transitivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
2.5.7 Reflexive verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
2.5.8 Aspect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
2.5.9 Participles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
2.5.10 Word formation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
2.6 Adverbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
2.6.0 Introductory remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
2.6.1 Semantic groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
2.6.2 Comparison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
2.6.3 Word formation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324
2.7 Prepositions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
2.8 Particles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355
2.9 Conjunctions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 366
2.10 Interjections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377

3. SYNTAX (Ilze Lokmane) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385

3.0 Introductory remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385
3.0.1 Syntactic subsystems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385
3.0.2 Syntactic relations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 386
3.1 The simple sentence as a mono-predicative syntactic unit . . . . . . . . 391
3.1.1 The main features of the simple sentence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391
3.1.2 Predicativity as the main grammatical feature of
the simple sentence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391
3.2 Formal structure of the simple sentence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 394
3.2.0 Introductory remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 394
3.2.1 Simple sentence patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 394
3.2.2 Basic sentence types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 402
3.2.3 Verbal sentences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 406
3.2.4 Nominal sentences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 413
3.2.5 Adverbial sentences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 418
 3.2.6 Simple sentence subjects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 420
3.2.7 A list of basic simple sentence patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 423
3.2.8 Paradigm of the simple sentence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429
3.2.9 The secondary predicate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 432
3.2.10 Adjuncts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 448
3.2.11 Subordination in the simple sentence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 454
3.3 The communicative structure of a simple sentence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463
3.3.0 Introductory remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463
3.3.1 Declarative sentences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 464
3.3.2 Exhortative sentences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 465
3.3.3 Interrogative sentences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 470
3.3.4 Exclamative sentences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 474
3.3.5 Optative sentences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 476
3.4 Word order in simple sentences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 478
3.4.0 Introductory remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 478
3.4.1 The grammatical function of word order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 485
3.4.2 The communicative function of word order . . . . . . . . . . . . . 488
3.4.3 The stylistic function of word order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 499
3.5 Composite sentences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500
3.5.0 Introductory remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500
3.5.1 Compound sentences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 502
3.5.2 Complex sentences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 510

Final thoughts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534

Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 535
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 539
Subject index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 546
Latviešu valodas gramatika. Kopsavilkums . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 553
Pateicība . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 558
Introduction

“Latvian Grammar” was written to make information about the  Latvian language
and its grammatical system more easily available not only within Latvia, but also
beyond its borders. Language is one of the most important parts of culture, history,
and everyday life. Language is used by everyone and as a result many people across
all walks of life are deeply interested in it. A modern grammar of Latvian written in
English is as important for native speakers of Latvian as for those who have learned
Latvian as a  second language and also is of great value for anyone interested in
the culture and history of Latvia or the Latvian language itself.
The need for a reference grammar of Latvian written in English is especially
important right now due to the  existence of a  large Latvian diaspora community
abroad, particularly in English-speaking countries where children and young people
are educated in the language of their home countries rather than in Latvian. For that
reason, information about Latvia as well as Latvian language, literature, and culture
is most often sought out in English or in some other language besides Latvian.
A  Latvian grammar written in English will also be useful for those who are
learning Latvian as a foreign language and wish to learn more about its grammatical
system and unique features so that they are able to use Latvian more effectively and
speak it more correctly. Likewise, “Latvian grammar” will be a  useful reference
and source for examples for teachers of Latvian – both those who teach it to speakers
as a school or university subject and those who teach it as a foreign language.
There is also considerable demand among linguists abroad for a systematic and
dependable description of Latvian written by native speakers of Latvian. Latvian is
a rather unique combination of ancient as well as relatively new features, which are
of interest to researchers abroad and are important for the  typological, cognitive,
pragmatic, functional, and contrastive analysis of language. Examples we can
mention here include the  debitive mood and verb conjugation system in general;
how various aspectual meanings are expressed; constructions involving the dative,
genitive, and nominative cases; sound changes in word formation and inflection.
Latvian belongs to the  Baltic group of the  Indo-European language family.
This group also contains Lithuanian and the  extinct Old Prussian language.
Rudzīte (1993: 4) observes: “Modern-day Latvian…formed as a result of the merger
of several languages spoken by Baltic tribes known to us from historical records:

8
the  Latgalians or Latvians, Selonians, Semigallians as well as the  Curonians who
had their own language until the 16th century.” Much as in Lithuanian, Latvian also
preserves various archaic lexical, phonetic, and grammatical features, which can
be traced back to Proto-Indo-European and Proto-Baltic. From a language typology
perspective, Latvian has a  classic Indo-European (Baltic) system with diverse
grammatical inflection and extensive word formation. However, due to areal and
historical reasons, Latvian grammar also displays some features more like those
found in the Finno-Ugric languages.
Latvian is the official language of the Republic of Latvia. When Latvia joined
the European Union in 2004, Latvian also became an official language of the European
Union. There are approximately 1.5 million native speakers of Latvian. Of these,
1.38  million live in Latvia, the  rest live in the  United States, Australia, Canada,
the  United Kingdom, Germany, Lithuania, Estonia, Sweden, Russia, and other
countries. Latvian is spoken as a second language by approximately 500,000 people
of other ethnicities. (Latvian population statistics are available from the  Latvian
Language Agency at: https://valoda.lv/valsts-valoda/).
Latvian is divided into three dialects: The Central dialect (also Middle dialect),
Livonic dialect (also Livonian dialect, Livonian influenced dialect, Livonianized
dialect), and High Latvian dialect (Vanags 2018: 27, see also “Map of Latvian
dialects”). The  Central dialect is spoken in central Vidzeme (the  Vidzeme Central
subdialects), Zemgale (the Semigallic subdialects), and in southern Courland or
Kurzeme (the Curonic subdialects). The Standard Latvian developed primarily based
on the Vidzeme Central and Semigallic subdialects. The Livonic dialect is spoken in
northwestern Vidzeme (the Vidzeme Livonic subdialects) and in northern Courland
(the Kurzeme Livonic subdialects or the Tamian subdialects). A part of the Latvians
living in these regions are descendants of the  Finnic-speaking Livonians who
preserved features of the Livonian language as they transitioned to speaking Latvian;
as a result, a unique variety of Latvian developed over time – the Livonic dialect.
The High Latvian dialect is spoken in eastern Vidzeme, Sēlija (also called Augšzeme
in Latvian), and Latgale. It is divided into the Selonic subdialects (spoken in Sēlija
and Vidzeme near Ērgļi, Koknese, Pļaviņas, and Madona) and Latgalic subdialects
(spoken in Latgale and eastern Vidzeme) (Vanags op. cit.). Standard Latgalian  –
a historical variety of Latvian – has existed since the 18th century and is based on
the subdialects spoken in southern Latgale (Leikuma, Andronovs 2018: 28–30).
The  first written texts (primarily of a  Christian religious nature  – both
Lutheran and Catholic) date to the 16th century. The language in these is based on
the Latvian spoken in Rīga and their spelling is based on the Middle Low German
written tradition. The  authors of these texts were ethnic German clergymen
(Vanags 2018: 27). In subsequent centuries, the orthography used in Latvian texts
continued to be improved and was based on the language varieties of the Central
Dialect. Over time, the content of Latvian texts expanded from being exclusively
religious and began to include material from other secular genres: dictionaries,
grammars, literary and popular scientific works, practical texts, and so on

9
(Vanags op. cit.). The translation of the Bible into Latvian by Johann Ernst Glück
(first published 1685–1694, published again in 1739) had a  significant role in
the development and standardization of the Latvian written language. Beginning
in the  mid-19 th  century, the  number of texts written by ethnic Latvian authors
on a wide variety of topics rapidly increased and this was especially evident in
the writing of new works of fiction in Latvian. It should be noted that independent
of the subjects they wrote about, all ethnic Latvian authors from this period paid
special attention to the cultivation and standardization of written Latvian as well
as the orthography they used for writing it. This tradition survives in a majority
of genres up to the present day.
The  orthography currently used to write Latvian (Latin script supplemented
with diacritical marks indicating vowel length, palatalized consonants, and certain
sibilants, see also “Letter-sound correspondence in Standard Latvian”) is based on
the principles adopted in 1908 by the Orthography Commission of the Rīga Latvian
Society’s Knowledge Commission.
The history of Latvian grammars begins in the 17th century. The first Latvian
grammar is “Manuductio ad linguam Lettonicam facilis & certa... Riga 1644” by
Johann Georg Rehehusen. This grammar is followed by a string of others at the end
of the  17th  century and throughout the  18th  century. The  most significant and
extensive of these is “Lettische Grammatik” (1783) by Gothard Friedrich Stender.
The period defined by grammars written by German authors ends in the 1860s with
the publication of “Die Lettische Sprache nach ihren Lauten und Formen erklärend
und vergleichend dargestellt” (in two volumes; 1863–1864) by August Bielenstein.
This grammar was the first scientific grammar of Latvian and utilized the linguistic
analysis of that time. It is still considered one of the most important grammatical
descriptions of Latvian ever published (for more on this see Kļaviņa 2008). Beginning
in the  second half of the  19th  century and the  early 20th  century, a  number of
grammars and other grammatical descriptions of Latvian written by Latvian authors
appeared in print. The most important of these include “Latviešu valodas mācība”
by Andrejs Stērste (this was the first scientific grammar written in Latvian and was
published as 3 volumes in 1879–1880), “Teikums” (1898) by Kārlis Mühlenbachs, and
“Latviešu gramatika” and “Latviešu valodas mācība” (both published in 1907) by
Jānis Endzelīns and Kārlis Mühlenbachs.
Grammatical descriptions written in other languages during the  20th and
21   centuries are either quite old (e.g., “Lettische Grammatik” (1922) by Jānis
st

Endzelīns) or the authors of these materials are not native Latvian speakers and for
a variety of reasons they only include a selection of topics in their descriptions of
Latvian. (e.g., “A Short Grammar of Latvian” by Terje Mathiassen (1997), “Latvian”
by Nicole Nau (1998), “Lettische Grammatik” by Jan Henrik Holst (2001)). A number
of Latvian grammars are intended to be used as learning materials for non-Latvians
who do not have much existing knowledge of Latvian language or culture (e.g.,
“A Grammar of Modern Latvian” by Trevor Fennell, Henry Gelsen (1980), “Complete
Latvian” by Terēze Svilane Bartholomew (2011), “Latvian. An Essential Grammar”

10
by Dace Prauliņš (2012)). Several studies on various aspects of Latvian grammar are
written from the perspective of Baltic, theoretical, typological, or areal linguistics
(e.g., Holvoet 2001, 2007 as well as the the article collections Nau, Ostrowski 2010;
Holvoet, Nau 2014b, 2015, 2016; Arkadiev, Holvoet, Wiemer 2015).
The  most recent reference grammar of Latvian to be written in Latvian,
“Latviešu valodas gramatika” (Rīga: LU Akadēmiskais apgāds), was published in
2013 (republished in 2015) and edited by Daina Nītiņa and Juris Grigorjevs. It is
a  collection of studies whose authors represent various theoretical perspectives
(the  authors of the  grammar include: Ilze Auziņa, Dace Markus, Juris Grigorjevs,
Inese Indričāne, Anna Vulāne, Daina Nītiņa, Gunta Smiltniece, Ieva Breņķe, Baiba
Saulīte, Linda Lauze, Andra Kalnača, and Ilze Lokmane). This grammar brings
together the research experience of the late 20th and early 21st centuries and serves
as a good foundation for further studies focusing on Latvian grammar and phonetics.
The  morphophonology and verb sections (except for the  description of participles)
in this grammar were written by Andra Kalnača, the  section on simple sentence
syntax – by Ilze Lokmane.
The next task was writing a reference grammar of Latvian in English. “Latvian
Grammar”, written by Andra Kalnača and Ilze Lokmane, is a  scientific study by
both authors written in 2014–2018. In addition, this grammar has differences from
“Latviešu valodas gramatika” published in 2013:
1) a  Latvian grammar in English has a  different target audience, which also
means that its description of language features and its focus as well as its
selected examples differ from those in a  grammar written for a  Latvian-
speaking audience (the examples in a grammar written for English speakers
are more oriented towards a  precise illustration of the  features and other
information being described);
2) the description of the Latvian grammatical system has been written using
modern grammatical terminology and according to the linguistic traditions
of Western Europe and North America (see “Subject index”, which gives
the  corresponding Latvian grammatical concept in parentheses after each
English-language term).
If there exists a  difference of opinion in the  linguistic literature regarding
a  particular aspect of Latvian grammar, then in individual cases these differing
views are mentioned in “Latvian Grammar”; however, due to the limitations on space
in this grammar and, especially, due to its stated aims, these views are not examined
in detail. Still, the authors have endeavored to show, which view they adopt in this
work and the reasons for their choice. Issues connected with the standardization of
grammar are not examined in this volume; however, in individual cases the  use
of a form or construction in conversational language or where its use deviates from
the literary language may be discussed along with the reasons for these uses.
Both authors of this grammar are professors at the University of Latvia Faculty of
Humanities and have taught courses on grammar as well as on a wide range of other
aspects of linguistics. They also are the authors of studies on Latvian morphology,

11
morphophonology, syntax, morphosyntax, and other synchronic and general linguistic
topics. The scientific research of Andra Kalnača and Ilze Lokmane, as well as work
with their students and supervision of their students’ baccalaureate, master’s, and
doctoral work, has allowed the authors to accrue knowledge on grammatical systems
and their fundamental characteristics as well as gain experience in examining issues
relating to grammar.
“Latvian Grammar” is a descriptive and synchronic grammar of Standard Latvian
(with a  few exceptions in the  morphophonology section describing sound changes
in Latvian). It is based primarily on the Latvian linguistic traditions for describing
the grammatical system of Latvian developed during the 20th and 21st centuries (e.g.,
Endzelīns 1922, 1951; Ahero et al. 1959, 1962; Kārkliņš 1974, 1976; Freimane 1985,
2008; Ceplītis, Rozenbergs, Valdmanis 1989; Gāters 1993; Kalme, Smiltniece 2001;
Nītiņa 2001; Paegle 2003; Beitiņa 2009; Soida 2009; Nītiņa, Grigorjevs 2013).
This grammar is divided into three sections: morphophonology, morphology,
syntax. To explain various sound changes relating to word formation and inflection,
their historical origins are also detailed in the  morphophonology section. Word
formation is not described in a separate chapter as has been the tradition in other
Latvian grammars (see, for example, Ahero et al. 1959; Nītiņa, Grigorjevs 2013).
Instead, information on word formation can be found in special sections at the end
of the  noun, adjective, verb, and other word class descriptions in the  morphology
section. The introductory portion of the morphology section (Section 2.0.2) includes
not only a  description of morphemics, inflectional principles, and word types, but
also provides general information regarding word formation methods, means, and
types. In the syntax section, attention is primarily given to a structural and partially
a functional description of the simple sentence. The composite sentence is mainly seen
as a combination of several predicative units (clauses) into a single communicative
whole, therefore, attention is given to the  unique structural features of the  units
(clauses) as well as their semantic relations.
The  examples used in the  grammar are also primarily synchronic. Sources
used include examples from “Līdzsvarotais mūsdienu latviešu valodas tekstu
korpuss 2018” (The  Balanced Corpus of Modern Latvian 2018; available at http://
www.korpuss.lv/id/LVK2018; examples marked with C) as well as from various mass
media sources (print as well as online media), online discussion groups, Latvian
literature (generally from the  1970s), and individual folklore and other examples.
In some cases, the  internet search engine google.lv was used as well as data from
the “Latvian Web Corpus (lvTenTen) (Ten Ten Corpus Family)”, available at https://
www.sketchengine.eu/lvtenten-latvian-corpus/; examples marked with CW). Due to
limitations on space and also to avoid including information which does not pertain
to the  particular features of Latvian being illustrated, examples are shortened or
adapted as necessary (this is not noted in the body of the text in any particular way,
with the exception of the section on the composite sentence where the omission of
one or several units (clauses) is shown in the  Latvian text with a  double dot (..)).
The analysis of these examples is not based on a frequency analysis of the features

12
they illustrate. Each feature being described is usually given in bold face; if additional
emphasis is necessary then underlining is also used.
Glossing within examples is done according to “The  Leipzig Glossing Rules”
(available at: https://www.eva.mpg.de/lingua/resources/glossing-rules.php). However,
due to limitations on space it was not possible to follow these principles fully for all parts
of examples. In the Morphology section, if the example includes component sen­tences
or several simple sentences, only the  sentence or the  part of the  sentence containing
the  feature being described is glossed. In the  composite sentence section, individual
grammatical forms, lexemes, and predicative units (clauses) are glossed, as necessary. In
noun, adjective, numeral, pronoun, and declinable participle glosses, only the plural is
marked, while the singular is generally left unmarked – except in the pronouns tu ‘2SG’
and jūs ‘2PL’. Gender is also marked for the word classes, as in Latvian it is associated
with agreement between different parts of the  sentence. When glossing prepositions,
particles, conjunctions, and interjections, it was not always possible to find a  word
from the corresponding word class in English to use as a gloss. Therefore, some words
from these word classes are glossed using a general gloss referring to that word class
(e.g., PREP – preposition, PTCL – particle, Q – interrogative particle, CONJ – conjunction,
INT – interjection; see also “Abbreviations and Symbols”).
In the Morphophonology section, primarily in Section 1.2.2, “The International
Phonetic Alphabet” (available at: https://www.internationalphoneticassociation.org/
content/full-ipa-chart) is used in the description of the link between the pronunciation
of the vowel e, ē with word formation and inflection. The Latvian tonemes or syllable
accents (stretched, falling, and broken) are not marked in the examples, as these are
not directly related to the pronunciation of e, ē.
American English spelling conventions are used throughout this book.

13
Acknowledgements

“Latvian Grammar” came about as a result of financing from two different projects.
These are (1) the  State research program “Letonika  – Latvijas vēsture, valodas,
kultūra, vērtības” (Letonika – the history, languages, culture, values of Latvia) project
No. 3 “Latviešu valodas pētījumi 21. gadsimta zinātnes kontekstā” (Latvian language
studies in the  context of 21st  century science) sub-project “Latviešu gramatika”
(Latvian Grammar) during 2014–2018 and (2) the University of Latvia research project
“Mūsdienu latviešu gramatika (angļu valodā)” (Modern Latvian Grammar (in English))
in 2014, 2016, 2017. Andra Kalnača was the director of both projects and work for both
was carried out at the University of Latvia Faculty of Humanities Department of Latvian
and Baltic Studies. In addition to the authors of the grammar, Andra Kalnača and Ilze
Lokmane, the translators involved in this project were Tatjana Pakalne (morphology),
Zigrīda Vinčela (morphophonology with the exception of “The morphophonological
functions of vowel alternations”), Vita Kalnbērziņa (the syntax of simple sentences
with the  exception of “The  communicative structure of a  simple sentence” and
“Word order in simple sentences”), Dens Dimiņš (“The communicative structure of
a  simple sentence” and “Word order in simple sentences” as well as the  syntax
of  com­posite sentences), and Uldis Balodis (the  introduction, acknowledgements,
and the morphophonology sub-section “The morphophonological functions of vowel
alternations”). Anita Butāne (morphology) and Agita Kazakeviča (syntax) assisted
Andra Kalnača and Ilze Lokmane in the selection of examples, while Lauma Šime,
Karīna Avakjanca, and Zane Mūrniece glossed the examples in the morphology and
syntax sections. During both projects, Ilze Rūmniece provided a number of valuable
insights into various grammatical issues and their connection to the  traditions of
grammatical descriptions of Latin and Greek. Uldis Balodis edited and examined
the entire text and offered a number of very valuable ideas and advice including
developing new terms for Latvian dialects and subdialects used in this grammar.
Our greatest thanks to all the  project participants involved in the  creation of this
grammar! With joy and fondness, we recall the regular grammar project participant
meetings every few months in 2014–2017 during which we would discuss the terms
and concepts to be used in the grammar as well as the sections of the grammar that
had already been written, their structure, the features of Latvian discussed in them
and the examples used to illustrate them, and glossing principles.

14
 We also wish to give a  special thanks to Juris Grigorjevs who provided
valuable suggestions with respect to the phonetic transcription used in the morpho­
phonology section and to Ilze Auziņa who prepared “Letter-sound cor­res­pondence in
Standard Latvian” as well as to Edmundas Trumpa who prepared the map of Latvian
dialects. 
We also wish to the  thank Helle Metslang, Bonifacas Stundžia, and Daiki
Horiguchi whose insightful suggestions and adjustments were especially significant
in the final stages of the writing of this grammar. Thank you also to all our colleagues
at the University of Latvia who have supported the publication of this grammar!
For its care in preparing the “Latvian Grammar” manuscript for publication we
wish to thank the University of Latvia Press and its director Aija Rozenšteine.
However, the greatest amount of thanks goes to the families of both authors –
especially their spouses  – for their support, understanding, and patience during
the research and writing of this grammar.

Rīga – Garciems – Lubāna

July 2020

15
Abbreviations and symbols

A agent
ACC accusative
ACT active
ADJ adjective
ADV adverb
Amer. American
ANIM animate
AUX auxiliary
B beneficiary
Br. British
C Līdzsvarotais mūsdienu latviešu valodas tekstu korpuss 2018
CMP comparative
COND conditional mood
CONJ conjunction
COP copula
CW Latvian Web 2014 (lvTenTen14)
DAT dative
DEB debitive
DECL declinable
DEF definite
dial. dialectal item
DIM diminutive
E experiencer
EMPH emphatic (particle, pronoun)
FIN finite
FUT future
GEN genitive
F feminine
I indirect
IDECL indeclinable
INDF indefinite
IMP imperative mood

16
IND indicative mood
IPV imperfective verb / aspect
INF infinitive
INS instrumental
INT interjection
INTRANS intransitive
iter. iterative
LNT Latvijas Neatkarīgā Televīzija (TV channel)
LOC locative
M masculine
MOD modal
N noun
NEG negation
NFIN non-finite
NOM nominative
nom. nominalization
NREFL non-reflexive
NUM numeral
O object
obj. object
OBL oblique mood
P patient
PASS passive
PFV perfective verb / aspect
PL plural
POS possessor
POST postposition
PRS present
PRED predicate
PREF prefix
PREP preposition
PRF perfect
PRON pronoun
PTCL particle
PTCP participle
PST past
Q interrogative particle
QUANT quantitative meaning
R recipient
REFL reflexive
S subject
SEM.DECL semi-declinable
SG singular

17
smb. somebody
smth. something
SPL superlative
SUB subordinator
TRANS transitive
V verb
VOC vocative
1, 2, 3 1st, 2nd, 3rd person
* reconstructed item (morphophonology) / unacceptable
construction (syntax)
→ derivation
{} morphophoneme
( ) interfix
> becomes
< derives from
ø zero morpheme
- morpheme boundary

18
 Map of Latvian dialects
(created by Edmundas Trumpa 2021)

E S T O
N
I
a A
S e
RŪJIENA

AINAŽI
MAZSALACA

ic
SALACGRĪVA
VALKA
lt

VALMIERA STRENČI
LIMBAŽI
APE
B a

ALŪKSNE

R
SMILTENE
VENTSPILS
ga

Gu i V CĒSIS
lf of R

U
E

VALDEMĀRPILS LEJASCIEMS

I
D)

GULBENE
M

TALSI D

S
N

PILTENE BALVI
Z
E

Z E
A

SABILE KANDAVA SIGULDA

R M

S
L

R JŪRMALA RĪGA E
U U
KULDĪGA
TUKUMS
K

I
O MADONA KĀRSAVA
(C OGRE

A
JELGAVA PĻAVIŅAS
AIZPUTE VARAKĻĀNI LUDZA
DURBE
LIEPĀJA SALDUS
Z E M
GROBIŅA
DOBELE
G A
JAUNJELGAVA
JĒKABPILS L
VIĻĀNI
RĒZEKNE
AUCE L A T
E
ZILUPE
PRIEKULE
G A
BAUSKA VIESĪTE
PREIĻI L E
L I T H U A
N AKNĪSTE
I
A SUBATE
Central dialect: Dialects of the Latvian language DAUGAVPILS KRĀSLAVA
ILŪKSTE
Vidzeme central subdialects Livonic dialect: High Latvian dialect:
S

U
Semigallic subdialects Vidzeme Livonic subdialects Selonic subdialects R
Curonic subdialects Courland Livonic subdialects Latgalic subdialects L A
B E

19
Letter-sound correspondence in Standard Latvian
(adapted from Auziņa 2013a: 25–26)

The Latvian alphabet contains the following letters: A, a, Ā, ā, B, b, C, c, Č, č, D, d, E,

e, Ē, ē, F, f, G, g, Ģ, ģ, H, h, I, i, Ī, ī, J, j, K, k, Ķ, ķ, L, l, Ļ, ļ, M, m, N, n, Ņ, ņ, O, o, P,
p, R, r, S, s, Š, š, T, t, U, u, Ū, ū, V, v, Z, z, Ž, ž

Examples
Letters IPA
Orthography IPA
Vowels and diphthongs
a ɑ sals ‘frost’ sɑls
ā ɑː sāls ‘salt’ sɑːls
e e ezis ‘hedgehog’ ezis
æ ezers ‘lake’ æzærs
ē eː tētis ‘dad’ teːtis
æː zēns ‘boy’ zæːns
i i divi ‘two’ divi
ī iː vīns ‘wine’ viːns
o ɔ omārs ‘lobster’ ɔmɑːrs
ɔː opera ‘opera’ ɔːperɑ
u͜o ola ‘egg’ u͜oːlɑ
u u uguns ‘fire’ uɡuns
ū uː kūka ‘cake’ kuːkɑ
iu (iv) i͜u pliukšķēt ‘to flap’ pli͜ukʃceːt
divpadsmit ‘twelve’ di͜upɑʦmit
ie i͜e iela ‘street’ i͜elɑ
ai ɑ͜i laiks ‘time’ lɑ͜iːks
au ɑ͜u augs ‘plant’ ɑ͜uks
ei (ej) e͜i meita ‘daughter’ me͜itɑ
zvejnieks ‘fisherman’ zve͜ini͜eks

20
 Examples
Letters IPA
Orthography IPA
ui (uj) u͜i puika ‘boy’ pu͜ikɑ
šujmašīna ‘sewing machine’ ʃu͜imɑʃiːnɑ
eu (ev) e͜u sev ‘to oneself’ se͜u
ou ɔ͜u džouls ‘joule’ ʤɔ͜uls
oi ɔ͜i boikots ‘boycott’ bɔ͜ikɔʦ
Consonants
b b bērns ‘child’ bæːrns
c ʦ cits ‘other’ ʦiʦ
č ʧ četri ‘four’ ʧetri
d d daba ‘nature’ dɑbɑ
dz ʣ dziesma ‘song’ ʣi͜esmɑ
dž ʤ džems ‘jam’ ʤems
f f filma ‘movie’ filmɑ
g ɡ gals ‘end’ ɡɑls
ģ ɟ ģitāra ‘guitar’ ɟitɑːrɑ
h x halva ‘halva’ xɑlvɑ
j ʝ jūra ‘sea’ ʝuːrɑ
k k kāja ‘leg’ kɑːʝɑ
ķ c ķert ‘to catch’ cert
l l egle ‘fir tree’ egle
ļ ʎ ļoti ‘very’ ʎu͜oti
m m mans ‘my’ mɑns
n n nauda ‘money’ nɑ͜udɑ
ŋ bungas ‘drums’ buŋɡɑs
ņ ɲ ņemt ‘to take’ ɲemt
p p puse ‘half’ pusːe
r r Rīga riːɡɑ
s s sens ‘ancient’ sæns
š ʃ šalle ‘scarf’ ʃɑlːe
t t tur ‘there’ tur
v v valsts ‘country’ vɑlsʦ
z z ziema ‘winter’ zi͜emɑ
ž ʒ žagata ‘magpie’ ʒɑgɑtɑ

21
List of tables

Table 1.1 Examples of palatalization in noun and verb forms . . . . . . . . . . 37

Table 1.2 The plural declension paradigm of lācis ‘bear’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Table 1.3 The declension paradigm of the pronouns pats ‘self (M)’,
pati ‘self (F)’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Table 1.4 Present tense paradigm of the verb lauzt ‘to break’ . . . . . . . . . . 39
Table 1.5 Present tense paradigm of the verb gulēt ‘to lie’ . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Table 1.6 Suffix allomorphs of declension 2 and 5 nouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Table 1.7 Declension paradigm of the past passive participle
singular forms (indefinite ending) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Table 1.8 The present tense forms of the verb pētīt ‘to study’ . . . . . . . . . . 46
Table 1.9 The present tense forms of the verb mēģināt ‘to try’ . . . . . . . . . 46
Table 1.10 The verb vērot ‘to watch’ person forms in the simple present
and past . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Table 1.11 The verb pētīt ‘to study’ person forms in the past . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Table 1.12 The present and past tense forms of the verb nest ‘to carry’ . . . . 57
Table 1.13 The present tense forms of the verb cerēt ‘to hope’ . . . . . . . . . . 57
Table 2.1 Singular case endings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Table 2.2 Plural case endings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Table 2.3 Noun declension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Table 2.4 Case forms of declension 3 surnames in masculine
and feminine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Table 2.5 Case forms of reflexive nouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Table 2.6 Main noun formation types in Latvian: suffixation . . . . . . . . . . 137
Table 2.7 Main noun formation types in Latvian: endings . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Table 2.8 Derivation of nouns by prefixation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Table 2.9 Main compound noun formation types in Latvian . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Table 2.10 Declension of indefinite adjectives in Latvian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Table 2.11 Declension of definite adjectives in Latvian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Table 2.12 Declension of adjectives containing the suffix -ēj- . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Table 2.13 Main adjective formation types in Latvian: suffixation . . . . . . . 169
Table 2.14 Main adjective formation types in Latvian: prefixes . . . . . . . . . 170

22
Table 2.15 Main compound adjective formation types in Latvian . . . . . . . . 171
Table 2.16 Declension of the numeral trīs ‘three’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Table 2.17 Declension of the personal pronouns es, tu, mēs, jūs . . . . . . . . . . 184
Table 2.18 Declension of the pronoun sevis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Table 2.19 Declension of the demonstrative pronouns šis, šī, tas, tā . . . . . . 202
Table 2.20 Declension of the pronoun kas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Table 2.21 Declension of the pronouns pats, pati, paši, pašas . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Table 2.22 The infinitive, present, past, and future stems of verbs . . . . . . . 219
Table 2.23 The present indefinite forms of conjugation class 1
subclass 1 verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Table 2.24 The present indefinite forms of conjugation class 1
subclass 2 verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Table 2.25 The present indefinite forms of conjugation class 1
subclass 3 verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Table 2.26 The present indefinite forms of conjugation
class 2 verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Table 2.27 The present indefinite forms of conjugation
class 3 subclass 1 verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Table 2.28 The present indefinite forms of conjugation
class 3 subclass 2 verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Table 2.29 The present and past indefinite forms of the verbs
būt ‘to be’ and nebūt ‘not to be’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Table 2.30 The present and past indefinite forms of
the verb iet ‘to walk, go’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Table 2.31 The present and past indefinite forms of
the verb dot ‘to give’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Table 2.32 The person endings of the singular non-reflexive
paradigm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Table 2.33 The person endings of the plural non-reflexive paradigm . . . . . 228
Table 2.34 The person endings of the singular reflexive paradigm . . . . . . . 228
Table 2.35 The person endings of the plural reflexive paradigm . . . . . . . . 229
Table 2.36 The past indefinite forms of conjugation
class 2 and 3 verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Table 2.37 The past indefinite forms of conjugation class 1 verbs . . . . . . . 231
Table 2.38 The future indefinite forms of all conjugation classes . . . . . . . . 232
Table 2.39 The paradigm of perfect tense forms (the indicative mood) . . . . 232
Table 2.40 Past perfect indicative with the auxiliary verb tikt ‘to get’ . . . . . 233
Table 2.41 The paradigm of oblique forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
Table 2.42 The paradigm of conditional forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Table 2.43 The paradigm of debitive forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Table 2.44 The paradigm of oblique debitive forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
Table 2.45 The paradigm of conditional debitive forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
Table 2.46 The paradigm of imperative forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255

23
Table 2.47 Passive voice, indefinite tenses, indicative mood . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
Table 2.48 Passive voice, perfect tenses, indicative mood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
Table 2.49 Passive voice, oblique mood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Table 2.50 Passive voice, conditional mood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
Table 2.51 Passive voice, debitive mood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
Table 2.52 Passive voice, debitive mood, oblique subtype . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Table 2.53 Passive voice, debitive mood, conditional subtype . . . . . . . . . . 266
Table 2.54 Passive voice, imperative mood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
Table 2.55 Inflection of the declinable present active participle,
in the masculine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
Table 2.56 Inflection of the declinable present active participle,
in the feminine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
Table 2.57 Inflection of reflexive declinable present active participles . . . . 293
Table 2.58 Inflection of the declinable present passive participle,
in the masculine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
Table 2.59 Inflection of the declinable present passive participle,
in the feminine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
Table 2.60 Inflection of the declinable past active participle,
in the masculine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
Table 2.61 Inflection of the declinable past active participle,
in the feminine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
Table 2.62 Inflection of reflexive declinable past active participles . . . . . . . 296
Table 2.63 Inflection of the declinable past passive participle,
in the masculine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
Table 2.64 Inflection of the declinable past passive participle,
in the feminine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
Table 2.65 Main verb formation types: suffixation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
Table 2.66 Main verb formation types: prefixation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
Table 2.67 Main verb formation types: circumfixation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316

24
ANDRA KALNAČA

1. MORPHOPHONOLOGY

1.0 Introductory remarks

Morphophonology in Latvian describes historical and positional sound changes that
manifest themselves in particular morphemes due to word formation and inflection.
Word formation and inflection in Latvian is also connected with such suprasegmental
phenomena as tonemes (or syllable accents) and word stress; however, due to its
limited scope, these are not more closely examined in this volume (for further
discussion see Kalnača 2004: 102–108; 2013b: 183–189).

1.0.1 Allomorphs, their structure, and functions

The  notion of an  allomorph is vital in morphophonology (and in morphemics).
Allomorphs are the  variant forms of a  given morpheme that originate when
morphemes are combined because of word formation or inflection. Thus, allomorphs
predominantly are side-effects of affixation (Spencer 2000: 118). All allomorphs
of a morpheme have similar phonetic features, and these are related to the source
morpheme, which also is an  invariant, e.g., the  allomorphs of the  root ēd- ‘eat’ in
Latvian are as follows:
(1.1) invariant
ēd- [æːd] ēd-u PRS ‘(I) eat’
allomorphs
ēs- ēs-t ‘to eat’
ē- ē-šan-a ‘eating’
ēd- [eːd] ēd-u PST ‘(I) ate’
Most morphophonological phenomena in Latvian relate to the  combination of
morphemes and their mutual adaptation in word formation and inflection (see
Sections 1.1, 1.2). However, there are also allomorphs in Latvian that are conditioned

25
by phonetic processes within the boundaries of a morpheme or suprasegmental units
(see in detail Kalnača 2013b: 183–189). Root allomorphs are an example of these:
(1.2) šķel-t ‘to split’, šķēl-e ‘slice’, šķil-a ‘chip’
and
skal-s ‘kindling’, skal-d-ī-t ‘to split’
Allomorphs beginning with šķ- originated under the influence of front vowels, i.e.,
due to the adaptation of phonemes within a morpheme.
Root as well as affix morphemes can have allomorphs:
(1.3) the root rok- and its allomorphs
rok-a – roc-iņ-a, roķ-el-e ‘hand – hand (DIM)’
(1.4) suffixes and their allomorphs
a. inflection
NOM SG – GEN SG
-īt- / -īš- sun-īt-is – sun-īš-a ‘dog (DIM)’
-ul- / -uļ- mīl-ul-is – mīl-uļ-a ‘darling’
b. word formation
diminutives
-iņ- / -tiņ- māj-iņ-a ‘house’, ziv-tiņ-a ‘fish’
c. word formation
deverbal nouns
-on- / -oņ- darb-on-is ‘activist’, rīb-oņ-a ‘rumble’
(1.5) allomorphs of endings (inflection)
NOM SG M (declension 1)
-s / -š tēv-s ‘father’, ceļ-š ‘way’
Allomorphs can differ from the invariant morpheme in two ways:
1. Phonetically, but without any changes in the structure of a morpheme:
These are cases of, e.g., apophony (example (1.6a)) and metaphony (example (1.6b)),
fronting (of velar consonants) (1.6c), and consonant t and d alternation (1.6d).
These are also examples of the alternation of the consonant n (1.6e) and cases
of palatalization resulting from allomorphs containing the fusion of two morphemes
(root and suffix) (1.6f).
(1.6) a. apophony
zelt – zaļš – zāle – zils ‘to become green – green – grass – blue’
b. metaphony
nesu [næsːŭ] PRS 1SG – nesu [nesːŭ] PST 1SG ‘(I) carry – (I) carried’
c. fronting (of velar consonants)
jak-a – jaciņa, jaķele ‘cardigan – cardigan (DIM)’
zirg-s – zirdziņš, zirģelis ‘horse – horse (DIM)’
d. alternation of the consonants t and d
sit-u – sis-t ‘(I) beat – to beat’

26
 ēd-u – ēs-t ‘(I) eat – to eat’
sit-u – siz-dams ‘(I) beat – beating’
ēd-u – ēz-dams ‘(I) eat – eating’
e. vowel change determined by the following consonant n
INF – PRS
lip-t – līp-u < *linp-u ‘to stick – (I) stick’
klup-t – klūp-u < *klunp-u ‘to stumble – (I) stumble’
plak-t – plok-u [plu͜okŭ] < *plank-u ‘to collapse – (I) collapse’
f. palatalization
NOM SG – GEN SG
zirn-is – zirņ-a ‘pea’
las-is – laš-a ‘salmon’

2. Structurally:
a) an allomorph is smaller than a morpheme
Such allomorphs have originated in Latvian due to the deletion of the consonants s, z,
t, d (in detail see Section 1.1.3) and these are smaller than the invariant morpheme;
e.g., the root lūz- allomorphs in word formation and inflection:
(1.7) lūz-t – lū-šan-a ‘to break – breaking (N)’
lūz-t – lū-st ‘to break – it breaks’
b) an allomorph is larger than a morpheme
Such allomorphs can be the consequence of the merging of two or more morphemes
(Urbutis 2009: 256–259). The cause of merging often is syncope (vowel reduction) in
one of the morphemes, but it usually results in a borderline shift for the morphemes.
This is not the case for fusion, because the elements of each initial morpheme are
preserved. For example, there is no fusion in the case of the palatalization caused
by j if a root ends in p, b, m, v, because it is possible to trace each initial morpheme.
As in the  synchronic analysis of the  language, j is not viewed as an  inflectional
suffix in either the  formation of nouns or the  verbs of conjugation class 1 (e.g.,
Kalme, Smiltniece 2001: 104, 213; Paegle 2003: 48, 109; Kalnača 2013c: 545–548);
however, it should be noted that allomorphs with extended roots occur in particular
grammatical forms, for example, in the nouns of declension 2.
(1.8) invariant morph allomorph
NOM SG GEN SG
krup-is krupj-a ‘toad’
gulb-is gulbj-a ‘swan’
kurm-is kurmj-a ‘mole’
šķīv-is šķīvj-a ‘plate’

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1.0.2 Units of morphophonology
Morphophonological units are viewed as morphophonemes, i.e., phonetically changing
parts of a  morph that regularly alternate within morphemes in word formation
and inflection (Matthews 1997: 233; Crystal 2000: 250; Kalnača 2004: 48–51;
Skujiņa 2007: 243), for example, the allomorphs of the consonant t alternation with
morphophonemes.
(1.9) PRS 1SG – INF
{T}–{S} met-u – mes-t ‘(I) throw – to throw’
{D}–{S} ved-u – ves-t ‘(I) take – to take’
Morphophonemes are formed from sequences of phonemes that change under
the influence of each other within the baundaries of a given morpheme (Kalnača
2013b: 154–155), e.g.:
(1.10) {I}–{E} vilk-t – velk-u ‘to pull – (I) pull’
{L}–{Ļ} smel-t – smeļ-u ‘to ladle – (I) ladle’
{G}–{DZ} aug-t – audz-e ‘to grow – growth’
However, it must be noted that the  alternating morphophonemes themselves do
not provide grammatical or lexical meaning to a  word or a  word form; it can be
deduced from the  allomorph as a  whole; in addition, a  morphophonome often is
the  consequence of morpheme adaptation. Morphophonemes do not occur in all
allomorphs; they are found only in those allomorphs that phonetically differ from
the source morpheme, which are as follows for Latvian:
1) allomorphs of the t alternation with relevant morphophonemes
(1.11) PRS – INF
{T}–{S} sit-u – sis-t ‘(I) beat – to beat’
{D}–{S} ēd-u – ēs-t ‘(I) eat – to eat’
2) allomorphs of the d alternation with relevant morphophonemes
(1.12) PST – PTCP
{T}–{Z} sit-u – siz-dam-s ‘(I) beat – beating’
{D}–{Z} ēd-u – ēz-dam-s ‘(I) eat – eating’
3) allomorphs of the palatalization caused by the front vowels (fronting of velar
consonants) with relevant morphophonemes
(1.13) {K}–{C}–{Ķ} mak-s  – mac-iņ-š, maķ-el-is ‘purse – purse (DIM)’
{G}–{DZ}–{Ģ} lug-a  – ludz-iņ-a, luģ-el-e ‘play – play (DIM)’
Morphophonemes also occur in the allomorphs that are formed due to the fusion of
two morphemes. These are as follows:
1) palatalization allomorphs
(1.14) a. NOM SG – GEN SG
{L}–{Ļ} brāl-is – brāļ-a ‘brother’
{N}–{Ņ} zirn-is  – zirņ-a, ‘pea’

28
 {S}–{Š} las-is  – laš-a ‘salmon’
{Z}–{Ž} vēz-is – vēž-a ‘crab’
{T}–{Š} zut-is – zuš-a ‘eel’
{D}–{Ž} bried-is – briež-a ‘deer’
{C}–{Č} vec-is  – več-a ‘old man’
{DZ}–{DŽ} vadz-is – vadž-a ‘peg’
b. INF – PRS
{K}–{C} sauk-t – sauc-u ‘to call – (I) call’
{G}–{DZ} klieg-t  – kliedz-u ‘to yell – (I) yell’
2) allomorphs of the consonant n alternation
(1.15) INF – PRS
{I}–{Ī} kris-t  – krīt-u ‘to fall – (I) fall’
{U}–{Ū} klup-t – klūp-u ‘to stumble – (I) stumble’
{A}–{UO} plak-t – plok-u [plu͜okŭ] ‘to collapse – (I) collapse’
{E}–{IE} tik-t <*tek-t – tiek-u ‘to get – (I) get’
The  consequences of palatalization (caused by the  consonant j and front vowels)
can also lead to alternation of consonant clusters; the  following are examples of
allomorphs with morphophoneme clusters:
1) in fronting (of velar consonants):
(1.16) {SK}–{ŠĶ} skal-s – šķel-t ‘kindling – to split’
{ZG}–{ŽĢ} mezg-l-s – mežģ-ī-t ‘knot – to tangle’
{NK}–{ŅĶ} lenk-t – leņķ-is ‘to chase – angle’
{NG}–{ŅĢ} rung-a – ruņģ-el-e ‘club – club (DIM)’
{LK}–{ĻĶ} vilk-t –viļķ-is ‘to pull – corkscrew’
2) in palatalization:
(1.17) NOM SG – GEN SG / PL
{SN}–{ŠŅ} usn-e –ušņ-u PL ‘thistle’
{ZN}–{ŽŅ} lauzn-is – laužņ-a SG ‘crowbar’
{LN}–{ĻŅ} valn-is – vaļņ-a SG ‘rampart’
{SL}–{ŠĻ} pūsl-is – pūšļ-a SG ‘bladder’
{ZL}–{ŽĻ} zizl-is – zižļ-a SG ‘wand’
{ST}–{Š} pākst-s – pākš-u PL ‘pod’
{ZD}–{Ž} dial. bārzd-a – bārž-u PL ‘beard’
{LL}–{ĻĻ} krell-es – kreļļ-u PL ‘beads’
{NN}–{ŅŅ} pinn-e – piņņ-u PL ‘blackhead’
The allomorphs of Latvian word roots can display the alternation of several morpho­
phonemes; in these cases, word roots and their morphophonological variants can
display not only three but also four morphophoneme series. For example, note
the consonant morphophonemes in the allomorphs of the following verb roots:

29
(1.18) a. series of three morphophonemes
{T}–{S}–{Z} sit-u, sis-t, siz-dam-s ‘(I) beat, to beat, beating’
{D}–{S}–{Z} ēd-u, ēs-t, ēz-dam-s ‘(I) eat, to eat, eating’
b. series of four morphophonemes
{T}–{S}–{Š}–{Z} pūt-u, pūs-t, pūš-u, pūz-dam-s
‘I blew, to blow, I blow, blowing’
{D}–{S}–{Ž}–{Z} grūd-u, grūs-t, grūž-u, grūz-dam-s
‘(I) pushed, to push, (I) push, pushing’
In Latvian, the allomorphs of root morphemes also have been conditioned by apo­
phony, which can exhibit morphophonemes. In contrast to the  cases of consonant
alternation, vowel alternation exhibits a wide range of morphophoneme series within
words or word forms of the same root, even if not all of the possible examples are
found in modern Latvian:
(1.19) a. e-series
{E}–{Ē}–{A}–{Ā}–{UO}–{I}–{U}
ber-u, bēr-t, bar-s, bār-(st)-ī-t, bir-t ‘(I) strew, to strew, crowd, to
strew, to fall’
vilk-t, velk-u, valk-ā-t ‘to put on, (I) put on, to wear’
dzer-t, dzēr-u, dzir-(d)-inā-t ‘to drink, (I) drank, to give to drink’
smelk-n-e, smalk-s, smil(k)-t-s ‘ladle, exquisite, sand’
b. i-series
{EI}–{IE}–{EJ}–{AI}–{AJ}–{ĒJ}–{I}–{Ī}–{IJ}
lie-t, lej-u, lai-(st)-ī-t, lēj-u, lī-t, lij-a
‘to pour, (I) pour, to water, (I) poured, to rain, it rained’
steig-t, staig-ā-t, stig-a ‘to hurry, to walk, trail’
c. u-series
{JAU}–{AU}–{AV}–{ĀV}–{UO}–{U}–{Ū}–{UV}
gŗau-t, grav-a, grāv-a, grū-t, gruv-a ‘to destroy, ravine, it destroyed, to
collapse, it collapsed’
jauk-t, jav-a, juk-t ‘to mix, cement, to fall to pieces’

1.1 Adaptation of morphemes

Adaptation of morphemes conditioned by the  phonetic and phonological rules of
a  language is indispensable in word formation and inflection occurring in any
language. Such phonetic processes as assimilation, dissimilation, and phoneme elision
at the junctions of morphemes create allomorphs, i.e., various morphs that represent
one morpheme (e.g., Matthews 1997: 14; Spencer 2000: 6), e.g., allomorphs mes-t ‘to
throw’, mez-dam-s ‘throwing’, me-šan-a ‘throwing (N)’ of the morpheme met-.
Adaptation of morphemes can be caused by positional as well as historical
phoneme changes. Even if both types of changes are common in Latvian (in detail
see Auziņa 2013b), historical changes are more significant within the grammatical

30
system of Latvian, as they relate to the processes of word formation and inflection,
both of which are the main causes for the origin of allomorphs.
Adaptation of morphemes, and hence allomorphism, occurs in the  following
combinations in Latvian (Kalnača 2004: 67; 2013b: 157):
1) root + ending
(1.20) audz-e <*aug-e ‘growth’
plūs-t <*plūd-t ‘to flow’
zaļ-š <*zaļ-s ‘green’
2) root + suffix
(1.21) roc-iņ-a <*rok-iņ-a ‘hand (DIM)’
ve-šan-a <*ved-šan-a ‘taking (N)’
3) root + interfix
(1.22) kos-t – ko-(šļ)-ā-t <*kod-(šļ)-ā-t ‘to bite – to chew’
grūs-t – grū-(st)-ī-t <*grūd-(st)-ī-t ‘to push – to jostle’
4) root + infix
(1.23) kris-t – krīt-u <*kri-n-t-u ‘to fall – (I) fall’
5) suffix + suffix
(1.24) dzied-niec-isk-s <*dzied-niek-isk-s ‘healing (adj)’
brāl-īt-is NOM SG – brāl-īš-a <*brāl-īt-j-a GEN SG ‘brother (DIM)’
6) suffix + ending
(1.25) dārz-niec-e <*dārz-niek-e ‘gardener (F)’
cel-iņ-š <*cel-iņ-s ‘footpath’
Four types of morph adaptation are distinguished in Latvian (Kalnača 2004: 67;
2013b: 158). These are as follows:
1) phoneme alternation  – the  end of a  morph has phonetically adapted to
the beginning of the following morph or vice versa, i.e., a morph has adapted
to the end of the preceding morph;
2) interference of morphs – two morphs have merged into one;
3) reduction of the word formation/inflection stem during the processes of
word formation and inflection;
4) interfixation – an interfix, a semantically empty element, has been inserted
between two morphs at the junction of morphemes to avoid an inconvenient
vowel or consonant cluster.

1.1.1 Phoneme alternation

Phoneme alternation is conditioned by grammatical positions, i.e., the  combining
of morphemes due to word formation or inflection. In Latvian, phoneme alternation
caused by morphophonological processes at morpheme junctions relates to

31
the  adaptation of a  root and an  affix (a suffix and an  ending) and less frequently
also with the adaptation of two affixes (a suffix and an ending). Such alternations of
phonemes are not typical at the junction of a prefix and a root.
The following alternations of phonemes occur at morpheme junctions in Latvian:
1) fronting (of velar consonants): k, g → c, dz / ķ, ģ (regressive assimilation);
2) alternation of the consonant t: t, d → s (regressive assimilation);
3) alternation of the consonant d: t, d → z (regressive assimilation);
4) assimilation of the  consonant s to the  preceding palatal consonant, s → š
(progressive assimilation).
Fronting of k, g → c, dz / ķ, ģ occurs if one morpheme ends in k, g, but the next
starts with a  front monophthong or diphthong. This alternation occurs in word
for­mation as well as inflection.

Word formation
Root + suffix (root ends in k, g)
Fronting at the end of a root in the formation of nouns is caused by the suffixes -el-
(1.26a), -ien- (1.26b), -en- (1.26c), -ēn- (1.26d), -iņ- (1.26e), -iniek-/-eniek- (1.26f), etc.
(1.26) a. rok-a – roķ-el-e ‘hand – hand (DIM)’
tirg-us – tirģ-el-is ‘market – market (DIM)’
b. teik-t – teic-ien-s ‘to say – saying (N)’
spieg-t – spiedz-ien-s ‘to scream – scream’
c. vilk-s – vilc-en-e ‘wolf – she-wolf’
seg-a – seģ-en-e ‘blanket – wrap’
d. vilk-s – vilc-ēn-s ‘wolf – wolf cub’
Piebalg-a – piebaldz-ēn-s ‘Piebalga – inhabitant of Piebalga’
e. tak-a – tac-iņ-a ‘footpath – footpath (DIM)’
rag-s – radz-iņ-š ‘horn – horn (DIM)’
f. Rīg-a – rīdz-iniek-s ‘Rīga – inhabitant of Rīga’
Bausk-a – baušķ-eniek-s ‘Bauska – inhabitant of Bauska’
Fronting in the formation of adjectives occurs if the following suffixes are used to
form words: -īg- (1.27a), -isk- (1.27b):
(1.27) a. jok-s – joc-īg-s ‘joke – funny’
deg-t – dedz-īg-s ‘to burn – eager’
b. puik-a – puic-isk-s ‘boy – boyish’
zirg-s – zirdz-isk-s ‘horse – horsy’
Alternation of phonemes in the formation of verbs relates to the use of the suffixes
-ī- (1.28a), -ē- (1.28b), -inā- (1.28c):
(1.28) a. brauk-t – brauc-ī-t ‘to go – to rub’
b. plauk-t – plauc-ē-t ‘to bud – to make flowers blossom’
aug-t – audz-ē-t ‘to grow – to grow (iter.)’

32
c. kauk-t – kauc-inā-t ‘to howl – to make howl’
aug-t – audz-inā-t ‘to grow – to raise’

Suffix + suffix (the first suffix ends in k, g)

Fronting occurs if two suffixes are combined in the formation of a noun and adjective
if the  suffix -niek- (1.29a) or the  suffix -uk- (1.29b) is followed by the  suffixes -iņ-
(1.29a), -īt- (1.29b), -el- (1.29c), -isk- (1.29d), -īb- (1.29e):
(1.29) a. dzej-niek-s – dzej-niec-iņ-š ‘poet – poet (DIM)’
b. saim-niec-e  – saim-niec-īt-e ‘housekeeper (F)  – housekeeper (F) (DIM)’
c. meit-uk-s – meit-uc-īt-is ‘girl (DIM) – girl (DIM)’
d. dzej-niek-s – dzej-nieķ-el-is ‘poet – poet (DIM)’
e. tēl-niek-s – tēl-niec-isk-s ‘sculptor – sculpturelike’
f. strād-niek-s – strād-niec-īb-a ‘worker – working class’

Root + ending (root ends in k, g)

Fronting of the  final consonant of a  root/stem in noun formation is caused by
the endings -e, -is:
(1.30) atsauk-t – atsauc-e ‘to recall – reference’
sprāg-t – sprādz-e ‘to explode – clip’
sarg-s – sardz-e ‘watchman – guard’
pelēk-s – pelēc-is ‘grey – grey animal’
pusaug-u – pusaudz-is ‘teenage – teenager’
Consonant cluster alternation occurs if the root of a word ends in two consonants, i.e.,
sequenced double regressive assimilation. The fronting refers to the last consonant
of a root ķ, ģ, and then consequently these assimilate the preceding consonant (Laua
1997: 94–95; Auziņa 2013b: 95), for example, see the  formation of the  following
nouns:
(1.31) nk → ņķ slink-s – sliņķ-is ‘lazy – lazy person’
ng → ņģ rung-a – ruņģ-el-e ‘club – club (DIM)’
lk → ļķ vilk-t – viļķ-is ‘drag – corkscrew’

Suffix + ending (suffix ends in k, g)

Fronting of the final consonant of a suffix is conditioned by the endings -e, -is used
in noun formation.
(1.32) gudr-s – gudr-iķ-is ‘clever – clever clog’
skol-niek-s – skol-niec-e ‘schoolboy – schoolgirl’

Inflection
Root + ending (root ends in k, g)
Fronting occurs in the following forms of a verb:

33
 1) the second person singular present tense form that possesses or has possessed
the ending -i
(1.33) INF – PRS 2SG
brauk-t – brauc <*brauc-i ‘to go – (you) go’
klieg-t – kliedz <*kliedz-i ‘to shout – (you) shout’
2) the second person singular past tense form
(1.34) INF – PST 2SG
sauk-t – sauc-i ‘to call – (you) called’
lūg-t – lūdz-i ‘to ask – (you) asked’
3) the second person plural imperative mood form
(1.35) INF – IMP 2PL
brauk-t– brauc-iet ‘to go – (you) go’
klieg-t – kliedz-iet ‘to shout – (you) shout’
4) the active voice past participle masculine gender singular nominative case
form
(1.36) INF – PST – PTCP NOM M SG
pirk-t – pirk-u – pirc-is ‘to buy – (I) bought – bought’
aug-t – aug-u – audz-is ‘to grow – (I) grew – grown’

Consonant t alternation
This alternation occurs only in the  inflection of the  infinitive of the  simple verbs
(without a prefix or a suffix) the stem of which ends in t, d. Alternation is caused by
the infinitive endings -t and -ties as well as the conditional mood suffixes -tu and -tos.
Root + ending (root ends in t, d)
(1.37) INF
sis-t <*sit-t ‘to beat’
ves-t <*ved-t ‘to bring’
kris-ties <*krit-ties ‘to drop (REFL)’
mos-ties <*mod-ties ‘to wake (REFL)’
(1.38) COND
sis-tu <*sit-tu ‘would beat’
ves-tu <*ved-tu ‘would bring’
kris-tos <*krit-tos ‘would drop (REFL)’
mos-tos <*mod-tos ‘would wake (REFL)’
The  same alternation occurs in past passive participle forms of verbs with roots
ending in t, d in combination with the inflectional suffix -t-:

34
Root + suffix (root ends in t, d)
(1.39) PTCP
sis-t-s <*sit-t-s ‘beaten’
ves-t-s <*ved-t-s ‘brought’

Consonant d alternation
This alternation is observable only in inflection. It occurs at the junction of the root
of conjugation 1 verbs (without a prefix or a suffix) and the suffix -dam- of the semi-
declinable participle; the root of these verbs ends in t, d:
Root + suffix (root ends in t, d)
(1.40) PTCP
siz-dam-s <*sit-dam-s ‘beating’
vez-dam-s <*ved-dam-s ‘bringing’

Consonant s assimilation of the preceding palatal consonant

In this case, it is hardly possible to distinguish word formation and inflection
because the ending -s relates to word formation, whereas assimilation occurs only in
the masculine singular nominative form. Thus, the ending -s possesses the allomorph
-š in Standard Latvian, which is a morphological and morphophonological indicator
of declension 1 nouns (see Table 2.3) in the nominative case (and of adjectives and
pronouns declined according to this pattern).

Root + ending (root ends in j, ņ, ļ, (ŗ))

The root should end in the palatal consonants j, ņ, ļ
(1.41) vēj-š <*vēj-s ‘wind’
skaļ-š <*skaļ-s ‘noisy’
viņ-š <*viņ-s ‘he’
This group also contains the words in Standard Latvian with the ending -š indicating
the earlier palatalization of the final consonant of the root ŗ (Rudzīte 1993: 325–326),
e.g.:
(1.42) varš < vaŗ-š <*vaŗ-s ‘copper’
see also karš ‘war’, garš ‘tall, long’, kurš ‘who, which’

Suffix + ending (suffix ends in ņ):

This combination of morphemes occurs only in the masculine gender nouns (1.43a)
and adjectives (1.43b) with the suffix -iņ-
(1.43) a. dēl-iņ-š <*dēl-iņ-s ‘son (DIM)’
b. maz-iņ-š <*maz-iņ-s ‘small (DIM)’

35
1.1.2 Interference of morphs
Morph interference is one of the morpheme adaptation types or morphophonological
processes that result in the  merging of morphs into one indivisible whole.
The consequence of the process is the shift of morpheme boundaries and/or phonetic
transformation of a morpheme, i.e., allomorphs. This results in the simplification of
the morphemic structure of a word / word form (Kalnača 2004: 70). Linguists have
termed this phenomenon fusion (or coalescence) (Matthews 1997: 140; Plungian 2000:
53–67, see also Skujiņa 2007: 341). Due to fusion, the borderline between particular
phonemes disappears and a  new morphological unit is formed (Anttila 1975: 18;
Lessau 1994: 366). Thus, interference of morphs is connected with various cases of
neighboring morphs merging.
There are three types of morph interference in Latvian:
1) the end of a morph merges with the beginning of the following morph or
with the whole morph, e.g., the consonant j causing palatalization
(1.44) NOM SG – GEN SG
brāl-is – brāļ-a <*brāl-j-a ‘brother’
2) morphs merge within the borderlines of a morpheme, e.g., the consonant n
alternation
(1.45) INF – PRS
kris-t – krīt-u <*kri-n-t-u ‘to fall – (I) fall’
3) the beginning of a morph merges with the end of the preceding morph or
with the whole morph
(1.46) a. V – N
apvīt – apīnis <*apvīnis ‘to wind around – hop’
b. V – ADJ
apvelt  – apaļš <*apvaļš ‘to roll around – round’

Interference of a root and a suffix / two suffixes

The  most frequently observable example of morph interference in Latvian is
the palatalization that occurs only in inflection and is connected with the marking
of the SG or PL genitive forms, plural paradigm, indirect cases, and the present tense
of a verb. This j has historically been a nominal and verb inflection suffix (Endzelīns
1981: 416–431, 488–494). Due to phoneme assimilation, the  original suffix has
merged with the end of a root morph and has caused consonant palatalization within
the forms of declension 2 (M), 5, and 6 (both F) nouns as well as within the present
tense forms of conjugation 1 and 3 verbs, see Table 1.1 (in detail see Sections 2.1.1
and 2.5.1):

36
Palata­ Nouns (declension) Verbs (conjugation)
lization
NOM SG GEN SG GEN PL INF PRS 1SG
nj>ņ zirnis (2) ‘pea’ zirņa zirņu
svaine (5) ‘sister-in-law’ svaiņu
lj>ļ celis (2) ‘knee’ ceļa ceļu vel-t (1) ‘to roll’ veļu
mēle (5) ‘tongue’ mēļu gulēt (3) ‘to lie’ guļu
pils (6) ‘castle’ piļu
sj>š trusis (2) ‘rabbit’ truša trušu plēst (1) plēšu
lāse (5) ‘drop’ lāšu ‘to tear’
tāss (6) ‘birch-bark’ tāšu
zj>ž nazis (2) ‘knife’ naža nažu gāzt (1) gāžu
vāze (5) ‘vase’ vāžu ‘to knock down’
cj>č runcis (2) ‘tomcat’ runča runču
prece (5) ‘product’ preču
dzj>dž vadzis (2) ‘peg’ vadža vadžu
palodze (5) ‘windowsill’ palodžu
tj>š zutis (2) ‘eel’ zuša zušu pūst<*pūtt (1) pūšu
māte (5) ‘mother’ māšu ‘to blow’
nots (6) ‘note’ nošu
dj>ž brīdis (2) ‘moment’ brīža brīžu grūst<*grūdt (1) grūžu
piegāde (5) ‘delivery’ piegāžu ‘to push’
sirds (6) ‘heart’ siržu
kj>c saukt (1) ‘to call’ saucu
mācīt (3) ‘to teach’ mācu
gj>dz lūgt (1) ‘to ask’ lūdzu
redzēt (3) ‘to see’ redzu
Table 1.1 Examples of palatalization in noun and verb forms

Thus, the  two morphs are inseparable because they have merged into one morph
creating allomorphs of root or suffix morphemes.
(1.47) a. NOM SG – GEN SG
bried-is – briež-a <*bried-j-a ‘deer’
sun-īt-is – sun-īš-a <*sun-īt-j-a ‘dog (DIM)’
b. INF – PRS
sauk-t – sauc-u <*sauk-j-u ‘to call – (I) call’
Palatalization has also influenced the  neighboring sounds within a  word.
The progressive assimilation of consonants (ceļš ‘way’, maziņš ‘small (DIM)’) has been
previously analyzed (see Section 1.1.1). The regressive assimilation of consonants and
morph interference have originated the allomorphs containing two morphophonemes
that differ from the basic morpheme:
(1.48) kausl-is – kaušļ-a <*kausļ-a <*kausl-j-a ‘bully’

37
This is the palatalization of consonant clusters (ln – ļņ, sn – šņ, sl – šļ, zl – žļ, zn – žņ,
ll – ļļ, nn – ņņ, st – š) in the grammatical forms of the nouns of declensions 2, 5, and
6 (Laua 1997: 94–95), e.g.:
(1.49) a. NOM SG – GEN SG (M)
cilnis – ciļņa ‘relief’
zibsnis– zibšņa ‘flash’
pūslis – pūšļa ‘bladder’
zizlis – zižļa ‘wand’
b. NOM SG – GEN PL (F)
zvaigzne – zvaigžņu ‘star’
balle – baļļu ‘ball’
pinne – piņņu ‘blackhead’
pāksts – pākšu ‘pod’

Inflection
Root + suffix (root ends in l, n, s, z, c, dz, t, d)
Palatalization occurs in the  following nouns as well as in some pronouns (for
palatalization exceptions see Section 2.1.1):
1) singular genitive of declension 2 (examples see Table 1.1);
2) plural genitive of declension 5 (examples see Table 1.1);
3) plural genitive of declension 6 (the root of which ends in t, d, l) (examples
see Table 1.1);
4) all plural cases of declension 2 (see also noun declension Table 2.3,
Section 2.1.1):
(1.50) lāc-is ‘bear’ (M)

Case PL
NOM lāč-i
GEN lāč-u
DAT lāč-iem
ACC lāč-us
INS (ar) lāč-iem
LOC lāč-os
VOC lāč-i!
Table 1.2 The plural declension paradigm of lācis ‘bear’

5) for a  portion of declension 1 and 4 nouns (also adjectives and pronouns

declined according to these patterns) palatalization functions throughout
the  declension paradigm as a  morphophonological indicator for this
declension subtype; its distinctive feature is a final palatal soft stem consonant
(see Section 2.1.1):

38
(1.51) a. declension 1 (M)
ceļ-š ‘way’
mež-s ‘forest’
zaļ-š ‘green’
b. declension 4 (F)
daļ-a ‘part’
viņ-a ‘she’
zaļ-a ‘green’
6) palatalization in the pronoun pats ‘self’ (declined according to the declension
1  pattern), pati ‘self (F)’ (declined according to the  declension 4 pattern)
marks only indirect case forms, whereas there is no alternation in the nomina­
tive (see Section 2.4.8):
(1.52) pats ‘self (M)’, pati ‘self (F)’

Case SG PL
NOM pat-s, pat-i paš-i, paš-as
GEN paš-a, paš-as paš-u
DAT paš-am, paš-ai paš-iem, paš-ām
ACC paš-u paš-us, paš-as
INS (ar) paš-u (ar) paš-iem, (ar) paš-ām
LOC paš-ā paš-os, paš-ās
Table 1.3 The declension paradigm of the pronouns pats ‘self (M)’, pati ‘self (F)’

Palatalization occurs in verbs of conjugation 1 subclass 2 (Table 1.4) as well as

conjugation 3 subclass 2 (Table 1.5) forms of the  simple present tense (with
the exception of the second person singular form) (see Section 2.5.1).
(1.53) lauz-t ‘to break’

Person PRS SG PRS PL

1 lauž-u lauž-am
2 lauz lauž-at
3 lauž
Table 1.4 Present tense paradigm of the verb lauzt ‘to break’

(1.54) gul-ē-t ‘to lie’

Person PRS SG PRS PL

1 guļ-u guļ-am
2 gul-i guļ-at
3 guļ
Table 1.5 Present tense paradigm of the verb gulēt ‘to lie’

39
The verbs of conjugation 1 subclass 2, the root of which ends in k, g, show fronting in
the second person singular, as in the verb saukt ‘call’ (see Section 2.5.1):
(1.55) tu sauc ‘you call (SG)’

Suffix + suffix (suffix ends in l, n, t, d, s, z, k, g)

Morph interference occurs in the following derived words:
1) nouns of declension 2 (M) with the suffixes -iet-, -īt-, -ait-, -ul-, -el-, -ekl-/-okl-,
-on-, etc. masculine nouns that are in the genitive singular and in the plural
of all cases (Table 1.6, see also Table 2.3);
2) nouns of declension 5 (F) with the  previously mentioned suffixes have
allomorphs in the genitive plural (Table 1.6, see also Table 2.3):

Suffix Declension 2 Declension 5

NOM SG GEN SG NOM PL NOM SG GEN PL
-iet- vīr-iet-is vīr-ieš-a vīr-ieš-i siev-iet-e siev-ieš-u
‘man’ ‘woman’
-īt- lāc-īt-is lāc-īš-a lāc-īš-i puķ-īt-e puķ-īš-u
‘bear (DIM)’ ‘flower (DIM)’
-ait- virs-ait-is virs-aiš-a virs-aiš-i
‘chieftain’
-ain- dūr-ain-is dūr-aiņ-a dūr-aiņ-i pried-ain-e pried-aiņ-u
‘mitten’ ‘pine grove’
-el- nam-el-is nam-eļ-a nam-eļ-i māj-el-e māj-eļ-u
‘house (DIM)’ ‘house (DIM)’
-ekl- kar-ekl-is kar-ekļ-a kar-ekļ-i lut-ekl-e lut-ekļ-u
‘pendant’ ‘darling (F)’
-okl- dzīv-okl-is dzīv-okļ-a dzīv-okļ-i
‘flat’
-en- bār-en-is bār-eņ-a bār-eņ-i kaķ-en-e kaķ-eņ-u
‘orphan’ ‘she-cat’
-otn- lap-otn-e lap-otņ-u
‘leafage’
-ien- lāc-ien-e lāc-ieņ-u
‘she-bear’
-ul- mīl-ul-is mīl-uļ-a mīl-uļ-i mīl-ul-e mīl-uļ-u
‘darling (M)’ ‘darling (F)’
-on- māk-on-is māk-oņ-a māk-oņ-i dzied-on-e dzied-oņ-u
‘cloud’ ‘singer (F)’
-es- mēn-es-is mēn-eš-a mēn-eš-i
‘month’
-ez- gliem-ez-is gliem-ež-a gliem-ež-i
‘snail’
Table 1.6 Suffix allomorphs of declension 2 and 5 nouns

40
 3) interference of suffix morphs occurs also in the  forms of the  past active
participle; if masculine gender participles have the indefinite ending -is, then
palatalization marks the indirect case forms (Table 1.7, see also Table 2.60):
(1.56) kāp-t (INF) – kāp-is (PTCP PST NOM M) ‘climb’

Case SG
NOM kāp-is
GEN kāp-uš-a
DAT kāp-uš-am
ACC kāp-uš-u
INS (ar) kāp-uš-u
LOC kāp-uš-ā
Table 1.7 Declension paradigm of the past active participle singular forms (indefinite
ending)

4) the  nominative and indirect case forms (which show palatalization) of

the  feminine past active participle can take both definite (1.57a) and
indefinite (1.57b) endings (full paradigm see in section 2.5.9, Table 2.61):
(1.57) a. indefinite ending
NOM SG F
aug-us-i
GEN SG
aug-uš-as
DAT SG
aug-uš-ai, etc.
b. definite ending
NOM SG F
aug-us-ī
GEN SG
aug-uš-ās
DAT SG
aug-uš-ajai, etc.
5) morph interference (palatalization) is also observable in the  forms of
the present active participle by merging the participle suffix and the former
suffix -j- (in detail see Endzelīns 1981: 521–522, see also Section 2.5.9,
Tables 2.55 and 2.56), e.g.:
(1.58) a. NOM SG M
aug-oš-s ‘growing’
b. NOM SG F
aug-oš-a ‘growing’

41
Morph interference, however, is not observable in all examples of palatalization.
If the  root of declension 2, 5, and 6 nouns (1.59a) or conjugation 1 verbs
(1.59b) ends in m, v, p, b, interference of morphs or fusion does not occur (see
also Section 2.1.1):
(1.59) a. NOM SG – GEN SG (declension 2 (M))
kurmis – kurmja ‘mole’
Raivis – Raivja ‘male’s name’
skapis – skapja ‘wardrobe’
gulbis – gulbja ‘swan’
NOM SG – GEN PL (declensions 5, 6 (F))
kalme – kalmju ‘sweet flag’
padeve – padevju ‘feeding’
atkāpe – atkāpju ‘indention’
piekabe – piekabju ‘trailer’
zivs – zivju ‘fish’
b. INF – PRS 1SG
lemt – lemju ‘to decide – (I) decide’
kāpt – kāpju ‘to climb – (I) climb’
glābt – glābju ‘to rescue – (I) rescue’
In this case there is neither complete consonant assimilation nor a phonetic allomorph.
The result, however, is a different type of allomorphism: the expansion of a morph.
This means that labials do not change under the influence of palatalization and that
j is added to them. Even if j is historically a suffix, it is viewed as the expansion of
a root morph in the synchronic description of Latvian (Kalme, Smiltniece 2001: 18),
i.e., the allomorph of the morpheme kurm- is kurmj- including the submorph j.

Word formation
Palatalization is not widespread in word formation. Normally, it can be seen in
those derivatives in which the  word formation stem is a  word form containing
palatalization caused by j. For example, adjectives with the suffix -ain- are formed
from the stem of a noun in the plural genitive (Soida 1970: 89; see also Table 2.6):
(1.60) NOM SG – GEN PL – ADJ
smilt-s – smilš-u – smilš-ain-s ‘sand – sandy’
akmen-s  – akmeņ-u – akmeņ-ain-s ‘stone – stony’
pērl-e – pērļ-u – pērļ-ain-s ‘pearl – pearly’
alksn-is– alkšņ-u – alkšņ-ain-s ‘alder – area covered with alder trees’

Root + suffix (root ends in l, n, t, d, s, z)

Interference of morphs occurs in the previously mentioned words, example (1.51) (see
Endzelīns 1981: 389–390); these are viewed as simple words in Standard Latvian,
e.g.:

42
(1.61) ceļ-š <*cel-j-s ‘way’
gaļ-a <*gal-j-a ‘meat’
viņ-a <*vin-j-a ‘she’
mež-s <*med-j-s ‘forest’
plauš-a <*plaut-j-a ‘lung’
snauž-a <*snaud-j-a ‘drowsy head’

Suffix + suffix (the first suffix ends in l, n, t, d, s, z)

Interference of morphs occurs in the  nouns and adjectives that are derived with
the help of the suffixes -oņ-, -iņ-, -aļ-, -už-, etc., see also Table 2.6:
(1.62) kauk-t – kauk-oņ-a <*kauk-on-j-a ‘to howl – howl’
jaun-s – jaun-iņ-š <*jaun-in-j-s ‘young – young (DIM)’
gald-s – gald-iņ-š ‘table – table (DIM)’
snaus-t – snaud-aļ-a < *snaud-al-j-a ‘to doze – drowsy head’
mig-t – mig-už-a < *mig-uz-j-a ‘to fall asleep – drowsy head’
Root and suffix interference involve inflection as well as word formation because
the suffix -j- performs both functions simultaneously. The suffix -j- is a word formation
tool, but, at the same time, all words are also marked as particular morphological
paradigms that are the representatives of nominals and pronouns.

The interference of a root and an infix

An infix is a morpheme that is inserted within a root morpheme (Skujiņa 2007: 156;
Kalnača 2004: 25; 2013b: 165), e.g., in Latvian:
(1.63) lip-t – līp-u <*li-n-p-u ‘to stick – (I) stick’
klup-t – klūp-u <*klu-n-p-u ‘to stumble – (I) stumble’
ras-t – [ru͜odŭ] rod-u <*ra-n-d-u ‘to find – (I) find’
Infixes are not viewed as independent morphemes in modern Latvian.

Inflection
Root + infix
Joining of morphs within the  boundary of a  morpheme, i.e., the  interference of
a root and infix -n- referred to in Latvian linguistics as the consonant n alternation
(Laua 1997: 75–76), is observed to occur only in present tense verb forms (see also
Section 2.5.1 and 2.5.3). The verbs formed by the infix -n- display the alternation of
a root vowel i – ī, u – ū, a – o [u͜o] in the present tense and this alternation marks
the present tense form of a verb in contrast to the infinitive and other forms, e.g.:
(1.64) kris-t – krīt-u <*kri-n-t-u ‘to fall – (I) fall’
zus-t – zūd-u <*zu-n-d-u ‘to disappear – (I) disappear’
plak-t – plok-u [plu͜okŭ] < *plank-u ‘to collapse – (I) collapse’
This change is the result of the fusion of a root and an infix because the infix -n-, due
to its tautosyllabic position, has merged with the morph of a root. This invariant of

43
the morph of a root is in infinitive and past tense forms, whereas the allomorph is in
present tense forms.

Interference of a prefix and a root

Word formation
Prefix + root
There are only a few of such cases in Latvian because normally there occur positional
phoneme alternations or positional allomorphs at the junction of a prefix and a root.
However, morph interference is observable, for example, in such words as apīnis ‘hop
(a plant)’, apaļš ‘round’, which are the result of a prefix and root merging:
(1.65) ap-vī-t – apīn-is <*ap-vī-n-is ‘to wind around – hop’
ap-vel-t – apaļ-š <*ap-vaļ-š ‘to roll around – round’
This process has resulted in the  creation of the  roots apīn-, apaļ- that function as
independent morphemes and serve as source morphemes for other derivatives (Soida
1970: 81–82; see also Kalnača 2004: 76), e.g.:
(1.66) apaļ-š ‘round’ – apaļ-īg-s, apaļ-um-s ‘roundness’
apiņ-i ‘hops’ – apiņ-ain-s ‘covered with hops’
Similar interference of morphs can be seen in some verbs where the root has merged
with the apocoped reduction s-, which initially had been the prepositional reflexive
element *si- (in dialects also sa-, za-) (Endzelīns 1981: 517; Endzelīns 1982: 454;
Metuzāle-Kangere 1985: XXXIII–XXXIV; Rudzīte 1993: 357), e.g.:
(1.67) izsalkt <iz-s-alk-t <*iz-si-alk-t ‘to get hungry’
pieskarties <pie-s-kar-ties <*pie-si-kar-ties ‘to touch’
noskaisties <no-s-kais-ties <*no-si-kais-ties ‘to get angry’
New words have been abstracted from the verbs salkt ‘to get hungry’, skart ‘to touch’,
skaisties ‘to chafe’ viz. the root morphemes salk-, skar-, skais- that are allomorphs of
the morphemes alk-, kar-, kais- (Kalnača 2004: 76).

1.1.3 Reduction of the word formation/inflectional stem

Reduction of the  word formation/inflectional stem is normally connected with
affixation in word formation or inflectional processes. This is one of the  morph
adaptation types and it is opposite of interfixation (Kalnača 2004: 76). Stem reduction
or apocope occurs so to avoid the violation of phonetic rules.
The goal of this reduction is:
1) the avoidance of consonant clusters at morpheme junctions, i.e., the historical
deletion of the consonants t, d, s, z (Laua 1997: 96);
2) the avoidance of vowel clusters at morpheme junctions.

44
Avoidance of consonant clusters
The historical deletion of consonants affects the consonants t, d, s, z, if they precede
the consonants s, z in word forms or derivatives (in detail see Rudzīte 1993: 351–352;
Auziņa 2013b: 94).

Word formation
Formation of nouns with the help of the suffix -šan- from (usually conjugation class
1) verbs, the root of which end in t, d, s, z, resulting in the loss of the final phoneme
of the root morph (see also Table 2.6):
(1.68) kris-t <*krit-t – kri-šan-a <*krit-šan-a ‘to fall – falling’
plūs-t <*plūd-t – plū-šan-a <*plūd-šan-a ‘to flow – flowing’
aus-t – au-šan-a <*aus-šan-a ‘to rise – rising’
lauz-t – lau-šan-a <*lauz-šan-a ‘to break – breaking’
The word formation stem of the following verbs is reduced, which includes derivatives
with the suffixes -sm- (1.69a), -sl- (1.69b), -m- (1.69c) (Rudzīte 1993: 351–352), e.g.:
(1.69) a. plūs-t <*plūd-t – plū-sm-a <*plūd-sm-a ‘to flow – flow’
jaus-t <*jaut-t – jau-sm-a <*jaut-sm-a ‘to feel – presentiment’
b. pūs-t <*pūt-t – pū-sl-is <*pūt-sl-is ‘to blow – bladder’
mēz-t – mē-sl-i <*mēz-sl-i ‘to sweep – dung’
c. lais-t <*laid-t – lai-m-e <*laid-m-e ‘to let – happiness’

Root + interfix (root ends in t, d, s, z)

If the root of a verb ends in the consonants t, d, s, z, then the interfixes -šļ-, -šņ-, -st-,
-žļ-, -žņ- of these derived verbs cause the reduction of a root morph. (in detail see
Kalnača 2002: 474–478 and 2004: 77, as well as Section 1.1.4), e.g.:
(1.70) kos-t – ko-(šļ)-ā-t <*kod-(šļ)-ā-t ‘to bite – to chew’
kas-t – ka-(šņ)-ā-t <*kas-(šņ)-ā-t ‘to scratch’
grūs-t – grū-(st)-ī-t <*grūd-(st)-ī-t ‘to push – to jostle’
zīs-t – zī-(žļ)-ā-t <*zīd-(žļ)-ā-t ‘to suck’
līs-t – lī-(žņ)-ā-t <*līd-(žņ)-ā-t ‘to crawl’

Inflection
Conjugation 1 verbs lose the final phoneme of their root morph if the root ends in t,
d, s, z and the simple present tense is formed with the help of the suffix -st- (Rudzīte
1993: 351–352; Kalnača 2013c: 548, see also Table 2.25):
(1.71) kals-t – kal-st-u <*kalt-st-u ‘to dry – (I) dry’
plūs-t – plū-st-u <*plūd-st-u ‘to flow – (I) flow’
aus-t – au-st-u <*aus-st-u ‘to rise – (I) rise’
lūz-t – lū-st-u <*lūz-st-u ‘to break – (I) break’

45
Avoidance of vowel clusters
Word formation
Suffix + ending (suffix ends in a long vowel or diphthong)
Forming nouns from verbs of conjugation 2 and 3 by linking the derivational endings
-e, -is to the word formation stem, would result in a vowel cluster at the junction of
morphemes. Such a cluster occurs because the infinitive stem of a verb has a vocalic
suffix (-ī-, -ē-, -ā-, -o-) or a  suffix that ends in a  vowel (-inā-). To avoid this vowel
cluster, the  suffix of the  infinitive stem or its part, is reduced (Soida 1977: 112;
Kalnača 2013b: 166–167), e.g.:
(1.72) ap-skat-ī-t – ap-skat-e <*ap-skat-ī-e ‘to view – examination’
ie-cer-ē-t – ie-cer-e <*ie-cer-ē-e ‘to intend – intention’
pār-zin-ā-t – pār-zin-is <*pār-zin-ā-is ‘to know – manager’
ap-kalp-o-t – ap-kalp-e <*ap-kalp-o-e ‘to serve – crew’

Inflection
Suffix + ending (suffix ends in a long vowel)
In Latvian, avoidance of vowel clusters at the  junction of morphemes through
the reduction of a word stem occurs in the formation of present tense conjugation
3 verbs. Such inflection-caused stem reduction functions as a  marker contrasting
present tense and past tense forms (see also Soida 2009: 168). With this, conjugation
3 verbs in the simple present tense morphophonologically differ from the verbs of
conjugation 2, as there are no differences between their forms in the  infinitive or
the past tense (see Section 2.5.1). The root of these verbs ends in a consonant with
the word formation suffix being a long vowel or the suffix ending in a long vowel (-ī-,
-ē-, -ā-, -inā-). Therefore, the creation of present tense forms by adding the relevant
personal endings would result in a  vowel cluster, which, however, is avoided by
dropping the infinitive suffix or the final vowel of this suffix, as in the verbs pētīt ‘to
study’ (Table 1.8) and mēģināt ‘to try’ (Table 1.9).

Person PRS SG PRS PL

1 pēt-u <* pēt-ī-u pēt-ām <* pēt-ī-ām
2 pēt-i <* pēt-ī-i pēt-āt <* pēt-ī-āt
3 pēt-a <* pēt-ī-a
Table 1.8 The present tense forms of the verb pētīt ‘to study’

Person PRS SG PRS PL

1 mēģ-in-u <*mēģ-inā-u mēģ-in-ām <*mēģ-inā-ām
2 mēģ-in-i <*mēģ-inā-i mēģ-in-āt <*mēģ-inā-āt
3 mēģ-in-a <*mēģ-inā-a
Table 1.9 The present tense forms of the verb mēģināt ‘to try’

46
1.1.4 Interfixation
Interfixation is one of the  methods of morpheme adaptation in Latvian. However,
in contrast to the word formation/inflection described in the previous section 1.1.3,
stem reduction and vowel or consonant fusion at the  junction of morphemes are
avoided with the  help of a  specific affix  – an  interfix (Kalnača 2004: 78; Skujiņa
2007: 160; Kalnača 2013b: 167).

Avoidance of vowel clusters

Word formation
Root + suffix (root ends in a monophthong or diphthong; suffixes are vocalic)
In causative verbs and derived iterative verbs, the roots of which end in a monophthong
or diphthong, the  interfixes -d-, -st-, -ņ- are documented (Soida 2009: 192–203).
The function of an interfix is to prevent vowel fusion in derivatives that would occur
if a vocalic word formation suffix (-ā-, -ē-, -ī-, -o-, -inā-) were added to the root of
a verb (see Skujiņa 2007: 160; see also section 2.0.1), e.g.:
(1.73) lie-t – lie-(d)-ē-t ‘to pour – to leave in the rain’
šū-t – šū-(d)-inā-t ‘to sew – to have a garment made’
lie-t – lai-(st)-ī-t ‘to pour – to water’
mī-t – mī-(ņ)-ā-t ‘to tread – to trample’
One verb can have two kinds of interfixed derivatives, e.g.:
(1.74) mī-t – mī-(d)-ī-t, mī-(ņ)-ā-t ‘to tread – to trample’
tī-t – tī-(st)-ī-t, tī-(ņ)-ā-t ‘to wrap – to wrap up’
Some interfixes in Latvian are inserted at the  morpheme junction due to analogy,
even if they are not required there. Apart from the previously mentioned interfixes,
the following interfixes also can occur in this position -šņ-, -šļ-, -žņ-, -žļ-:
(1.75) gul-t – gul-(šņ)-ā-t ‘to lie – to lie around’
kos-t <*kod-t – ko-(šļ)-ā-t <*kod-(šļ)-ā-t ‘to bite – to chew’
līs-t <*līd-t – lī-(žņ)-ā-t <*līd-(žņ)-ā-t ‘to crawl – to creep’
zīs-t <*zīd-t – žī-(žļ)-ā-t <*zīd-(žļ)-ā-t ‘to suck – to suck’
If the root of a verb ends in a consonant, then an interfix is used due to analogy in
such derived verbs. Perhaps this is to strengthen the causative / iterative meaning of
the derivative in contrast to the source verb, e.g.:
(1.76) dil-t – del-(d)-ē-t ‘to wear out – to wear out (through use)’
bēr-t – bār-(st)-ī-t ‘to strew – to scatter’
grim-t – grem-(d)-ē-t ‘to sink – to cause to sink’
There can occur two kinds of iterative derivatives of one verb – one of them with and
the other without an interfix.
(1.77) rak-t – rak-(ņ)-ā-t, rak-ā-t ‘to dig – to dig around’
gul-t – gul-(šņ)-ā-t, gul-ē-t ‘to lie – to lie around’

47
In this case it is also relevant to consider the  morphophonological function of
an interfix.
In such cases the type of word formation can be determined by the quality of
the final consonant of the root, i.e., either it is a sonorant or an obstruent. If a verb
root ends in a  sonorant, the  derivative possesses either only an  interfix (1.78a) or
an interfix and apophony (1.78b).
(1.78) a. interfix
gul-t – gul-(šņ)-ā-t ‘to lie – to lie around’
b. interfix + apophony
grim-t – grem-(d)-ē-t ‘to sink – to cause to sink’
vel-t – val-(st)-ī-t ‘to roll – to roll back and forth’
dzer-t – dzir-(d)-inā-t ‘to drink – to give to drink’
If the root ends in the consonants d, t, s, z, then the interfixes -šļ-, -šņ-, -st-, -žļ-, -žņ
cause the shortening of the root morph, i.e., the shortening of the derivational stem
in the derived verbs:
(1.79) os-t – o-(šņ)-ā-t <*od-(šņ)-ā-t ‘to smell – to sniff’
kas-t – ka-(šņ)-āt <*kas-(šņ)-ā-t ‘to scratch – to scratch (iter.)’
grūs-t – grū-(st)-ī-t <*grūd-(st)-ī-t ‘to push – to jostle’
See also examples (1.75) with the verbs košļāt ‘to chew’, līžņāt ‘to crawl’, zīžļāt ‘to
suck’.
Opinions differ regarding interfixes in such derived verbs as well as their
division into morphemes. For example, Soida (2009: 193) considers that in verbs
such as košļāt ‘to chew’, ošņāt ‘to sniff’, zīžļāt ‘to suck’, līžņāt ‘to crawl’, etc. there
are interfixes -ļ-, -ņ- that have caused the  alternation of the  final consonant of
the source verb stem. Vulāne (1997: 291) is of a similar opinion about, for example,
the  division of the  verb košļāt ‘to chew’ into morphemes: koš+(ļ)+ā-t. Metuzāle-
Kangere (1985: 132) also proposes a  similar division for the  verb košļāt ‘to chew’
into morphemes, koš-ļ-ā-t, but, she considers -ļ- to be a causative suffix. However, in
relation to these derived verbs the historical deletion of the consonants t, d, s, z has
been underestimated if, in grammatical forms or during word formation processes,
they occur in front of the morphemes that start with s, š (Endzelīns 1981: 373–374;
Rudzīte 1993: 350–352; Laua 1997: 96). In theory, the same alternation might occur
in front of morphs starting with z, ž. Therefore, in relation to such verbs, it would be
more relevant to consider the interfixes -šļ-, -šņ-, -žļ-, -žņ- and the shortening of word
formation/inflectional stems (Kalnača 2004: 79; Kalnača 2013b: 166, 168).
If a  verb stem ends in a  consonant, then two morphophonological processes
occur in the derived word that both relate to the phonetic structure of the end of
the verb stem:
1) if the  stem of a  verb ends in a  sonorant, then the  morphophonological
process during word formation involves either only an interfix or the vocalic
alternation of the stem together with an interfix (see examples (1.78));

48
 2) if the  stem of a  verb ends in an  obstruent, then the  morphophonological
process during word formation involves the  loss of the  final consonant of
the stem together with an interfix (see examples (1.79)).

Inflection
Suffix + ending (the  suffix is a  long vowel or diphthong; the  ending starts with
a vowel)
The  interfix -j- is used in the  formation of the  person forms in the  simple present
and past of conjugation 2 verbs in order to avoid vowel clusters at the junction of
the suffix and ending (Table 1.10; see also Section 2.5.1).

Person PRS SG PRS PL

1 vēr-o-(j)-u <*vēr-o-u vēr-o-(j)-am <*vēr-o-am
2 vēr-o-ø-ø <*vēr-o-(j)-i <*vēr-o-i vēr-o-(j)-at <*vēr-o-at
3 vēr-o-ø-ø <*vēr-o-(j)-a <*vēr-o-a
PST SG PST PL
1 vēr-o-(j)-u <*vēr-o-u vēr-o-(j)-ām <*vēr-o-ām
2 vēr-o-(j)-i <*vēr-o-i vēr-o-(j)-āt <*vēr-o-āt
3 vēr-o-(j)-a <*vēr-o-a
Table 1.10 The verb vērot ‘to watch’ person forms in the present and past

The interfix -j- occurs in the past tense forms of conjugation 3 verbs: see the verb pētīt
‘to study’ (Table 1.11; see also Section 2.5.1).

Person PST SG PST PL

1 pēt-ī-(j)-u <* pēt-ī-u pēt-ī-(j)-ām <* pēt-ī-ām
2 pēt-ī-(j)-i <* pēt-ī-i pēt-ī-(j)-āt <* pēt-ī-āt
3 pēt-ī-(j)-a <* pēt-ī-a
Table 1.11 The verb pētīt ‘to study’ person forms in the past

The  description of the  linguistic feature -j- is approached differently in Latvian

linguistics. In Latvian synchronic morphology, -j- is described as a suffix and is also
viewed as such in the present grammar book (Kalme, Smiltniece 2001: 214; Paegle
2003: 98–99; Kalnača 2014: 79).
Avoidance of consonant clusters with the  help of an  interfix occurs only in
inflection in Latvian.
Root + suffix (root ends in consonants s, z, t, d)
Verbs (conjugation 1), the stems of which end in s, z, t, d, have the interfix -ī- in their
future tense form. It is inserted at the junction of morphemes to avoid the formation
of a consonant cluster (Paegle 2003: 100; Kalnača 2013b: 169, see also Section 2.5.3):

49
(1.80) INF – FUT 2SG
plēs-t – plēs-(ī)-s-i ‘to tear – (you) will tear’
grauz-t – grauz-(ī)-s-i ‘to gnaw – (you) will gnaw’
jus-t – jut-(ī)-s-i ‘to feel – (you) will feel’
spries-t – spried-(ī)-s-i ‘to judge – (you) will judge’

1.2 The morphophonological functions of vowel alternations

In Latvian, the morphophonological functions of vowel alternations are associated
with two different processes:
1) apophony (or ablaut) (1.81a);
2) metaphony (or umlaut) involving the vowels e, ē (1.81b)
(1.81) a. vilkt – velku ‘to pull – (I) pull’
b. nesu [næsːŭ] – nesu [nesːŭ] ‘(I) carry – (I) carried’
These alternations occur at morpheme boundaries and are not to be associated with
phenomena resulting from morphological junction: phoneme alternation at a morph
boundary, interference of morphs, interfixation, or reduction of the stem.
Though the umlaut involving e, ē is positionally conditioned, the way in which it
manifests in Latvian has a direct connection with the morphophonological functions
seen in word formation and inflection (Kalnača 2004: 82). The  umlaut involving
the vowels e, ē is an example of regressive assimilation at a distance.
Consonant n alternation can also be analyzed as a morphophonological vowel
alternation. In modern Latvian, this alternation appears in verbs as i – ī, u – ū, a – o
[uo]:
(1.82) krist – krītu ‘to fall – (I) fall’
just – jūtu ‘to feel – (I) feel’
rak-t – [ru͜okŭ] roku ‘to dig – (I) dig’
As the source of this alternation is morph interference, i.e., the merger of a root and
infix, it is discussed in Section 1.1.2.

1.2.1 Apophony
Apophony (also ablaut) is a  morphophonological vowel alternation inherited from
Proto-Indo-European, which manifests itself in word formation and inflection (e.g.,
Matthews 1997: 2; Crystal 2000: 173; Skujiņa 2007: 226).
In Latvian, apophony can be divided into two categories according to the way
in which it manifests and its function:
1) quantitative apophony;
2) qualitative apophony.
In Latvian, apophony is typically a  segmental phenomenon. Therefore, all
morphemes where apophony is possible are allomorphs. Apophony occurs most often

50
in root morphemes, less often in suffixes. This grammar examines apophony in root
morphemes, as examples of apophony in suffixes are found more often in dialects
rather than in Standard Latvian (for more see Kalnača 2004: 83).
There are situations where apophony in a  root morpheme is supplemented
with metatony (example (1.83)); however, due to the limitations in the scope of this
grammar, these situations are not discussed here (for more see Kalnača 2004: 104,
2013b: 179).
(1.83) smiet [smi͜eˀt] – smaidīt [smɑ͜iːdiːt] ‘to laugh – to smile’

Word formation (qualitative as well as quantitative apophony)

V–N
(1.84) e-series
svēr-t – svar-s, svir-a ‘to weigh – weight, lever’
cel-t – kal-n-s, cil-n-is ‘to build – hill, small rise’
vel-t – val-n-is, vil-n-is, vāl-s ‘to roll – dam, wave, (fog) bank’
zel-t – zāl-e ‘to flourish – grass’
šķel-t – skal-s, šķil-a ‘to split – splinter, chip’
(1.85) i-series
mig-t – mieg-s ‘to fall asleep – sleep’
snig-t – snieg-s ‘to snow – snow’
(1.86) u-series
grau-t – grav-a ‘to erode, destroy – ravine’
krau-t – krav-a ‘to load – load’
jau-t – jav-a ‘to make dough – plaster’

V–ADJ
(1.87) e-series
zel-t – zaļ-š, zil-s ‘to flourish – green, blue’
(1.88) i-series
lip-t – laip-n-s ‘to stick to – friendly’
stig-t – staig-n-s ‘to sink in – swampy’
mig-t – maig-s ‘to fall asleep – gentle’
(1.89) u-series
juk-t – jauk-s ‘to become muddled – nice’

V–V
Intransitive verb – transitive verb
The only means for word formation is apophony:
(1.90) e-series
bir-t – bēr-t ‘to fall – to pour’
mirk-t – mērk-t ‘to become wet – to soak’
šķil-t – šķel-t ‘to spark – to split’

51
(1.91) i-series
lī-t – lie-t ‘to flow – to pour’
līk-t – liek-t ‘to bend – to (cause to) bend’
šķīs-t – šķies-t ‘to dissolve – to squander’
(1.92) u-series
žū-t – žau-t ‘to dry – to (cause to) dry’
grū-t – grau-t ‘to collapse – to erode, destroy’
juk-t – jauk-t ‘to become muddled – to muddle’
ruk-t – rauk-t ‘to shrink, dwindle – to reduce meshes (when knitting)’

Non-causative verb – causative verb

The means for word formation are apophony and suffixation:
(1.93) e-series
dil-t – del-(d)-ē-t ‘to wear out – to wear out (through use)’
(1.94) i-series
dīg-t – diedz-ē-t ‘to sprout – to (cause to) sprout’
dzī-t – dzie-(d)-ē-t ‘to heal – to (cause to) heal, cure)
(1.95) u-series
kus-t – kaus-ē-t ‘to melt – to (cause to) melt’
pluk-t – plauc-ē-t ‘to hurt from scalding – to scald’

Semelfactive verb – iterative verb

The  means for word-formation to express the  contrast between non-frequentative
and frequentative verbs are:
1) apophony and suffixation:
(1.96) e-series
nes-t – nēs-ā-t ‘to carry – to carry around’
vilk-t – valk-ā-t ‘to put on – to wear’
(1.97) i-series
steig-t – staig-ā-t ‘to rush – to walk’
klieg-t – klaig-ā-t ‘to shout – to clamor’
(1.98) u-series
žau-t – žāv-ē-t ‘to dry – to dry, smoke (e.g., fish)’
rau-t – rav-ē-t ‘to yank – to weed’
2) apophony, suffixation together with interfixation:
(1.99) e-series
vel-t – val-(st)-ī-t ‘to roll – to roll back and forth’
šķel-t – skal-(d)-ī-t ‘to split – to chop (e.g., firewood)’
(1.100) i-series
lie-t – lai-(st)-ī-t ‘to pour – to water (e.g., a garden)’
smie-t – smai-(d)-ī-t ‘to laugh – to smile’

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ADJ–N
(1.101) e-series
smalk-s – smelk-n-e ‘fine – fine-textured material’
dziļ-š – dzīl-e, dzel-m-e ‘deep – depths, abyss’
In Latvian, apophony is only found in verb inflection. It does not occur in noun or
adjective paradigms.

Verb forms
Qualitative as well as quantitative apophony are found in the  tense forms of
conjugation 1 verbs.
Qualitative apophony in present tense forms
INF – PRS
(1.102) e-series for a portion of conjugation 1 subclass 2 verbs
vilk-t – velk-u ‘to pull – (I) pull’
krims-t – kremt-u ‘to gnaw – (I) gnaw’
pirk-t – pērk-u <*perk-u ‘to buy – (I) buy’
cirs-t – cērt-u <*cert-u ‘to chop – (I) chop’
(1.103) i-series
lik-t – liek-u ‘to put – (I) put’
stig-t – stieg-u ‘to get stuck – (I) get stuck’

Quantitative apophony in past tense forms

INF – PST
(1.104) e-series
cel-t – cēl-ām ‘to build – (we) built’
dzer-t – dzēr-ām ‘to drink – (we) drank’
lem-t – lēm-ām ‘to decide – (we) decided’
šķir-t – šķīr-ām ‘to separate – (we) separated’
vil-t – vīl-ām ‘to deceive – (we) deceived’
(1.105) i-series
lie-t – lēj-ām ‘to pour – (we) poured’
smie-t – smēj-ām ‘to laugh – (we) laughed’
riet-t – rēj-ām ‘to bark – (we) barked’
(1.106) u-series
stum-t – stūm-ām ‘to push – (we) pushed’
krau-t – krāv-ām ‘to load – (we) loaded’
žau-t – žāv-ām ‘to dry – (we) dried’

53
1.2.2 Metaphony
Metaphony refers to progressive or regressive vowel assimilation within a word or
word form (Skujiņa 2007: 230). In Latvian, metaphony can be seen in the  umlaut
which occurs for the vowels e, ē – an example of regressive vowel assimilation.
The quality – open [æ], [æː] or close [e], [eː] – of e, ē, which is conditioned by
their position, creates allomorphs because of word formation and inflection. Modern
Latvian also has several exceptions for which position is no longer important; these
are the so-called historical rules for the pronunciation of e, ē. These rules also reflect
the connection between the pronunciation of e, ē and morphological paradigms. In
general, it can be said that the quality of e, ē in Latvian depends on morphophonological
principles – adjustments in the pronunciation of e, ē are conditioned by morpheme
combination during word formation and inflection (Kalnača 2004: 85).
The pronunciation of e, ē in Latvian is associated with the following types of
morpheme combination:
1) root + suffix;
2) root (also stem) + ending;
3) suffix + suffix;
4) suffix + ending;
5) root + root (also stem + stem).
In the case of metaphony, morphemes in Latvian have allomorphs containing
morphophonemes (Kalnača 2004: 85):
(1.107) a. {Æ}–{E} meln-s – meln-is ‘black – black horse’
b. {Æː}–{Eː} lēn-s – lēn-īg-s ‘slow – gentle’
c. {E}–{Æ} cep-t – cep-um-s ‘to bake – biscuit’
d. {Eː}–{Æː} ēs-t – ēd-āj-s ‘to eat – eater’

Word formation
Root + suffix
If the root of the base word contains [æ], [æː], but the suffix contains a front vowel or
diphthong, then the root allomorph contains [e], [eː]:
(1.108) a. dēl-s [dæːls] – dēl-iņ-š [deːliɲʃ] ‘son – son (DIM)’
b. veln-s [vælns] – veln-iņ-š [velniɲʃ] ‘devil – devil (DIM)’
c. vēl-s [væːls] – vēl-īn-s [veːliːns] ‘late – belated’
d. meln-s [mælns] – meln-ē-t [melneːt] ‘black – to show black’
e. lepn-s [læpn̩s] – lepn-īg-s [lepniːks] ‘proud – arrogant’
f. seg-a [sægɑ̆] – sedz-iņ-a [seʣiɲɑ̆] ‘blanket – blanket (DIM)’
If the root of the base word contains [e], [eː], but the suffix contains a velar vowel or
diphthong, then the root allomorph contains [æ], [æː]
(1.109) a. teļ-š [teʎʃ] – tel-ēn-s [tælæːns] / [telæːns] ‘calf – calf (DIM)’
b. pel-e [pelĕ] – pel-ēn-s [pælæːns] / [pelæːns] ‘mouse – mouse (DIM)’
c. cep-t [ʦept] – cep-um-s [cæpˑums] ‘to bake – biscuit’

54
 d. ves-t [vest] – ved-um-s [vædums] ‘to transport – transportation’
e. dzer-t [ʣert] – dzēr-āj-s [ʣæːrɑːi ̯s] ‘to drink – drunkard’
f. ņem-t [ɲemt] – ņēm-āj-s [ɲæːmɑːi ̯s] ‘to take – taker, holder’
g. brēk-t [breːkt] – brēk-ā-t [bræːkɑːt] ‘to cry – to clamor repeatedly’
h. lēk-t [leːkt] – lēk-ā-t [læːkɑːt] ‘to jump – to jump about’
i. redz-ē-t [reʣeːt]– redz-okl-is [ræʣu͜oklĭs] ‘to see – pupil (of the eye)’
As noted by Laua (1997: 124), in Standard Latvian two different pronunciations are
possible for e, ē – [e], [eː] or [æ], [æː] – in forms derived with the suffixes -ain-, -āj-,
-ēn-, see examples (1.109a-b).

Root (i.e., stem) + ending

If the root/stem of the base word contains [æ], [æː], but the ending of the derived
form contains a front vowel (i.e., the endings -is, -e), then the root allomorph contains
[e], [eː]:
(1.110) vec-s [væʦs] – vec-is [veʦːĭs] ‘old – old man’
meln-s [mælns] – meln-is [melnĭs] ‘black – black horse’
If the root/stem of the base word contains [e], [eː], but the ending of the derived form
is -s <*-as, -a, then the root allomorph contains [æ], [æː]:
(1.111) brēk-t [breːkt] – brēk-a [bræːkɑ̆] ‘to cry – clamor’
ie-tec-ē-t [i͜eteʦeːt] – ie-tek-a [i͜etækɑ̆] ‘to flow into – mouth of a river’
redz-ē-t [reʣeːt] – rēg-s [ræːks] ‘to see – phantom’

Suffix + suffix
If the  suffix of the  base word contains [e], [eː], but the  suffix of the  derived form
contains a  velar vowel or diphthong, then the  allomorph of the  suffix of the  base
word contains [æ], [æː]:
(1.112) brūkl-en-e [bruːklenĕ] – brūkl-en-āj-s [bruːklænɑːi ̯s]/[bruːklenɑːi ̯s]
‘lingonberry – lingonberry bush’
mell-en-e [melːenĕ]– mell-en-āj-s [mælːænɑːi ̯s]/[melːenɑːi ̯s] ‘bilberry –
bilberry bush’
kum-eļ-š [kumeʎʃ] – kum-el-ēn-s [kumælæːns]/[kumelæːns] ‘colt – young
colt’
If the suffix of the base word contains [æ], [æː], but the subsequent suffix contains
a  palatal vowel or diphthong, then the  allomorph of the  suffix of the  base word
contains [e], [eː]:
(1.113) putn-ēn-s [putnæːns] – putn-ēn-iņ-š [putneːniɲʃ] ‘fledgling – fledgling (DIM)’
veln-ēn-s [vælnæːns]/[velnæːns] – veln-ēn-iņ-š [velneːniɲʃ] ‘imp – imp (DIM)’
slep-en-s [slæpˑæns] – slep-en-īb-a [slepˑeniːbɑ̆] ‘secret – secrecy’
var-en-s [vɑræns]– var-en-īb-a [vɑreniːbɑ̆] ‘mighty – might’

55
Suffix + ending
The  form that allomorphs of nominal suffixes take in Latvian depends on
the subsequent ending, for example, the variants of the suffix -en- [æn] and [en], i.e.,
-en- + -s <*-as, -a and -en- + -is, -e:
(1.114) adjectives
var-en-s [vɑræns] ‘mighty’
gar-en-a [gɑrænɑ̆] ‘longish’
(1.115) nouns
tīt-en-is [tiːtenĭs] ‘twining plant’
lāc-en-e [lɑːʦenĕ] ‘cloudberry’
Exceptions include the declension 2 nouns akm-en-s ‘stone’, asm-en-s ‘blade’, rud-en-s
‘autumn’, mēn-es-s ‘moon’, zib-en-s ‘lightning’, ūd-en-s ‘water’, the suffixes of which
contain [e], as earlier the nominative ending may have been *-is following the example
of declension 6, and the genitive *-es [es] <*-ēs [eːs] (Endzelīns 1981: 429–430).

Inflection
Root (i.e., stem) + ending
Nouns
The pronunciation of e, ē also distinguishes declensions 1 and 6. The difference in
the pronunciation of e, ē occurs in the nominative singular: [æ], [æː] for declension
1 nouns, [e], [eː] for declension 6 nouns, these pronunciations are maintained across
the entire paradigm. Earlier, each declension had a unique nominative ending whose
vowel also determined the pronunciation of e, ē in the root: -s <*-as for declension 1,
-s <*-is for declension 6. The  difference in the  pronunciation of e, ē is the  only
formal characteristic distinguishing these declensions, as otherwise the nominative
is pronounced the same for both declensions, though every group of roots does have
its own unique system of endings in the rest of the paradigm.
The  quality (open or close) of e, ē in suffixes is also a  distinctive feature
distinguishing declension 1 and 2:
(1.116) declension 1 (NOM -s <*-as)
zob-en-s [zu͜obæns] ‘sword’
spilv-en-s [spilvæns] ‘pillow’
dib-en-s [dibæns] ‘backside, posterior’
(1.117) declension 2 (NOM -s <*-is, GEN -s <*-es <*-ēs, i.e., [eːs])
ūd-en-s [uːdens] ‘water’
rud-en-s [rudens] ‘autumn’
zib-en-s [zibens] ‘lightning’
Some declension 6 nouns containing an open e, ē in the root (i.e., stem) have a marked
plural genitive, which differs from the rest of the paradigm and contains a close e, ē
(e.g., Laua 1997: 122–123; Markus 2013: 128):

56
(1.118)1 Cēs-is [ʦeːsĭs] – Cēs-u [ʦæːsŭ] ‘Cēsis (city in Latvia) – Cēsis GEN PL’
debes-is [debesĭs] – debes-u [dæbæsŭ] ‘sky – sky GEN PL’
In Standard Latvian, the  following pronunciations are also possible for the  plural
genitive forms of these words: [ʦeːsŭ], [debesŭ] (Laua ibid.; Markus ibid.).

Metaphony in verbs has the following functions:

1) distinguishing present and past tense stems for conjugation 1 subclass 1
verbs – open e has been generalized for the present tense, close e for the past
tense (Table 1.12):
(1.119) nes-t ‘to carry’
Person PRS
SG PL
1 nes-u [næsːŭ] nes-am [næsˑɑm]
2 nes [nes] nes-at [næsˑɑ̆t]
3 nes [næs]
PST
1 nes-u [nesːŭ] nes-ām [nesɑːm]
2 nes-i [nesːĭ] nes-āt [nesɑːt]
3 nes-a [nesːɑ̆]
Table 1.12 The present and past tense forms of the verb nest ‘to carry’

2) marking the  second person singular present tense form for conjugation
1 subclass 1 verbs such as nest ‘to carry’, vest ‘to transport’, mest ‘to throw’,
ēst ‘to eat’, and others; open e is used across the entire paradigm with the ex­
ception of the second person singular form (see Table 1.12); much the same
is the case for conjugation 3 subclass 2 verbs such as cerēt ‘to hope’, derēt ‘to
fit’, peldēt ‘to swim’, vēlēt ‘to wish’, pētīt ‘to study’, mērīt ‘to measure’, and so
on (Table 1.13):
(1.120) cer-ē-t ‘to hope’
Person PRS
SG PL
1 cer-u [ʦærŭ] cer-am [ʦærɑm]
2 cer-i [ʦerĭ] cer-at [ʦærɑ̆t]
3 cer [ʦær]
Table 1.13 The present tense forms of the verb cerēt ‘to hope’

1
Cēsis and debesis are pluralia tantum nouns in Latvian. Therefore, the only genitive form used
for these nouns is the plural form.

57
 3) marking the second person plural imperative mood form with close e, ē in
conjugation 1 and 3 verbs distinguishing these from the second person plural
indicative mood forms containing open e, ē:
(1.121) INF – IND 2PL – IMP 2PL
a. nes-t ‘to carry’ – nes-at [næsːɑ̆t] – nes-iet [nesi͜et]
b. redz-ē-t ‘to see’ – redz-at [ræʣɑ̆t] – redz-iet [reʣi͜et]
c. pēt-ī-t ‘to study’ – pēt-āt [pæːtɑːt] – pēt-iet [peːti͜et]
4) distinguishing the conditional mood with open e, ē in the root (i.e., stem) for
verbs in all conjugations in contrast to the close e, ē in the infinitive, though
both conditional mood forms are derived from the infinitive root:
(1.122) INF – COND
a. nes-t ‘to carry’ [nest] – nes-tu [næstŭ]
b. bēr-t ‘to pour’ [beːrt] – bēr-tu [bæːrtŭ]
c. redz-ē-t ‘to see’ [reʣeːt] – redz-ē-tu [ræʣæːtŭ]
d. mīl-ē-t ‘to love’ [miːleːt] – mīl-ē-tu [miːlæːtŭ]

58
ANDRA KALNAČA

2. MORPHOLOGY

2.0 Introductory remarks

The chapter on Morphology consists of eleven sections: Introductory remarks with
subsections on morphemics, principles of word formation, inflection and word class
(part-of-speech) classification, are followed by ten individual sections on word classes
(one for each word class). Each opens with a definition of the word class followed by
an overview of typical syntactic functions, semantics and, where possible, a summary
of the main models of word formation. Sections dealing with declinable (inflected)
word classes (nouns, adjectives, numerals, pronouns, and verbs) also contain detailed
descriptions of grammatical categories and grammatical forms.
In this grammar, the term ‘grammatical (i.e., morphological) category’ refers to
a system of grammatical elements mutually contrasted in terms of one and the same
feature and expressed by similar means (see Paulauskienė 1994: 24; Ambrazas
1997: 91). The term ‘grammatical (i.e., morphological) paradigm’ refers to a set of
grammatical forms used to express certain grammatical meanings (Matthews 1997:
263; Skujiņa 2007: 241; Trask 2007: 202–203).

2.0.1 Morphemics
A  morpheme is the  smallest segmentable meaningful unit of a  language (Kalnača
2004: 9; 2013a: 45, see also Haspelmath, Sims 2010: 14; Aronoff, Fudeman 2011: 2).
Morphemes cannot be further divided into parts without loss of meaning; other than
that, they function as syntactic objects or units (Embick 2015: 1) in the  language
system, combining with other morphemes in the  processes of inflection and word
formation. Morphemes are traditionally classified into lexical morphemes, i.e., roots,
and grammatical morphemes, i.e., affixes.
Latvian has both monomorphemic (2.0.1) and polymorphemic (2.0.2) words and
word forms.

59
(2.0.1) a. te ‘here’, uz ‘to’, tikai ‘just’, bet ‘but’
b. māt! ‘mother!’ (VOC SG F), tēv! ‘father!’ (VOC SG M), nāc ‘come’
(PRS 2SG), dzied ‘sings / sing’ (PRS 3)
(2.0.2) a. saul-e ‘sun’, dien-iņ-a ‘day’, at-nāk-t ‘to come’, māj-dzīv-niek-s ‘house pet’
b. up-ē ‘river’ (LOC SG F), liel-āk-s ‘larger’ (CMP NOM SG M), dzied-ā-š-u
‘will sing’ (FUT 1 SG), iz-las-ī-j-us-i ‘read’ (PTCP PST ACT NOM SG F)
Depending on their position relative to the root and other morphemes, affixes are
divided into subcategories:
1) prefixes are affixes attached before a root
(2.0.3) ie-zaļ-š ‘slightly green’, uz-kāp-t ‘to climb’
2) postfixes are affixes placed after a root;
3) interfixes are affixes occurring either between two roots or between a root
and a suffix, i.e., in between two morphemes; unlike other affixes, interfixes
do not have semantic value and are only used as linking elements (see, for
example, Soida 1970; Matthews 1997: 182; Spencer 2001: 226–227; Kalnača
2004: 20–23), e.g., internal inflection in compounds (2.0.4a), elements
preventing unpronounceable sound clusters in verbal derivation (2.0.4b) and
inflection (2.0.4c) (see Section 1.1.4).
(2.0.4) a. liel-(s)-kung-s ‘lord’
liet-(us)-sarg-s ‘umbrella’
galv-(as)-seg-a ‘headgear’
b. kau-t ‘to slaughter’ – kau-(st)-ī-t ‘to hit a few times’
lī-t ‘to rain’ – lī-(ņ)-ā-t ‘to drizzle (of rain)’
mī-t ‘to tread’ – mī-(d)-ī-t ‘to stamp, trample’
c. grauz-t ‘to nibble’ – grauz-(ī)-š-u (FUT 1SG)
plēs-t ‘to rip, tear’ – plēs-(ī)-š-u (FUT 1SG)
Latvian has two kinds of postfixes:
1) suffixes, occurring after a root, sometimes in sequences
(2.0.5) a. gar-en-s ‘elongated’
kur-tuv-e ‘furnace’
og-ul-āj-s ‘berry bush, berry field’
b. lab-āk-s ‘better’
sie-š-u ‘will tie’ (FUT 1SG)
cel-t-s ‘built’ (PTCP PST PASS NOM SG M)
2) endings – word-final affixes, occurring after a root or other suffixes
(2.0.6) a. dien-a ‘day’
nam-s ‘house’
klep-us ‘cough’
pried-īt-e ‘little pine tree’

60
 b. up-ē ‘river’ (LOC SG)
aug-at ‘grow’ (PRS 2PL)
pār-skat-ī-j-uš-ies ‘watched/ seen too many/much of smth / made
a mistake’ (PTCP PST ACT NOM PL M)
In Latvian morphology, a word (2.0.7a) or a word form (2.0.7b) minus the ending is
called a stem:
(2.0.7) a. dien-a ‘day’
vērt-īg-s ‘valuable’
ie-zil-gan-s ‘slightly bluish, with a bluish tint’
b. lab-ajam ‘good’ (ADJ DEF DAT SG M)
gudr-āk-s ‘cleverer’
pār-baud-ī-s-im ‘will check’ (FUT 1PL)
Depending on the morphemic composition of a word (2.0.8a) or a word form (2.0.8b),
stems may be
1) simple – identical to the root
(2.0.8) a. saul-e ‘sun’
zaļ-š ‘green’
aug-t ‘to grow’
b. nam-ā ‘house’ (LOC SG)
lab-ajai ‘good’ (ADJ DEF DAT SG F)
nāk-am ‘come’ (PRS 1PL)
2) derivative – comprising a root and any number of inflectional or derivational
affixes other than endings
(2.0.9) a. aiz-kar-s ‘curtain’
mier-īg-s ‘calm’
pa-dzied-ā-t ‘to sing a little’
b. lab-āk-s ‘better’
vis-lab-āk-ais ‘best’
pār-dom-ā-š-u ‘will think it over, will change my mind’ (FUT 1SG)
3) compound – in words (2.0.10a) or word forms (2.0.10b) containing at least
two roots
(2.0.10) a. dien-nakt-s ‘twenty-four-hour period’
ait-kop-is ‘sheep-farmer’
zil-zaļ-š ‘blue-green’
b. jāņ-og-ās ‘currants’ (LOC PL)
mier-piln-ajai ‘peaceful’ (ADJ DEF DAT SG F)
zaļ-gan-pel-ēk-ajā ‘greenish grey’ (ADJ DEF LOC SG)
In addition, Latvian also has circumfixes – affixes made up of two separate parts
enclosing the root without affecting its integrity (see, e.g., Malkiel 1978: 145; Kalnača
2004: 23–25; Aronoff, Fudeman 2011: 3–4; Bauer 2017: 127). The  first part of

61
a circumfix usually attaches before the root or stem of a word, while the second part
is placed at the end of a word or word form. Both elements act together to realize
a certain grammatical or lexical meaning neither can have in isolation. For example,
circumfixes consisting of a  prefix and a  reflexive ending are used to derive verbs
referring to sudden, unexpected actions (2.0.11a) or actions done to excess (2.0.11b)
(see Section 2.5.10):
(2.0.11) a. sāp-ē-t – ie-sāp-ē-ties ‘to ache – to ache suddenly and briefly’
klieg-t – ie-klieg-ties ‘to scream – to cry out’
niez-ē-t – ie-niez-ē-ties ‘to itch – to begin to itch’
b. ēs-t – pār-ēs-ties ‘to eat – to overeat’
bris-t – no-bris-ties ‘to wander – to wander to exhaustion’
gul-ē-t – aiz-gul-ē-ties ‘to sleep – to oversleep’
Circumfixes also occur in noun derivation where they are made up of a  prefix
and a  declension-altering ending (Kalnača 2004: 23–25; see also Section 2.1.5 on
preposition and noun compounding).
(2.0.12) a. gald-s – pa-gald-e ‘table – space under a table’
b. durv-is – aiz-durv-e ‘door – space behind a door’
c. vakar-s – no-vakar-e ‘evening – late afternoon’
d. krast-s – pie-krast-e ‘coast – coastal area’
Inflectional circumfixes are used in constructing the superlative forms of adjectives
(Kalnača 2004: 25). In Latvian, adjective gradation is sequential (see Section 2.2.2 for
details) – the comparative degree is formed by attaching the suffix -āk- to the positive
stem, while the superlative degree is derived by adding the prefix vis- and the definite
ending, i.e., a circumfix, to the comparative stem:
(2.0.13) ātr-s – ātr-āk-s – vis-ātr-āk-ais ‘quick – quicker – quickest’
Finally, Latvian has inflectional zero-morphs  – missing elements in inflectional
paradigms or, in other words, missing overt markers of certain grammatical forms
(Matthews 1997: 409). Depending on the  type of inflectional elements that are
missing, these are:
1) zero-endings – the most common type of zero-morphs in Latvian, occurring,
e.g., in the present-tense second-person singular (2.0.14a) and third-person
singular and plural (2.0.14b) of verbs (see Sections 2.5.1, 2.5.3 on the present-
tense forms of verbs), as well as in the vocative case form of declension 1, 4,
and 5 nouns (2.0.14c) (see Section 2.1.1 on the vocative case forms of nouns)
(2.0.14) a. PRS 2SG sit-ø ‘hit’, ar-ø ‘plough’, lej-ø ‘pour’
b. PRS 3 sit-ø ‘hits / hit’, ar-ø ‘ploughs / plough’, lej-ø ‘pours / pour’
c. VOC SG tēv-ø! ‘father!’, mās-ø! ‘sister!’, māt-ø! ‘mother!’
2) zero-suffixes; e.g., in the  second-person singular and third-person
singu­l ar and plural of conjugation 2 verbs where the  present-tense

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 marking suffix -j- and the  ending -i (PRS 2SG) and -a (PRS 3) are
substituted by zero-morphs
(2.0.15) a. PRS 2SG dej-o-ø-ø ‘dance’
b. PRS 3 dej-o-ø-ø ‘dances / dance’
Another useful distinction is based on the functions of affixes in the language system:
1) derivational affixes are used to derive new words
(2.0.16) a. prefixes
vec-s – pa-vec-s ‘old – oldish’
lī-t – sa-lī-t ‘to rain – to get wet in the rain’
b. suffixes
nes-t – nes-ēj-s ‘to carry – carrier’
zil-s– zil-gan-s ‘blue – bluish’
brauk-t – brauk-ā-t ‘to go (in a vehicle), to drive – to go (in a  vehicle),
drive continuously, regularly; to drive around’
c. endings
aug-t – aug-s ‘to grow – plant (N)’
rag-s – radz-e ‘horn – spike’
meln-s – meln-is ‘black – black horse’
2) inflectional affixes are used for grammatical forms of existing lexemes
(2.0.17) a. endings
māj-a ‘house’ – māj-ai (DAT SG), māj-ā (LOC SG), māj-ām (DAT PL)
b. suffixes
lab-s – lab-āk-s ‘good – better’
skrie-t – skrie-n-u ‘to run – (I) run’
nāk-t ‘to come’ – nāk-dam-s (semi-declinable PTCP NOM SG M)
c. prefixes
lab-s – lab-āk-s – vis-lab-āk-ais ‘good – better – best’
Both root and affix morphemes can have allomorphs – phonetically or structurally
conditioned variants of morphemes (see Section 1.0.1 for a detailed discussion).

2.0.2 Word formation

Word formation is a  process whereby new words are formed from existing words
and stems, using the  means, methods, and models of word formation available in
a language (see, e.g., Skujiņa 2007: 429; Veisbergs 2013: 5).
The principal means of word formation in Latvian are affixes – prefixes, suffixes,
and endings (2.0.18). In some cases, affixation is accompanied by apophony (2.0.19)
(see also Section 1.2.1).
(2.0.18) a. sārt-s – ie-sārt-s ‘rosy – slightly rosy’
ie-t – ie-ie-t ‘to go – to go in’

63
 b. nam-s – nam-iņ-š ‘house – house (DIM)’
aug-t – audz-ē-t ‘to grow (no object) – to grow (transitive)’ cultivate’
skrie-t – skrie-šan-a ‘to run – running (action noun)’
c. tums-t – tums-a ‘to grow dark – darkness’
skāb-t – skāb-e ‘to turn sour – acid’
(2.0.19) vēr-t – vār-t-i ‘to open – gate’
klieg-t – klaig-ā-t ‘to shout – to clamor’
dziļ-š – dzel-m-e ‘deep – abyss’
Syntactic relations between words in sentences play an important role in compounding
and conversion.
(2.0.20) a. lietus sargs – lietussargs ‘rain guard – umbrella’
b. dzeramais ūdens – dzeramais ‘drinking water – something to drink,
a drink’
The  methods and means of word formation are interdependent. There are three
methods of word formation in Latvian (Skujiņa 2007: 432–433; Kalnača 2013a:
47–49):
1) morphological;
2) syntactic;
3) semantic.

Morphological descriptions of Latvian traditionally focus on the  morphological

and syntactic methods of word formation, as both are extensively represented in
the language. The semantic method, which involves adding new meanings (polysemy)
and contexts of usage to existing words (Skujiņa 2007: 350), is, as a rule, excluded
from grammatical descriptions; the  same approach is adopted here (but see, e.g.,
Veisbergs 2013: 70–94).
The  morphological method of word formation, which includes affixation,
sometimes occurring simultaneously with apophony (see examples (2.0.19)), and
clipping, is prevalent in Latvian.
As a  rule, prefixation does not change the  word class (part of speech) of
the base word:
(2.0.21) a. ADJ – ADJ (see Table 2.14)
zem-s – pa-zem-s ‘low – fairly low’
zaļ-š – ie-zaļ-š ‘green – slightly green’
piln-s – pār-piln-s ‘full – overfilled’
b. V – V (see Table 2.66)
nāk-t – at-nāk-t ‘to come – to come (perfective)’
dzied-ā-t – no-dzied-ā-t ‘to sing – to sing (perfective)’
las-ī-t – pār-las-ī-t ‘to read – to re-read’

64
Suffixation, on the other hand, may be equally well used to derive words of the same
or a different word class (see Tables 2.6, 2.13, 2.65):
1) non-word-class-changing suffixation
(2.0.22) a. N – N
up-e – up-īt-e ‘river – small river’
kaķ-is – kaķ-ēn-s ‘cat – kitten’
pried-e – pried-āj-s ‘pine tree – pine forest, pine grove’
b. ADJ – ADJ
maz-s – maz-iņ-š ‘small, little – tiny’
sald-s – sald-en-s ‘sweet – sweetish’
agr-s – agr-īn-s ‘early – early (also, ahead of the usual time), ripened early’
c. V – V
brauk-t – brauk-ā-t ‘to go (in a vehicle), drive – to go (in a vehicle),
drive continuously, regularly; to drive around’
stiep-t – staip-ī-t ‘to drag, stretch – to drag, stretch continuously’
žau-t  – žāv-ē-t ‘to hang out (to dry) – to dry; to cure, smoke’
aug-t  – audz-inā-t ‘to grow (no object) – to bring up, to raise’
2) word-class-changing suffixation
(2.0.23) a. N – V
klep-us  – klep-o-t ‘cough – to cough’
dom-a – dom-ā-t ‘thought – to think’
zvan-s – zvan-ī-t ‘bell, bell-ringing – to ring’
b. N – ADJ
māj-a – māj-īg-s ‘house, home – homey’
māt-e – māt-išķ-s ‘mother – motherly’
saul-e – saul-ain-s ‘sun – sunny’
c. ADJ – V
tīr-s – tīr-ī-t ‘clean – to clean’
ciet-s  – ciet-ē-t ‘hard, solid – to harden, solidify’
zaļ-š – zaļ-o-t ‘green – to grow (of green plants), to flourish’
d. ADJ – N
lab-s – lab-um-s ‘good – goodness, benefit’
tīr-s – tīr-īb-a ‘clean – cleanliness’
maz-s – maz-ul-is ‘small, little – baby’
e. V – N
brauk-t – brauk-šan-a ‘to go, drive – going, driving (action noun)’
sauk-t – sauc-ien-s ‘to call – call’
zag-t – zag-l-is ‘to thieve, steal – thief’
f. V – ADJ
sal-t – sal-īg-s ‘to feel cold – sensitive to cold’
main-ī-t – main-īg-s ‘to change – changing, variable’
run-ā-t – run-īg-s ‘to talk – talkative’

65
The same is true of derivation by means of endings (see Table 2.7):
1) derivatives are of the same word class as the base word
(2.0.24) N – N
sargs – sardz-e ‘guard, guardsman – guard (a body of soldiers, guards)’
draug-s – draudz-e ‘friend – congregation’
rag-s – radz-e ‘horn – spike’
2) derivatives are of a different word class
(2.0.25) V – N
teik-t – teik-a ‘to tell – tale, legend’
tērp-t – tērp-s ‘to clothe – clothes’
gais-t – gais-s ‘to evaporate, dwindle – air’
ADJ – N
ciet-s – ciet-e ‘hard, solid – starch’
skumj-š – skumj-as ‘sad – sadness’
tāl-s – tāl-e ‘distant – distance’
As far as word formation is concerned, sound alternation in contemporary Latvian is
almost always linked to affixation, namely, derivational uses of suffixes and endings,
e.g., apophony (see Section 1.2.1):
(2.0.26) stiep-t – staip-ī-t ‘to drag, stretch – to drag, stretch continuously’
ves-t – vad-ā-t ‘to carry smth / smb somewhere – to carry, drive smth /
smb around’
vēr-t – vār-t-i ‘to open – gate’
mig-t – mieg-s ‘to fall asleep – sleep’
dzer-t – dzir-a ‘to drink – beverage, alcohol’
Some conjugation 1 verbs containing no means of word formation other than
apophony are a notable exception, e.g.:
(2.0.27) INTRANS verb – TRANS verb
bir-t – bēr-t ‘to pour (of dry substances) (no object) – to pour smth’
mirk-t – mērk-t ‘to soak (no object) – to soak smth’
lī-t – lie-t ‘to flow, to pour (of liquids) (no object) – to pour smth’
līk-t – liek-t ‘to bend (no object) – to bend smth’
lūz-t – lauz-t ‘to break (no object) – to break smth’
juk-t – jauk-t ‘to get mixed up – to mix smth’
Consonant alternation in derivatives is, in many cases, triggered by the combination
of morphemes in the  process of word formation (see Sections 1.1.1 and 1.1.2 for
a detailed discussion), e.g.:
(2.0.28) rok-a – roc-iņ-a, roķ-el-e ‘hand, arm – hand, arm (DIM)’
Sometimes, however, consonant alternation is part of the base, e.g., palatalization in
the GEN PL form of some nouns (see Table 2.13):
(2.0.29) N – ADJ
smilt-s – smilš-u (GEN PL) – smilš-ain-s ‘sand – sandy’
akmen-s – akmeņ-u (GEN PL) – akmeņ-ain-s ‘stone – stony’

66
Word formation usually proceeds by adding one affix (other than an  ending) to
the base at a time.
(2.0.30) skrie-t – aiz-skrie-t ‘to run – to run (perfective)’
griez-t – griez-n-es ‘to cut – scissors’
klieg-t – klieg-šan-a ‘to scream – screaming (action noun)’
There are three kinds of bases (or derivational stems):
1) simple
(2.0.31) māj-a – māj-īg-s ‘house, home – homey’
aukl-e – aukl-ē-t ‘nanny – to take care of a small child’
zaļ-š – ie-zaļ-š ‘green – slightly green’
2) derivative
(2.0.32) māj-īg-s – māj-īg-um-s ‘homey – hominess’
aukl-ē-t – aukl-ē-šan-a ‘to take care of a small child – taking care of
a small child (action noun)’
zaļ-gan-s – ie-zaļ-gan-s ‘greenish – slightly greenish’
3) compound
(2.0.33) pil-sēt-a – pil-sēt-iņ-a ‘city, town – a small town (DIM)’
div-stāv-u – div-stāv-īg-s ‘two-storey (GEN) – two-storey (ADJ)’
caur-skat-ī-t – caur-skat-ī-šan-a ‘to peruse – perusal (action noun)’
Adding multiple affixes at a  time, e.g., a  derivational prefix and a  suffix, is com­
paratively rare, though possible (see Table 2.67):
(2.0.34) akmen-s – pār-akmeņ-o-ties ‘stone – to turn into stone, to fossilize’
kaul-s – at-kaul-o-t ‘bone – to debone’
sav-s – pie-sav-inā-ties ‘own – to appropriate, misappropriate’
Finally, morphological word formation in Latvian also includes clipping, i.e.,
creating derivatives by shortening existing words. Backslipping is used in regular
word-formation models (e.g., Veisbergs 2013: 24–25; also see back-formation
Aronoff, Fudeman 2011: 122–123). For example, certain types of nouns are derived
from conjugation 2 and 3 verbs by removing the  infinitive suffix and attaching
a derivational ending directly to the verbal root:
(2.0.35) V – N
ap-kalp-o-t – ap-kalp-e ‘to attend, to serve – crew’
at-las-ī-t – at-las-e ‘to select – selection’
ie-tec-ē-t – ie-tek-a ‘to flow into (of a river) – mouth (of a river)’
iz-klaid-ē-t ‘to entertain’ – iz-klaid-e ‘entertainment’
no-run-ā-t – no-run-a ‘to arrange, make an appointment – arrangement,
appointment’
pār-zin-ā-t – pār-zin-is ‘to manage, oversee – manager’
pie-gād-ā-t – pie-gād-e ‘to supply – supply’
sa-slauc-ī-t – sa-slauk-as ‘to sweep up, to wipe up – sweepings’
uz-lād-ē-t – uz-lād-e ‘to charge – charging’

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The  syntactic method of word formation is based on syntactic relations between
words in phrases, coordinate structures, and sentences (Skujiņa 2007: 358). Syntactic
relations are of direct relevance to word formation in two cases:
1) compounding;
2) conversion.
A compound is a word formed by joining two or more words or stems together that
functions as a single lexical unit (Matthews 1997: 66; Skujiņa 2007: 338; Aronoff,
Fudeman 2011: 261; for other opinions see, e.g., Lieber, Štekauer 2009; Veisbergs
2013: 30–31). In Latvian, compounds are usually written as one word and pronounced
with stress on the first syllable. Compounds are found in all word classes.
(2.0.36) a. N
up-mala ‘riverside’
b. ADJ
zil-zaļš ‘blue-green’
c. ADV
šo-dien ‘today’
d. NUM
div-desmit ‘twenty’
e. PRON
jeb-kas ‘anything’
f. V
caur-skatīt ‘to peruse, to look through’
g. PTCL
tā-tad ‘so, then’
h. CONJ
ne-vis ‘not, rather than’
i. PREP
augš-pus ‘atop, above’
j. INT
lab-dien! ‘good afternoon!’
In Latvian, all compounds based on content (lexical) words originate from phrases
(such as noun phrases, verb phrases, etc.) or coordinate structures. It is, therefore,
more accurate to say that they are formed by adjoining word forms rather than
words. Spaced combinations of words are not recognized as compounds even if they
express a single concept (see, e.g., Veisbergs 2013: 31–35).
(2.0.37) a. PRON
dažs labs ‘some, a certain party’
viens otrs ‘some, one or the other person/thing’
kaut kāds ‘some kind of’
b. NUM
simt divi ‘one hundred two’
piecdesmit astoņi ‘fifty-eight’

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 c. ADV
krustu šķērsu ‘crisscross, in all directions’
šurp turp ‘back and forth’
d. PTCL
it kā ‘as if, as though, seemingly’
tā kā ‘as it were’
e. INT
blīkš blākš ‘bang’
čiv čiv ‘chirp’
aijā žūžū ‘rock-a-bye’
Depending on the  underlying syntactic structure, Latvian compounds are divided
into two classes: determinative and copulative compounds.
Determinative compounds are based on phrases (Skujiņa 2007: 86, see also
Matthews 1997: 95), mostly, nominal, adjectival (2.0.38)-( 2.0.40) or verbal (2.0.41)
(see also Tables 2.9, 2.15, and Section 2.6.3), e.g.:
(2.0.38) a. Ngen + N – N
tējas kanna – tēj-kann-a ‘a pot of tea – teapot’
b. Nins + Nins – N
melniem matiem – meln-mat-is (M), -e (F) ‘with black hair – a dark-
haired person’
c. ADJ + N – N
liels ceļš – liel-ceļ-š ‘large way – motorway’
(2.0.39) a. Ngen + ADJ – ADJ
aveņu sarkans – aveņ-sarkan-s ‘the red of raspberries – raspberry-red’
b. ADV + ADJ – ADJ
zaļgani brūns – zaļgan-brūn-s ‘greenish brown – greenish-brown’
(2.0.40) a. ADJ + N – ADV
galveno kārtu – galveno-kārt ‘the main way – mainly’
b. PRON + N – ADV
šo dienu – šo-dien ‘this day – today’
c. PTCP + N – ADV
nākošo gadu – nākoš-gad ‘next year – next year’
(2.0.41) a. V + Nacc – N (according to modern Latvian word order)
kalt zeltu – zelt-kal-is ‘to smith gold – goldsmith’
b. N + Vinf – N
prieks lasīt – lasīt-priek-s ‘pleasure to read – reading pleasure’
In Latvian, determinative compounds are usually right-headed regardless of
the headedness of the source phrase, e.g.:
(2.0.42) source phrase – right-headed, compound – right-headed
a. Ngen + N – N
jūras mala – jūr-mal-a ‘sea side – seaside’

69
 b. Nins + Nins – N
sirmu galvu – sirm-galv-is (M), -e (F) ‘with white hair – a white-haired
(elderly) person’
c. ADJ + N – N
liels ceļš – liel-ceļ-š ‘large way – motorway’
d. NUM + N – N
pieci gadi – piec-gad-e ‘five years – five-year period’
(2.0.43) source phrase – left-headed, compound – right-headed (according to
modern Latvian word order)
a. V + Nacc / ADJacc – N
kalt akmeņus – akmeņ-kal-is ‘to cut stones – stonecutter’
b. V + ADV – V
skatīt cauri – caur-skatī-t ‘to look through – to look through, to peruse’
c. N + Vinf – N
griba dziedāt – dziedāt-griba ‘will to sing – will to sing’
d. NUM + Ngen – N
simt gadu – gad-simt-s ‘hundred years – century’
Left-headed determinative compounds are possible, but scarce. Some of them probably
originate from partitive noun phrases where a  head noun specifying quantity (a
share, part of a whole) is followed by a noun in the genitive case naming the object
to which it applies (see Table 2.9):
(2.0.44) N + Ngen
puse dienas – pus-dien-a ‘half of a day – noon’
puse mājas – pus-māj-a ‘half of a house – half a house’
puse gada – pus-gad-s ‘half of a year – half a year, half-year’
desmit gadu – desmit-gad-e ‘ten years – decade’
simt gadu – simt-gad-e ‘hundred years – century’
tūkstoš gadu – tūkstoš-gad-e ‘thousand years – millennium’
Copulative compounds (also dvandva compounds, co-compounds) are based on
coordinate structures (Wälhli 2009: 1; Skujiņa 2007: 195, see also Matthews 1997:
77), i.e., the coordinated parts of a sentence. It is possible to say that there are as
many semantic heads as there are components in a copulative compound (in Latvian,
usually two, sometimes three). Copulative compounds are relatively rare in Latvian
(see Tables 2.9 and 2.15).
(2.0.45) a. N, N – N
diena, nakts – dien-nakt-s ‘day, night – twenty-four-hour period’
sāls, maize – sāls-maiz-e ‘salt, bread – bread and salt’
tēvs, māmiņa – tēvs-māmiņ-a ‘father, mummy – parents (in folklore)’
b. ADJ, ADJ – ADJ
melns, balts – meln-balt-s ‘black, white – black-and-white’
sarkans, balts, sarkans – sarkan-balt-sarkan-s ‘red, white, red – red-
white-red (a reference to the colors of the Latvian flag)’

70
 c. INT, INT – N
ņigu ņegu – ņigu-ņeg-a ‘hullabaloo – hullabaloo, fuss, commotion’
Finally, there are compounds originating from prepositional phrases (namely,
combinations of a noun (2.0.46), (2.0.47a) (see Table 2.9), an adjective (also a numeral)
(2.0.47b), or a pronoun (2.0.47c) with a preposition), as well as from adverb–particle
combinations (2.0.48) (see Section 2.6.3), e.g.:
(2.0.46) a. PREP + Ngen – N
aiz krāsns – aiz-krāsn-e ‘behind the stove – space behind the stove (in
a house)’
uz gala – uz-gal-is ‘at the tip – tip, capping’
b. PREP + Nacc – N
ap roku – ap-roc-e ‘around the arm – bracelet’
pār Gauju – Pār-gauj-a ‘over the Gauja River – area on the other side
of the Gauja River’
(2.0.47) a. PREP + Ngen – ADV
aiz vakara – aiz-vakar ‘after, beyond yesterday – the day before yesterday’
bez gala – bez-gala ‘without end – endlessly’
b. PREP + ADJdat – ADV
pa retam – pa-retam ‘in rare (instances) – occasionally’
c. PRONgen + PREP – ADV
kā pēc – kā-pēc ‘for what – why’
tā pēc – tā-pēc ‘for that – therefore’
kā dēļ – kā-dēļ ‘due to what – why’
tā dēļ – tā-dēļ ‘due to that – therefore’
(2.0.48) a. PTCL + ADV– ADV
jeb-kad ‘ever’
jeb-kur ‘anywhere’
jeb-kā ‘in whatever way’
ne-kad ‘never’
ne-kur ‘nowhere’
ne-kā ‘in no way’
b. ADV + PTCL – ADV
tur-pat ‘right there’
te-pat, še-pat ‘right here’
tā-pat ‘in the same way’
Another classification is based on the semantic relationship between compounds and
their constituents and includes two classes: endocentric and exocentric compounds
(e.g., Booij 2005; Aikhenvald 2007; Bauer 2009; Benczes 2015). Endocentric
compounds (also tatpurusha compounds) are hyponymous to their head constituent,
while the  non-head constituent is subordinate to, or modifies, the  head (see, e.g.,
Matthews 1997: 114, also Wälhli 2009: 91):

71
(2.0.49) a. mežmala ‘forest edge’ (meža mala ‘edge of a forest’)
saulessargs ‘sunshade, parasol’ (saules sargs ‘sun guard’)
liepziedi ‘linden blossom, lime blossom’ (liepu ziedi ‘blossoms of lime
trees’)
b. lielceļš ‘motorway’ (liels ceļš ‘large way’)
jaunlops ‘young livestock (a single animal)’ (jauns lops ‘young livestock
(a single animal)’)
Vecrīga ‘Old Rīga’ (vecā Rīga ‘old Rīga’)
c. zeltkalis ‘goldsmith’ (kalt zeltu ‘to smith gold’)
aldaris ‘(beer) brewer’ (darīt alu ‘to brew beer’)
auskars ‘earring’ (kārt ausī ‘to hang on an ear’)
Exocentric compounds (sometimes also called bahuvrīhi compounds, possessive
compounds), in contrast, are not hyponymous to either of their constituents. Instead,
the constituents of an exocentric compound state some feature of the entity (often
a living being, an object, etc.) denoted by the compound (see, e.g., Matthews 1997:
122):
(2.0.50) a. sīklapis ‘a small-leaved plant’ (from sīkām lapām ‘having small leaves’)
b. staltradzis ‘red deer’ (from staltiem ragiem ‘having tall antlers’)
c. brūnacis ‘a brown-eyed person or animal’ (from brūnām acīm ‘having
brown eyes’)
(2.0.51) a. debeszils ‘sky-blue’ (from debesu zils ‘blue like the sky’), e.g., debeszils
audums ‘sky-blue fabric’
b. aveņsārts ‘raspberry-red’ (from aveņu sārts ‘red like raspberries’), e.g.,
aveņsārts tērps ‘raspberry-red garment’
c. citrondzeltens ‘lemon-yellow’ (from citrona dzeltens ‘yellow like a lemon’),
e.g., citrondzelteni ziedi ‘lemon-yellow flowers’
In Latvian, the endocentric vs. exocentric semantic criterion works best for nominal
and adjectival compounds.
Although for classificatory purposes, blending – the formation of new words
from parts of two or more other words (e.g., Aronoff, Fudeman 2011: 119–120;
Veisbergs 2013: 46)  – may be subsumed under compounding; strictly speaking, it
is a  borderline type between morphological and syntactic word formation. While
blends exist and are, from time to time, formed in Latvian, they do not constitute
regular word-formation types. For example, some interjections (2.0.52) and particles
(2.0.53) are blends of words originally used in speech in (imperative) sentences:
(2.0.52) paldies ‘thank you’ < Palīdzi, Dievs! ‘Help, God!’
āreče (an interjection used to draw smb’s attention to smth) < Ā, redzi še!
‘A-ha, you see, here!’
(2.0.53) kazi (a particle used to express uncertainty, indeterminateness) < Kas zina!
‘Who knows!’
diez (a particle used to express uncertainty, indeterminateness) < Dievs
zina! ‘God knows!’

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Conversion is a word-formation process whereby a new word is created by changing
the  word class of an  existing word or word form in syntactic usage without overt
derivational markers (Skujiņa 2007: 194; Haspelmath, Sims 2010: 39; Olsen 2017:
43–45; Valera 2017: 154–159).
(2.0.54) a. declinable participle to noun
Mēs gājām iekšā veikalā,
we.nom go.pst.1pl into store.loc.m
jo bija jānopērk ēdamais.
because be.aux.pst.3 deb.buy eat.ptcp.nom.m.def
‘We went into the store because we had to buy something to eat.’
(www.maminuklubs.lv)
b. indeclinable participle to adverb
Vasara beidzot ir klāt –
summer.nom.f end.ptcp.idecl be.prs.3 here
šonedēļ gaidāms sauss un
this_week expect.ptcp.nom.m dry.nom.m and
saulains laiks.
sunny.nom.m weather.nom.m
‘Summer is finally here – dry and sunny weather expected throughout
the week.’ (www.tvnet.lv)
The most common types of conversion in Latvian include nominalization (an adjective
or a  declinable participle used as a  noun) (example 2.0.55a-b), adverbialization
(a case form of a  noun or an  adjective, and an  indeclinable participle used as
an  adverb) (2.0.55c), and creation of interjections by conversion (a grammatical
form of a  word, a  word combination or even a  sentence used as an  interjection)
(2.0.55d). Adjectivization (a declinable participle used as an  adjective) is less
frequent and is, admittedly, controversial, since it is impossible to draw a distinction
between the functions of a participial and an adjectival agreeing attribute (2.0.55e).
Verbification does not occur in Latvian.
(2.0.55) a. vecāki ‘parents’, nabags ‘pauper’
b. ēdamais ‘something to eat, food’, bijušais ‘an ex’
c. beidzot ‘finally’, laukā ‘out, outside’
d. lūdzu! ‘please!’, sasodīts! ‘damn!’, sveiks! ‘hello!’
e. apdāvināts ‘gifted’, rafinēts ‘refined’
In Latvian, conversion does not entail paradigmatic change. For example, all word
classes participating in nominalization and adjectivization have partially coinciding
paradigms – nouns, indefinite forms of adjectives, and declinable participles. Definite
forms of adjectives and declinable participles, which retain the  definite-ending
paradigm after nominalization, are an  exception. Since adverbs and interjections
are indeclinable, paradigmatic change is not relevant to either adverbialization or
creation of interjections by conversion.

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Derivational sequences, derivational families, and word-formation types
In terms of morphemic composition, words may be
1) primitive, or primary – containing only a root (2.0.56a) or a root and
an ending (2.0.56b):
(2.0.56) a. aiz ‘behind’, ne ‘not’, te ‘here’
b. dien-a ‘day’, lab-s ‘good’, ves-t ‘to carry’
2) derived, or secondary – containing a root and one (2.0.57a) or more suffixes
and/or prefixes (2.0.57b)):
(2.0.57) a. dien-iņ-a ‘day (DIM)’
ne-lab-s ‘bad’
aiz-ves-t ‘to take smb or smth somewhere’
b. vad-ī-tāj-s ‘head, leader, driver’
pa-māc-īb-a ‘(user) guide’
ap-zelt-ī-j-um-s ‘gilding’
3) compound – containing two or more stems:
(2.0.58) jūr-mal-a ‘seaside’
sald-skāb-maiz-e ‘sourdough rye bread’
zil-gan-balt-s ‘bluish-white’
Primary words are semantically primitive, i.e., non-derived, while all secondary
words stand in a  derivational relationship to their base word, which means that
they are semantically derived from, or motivated by, its meaning.
(2.0.59) derivative – base word
jūrnieks – jūra ‘seaman – sea’
iezaļš – zaļš ‘slightly green – green’
aizskriet – skriet ‘to run (perfective) – to run’
audzināt – augt ‘to bring up, to raise – to grow’
All derivatives are constructed from a base (i.e., a derivational stem) and means of
word formation.
(2.0.60) derivative – base + means of word formation
jūrnieks ‘seaman’ – jūr- ‘sea’ + -niek-s
iezaļš ‘slightly green’ – ie-+ zaļ-š ‘green’
aizskriet ‘to run (perfective)’ – aiz- + skrie-t ‘run’
audzināt ‘to bring up, to raise’ – aug-, i.e., audz- ‘grow’ + -inā-t
Derivatives sharing a common root usually form derivational sequences, or series,
based on sequential derivational relationships (sometimes also called derivational
chains).
(2.0.61) a. art → arājs → arājiņš ‘to plough – ploughman – ploughman (DIM)’
b. zaļš → zaļgans → iezaļgans → iezaļganīgs ‘green – greenish – slightly
greenish – with just a hint of greenishness’
c. labs → labot → labojums ‘good – to correct – correction’

74
All derivational sequences built from a common root word are members of the same
derivational family (also called word family), e.g., a  fragment of the  derivational
family of the verb saukt ‘to call’:
(2.0.62)
saukt ‘to call’ → saukšana (action, process noun)
→ saucējs (agent noun) → saucējiņš (agent noun, DIM)
→ sauciens (action, event noun)
→ sauklis ‘slogan’
→ sasaukt ‘to call together’ → sasaukšana (action, process noun)
→ sasaukums (result, object noun)
→ sasaukties ‘to call to each other, to resonate with’
→ sasauksme ‘calling to one another’
→ uzsaukt ‘call out, call on’ → uzsaukšana (action, process noun)
→ uzsaukums (result noun)
→ uzsauciens (action, event noun)
→ iesaukt ‘to call in, to nickname’ → iesaukšana (action, process noun)
→ iesaukums (result, object noun)
→ iesauka ‘nickname’
→ izsaukt ‘to call (invite), to cause’ → izsaukšana (action, process noun)
→ izsaukums (result noun)
→ izsaukties ‘to exclaim, to call out’
→ izsauciens (action, event noun; exclamation)
→ saukties ‘to go by the name’ → saukšanās (action, process noun)
Another important concept in Latvian word formation is that of a  word-formation
type, which is defined by the word class (part of speech) of the base word, the method
and means of word formation and a derivational meaning shared by all derivatives
(Skujiņa 2007: 433). For example, nouns in (2.0.63) are nomina agentis derived from
verbs by the morphological method, using the suffix -tāj- (see also Table 2.6).
(2.0.63) diedāt – dziedātājs ‘to sing – singer’
spēlēt – spēlētājs ‘to play – player’
lasīt – lasītājs ‘to read – reader’
ogot – ogotājs ‘to pick berry – berry-picker’
Word-formation types are characterized by formal and semantic regularity, as well as
by productivity. For example, deverbal nouns derived by means of the suffixes -šan-
and -um- belong to productive word-formation types. The suffix -šan- can be attached
to the infinitive stem (2.0.64a), and the suffix -um- to the past stem (2.0.64b) of any
verb (see also Table 2.6).
(2.0.64) a. VINF – N
ie-t – ie-šan-a ‘to go, to walk – going, walking’
kāp-t – kāp-šan-a ‘to climb – climbing’
las-ī-t – las-ī-šan-a ‘to read – reading’

75
 b. VPST – N
gā-j-u – gā-j-um-s ‘(I) went – course’
kāp-u – kāp-um-s ‘(I) climbed – rise, increase’
las-ī-j-u – las-ī-j-um-s ‘(I) read – reading’
Derivatives with the suffix -­ šan- express actions as processes, while derivatives with
the suffix -um- are, roughly, result nominals. In contrast, deverbal nouns derived by
means of the suffix -v- belong to a much less productive word-formation model and
are limited in number. The range of possible meanings includes the agent (2.0.65a),
place (2.0.65b), and instrument (2.0.65c) of an action (see also Table 2.6).
(2.0.65) VINF – N
a. kal-t – kal-v-is ‘to forge, smith – smith’
bur-t – bur-v-is ‘to do magic – magician’
b. kal-t – kal-v-e ‘to forge, smith – a forge, smithy’
c. cirs-t – cir-v-is ‘to cut, chop – axe’
The  description of Latvian word formation in this grammar is based on word-
formation types and models and includes sections on noun (Section 2.1.5), adjective
(Section 2.2.4), verb (Section 2.5.10), and adverb formation (Section 2.6.3). For
the  other word classes, which make limited use of word formation (or even none,
e.g., numerals), a summary, rather than a dedicated section, is provided at the end
of each subchapter. The productivity of word-formation types is not accounted for
in this description, since the primary focus is on showing how the Latvian lexicon is
structured from the point of view of derivational morphology. Furthermore, due to
space limitations, some word-formation types involving affixation and compounding
as well as hybrid (combining Latvian and Latin, Greek, etc. word parts) and
neoclassical words, abbreviations, toponyms, etc. have been left out. Derivational
synonymy, i.e., parallelism, is not addressed directly (i.e., as a separate issue) in this
grammar.
The  account of word-formation types (models) given in this grammar, to
a great extent, builds on findings from Ahero et al. (1959), Metuzāle-Kangere (1985),
Kalme, Smiltniece (2001), Soida (2009), Vulāne (2013), Veisbergs (2013), Navickaitė-
Klišauskienė (2014), while example selection is largely based on the inverse dictionary
of Latvian by Soida, Kļaviņa (2000).

2.0.3 Inflection
In language, words function as word forms, i.e., grammatical forms. Therefore,
the study of the rules, methods and means by which grammatical forms are built,
i.e., inflection (Skujiņa 2007: 120–121, see also, among others, Aronoff, Fudeman
2011: 47), is as important in morphology as the study of the structure of words as
lexical units, i.e., word formation. While word formation produces new lexical units,
inflection creates their grammatical forms.

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 Inflectional devices, or means of inflection, are specific linguistic elements used
for constructing grammatical forms (Skujiņa 2007: 122). In Latvian, these include:
1) affixes – endings, suffixes and prefixes
2) stem-internal vowel (2.0.66) and consonant (2.0.67) alternation (see
Morphophonology, Sections 1.1 and 1.2.1, as well as Sections 2.1 and 2.5 on
verbal and nominal inflection)
(2.0.66) a. INF – PRS
vilkt – velku ‘to pull, to draw, to tow – (I) pull, draw, tow’
pirkt – pērku ‘to buy – (I) buy’
b. INF – PST
dzert – dzēru ‘to drink – (I) drank’
liet – lēju ‘to pour (with object) (of liquids) – (I) poured’
(2.0.67) a. INF – PRS
kalt – kaļu ‘to forge, smith – (I) forge, smith’
lauzt – laužu ‘to break – (I) break’
b. NOM – GEN SG/PL
brālis – brāļa ‘brother – brother (SG)’
egle – egļu ‘fir tree – fir tree (PL)’
3) auxiliary verbs in verbal inflection (2.0.68a-c) (see Sections 2.5.3, 2.5.4,
2.5.5), and the  preposition ar ‘with’ for marking the  instrumental case of
nouns (2.0.68d) (see Section 2.1.1)
(2.0.68) a. present perfect, active voice
esmu dziedājis ‘I have sung’
b. present perfect, passive voice
ir dziedāts ‘has been sung’
c. present indefinite, debitive mood
ir jādzied ‘must sing’
d. griezt maizi ar nazi ‘to slice bread with a knife’
4) suppletion
(2.0.69) a. tenses of the verb iet ‘to go’ PRS – PST
iet – eju – gāju ‘to go – (I) go – (I) went’
b. forms of the pronoun es ‘I’
es ‘I’ – manis (GEN), man (DAT), mani (ACC), etc.
Affixation is the  most widely used inflectional device in Latvian. Endings mark
the  grammatical forms of nouns, adjectives, numerals and pronouns as well as
the person forms of verbs (see Sections 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5.2), while suffixes play
an important role in constructing the tense forms (2.0.70a-c) and participial forms
(2.0.70d-f) of verbs (Section 2.5).
(2.0.70) a. INF – PRS
skrie-t – skrie-n-u ‘to run – (I) run’

77
 b. INF – PST
las-ī-t – las-ī-j-u ‘to read – (I) read’
c. INF – FUT
skrie-t – skrie-š-u ‘to run – (I) will run’
d. present active participle
aug-t – aug-oš-s ‘to grow (no object) – growing (NOM SG M)’
e. past active participle
augt – augu – aug-us-i ‘to grow (no object) – (I) grew – grown (NOM SG F)’
f. semi-declinable participle
augt – aug-dam-s ‘to grow (no object) – growing (NOM SG M)
Prefixes are responsible for deriving the  debitive form of verbs (2.0.71a) (see
Section 2.5.4) and the superlative form of adjectives (2.0.71b) (see Section 2.2.2).
(2.0.71) a. likt – ir jā-liek ‘to put – must put’
b. labs – lab-āk-s – vis-lab-āk-ais ‘good – better – best’
Finally, the  future-tense forms of some conjugation 1 verbs require the  interfix -ī-
(see Section 1.1.4 on interfixes, Section 2.5.3 on future-tense forms of verbs).
(2.0.72) nest – nes-(ī)-š-u ‘to carry – (I) will carry’
vest – ved-(ī)-š-u ‘to carry (in a vehicle) – (I) will carry’
mest – met-(ī)-š-u ‘to throw – (I) will throw’
lūzt – lūz-(ī)-š-u ‘to break (no object) – (I) will break’
The methods and means of inflection are interconnected. There are three methods of
inflection in Latvian (Skujiņa 2007: 122; Kalnača 2013a: 51):
1) morphological, which corresponds to synthetic forms;
2) syntactic, which corresponds to analytical forms;
3) semantic, which corresponds to suppletive forms.

The  morphological method of inflection involves the  use of morphemes, more

specifically, affixes (endings, suffixes, and prefixes) to construct grammatical forms,
which are called synthetic, because all grammatical meanings are fused into a single
word form. Affixation is sometimes accompanied by sound alternation (see examples
(2.0.66)–(2.0.67), (2.0.70)) or interfixation (see examples (1.80) and (2.0.72)).
The syntactic method makes use of auxiliary words – the preposition ar ‘with’
for the  instrumental case form of nouns and auxiliary verbs for the  perfect tense,
passive voice, and debitive forms of verbs (see examples (2.0.68)). Such grammatical
forms consist of more than one word carrying grammatical meanings and are,
therefore, called analytical.
The semantic method involves the use of two or more distinct roots for different
grammatical forms in one paradigm (see examples (2.0.69)). In contemporary Latvian,
the semantic method only occurs in isolated cases – in the case forms of the personal
pronouns es ‘I’, tu ‘you (SG)’, mēs ‘we’, jūs ‘you (PL)’ (see Section 2.4.1) and the forms
of the  verbs būt ‘to be’ and iet ‘to go, walk’ (see Section 2.5.1). Forms based on

78
the  semantic method are called suppletive, because differences in grammatical
meanings are represented by different roots.
Inflectional sequences, i.e., sequences of consecutively derived (and motivated)
grammatical forms, bear some similarity to derivational sequences. For example,
the comparative degree form of adjectives is derived from the stem of the positive
degree (lab- ‘good’), the comparative stem (labāk-) is then used to form the superlative
degree (see Section 2.2.2).
(2.0.73) lab-s → lab-āk-s → vis-lab-āk-ais ‘good – better – best’
All grammatical forms have an  inflectional base (Haspelmath, Sims 2010: 20).
The  inflectional base of nominal case forms is usually the  NOM SG stem, the  in­
flectional base of verbal tense forms is usually the infinitive stem (on base forms in
Latvian see Paegle 2003: 13; Kalnača 2013c: 458–459; for a general discussion see
Haspelmath, Sims 2010: 172–174). The systems of participial inflectional bases and
the  inflectional bases of verbal moods are slightly more complicated (see Sections
2.5.4, 2.5.9).

2.0.4 Word classes

Word classes are lexico-grammatical subsets of the vocabulary of a language defined
in terms of the following properties shared by the members of each subset:
1) the semantic property, i.e., a shared generalized lexical meaning;
2) the  morphological property, which includes the  grammatical categories,
the  system of grammatical forms and word formational generalizations
characteristic of a word class;
3) the  syntactic property, i.e., syntactic distribution, viz. syntactic functions,
typical of the  members of a  word class (Skujiņa 2007: 437; Trask 2008:
206–208).
In Latvian, all words are classified as being in one of the following ten word classes:
nouns (see examples 2.0.74a), adjectives (2.0.74b), numerals (2.0.74c), pronouns
(2.0.74d), verbs (2.0.74e), adverbs (2.0.74f), prepositions (2.0.74g), conjunctions
(2.0.74h), particles (2.0.74i), and interjections (2.0.74j):
(2.0.74) a. saule ‘sun’, dziesma ‘song’, ceļojums ‘trip’
b. skaists ‘beautiful’, priecīgs ‘cheerful’, vējains ‘windy’
c. pieci ‘five’, vienpadsmit ‘eleven’, otrais ‘second’
d. es ‘I’, tu ‘you’, kurš ‘who, which’
e. būt ‘to be’, braukt ‘to go in a vehicle’, runāt ‘to talk’
f. tur ‘there’, skaļi ‘loudly’, tālu ‘far away’
g. aiz ‘behind, beyond, after’, ap ‘around, about’, gar ‘along, by’
h. bet ‘but’, lai ‘in order, so as’, ka ‘that’
i. it kā ‘as if’, ne ‘not’, pat ‘even’
j. au ‘ouch!’, re ‘look!, there!’, blīkš ‘bang!’

79
Depending on the  nature of their lexical meaning and their role in syntax, words
are also categorized into three larger groups. Content (lexical) words, such as
nouns, adjectives, numerals, pronouns, verbs, and adverbs, have syntactic functions,
i.e., they function as parts of sentences (e.g., subject, predicate, object, attribute,
apposition, adverbial modifier). Function (grammatical) words, such as prepositions,
conjunctions, and particles, on the contrary, do not carry such syntactic functions
and primarily serve to link content words and larger parts of sentences or even texts
together or give the contents of a sentence some sort of evaluation (e.g., positive or
negative attitude, uncertainty). Finally, interjections are neither content words nor
function words in that they do not combine with other words in a sentence or text but
rather stand apart as special textual units.
According to their inflectional properties words are classed as either declinable
or indeclinable. Only content words are declinable and, depending on the grammatical
features for which they inflect, they can be subject to declension, i.e., inflect for or
exhibit markers of gender, number, and case (nouns, adjectives, numerals, pronouns)
or conjugation, i.e., inflect for person, tense, mood, and voice (verbs). Adverbs (which
are content words), prepositions, conjunctions, particles (which are function words),
and interjections are indeclinable.
There is, however, a small number of borrowed nouns (2.0.75a) and adjectives
(2.0.75b) in modern Latvian that do not inflect; likewise, certain types of numerals
are indeclinable (2.0.75c) (see Section 2.1.1, 2.2.1, and 2.3 for a detailed discussion):
(2.0.75) a. eiro ‘euro’, kino ‘cinema, cinematography’, radio ‘radio’
b. rozā ‘pink’, lillā ‘lilac’
c. desmit ‘ten’, simt ‘hundred’, tūkstoš ‘thousand’
It should be noted that the  word classes are not completely watertight and there
are borderline cases between them both from the  point of view of semantics and
syntactic function. For example, some content words may operate as function words,
while retaining their word class membership:
1) pronouns and adverbs may function as subordinating conjunctions that
introduce subordinate clauses (see also Sections 2.6 and 3.5.2):
a) pronouns kas ‘what, which’, kurš ‘who, which’, kāds ‘what kind’
(2.0.76) a. Mēs gribam saprast,
we.nom want.prs.1pl understand.inf
kas tagad darāms.
what.nom now do.ptcp.nom.m
‘We want to understand what is to be done now.’
b. Operas izrāde, kuru redzēju svētdien,
opera.gen.f production.nom.f which.acc.f see.pst.1sg Sunday
bija lieliska.
be.cop.pst.3 excellent.nom.f
‘The opera production, which I saw on Sunday, was excellent.’

80
 c. Vai tu zini,
q you.nom.sg know.prs.2sg
kāds laiks būs rīt?
what.nom.m weather.nom.m be.fut.3 tomorrow
‘Do you know what the weather will be like tomorrow?’
b) adverbs kad ‘when’, kur ‘where’, kā ‘how’
(2.0.77) a. Es gaidu, kad beigs snigt.
I.nom wait.prs.1sg when stop.fut.3 snow.inf
‘I am waiting for it to stop snowing.’
b. Upes krastā, kur tagad iekārtots
river.gen.f bank.loc.m where now locate.ptcp.nom.m
parks, senāk bija pilsētas ganības.
park.nom.m formerly be.pst.3 town.gen.f pasture.nom.pl.f
‘The bank of the river, where the park is now located, was formerly used
as the town’s pastureland.’
c. Mēs ilgi domājām, kā šķērsot
we.nom long think.pst.1pl how cross.inf
pārplūdušu ielu.
flow.ptcp.acc.m street.acc.f
‘It took us a while to figure out how to cross the flooded street.’
2) adverbs pāri ‘above’, pretī ‘across, in front of’, cauri ‘through’, garām ‘past,
over’, virsū ‘on top, on, above’, etc. may function as prepositions (see
Section 2.7):
(2.0.78) a. Nenovietojiet automašīnu pretī vārtiem!
not_park.imp.2pl car.acc.f across gate.dat.pl.m
‘Don’t park your car in front of the gate!’
b. Baloni pacēlās pāri mūsu galvām.
balloon.nom.pl.m rise.pst.3 above we.gen head.dat.pl.f
‘The balloons rose above our heads.’
Sometimes, although, admittedly, less often, the  direction is reversed and
an interjection or a function word assumes the function of a content word in a sentence,
for example, in (2.0.79a-b) the interjection plunkš ‘splash!’ and the particle jā ‘yes’
function as nouns:
(2.0.79) a. Un tad atskanēja īpaši skaļš plunkš,
and then sound.pst.3 exceptionally loud.nom.m splash
un iestājās klusums.
and begin.pst.3 silence.nom.m
‘And then there was an exceptionally loud splash, and then silence.’
(Diena)
b. Vienmēr saki jā un esi laimīgs!
always say.imp.2sg yes and be.cop.imp.2sg happy.nom.m
‘Always say yes and be happy!’ (Diena)

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The  word class membership of some indeclinable words (adverbs, particles,
conjunctions, interjections) cannot be identified reliably outside of context. It is only
their syntactic behavior in a  sentence that makes it possible to analyze them as
belonging to a particular word class (Paegle 2003: 229):
(2.0.80) ak ‘oh, ah’
a. particle
Ak tā gan!
oh so really
‘Oh, I see.’
b. interjection
Ak, cik karsts šogad bija jūlijs!
oh how hot.nom.m this_year be.cop.pst.3 July.nom.m
‘Oh, July was so hot this year!’
(2.0.81) tik ‘so, as’
a. particle
Nāc tik iekšā!
come.imp.2sg so in
‘Come on in.’
b. adverb
Es esmu izdarījusi tik, cik varējusi.
I.nom be.aux.prs.1sg do.ptcp.nom.f so how can.ptcp.nom.f
‘I have done as much as I could.’
(2.0.82) kaut ‘although, I wish’
a. conjunction
Kaut šorīt cēlos agri,
although this_morning get_up.pst.1sg early
tomēr nepaspēju visu izdarīt.
still not_manage.pst.1sg everything.acc.m do.inf
‘Although I got up early this morning, there still wasn’t enough time to
get everything done.’
b. particle
Kaut ātrāk būtu vasara!
if_only soon be.cop.cond summer.nom.f
‘If only summer would come already.’

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2.1 NOUNS
2.1.0 Introductory remarks
The noun is a word class which comprises words expressing objectness and employing
the  categories of gender, number, and case. Syntactically, a  noun can function as
the  subject of a  clause (2.1.1a), an object (2.1.1b), an attribute (2.1.1c), a  nominal
predicate, or an apposition (both 2.1.1d) (Skujiņa 2007: 217).
(2.1.1) a. Vakar pūta stiprs vējš.
yesterday blow.pst.3 strong.nom.m wind.nom.m
‘A strong wind blew yesterday.’
b. Es rīt satikšu savu brāli.
I.nom tomorrow meet.fut.1sg own.acc.m brother.acc.m
‘Tomorrow I will meet my brother.’
c. Neviens negaidīja tik agru ziemas
nobody.nom.m not_expect.pst.3 such early.acc.m winter.gen.f
sākumu.
onset.acc.m
‘Nobody expected such an early onset of winter.’
d. Tā ir mana māsa Līga.
that.nom.f be.cop.prs.3 my.nom.f sister.nom.f Līga.nom.f
‘That is my sister Līga.’
Based on their meaning, nouns are usually classified as (also see Section 2.1.5):
1) common nouns denoting any of a  class of objects (examples 2.1.2) and
proper nouns denoting particular objects out of all the objects of the same
class such as personal names, names of animals, geographical names, names
of institutions and organizations, etc. (2.1.3):
(2.1.2) puķe ‘flower’, koks ‘tree’, samtene ‘marigold’, priede ‘pine’, cilvēks ‘human’,
meita ‘daughter’, dēls ‘son’, dzīvnieks ‘animal’, zirgs ‘horse’, govs ‘cow’, kalns
‘mountain’, upe ‘river’, saule ‘sun’
(2.1.3) Līga ‘Līga (a female name)’
Valdis ‘Valdis (a male name)’
Eiropa ‘Europe’
Latvija ‘Latvia’
Latvijas Nacionālā bibliotēka ‘The National Library of Latvia’
2) concrete (2.1.4a) and abstract (2.1.4b) nouns, collective nouns (2.1.4c), names
of substances (2.1.4d), etc.
(2.1.4) a. karote ‘spoon’, šķīvis ‘plate’, jūra ‘sea’, akmens ‘stone’
b. prieks ‘joy’, cerība ‘hope’, atmiņas ‘memories’, skaistums ‘beauty’
c. pūlis ‘crowd’, tauta ‘nation’, saime ‘community’, bars ‘crowd’
d. piens ‘milk’, ūdens ‘water’, ledus ‘ice’, sāls ‘salt’

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2.1.1 Declension
Latvian nouns are customarily divided into six declensions. The distinct endings that
nouns take relative to the paradigms of case, number, and gender play a major role in
differentiating nouns into declensions (Paegle 2003: 45; Nau 2011; Smiltniece 2013:
357–366; Kalnača 2014: 4–5).
Declensions 1–3 mostly contain masculine nouns, while declensions 4–6 mostly
contain feminine nouns. However, declension 4 also includes the  masculine noun
puika ‘boy’, declension 6 contains the  masculine plural-only noun ļaudis ‘people’,
declension 3 contains some feminine surnames, and declensions 4 and 5 contain
common gender nouns (see Section 2.1.2 for a detailed discussion).
The words asmens ‘blade’, akmens ‘stone’, rudens ‘autumn’, ūdens ‘water’, zibens
‘lightning’, mēness ‘moon’, suns ‘dog’ (all M), which have formed a separate declension
(that of consonantal stem nouns) in the past, are nowadays referred to as declension
2 exceptions.
It is thus possible to propose the following system of case and number endings
for nouns. Note that the endings preceded by palatalization have been displayed as
separate exponents (see also Haspelmath 2002: 242; Nau 2011; Kalnača 2014: 7–9):

Singular
Declension 2 subdivides into two further groups: consonantal stem nouns (2b) and
all other nouns (2a). Note that for declensions 4 and 5 the masculine dative singular
endings -am and -em are listed along with the  feminine endings (see examples
(2.1.5)–(2.1.7)):

Declension
Case
1 3 6 2b 2a 4 5
NOM -s, -š -us -is -a -e
VOC -ø, -s, -š, -u -u -s -i, -ø -ø, -a, -u -ø, -e
GEN -a -us -’a -as -es
ACC
-u -i -u -i
INS
DAT -am -um, -ui -ij -im -ai, -am -ei, -em
LOC -ā -ū -ī -ā -ē
Table 2.1 Singular case endings (adapted from Kalnača 2014: 8)

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Plural
Here, declension 3 subdivides into two further groups: masculine nouns (3a) and
feminine nouns (3b).

Declension
Case
2 1 3a 3b 4 5 6
NOM
-’i -i -us -as -es -is
VOC
GEN -’u -u -’u, -u
ACC -’us -us -as -es -is
INS
-’iem -iem -ūm -ām -ēm -īm
DAT
LOC -’os -os -ūs -ās -ēs -īs
Table 2.2 Plural case endings (adapted from Kalnača 2014: 8)

The inflectional forms of nouns are illustrated in Table 2.3 with the words tēvs ‘father’,
ceļš ‘road’, brālis ‘brother’, akmens ‘stone’, lietus ‘rain’, māsa ‘sister’, puika ‘boy’, māte
‘mother’, zivs ‘fish’, ļaudis ‘people’.

Case 1 (M) 2 (M) 3 (M) 4 (F) 5 (F) 6 (F)

SG
NOM tēv-s, brāl-is, liet-us mās-a, māt-e ziv-s
ceļ-š akmen-s puik-a (M)
GEN tēv-a, brāļ-a, liet-us mās-as, māt-es ziv-s
ceļ-a akmen-s puik-as
DAT tēv-am; brāl-im, liet-um mās-ai, māt-ei ziv-ij
ceļ-am akmen-im puik-am
ACC tēv-u, brāl-i, liet-u mās-u, māt-i ziv-i
ceļ-u akmen-i puik-u
INS (ar) tēv-u, (ar) brāl-i, (ar) liet-u (ar) mās-u, (ar) māt-i (ar) ziv-i
(ar) ceļ-u (ar) akmen-i (ar) puik-u
LOC tēv-ā, brāl-ī, liet-ū mās-ā, māt-ē ziv-ī
ceļ-ā akmen-ī puik-ā
VOC tēv-ø!, brāl-i!, liet-u! mās-ø!, māt-ø!, ziv-s!
tēv-s! akmen-ø!, mās-a!, māt-e!
ceļ-š! akmen-s! puik-a!
PL
NOM tēv-i, brāļ-i, liet-i mās-as, māt-es ziv-is,
ceļ-i akmeņ-i puik-as ļaud-is (M)
GEN tēv-u, brāļ-u, liet-u mās-u, māš-u zivj-u,
ceļ-u akmeņ-u puik-u lauž-u
DAT tēv-iem, brāļ-iem, liet-iem mās-ām, māt-ēm ziv-īm,
ceļ-iem akmeņ-iem puik-ām ļaud-īm

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Case 1 (M) 2 (M) 3 (M) 4 (F) 5 (F) 6 (F)
ACC tēv-us, brāļ-us, liet-us mās-as, māt-es ziv-is,
ceļ-us akmeņ-us puik-as ļaud-is
INS (ar) tēv-iem, (ar) brāļ-iem, (ar) liet-iem (ar) mās-ām, (ar) māt-ēm (ar) ziv-īm,
(ar) ceļ-iem (ar) akmeņ-iem (ar) puik-ām (ar) ļaud-īm
LOC tēv-os, brāļ-os, liet-os mās-ās, māt-ēs zivīs,
ceļ-os akmeņ-os puik-ās ļaud-īs
VOC tēv-i!, brāļ-i!, liet-i! mās-as!, māt-es! ziv-is!,
ceļ-i! akmeņ-i! puik-as ļaud-is!
Table 2.3 Noun declension (adapted from Kalnača 2013a: 54–55; Kalnača 2014: 6)

As has already been pointed out, the declension 4 masculine noun puika ‘boy’ takes
the masculine ending -am in DAT SG, cf. māsa ‘sister’ (F), also see Table 2.3:
(2.1.5) NOM SG
mās-a ‘sister’(F), puik-a ‘boy’(M)
DAT SG
mās-ai ‘for (a/the) sister’(F), puik-am ‘for (a/the) boy’(M)
Apart from feminine nouns, declensions 4 and 5 also include common gender nouns
(examples (2.1.6), see Section 2.4.2 for a  detailed discussion) and some surnames
(examples (2.1.7)), which in Standard Latvian are overtly marked for gender in DAT
SG (Paegle 2003: 32, 50):
(2.1.6) common gender nouns
a. declension 4
auš-a ‘feather brain’
auš-ai (F)
auš-am (M)
b. declension 5
bend-e ‘executioner’
bend-ei (F)
bend-em (M)
(2.1.7) proper names (surnames)
a. declension 4
NOM SG
Liep-a, Kļav-a, Jūr-a (F, M)
DAT SG
Liep-ai, Kļav-ai, Jūr-ai (F)
Liep-am, Kļav-am, Jūr-am (M)
b. declension 5
NOM SG
Egl-e, Pried-e, Niedr-e (F, M)
DAT SG
Egl-ei, Pried-ei, Niedr-ei (F)
Egl-em, Pried-em, Niedr-em (M)

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Although declension 3 feminine common nouns are now obsolete, some surnames
such as Dejus, Čapus, Didžus, Markus, Bikšus, Balčus, Statkus, Snitkus, Ķerus are still
in use in Standard Latvian and inflect for both genders according to two distinct
paradigms, see Table 2.4:

Case SG PL
M F M F
NOM Jānis Dej-us Ilze Dej-us Jāņi Dej-i Ilzes Dej-us
GEN Jāņa Dej-us Ilzes Dej-us Jāņu Dej-u Ilžu Dej-u
DAT Jānim Dej-um Ilzei Dej-ui Jāņiem Dej-iem Ilzēm Dej-ūm
ACC Jāni Dej-u Ilzi Dej-u Jāņus Dej-us Ilzes Dej-us
INS (ar) Jāni Dej-u (ar) Ilzi Dej-u (ar) Jāņiem Dej-iem (ar) Ilzēm Dej-ūm
LOC Jānī Dej-ū Ilzē Dej-ū Jāņos Dej-os Ilzēs Dej-ūs
VOC Jāni Dej-u! Ilze Dej-u! Jāņi Dej-i! Ilzes Dej-us!
Table 2.4 Case forms of declension 3 surnames in masculine and feminine (adapted
from Smiltniece 2013: 362)

In colloquial Latvian, common nouns denoting persons and personal names of

declensions 1, 2, 4 and 5 exhibit several variants of the vocative singular (Table 2.1)
(see also Kalme, Smiltniece 2001: 102, 105, 108–110).
For feminine personal names of declensions 4 and 5, the  vocative function is
usually performed by nominative case forms, although, in colloquial speech, vocative
case forms are also possible (mostly, with trisyllabic (NOM) personal names) (2.1.8a–b).
Personal names and common nouns signifying kinship, as well as different
kinds of diminutives and some other nouns of declension 2, are quite frequently used
without an ending -i in the vocative (note that personal names are often trisyllabic in
the nominative) (Smiltniece 2013: 360) (2.1.8b–c)–(2.1.10).
(2.1.8) a. VOC SG
declension 4
Aij-a!, Rit-a!, Katrīn-a!, Līvij-a! (female names)
and
Aij-ø!, Katrīn-ø!, Līvij-ø! (colloquial)
b. VOC SG
declension 5
Ilz-e!, Lien-e!, Renāt-e!, Kristīn-e! (female names)
and
Ilz-ø!, Lien-ø!, Renāt-ø!, Kristīn-ø! (colloquial)
c. NOM SG
brāl-is ‘brother’, puis-is ‘boy’, tēt-is ‘father’
Pēter-is, Visvald-is, Laimon-is (male names)
diminutives Kārlīt-is, vecīt-is, eņģelīt-is (derived from the words Kārlis,
vecis ‘old man’, eņģelis ‘angel’)

87
 d. VOC SG
brāl-ø!, puis-ø!, tēt-ø! (Standard Latvian: brāl-i!, puis-i!, tēt-i!)
Pēter-ø!, Visvald-ø!, Laimon-ø! (Standard Latvian: Pēter-i!, Visvald-i!,
Laimon-i!)
Kārlīt-ø!, vecīt-ø!, enģelīt-ø! (Standard Latvian: Kārlīt-i!, vecīt-i!, eņģelīt-i!)
(2.1.9) a. Viss vēl mainīsies,
everything.nom.m ptcl change.fut.3
tu redzēsi, brāl!
you.nom.sg see.fut.2sg brother.voc.m
‘Everything will change one day, you’ll see, brother!’ (C)
b. Puis!
chap.voc.m
‘Chap!’ (C)
c. Pēter, pasmaidi!
Pēteris.voc.m smile.imp.2sg
‘Pēteris, do smile!’ (C)
d. Tu, Kārl-īt, esi diezgan
you.nom.sg Kārlis-dim.voc.m be.cop.prs.2sg quite
izklaidīgs.
absent_minded.nom.m
‘You, Kārlītis, are quite absent-minded.’ (C)
(2.1.10) a. Mīļo eņģel-īt, parūpējies
dear.acc.m angel-dim.voc.m take_care.imp.2sg
par manu draugu,
about my.acc.m friend.acc.m
kuram šodien ir vārda diena!
who.dat.m today be.cop.prs.3 name.acc.m day.nom.f
‘Dear angel, please look after my friend whose name day is today!’
(www.draugiem.lv)
b. Mīļais Ziemassvētku vec-īt, lūdzu
dear.nom.m Christmas.gen.pl.m old_man-dim.voc.m please
paskubini @latvijas_pasts darbinieces,
urge.imp.2sg @latvijas_pasts employee.acc.pl.f
lai strādā raitāk.
that work.prs.3 more_quickly
‘Dear Santa, please urge the employees at @latvijas_pasts to hurry up
with their work.’ (www.twitter.com)
In colloquial speech, declension 1 and 4 personal names often take the ending -u in
the vocative; usually, however, these forms do not find their way into grammar books.
It should be kept in mind that declension 1 personal names are mostly monosyllabic,
sometimes disyllabic, while declension 4 personal names are predominantly disyllabic
in the nominative (examples (partly) from Kalnača 2014: 26):

88
(2.1.11) a. declension 1
NOM SG
Ojār-s, Klāv-s, Ainar-s (male names)
VOC SG
Ojār-u!, Klāv-u!, Ainar-u!
b. declension 4
NOM SG
Aij-a, Iev-a, Laum-a (female names)
VOC SG
Aij-u!, Ievu!, Laum-u!
c. and very often
NOM SG
mamm-a (‘mummy’ in colloquial speech)
VOC SG
mamm-u!
Mammu, vai vēl ilgi?
mum.voc.f q still long_time
‘Mum, how much longer now?’ (CW)
Mammu, kur mums stāv putekļsūcējs?
mum.voc.f where we.dat stand.prs.3 vacuum_cleaner.nom.m
‘Mum, where do we keep the vacuum cleaner?’ (Ieva)

Palatalization
As has been noted in Section 1.1.2, palatalization in Latvian is normally involved in,
firstly, marking the genitive case of declension 2 (GEN SG) and declension 5, 6 (GEN
PL) nouns, secondly, marking the plural of declension 2 nouns (see Table 2.3). There
are certain exceptions, however, that do not demonstrate this shift:
1) disyllabic personal names in -tis, -dis (declension 2)
(2.1.12) NOM SG – GEN SG
Atis – Ata
Guntis – Gunta
Valdis – Valda
Aldis – Alda (male names)
2) common nouns in -ris (declension 2)
(2.1.13) NOM SG – GEN SG
pavasaris – pavasara ‘spring’
tosteris – tostera ‘toaster’
3) the word viesis (declension 2)
(2.1.14) viesis – viesa ‘guest’

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 4) some nouns in -ste, -te, -se (declension 5)
(2.1.15) NOM SG – GEN PL
kaste – kastu ‘box’
aste – astu ‘tail’
karaliste – karalistu ‘kingdom’
mute – mutu ‘mouth’
kase – kasu ‘cash desk, box office’
pase – pasu ‘passport’
5) nouns in -re (declension 5)
(2.1.16) NOM SG – GEN PL
cepure – cepuru ‘hat’
vāvere – vāveru ‘squirrel’
sēre – sēru ‘sandbank’
6) the following declension 6 nouns:
(2.1.17) common nouns
NOM SG – GEN PL
acs – acu ‘eye’
uzacs – uzacu ‘brow’
auss – ausu ‘ear’
balss – balsu ‘voice’
debess – debesu ‘sky, heaven’
valsts – valstu ‘country’
vēsts – vēstu ‘tidings, news’
(2.1.18) the proper noun Cēsis – Cēsu (a town name)

Reflexive nouns
Standing apart from the six declensions discussed above is another group of nouns,
which is quite interesting in many respects: reflexive deverbal nouns formed by
derivation from reflexive verbs. The most common type are feminine reflexive nouns
with -šanās (suffix -šan- + reflexive ending -ās):
(2.1.19) mazgā-ties – mazgā-šanās ‘to wash (oneself) – washing (oneself)’
cel-ties – cel-šanās ‘to get up, to stand up – getting up, standing up’
smie-ties – smie-šanās ‘to laugh – laughing’
Reflexive nouns in -šanās can be derived from all reflexive verbs, borrowings included:
(2.1.20) oksidē-ties – oksidē-šanās ‘to oxidize (no object) – oxidizing, oxidization’
kondensē-ties – kondensē-šanās ‘to condense (no object) – condensing’
praktizē-ties – praktizē-šanās ‘to practice (no object) – practicing’

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Other types of reflexive deverbal nouns such as masculine reflexive nouns ending in
-umies (vēlējumies ‘wish’, cēlumies ‘getting up, standing up’), masculine and feminine
reflexive nouns ending in -tājies (M) (mazgātājies ‘one who washes (himself)’),
-tājās (F) (peldētājās ‘one who bathes, goes swimming’), -ējies (M) (smējējies ‘one who
laughs’), -ējās (F) (smējējās) are found mainly in literary texts and are otherwise very
rare in modern Latvian. Instead of reflexive verbs, their non-reflexive counterparts
are now more commonly used as bases for the respective derivatives, e.g., vēlējums,
cēlums, mazgātājs, -a, peldētājs, -a, smējējs, -a.
As regards meaning, reflexive deverbal nouns denote objectified actions as
processes that generally exhibit the same kinds of meaning as reflexive verbs (see
also Section 2.5.7):
1) actions where the agent is also the patient
(2.1.21) mazgāties – mazgāšanās ‘to wash (oneself) – washing (oneself)’
ģērbties – ģērbšanās ‘to dress (no object) – dressing’
slaucīties – slaucīšanās ‘to wipe (oneself) – wiping (oneself)’
2) reciprocal actions
(2.1.22) vienoties – vienošanās ‘to agree – agreement, also coming to an agreement’
sarunāties – sarunāšanās ‘to converse – conversing’
tikties – tikšanās ‘to meet – meeting’
3) actions occurring in and of themselves, without any active participation on
the part of the possible agent
(2.1.23) sārtoties – sārtošanās ‘to grow red – growing red’
glabāties – glabāšanās ‘to be stored – being stored’
rādīties – rādīšanās ‘to appear, to seem – appearing, seeming’
4) sudden, unexpected or excessive actions
(2.1.24) iesmieties – iesmiešanās ‘to give a laugh – giving a laugh’
sakustēties – sakustēšanās ‘to make a (sudden) move – making a (sudden) move’
aizrunāties – aizrunāšanās ‘to talk for too long, to keep on about – talking
for too long’
pārcepties – pārcepšanās ‘to get overbaked, overroasted – getting overbaked,
overroasted’
Reflexive nouns are characterized by incomplete (defective) declension paradigms,
having no dative or locative forms in either number and no instrumental plural.
Moreover, as there are only two endings, -ās and -os, in the whole paradigm, the forms
they are supposed to stand for are only determinable from the context (see Table 2.5
and examples (2.1.25)–(2.1.26)):

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tikšanās ‘meeting’
Case SG PL
NOM tikšan-ās tikšan-ās
GEN tikšan-ās tikšan-os
DAT – –
ACC tikšan-os tikšan-ās
INS (ar) tikšan-os –
LOC – –
VOC tikšan-ās! tikšan-ās!
Table 2.5 Case forms of reflexive nouns (adapted from Kalnača 2014: 37)

(2.1.25) mazgāšanās ‘washing (oneself)’ SG

a. Pie kā noved bieža mazgāšanās?
to what.gen lead.prs.3 frequent.nom.f washing.nom.f
‘What does frequent washing lead to?’ (www.delfi.lv)
b. Ļoti maigs mazgāšanās līdzeklis sausai
very gentle.nom.m washing.gen.f tool.nom.m dry.dat.f
ādai.
skin.dat.f
‘A very gentle cleanser for dry skin.’ (www.draugiem.lv)
c. Mazgāšanos vannā vajadzētu noslēgt ar vēsu
washing.acc.f bath.loc.f should.cond finish.inf with cool.ins.f
dušu.
shower.ins.f
‘One should take a cool shower after having a bath.’ (www.tvnet.lv)
d. Ar mazgāšanos nepārspīlējiet!
with washing.ins.f not_overdo.imp.2pl
‘Don’t overdo it with the washing!’ (www.apollo.lv)
(2.1.26) tikšanās ‘meeting’ PL
a. Notiek regulāras tikšanās ar
happen.prs.3 regular.nom.pl.f meeting.nom.pl.f with
bankas vadību.
bank.gen.f management.ins.f
‘Regular meetings with the bank’s management take place.’ (C)
b. Šie jautājumi apspriesti arī abu
this.nom.pl.m issue.nom.pl.m discuss.ptcp.nom.m also both.gen.f
valstu valdību vadītāju
country.gen.pl.f government.gen.pl.f head.gen.pl.m
divpusējo tikšanos laikā.
bilateral.gen.pl.f meeting.gen.pl.f time.loc.m
‘These issues have also been discussed at bilateral summits between
the two countries.’ (C)

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 c. Plānojiet sev regulāras tikšanās
plan.imp.2pl oneself.dat regular.acc.pl.f meeting.acc.pl.f
ar draugiem vai kolēģiem!
with friend.ins.pl.m or colleague.ins.pl.m
‘Plan for regular meetings with your friends and colleagues!’ (C)
Some reflexive nouns can be considered defective also in terms of number in that
they are predominantly used in the  singular, e.g., aizsapņošanās ‘daydreaming’,
mazgāšanās ‘washing (oneself)’, pielāgošanās ‘conforming (no object)’, sakustēšanās
‘making a (sudden) move’. For this reason, Paegle (2003: 53), for example, provides
only the singular form paradigm of reflexive nouns indicating that such nouns are
not normally used in the  plural. However, many reflexive nouns actually occur in
both numbers:
(2.1.27) SG
viena vēlēšanās ‘one wish’
viena tikšanās ‘one meeting’
viena vienošanās ‘one agreement’
PL
trīs vēlēšanās ‘three wishes’
desmit tikšanos ‘ten meetings’
vairākas vienošanās ‘several agreements’
Therefore, on the whole, reflexive nouns should not be classified as singular-only.

Indeclinable nouns
Still another group of nouns found in Latvian are indeclinable nouns. All indeclinable
nouns are borrowed words, for example:
(2.1.28) common nouns
eiro ‘euro’, kino ‘cinema’, radio ‘radio’, loto ‘lotto’, ragū ‘ragout’
(2.1.29) proper nouns – geographical names (2.1.29a), personal names (2.1.29b), etc.
a. Oslo ‘Oslo’, Katmandu ‘Kathmandu’, Monpeljē ‘Montpellier’
b. Kokto ‘Cocteau’, Kirī ‘Curie’, Delakruā ‘Delacroix’
The gender, number, and case of such nouns are only determinable in context where
they are often signaled by the form of a concordant attribute (2.1.30) or a nominal
predicate (2.1.31):
(2.1.30) a. Grāmata maksā piecus eiro.
book.nom.f cost.prs.3 five.acc.m euro
‘The book costs five euros.’
b. Mūs Nepālā pārsteidza neparastā Katmandu.
we.acc Nepal.loc.f amaze.pst.3 unusual.ptcp.nom.f Kathmandu
‘When in Nepal we were amazed by unusual Kathmandu.’

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(2.1.31) a. Oslo ir salīdzinoši neliela, bet ļoti
Oslo be.cop.prs.3 relatively small.nom.f but very
patīkama.
pleasant.ptcp.nom.f
‘Oslo is relatively small but very pleasant.’
b. Kokto ir ievērojams rakstnieks.
Cocteau be.cop.prs.3 noteworthy.ptcp.nom.m writer.nom.m
‘Cocteau is a noteworthy writer.’
In colloquial speech, indeclinable nouns are often made declinable by adding endings
and sometimes also diminutive suffixes -īt-, -iņ-, -uk- (examples (2.1.32) from Kalnača
2014: 13):
(2.1.32) eiro → eir-is, eir-īt-is ‘euro’
kino → ķin-is, ķin-īt-is ‘cinema’
radio → rādž-iņ-š, rādž-uk-s ‘radio’
In Standard Latvian, a number of indeclinable nouns have recently become declinable
through the addition of endings (Kalme & Smiltniece 2001: 113), examples (2.1.33)–
(2.1.34) from Kalnača 2014: 13); however, this is not a regular or predictable process.
(2.1.33) baroko, čello, pianīno, mannā, sodā →
baroks ‘baroque’, čells ‘cello’, pianīns ‘piano’ (all M), manna ‘manna’, soda
‘soda’ (both F)
(2.1.34) želē, filē, dražē, Tokio →
želeja ‘jelly, gel’, fileja ‘fillet’, dražeja ‘dragée’, Tokija ‘Tokyo’ (all F)

Compound genitives (genitive-only compound nouns)

The group of indeclinable nouns also, in a sense, includes compound genitives (also
genitivelings – see Nau 1998: 26; Berg-Olsen 2007). Compound genitives are a special
group of Latvian compound nouns that have only one case form, the  genitive,
either in the  singular (2.1.35) or, perhaps more commonly, in the  plural (2.1.36).
Syntactically, they usually function as non-agreeing attributes (Soida 1976; Kušķis
1976; Berg-Olsen 2007; Skujiņa 2007: 136):
(2.1.35) SG
a. vien-zilb-es vārd-s
mono-syllabic-gen.f word-nom.m
‘monosyllabic word’
b. bez-maks-as pakalpojum-s
without-charge-gen.f service-nom.m
‘free service’
c. pirms-plān-a dokument-s
pre-plan-gen.m document-nom.m
‘preplanning document’

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(2.1.36) PL
a. liel-zied-u ceriņ-i
large-flower-gen.pl.m lilac-nom.pl.m
‘large-flowered lilac’
b. deviņ-stāv-u māj-a
nine-storey-gen.pl.m house-nom.f
‘nine-storey house’
c. sīk-lap-u kļav-a
small-leaf-gen.pl.f maple-nom.f
‘small-leaved maple’
The gender of compound genitives depends on the declension and gender of the head.
Compound genitives can also, although less commonly, function as nominal
predicates (Kalnača, Lokmane 2016):
(2.1.37) a. Šis pakalpojums būs
this.nom.m service.nom.m be.cop.fut.3
bezmaksas.
without_charge.gen.f
‘This service will be free.’ (www.kursors.lv)
b. Rakstā minēts, ka māja
article.loc.m mention.ptcp.nom.m that house.nom.f
ir divstāvu.
be.cop.prs.3 two_story.gen.pl.m
‘The article mentions that this is a two-story house.’ (www.tvnet.lv)
Based on the word classes of their components, compound genitives can be grouped
as follows (Ahero et al. 1959: 207–209, Soida 1976: 149; Kalnača, Lokmane 2016):
1) NGEN + N (2.1.38a), ADJ + N (2.1.38b), NUM + N (2.1.38c), PRON +
N (2.1.38d), ADV + N (2.1.38e)
(2.1.38) a. zelt-spārn-u
gold-wing-gen.pl.m
‘golden-winged’
b. zem-papēž-u
low-heel-gen.pl.m
‘low-heeled’
c. div-istab-u
two-room-gen.pl.f
‘two-room’
d. šā-gad-a
this-year-gen.m
‘this year’s’
e. daudz-gad-u
many-year-gen.pl.m
‘multiyear’

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 2) PREP + N
(2.1.39) a. pirms-krīz-es
before-crisis-gen.pl.f
‘pre-crisis’
b. bez-vad-u
without-wire-gen.pl.m
‘wireless’
c. starp-zvaigžņ-u
between-star-gen.pl.f
‘interstellar’
All compound genitives in Latvian originate from noun phrases (in detail see
Section 2.1.5, Table 2.9).
Synonymous noun phrases and compound genitives can function in parallel,
e.g.:
(2.1.40) a. Pasākumā, kas notiek brīvā
event.loc.m which.nom take_place.prs.3 free.loc.f
dabā, augstu papēžu kurpes
nature.loc.f high.gen.pl.m heel.gen.pl.m shoe.nom.pl.f
nebūs piemērotas.
not_be.fut.3 appropriate.ptcp.nom.pl.f
‘High-heeled shoes will not be appropriate for an outdoor event.’
(www.mia.lv)
b. Kā augstpapēžu kurpes
how high-heel.gen.pl.m shoe.nom.pl.f
ietekmē veselību?
affect.prs.3 health.acc.f
‘How do high-heeled shoes affect one’s health?’ (www.delfi.lv)
In Latvian, compound genitives can be used as base words for forming new nouns
and adjectives (see Section 2.1.5, Tables 2.7 and 2.9, and Section 2.2.4, Table 2.13).

2.1.2 Gender
The category of noun gender captures the ways in which objects are differentiated
based on their sex or animacy, or else reflects the formal arrangement of objects into
genders manifested in noun endings (Skujiņa 2007: 100). Gender is thus a  lexico-
grammatical category, being at least to some degree tied to real-world denotations,
i.e., to the animacy and sex of the objects denoted (Corbett 2005). Latvian has two
genders  – masculine and feminine  – with separate inflectional (case and number)
paradigms (see Table 2.3).
An interesting feature of noun gender in Latvian is that it shows semantic and
formal asymmetry. On the  one hand, almost all nouns signifying human beings,
domestic animals, fowl, and some wild animals encode sex by various means
(Ahero et al. 1959: 379–381; Veisbergs 1999: 49–50; Paegle 2003: 31–32; Kalnača
2008: 28–29):

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 1) roots in terms denoting kinship
(2.1.41) M
tēvs ‘father’, dēls ‘son’, suns ‘dog’, kuilis ‘boar’, gailis ‘rooster’
F
māte ‘mother’, meita ‘daughter’, kuce ‘bitch’, cūka ‘pig’, vista ‘hen’
2) endings in terms denoting professions and persons in general
(2.1.42) dejotāj-s (M), dejotāj-a (F) ‘dancer’
kontrolier-is (M), kontrolier-e (F) ‘inspector’
3) the  words mother, father, lady, he, or she for ladies of the  house, mothers,
farmers, owners, fathers, and male as well as female animals and birds:
(2.1.43) Novadnieku māte (F) ‘proprietress of Novadnieki, lady of Novadnieki’
Novadnieku tēvs (M) ‘owner of Novadnieki, farmer from Novadnieki’
vilku māte (F) ‘she-wolf’
aļņu mātīte (F) ‘cow (female moose)’
pīļtēviņš (M) ‘drake’
Sex (and animacy) can also be encoded derivationally:
1) noun suffixes denoting wives, progenitresses, proprietresses
(2.1.44) kalējs – kalēj-ien-e/kalēj-en-e ‘blacksmith – blacksmith’s wife’
Oļiņš – Oļiņ-iet-e (a personal name)
lācis – lāc-ien-e/lāc-en-e ‘bear – she-bear’
kaķis – kaķ-en-e ‘tomcat – queen (female cat)’
stārķis – stārķ-ien-e/stārķ-en-e ‘stork – female stork’
2) noun suffixes used to refer to living things in the masculine regardless of
their actual sex
(2.1.45) brāl-ēn-s ‘male cousin’, tel-ēn-s ‘calf’, pel-ēn-s ‘little mouse, young mouse’,
suņ-uk-s ‘little dog’, lāč-uk-s ‘bear (DIM)’, meit-uk-s ‘daughter (DIM)’,
māš-uk-s ‘sister (DIM)’
3) noun suffixes + endings used to refer to living things in both genders
(2.1.46) veikal-niec-e (F), veikal-niek-s (M) ‘shopkeeper’
alūksn-iet-e, alūksn-iet-is ‘inhabitant of the town of Alūksne’
gāj-ēj-a, gāj-ēj-s ‘pedestrian’
runā-tāj-a, runā-tāj-s ‘speaker’
gudr-iķ-e, gudr-iķ-is ‘smart person’
4) common gender noun suffixes in words that may be equally well used of
males and females
(2.1.47) snaud-aļ-a ‘sleepyhead’, guļ-av-a ‘(keen) sleeper’, dauz-oņ-a ‘rowdy person’
On the other hand, there are many nouns representing inanimate entities and many
types of animals, birds, and insects whose grammatical gender is a formal feature. In

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such cases, the gender-specific ending or suffix only serves to specify the declension
type (Kalnača 2000: 179–180; Kalnača 2008: 29), for example:
(2.1.48) M
med-us ‘honey’, liel-um-s ‘size’, zvirbul-is ‘sparrow’, zut-is ‘eel’,
dundur-s ‘gadfly’
F
saul-e ‘sun’, vēlm-e ‘desire’, gudrīb-a ‘wisdom’, caun-a ‘marten’,
karūs-a ‘crucian carp’, blakt-s ‘bug (entom.)’
Unlike the  nouns in examples (2.1.41)–(2.1.46), these kinds of nouns lack natural
gender, which perhaps explains why their grammatical gender, although standardized
in Standard Latvian, may fluctuate in speech. For example, while the  nouns seja
‘face’, kļava ‘maple’ are feminine in Standard Latvian, they sometimes occur
in the  masculine in colloquial speech and subdialects (sejs, kļavs). The gender of
the  word sāls ‘salt’ in the  sense of ‘kitchen salt’ is problematic even in Standard
Latvian. The current norm, which has existed since the  mid 1980s, classes it as
a masculine declension 2 noun (example (2.1.49a)) after the word akmens ‘stone’ and
the  like. Nevertheless, the  formerly traditional feminine declension 6 paradigm is
still widely applied instead (example (2.1.49b)):
(2.1.49) a. M
vārāmais sāls ‘kitchen salt’, smalkais sāls ‘fine salt’, rupjais sāls ‘coarse salt’
b. F
vārāmā sāls, smalkā sāls, rupjā sāls
Paegle (2003: 33) states that the word sāls ‘salt’ in the sense of ‘kitchen salt’ can be
used in either gender. It should be noted that in colloquial speech and subdialects,
a similar gender variation is also possible for other declension 6 words. For example,
the following nouns are sometimes inflected as masculine in the plural:
(2.1.50) ači ‘eyes’, uzači ‘brows’, uguņi ‘lights’, dzelži ‘hardware’
(Standard Latvian all F PL – acis, uzacis, ugunis, dzelzis)
Another case in point are several widely-used feminine nouns denoting females
which function with masculine endings alongside the feminine forms in colloquial
Latvian (Ahero et al. 1959: 380; Smiltniece 2002: 39–40):
(2.1.51) sieviet-e ‘woman’, meiten-e ‘girl’, skuķ-e ‘girl’ (all with F endings)
and
sieviet-is, meiten-is, skuķ-is (all with M endings)
The words sievišķ-is ‘woman’ and meitiet-is ‘girl’, which only occur with the masculine
ending in modern Latvian, can be added to this group of transposed gender nouns.
As Wierzbicka (1996: 398) notes, the  replacement of basic natural gender signals
the  speaker’s expressive attitude. Usually, nouns of the  sort mentioned above are
used by male speakers to indicate a negative or pejorative attitude. However, there
are examples in classical Latvian literature of words like sievietis ‘woman’, meitenis
‘girl’, skuķis ‘girl’ being used by speakers of both sexes to convey a positive or neutral
attitude.

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 Also quite common in colloquial Latvian are diminutives which denote females
but have masculine endings, being derived from feminine nouns by means of
the  diminutive suffixes -uk- and -ēn-, which normally require masculine endings:
-uk-s / -uc-is, -ēn-s (see Section 2.1.5, Table 2.7). Unlike the words just mentioned,
these diminutives always communicate a positive and friendly attitude, for example:
(2.1.52) meita ‘daughter’ – meit-uk-s, meit-uc-is, meit-ēn-s
mamma ‘mummy’ – mamm-uk-s, mamm-uc-is
Ieva (a female name) – Iev-uk-s, Iev-uc-is, Iev-ēn-s
Ilze (a female name) – Ilž-uk-s, Ilz-ēn-s
In Standard Latvian, a  verbal distinction is consistently made between males and
females in nouns indicating jobs, professions, and occupations, which means that all
such words can be used in either gender depending on the sex of the person involved,
for example (examples (2.1.53) from Kalnača 2013a):
(2.1.53) skolotāj-a (F), skolotāj-s (M) ‘teacher’
tulkotāj-a (F), tulkotāj-s (M) ‘translator’
viesmīl-e (F), viesmīl-is (M) ‘waitress, waiter’
šofer-e (F), šofer-is (M) ‘driver’
advokāt-e (F), advokāt-s (M) ‘lawyer’
notār-e (F), notār-s (M) ‘notary’
ārst-e (F), ārst-s (M) ‘doctor’
stomatoloģ-e (F), stomatolog-s (M) ‘dentist’
kardioloģ-e (F), kardiolog-s (M) ‘cardiologist’
bibliotekār-e (F), bibliotekār-s (M) ‘librarian’
baletmeistar-e (F), baletmeistar-s (M) ‘ballet master’
profesor-e (F), profesor-s (M) ‘professor’
prezident-e (F), prezident-s (M) ‘president’
When referring to women, names of professions, occupations, etc. are always
feminine, e.g.:
(2.1.54) zvērināt-a notār-e (F) Ilga Kociņa (F) ‘notary public Ilga Kociņa’
dzejniec-e (F) Liene Paeglīte (F) ‘poetess Liene Paeglīte’
The same holds true for surnames, which must be concordant with the  sex of
the referent:
(2.1.55) Iev-a Straut-a (F) (≠ Strauts)
Jān-is Straut-s (M)
Ilz-e Vilk-a (F) (≠ Vilks)
Ivar-s Vilk-s (M)
Aij-a Lāc-e (F) (≠ Lācis)
Ojār-s Lāc-is (M)
Indeclinable common nouns are normally masculine in Latvian:
(2.1.56) auto ‘automobile’, neto ‘net (value etc.)’, veto ‘veto’, protežē ‘protégé’

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The gender of indeclinable proper nouns, on the  contrary, depends on the  gender
attributed to the  object denoted and is determinable from context; rivers, cities,
countries, islands are, therefore, feminine (2.1.57), while lakes, mountains and
villages are masculine (2.1.58):
(2.1.57) F
Taho (upe) ‘Tajo (river)’, Toledo (pilsēta) ‘Toledo (city)’, Kongo (valsts)
‘Congo (country)’, Kihnu (sala) ‘Kihnu (island)’
(2.1.58) M
Ā (ezers) ‘Aasee (lake)’, Kilimandžāro (kalns) ‘Kilimanjaro (mountain)’,
Sanildefonso (ciems) ‘San Ildefonso (town)’
The gender of indeclinable personal names depends on the sex of the person referred
to and is usually made clear by a declinable name in case of indeclinable surnames
(2.1.59) or vice versa (2.1.60):
(2.1.59) Aino Kalniņ-a (F) (indeclinable name, declinable surname)
Ivo Liepiņ-š (M)
(2.1.60) Lien-e Megi (F) (declinable name, indeclinable surname)
Kārl-is Megi (M)
Nouns of common gender (substantiva communia), while having feminine endings,
can be applied to females and males alike and are usually used to point to certain
qualities or perceived actions of the  persons involved (Smiltniece 2013: 333–335),
for example:
(2.1.61) auša ‘feather brain’, tiepša ‘stubborn person’, plukata ‘shabby person’, nejēga
‘halfwit’, bezkauņa ‘impudent person’
More often than not common gender nouns express a  greater or lesser degree of
disdain, some even qualify as swear words (examples (2.1.62a)) and only a few are
neutral (examples (2.1.62b)):
(2.1.62) a. muldoņa ‘twaddler’, plikadīda ‘pauper’, aitasgalva ‘blockhead’,
salašņa ‘ragtag’
b. paziņa ‘acquaintance’, persona ‘person’, slavenība ‘celebrity’,
ekselence ‘excellency’, majestāte ‘majesty’
The gender of common gender nouns thus depends on the sex of the person denoted
and is determinable from context, which serves as the  actual marker of gender in
such cases instead of noun endings:
(2.1.63) M
a. Mans divus mēnešus vecais
my.nom.m two.acc.pl.m month.acc.pl.m old.nom.m
mazulis ir liels guļava.
baby.nom.m be.cop.prs.3 big.nom.m sleeper.nom.m
‘My two months old baby is a keen sleeper.’ (www.mammamuntetiem.lv)

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 b. Mans labs paziņa nesen
my.nom.m good.nom.m acquaintance.nom.m recently
dabūja darbu.
get.pst.3 job.acc.m
‘A close acquaintance of mine just got a job.’ (Ir)
(2.1.64) F
a. Es esmu lielākā guļava
I.nom be.cop.prs.1 big.cmp.nom.f sleeper.nom.f
mūsu mājās.
our.gen.pl.f home.loc.pl.f
‘I am the keenest sleeper in our home.’ (www.veseliba.lv)
b. Draudzene (drīzāk laba paziņa)
friend.nom.f (rather good.nom.f acquaintance.nom.f)
strādā veikalā.
work.prs.3 shop.loc.m
‘A friend (or rather a close acquaintance) of mine works at a shop.’
(www.delfi.lv)
There is another group of nouns in Latvian, the  so-called false common gender
nouns, which can be classed with common gender nouns proper. These words are
feminine in their neutral primary meaning and denote natural phenomena, animals,
objects, etc.:
(2.1.65) a. saule ‘sun’, zvaigzne ‘star’, galva ‘head’
b. lupata ‘rag’, cūka ‘pig, swine’, maita ‘bastard’
When applied to a person, however, they function as common gender nouns, which
can be neutral (example (2.1.66)), colloquial, or even vulgar (examples (2.1.67)):
(2.1.66) zvaigzne ‘star’
a. M
Futbola zvaigzne, Madrides “Atletico” pussargs
football.gen.m star.nom.m Madrid.gen.f Atlético midfielder.nom.m
dusmās met tiesnesim ar zābaku.
anger.loc.pl.f throw.prs.3 referee.dat.m with boot.ins.m
‘A soccer star, Atlético Madrid’s midfielder, throws his boot at
the referee in anger.’ (www.tvnet.lv)
b. F
Sportistus trenē vācu kamaniņu
athlete.acc.pl.m coach.prs.3 German.gen.pl.m luge.gen.pl.f
sporta zvaigzne un vairākkārtējā pasaules
sport.gen.m star.nom.f and repeat.nom.f world.gen.f
čempione.
champion.nom.f
‘The athletes are coached by a German luge star and repeat world
champion.’ (www.delfi.lv)

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(2.1.67) cūka ‘pig, swine’, maita ‘bastard’
a. M
Tavs draugs ir liels
your.nom.sg.m friend.nom.m be.cop.prs.2 big.nom.m
cūka!
swine.nom.m
‘Your friend is a real swine!’ (www.draugiem.lv)
b. F
Kolēģes ir maitas un
colleague.nom.pl.f be.cop.prs.3 bastard.nom.pl.f and
vādītāja pamatīga cūka!
manager.nom.f total.nom.f swine.nom.f
‘My colleagues are bastards and the manager is a total swine!’ (CW)
Hence, gender markers and their functions in language are in part a formal feature
and in part directly depend on the animacy and the social position of the respective
male or female. This duality of gender is described amply in grammar books, as it
holds for the majority of languages (for example, Ahero et al. 1959: 379–381; Paegle
2003: 31–33; Corbett 2005).

2.1.3 Number
The category of number as applied to nouns is a lexico-grammatical category which
expresses count or quantity distinctions between objects or else reflects a  formal
arrangement of objects manifested in noun endings. In modern Latvian, the category
of number comprises two forms – the singular and the plural (Skujiņa 2007: 362),
with separate paradigms for case and gender. Isolated examples of the dual can still
be found in subdialects and imaginative literature (e.g., abi roki ‘both arms’).
The category of number is thus based on the opposition between one and many.
Since the concept of many subsumes the concept of two in modern Latvian, a number
of former dual-only nouns that denote bipartite objects have become plural-only
(pluralia tantum), e.g.:
(2.1.68) šķēres ‘scissors’, dzirnavas ‘mill’, kamanas ‘sled’, vārti ‘gate’, durvis ‘door’
Although the  category of number is closely linked with real-world denotations,
the  link is more abstract than in case of gender. Many objects are not readily
classifiable based on the one vs. many criterion:
1) uncountable nouns which have forms corresponding to both numbers
(2.1.69) asins – asinis ‘blood’
debess – debesis ‘sky’
māls – māli ‘clay’
smilts – smiltis ‘sand’

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 2) nouns whose singular and plural forms in certain contexts may represent
different lexemes:
(2.1.70) svars – svari ‘weight – scale’
gods – godi ‘honor – feast’
laiks – laiki ‘time – age, times’
zāle – zāles ‘grass – medicine’
Nouns ending in -ums often denote a  generalized quality in the  singular and
a concretized object in the plural:
(2.1.71) a. saldums (medus saldums) – saldumi
‘sweetness (the sweetness of honey) – sweets’
b. zaļums (zāles zaļums) – zaļumi
‘greenness (the greenness of grass) – herbs and leaf vegetables (dill,
spring onions, parsley, celery, etc.)’
3) The grammatical number of nouns which are normally used in just one of
the numbers, provided that count and quantity are irrelevant to their lexical
meaning, is determined as follows:
a) singular-only nouns
(2.1.72) a. names of substances
ledus ‘ice’, stikls ‘glass’, žults ‘bile’, skābeklis ‘oxygen’, ūdeņradis
‘hydrogen’, cukurs ‘sugar’, piens ‘milk’, krējums ‘(sour, double, etc.)
cream’, malka ‘firewood’
b. abstract concepts (derivatives formed by means of various suffixes or
endings)
-īb-a (sirsnība ‘cordiality’, veselība ‘health’, noteiktība ‘definiteness,
certainty’, dzīvība ‘life’)
-um-s (lepnums ‘pride’, skaistums ‘beauty’, nogurums ‘tiredness, fatigue’)
-šan-a (gaidīšana ‘waiting’, raudāšana ‘crying’, veikšana ‘carrying out,
fulfilling’)
-oņ-a (dunoņa ‘droning’, rīboņa ‘rumble’, kaukoņa ‘howling’)
-atn-e, -otn-e, -tn-e (jaunatne ‘youth’, mazotne ‘infancy’, pagātne ‘past’)
-a (griba ‘will’, cieņa ‘respect’, sēja ‘sowing’)
-e (laime ‘happiness’, smeldze ‘slight pain, yearning’, kvēle ‘glow, fervor’)
c. aggregates of objects, phenomena, and beings
cilvēce ‘mankind’, kūla ‘last year’s grass’, zelmenis ‘stand of grass’, āboliņš
‘clover’, kukurūza ‘corn’, nauda ‘money’
d. proper nouns (including personal names)
the four traditional regions of Latvia: Kurzeme ‘Kurzeme’, Zemgale
‘Zemgale’, Vidzeme ‘Vidzeme’, Latgale ‘Latgale’,
Latvija ‘Latvia’, Lietuva ‘Lithuania’, Igaunija ‘Estonia’, Gauja ‘Gauja
(a river)’, Daugava ‘Daugava (a river)’
Ieva, Ilze (female names), Viesturs, Kaspars (male names)

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 e. natural phenomena, celestial bodies
tveice ‘heat’, kvēle ‘glow, fervor’, lietus ‘rain’, sniegs ‘snow’, tumsa
‘darkness’, gaisma ‘light’, saule ‘sun’, mēness ‘moon’, Venēra ‘Venus’,
Marss ‘Mars’
b) plural-only nouns
(2.1.73) a. old bipartites
durvis ‘door’, vārti ‘gate’, dzirnavas ‘mill’, ragavas ‘sled’, šķēres ‘scissors’,
bikses ‘trousers’, smadzenes ‘brain’
b. objects, substances consisting of particles
milti ‘flour’, tauki ‘fat, grease’, putraimi ‘cereal’, dubļi ‘mud’, gļotas ‘mucus’,
putas ‘foam’, dūmi ‘smoke’
c. plants growing in tufts, shrubs, or bushes, grain
ceriņi ‘lilac’, virši ‘heather’, dilles ‘dill’, lini ‘flax’, rudzi ‘rye’, kvieši ‘wheat’,
mieži ‘barley’, auzas ‘oats’
d. aggregates of persons
ļaudis ‘people’, vecāki ‘parents’, piederīgie ‘relatives, members of
an organization’, tuvinieki ‘close ones’, jaunlaulātie ‘newlyweds’
e. abstract concepts
šaubas ‘doubt’, briesmas ‘danger’, bailes ‘fear’, beigas ‘end’, jūtas ‘feelings’,
sāpes ‘pain’
f. meals and festivals
brokastis ‘breakfast’, pusdienas ‘dinner (Br.), lunch (Amer.)’, vakariņas
‘supper (Br.), dinner (Amer.)’, svētki ‘holiday, festival’, kāzas ‘wedding’,
bēres ‘funeral’, kristības ‘baptism’, Jāņi ‘Jāņi (Midsummer’s Day)’,
Mārtiņi ‘Mārtiņi (similar to Martinmas)’
g. diseases and physiological processes
iesnas ‘cold (illness)’, vējbakas ‘chickenpox’, masalas ‘measles’, žagas
‘hiccup’, šķavas ‘sneeze’, žāvas ‘yawn’
h. names of geographical locations
Cēsis, Talsi, Ainaži (towns), Pireneji ‘Pyrenees’, Helsinki ‘Helsinki’

2.1.4 Case
Case is a grammatical category of nouns which expresses relations between objects,
processes, and features (Skujiņa 2007: 222). Case forms reflect the  semantic and
syntactic functions that nouns perform in phrases and sentences. In Latvian, case is
usually encoded by means of endings.
All Latvian cases, with the exception of the vocative case, can carry different
meanings depending on context, the category of case is therefore a morphosyntactic
phenomenon. The basic functions of the cases are listed below.

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NOMINATIVE
1) semantic subject – the role of agent (2.1.74) or experiencer (2.1.75) aligned
with the syntactic function of subject; statements of fact in nominal predicates
(2.1.76)
(2.1.74) a. Es rakstu vēstuli.
I.nom write.prs.1sg letter.acc.f
‘I am writing a letter.’
b. Suns rej.
dog.nom.m bark.prs.3
‘The dog is barking.’
c. Es esmu noguris.
I.nom be.aux.prs.1sg tired.ptcp.nom.m
‘I am tired.’
(2.1.75) a. Bērns ir aizmidzis.
child.nom.m be.aux.prs.3 asleep.ptcp.nom.m
‘The child is asleep.’
b. Es esmu skolotājs.
I.nom be.cop.prs.1sg teacher.nom.m
‘I am a teacher.’
(2.1.76) a. Tas ir mans divritenis.
that.nom.m be.cop.prs.3 my.nom.m bicycle.nom.m
‘That is my bicycle.’
b. Lieldienas ir pavasara svētki.
Easter.nom.pl.f be.cop.prs.3 spring.gen.m festival.nom.pl.m
‘Easter is a spring festival.’
2) semantic object – a patient or undergoer of an action (2.1.77)
(2.1.77) a. Sienas tiek krāsotas.
wall.nom.pl.f get.aux.prs.3 paint.ptcp.nom.f
‘The walls are being painted.’
b. Sienas ir krāsotas.
wall.nom.pl.f be.aux.prs.3 paint.ptcp.nom.f
‘The walls are painted.’
c. Man ir jākrāso sienas.
I.dat be.aux.prs.3 deb.paint walls.acc.pl.f
‘I have to paint the walls.’
d. Man niez roka.
I.dat. itch.prs.3 arm.nom.f
‘My arm is itching.’
3) vocative function – when a noun in the nominative case is used as a vocative
(some declension 1, 4 and 5 nouns in the singular (2.1.78a–c) and nouns of
all declensions in the plural (2.1.78d–f))

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(2.1.78) a. Nebaidies, bērns!
not_fear.imp.2sg child.nom.m
‘Don’t be afraid, child!’ (CW)
b. Anda, lūdzu, izbeidz!
Anda.nom.f please.prs.1SG stop.imp.2sg
‘Anda, please, stop!’ (CW)
c. Meitene, ak, meitene!
girl.nom.f oh girl.nom.f
‘Girl, oh, girl!’ (C)
d. Nāciet šurp, bērniņi!
come.imp.2pl to_here child.nom.pl.m
‘Come here, kids!’ (C)
e. Mīļās māmiņas! Jūs tiekat
dear.nom.pl.f mummy.nom.pl.f you.nom.pl.f get.aux.prs.2pl
laipni aicinātas uz Mātes dienai
kindly invite.ptcp.nom.f to Mother.gen.f day.dat.f
veltītu koncertu!
dedicate.ptcp.acc.m concert.acc.m
‘Dear mummies! You are cordially invited to the Mother’s Day concert!’
(www.draugiem.lv)
f. Mīļās māmulītes, jūsu bērns
dear.nom.pl.f mummy.nom.pl.f your.gen.pl.f child.nom.m
vēl ir mazs!
still be.cop.prs.3 small.nom.m
‘Dear mummies, your child is still small!’ (www.delfi.lv)

GENITIVE
1. Syntactically dependent on a noun or adjective
1) possession, attribution
(2.1.79) a. ēkas jumts
building.gen.f roof.nom.m
‘the roof of a building’
b. brāļa istaba
brother.gen.m room.nom.f
‘brother’s room’
c. priežu zari
pine.gen.pl.f branch.nom.pl.m
‘pine branches’
d. pērkona lietus
thunder.gen.m rain.nom.m
‘thunder shower’

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 2) quality, feature
(2.1.80) a. prāta cilvēks
brain.gen.m man.nom.m
‘a man of reason’
b. rudens āboli
autumn.gen.m apple.nom.pl.m
‘autumn apples’
c. maza auguma meitene
small.gen.m height.gen.m girl.nom.f
‘a girl small in height’
d. smalka vērpuma dzija
fine.gen.m spin.gen.m yarn.nom.f
‘finely spun yarn’
e. naudas kārs
money.gen.f hungry.nom.m
‘hungry for money’
f. laimes pilns
happiness.gen.f full.nom.m
‘full of happiness’
g. medus salds
honey.gen.m sweet.nom.m
‘honey-sweet’
3) substance
(2.1.81) a. māla svečturis
clay.gen.m candlestick.nom.m
‘earthenware candlestick’
b. rudzu milti
rye.gen.pl.m flour.nom.pl.m
‘rye flour’
c. koka mēbeles
wood.gen.m furniture.nom.pl.f
‘wooden furniture’
d. zelta gredzens
gold.gen.m ring.nom.m
‘gold ring’
4) application, purpose or contents
(2.1.82) a. augļu trauks
fruit.gen.pl.m bowl.nom.m
‘fruit bowl’
b. tējas krūze
tea.gen.pl.f mug.nom.f
‘tea mug’

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 c. volejbola bumba
volleyball.gen.m ball.nom.f
‘volleyball (count.)’
5) subject genitive
(2.1.83) a. lietus šalkoņa
rain.gen.m patter.nom.f
‘the patter of rain’
b. putnu klaigas
bird.gen.pl.m cry.nom.pl.f
‘cries of birds’
c. mātes laime
mother.gen.f happiness.nom.f
‘mother’s happiness’
6) object genitive
(2.1.84) a. grāmatas lasīšana
book.gen.f reading.nom.f
‘book reading’
b. zemes rakšana
earth.gen.f digging.nom.f
‘earth digging’
c. dārza laistītājs
garden.gen.m sprinkler.nom.m
‘garden sprinkler’
7) appositive genitive
(2.1.85) a. Novadnieku ģimene
Novadnieki.gen.pl.m family.nom.f
‘a family from Novadnieki’
b. Ratnieku mājas
Ratnieki.gen.pl.m house.nom.pl.f
‘Ratnieki house’
c. Mieriņa kungs
Mieriņš.gen.m gentleman.nom.m
‘Mr. Mieriņš’
d. Mieriņas kundze
Mieriņš.gen.f lady.nom.f
‘Mrs. Mieriņa’
e. Kronvalda Atis
Kronvalds.gen.m Atis.nom.m
‘Atis Kronvalds (a male name)’
f. Baumaņu Kārlis
Baumanis.gen.m Kārlis.nom.m
‘Kārlis Baumanis (a male name)’

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 8) partitive genitive, which can be syntactically dependent not only on nouns
(2.1.86), but also on numerals (desmit ‘ten’, simt ‘hundred’, tūkstoš ‘thousand’,
and other numerals denoting tens, hundreds, and thousands) (2.1.87) and
adverbs (daudz ‘much, a lot’, maz ‘few, little’, vairāk ‘more’, mazliet ‘a little’,
nedaudz ‘some’, drusku ‘a bit of’, etc.) (2.1.88):
(2.1.86) a. glāze sulas
glass.nom.f juice.gen.f
‘a glass of juice’
b. kaste ābolu
box.nom.f apple.gen.pl.m
‘a box of apples’
c. kilograms kartupeļu
kilogram.nom.m potato.gen.pl.m
‘a kilogram of potatoes’
(2.1.87) a. desmit dienu
ten day.gen.pl.f
‘ten days’
b. simt gadu
hundred year.gen.pl.m
‘a hundred years’
c. tūkstoš ļaužu
thousand people.gen.pl.m
‘a thousand people’
(2.1.88) a. daudz sniega
much snow.gen.m
‘a lot of snow’
b. maz naudas
little money.gen.f
‘little money’
c. žēl vasaras
pity summer.gen.f
‘expressing unwillingness to let the summer slip away or being sorry
that the summer has ended’
d. gana labumu
enough benefit.gen.pl.m
‘enough benefits’
e. vairāk līdzekļu
more fund.gen.pl.m
‘more resources, funds’
Apart from the partitive genitive, it is unusual in Latvian for attributes to appear in
the post-head position, i.e., following a head noun (more on this see Section 3.4 in

109
Syntax). Thus, there are both semantic and syntactic differences between the genitive
of content (2.1.89) and partitive genitive (2.1.90) in Latvian:
(2.1.89) a. kafijas tase
coffee.gen.f cup.nom.f
‘coffee cup’
b. sulas glāze
juice.gen.f glass nom.f
‘juice glass’ (i.e., tableware used for certain types of liquid)
c. kartupeļu maiss
potato.gen.pl.m sack.nom.m
‘potato sack’ (a special type of sack made of a coarse fabric and used for
storing potatoes)
(2.1.90) a. tase kafijas
cup.nom.f coffee.gen.f
‘cup of coffee’
b. glāze sulas
glass nom.f juice.gen.f
‘glass of juice’
c. maiss kartupeļu
sack.nom.m potato.gen.pl.m
‘sack of potatoes’ (i.e., a specific amount)
2. Syntactically dependent on a verb (see also Sections 3.2.6 and 3.2.7)
1) negative subject of a sentence
(2.1.91) a. nav laika
not_be.prs.3 time.gen.m
‘(there is) no time’
b. nav sniega
not_be.prs.3 snow.gen.m
‘(there is) no snow’
c. nav vēlēšanās
not_be.prs.3 wish.gen.f
‘(one has) no wish’
Also with certain verbs such as trūkt ‘to lack’, pietikt ‘to suffice, have/be enough’,
nepietikt ‘to be short of’:
(2.1.92) a. trūkst laika
lack.prs.3 time.gen.m
‘(one) lacks time’
b. pietiek mēbeļu
be_enough.prs.3 furniture.gen.pl.f
‘(there is) enough furniture’
c. nepietiek naudas
not_be_enough.prs.3 money.gen.f
‘(one is) short of money’)

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 2) direct object in verbal negation (2.1.93), although accusatives are more
common in such cases in modern Latvian (2.1.94):
(2.1.93) a. nepazīt cilvēka
not_know.inf person.gen.m
‘not to know the person’
b. nerakstīt vēstuļu
not_write.inf letter.gen.pl.f
‘not to write letters’
c. nezināt vārda
not_know.inf word.gen.m
‘not to know the word / name’
(2.1.94) a. nepazīt cilvēku
not_know.inf person.acc.m
b. nerakstīt vēstules
not_write.inf letter.acc.pl.f
c. nezināt vārdu
not_know.inf word.acc.m
‘not to know the word / name’
3) goal or objective with verbs like lūgt ‘to ask’, alkt ‘to desire’, kārot ‘to crave’,
ilgoties ‘to long, yearn’, vajadzēt ‘to need’, etc. (2.1.95), although prepositional
phrases with pēc ‘after, for’ (2.1.96) and accusatives (2.1.97) are more
common in modern Latvian:
(2.1.95) a. kārot svaigu zivju
crave.inf fresh.gen.pl.f fish.gen.pl.f
‘to crave fresh fish’
b. lūgt padoma
ask.inf advice.gen.m
‘to ask for advice’
c. ilgoties vasaras
long.inf summer.gen.f
‘to long for summer’
d. vajadzēt naudas
need.inf money.gen.f
‘to need money’
(2.1.96) a. kārot pēc svaigām zivīm
crave.inf for fresh.dat.pl.f fish.dat.pl.f
‘to crave fresh fish’
b. lūgt pēc padoma
ask.inf for advice.gen.m
‘to ask for advice’
c. ilgoties pēc vasaras
long.inf for summer.gen.f
‘to long for summer’

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(2.1.97) a. kārot svaigas zivis
crave.inf fresh.acc.pl.f fish.acc.pl.f
‘to crave fresh fish’
b. lūgt padomu
ask.inf advice.acc.m
‘to ask for advice’
c. vajadzēt naudu
need.inf money.acc.f
‘to need money’
4) ablative meaning, i.e., the meaning of moving away from something, with
certain verbs such as bēgt ‘to shun, flee’, bīties ‘to dread, try to avoid’, baidīties
‘to fear’, sargāties ‘to beware, watch out’, etc. (2.1.98); however, prepositional
phrases with no ‘from, of’ are more common (2.1.99):
(2.1.98) a. sargies vilciena!
beware.imp.sg.2 train.gen.m
‘beware of the train!’
b. bēgt laimes
shun.inf happiness.gen.f
‘to shun happiness’
c. bīties soda
dread.inf punishment.gen.m
‘to dread punishment’
(2.1.99) a. sargies no vilciena!
beware.imp.sg.2 of train.gen.m
‘beware of the train!’
b. bēgt no laimes
shun.inf from happiness.gen.f
‘to shun happiness’
c. bīties no soda
dread.inf of punishment.gen.m
‘to dread punishment’
5) partitive meaning, i.e., indicating a certain part of the whole, with a number
of verbs such as gribēt ‘to want’, dzert ‘to drink’, ēst ‘to eat’, etc. (2.1.100);
however, accusatives (2.1.101) and also genitives preceded by adverbs
of degree denoting small quantities, e.g., mazliet ‘a little’, nedaudz ‘some’,
drusku ‘a bit of’ (2.1.102) are more common in modern Latvian.
(2.1.100) a. gribēt maizes
want.inf bread.gen.f
‘to want some bread’ (a little, a certain amount)
b. dzert piena
drink.inf milk.gen.m
‘to drink some milk’ (a certain amount)

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 c. ēst gaļas
eat.inf meat.gen.f
‘to eat some meat’ (a certain amount)
(2.1.101) a. gribēt maizi
want.inf bread.acc.f
‘to want some bread’ (a little, a certain amount)
b. dzert pienu
drink.inf milk.acc.m
‘to drink some milk’ (a certain amount)
c. ēst gaļu
eat.inf meat.acc.f
‘to eat some meat’ (a certain amount)
(2.1.102) a. gribēt mazliet maizes
want.inf little bread gen.f
‘to want a little bread’
b. dzert nedaudz piena
drink.inf little milk.gen.m
‘to drink a little milk’
c. ēst drusku gaļas
eat.inf little meat.gen.f
‘to eat a bit of meat’

DATIVE (syntactically dependent on a verb)

1) semantic object – the recipient of an  action (2.1.103); the  goal or purpose
of an  action (2.1.104); the  indirect object relative to a  direct object in
the accusative (2.1.105);
(2.1.103) a. jautāt tēvam
ask.inf father.dat.m
‘to ask father’
b. palīdzēt kaimiņiem
help.inf neighbor.dat.pl.m
‘to help the neighbors’
(2.1.104) a. kalpot dzimtenei
serve.inf fatherland.dat.f
‘to serve one’s country’
b. kaitēt zobiem
be_bad.inf tooth.dat.pl.m
‘to be bad for one’s teeth’
(2.1.105) a. dot grāmatu mātei
give.inf book.acc.f mother.dat.f
‘to give mother a book’

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 b. pirkt pārtiku pusdienām
buy.inf food.acc.f lunch.dat.f
‘to buy food for lunch’
2) semantic subject – usually in the debitive mood
(2.1.106) a. tev ir jāpērk jauns rakstāmgalds
you.dat be.aux.prs.3 deb.buy new desk.nom.m
‘you have to buy a new desk’
b. mums ir jāiet uz operu
we.dat be.aux.prs.3 deb.go to opera.acc.f
‘we have to go to the opera’
3) possessor, owner of something
(2.1.107) a. mums ir laiks
we.dat be.prs.3 time.nom.m
‘we have time’
b. mums nav laika
we.dat not_be.prs.3 time.gen.m
‘we do not have (the) time’
c. maniem radiniekiem ir māja
my.dat.pl.m relative.dat.pl.m be.prs.3 house.nom.f
‘my relatives have a house’
4) experiencer
(2.1.108) a. man ir karsti
I.dat be.cop.prs.3 hot
‘I feel hot’
b. man salst
I.dat freeze.prs.3
‘I am cold’
c. man smeldz zobi
I.dat ache.prs.3 tooth.nom.pl.m
‘my teeth are aching’

Adnominal dative:
1) next to an adjective
(2.1.109) a. līdzīgs tēvam
resembling.nom.m father.dat.m
‘resembling (one’s) father’
b. lojāls bankai
loyal.nom.m bank.dat.f
‘loyal to the bank’
2) next to a  noun (usually a  denominal (2.1.110a-b) or deverbal (2.1.110c-d)
one)

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(2.1.110) a. līdzība tēvam
resemblance.nom.f father.dat.m
‘resemblance to (one’s) father’
b. lojalitāte bankai
loyalty.nom.f bank.dat.f
‘loyalty towards the bank’
c. jautājums ikvienam
question.nom.m everyone.dat.m
‘a question for everyone’
d. palīdzība jaunajām ģimenēm
help.nom.f young.dat.pl.f family.dat.pl.f
‘help for young families’

ACCUSATIVE (syntactically dependent on a verb)

1) semantic object – direct object next to a verb
(2.1.111) a. gatavot brokastis
prepare.inf breakfast.acc.pl.f
‘to prepare breakfast’
b. ravēt dārzu
weed.inf garden.acc.m
‘to weed the garden’
c. krāsot sienu
paint.inf wall.acc.f
‘to paint a wall’
2) time
(2.1.112) a. gaidīt divus mēnešus
wait.inf two.acc.pl.m month.acc.pl.m
‘to wait for two months’
b. negulēt nakti
not_sleep.inf nightacc.f
‘to have a sleepless night’
c. strādāt visu dienu
work.inf all.acc.f day.acc.f
‘to work all day long’
3) location (direction)
(2.1.113) a. nākt tālu ceļu
come.inf long.acc.m way.acc.m
‘to come a long way’
b. staigāt senas takas
walk.inf ancient.acc.pl.f path.acc.pl.f
‘to walk ancient paths’

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Adnominal accusative
(2.1.114) a. metru garš lasis
meter.acc.m long.nom.m salmon.nom.m
‘a meter-long salmon’
b. nedēļu vecs kaķēns
week.acc.f old.nom.m kitten.nom.m
‘a one-week old kitten’
c. pusgadu ilgs atvaļinājums
half-year.acc.m long.nom.m holidays.nom.m
‘half-year long holidays’
Nouns in the accusative case can serve as terms of address when used in vocative
function (declension 1 and 4 nouns in the  singular, mainly in colloquial speech  –
examples (2.1.115)) and also appear in phrases of address and different kinds of
exclamations (examples (2.1.116)–(2.1.117)):
(2.1.115) a. Klāvu! (a male name), Aiju! (a female name), mammu! ‘mum!’
b. Mammu, kur mums stāv
mother.acc.f where we.dat stand.prs.3
putekļsūcējs?
vacuum_cleaner.nom.m
‘Mum, where do we keep the vacuum cleaner?’ (Ieva)
c. Mammu, vai vēl ilgi?
mother.acc.f q still long
‘Mum, how much longer now?’ (CW)
(2.1.116) a. Tavu brīnumu!
your.acc.m miracle.acc.m
‘What a miracle!’
b. Tavu gudru cilvēku!
your.acc.m smart.acc.m person.acc.m
‘There’s a smart person!’
c. Tavu laimi!
your.acc.f luck.nom.f
‘Such luck!’
(2.1.117) a. Vai manu dieniņu, vai manu mūžiņu!
oh my.acc.f day.acc.f oh my.acc.f life.acc.f
‘Dear me!’ (J. Janševskis)
b. Tavu miegu, kāds tam cilvēkam!
your.acc.m sleep.acc.m what_kind this.dat.m man.dat.m
‘That’s some sleep that this man has!’ (J. Janševskis)
c. Tavu stulbu cilvēku!
your.acc.m. silly.acc.m person.acc.m
‘What a silly person!’ (G. Janovskis)

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INSTRUMENTAL (syntactically dependent on a verb)
In modern Latvian, the  instrumental case often occurs in conjunction with
the preposition ar ‘with’ (see examples (2.1.121c–e), (2.1.122c), (2.1.123b–c), (2.1.126)),
especially when expressing means by or with which something is accomplished or
when used with a comitative meaning.
The older synthetic form without the preposition is, however, also widespread:
(2.1.118) a. iet cepuri galvā, mēteli uz rokas
go.inf hat.ins.f head.loc.f coat.ins.m on arm.gen.f
‘to walk with a hat on one’s head, a coat over one’s arm’
b. iet kājām
go.inf foot.ins.pl.f
‘to go on foot’
c. zēns gaišiem matiem
boy.nom.m light.ins.pl.m hair.ins.pl.m
‘a fair-haired boy’
eglēm apaudzis pagalms
fir.tree.ins.pl.f be_overgrown.ptcp.nom.m yard.nom.m
‘a yard overgrown with fir trees’
Here are some recent examples from news media and contemporary literary texts:
(2.1.119) INS SG
a. Mans pirmais [boksa] treneris bija
my.nom.m first.nom.m [boxing] coach.nom.m be.cop.pst.3
azerbaidžānis, tāds iekarsīgu raksturu.
Azerbaijani.nom.m such hot_tempered.ins.m character.ins.m
‘My first [boxing] coach was an Azerbaijani, somewhat hot-tempered.’
(Latvijas Avīze)
b. Rudzu lauka malā sastapu pļāvējus, kas bija sasēduši ieturēt pusdienu.
Tur bija pavecāks vīrs sirmu
there be.cop.pst.3 elderly.nom.m man.nom.m grey.ins.m
bārzdu un trīs sievietes.
beard.ins.m and three.nom.f woman.nom.pl.f
‘At the edge of the rye field I met some reapers, seated and having
lunch. There was an elderly man with a grey beard and three women
there.’ (P. Bankovskis)
(2.1.120) INS PL
a. Gājējiem dienām ilgi jābradā
pedestrian.dat.pl.m day.ins.pl.f long­_time deb. walk
pa sasistiem stikliem.
through broken.ptcp.dat.pl.m glass.dat.pl.m
‘Pedestrians are made to walk through broken glass for days.’ (Diena)

117
 b. Purvains, krūmiem aizaudzis
boggy.nom.m shrub.ins.pl.m be_overgrown.ptcp.nom.m
klajums tagad pārvērsts bērnu
field.nom.m now turn­_into.ptcp.nom.m child.gen.pl.m
rotaļu laukumā.
play.gen.pl.f ground.loc.m
‘A boggy field overgrown with shrubs has been turned into a children’s
playground.’ (Ir)
c. Visi dēli bija prātīgi,
all.nom.pl.m son.nom.pl.m be.cop.pst.3 sensible.nom.pl.m
strādīgi, gaišām galvām.
hard_working.nom.pl.m light.ins.pl.f head.ins.pl.f
‘All of the sons were sensible, hard-working, clear-headed.’ (I. Ābele)
The preposition ar ‘with’ helps to distinguish between the instrumental and accusative
singular and the  instrumental and dative plural  – forms that have, in the  course
of the historical development of Latvian, become homonymous (see Kalnača 2014:
18–25).
1) means or accompaniment (comitative meaning)
(2.1.121) a. iet mugursomu plecos
walk.inf backpack.ins.f shoulder.loc.pl.m
‘to walk with a backpack on one’s shoulders’
b. staigāt basām kājām
walk.inf bare.ins.pl.f foot.ins.pl.f
‘to walk barefoot’
c. gatavot salātus ar olīveļļu
prepare.inf salad.acc.pl.m with olive_oil.ins.f
‘to prepare a salad with olive oil’
d. mazgāt augļus ar aukstu ūdeni
wash.inf fruit.acc.pl.m with cold.ins.m water.ins.m
‘to wash fruit with cold water’
e. sazvanīties ar vecākiem
call.inf with parent.ins.pl.m
‘to call one’s parents on the phone’
2) time
(2.1.122) a. remonts dzīvoklī iet nedēļām
refurbishment.nom.m apartment.loc.m go.prs.3 week.ins.pl.f
‘the refurbishment of the apartment has been going on for weeks’
b. mēnešiem ilgi tika
month.ins.pl.m long get.aux.pst.3
labota ietve
repair.ptcp.nom.f pavement.nom.f
‘the pavement was repaired for months’

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 c. ar gadiem mēs labāk saprotam
with year.ins.pl.m we.nom better understand.prs.1pl
savus vecākus
own.acc.pl.m parent.acc.pl.m
‘as the years go by we begin to understand our parents better’
3) manner
(2.1.123) a. skatīties pārsteigtām acīm
look.inf surprise.ptcp.ins.pl.f eye.ins.pl.f
‘to look at with surprise (surprised eyes)’
b. ar skumjām sagaidīt rudeni
with sadness.ins.pl.f anticipate.inf autumn.acc.m
‘to anticipate the autumn with sadness’
c. ar spēku aizcirst durvis
with force.ins.m slam.inf door.nom.pl.f
‘to forcefully slam the door’
4) measure
(2.1.124) a. ēst ābolus kilogramiem
eat.inf apple.acc.pl.m kilo.ins.pl.m
‘to eat apples by the kilo’
b. pirkt maisiem kartupeļu
buy.inf sack.ins.pl.m potato.gen.pl.m
‘to buy potatoes by the sack’
c. lasīt groziem sēņu
gather.inf basket.ins.pl.m mushroom.gen.pl.f
‘to gather mushrooms by the basket’
The adnominal instrumental is used to describe the  qualities or features of
something:
(2.1.125) next to a noun
a. meitene gariem matiem
girl.nom.f long.ins.pl.m hair.ins.pl.m
‘a girl with long hair’
b. trusis sarkanām acīm
rabbit.nom.m red.ins.pl.f eye.ins.pl.f
‘a rabbit with red eyes’
c. glāzes zelta malu
tumbler.nom.pl.f gold.gen.m rim.ins.f
‘tumblers with a golden rim’
(2.1.126) next to an adjective
a. slavens ar labu virtuvi
famous.nom.m with fine.ins.f cuisine.ins.f
‘famous for fine cuisine’

119
 b. uzmanīgs ar uguni
cautious.nom.m with fire.ins.f
‘cautious with fire’
c. neredzīgs ar vienu aci
blind.nom.m with one.ins.f eye.ins.f
‘blind in one eye’

LOCATIVE (syntactically dependent on a verb)

1) location
(2.1.127) a. veikalā daudz pircēju
shop.loc.m many customer.gen.pl.m
‘there are many customers in the shop’
b. pludmalē maz peldētāju
beach.loc.f few swimmer.gen.pl.m
‘there are few swimmers on the beach’
c. mājās nav sveču
home.loc.pl.f not_be.prs.3 candle.gen.pl.f
‘there are no candles at home’
2) time
(2.1.128) a. šai ziemā maz snieg
this.loc.f winter.loc.f little snow.prs.3
‘it snows little this winter’
b. pēcpusdienā būs migla
afternoon.loc.f be.fut.3 fog.nom.f
‘there will be fog in the afternoon’
3) manner
(2.1.129) a. viss atvaļinājums pagāja ceļojumā
whole.nom.m holiday.nom.m go.pst.3 travel.loc.m
‘(we) spent the whole holiday travelling’,
b. ielas apavos nestaigāt
outdoor.gen.f footwear.loc.pl.m not_walk.inf
‘no outdoor footwear’
4) purpose, intent
(2.1.130) a. iet viesos
go.inf visitor.loc.pl.m
‘to pay a visit’
b. iet raudzībās
go.inf visit_to_see_a_new_baby.loc.pl.f
‘to visit to see the new baby’

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Adnominal locative (next to a noun)
(2.1.131) a. dienas vidus karstumā
day.gen.f middle.gen.m heat.loc.m
‘in the heat of the noon’
b. visā mājas garumā
whole.loc.m house.gen.f length.loc.m
‘along the whole house’
c. upes seklumā
river.gen.f shallows.loc.sg.m
‘in the shallows of the river’

VOCATIVE
The vocative case is used for direct address  – tēv! ‘father!’, brāli! ‘brother!’, māt!
‘mother!’.
Vocative forms proper are historically inherited and only exist in the singular,
being manifested as follows: no ending for declension 1, 4 and 5 nouns, the ending -i
for declension 2 nouns, and the ending -u for declension 3 nouns (see Tables 2.1–2.4).
In addition, the nominative singular forms of certain declension 1, 4, and 5 nouns
and, in colloquial speech, the accusative singular forms of declension 1 and 4 nouns
are also used as vocatives. In the  plural, nominative forms are used in vocative
function for all declensions (Table 2.3).
Vocative forms are used to name persons and other living things such as pets
and domestic animals being addressed (2.1.132). Vocatives can also, in principle,
be applied to all kinds of inanimate objects for the sake of personification (2.1.133).
Typologically, Latvian vocative forms do not differ much from the  forms found in
other languages (see, for example, Parrot 2010).
(2.1.132) a. Sveiks, mans mīļais dēliņ.
hello my.nom.m dear.nom.m son.dim.voc.m
‘Hello, my dear son.’ (www.tvnet.lv)
b. Cienījamais kolēģi!
esteem.ptcp.nom.m colleague.voc.m
‘(My) esteemed colleague!’ (C)
c. Papu, celies augšā!
dad.voc.m rise.imp.2sg up
‘Dad, get up!’ (CW)
d. Saprotiet, Marij, man nav
understand.imp.2pl Marija.voc.f I.dat not_be.aux.prs.3
bijis savu māju.
be.ptcp.pst.nom.m own.gen.pl.f home.gen.pl.f
‘You see, Marija, I have never had a home of my own.’ (C)
e. Saimniec, trīs naglas padodiet meistariem!
mistress.voc.f three.acc.f nail.acc.pl.f hand.imp.2pl worker.dat.pl.m
‘Mistress, hand three nails to the workers!’ (C)

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(2.1.133) a. Partijas elektorāt!
party.gen.f electorate.voc.m
Kā Jūs spējat arvien ticēt politiķim, kas pat sīkumos melo tik bezdievīgi?
‘Supporters of the party! How can you still trust a politician, who lies
so extremely even about small things?’ (www.delfi.lv)
b. Atā, atā, mīļais Zirga gad!
so_long so_long dear.nom.m Horse.gen.m year.voc.m
‘So long, so long, dear Year of the Horse!’ (Ieva)
c. “Sveiks, draugs Kurmīti!”/ Sacīja Lapsa
hello friend.nom.m Mole.dim.voc.m say.pst.3 Fox.nom.f
‘“Hello, my friend, Mole!”/ the Fox said’ (C)
d. Klepu, ej prom!
cough.voc.m go.imp.2sg away
‘Go away, cough!’ (www.twitter.com)
e. Grāmatiņ, stāsti, kas jauns!
book.dim.voc.f tell.imp.2sg what.nom new.nom.m
‘Tell me what’s the news, book!’ (www.ilukste.lv)
f. Paliec sveika, saulīt!
stay.imp.2sg safe.nom.f sun.dim.voc.f
‘Farewell, sun!’ (Delfi)

Case alternation
A notable feature of the Latvian case system is case alternation where one syntactic
function can be realized by two different cases with no discernible difference in
meaning (see Kalnača 2014: 51–66 for a  detailed discussion). This phenomenon
probably has several causes, the polyfunctionality of the cases, especially the genitive
case, and the resultant grammatical synonymy being the most obvious one. To some
extent, case alternation may have also been facilitated by case syncretism.
The most typical occurrences of case alternation in Latvian are:
1) VOC–NOM in the function of address
(2.1.134) a. tēv! // tēvs!’
‘Father!’
b. māt! // māte!
‘Mother!’
c. Kristīn! // Kristīne!
‘Christine!’
2) NOM–ACC in debitive constructions (see also Section 2.5.4; Lokmane,
Kalnača 2014)
(2.1.135) a. Tev ir jātīra māja // māju.
you.dat.sg be.aux.prs.3 deb.clean house.nom.f // acc.f
‘You must clean the house.’

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 b. Man ir jāsāk lasīt
I.dat be.aux.prs.3 deb.start read.inf
grāmata // grāmatu.
book.nom.f // acc.f
‘I have to start reading the book.’
3) GEN–NOM
(2.1.136) a. when negating the subject
Mājās nav piena // piens.
house.loc.pl.f not_be.prs.3 milk.gen.m // nom.m
‘There is no milk in the house.’
b. for partitive meanings with indeclinable numerals
Manai māsai ir divdesmit
my.dat.f sister.dat.f be.prs.3 twenty
gadu // gadi.
year.gen.pl.m // nom.pl.m
‘My sister is twenty years old.’
c. for adverbs of measure
Šoziem sniega // sniegs bija ļoti maz.
this_winter snow.gen.m // nom.m be.pst.3 very little
‘There was very little snow this winter.’
4) GEN–DAT for meanings indicating purpose (2.1.137a) or content (2.1.137b)
(2.1.137) a. sporta apavi // apavi sportam
sport.gen.m shoe.nom.pl.m // shoe.nom.pl.m sport.dat.m
‘sports shoes // shoes for sports’
b. augļu trauks // trauks augļiem
fruit.gen.pl.m bowl.nom.m // bowl.nom.m fruit.dat.pl.m
‘fruit bowl // bowl for fruit’
5) GEN–ACC as a direct object
(2.1.138) a. in negation
Neteikšu neviena vārda
not_say.fut.1sg no_one.gen.m word.gen.m
// nevienu vārdu.
// no_one.acc.m word.acc.m
‘I won’t say a word’
b. for partitive meanings
Bērns grib maizes // maizi.
child.nom.m want.prs.3 bread.gen.f // acc.f
‘The child wants bread.’
c. indicating purpose
Iesim melleņu // mellenes lasīt!
go.imp.1pl bilberry.gen.pl.f // acc.pl.f pick.inf
‘Let’s go blueberry picking!’

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 6) GEN–LOC when expressing attributive meanings
(2.1.139) Eiropas basketbola čempionāts
Europe.gen.f basketball.gen.m championship.nom.m
// Eiropas čempionāts basketbolā
// Europe.gen.f championship.nom.m basketball.loc.m
‘European Basketball Championship’
The above mentioned examples suggest that the  alternation of case forms and
the  development of their polysemic and synonymic systems are closely associated
with the  transformation of the  polyfunctionality of the  genitive and nominative,
which declines as some of the primary meanings of the genitive are substituted or
come to function in parallel with other cases. The adnominal genitive continues to
function as an  attribute, whereas the  adverbial genitive is gradually replaced by
the accusative in the function of an object and by the nominative in the function of
a subject.
Although to a  lesser extent, the  polyfunctionality of the  nominative seems
to be changing as well: while the  nominative has partly overtaken the  functions
of the  vocative (2.1.134), it is facing competition from the  accusative in debitive
constructions (2.1.135).
From the  point of view of language standardization, some instances of case
alternation have been found less desirable than others. For example, the alternation
of the  accusative and the  genitive is generally treated as acceptable (Ahero et al.
1959: 394, 398–399; Paegle 2003: 41), while the alternation of the nominative and
the genitive in subject negation or the alternation of the nominative and the accusative
in debitive constructions are considered a  divergence from the  norm in Standard
Latvian (Ahero et al. 1959: 393–395, 482; Skujiņa 1999: 43; Paegle 2003: 40).
Case form alternation is not a new phenomenon in Latvian: it had already been
attested in Latvian folklore texts, especially in the dainas (Gāters 1993). Endzelīns and
Mīlenbahs had discussed this topic in 1907a and 1907b. Alternation of the genitive
and other cases and its possible causes have been analyzed in Kalnača (2001, 2002a,
2002b, 2007, 2014), as well as Novikova (2009). The functions of the  dative and
the genitive and their alternation with other cases have been described by Berg-Olsen
(2005) and Holvoet (2011a), alternation of the  dative and other cases (including
the genitive) has been discussed by Lokmane (2014). The morphostylistic aspect of
case alternation is studied in Rozenbergs (1983: 20–22) and Kalnača (2011a: 60–71).
On balance, one has to conclude that case form alternation is neither the norm nor
deviance in Standard Latvian – it is a continuous process of semantic and syntactic
evolution.

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2.1.5 Word formation
Suffixation
Derivation of nouns by means of suffixes is very widely represented in Latvian:
there are nouns derived from all lexical (content) word classes – nouns, adjectives,
pronouns, verbs, and adverbs. However, regular word-formation types producing
the  greatest number of derivatives mainly involve base words of just three word
classes  – nouns, adjectives, and verbs (see Table 2.6). While suffixes are carriers
of derivative meanings, endings have an important function of their own: marking
declension, as well as indicating animacy and gender options in nouns denoting
persons and animals (see Section 2.1.1 on noun declension). Therefore, each
derivational suffix in Table 2.6 is followed by a corresponding ending (or endings).
For derivatives that can be used in both genders the masculine ending is indicated
first, unless the feminine ending is more common.
Although, due to limited space, derivation of deverbal nouns by suffixation
in Table 2.6 is mostly illustrated by non-prefixed base verbs, regular nouns with
the suffixes -šan-, -um-, -tāj-, etc. can also be derived from all kinds of prefixed verbs.

Base
Word-
word – Derivational
formation Examples
derivative meaning
means
word class
N–N -ain- + -e (F) places abundant in egl-e ‘fir tree’– egl-ain-e ‘fir forest’
or largely covered krūm-i ‘bushes, shrubs’ – krūm-ain-e ‘bushes,
with plants of shrubbery’
pried-e ‘pine’ – pried-ain-e ‘pine forest’
a certain kind or
smilt-s ‘sand’ – smilt-ain-e ‘sands’
other things
-āj- + -s (M) places abundant in aven-e ‘raspberry’ – aven-āj-s ‘raspberry field’
or largely covered zāl-e ‘grass’ – zāl-āj-s ‘lawn, grassland’
with plants of pried-e ‘pine’ – pried-āj-s ‘pine forest’
niedr-e ‘reed’ – niedr-āj-s ‘reed bank’
a certain kind or
kaln-s ‘mountain’ – kaln-āj-s ‘mountain range’
other things led-us ‘ice’ – led-āj-s ‘glacier’
-ekl-/-ukl- + names of animals, zirn-is ‘pea’ – zirn-ekl-is ‘spider’
-is (M) body parts, places, vid-us ‘middle’– vid-ukl-is ‘waist’
chemical elements, sūn-a ‘moss’ – sūn-ekl-is ‘place covered in
moss’
etc.
slān-is ‘layer’– slān-ekl-is ‘shale’
ogl-e ‘coal’– ogl-ekl-is ‘carbon’
-el-/ -tel- + DIM (sometimes putn-s ‘bird’ – putn-el-is (DIM)
-is (M), -e (F) pejorative) kāj-a ‘leg’ – kāj-el-e (DIM)
degun-s ‘nose’ – degun-tel-is (DIM)
acs ‘eye’ – ač-tel-e (DIM)
things ziem-a ‘winter’ – ziem-el-is ‘northern wind’
šķēp-s ‘spear’ – šķēp-el-e ‘splinter, shard’

125
 Base
Word-
word – Derivational
formation Examples
derivative meaning
means
word class
N–N -en- + -e, plants, berries, pien-s ‘milk’ – pien-en-e ‘dandelion’
-es (F), mushrooms avs ‘ewe’ – av-en-e ‘raspberry’, -es (PL)
-is (M) alksnis ‘alder’ – alksn-en-e ‘milkcap (Lactarius
rufus)’
things ac-s ‘eye’ – ac-en-es ‘spectacles’
nags ‘nail, claw’ – naģ-en-e/ nadzene ‘cap’
dūm-i ‘smoke’ – dūm-en-is ‘chimney’
stulm-s ‘boot top’ – stulm-en-is ‘top boot’
body parts bals-s ‘voice’ – bals-en-e ‘larynx’
tīkl-s ‘net, network’ – tīkl-en-e ‘retina’
rag-s ‘horn’ – radz-en-e ‘cornea’
scientific, technical mēl-e ‘tongue’ – mēl-en-is ‘lingual consonant’
terms nās-s ‘nostril’ – nās-en-is ‘nasal consonant’
gliem-is ‘mollusc’ – gliem-en-e ‘bivalve mollusc,
shellfish’
female animals kaķ-is ‘cat’ – kaķ-en-e ‘female cat’
vilk-s ‘wolf’ – vilc-en-e ‘she-wolf’
stārķ-is ‘stork’ – stārķ-en-e ‘female stork’
feminine nouns draug-s ‘friend’ – draudz-en-e ‘female friend’
denoting persons biedr-s ‘comrade, fellow’ – biedr-en-e ‘female
comrade, etc.’
verg-s ‘slave’ – verdz-en-e ‘female slave’
also meit-a ‘daughter, maid’ – meit-en-e ‘girl’
wives, kalēj-s ‘blacksmith’ – kalēj-en-e ‘blacksmith’s
proprietresses wife’
Pēteris (personal name, M) – Pēter-en-e
(Pēteris’s wife)
Krūm-s (surname, M) – Krūm-en-e (Krūms’s wife)
Upīt-es (house name) – Upīt-en-e (proprietress
of Upītes)
-ēn-/-tēn-/ DIM of young kaķ-is ‘cat’ – kaķ-ēn-s ‘kitten’
-lēn- animals lāc-is ‘bear’ – lāc-ēn-s ‘bear cub’
+ -s (M) pīl-e ‘duck’ – pīl-ēn-s ‘duckling’
zos-s ‘goose’ – zos-lēn-s ‘gosling’
līdak-a ‘pike’ – līdac-ēn-s ‘young pike’
DIM of kinship dēl-s ‘son’ – dēl-ēn-s (DIM)
terms and other puis-is ‘boy’ – puis-ēn-s (DIM)
nouns denoting meit-a ‘daughter, girl’– meit-ēn-s ‘girl (DIM)’
skuķ-is ‘girl’ – skuķ-ēn-s (DIM)
persons
DIM of personal Kārl-is (M) – Kārl-ēn-s (DIM)
names Jur-is (M) – Jur-ēn-s (DIM)
Iev-a (F) – Iev-ēn-s (DIM)
Ausm-a (F) – Ausm-ēn-s (DIM)
kinship terms, brāl-is ‘brother’ – brāl-ēn-s ‘cousin’
occupations, natives Piebalg-a (name of a region) –
or inhabitants of piebaldz-ēn-s ‘inhabitant or native of Piebalga’
skol-a ‘school’ – skol-ēn-s ‘pupil’ (PL is used to
a place refer to pupils of both sexes collectively)
DIM of things baļķ-is ‘log’ – baļķ-ēn-s (DIM)
ābol-s ‘apple’ – ābol-tēn-s (DIM)

126
 Base
Word-
word – Derivational
formation Examples
derivative meaning
means
word class
N–N -iņ-/-tiņ-/ DIM of declension dēl-s ‘son’ – dēl-iņ-š (DIM)
-utiņ-/-sniņ- 1, 3, 4, 6 nouns degun-s ‘nose’ – degun-tiņ-š (DIM)
+ ceļ-š ‘road, way’ – cel-iņ-š (DIM)
Aivar-s (personal name, M) – Aivar-iņ-š (DIM)
-š (M), -a (F)
med-us ‘honey’ – med-utiņ-š (DIM)
Mik-us (personal name, M) – Mik-iņ-š (DIM)
mās-a ‘sister’ – mās-iņ-a (DIM)
Iev-a (personal name, F) – Iev-iņ-a (DIM)
ziv-s ‘fish’ – ziv-tiņ-a (DIM)
sird-s ‘heart’ – sir-sniņ-a (DIM)
things (incl. lok-s ‘bow’ – loc-iņ-š ‘violin bow’
scientific, technical rat-s ‘wheel’ – rat-iņ-š ‘spinning wheel’
terms)
-īb- + -a, properties, qualities draug-s ‘friend’ – draudz-īb-a ‘friendship’
-as (F) of human beings, muļķ-is ‘fool’ – muļķ-īb-a ‘foolishness’
sometimes also of gļēv-ul-is ‘coward’ – gļēv-ul-īb-a ‘cowardice’
lab-dar-is ‘benefactor’ – lab-dar-īb-a ‘charity’
animals
collective nouns, brāl-is ‘brother’ – brāl-īb-a ‘brotherhood’
also social, public, lop-kop-is ‘livestock breeder’ – lop-kop-īb-a
economic, etc. ‘livestock breeding’
liet-ved-is ‘clerk’ – liet-ved-īb-a ‘clerical work,
relationships or
record-keeping’
groups priekš-niek-s ‘senior officer, manager, etc.’ –
priekš-niec-īb-a ‘the management’
stages of life, bērn-s ‘child’ – bērn-īb-a ‘childhood’
human conditions zēn-s ‘boy’ – zēn-īb-a ‘boyhood’
vec-pui-is ‘bachelor’ – vec-puis-īb-a
‘bachelorhood’
vec-meit-a ‘spinster’ – vec-meit-īb-a
‘spinsterhood’
atraitn-is,-e ‘widow’ – atraitn-īb-a ‘widowhood’
inherent, intrinsic aug-l-is ‘fruit, fetus’ – aug-l-īb-a ‘fruitfulness,
features fertility’
māj-a ‘home’ – māj-īb-a ‘hominess’
-īt- + -is (M), DIM of declension brāl-is ‘brother’ – brāl-īt-is (DIM)
-e (F) 2, 5 nouns Jān-is (personal name, M) – Jān-īt-is (DIM)
egl-e ‘fir tree’ – egl-īt-e (DIM)
Ilz-e (personal name, F) – Ilz-īt-e (DIM)
things, names kumeļš ‘young horse’ – kumel-īt-e ‘camomile’
of plants (incl. smail-e ‘peak, point’ – smail-īt-e ‘canoe’
scientific, technical spol-e ‘reel, spool’ – spol-īt-e ‘spool (in yarn
spinning)’
terms)
-ien- + -a, a place with skaid-a ‘chip’ – skaid-ien-a, -s ‘place for
-e (F), a large amount of chopping, sawing wood on a farm, etc.’
-is (M) something (parallel mēsl-i ‘manure’ – mēsl-ien-a, -s ‘a site for
rubbish, a dump’
variants include
egl-e ‘fir tree’ – egl-ien-a, -e, -s ‘fir forest, fir grove’
ien-a 4 F, kārkl-s ‘osier’ – kārkl-ien-a ‘, -e, -s osier-bed’
-ien-e 5 F, -ien-s 1 M) kaln-s ‘mountain’ – kaln-ien-a, -e ‘highland’

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Word-
word – Derivational
formation Examples
derivative meaning
means
word class
N–N -ien- + -a, a place referred mal-a ‘edge, border’ – mal-ien-e ‘borderland’
-e (F), to by specifying vid-us ‘middle’ – vid-ien-e ‘central region,
-is (M) its geographical upcountry’
pal-i ‘high water, flood’ – pal-ien-e ‘flooded
properties (usually,
land by a river’
-ien-e)
female animals lāc-is ‘bear’ – lāc-ien-e ‘she-bear’
(usually, -ien-e) zaķ-is ‘hare’ – zaķ-ien-e ‘female hare’
(synonymous with ērgl-is ‘eagle’– ērgl-ien-e ‘female eagle’
-en-e)
feminine nouns kaimiņ-š ‘neighbor’ – kaimiņ-ien-e ‘female
denoting persons neighbor’
(usually, -ien-e) karal-is ‘king’ – karal-ien-e ‘queen’
svain-is ‘brother-in-law’ – svain-ien-e ‘sister-
in-law’
wives, kalēj-s ‘blacksmith’ – kalēj-ien-e ‘blacksmith’s
proprietresses wife’
(usually, -ien-e) Pēteris (personal name, M) – Pēter-ien-e
‘Pēteris’s wife’
(synonymous with
Kalniņ-š (surname, M) – Kalniņ-ien-e (Kalniņš’s
-en-e) wife)
Upīt-es (house name) – Upīt-ien-e (proprietress
of Upītes)
-iet- + is (M), natives or Valmier-a (town) – valmier-iet-is, -e ‘native or
-e (F) inhabitants of inhabitant of Valmiera’
a certain place in Rēzekn-e (town) – rēzekn-iet-is, -e ‘native or
inhabitant of Rēzekne’
Latvia (mostly, in
Parīz-e ‘Paris’ – parīz-iet-is, -e ‘Parisian’
Vidzeme, Latgale) Madrid-e ‘Madrid’ – madrid-iet-is, -e ‘Madrilenian’
or abroad Ņujork-a ‘New York’ –
ņujork-iet-is, -e ‘New Yorker’
ethnic groups Eirop-a ‘Europe’ – eirop-iet-is, -e ‘European’
(nationalities), Austrālij-a ‘Australia’ –
political nations, austrāl-iet-is, -e ‘Australian’
Indij-a ‘India’ – ind-iet-is, -e ‘Indian’
inhabitants of
Ķīn-a ‘China’ – ķīn-iet-is, -e ‘Chinese’
different parts of Vjetnam-a ‘Vietnam’ – vjetnam-iet-is, -e
the world ‘Vietnamese’
ethnic groups igaun-is ‘Estonian, M’ – igaun-iet-e (F)
(nationalities), zviedr-s ‘Swede, M’ – zviedr-iet-e (F)
political nations, īr-s ‘Irishman’ – īr-iet-e ‘Irishwoman’
spān-is ‘Spaniard’ – spān-iet-e (F)
inhabitants of
amerikān-is ‘American’ –
different parts amerikān-iet-e (F)
of the world in
the feminine
wives, Kalniņ-š – Kalniņ-iet-e ‘Kalniņš’s wife’
proprietresses Zaļup-s – Zaļup-iet-e ‘Zaļups’s wife’
(synonymous with Lejiņas (house name) – Lejiņ-iet-e ‘proprietress
of Lejiņas’
-en-e, -ien-e)

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 Base
Word-
word – Derivational
formation Examples
derivative meaning
means
word class
N–N -iet- + is (M), nouns denoting vīr-s ‘man, husband’– vīr-iet-is ‘man’
-e (F) persons according siev-a ‘woman, wife’ – siev-iet-e ‘woman’
to their sex dēl-s ‘son’ – dēl-iet-is ‘young man’
meit-a ‘daughter, maid’ – meit-iet-is ‘woman, girl’
puis-is ‘boy’ – puis-iet-is ‘man, boy’
-nīc- + -a (F) places maiz-e ‘bread’ – maiz-nīc-a ‘bakery’
vies-is ‘guest’ – vies-nīc-a ‘hotel’
grāmat-a ‘book’ – grāmat-nīc-a ‘bookshop’
darb-s ‘work’ – darb-nīc-a ‘workshop’
-niek-/ natives or Liepāj-a (town) – liepāj-niek-s, -ce ‘native or
-iniek-/ inhabitants of inhabitant of Liepāja’
-eniek- a particular place in Tals-i (town) – tals-eniek-s, -ce ‘native or
inhabitant of Talsi’
+ -s (M), Latvia (usually, in
Dobel-e (town) – dobel-niek-s, -ce ‘native or
-e, i.e., Kurzeme, Zemgale, inhabitant of Dobele’
-ce (F) also Vidzeme) Cēs-is (town) – cēs-iniek-s, -ce ‘native or
inhabitant of Cēsis’
Rīg-a ‘Rīga’ – rīdz-iniek-s, -ce ‘native or
inhabitant of Rīga’
persons by social saim-e ‘community, family’ – saim-niek-s, -ce
standing ‘owner, proprietor, master’
muiž-a ‘estate, manor’ – muiž-niek-s, -ce
‘landlord, squire’
bez darba ‘without employment’ –
bez-darb-niek-s, -ce ‘unemployed (N)’
persons by past-s ‘post’ – past-niek-s, -ce ‘postman’
occupation, sēt-a ‘yard, fence’ – sēt-niek-s, -ce ‘caretaker,
job, profession, janitor’
vēstur-e ‘history’ – vēstur-niek-s, -ce ‘historian’
membership in
kāz-as ‘wedding’ – kāz-iniek-s, -ce ‘wedding
a certain group, etc. guest’
-on- [i.e., nouns referring in mež-s ‘forest’ – mež-on-is, -e ‘savage’
[uo]] a negative way to tumsa ‘darkness’ – tums-on-is, -e ‘uneducated
+ -is (M), persons, animals person opposing progress’
šausm-as ‘horror’ – šausm-on-is, -e ‘monster’
-e (F)
briesm-as ‘danger, peril’ – briesm-on-is, -e
‘monster’
-otn- [i.e., parts of plants, gal-s ‘end’ – gal-otn-e ‘top, tip, ending’
[uo]] places sēkl-a ‘seed’ – sēkl-otn-e ‘ovary (Botany)’
+ -e (F) lap-a ‘leaf’ – lap-otn-e ‘leafage, crown’
virs-a ‘top, surface’ – virs-otn-e ‘top, peak, summit’
-uk- + -s (M) DIM (markedly sun-s ‘dog’ – suņ-uk-s (DIM)
positive lāc-is ‘bear’ – lāč-uk-s (DIM)
connotation; pel-e ‘mouse’ – peļ-uk-s (DIM)
brāl-is ‘brother’ – brāļ-uk-s (DIM)
sometimes with
mās-a ‘sister’ – māš-uk-s (DIM)
unmotivated meit-a ‘daughter’ – meit-uk-s (DIM)
palatalization Ār-is (personal name, M) – Ār-uk-s (DIM)
(consonant j Iev-a (personal name, F) – Iev-uk-s (DIM)
alternation));
usually, informal

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 Base
Word-
word – Derivational
formation Examples
derivative meaning
means
word class
N–N -ul- + -is (M), DIM ez-is ‘hedgehog’ – ež-ul-is (DIM)
-e (F) čūsk-a ‘snake’ – čūsk-ul-is (DIM)
Ann-a (personal name, F) – Ann-ul-e, -is (DIM)
Iev-a (personal name, F) – Iev-ul-e, -is (DIM)
ADJ–N -atn-/-otn- abstract concepts jaun-s ‘young’ – jaun-atn-e ‘youth’
[i.e., [uo]] + concerned with sen-s ‘old, ancient’ – sen-atn-e ‘ancient times,
-e (F) aggregates and antiquity’
maz-s ‘little’ – maz-otn-e ‘early age, infancy’
stages
-av- + -a (F) persons (F) jaun-s ‘young’ – jaun-av-a ‘virgin’
possessing a certain daiļ-š ‘beautiful’ – daiļ-av-a ‘a beauty’
quality
-ekl- + -is persons, chemical jaun-s ‘young’ – jaun-ekl-is ‘young man,
(M) elements, etc. youngster’
skāb-s ‘sour’ – skāb-ekl-is ‘oxygen’
-el- + -is (M), persons possessing gudr-s ‘smart’ – gudr-el-is, -e ‘smarty’
-e (F) a certain quality ne-krietn-s ‘dishonest’ –
(sometimes ne-krietn-el-is, -e ‘scoundrel’
pejorative)
-en- plants and berries skāb-s ‘sour’ – skāb-en-e, -es ‘sorrel’
+ -e, -es (F), sārt-s ‘rosy’ – sārt-en-e ‘cross-leaved heath’
-is (M) zil-s ‘blue’ – zil-en-e, -es ‘bog bilberry,
Vaccinium uliginosum’
meln-s ‘black’ – mell-en-e, -es
(also meln-en-e, -es) ‘bilberry, Vaccinium
myrtillus’
persons, scientific stulb-s ‘stupid, foolish’ – stulb-en-is, -e ‘fool’
names of animals, vec-s ‘old’ – vec-en-e ‘hag (of a woman)’
also meals raib-s ‘speckled, spotted’ – raib-en-is
‘Nymphalidae (family of butterflies)’
balt-s ‘white’ – balt-en-is ‘Pieridae (family of
butterflies)’
biez-s ‘thick, dense’ – biez-en-is ‘puree, mash’
-īb- + -a (F) abstract concepts, tīr-s ‘clean’ – tīr-īb-a ‘cleanliness’
also lasting states, laipn-s ‘polite’ – laipn-īb-a ‘politeness’
inherent, intrinsic jaun-s ‘young’ – jaun-īb-a ‘youth, young age’
slim-s ‘ill’ – slim-īb-a ‘illness’
features
var-en-s ‘mighty’ – var-en-īb-a ‘mightiness’
lok-an-s ‘supple’ – loka-n-īb-a ‘suppleness’
krās-ain-s ‘colorful’ – krās-ain-īb-a
‘colorfulness’
māt-išķs ‘motherly’ – māt-išķ-īb-a
‘motherliness’
-m- + -e, -a natural phenomena, valg-s ‘dewy, moist’ – valg-m-e ‘moisture’
(F) abstract concepts vēs-s ‘cool’ – vēs-m-a ‘breeze, rush of wind’
spož-s ‘brilliant’ – spoz-m-e ‘brilliance,
splendor’
-n- + -is (M), things, aggregates slīp-s ‘inclined’ – slīp-n-is ‘inclined separator’
-e (F) līk-s ‘curved’ – līk-n-e ‘curve’
smalk-s ‘fine’ – smalk-n-e ‘fines’

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Word-
word – Derivational
formation Examples
derivative meaning
means
word class
ADJ–N -niek-/-iniek-/ persons bagāt-s ‘rich’ – bagāt-niek-s, -ce ‘rich person’
-eniek- tuv-s ‘near’ – tuv-iniek-s, -ce ‘near relation’
tukš-s ‘empty’ – tukš-iniek-s, -ce ‘poor person’
+ -s (M),
gudr-s ‘smart’ – gudr-iniek-s, -ce ‘smart person’
i.e. -ce (F)
-ul- + -is (M), persons, also names skaist-s ‘pretty’ – skaist-ul-is, -e ‘pretty person’
-e (F) of animals skop-s ‘miserly’ – skop-ul-is, -e ‘miser’
vārg-s ‘weak’ – vārg-ul-is, -e ‘weakling’
maz-s ‘little’ – maz-ul-is, -e ‘baby’
-um- + -s (M) abstract concepts lab-s ‘good’ – lab-um-s ‘good (N), benefit, good
things’
vec-s ‘old’ – vec-um-s ‘age’
smarž-īg-s ‘fragrant’ – smarž-īg-um-s ‘fragrance,
aroma’
krok-ain-s ‘crinkly’ – krok-ain-um-s ‘crinkliness’
concrete concepts balt-s ‘white’ – (olas) balt-um-s ‘egg-white’
caur-s ‘having holes’ – caur-um-s ‘hole’
mīkst-s ‘soft’ – (maizes) mīkst-um-s ‘the soft
part of a loaf of bread’
places līdz-en-s ‘plain (ADJ)’ – līdz-en-um-s ‘plain (N)’
klaj-š ‘open, flat’ – klaj-um-s ‘glade, clearing’
tīr-s ‘clean’ – tīr-um-s ‘field, tillage’
NUM–N -atn-/-otn- number of living vien-s ‘one’ – vien-atn-e ‘one, solo, on one’s own,’
[i.e., [uo]] + beings or their div-i ‘two’ – div-atn-e ‘two (a set of two people,
(organizational) etc.), duo, duet’
-e (F)
trīs ‘three’ – trij-otn-e ‘three, trio (a set of three)’
mode of being četr-i ‘four’ – četr-otn-e ‘four (a set of four)’
-niek-/-iniek-/ number of beings vien-s ‘one’ – vien-iniek-s ‘one (number),
-eniek- + or things, banknote a single person, a person acting alone’
denominations, div-i ‘two’ – div-niek-s ‘two (number), a set of
-s (M)
two, dyad, duo’
evaluation on trīs ‘three’ – trij-niek-s ‘three (number), a set of
a scale three, triad, trio’
desmit-s ‘ten’ – desmit-niek-s ‘ten (number),
a set of ten, a tenner’
simt-s ‘one hundred’ – simt-niek-s ‘one hundred
(number), a set of one hundred people or things’
V–N -āj- + -s (M), agents (nomen dzer-t ‘to drink’ – dzēr-a PST 3– dzēr-āj-s, -a
-a (F); usually agentis) habitually ‘drunkard’
and actively ēs-t ‘to eat’ – ēd-a PST 3 – ēd-āj-s, -a ‘eater’
derived from
pār-cel-t ‘to convey’ – pār-cēl-a PST 3 –
the PST stem engaging in pār-cēl-āj-s, -a ‘ferryman’
of conjugation an activity; in ar-t ‘to plough’ – ar-āj-s, -a ‘ploughman’
1 and irregular modern Latvian,
verbs the semantic
difference between
the suffixes ­-āj- and
-ēj- has largely
disappeared
nomina actionis – pa-cel-t ‘to lift’ – pa-cēl-a PST 3 –
tools, devices pa-cēl-āj-s ‘lift, elevator’
uz-ķer-t ‘to catch’ – uz-ķēr-a PST 3 –
uz-ķēr-āj-s ‘(grease) extractor’

131
 Base
Word-
word – Derivational
formation Examples
derivative meaning
means
word class
V–N -ēj- + -s (M), agents (nomen dzer-t ‘to drink’ – dzēr-a PST 3 – dzēr-ēj-s, -a
-a (F); usually agentis) performing ‘one who drinks’
derived from an activity for ēs-t ‘to eat’ – ēd-a PST 3 – ēd-ēj-s, -a ‘eater’
ves-t ‘to carry’ – ved-a PST 3 – ved-ēj-s, -a
the PST stem a certain time
‘carrier’
of conjugation period or at ie-t ‘to go, walk’ – gāj-a PST 3 – gāj-ēj-s, -a
1 and irregular a particular ‘walker’
verbs moment; in aiz-do-t ‘to lend’ – aiz-dev-a PST 3 –
modern Latvian, aiz-dev-ēj-s, -a ‘lender, creditor’
the semantic
difference between
the suffixes ­-āj- and
-ēj- has largely
disappeared
nomina agentis – job kal-t ‘to forge, smith’ – kal-a PST 3 – kal-ēj-s
titles, professions ‘smith, blacksmith’
šū-t ‘to sew’ – šuv-a PST 3 – šuv-ēj-s, -a ‘sewer,
seamstress’
pār-do-t ‘to sell’ – pār-dev-a PST 3 –
pār-dev-ēj-s, -a ‘seller, shop assistant’
nomina actionis – dzī-t ‘to drive, to propel’ – dzin-a PST 3 – dzin-
devices, machines ēj-s ‘engine’
sūk-t ‘to suck’ – sūc-a PST 3 –
(putekļu) sūc-ēj-s ‘vacuum cleaner’
pļau-t ‘to mow’ – pļāv-u PST 1 –
(zāles) pļāv-ēj-s ‘lawn mower’
nomina actionis – aug-t ‘to grow’ – audz-ēj-s ‘tumor, growth’
diseases, symptoms dur-t ‘to pierce’ – dūr-a PST 3– dūr-ēj-s
‘piercing pain’
spies-t ‘to squeeze’ – spied-a PST 3 – spied-ēj-s
‘squeezer’
-īb- nomina actionis – cer-ē-t ‘to hope’ – cer-īb-a ‘hope’
+ -a, -as (F) abstract or tic-ē-t ‘to believe’ – tic-īb-a ‘faith, belief’
concrete concepts, māc-ī-t ‘to teach’ – māc-īb-a ‘lesson, teaching’
bar-o-t ‘to feed’ – bar-īb-a ‘food, nourishment’
places, processes;
ap-liec-inā-t ‘to attest’ – ap-liec-īb-a ‘certificate’
usually derived gan-ī-t ‘to pasture’ – gan-īb-as ‘pasture’
from the root of med-ī-t ‘to hunt’ – med-īb-as ‘hunt, chase’
secondary verbs
nomina actionis – dal-ī-t ‘to divide’ – dal-ām-s ‘divisible’ –
abstracted features, dalām-īb-a ‘divisibility’
lasting states, ability vad-ī-t ‘to steer, control’ – vad-ām-s ‘steerable,
controllable’ –
to participate in
vad-ām-īb-a ‘steerability, controllability’
an activity; derived ie-sp-ē-t ‘to be able to’ – ie-spēj-am-s
from the PRS PASS ‘possible’ – ie-spējam-īb-a ‘possibility’
participle stem tic-ē-t ‘to believe’ – tic-am-s ‘believable,
credible’ – ticam-īb-a ‘credibility’
dzird-ē-t ‘to hear’ – dzird-am-s ‘audible’ –
dzird-am-īb-a ‘audibility’

132
 Base
Word-
word – Derivational
formation Examples
derivative meaning
means
word class
V–N -īb- nomina actionis – vien-o-t ‘to unite’ – vieno-t-s ‘united’ –
+ -a, -as (F) abstracted features, vieno-t-īb-a ‘unity’
results of actions, sa-skaņ-o-t ‘to coordinate’ – sa-skaņo-t-s
states; derived ‘coordinated’ – sa-skaņo-t-īb-a ‘coordination
(the state of being coordinated)’
from the PST PASS
at-klā-t ‘to open’ – at-klā-t-s ‘open’ –
participle stem at-klā-t-īb-a ‘openness’
no-māk-t ‘to deject’ – no-māk-t-s ‘dejected’ –
no-māk-t-īb-a ‘dejection’
nomina actionis ap-sē-t ‘to sow’ – ap-sēj-u PST 1 –
(pluralia tantum) – ap-sēj-īb-as ‘seed sowing festival’
celebrations, ap-kul-t ‘to thresh’ – ap-kūl-u PST 1 –
ceremonies, and ap-kūl-īb-as ‘threshing festival’
laul-ā-t ‘to wed’ – laul-īb-as ‘wedding, marriage’
other festive
prec-ē-t ‘to marry’ – prec-īb-as ‘marriage,
events; derived marrying’
from the PST stem ie-svēt-ī-t ‘to confirm’ – ie-svēt-īb-as
of conjugation 1 ‘confirmation’
verbs and the root krist-ī-t ‘to baptize’ – krist-īb-as ‘baptism’
of conjugation 2, 3
verbs
-ien- nomina actionis – lēk-t ‘to jump’ – lēc-a PST 3 – lēc-ien-s ‘jump’
+ -s (M); instantaneous single šau-t ‘to shoot’ – šāv-a PST 3 – šāv-ien-s ‘a shot’
usually actions klieg-t ‘to scream’ – kliedz-a PST 3 –
kliedz-ien-s ‘scream’
derived from
the PST stem nomina actionis – nāk-t ‘to come’ – nāc-a PST 3 – nāc-ien-s ‘coming’
of conjugation single actions brauk-t ‘to go, to drive’ – brauc-a PST 3 –
lasting for some brauc-ien-s ‘trip, journey, drive’
1 and irregular
time ie-t ‘to go, to walk’ – gāj-a PST 3 – gāj-ien-s
verbs ‘procession, walk’
nomina actionis – dzer-t ‘to drink’ – dzēr-a PST 3 – dzēr-ien-s ‘drink’
abstract or concrete ēs-t ‘to eat’ – ēd-a PST 3– ēd-ien-s ‘meal, food’
things cel-t ‘to raise’ – cēl-a PST 3 – cēl-ien-s ‘act (in
a theatrical performance)’
pa-ves-t ‘to lead’ – pa-ved-a PST 3 –
pa-ved-ien-s ‘lead, also thread’
-kl-/-ekl-/ tools, devices, etc. ar-t ‘to plough’ – ar-kl-s ‘plough’
-okl- [i.e., tī-t ‘to reel, to wind, to wrap’ – tī-kl-s ‘net’
[uo]] + -s, dur-t ‘to stab’ – dur-kl-is ‘bayonet’
grāb-t ‘to rake up’ – grāb-ekl-is ‘rake’
-is (M), -a, -e
vad-ī-t ‘to guide’ – vad-ī-kl-a ‘guide, control’
(F); usually tēm-ē-t ‘to aim’ – tēm-ē-kl-is ‘gunsight’
derived from
the infinitive
stem of things ad-ī-t ‘to knit’ – ad-ī-kl-is ‘knitting (material in
the process of being knitted)’
conjugation aus-t ‘to weave’ – aud-ekl-s ‘woven fabric,
1, 2 verbs or usually linen, also canvas’
the root of sēd-ē-t ‘to sit’ – sēd-ekl-is ‘seat’
conjugation 3 vīst-ī-t ‘to wrap’ – vīst-okl-is ‘wrapped package’
verbs

133
 Base
Word-
word – Derivational
formation Examples
derivative meaning
means
word class
V–N -kl-/-ekl-/ abstract concepts kav-ē-t ‘to hinder’ – kav-ē-kl-is ‘hindrance’
-okl- [i.e., līdz-ē-t ‘to assist’ – līdz-ekl-is ‘means’
stāv-ē-t ‘to stand’ – stāv-okl-is ‘state’
[uo]] + -s,
-is (M), -a, -e places dzīv-o-t ‘to live’ – dzīv-o-kl-is ‘apartment’
(F); usually māj-o-t ‘to dwell’ – māj-okl-is ‘dwelling, home’
derived from gan-ī-t ‘to pasture’ – gan-ī-kl-a ‘pasture, also herd’
the infinitive body parts, also rī-t ‘to swallow’ – rī-kl-e ‘throat’
stem of parts of plants sē-t ‘to sow’ – sē-kl-a ‘seed’
conjugation redz-ē-t ‘to see’ – redz-okl-is ‘pupil’
taust-ī-t ‘to touch’ – taust-ekl-is ‘feeler, tentacle’
1, 2 verbs or
the root of nomina patientis – māc-ī-t ‘to teach, train’ – māc-ekl-is, -e
conjugation 3 persons, also names ‘apprentice, trainee’
ves-t ‘to lead, guide’ – ved-ekl-a ‘daughter-in-law’
verbs of animals
lut-inā-t ‘to pamper, to spoil’ – lut-ekl-is, -e
‘one who is being pampered’
bar-o-t ‘to feed’ – bar-o-kl-is ‘fatling’

-l-/-sl- + -is nomina agentis – bēg-t ‘to run away’ – bēg-l-is, -e ‘fugitive,
(M), persons engaging refugee’
zag-t ‘to thieve, steal’ – zag-l-is, -e ‘thief’
-e, -a (F); in undesirable
kau-t ‘to beat, to slaughter’ – kau-sl-is, -e
usually activities ‘brawler, ruffian’
derived from
the root things aug-t ‘to grow’ – aug-l-is ‘fruit’
dīg-t ‘to germinate’ – dīg-l-is ‘germ, an initial
stage of smth’
skait-ī-t ‘to number, to count’ – skait-l-is
‘number’
dzī-t ‘to rush, drive’ – dzī-sl-a ‘blood vessel’
kāp-t ‘to climb’ – kāp-sl-is ‘footboard,
stepladder’
-m-/-sm- + nomina actionis – brāz-t ‘to rush’ – brāz-m-a ‘rush, gust (of
-a, -e (F); concrete and wind)’
vēl-ē-ties ‘to wish’– vēl-m-e ‘wish’
usually abstract activities
ros-ī-ties ‘to bustle’ – ros-m-e ‘bustle’
derived from teik-t ‘to say, to tell’ – teik-sm-a ‘legend, tale’
the root veik-t ‘to accomplish’ – veik-sm-e ‘success, luck’
sa-dur-ties ‘to collide’ – sa-dur-sm-e ‘collision’
-n-/-tn-/-sn- places slēp-t ‘to hide, to conceal’ – slēp-n-is ‘a
+ -is (M), -e, concealed position, ambush’
tilp-t ‘to contain, to hold’ – tilp-n-e ‘tank, hold’
-es (F); usually
izlie-t ‘to pour out’ – izlie-tn-e ‘sink’
derived from aug-t ‘to grow’ – aug-sn-e ‘soil’
the root slīk-t ‘to drown’ – slīk-sn-is ‘bog, marsh’
things (incl. tools lauz-t ‘to break’ – lauz-n-is ‘crowbar’
and devices) griez-t ‘to cut’ – griez-n-es ‘scissors’
cel-t ‘to lift’ – cel-tn-is ‘crane’
vel-t ‘to roll’ – vel-tn-is ‘roller’
ap-loc-ī-t ‘to envelop’ – ap-lok-sn-e ‘envelope’
nomina actionis – pa-ie-t ‘to pass’ – pa-gā-j-u PST 1 –
some derivatives pa-gā-tn-e ‘past’
are based on lūg-t ‘to pray’ – lūg-sn-a ‘prayer’
the PST stem no-gul-t ‘to sediment’ – no-gul-sn-es ‘sediment’

134
 Base
Word-
word – Derivational
formation Examples
derivative meaning
means
word class
V–N -niek- + -s nomina agentis – rakst–ī-t ‘to write’ – rakst-niek-s, -ce ‘writer’
(M), -e i.e., persons by mēr-ī-t ‘to measure’ – mēr-niek-s, -ce ‘surveyor’
-ce (F); usually occupation, job, strād-ā-t ‘to work’ – strād-niek-s, -ce ‘worker’
vald-ī-t ‘to rule’ – vald-niek-s, -ce ‘ruler’
derived from profession, mutual
krāp-t ‘to swindle’ – krāp-niek-s, -ce ‘swindler,
the root relationships, fraud’
lifestyle, etc. strīd-ē-ties ‘to quarrel’ – strīd-niek-s, -ce
‘quarreller’
-on- [i.e., nomina agentis – dzied-ā-t ‘to sing’ – dzied-on-is, -e ‘singer,
[uo]] + names describing, songbird’
-is (M), -e characterizing var-ē-t ‘to be able’ – var-on-is, -e ‘hero’
cens-ties ‘to strive’ – cens-on-is, -e ‘striver’
(F); usually persons and animals
dauz-ī-t ‘to beat, to batter’ – dauz-on-is, -e
derived from ‘brawler’
the root lid-o-t ‘to fly’ – lid-on-is, -e ‘a person or animal
who flies’
plēs-t ‘to rip, to tear’ – plēs-on-is, -e ‘predator’

things dzel-t ‘to sting’ – dzel-on-is ‘prickle, thorn’

vilk-t ‘to pull, to tug’ – velk-u PRS 1 SG – velk-
on-is ‘tugboat’
nomina actionis – dil-t ‘to wear out, to dwindle’ – dil-on-is
diseases, symptoms ‘pulmonary tuberculosis, consumption’
aug-t ‘to grow’ – aug-on-is ‘boil, abscess’
reib-t ‘to feel dizzy’ – reib-on-is ‘dizziness’
ģīb-t ‘to faint’ – ģīb-on-is ‘fainting fit’
nomina actionis – zied-ē-t ‘to bloom’ – zied-on-is ‘springtime,
natural phenomena one’s prime’
māk-ties ‘to get cloudy’ – māk-on-is ‘cloud’
šķīs-t ‘to melt, to dissolve’ – šķīd-on-is ‘slush’

-oņ- [i.e., nomina actionis – rūk-t ‘to roar’ – rūk-oņ-a ‘roaring’

[uo]] + -a continuous, šņāk-t ‘to hiss’ – šņāk-oņ-a ‘hissing’
(F); usually intensive activities dun-ē-t ‘to drone’ – dun-oņ-a ‘droning’
gaud-o-t ‘to howl’ – gaud-oņ-a ‘howling’
derived from or processes
the root nomina agentis – muld-ē-t ‘to blabber’ – muld-oņ-a ‘blabber’
persons and snaus-t ‘to take a nap’ – snaud-oņ-a ‘sleepy
animals; common person’
bland-ī-ties ‘to roam’ – bland-oņ-a ‘roamer’
gender nouns; often,
plēs-t ‘to rip, to tear’ – plēs-oņ-a ‘predator’
pejorative
-šan- + -a nomina actionis – cel-t ‘to lift’ – cel-šan-a ‘lifting’
(F, NREFL), + actions as processes smie-ties ‘to laugh’ – smie-šan-ās ‘laughing’
-ās (F, REFL); dom-ā-t ‘to think’ – dom-ā-šan-a ‘thinking’
mazg-ā-ties ‘to wash oneself’ –
derived from
mazg-ā-šan-ās ‘washing oneself’
the infinitive las-ī-t ‘to read’ – las-ī-šan-a ‘reading’
stem audz-inā-t ‘to raise, to bring up’ – audz-inā-
šan-a ‘raising, bringing up’
māc-ī-ties ‘to study’ – māc-ī-šan-ās ‘studying’

135
 Base
Word-
word – Derivational
formation Examples
derivative meaning
means
word class
V–N -tav- + -a, locative tīr-ī-t ‘to clean’ – tīr-ī-tav-a ‘(dry) cleaner’s’
-as / nominalizations mazg-ā-t ‘to wash’ – mazg-ātav-a ‘laundry room’
-tuv- + -e slid-o-t ‘to skate’ – slid-o-tav-a ‘skating rink’
(F); usually peld-ē-t ‘to swim’ – peld-ē-tav-a ‘place for
derived from swimming’
glud-inā-t ‘to iron’ – glud-inā-tav-a ‘ironing room’
the infinitive
cep-t ‘to bake’ – cep-tuv-e ‘bakery’
stem
mal-t ‘to mill’ – mal-tuv-e ‘flour mill’
(-tav- with kau-t ‘to slaughter’ – kau-tuv-e ‘slaughterhouse’
conjugation
2, 3 verbs, things, tools; šķil-t ‘strike (fire)’ – šķil-tav-as ‘lighter’
-tuv- with derivatives with tī-t ‘to reel’ – tī-tav-as ‘reel’
conjugation 1 -tav- usually are sē-t ‘to sow’ – sē-tuv-e ‘sowing basket’
spļau-t ‘to spit’ – spļau-tuv-e ‘spittoon’
verbs) pluralia tantum
-tāj- + -s (M), nomina agentis – las-ī-t ‘to read’ – las-ī-tāj-s, -a ‘reader’
-a (F); usually usually persons, staig-ā-t ‘to walk’ – staig-ā-tāj-s, -a ‘walker’
derived from sometimes also peld-ē-t ‘to swim’ – peld-ē-tāj-s, -a ‘swimmer’
slēp-o-t ‘to ski’ – slēp-o-tāj-s, -a ‘skier’
the infinitive names of animals
stem of nomina agentis – job dzied-ā-t ‘to sing’ – dzied-ā-tāj-s, -a ‘singer’
conjugation 2, titles, professions, skol-o-t ‘to school’ – skol-o-tāj-s, -a ‘teacher’
3 verbs occupations audz-inā-t ‘to raise, educate’ – audz-inā-tāj-s, -a
‘preschool teacher, child-minder’
māc-ī-t ‘to teach’ – māc-ī-tāj-s, -a ‘priest’
projekt-ē-t ‘to design, plan’ –
projekt-ē-tāj-s, -a ‘design engineer’
nomina actionis – mais-ī-t ‘to mix’ – mais-ī-tāj-s ‘mixer’
devices, tools, žāv-ē-t ‘to dry’ – žāv-ē-tāj-s ‘dryer’
machines līmeņ-o-t ‘to level’ – līmeņ-o-tāj-s ‘leveling
device’
mod-inā-t ‘to wake up (obj.)’ – mod-inā-tāj-s
‘alarm clock’
pa-gar-inā-t ‘to extend’ –
pa-gar-inā-tāj-s ‘extension cable’
-ul- + -is (M), nomina agentis – vārg-t ‘to weaken (no obj.)’ – vārg-ul-is, -e
-e (F); usually usually, nouns ‘weakling’
derived from with a pejorative snaus-t ‘to take a nap’ – snaud-ul-is, -e ‘sleepy
head’
the root meaning naming raud-ā-t ‘to cry, to whine’ – raud-ul-is, -e ‘whiner’
persons, also grib-ē-t ‘to desire’ – grib-ul-is, -e ‘sexual desire’
animals ne-māc-ē-t ‘not to know how’ – ne-māk-ul-is, -e
‘inept, unskilled person’

various things zīm-ē-t ‘to draw’ – zīm-ul-is ‘pencil’

vēst-ī-t ‘to make known, to relate’ – vēst-ul-e
‘letter’
šūp-o-t ‘to rock’ – šūp-ul-is ‘cradle (mounted on
rockers)’
nomina actionis – drebē-t ‘to tremble’ – dreb-ul-is,
sensations also PL drebuļi ‘trembling, the shivers’
tirp-t ‘to grow numb’  – tirp-uļ-i ‘numbness,
pins and needles’
skurb-t ‘to get tipsy, giddy’ – skurb-ul-is
‘tipsiness, giddiness’

136
 Base
Word-
word – Derivational
formation Examples
derivative meaning
means
word class
V–N -um- nomina lem-t ‘to decide’ – lēm-u PST 1 SG –
+ -s (M); actionis – result lēm-um-s ‘decision’
usually nominalizations pļau-t ‘to reap, to mow’ – pļāv-u PST 1 SG –
pļāv-um-s ‘reaping, (hay harvest)’
derived from
vērt-ē-t ‘to evaluate’ – vērt-ē-j-u PST 1 SG –
the PST stem vērt-ē-j-um-s ‘evaluation’
lab-o-t ‘to correct’ – lab-o-j-u PST 1 SG –
lab-o-j-um-s ‘correction’
las-ī-t ‘to read’ – las-ī-j-u PST 1 SG –
las-ī-j-um-s ‘reading’
mēģ-inā-t ‘to attempt’ – mēģ-inā-j-u PST 1 SG –
mēģ-inā-j-um-s ‘attempt’
dzied-ā-t ‘to sing’ – dzied-ā-j-u PST 1 SG –
dzied-ā-j-um-s ‘singing, also chant, canto’
abstract or concrete lik-t ‘to compel’ – lik-u PST 1 SG –
things lik-um-s ‘law’
uz-do-t ‘to assign a task to’ – uz-dev-u PST 1
SG – uz-dev-um-s ‘task’
aus-t ‘to weave’ – aud-u PST 1 SG –
aud-um-s ‘fabric’
ie-vār-ī-t ‘to preserve, to boil down’ –
ie-vār-ī-j-u PST 1 SG – ie-vār-ī-j-um-s ‘jam,
preserves’
sald-ē-t ‘to freeze (obj.)’ – sald-ē-j-u PST 1 SG –
sald-ē-j-um-s ‘ice cream’
places līs-t ‘to clear (woodland)’ – līd-u PST 1 SG –
līd-um-s ‘clearing (of woodland for tillage)’
iz-cirs-t ‘to cut, to fell’ – iz-cirt-u PST 1 SG –
iz-cirt-um-s ‘felling site, clearing’

Table 2.6 Main noun formation types in Latvian: suffixation

Endings
Endings are another means of noun formation in Latvian. Endings are mostly attached
to nominal, adjectival, and verbal bases. A special subtype are full-paradigm nouns
derived from genitive-only nouns, i.e., compound nouns that have just one case form:
the SG or PL (F/M) genitive (see Section 2.1.1 for a detailed discussion); full-paradigm
nouns derived from genitive-only nouns and naming living beings, plants, sometimes
also objects in a classifying way usually have both gender forms.

Base Word- Derivational meaning Examples

word – formation
derivative means
word class
N–N -e (F) things, names of rag-s ‘horn’ – radze ‘spike’
animals, groups of snieg-s ‘snow’ – sniedz-e ‘snow bird’
persons draug-s ‘friend’ – draudz-e ‘congregation’
cilvēk-s ‘human’ – cilvēc-e ‘humanity’

137
 Base Word- Derivational meaning Examples
word – formation
derivative means
word class
N–N -s, -š (M), physical phenomena, bez-gais-a ‘vacuum (premodifier)’ – bez-gais-s
-a, -as (F) abstract and concrete ‘vacuum’
concepts, things bez-svar-a ‘zero-gravity (premodifier)’ – bez-svar-s
‘zero-gravity’
bez-vēj-a ‘windless’ – bez-vēj-š ‘windlessness, still air’
ātr-gait-as ‘high-speed (premodifier)’ – ātr-gait-a
‘high speed’
pie-pil-sēt-as ‘suburban’ – pie-pil-sēt-a ‘suburbs’
mūs-dien-u ‘contemporary’ – mūs-dien-as ‘present,
current times’
-is (M), things, abstract trij-stūr-u ‘triangular’ – trij-stūr-is ‘triangle’
-e (F) concepts, simt-gad-u ‘centenary (premodifier)’ – simt-gad-e
classificatory names ‘centenary, century’
sīk-lap-u ‘small-leaved’ – sīk-lap-is, -e ‘small-leaved
of plants and living
plant’
beings gar-ast-es ‘long-tailed’ – gar-ast-is, -e ‘long-tailed
animal’
bez-sird-s ‘heartless’ – bez-sird-is, -e ‘heartless
person’
brūn-ac-u ‘brown-eyed’ – brūn-ac-is, -e ‘person or
animal with brown eyes’
zelt-mat-u ‘golden-haired’ – zelt-mat-is, -e ‘golden-
haired person’
ADJ–N -is (M) persons, names meln-s ‘black’ – meln-is, -e ‘black horse’
of animals (esp. resns ‘fat’ – resn-is, -e ‘fat person, fatty’
specifying the color slink-s ‘lazy’ – sliņķ-is, -e ‘lazy person, lazybones’
ne-rātn-s ‘mischievous, naughty’ – ne-rātn-is, -e
of horses, cows),
‘mischievous, naughty person’
things; some nouns
have both gender bārd-ain-s ‘bearded’ – bārd-ain-is ‘bearded person,
beardy’
forms
ūs-ain-s ‘moustached’ – ūs-ain-is ‘moustached
person’
sprog-ain-s ‘curly’ – sprog-ain-is, -e ‘animal or
person with curly coat or hair’
pirkst-ain-s ‘having fingers’ – pirkst-ain-is ‘glove’
dūr-ain-s ‘with a clenched fist’ – dūr-ain-is ‘mitten’
-a, -as (F) abstract concepts, skumj-š ‘sad’ – skumj-as ‘sadness’
feelings; usually, ilg-s ‘long’ – ilg-as ‘longing’
pluralia tantum
-e (F) things, abstract ciet-s ‘hard, solid’ – ciet-e ‘starch’
concepts, places tāl-s ‘distant’ – tāl-e ‘distance’
kār-s ‘eager, craving’ – kār-e ‘craving, desire’
līksm-s ‘joyful, joyous’ – līksm-e ‘joy’
viln-ain-s ‘woolly’ – viln-ain-e (i.e., villaine) ‘plaid
shawl, woollen shawl’
purv-ain-s ‘boggy’ – purv-ain-e ‘boggy place’
mēsl-ain-s ‘full of rubbish’ – mēsl-ain-e ‘a site for
rubbish, a dump’
māl-ain-s ‘clayey’ – māl-ain-e ‘place with clayey
soil’

138
 Base Word- Derivational meaning Examples
word – formation
derivative means
word class
V–N -s (M) things; usually aug-t ‘to grow’ – aug-s ‘plant’
derived from tērp-t ‘to clothe’ – tērp-s ‘clothes, garment’
the infinitive stem of aiz-kār-t (i.e., aizkart) ‘to curtain off’ –
aiz-kar-s ‘curtain’
conjugation 1 verbs
ap-au-t ‘to put on shoes’ – ap-av-s (i.e.,
apavi PL) ‘footwear, shoes’
nomina actionis, ap-rakst-ī-t ‘to describe’ – ap-raksts-s ‘description’
nomina agentis; pa-dom-ā-t ‘to think, to reflect’ – pa-dom-s ‘advice’
usually derived ie-vad-ī-t ‘introduce’ – ie-vad-s ‘introduction’
pār-lūk-o-t ‘to browse’ – pār-lūk-s ‘browser’
from the root of
pār-raudz-ī-t ‘to supervise’ –
conjugation 2, 3 pār-raug-s, -dze ‘supervisor’
verbs
-is (M) things, also names urb-t ‘to drill’ – urb-is ‘drill’
of animals; usually slēg-t ‘to switch’ – slēdz-is ‘switch’
derived from lenk-t ‘to surround’ – leņķ-is ‘angle’
vilk-t ‘to pull’ – viļķ-is ‘(cork)screw’
the infinitive stem of
svilp-t ‘to whistle’ – svilp-is ‘whistle’
conjugation 1 verbs
nomina agentis, mel-o-t ‘to tell lies’ – mel-is, -e ‘liar’
usually derived aiz-stāv-ē-t ‘to defend’ – aiz-stāv-is, -e ‘defender’
from the root of pār-zin-ā-t ‘to look after, to curate’ – pār-zin-is, -e
‘keeper, curator’
conjugation 2, 3
verbs and have both
gender forms
-a, -as (F) things, abstract teik-t ‘to tell’ – teik-a ‘tale’
concepts, places; steig-t ‘to hurry’ – steig-a ‘hurry’
usually derived from mig-t ‘to fall asleep’ – mig-a ‘den, lair’
at-slēg-t ‘to unlock’ – at-slēg-a ‘key’
the infinitive stem of
pār-tik-t ‘to live on’ – pār-tik-a ‘provisions’
conjugation 1 verbs
nomina actionis; gaid-ī-t ‘to wait’ – gaid-as ‘expectations, anticipation’
usually derived ie-tec-ē-t ‘to flow into (of a river)’ – ie-tek-a ‘mouth
from the root of (of a river)’
sa-run-ā-t ‘to say a lot of things, to arrange, to
conjugation 2, 3
agree’ – sa-run-a ‘talk, conversation’
verbs sa-slauc-ī-t ‘to sweep up, to wipe up’ – sa-slauk-as
‘sweepings’
pejorative ways of snaus-t (i.e., snaud-) ‘to take a nap’ –
referring to persons; snauž-a ‘sleepy person’
common gender ne-jēg-t ‘not to understand’ – ne-jēg-a ‘halfwit,
dullard’
nouns; derived from
ne-pras-t (i.e., prat-) ‘not to know how’ –
the infinitive stem of ne-praš-a ‘unskilled, inept person’
conjugation 1 verbs ne-vīž-o-t ‘not to care, not to take trouble’ – ne-vīž-a
and from the root ‘lazy, negligent person’
of conjugation 2, glūn-ē-t ‘to lurk’ – glūņ-a ‘lurker’
3 verbs; derivatives
may have root-
final consonant-j
alternation

139
 Base Word- Derivational meaning Examples
word – formation
derivative means
word class
V–N -e (F) nomina actionis; aug-t ‘to grow’ – audz-e ‘stand, a group of growing
usually derived from plants’
the infinitive stem of ēs-t (i.e., ēd-) ‘to eat’ – ēd-e ‘eczema’
spies-t (i.e., spied-) ‘to press, squeeze’  –
conjugation 1 verbs
spied-e ‘press, squeezer’
at-lais-t (i.e., laid-) ‘to release, to reduce’ –
at-laid-e ‘discount’
aiz-deg-t ‘to ignite’ – aiz-dedz-e ‘ignition’
things, abstract kalt-ē-t ‘to dry’ – kalt-e ‘drying room, drying house’
concepts, places; ie-cer-ē-t ‘to conceive, to intend’ – ie-cer-e ‘idea,
usually derived intention’
pār-vald-ī-t ‘to manage, to govern, to administer’ –
from the root of
pār-vald-e ‘administration, governance’
conjugation 2, ap-kalp-o-t ‘to attend, to serve’ – ap-kalp-e ‘crew’
3 verbs pie-gād-ā-t ‘to supply’ – pie-gād-e ‘supply’

Table 2.7 Main noun formation types in Latvian: endings

Prefixation
Derivation of nouns by prefixation is controversial in Latvian: it is not clear that
prefixes actually actively function as means of noun formation in the  language.
Traditionally, Latvian grammars have listed prefixes among affixes used for deriving
new nouns – e.g., Ahero et al. (1959: 184–190) and Vulāne (2013: 212–220) provide
comprehensive overviews.
This grammar departs from the traditional approach, recognizing that there is
an essential difference between prefixed nouns, on the one hand, and prefixed verbs
and adjectives, where prefixes are active means of word formation, on the  other
hand.
Firstly, a  large part of nouns that contain prefixes are derived from prefixed
verbs, e.g.:
(2.1.140) a. brauk-t ‘to go (in a vehicle), drive’ – aiz-brauk-t (perfective) –
aiz-brauk-šan-a (action, process nom.)
b. sauk-t ‘to call’ – iz-sauk-t ‘to call (invite), to cause’ (or iz-sauk-ties) –
iz-sauc-ien-s ‘exclamation’
c. vērt-ē-t ‘to evaluate’ – no-vērt-ē-t (perfective) – no-vērt-ēj-um-s ‘evaluation’
d. star-o-t ‘to radiate, to beam’ – at-star-o-t ‘to reflect’ –
at-star-o-tāj-s ‘reflector’
e. vald-ī-t ‘to rule, to reign, to dominate’ – pār-vald-ī-t ‘to manage,
to govern, to administer’ – pār-vald-e ‘administration, governance’
f. run-ā-t ‘to talk’ – sa-run-ā-t ‘to say a lot of things, to arrange, to agree’ –
sa-run-a ‘talk, conversation’
g. sac-ī-t ‘to say, to tell’ – pa-sac-ī-t (perfective) – pa-sak-a ‘fairytale’

140
None of the  nouns in (2.1.140) are formed by prefixation. Formal and semantic
derivational relationships in the derivational sequences indicate that the nouns are
derived by attaching a suffix (2.1.140a–d) or an ending (2.1.140e–g) to a prefixed,
rather than a non-prefixed, verb. Hence, prefixes here are means of verb, not noun,
formation. This is also true of negatives with n ­ e- – in nouns of verbal and adjectival
origin, the prefix ne- is usually part of the verbal (2.1.141) or adjectival (2.1.142) base.
(2.1.141) cien-ī-t ‘to respect’ – ne-cien-ī-t ‘to disrespect’ – ne-cieņ-a ‘disrespect’
zin-ā-t ‘to know’ – ne-zin-ā-t ‘to not know’ – ne-ziņ-a ‘not knowing, uncertainty’
nāk-t ‘to come’ – ne-nāk-t ‘to not come’ – ne-nāk-šan-a (action, process nom.)
(2.1.142) tīr-s ‘clean’ – ne-tīr-s ‘unclean, dirty’ – ne-tīr-um-s or ne-tīr-īb-a ‘uncleanliness,
dirt’, ne-tīr-el-is, -e ‘a dirty person’
krietn-s ‘honest’ – ne-krietn-s ‘dishonest’ – ne-krietn-īb-a ‘dishonesty’,
ne-krietn-el-is, -e ‘a dishonest person’
Only in cases where the prefix ne- attaches directly to a base noun is it possible to
speak of prefixal word-formation types (Table 2.8).
Secondly, with regard to secondary nouns of the kind shown in (2.1.143) there
is the essential question of how to interpret the word-initial morphemes – as prefixes
(e.g., Ahero et al. 1959: 182; Vulāne 2013: 212–213, 246–248 on combined prefix–
suffix affixation) or prepositions. Prepositional phrases that underlie such nouns (and
are linked to them by mutual semantic motivation) suggest that these are actually
compounds based on a  preposition and a  noun (see also Ahero et al. op.cit.). The
fact that compounds often have a different ending than their source noun, points to
concretization of meaning in new formations.
(2.1.143) a. ap-roc-e ‘bracelet’ < ap roku ‘around the arm’
b. aiz-krāsn-e ‘space behind the stove (in a house)’ < aiz krāsns
‘behind a stove’
c. no-mal-e ‘outskirts’ < no malas ‘on the outside, from outside’
d. pār-galv-is ‘reckless person’ < pār galvu ‘over one’s head’
e. pie-krast-e ‘coastal area’ < pie krasta ‘by the coast’
f. uz-gal-is ‘tip, attachment’ < uz gala ‘at the tip’
From the point of view of semantics, nouns having the elements at- and ie- as their
first component fit in with other members of this group:
(2.1.144) a. at-starp-e ‘space’, at-kāz-as ‘a post-nuptial feast held one week after
a wedding’, at-vasar-a ‘Indian summer’
b. ie-roc-is ‘weapon’, ie-nadz-is ‘cuticle’, ie-mut-is ‘mouthpiece’
The difficulty lies in the  fact that there are no prepositions corresponding to
these prefixes in contemporary Latvian, hence, there are also no corresponding
prepositional phrases. Word-formation types similar to those illustrated in (2.1.143)
are included in the subsection on compounds (see Table 2.9).
Thirdly, nouns beginning with bez, pirms, priekš, pret, zem, apakš, caur,
starp, virs, etc., which can be formed from all kinds of bases – genitive-only nouns

141
(themselves compounds based on a prepositional phrase), noun–noun, adverb–noun,
verb–adverb word combinations, etc., are also best viewed as compounds (see Ahero
et al. 1959: 183–184, 190 –196; Vulāne 2013: 212–220 for a discussion), see Table
2.9, since elements forming the first part of these nouns – prepositions, adverbs, and
nouns – have not grammaticalized into prefixes in Latvian.
Finally, there is a small number of noun formation types that are best interpreted
as cases of prefixation, see, e.g., derivatives with the prefixes ne- and pa- in Table 2.8.

Base
word – Word-
Derivational
derivative formation Examples
meaning
word means
class
N–N ne- negation, absence, zāl-e ‘grass’ – ne-zāl-e ‘weed’
opposites of things, spēk-s ‘strength’ – ne-spēk-s ‘absence of strength,
phenomena, also weakness’
ceļ-š ‘road’ – ne-ceļ-š ‘bad road, dead end’
the meaning ‘one
prāt-s ‘mind’ – ne-prāt-s ‘madness’
that is bad’ zvēr-s ‘beast, animal’ – ne-zvēr-s ‘monster’
gal-s ‘end’ – ne-gal-s ‘continuous trouble, bother’
pa- subordination, sug-a ‘species’ – pa-sug-a ‘subspecies’
inclusiveness, veid-s ‘type’ – pa-veid-s ‘subtype’
similarity, also nātr-e ‘nettle’ – pa-nātr-e ‘dead-nettle’
māt-e ‘mother’ – pa-māt-e ‘stepmother’
substitution
tēv-s ‘father’ – pa-tēv-s ‘stepfather’
meit-a ‘daughter’ – pa-meit-a ‘stepdaughter’
dēl-s ‘son’ – pa-dēl-s ‘stepson’

Table 2.8 Derivation of nouns by prefixation

Compounds
The greatest variety of compounds in Latvian is found among nouns. Semantically
endocentric determinative right-headed compounds based on phrases (i.e.,
subordinate structures) are predominant; other types include determinative left-
headed compounds, semantically exocentric compounds as well as compounds based
on preposition / adverb–noun word combinations. There is also a small number of
copulative compound nouns.
The description of compound nouns in this grammar is based on the  types
(and subtypes) of syntactic structures underlying compound formation. Syntactic
relations between words in each particular source structure enable the  process of
separate words merging into larger compounds and are thus the  principal means
of compound formation in Latvian. Compound formation is also usually linked to
prosody in the sense that while each component of a compound normally has its own
first-syllable word stress, compounds only have one.
As a  rule, right-headed compounds inherit the  ending and, accordingly,
the declension of the head-word (at the same time, left-headed compounds with pus- as
their first element have the same ending as the dependent). However, forming certain

142
types of compounds, namely, compounds based on instrumental or prepositional
phrases, as well as verb-headed compounds (based on modern Latvian word order),
involves adding the ending -is (M) or -e (F). For compounds having the same ending
as the  head-word of the  source structure (incl. genitive-only nouns) the  ending is
not listed under Word-formation means; in all other cases, endings are included as
means of word formation. The head-word of the source structure in each example, if
identifiable, is highlighted in bold.

Source
Word-
structure – Derivational
formation Examples
derivative word meaning
means
class
N + N – N persons and other telp-as aug-s ‘house plant’ –
living beings, telp-aug-s ‘houseplant’
1) Ngen + N – things, abstract up-es mal-a ‘bank of a river’ –
up-mal-a ‘riverbank’
–N concepts, places,
nam-a māt-e ‘mistress of the house’ – nam-(a)-
etc. māt-e ‘mistress of the house’
vid-us laik-i ‘middle ages’ –
vid-(us)-laik-i ‘Middle Ages’
places, spatial priekš-as kāj-a ‘front leg’ –
oppositions priekš-kāj-a ‘foreleg’
pakaļ-as kāj-a ‘back leg’ –
pakaļ-kāj-a ‘hind leg’
augš-as stilb-s ‘upper shank’ –
augš-stilb-s ‘thigh’
apakš-as stilb-s ‘lower shank’ –
apakš-stilb-s ‘shank, shin’
iekš-as pus-e ‘inner side’ –
iekš-pus-e ‘inside’
ār-a pus-e ‘outer side’ – ār-pus-e ‘outside’
virs-as daļ-a ‘top part’ –
virs-daļ-a ‘top, surface’
the head-word pus-e gad-a ‘one half of a year’ –
2) N + Ngen – N is the word puse pus-gad-s ‘half-year’
‘half’; compounds pus-e nakt-s ‘middle of the night’ –
pus-nakt-s ‘midnight’
express parts of
pus-e viln-as ‘half wool’ –
a whole, middle pus-viln-a ‘wool blend’
points of time
periods, partial
similarity, etc.
3) Ngen + Ngen – the head-word is pakava veida ‘in the shape of a horseshoe’ –
the  GEN word pakav-veid-a ‘horseshoe (as modifier),
– NGEN
veida U-shaped’
sird-s veida ‘in the shape of the heart’ –
‘-like, -shaped’;
sird-(s)-veid-a ‘heart-shaped’
compounds express ol-as veid-a ‘in the shape of an egg’ –
similarity to ol-veid-a ‘egg-shaped’
something else in gāz-es veid-a ‘in the form of a gas’ –
form or substance gāz-veid-a ‘gaseous, gasiform’
as a feature

143
 Source
Word-
structure – Derivational
formation Examples
derivative word meaning
means
class
N + VINF – N nomina actionis; grib-a ēs-t ‘wanting to eat’ – ēst-grib-a
the head-word is ‘appetite’
usually a deverbal prasm-e dej-o-t ‘skills for dancing’ –
dejot-prasm-e ‘dancing skills’
noun
spēj-a cel-t ‘capacity for lifting’ – celt-spēj-a
‘lifting capacity’
N + ADV – N direction ceļ-š mājup ‘way home’ –
mājup-ceļš ‘homeward journey’
ceļ-š turp ‘way there’ – turp-ceļ-š ‘outbound
journey’
gait-a atpakaļ ‘backward movement’ –
atpakaļ-gait-a ‘reverse (gear)’
vēj-š cauri ‘wind (blowing) through’ – caur-
vēj-š ‘draft’
ADJ + N – N kinship terms, vec-ā māt-e ‘old mother’ –
concrete and vec-(ā)-māt-e ‘grandmother’
1) ADJNOM + abstract things maz-s dēl-s ‘little son’ – maz-dēl-s ‘grandson’
liel-s ceļ-š ‘large way’ – liel-ceļ-š ‘motorway’
+ NNOM – N or concepts, food
sīk-a datn-e ‘small file’ – sīk-datn-e ‘cookie’
products, etc. biez-s pien-s ‘thick milk’ – biez-pien-s ‘curds’
balt-a maiz-e ‘white bread’ –
balt-maiz-e ‘white bread’
2) ADJGEN + features gar-a kāt-a ‘having a long handle’ –
+ NGEN – gar-kāt-a ‘long-handled’
– NGEN ātr-as gait-as ‘of high speed’ –
ātr-gait-as ‘high-speed’
vec-u laik-u ‘of old times’ – vec-laik-u
‘old-time’
sīku lap-u ‘having small leaves’– sīk-lap-u
‘small-leaved’
3) ADJins + -is (M), nouns describing, sirmu galvu ‘with white hair’ – sirm-galv-is, -e
+ Nins – N -e (F) characterizing ‘a white-haired (elderly) person’
persons and other gaišiem matiem ‘with fair hair’ – gaiš-mat-is, -e
‘a fair-haired person’
living beings, also
brūn-ām ac-īm ‘with brown eyes’ –
plants brūn-ac-is, -e ‘a brown-eyed person’
PRONGEN + features mūs-u dien-u ‘of our days’ –
+ NGEN – NGEN mūs-dien-u ‘contemporary’
cit-u taut-u ‘of other nations’ – cit-taut-u
‘foreign’
paš-u māj-u ‘(produced etc.) at home’ –
paš-māj-u ‘domestic’
ADV + NGEN – the head-word is daudz dien-u ‘many days’ –
– NGEN the adverb daudz daudz-dien-u ‘lasting many days, multi-day’
‘much’; compounds daudz krās-u ‘many colors’ –
daudz-krās-u ‘multicolored’
express features
daudz bērn-u ‘many children’ –
daudz-bērn-u ‘having many children’

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 Source
Word-
structure – Derivational
formation Examples
derivative word meaning
means
class
NUM + N – N ordinal numerals as trešā daļa ‘the third part’ – treš-daļ-a ‘one-third’
1) NUMNOM + the first element – desmit-ā daļ-a ‘the tenth part’ –
+ NNOM – NNOM fractions, days of desmit-daļ-a ‘one-tenth’
pirm-ā diena ‘the first day’ – pirm-dien-a ‘Monday’
the week; with otrā dien-a ‘the second day’ –
the ordinal numeral otr-dien-a ‘Tuesday’
pirmais ‘first’, also piekt-ā dien-a ‘the fifth day’ –
first-time events, piekt-dien-a ‘Friday’
something initial, pirm-ais izdevum-s ‘the first edition’ – pirm-
etc. izdevum-s ‘first edition’
pirm-ā dzimten-e ‘the  first native country’  –
pirm-dzimten-e ‘country of origin’

2) NUMGEN + features vien-as istab-as ‘of one room’ –

vien-istab-as ‘one-room’
+ Ngen – Ngen
div-u māj-u ‘of two homes’ – div-māj-u ‘dioecious’
trīs krās-u ‘of three colors’ – trīs-krās-u ‘three-
color’
tūkstoš gad-u ‘of a thousand years’ – tūkstoš-
gad-u ‘thousand-year, millennial’
3) NUMins + -is (M) things, names of vien-u rag-u ‘with one horn’ – vien-radz-is
+ Nins – N animals ‘unicorn’
div-iem riteņ-iem ‘with two wheels’ –
div-riten-is ‘bicycle’
trij-u stūr-u ‘with three angles’ – trij-stūr-u
‘triangular’
simt kāj-ām ‘with one hundred legs’ –
simt-kāj-is ‘centipede’
V + N – N with PRS gan-ām-s pulks ‘herd to be pastured’ – ganām-
PASS PTCP as pulk-s ‘herd, flock’
1) V i.e., a dependent, las-ām-a grāmata ‘book for reading’ – lasām-
these compounds grāmat-a ‘reader (type of book)’
PTCP + ad-ām-a adata ‘needle for knitting’ – adām-
+ N – N express objective,
adat-a ‘knitting needle’
instrumental, or
ēd-am-ais gald-s ‘table for eating’ –
locative meanings
ēdam-gald-s ‘dinner table’
guļ-am-ā istab-a ‘room for sleeping’ – guļam-
istab-a ‘bedroom’
objective, pļauj-mašīn-a ‘mower’
instrumental, or kuļ-mašīn-a ‘thresher’
locative meanings; lid-mašīn-a ‘airplane’
the first element pild-spalv-a ‘pen’
is the root (or, raid-lug-a ‘radio play’
sēd-viet-a ‘seat, place’
for conjugation
1 verbs,
the present-tense
stem) of a verb;
these compounds
do not translate
into corresponding
phrases with PRS
PASS PTCP as
a dependent

145
 Source
Word-
structure – Derivational
formation Examples
derivative word meaning
means
class
2) V + -is (M), nomina agentis – kalt zelt-u ‘to smith gold’ –
+ NOMacc – -e (F) jobs, professions, zelt-kalis, -e ‘goldsmith’
–N other ways of kopt lopus ‘to breed livestock’ –
lop-kopis, -e ‘livestock breeder’
referring to
darīt al-u ‘to brew beer’ –
persons, also names al-daris, -e ‘(beer) brewer’
of animals nest ziņu ‘to carry a message’ –
ziņ-nes-is, -e ‘messenger’
vest baru ‘to lead a crowd’ –
bar-ved-is, -e ‘leader, central figure of a group
of people’
grauz-t miz-u ‘to eat bark’ –
miz-grauz-is ‘bark beetle’
-is (M) nomina actionis – rādī-t cen-u ‘to show a price’ –
things, tools, cen-rād-is ‘pricelist’
devices griez-t skrūv-i ‘to turn a screw’ –
skrūv-griez-is ‘screwdriver’
mes-t starus ‘to throw beams’ –
star-met-is ‘searchlight, spotlight’
V + ADJacc – N -is (M), nomina agentis – darīt labu ‘to do good’ –
-e (F) persons possessing labdaris, -e ‘benefactor’
certain qualities vēlēt labu ‘to wish well’ –
lab-vēl-is, -e ‘well-wisher’
ēst lieku ‘to eat for no purpose’ –
liek-ēd-is, -e ‘parasite, idler’
V + ADV – N -is (M), nomina actionis – run-ā-t skaļi ‘to speak loudly’ –
-e (F) things, devices, skaļ-run-is ‘loudspeaker’
processes, etc. run-ā-t tālu ‘to speak remotely’ – tāl-run-is
‘telephone’
spies-t augstu ‘to press that which is raised’ –
augst-spied-e ‘relief printing’
nes-t pāri ‘to carry over’ – pār-nes-e ‘transfer’
PREP + N – N -e (F), places, time, things, aiz mugur-as ‘behind one’s back’ –
1) PREP + -is (M) clothes aiz-mugur-e ‘rear, back, backing’
+ Ngen – N no mal-as ‘from (the) outside’ – no-mal-e
‘outskirts’
no stūr-a ‘from/of a corner’ – no-stūr-is
‘corner, remote, secluded place’
pie kāj-as ‘by one’s foot’ – pie-kāj-e ‘foot (of
a mountain, etc.)’
pie vakar-a ‘close to the evening’ –
pie-vakar-e ‘late afternoon’
uz gal-a ‘at the tip’ – uz-gal-is ‘tip, attachment’
uz rok-as ‘on one’s arm’ – uz-roc-is
‘oversleeve’
virs svārk-a ‘over a jacket’ –
virs-svārc-is ‘overalls’

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 Source
Word-
structure – Derivational
formation Examples
derivative word meaning
means
class
2) PREP + types, kinds, places, bez svar-a ‘without weight’ – bez-svar-a ‘zero-
+ Ngen  – Ngen time gravity (premodifier)’
pēc kara ‘after a war’ – pēc-kar-a ‘post-war
(premodifier)’
pie māj-as ‘by a house’ – pie-māj-as ‘adjoining
(garden, plot, etc.)’
pirms krīzes ‘before a crisis’ –
pirms-krīz-es ‘pre-crisis’
priekš vēlēšan-u ‘before an election’ – priekš-
vēlēšan-u ‘pre-election’
starp valst-u ‘between countries,
governments’ – starp-valst-u
‘intergovernmental, international’
virs zem-es ‘above the ground’ –
virs-zem-es ‘above-ground, surface
(premodifier)’
zem grīdas ‘under the floor’ –
zem-grīd-as ‘underfloor’
3) PREP + -e, -a places, things pa kāj-ai ‘at the foot’ – pa-kāj-e ‘bottom, foot
+ Nacc – N (F), (of a mountain, etc.)’
-is (M) pa krast-am ‘at the coast’ –
pa-krast-e ‘nearshore area under water, also
coastal slope’
pa galvai ‘at the head’ – pa-galv-is ‘headrest’
pa sakn-ei ‘at the root’ – pa-sakn-is
‘counterfoil’
places, also persons ap kakl-u ‘around one’s neck’ – ap-kakl-e
‘collar’
ap mal-u ‘around the edge’ – ap-mal-e ‘edging,
border’
pār Daugav-u ‘across the Daugava’ –
Pār-daugav-a ‘the part of Rīga on the left bank
of the Daugava’
pār Gauj-u ‘across the Gauja’ –
Pār-gauj-a ‘area on the other side of the Gauja’
pār galv-u ‘over one’s head’ –
pār-galv-is, -e ‘reckless person’
4) PREP + types, kinds pret rūs-u ‘against rust, corrosion’ – pret-rūs-as
+ Nacc – Ngen ‘anti-corrosive’
pret gais-u ‘against the air’ –
pret-gais-a ‘anti-aircraft (defence)’
pret alerģij-u ‘against an allergy’ –
pret-alerģij-as ‘non-allergenic, anti-allergenic’
N, N – N time periods, dien-a ‘day’, nakt-s ‘night’ –
abstract concepts, dien-nakt-s ‘twenty-four-hour period’
etc. sāl-s, maiz-e ‘salt, bread’ –
sāl-(s)-maiz-e ‘bread and salt’
gaism-ēn-a ‘light and shade’

Table 2.9 Main compound noun formation types in Latvian

147
2.2 ADJECTIVES
2.2.0 Introductory remarks
Adjectives form a  class in Latvian comprised of words describing the  properties
of objects and are marked for gender, number, case, degree of comparison, and
definiteness (Skujiņa 2007: 165). Adjectival gender, number, and case are contextual
in the sense that adjectives agree in gender, number, and case with the noun to which
they are syntactically linked:
(2.2.1) a. Abi sēņotāji
both.nom.pl.m mushroom_picker.nom.pl.m
apmaldījās biezajā mežā.
get_lost.pst.3 dense.loc.m.def forest.loc.m
‘Both mushroom picker got lost in the dense forest.’ (www.delfi.lv)
b. Dzelteno rožu saulainā krāsa
yellow.gen.pl.f.def rose.gen.pl.f sunny.nom.f.def color.nom.f
rada laimes sajūtu.
create.prs.3 happiness.gen.f feeling.acc.f
‘The sunny color of yellow roses creates a feeling of happiness.’
(www.draugiem.lv)
The majority of adjectives in Latvian can have three main syntactic functions; they
can be attributive (2.2.2), nominal predicative (2.2.3), or used as secondary predicates
expressing a resultative meaning (2.2.4):
(2.2.2) a. Šodien spīd spoža saule.
today shine.prs.3 bright.nom.f.indf sun.nom.f
‘A bright sun shines today.’
b. Viņam negaršo zaļā tēja.
he.dat not_find_tasty.prs.3 green.nom.f.def tea.nom.f
‘He dislikes green tea.’
(2.2.3) a. Rīts ir vēss.
morning.nom.m be.cop.prs.3 chilly.nom.m.indf
‘The morning is chilly.’
b. Pusdienas ir garšīgas.
dinner.nom.pl.f be.cop.prs.3 tasty.nom.pl.f.indf
‘The dinner is tasty.’
(2.2.4) a. Ezera virsma jau krāsojās
lake.gen.m surface.nom.f already take_on_color.pst.3
sārta.
pink.nom.f.indf
‘The surface of the lake had already started turning pink.’ (C)

148
 b. Jaunlopa karbonāde ātri izcepas mīksta.
young_veal.gen.m cutlet.nom.f quickly fry.prs.3 soft.nom.f.indf
‘A cutlet made from young veal only needs a bit of frying to get soft.’
(www.draugiem.lv)

2.2.1 Declension
Indefinite and definite endings form the  two major adjectival declension types in
Latvian:
1) The indefinite type mirrors the inflectional endings of declension 1 nouns in
masculine forms (mazs ‘small’ (M), skaļš ‘loud’ (M)) and declension 4 nouns
in feminine forms (maza (F), skaļa (F)) (see Table 2.10).

SG PL
Case
M F M F
NOM maz-s, skaļ-š maz-a, skaļ-a maz-i, skaļ-i maz-as, skaļ-as
GEN maz-a, skaļ-a maz-as, skaļ-as maz-u, skaļ-u maz-u, skaļ-u
DAT maz-am, skaļ-am maz-ai, skaļ-ai maz-iem, skaļ-iem maz-ām, skaļ-ām
ACC maz-u, skaļ-u maz-u, skaļ-u maz-us, skaļ-us maz-as, skaļ-as
INS (ar) maz-u, skaļ-u (ar) maz-u, skaļ-u (ar) maz-iem, (ar) maz-ām,
skaļ-iem skaļ-ām
LOC maz-ā, skaļ-ā maz-ā, skaļ-ā maz-os, skaļ-os maz-ās, skaļ-ās
VOC maz-s!, skaļ-š! maz-a!, skaļ-a! maz-i!, skaļ-i! maz-as!, skaļ-as!
Table 2.10 Declension of indefinite adjectives in Latvian (adapted from Kalnača 2013a: 62)

3) The definite type has a  unique paradigm for each gender (mazais ‘small
(DEF)’ (M), skaļais ‘loud (DEF)’ (M); mazā (F), skaļā (F)) (see Table 2.11).

Case SG PL
M F M F
NOM maz-ais, skaļ-ais maz-ā, skaļ-ā maz-ie, skaļ-ie maz-ās, skaļ-ās
GEN maz-ā, skaļ-ā maz-ās, skaļ-ās maz-o, skaļ-o maz-o, skaļ-o
DAT maz-ajam, maz-ajai, maz-ajiem, maz-ajām,
skaļ-ajam skaļ-ajai skaļ-ajiem skaļ-ajām
ACC maz-o, skaļ-o maz-o, skaļ-o maz-os, skaļ-os maz-ās, skaļ-ās
INS (ar) maz-o, skaļ-o (ar) maz-o, (ar) maz-ajiem, (ar) maz-ajām,
skaļ-o skaļ-ajiem skaļ-ajām
LOC maz-ajā, skaļ-ajā maz-ajā, skaļ-ajā maz-ajos, skaļ-ajos maz-ajās, skaļ-ajās
VOC maz-ais!, skaļ-ais!/ maz-ā!, skaļ-ā!/ maz-ie!, skaļ-ie! maz-ās!, skaļ-ās!
maz-o!, skaļ-o! maz-o!, skaļ-o!
Table 2.11 Declension of definite adjectives in Latvian (adapted from Kalnača 2013a: 62)

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Adjectives do not have specific forms for the vocative case in Latvian. Corresponding
nominative and, in the  definite singular, also accusative forms are used with
a  vocative meaning. While definite adjectives are more common in the  vocative
function (whenever a person or a personified object is addressed he or she is thereby
also specified) indefinite adjectives also do occur occasionally as vocatives, for
example, in folklore texts:
(2.2.5) a. Mana mīļa māmuliņa,
my.nom.f dear.nom.f.indf mum.dim.nom.f
Kā tu zini, tā tu dari!
how you.nom.sg know.prs.2sg so you.nom.sg do.imp.2sg
‘My dear mummy,
Do as you see fit!’ (http://latviandainas.lib.virginia.edu)
b. Māci, māci, sveša māte,
teach.imp.2sg teach.imp.2sg foreign.nom.f.indf mother.nom.f
Vai mācīt nedrīkstēji?
q teach.inf not_allow.pst.2sg
‘Teach me, teach me, another’s mother,’
Or were you not allowed to teach?’ (http://latviandainas.lib.virginia.edu)
A peculiar kind of adjective-noun agreement is found in expressions of direct address
containing definite adjectives (see also Holvoet 2012; Nītiņa 2013a: 391–392; Kalnača
2017a). A noun in the vocative proper permits both nominative (2.2.6) and accusative
(2.2.7) adjectives:
(2.2.6) ADJNOM + NVOC
a. Atvaino, jaunais cilvēk!
forgive.imp.2sg young.nom.m.def person.voc.m
‘Excuse me, young man!’ (C)
b. Mīļais tēti, tu paliec
dear.nom.m.def dad.voc.m you.nom.sg stay.imp.2sg
mājās, mēs ar mammu iesim uz
home.loc.pl.f we.nom with mum.ins.f go.fut.1pl to
koncertu.
concert.loc.m
‘Dear daddy, stay at home, mummy and I are going to the concert.’
(www.draugiem.lv)
c. Ak, māt, mīļā māt!
oh mother.voc.f dear.nom.f.def mother.voc.f
‘Oh, mother, dear mother!’ (C)
(2.2.7) ADJACC + NVOC
a. Manu mazo bērniņ, viss
my.acc.m little.acc.m.def child.dim.voc.m everything.nom.m
ir kārtībā!
be.cop.prs.3 order.loc.f
‘My little child, everything is all right!’ (C)

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 b. Manu mīļo eņģelīti, tu man
my.acc.m dear.acc.m.def angel.dim.voc.m you.nom.sg I.dat
iemācīji priecāties!
teach.pst.2sg rejoice.inf
‘My dear angel, you taught me to feel joy!’ (www.maminuklubs.lv)
c. Tik par tevi ir šis stāsts,
only about you.acc.sg be.prs.3 this.nom.m story.nom.m
manu mīļo māt.
my.acc.f dear.acc.f.def mother.voc.f
‘This story is only about you, my dear mother.’ (www.tvnet.lv)
By contrast, a nominative noun used with a vocative function (declensions 1, 4, 5) only
permits a nominative adjective within the same expression used for direct address,
i.e., there is morphological adjective-noun agreement (2.2.8). This same type of
morphological agreement occurs when a noun is in the accusative (declensions 1, 4)
(2.2.9).
(2.2.8) ADJNOM + NNOM
a. Stāvi, slinkais zirgs!
stop.imp.2sg lazy.nom.m.def horse.nom.m
‘Stop, you lazy horse!’ (CW)
b. Mīļā māte daba, vienreiz
dear.nom.f.def mother.nom.f nature.nom.f once
izlem – sniegs vai lietus!
decide.imp.2sg snow.nom.m or rain.nom.m
‘Dear mother nature, decide for once – snow or rain!’ (www.twitter.com)
(2.2.9) ADJACC + NACC
Mīļo mammu, es, tavs dēls,
dear.acc.f.def mum.acc.f I.nom your.nom.sg.m son.nom.m
vairs nedzīvošu te.
anymore not_live.fut.1sg here
‘Dear mummy, I, your son, will not live here any longer.’ (CW)
Adjectives derived by means of the  suffix -ēj- (pēdējais-ā ‘last (DEF)’ (M, F),
priekšējais-ā ‘front (DEF)’ (M, F), malējais-ā ‘side (DEF)’ (M, F), labējais-ā ‘right,
right-wing (DEF)’ (M, F), vakarējais-ā ‘yesterday’s (DEF)’ (M, F), virsējais-ā ‘upper
(DEF)’ (M, F), etc.) have a mixed paradigm of definite endings in Standard Latvian:
definite dative and locative endings for both numbers and definite instrumental
plural endings are substituted with corresponding indefinite endings to prevent
consecutive similar sound clusters from occurring (haplology) (see also Paegle 2003:
57–58; Nītiņa 2013a: 392–393; Kalnača 2014: 2–3):

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Case SG PL
M F M F
NOM malēj-ais malēj-ā malēj-ie malēj-ās
GEN malēj-ā malēj-ās malēj-o malēj-o
DAT malēj-am malēj-ai malēj-iem malēj-ām
ACC malēj-o malēj-o malēj-os malēj-ās
INS (ar) malēj-o (ar) malēj-o (ar) malēj-iem (ar) malēj-ām
LOC malēj-ā malēj-ā malēj-os malēj-ās
VOC malēj-ais!/malēj-o! malēj-ā!/malēj-o! malēj-ie! malēj-ās!
Table 2.12 Declension of adjectives containing the  suffix -ēj- (adapted from Kalnača
2013a: 63)

As was noted in the  introductory remarks on word classes (Section 2.0.4), there
exists a  small group of indeclinable adjectives in Latvian. This group consists of
borrowed color words: rozā ‘pink’, lillā ‘lilac’, haki ‘khaki’, bordo ‘bordeaux (color)’,
indigo ‘indigo’:
(2.2.10) a. Salasījos žurnālus un man ievajadzējās
read.pst.1sg magazine.acc.pl.m and I.dat need.pst.3
rozā kvarcu.
pink quartz.acc.m
‘Having read through the magazines I now need a pink quartz.’
(www.delfi.lv)
b. Šoruden man noderētu soma haki vai
this_autumn I.dat be_useful.cond bag.nom.m khaki or
lillā krāsā.
lilac color.loc.f
‘A khaki or lilac handbag would come in useful this autumn.’ (Diena)
There are also several adjectives that have lost their full case paradigms and nowadays
only seem to appear in set expressions in just one case form, for example:
(2.2.11) INS SG, PL augu gadu ‘all year long’, augu nakti ‘all night long’, augām dienām
‘for days on end’, used to refer to prolonged periods of time:
a. Puravs augu gadu saglabā kuplu
leek.nom.m all.ins.m year.ins.m retain.prs.3 rich.acc.f
vitamīnu buķeti.
vitamin.gen.pl.m bouquet.acc.f
‘Leek retains its rich vitamin bouquet throughout the year.’ (Latvijas Avīze)
b. Pilsētā augām dienām uzņem
city.loc.f all.ins.pl.f day.ins.pl.f receive.prs.3
augstus viesus.
high.acc.pl.m guest.acc.pl.m
‘Distinguished guests arrive in the city for days on end.’ (www.lsm.lv)

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From the point of view of semantics two broad groups of adjectives are distinguished:
1) Qualitative adjectives, which describe the qualities that an object may possess
to a  greater or lesser degree (2.2.12) (Skujiņa 2007: 177). Consequently,
qualitative adjectives are, in general, gradable and can form degrees of
comparison (2.2.13)–( 2.2.15).
(2.2.12) a. skaista diena
beautiful.nom.f.indf day.nom.f
‘a beautiful day’
b. skaļa balss
loud.nom.f.indf voice.nom.f
‘a loud voice’
c. vecs nams
old.nom.m.indf house.nom.m
‘an old house’
(2.2.13) a. skaist-āk-a diena
beautiful-cmp-nom.f.indf day.nom.f
‘a more beautiful day’
b. vis-skaist-āk-ā diena
spl-beautiful-cmp-nom.f.def day.nom.f
‘the most beautiful day’
(2.2.14) a. skaļ-āk-a balss
loud-cmp-nom.f.indf voice.nom.f
‘a louder voice’
b. vis-skaļ-āk-ā balss
spl-loud-cmp-nom.f.def voice.nom.f
‘the loudest voice’
(2.2.15) a. vec-āk-s nams
old-cmp-nom.m.indf house.nom.m
‘an older house’
b. vis-vec-āk-ais nams
spl-old-cmp-nom.m.def house.nom.m
‘the oldest house’
2) Relational adjectives, which describe the  fixed, unvarying properties of
an object. The lexical meaning of relational adjectives, as a rule, does not
naturally lend itself to gradation, therefore, the majority of such adjectives
lack degrees of comparison (Skujiņa 2007: 56).
(2.2.16) a. vispārēja atzinība
universal.nom.f.indf recognition.nom.f
‘universal recognition’
b. pērnais rudens
last_year.nom.m.def autumn.nom.m
‘last year’s autumn’

153
 c. malējais krēsls
outermost.nom.m.def chair.nom.m
‘the outermost chair’
d. galvenais notikums
main.nom.n.def event.nom.m
‘the main event’
e. piecgadīgs bērns
five_years_old.nom.m.indf child.nom.m
‘a five-year-old child’
f. baložpelēks audums
dove_grey.nom.m.indf fabric.nom.m
‘dove grey fabric’
This distinction, however, is not clear-cut and degrees of comparison for relational
adjectives are formed quite often in actual language use (Paegle 2003: 55-56; Nītiņa
2013a: 373). Admittedly, it is impossible to propose a  precise set of criteria for
differentiating between qualitative and relational adjectives in Latvian, although
certain clues can be gleaned from derivational morphology. Patterns of adjectival
derivation show that derived adjectives tend to denote very concrete, non-variable
properties (see Nītiņa 2013a: 373). Relational adjectives are, for the  most part,
complex words (2.2.17a), while qualitative adjectives are (at least synchronically)
simplex (2.2.17b).
(2.2.17) a. stiklains ‘glassy’, malējais ‘outermost’, iebrūns ‘brownish’, iezilgans ‘blueish’,
vīnsarkans ‘wine red’, divzilbīgs ‘disyllabic’, brūnacains ‘brown-eyed’
b. jauns ‘new, young’, vecs ‘old’, slinks ‘lazy’, tievs ‘thin’, balts ‘white’,
zils ‘blue’, liels ‘large’, labs ‘good’
Whereas gradable compound adjectives are extremely rare, derived adjectives, even
though their lexical meaning is usually very concrete, are much more readily used in
comparative and superlative forms, as the examples in (2.2.18) illustrate. It must be
pointed out, however, that some of these are not considered acceptable in Standard
Latvian. The adjective galvenais ‘main (DEF)’, which already has ‘the highest degree’
as part of its lexical meaning, is a case in point:
(2.2.18) a. Neviens ceļš nav
none.nom.m road.nom.m be.neg.cop.prs.3
galven-āk-s par otru.
important-cmp-nom.m.indf than another.acc.m
‘No road is more important than another.’ (www.delfi.lv)
b. Viņš ir otrs galven-āk-ais
he.nom be.cop.prs.3 second.nom.m important-cmp-nom.m.def
[basketbola] treneris Ventspilī.
[basketball] coach.nom.m Ventspils.loc.f
‘He is the second top [basketball] coach in Ventspils.’ (www.tvnet.lv)

154
 c. Sacensības faktors [baleta konkursā] ir
competition.gen.f factor.nom.m [ballet contest] be.cop.prs.3
vis-galvenākais.
spl-important.nom.m.def
‘The competition factor is the main thing [in a ballet contest].’
(www.lsm.lv)
Likewise, as denominal derivatives usually describe very concrete properties,
adjectives with the suffix -ain- should be classified as relational, for example:
(2.2.19) zarains ‘branchy’, ‘having branches’
mālains ‘clayey’, ‘containing clay or being composed of clay’
miltains ‘mealy’, ‘being in some respect like meal’
līkumains ‘curvy’, ‘having curves, bends (e.g., of a road)’
At the  same time, unlike most relational adjectives they are used quite freely in
the comparative (2.2.20), while the superlative form is, again, very rare (2.2.21):
(2.2.20) a. Jo augstāks un zarain-āk-s ir
conj high.cmp.nom.m.indf and branchy-cmp-nom.m.indf be.prs.3
koks, jo tā kopšana ir
tree.nom.m conj it.gen.m tending.nom.f be.cop.prs.3
dārgāka.
expensive.cmp.nom.f.indf
‘The taller and branchier a tree, the more expensive it is to maintain.’
(Diena)
b. Kartupeļu raža cietusi tur, kur
potato.gen.pl.m crop.nom.f suffer.ptcp.nom.f there where
mālain-āk-a augsne.
clayey-cmp-nom.f.indf soil.nom.f
‘The potato crop has suffered where the soil is more clayey.’ (www.tvnet.lv)
c. Pašu audzētā arbūza mīkstums
self.gen.pl.m grow.ptcp.gen.m watermelon.gen.m pulp.nom.m
ir miltain-āk-s, garša
be.cop.prs.3 mealy-cmp-nom.m.indf taste.nom.f
saldāka.
sweet.cmp.nom.f.indf
‘The pulp of home-grown watermelons is mealier, the taste is sweeter.’
(Diena)
(2.2.21) a. Kartupelis bija vis-miltainākais produkts,
potato.nom.m be.cop.pst.3 spl-mealy.nom.m.def product.nom.m
ko dot zīdainim.
that.acc give.inf infant.dat.m
‘Potatoes were the mealiest product to be given to the infant.’ (CW)
b. Te ir vis-līkumainākais ceļš.
here be.cop.prs.3 spl-curvy.nom.m.def road.nom.n
‘Here is the curviest road.’ (www.tvnet.lv)

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2.2.2 Comparison
Degrees of comparison are a grammatical category of qualitative adjectives which
establishes a comparison among objects according to the degree to which they possess
a particular property. Latvian has three degrees of comparison (Skujiņa 2007: 336).
1) The positive form is the basic form of the comparison system and denotes
a quality or property without qualification. The positive form is unmarked,
i.e., it is formed without the use of specialized grammatical formatives and
its meaning is expressed by the stem of the adjective, for example:
(2.2.22) maz-s ‘small’, skaist-s ‘beautiful’, raib-s ‘speckled’
a. Bija dzestra augusta nakts.
be.cop.prs.3 cool.nom.f.indf August.gen.m night.nom.f
‘It was a cool August night.’ (P. Bankovskis)
b. Viņš gleznoja brūnu krūzi.
he.nom paint.pst.3 brown.acc.f.indf mug.acc.f
‘He was painting a brown mug.’ (A. Eglītis)
The comparative is a form indicating that the degree to which an object possesses
a quality or property is greater than that expressed by the positive form. In Latvian,
the comparative is grammatically marked by means of the suffix -āk-, which attaches
to the adjectival stem of the positive form, for example:
(2.2.23) maz-āk-s ‘smaller’, skaist-āk-s ‘more beautiful’, raib-āk-s ‘more speckled’
a. Lidojumu biļetēm kļūstot arvien
flight.gen.pl.m ticket.dat.pl.f become.ptcp ever
lēt-āk-ām,
cheap-cmp-dat.pl.f.def
arī attiecības ar citiem ceļotājiem
also relationship.nom.pl.f with other.ins.pl.m traveller.ins.pl.m
ir krietni mainījušās.
be.aux.prs.3 considerably change.ptcp.nom.pl.f
‘With flight tickets becoming increasingly cheaper, relationships with
other travellers have changed considerably, too.’ (P. Bankovskis)
b. Viņš ticēja mediķiem kā augst-āk-ai
he.nom believe.pst.3 doctor.dat.pl.m as high-cmp-dat.f.indf
cilvēku sugai.
man.gen.pl.m species.dat.f
‘He believed in medical professionals as if they were a higher species of
man.’ (A. Eglītis)
The superlative is a form indicating that an object possesses a quality or property
to the highest degree. The superlative is formed by means of the prefix vis- placed
before the stem of the comparative degree, for example:
(2.2.24) vis-mazāk-ais ‘the smallest’, vis-skaistāk-ais ‘the most beautiful’, vis-raibāk-ais
‘the most speckled’

156
 a. Šādos gadījumos vis-niecīgākā
such.loc.pl.m event.loc.pl.m spl-trivial.nom.m.def
nejaušība var izrādīties liktenīga.
happenstance.nom.f be_able.prs.3 prove.inf fatal.nom.f.indf
‘In cases like this even the slightest happenstance may turn out to be
fatal.’ (P. Bankovskis)
b. Viņa aizbrauc [no pilsētas] vis-tuvākajā
she.nom leave.prs.3 [from city] spl-close.loc.f.def
nākotnē.
future.loc.f
‘She is leaving [the city] in the near future.’ (A. Eglītis)
Although in modern Latvian the superlative form is normally used with the definite
ending (2.2.25), indefinite superlatives do occur from time to time in colloquial
speech, mass media, and even contemporary literary prose (2.2.26)–(2.2.27) (see
also Nītiņa 2013a: 410):
(2.2.25) a. vis-mazāk-ais, vis-mazāk-ā
spl-small-nom.m.def spl-small-nom.f.def
‘the smallest’
b. vis-mazāk-ie, vis-mazāk-ās
spl-small-nom.pl.m.def spl-small-nom.pl.f.def
‘the smallest’
(2.2.26) a. vis-labāk-s
spl-good-nom.m.indf
‘best’
b. vis-gudrāk-s
spl-smart-nom.m.indf
‘smartest’
c. vis-skaistāk-s
spl-beautiful-nom.m.indf
‘most beautiful’
(2.2.27) a. Kāpēc tieši ASV [izglītības
why exactly USA [education
modelis] vis-labāk-s?
model] spl-good-nom.m.indf
‘Why exactly is the USA’s [model of education] the best?’ (www.tvnet.lv)
b. Cilvēks vis-gudrāk-s jūtas klusējot.
person.nom.m spl-smart-nom.m.indf feel.prs.3 be_quiet.ptcp
‘One feels the smartest when one is silent.’ (www.pietiek.com)

157
 c. Uz atvadām tēvs manā
on parting.dat.pl.f father.nom.m my.loc.m
mantu maišelī sabēra visādus
belonging.gen.pl.m bag.dim.loc.m pour_in.pst.3 various.nom.pl.m
ābolus – arī tos tumši sarkanos
apple.nom.pl.m also that.acc.pl.m dark red.acc.pl.m
ar baltu mīkstumu, kas man
with white.ins.m.indf flesh.ins.m.indf that I.dat
vis-mīļāk-i kopš bērnības.
spf-favorite-nom.pl.m.indf since childhood.gen.f
‘Upon parting, father put all sorts of apples into the bag containing my
things – including the dark red ones with white flesh that had been my
favorite since childhood.’ (P. Bankovskis)
d. Dievs pasarg, ja viņa
God.nom.m protect.imp.2sg if she.nom
pati iedrošinātos nopirkt mēteli!
self.nom.f dare.cond buy.inf coat.acc.m
Tas būtu vis-aplamāk-ā
it.nom.m be.cond spl-inappropriate-loc.f.indf
krāsā
color.loc.f
‘God forbid that she should dare buy a coat on her own! It would be in
a most inappropriate color.’ (A. Eglītis)
In certain varieties of Latvian, superlatives are also formed by placing the  prefix
vis- before the  stem of the  positive form. Such superlatives are used with either
an indefinite (2.2.28) or definite (2.2.29) ending:
(2.2.28) a. Starp citu, kāpēc jūs tāds
between other.acc.m why you.nom.pl such.nom.m
vis-gudr-s neejat politikā?
spl-wise-nom.m.indf not_go.prs.2pl politics.loc.f
‘By the way, why, as all-knowing as you are, do you not go into politics?’
(Diena)
b. Citi tic, ka pasauli
other.nom.pl.m believe.prs.3 that world.acc.f
ir radījusi vis-varen-a
be.aux.pst.3 create.ptcp.nom.f spl-mighty-nom.f.indf
būtne.
being.nom.f
‘Others believe that the world was created by an almighty being.’
(www.tvnet.lv)
c. Mīlestība ir vis-spēcīg-a.
love.nom.f be.cop.prs.3 spl-powerful-nom.f.indf
‘Love is all-powerful.’ (www.draugiem.lv)

158
(2.2.29) a. Man Laimiņa taupījusi
I.dat. Laima.dim.nom.f save.ptcp.nom.f
vis-daiļ-o tēva dēlu.
spl-handsome-acc.m.def father.gen.m son.acc.m
‘Laimiņa [the ancient Latvian goddess of fate] has saved for me
a father’s handsomest son.’ (www.latviandainas.lib.virginia.edu)
b. Uz bērēm bija ieradušies
to funeral.dat.pl.m be.aux.pst.3 arrive.ptcp.nom.pl.m
savulaik vis-spēcīg-ā [kriminālā]
once spl-powerful-gen.m.def [criminal]
grupējuma pārstāvji.
organization.gen.m member.nom.pl.m
‘The funeral was attended by members of what was once the most
powerful [criminal] organization.’ (www.pietiek.com)
c. Viņi paļaujas uz Vis-augst-o [Dievu].
they.nom.m rely.prs.3 on spl-high-acc.m.def [God]
‘They rely on the Most High [God].’ (www.delfi.lv)
In addition to the method discussed above, there are also other means for expressing
the superlative degree in Standard Latvian:
1) The construction the  definite pronoun pats, pati ‘self’ + the  definite
comparative form is a grammatical variant of the superlative degree.
(2.2.30) a. pat-s labāk-ais
self-nom.m good-nom.m.def
b. pat-i labāk-ā
self-nom.f good-nom.f.def
‘the best’
(2.2.31) a. Tas ir pat-s labāk-ais,
it.nom.m be.cop.prs.3 self-nom.m good-nom.m.def
kas ar mani noticis.
that.nom with I.ins happen.ptcp.nom.m
‘It’s the best thing that has ever happened to me.’ (Kas Jauns)
b. Sveiciens paš-ai gudrāk-ajai meitenei
greeting.nom.m self-dat.f smart-dat.f.def girl.dat.f
‘Greetings to the smartest girl!’ (www.draugiem.lv)
c. Paš-us vecāk-os [Rīgas] pils
self-acc.pl.m old-acc.pl.m.def [Rīga] castle.gen.f
mūrus apdzīvo trīs muzeji
wall.acc.pl.m inhabit.prs.3 three museum.nom.pl.m
‘The oldest walls of the [Rīga] castle house three museums.’ (Diena)
2) The definite comparative form functioning as the superlative is a grammatical
synonym of the latter.

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(2.2.32) a. Šīs bija lepn-āk-ās
this.nom.pl.f be.cop.pst.3 lavish-comp-nom.pl.f.def
vakariņas, kādas biju
dinner.nom.pl.f what.nom.pl.f be.aux.pst.1
baudījis
enjoy.ptcp.nom.m
pēdējo mēnešu laikā.
last.gen.pl.m.def month.gen.pl.m time.loc.m
‘This was the most lavish dinner I had eaten for months.’ (P. Bankovskis)
b. Kāds ir jūsu
what.nom.m be.cop.prs.3 your.acc.pl
mīļ-āk-ais ēdiens?
favorite-comp-nom.m.def food.nom.m
‘What is your favorite food?’ (www.delfi.lv)
c. Līdz šim par vec-āk-o Latvijas
until this.dat.m as old-comp-acc.m.def Latvia.gen.f
pilsētu ir uzskatīta Ludza
town.acc.f be.aux.prs.3 consider.ptcp.nom.f Ludza.nom.f
‘Ludza has hitherto been considered the oldest town in Latvia.’. (Diena)
On balance, adjectival degrees of comparison form a grammatical category primarily
characteristic of qualitative adjectives.

2.2.3 Definiteness
Definiteness is a grammatical category marked for adjectives. It indicates whether
an  object is identifiable and also expresses the  speaker’s evaluation as to whether
a noun is unfamiliar – familiar or mentioned in the text for the first time – previously
mentioned.
In Latvian, definiteness is marked inflectionally by means of adjectival
endings, which can be either indefinite or definite (due to their attributive function,
definiteness is also marked for ordinal numerals and declinable participles):
1) The indefinite ending indicates that an object is unfamiliar or has not yet
been mentioned in the text, for example:
(2.2.34) Vienā [mēteļa] kabatā bija
one.loc.f [coat] pocket.loc.f be.pst.3
kaut kas stūrains un ciets.
something.nom angular.nom.m.indf and firm.nom.m.indf
Tas bija grumbuļain-s ādas
it.nom.m be.cop.pst.3 uneven-nom.m.indf leather.gen.f
maks. Bet tajā – meln-s fotoaparāts.
purse.nom.m but it.loc.m black-nom.m.indf camera.nom.m
‘There was something angular and firm in one pocket [of the coat]. It was
a pebbled-leather purse with a black camera inside of it.’ (P. Bankovskis)

160
 2) The definite ending indicates that the object to which the adjective refers is
known to the speaker or has already been mentioned in the text, for example:
(2.2.35) Vēl viena it kā pazīstama vieta.
more one.nom.f as_if familiar.nom.f.indf place.nom.f
Tam vajadzētu būt liel-ajam ozolam
it.dat.m need.cond.prs be.inf big-dat.m.def oak.dat.m
pagalmā. Taču [tam] cieši klāt uzbūvēta
yard.loc.m but [it] tightly beside built.ptcp.nom.f
tāda kā mājiņa. uz četriem pāļiem.
such.nom.f as house.dim.nom.f on four.dat.pl.m pile.dat.pl.m
‘Another seemingly familiar place. That should be the big oak tree in
the yard, but something like a little house on four piles has been built right
beside [it].’ (P. Bankovskis)
In addition to the  uses shown above, certain general semantic and grammatical
principles governing the use of indefinite and definite endings can be identified in
Latvian (Paegle 2003: 58–59).
1) The indefinite ending is typically used for stating facts:
a) in nominal adjective predicates (2.2.36a) and nominal noun predicates
where the noun is modified by an adjective (2.2.36b):
(2.2.36) a. Attēls ir gandrīz melnbalt-s.
image.nom.m be.cop.prs.3 almost monochrome-nom.m.indf
‘The image is almost black and white.’ (P. Bankovskis)
b. Viņai bija pievilcīg-a seja.
she.dat be.cop.pst.3 attractive-nom.f.indf face.nom.f
‘She had an attractive face.’ (A. Eglītis)
b) in adjectival secondary predicates:
(2.2.37) a. Stacijas laukums pletās pilnīgi
station.gen.f square.nom.m stretch.pst.3 completely
tukš-s.
empty-nom.m.indf
‘The station square stretched ahead completely empty.’ (A. Eglītis)
b. Parkets spīdēja tik zeltain-s.
parquet.nom.m shine.pst.3 so golden-nom.m.indf
‘The parquet [flooring] shone so golden.’ (A. Eglītis)
c) in adjectival detached attributes:
(2.2.38) a. Jāņu diena, silt-a un
Midsummer.gen.pl.f day.nom.f warm-nom.f.indf and
mīlīg-a kā tikko dzimuša
sweet-nom.f.indf as just born.ptcp.gen.m
bērna smarža.
baby.gen.m scent.nom.f
‘Midsummer’s Day, warm and sweet like the scent of a newborn baby.’ (C)

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 b. Vācu aitu suns,
German.gen.pl.m.indf sheep.gen.pl.f dog.nom.m
pieticīg-s un jūtīg-s
modest-nom.m.indf and sensitive-nom.m.indf
saskarsmē ar cilvēkiem.
interaction.loc.f with person.ins.pl.m
‘The German sheepdog, modest and sensitive in interacting with people.’ (C)
2) The definite ending is typically used for specifying and concretizing facts:
a) in terminological phrases and names of different objects and phenomena:
(2.2.39) a. balt-ais āboliņš
white-nom.m.def clover.nom.m
‘white clover’
b. elektronisk-ais paraksts
electronic-nom.m.def signature.nom.m
‘electronic signature’
c. globāl-ais tīmeklis
global-nom.m.def network.nom.m
‘World Wide Web’
d. iekšēj-ais tirgus
internal-nom.m.def market.nom.m
‘internal market’
e. mobil-ais tālrunis
mobile-nom.m.def phone.nom.m
‘mobile phone’
f. zaļ-ais tūrisms
green-nom.m.def tourism.nom.m
‘green tourism’
b) in geographical names:
(2.2.40) a. Maz-ā Jugla
little-nom.f.def Jugla
‘the Little Jugla’
b. Liel-ā Jugla
great-nom.f.def Jugla
‘the Great Jugla’
c. Liel-ais Sālsezers
great-nom.m.def Salt_Lake.nom.m
‘the Great Salt Lake’
d. Klus-ais okeāns
Pacific-nom.m.def ocean.nom.m
‘the Pacific Ocean’
e. Tuv-ie Austrumi
near-nom.pl.m.def east.nom.pl.m
‘the Near East’

162
 c) in substantivizations of adjectives and participles:
(2.2.41) a. 30 pazīmes, kas atšķir
30 characteristic.nom.pl.f that.nom distinguish.prs.3
bagāt-os no nabag-ajiem.
rich-acc.pl.m.def from poor-dat.pl.m.def
‘30 characteristics that distinguish the rich from the poor.’
(www.apollo.lv)
b. Uz festivālu jābrauc ar autobusu, līdzi
to festival.acc.m deb.go with bus.ins.m along
jāņem ēdam-ais.
deb.take eat.ptcp-nom.m.def
‘One must go to the festival by bus and bring along something to eat.’
(www.tvnet.lv)
c. Pagājušajā vasarā izšķīros, un
go.ptcp.loc.f summer.loc.f divorce.pst.1sg and
bijuš-ais apprecējās ar citu.
be-ptcp.nom.m.def marry.pst.3 with other.ins.f
‘I divorced last year and my ex has remarried.’ (www.delfi.lv)
d) in superlatives (see examples (2.2.24) above).
However, these principles do not always apply consistently in actual language use
(for a  more detailed discussion see Nītiņa 2013a: 397-402; Holvoet 2014; see also
Section 2.2.1 on variants of the  superlative). For example, there are quite a  lot of
terminological phrases with an attributive indefinite adjective (or participle):
(2.2.42) a. brīv-a preču aprite
free-nom.f.indf goods.gen.pl.f movement.nom.f
‘free movement of goods’
b. fizisk-a persona
natural-nom.f.indf person.nom.f
‘natural person’
c. ilgtspējīg-a izaugsme
sustainable-nom.f.indf growth.nom.f
‘sustainable growth’
d. salikt-a viela
assemble.ptcp-nom.f.indf substance.nom.f
‘compound substance’
e. sinhron-a darbība
synchronous-nom.f.indf operation.nom.f
‘synchronous operation’
f. jaukt-s mežs
mix.ptcp-nom.m.indf forest.nom.m
‘mixed forest’

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Some of these have parallel terminological variants with definite adjectives (or
participles):
(2.2.43) fiziskā persona, saliktā viela, sinhronā darbība
Likewise, indefinite endings are common in names of dishes where one could
reasonably expect to find definite adjectives (or participles), due to the specifying,
concretizing character of such phrases:
(2.2.44) a. sālīt-as sēnes
pickle.ptcp-nom.pl.f.indf mushroom.nom.pl.f
‘pickled mushrooms’
b. marinēt-i gurķi
marinate.ptcp-nom.pl.m.indf cucumber.nom.pl.m
‘marinated cucumbers’
c. cept-i kartupeļi
fry.ptcp-nom.pl.m.indf potato.nom.pl.m
‘fried potatoes’
d. tvaicēt-i dārzeņi
steam.ptcp-nom.pl.m.indf vegetable.nom.pl.m
‘steamed vegetables’
e. diedzēt-i graudi
sprout.ptcp-nom.pl.m.indf grain.nom.pl.m
‘sprouted grain’
(2.2.45) a. Man piešķīra trīslitru burku ar
I.dat award.pst.3 three_liter.gen.pl.f jar.acc.f with
sālīt-ām sēnēm.
pickle.ptcp-ins.pl.f.indf mushroom.ins.pl.f
‘I was awarded a three-liter jar of pickled mushrooms.’
(www.delfi.lv)
b. Vai jums jau ir apnikuši
q you.dat.pl already be.aux.prs.3 fed_up.ptcp.nom.pl.m
marinēt-i gurķi ziemā?
marinate.ptcp-nom.pl.m.indf cucumber.nom.pl.m winter.loc.f
‘Are you already fed up with eating marinated cucumbers during
the winter?’ (www.maminuklubs.lv)
c. Cept-i kartupeļi ar ķiplokiem
fry.ptcp-nom.pl.m.indf potato.nom.pl.m with garlic.ins.pl.m
un Parmas sieru.
and Parmesan.gen.f cheese.ins.m
‘Fried potatoes with garlic and Parmesan.’ (Kas Jauns)

164
Finally, there are indefinite superlatives, which usually occur as part of nominal
predicates:
(2.2.46) a. Šis siers vis-gardāk-s
this.nom.m cheese.nom.m spl-delicious-nom.m.indf
ir uz maizītes.
be.cop.prs.3 on bread.dim.gen.f
‘This cheese is at its most delicious when served on bread.’
(www.twitter.com)
b. Rundāle vis-skaistāk-a ir pavasarī.
Rundāle.nom.f spl-beautiful-nom.f.indf be.cop.prs.3 spring.loc.m
‘Rundāle is at its most beautiful in spring.’ (www.epadomi.lv)
c. Piens ir vis-garšīgāk-s, kad vēl
milk.nom.m be.cop.prs.3 spl-tasty.nom.m.indf when still
pasilts.
little_warm.nom.m.indf
‘Milk is at its tastiest when still a little warm.’ (A. Upīts)

2.2.4 Word formation

Although examples illustrating adjective formation types below are listed with
the  masculine ending, all adjectives can also be used with the  feminine ending
(see Section 2.2.1 on adjective declension). Endings are not included under Word-
formation means, as they are the same for all word-formation types – -s (M), -a (F),
with the diminutive suffix -iņ-, also -š (M).

Suffixation
Suffixation as a  means of adjective formation shows a  great deal of variety in
Latvian. Adjectives can be formed from other adjectives, nouns, verbs, numerals, and
pronouns. Derived adjectives usually name properties and subtle distinctions between
properties (which are often attenuative, i.e., reducing the force, extent of a property
or an attribute, or else indicate the permanent, constant character of a property) and
also characterize something as having a certain attribute, or express a resemblance,
likeness.

Base word – Word-

Derivational
derivative formation Examples
meaning
word class means
ADJ–ADJ -an- / -gan- attenuation slāb-s ‘weak, feeble’ – slāb-an-s ‘weakish,
feeblish’
valg-s ‘dewy, moist’ – valg-an-s ‘moistish’
zaļ-š ‘green’ – zaļ-gan-s ‘greenish’
bāl-s ‘pale’ – bāl-gan-s ‘palish’
meln-s ‘black’ – meln-gan-s ‘blackish’

165
Base word – Word-
Derivational
derivative formation Examples
meaning
word class means
ADJ–ADJ -ād- difference in kind, sveš-s ‘foreign’ – sveš-ād-s ‘strange, unfamiliar,
otherness alien’
ab-ēj-s ‘both’ – ab-ēj-ād-s ‘of both kinds’
div-ēj-i ‘two, two different’ –
div-ēj-ād-s ‘of two kinds’
četr-ēj-i ‘four, four different’ –
četr-ēj-ād-s ‘of four kinds’
-en- attenuation sald-s ‘sweet’ – sald-en-s ‘sweetish’
gar-š ‘long’ – gar-en-s ‘elongated’
gurd-s ‘languid, unenergetic’ – gurd-en-s ‘rather
languid, unenergetic’
sārt-s ‘pink, rosy’ – sārt-en-s ‘pinkish’
-ēj- attenuation īpat-n-s ‘distinctive, one of a kind, singular’ –
īpat-n-ēj-s ‘peculiar’
kals-n-s ‘bony, scrawny’  –
kals-n-ēj-s ‘rather bony’
zaļ-oksn-s ‘verdant, robust, vigorous’ –
zaļ-oksn-ēj-s ‘rather verdant, robust, vigorous’
-iņ- attenuation, DIM maz-s ‘little’ – maz-iņ-š (DIM)
tiev-s ‘thin’ – tiev-iņ-š (DIM)
viegl-s ‘light’ – viegl-iņ-š (DIM)
sīk-s ‘tiny’ – sīc-iņ-š (DIM)
-isk- qualitative liels ‘large’ – lielisks ‘excellent, great’
characterization maz-s ‘little’ – maz-isk-s ‘petty, paltry’
zem-s ‘low’ – zem-isk-s ‘base, low, mean’
lab-s ‘right, good’ – lab-isk-s ‘of the knit side (as
opposed to the purl side)’
gar-en-s ‘elongated’ – gar-en-isk-s ‘lengthwise,
longitudinal’
-īg- attenuation tīr-s ‘clean’ – tīr-īg-s ‘cleanly, tidy’
vesel-s ‘healthy (of a person)’ – vesel-īg-s
‘healthful, robust, wholesome’
vec-s ‘old, elderly’ – vec-īg-s ‘old-mannish’
mīļ-š ‘dear, beloved, sweet’ – mīl-īg-s
‘affectionate, sweet, lovable’
apaļ-š ‘round’ – apaļ-īg-s ‘roundish, plump’
lēn-s ‘slow’ – lēn-īg-s ‘slow, also meek,
even-tempered’
permanent, māt-išķ-s ‘maternal, motherly’ – māt-išķ-īg-s
constant properties ‘motherly’
tēv-išķ-s ‘paternal, fatherly’ –
tēv-išķ-īg-s ‘fatherly’
diev-išķ-s ‘divine’ – diev-išķ-īg-s ‘divine, godlike’
-īn- attenuation tuv-s ‘close’ – tuv-īn-s ‘closish’
tāl-s ‘distant’ – tāl-īn-s ‘remotish’
agr-s ‘early’ – agrīn-s ‘early (also, ahead of usual
time), ripened early’
vēl-s ‘late’– vēl-īn-s ‘late (also, belated),
late-bearing’

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Base word – Word-
Derivational
derivative formation Examples
meaning
word class means
N–ADJ -ain- having a lot of, zar-s ‘branch’ – zar-ain-s ‘branchy’
with being covered māl-s ‘clay’ – māl-ain-s ‘clayey’
declension with, also having akmen-s ‘stone’ – akmeņ-u (GEN PL) –
akmeņ-ain-s ‘stony’
2, 5, or a lot, being covered zem-e ‘soil, earth’ – zemj-u (GEN PL) – zemj-ain-s
6 bases, with, also having ‘muddy’
usually (as opposed to not smilt-s ‘sand’ – smilš-u (GEN PL) –
attaches to having) or having smilš-ain-s ‘sandy’
the GEN PL the quality of rag-s ‘horn’ – rag-ain-s ‘horned’
stem something bārda ‘beard’ – bārd-ain-s ‘bearded’
sprog-a ‘curl’ – sprog-ain-s ‘curly’
kok-s ‘tree’ – kok-ain-s ‘wooden, stiff, stilted’
brīn-um-s ‘miracle’ –
brīn-um-ain-s ‘miraculous’
qualitative trīs-krās-u ‘three-color (GEN, modifier)’ –
characterization, trīs-krās-ain-s ‘three-colored’
absence or presence brūn-ac-u ‘brown-eyed (GEN, modifier)’–
brūn-ac-ain-s ‘brown-eyed (ADJ)’
of an attribute četr-stūr-u ‘four-angle (GEN, modifier)’ –
četr-stūr-ain-s ‘quadrangular, square’
bez-zob-u ‘without teeth (GEN, modifier)’ – bez-
zob-ain-s ‘toothless’
bez-krās-as ‘without color (GEN, modifier)’ –
bez-krās-ain-s ‘colorless’
-en- attributes named galv-a ‘head’ – galv-en-ais ‘main’
by or following slav-a ‘fame’ – slav-en-s ‘famous’
from the base noun mēr-s ‘measure, extent’ – mēr-en-s ‘moderate’
-ēj- places – spatial ār-s ‘outside (N)’ – ār-ēj-s ‘outer, external’
oppositions iekš-a ‘inside (N)’ – iekš-ēj-s ‘inner, internal’
vid-us ‘middle (N)’– vid-ēj-s ‘middle (ADJ), also
average’
augš-a ‘top (N)’ – augš-ēj-s ‘upper, top (ADJ)’
apakš-a ‘lower part’ – apakš-ēj-s ‘lower, bottom
(ADJ)’
priekš-a ‘front (N)’ – priekš-ēj-s ‘front’
pakaļ-a ‘rear part’ – pakaļ-ēj-s ‘back, rear, hind’
-isk- correspondence, taut-a ‘nation’ – taut-isk-s ‘folk (ADJ)’
resemblance, dab-a ‘nature’ – dab-isk-s ‘natural’
appropriateness zēn-s ‘boy’ – zēn-isk-s ‘boyish’
igaun-is ‘Estonian (of a person, M)’  – igaun-isk-s
‘Estonian (ADJ)’
pēt-niek-s ‘researcher’ –
pēt-niec-isk-s ‘research (modifier)’
rietum-niek-s ‘westerner’ –
rietum-niec-isk-s ‘characteristic of westerners’
sa-tur-s ‘contents’ – sa-tur-isk-s ‘related to
contents’
-išķ- attributes following māt-e ‘mother’ – māt-išķ-s ‘maternal, motherly’
from the base noun tēv-s ‘father’ – tēv-išķ-s ‘paternal, fatherly’
diev-s ‘god’ – diev-išķ-s ‘divine’
liet-a ‘business’– liet-išķ-s ‘businesslike, applied’
ik-dien-a ‘everyday life’ – ik-dien-išķ-s ‘everyday
(ADJ)’

167
Base word – Word-
Derivational
derivative formation Examples
meaning
word class means
N–ADJ -īg- attributes following sul-a ‘juice’ – sul-īg-s ‘juicy’
from the base noun priek-s ‘joy’ – priec-īg-s ‘joyful’
māj-a ‘home’ – māj-īg-s ‘homey’
vilt-us ‘cunning (N)’ – vilt-īg-s ‘cunning (ADJ)’
ac-s ‘eye’ – acīg-s ‘sharp-eyed, observant’
vien-zilb-es ‘one-syllable (GEN, modifier)’ – vien-
zilb-īg-s ‘monosyllabic’
trīs-bals-u ‘three-part (in music) (GEN,
modifier)’ – trīs-bals-īg-s ‘three-part (ADJ)’
bez-gal-a ‘without end (GEN, modifier)’ – bez-
gal-īg-s ‘endless’
bez-mērķ-a ‘without aim (GEN, modifier)’ – bez-
mērķ-īg-s ‘aimless’
lod-veid-a ‘globe-shaped (GEN, modifier)’ – lod-
veid-īg-s ‘globular’
gāz-veid-a ‘in the form of a gas (GEN,
modifier) – gāz-veid-īg-s ‘gaseous, gasiform’
plān-veid-a ‘according to a plan (GEN,
modifier)’ – plān-veid-īg-s ‘planned, systematic’
-ot- attributes following zābak-s ‘boot’ – zābak-ot-s ‘booted’
from the base noun snieg-s ‘snow’ – snieg-ot-s ‘snow-covered’
cimd-s ‘glove’ – cimd-ot-s ‘gloved’
puķ-e ‘flower’ – puķ-ot-s ‘floral, flower-
patterned, flowery’
NUM–ADJ -ād- qualitative vien-s ‘one’ – vien-ād-s ‘equal, equivalent’
characterization trej-i ‘three’ – trej-ād-s ‘of three kinds’
otr-s ‘another, second’ – otr-ād-s ‘converse,
inverse’
-ēj- quantity; pluralia div-i ‘two’ – div-ēj-i ‘two, two different’
tantum četr-i ‘four’ – četr-ēj-i ‘four, four different’

PRON–ADJ -ād- qualitative cit-s ‘other’ – cit-ād-s ‘different, of another kind’

characterization sav-s ‘one’s, own’ – sav-ād-s ‘strange, unusual’
daž-s ‘some’ – daž-ād-s ‘various, diverse’
vis-s ‘all, everything’ – vis-ād-s ‘of all kinds’
V–ADJ -an- attributes following drup-t ‘to crumble’ – drup-an-s ‘crumbly’
usually from the action alk-t ‘to crave’ – alk-an-s ‘voracious, insatiable’
attaches denoted by līg-t ‘lean, bend’ – līg-an-s ‘jaunty, springy, also
unsteady’
to a verbal the base verb
loc-ī-t ‘to fold, to bend (with object) – lok-u PRS
root 1 SG – lok-an-s ‘lithe, supple, pliable’
-īg- attributes following deg-t ‘to burn’ – dedz-īg-s ‘burning, ardent,
usually from the action fervent’
attaches denoted by der-ē-t ‘to suit, to fit’ – der-īg-s ‘valid, suitable’
cer-ē-t ‘to hope’ – cer-īg-s ‘hopeful’
to a verbal the base verb
tic-ē-t ‘to believe, to have faith’ – tic-īg-s
root ‘religious’
pa-stāv-ē-t ‘to exist, also to last’ –
pa-stāv-īg-s ‘constant, permanent’
kait-ē-t ‘to harm’ – kait-īg-s ‘harmful’

168
 Base word – Word-
Derivational
derivative formation Examples
meaning
word class means
ADV–ADJ -ēj- place, quantity, pretī ‘opposite, across’ – pret-ēj-s ‘opposite’
kind, time, etc. pāri ‘above, beyond, over’ – pār-ēj-ais ‘the rest’
kopā ‘jointly, together’ – kop-ēj-s ‘common,
joint, also total’
div-kārt ‘twofold, two times’ – div-kārt-ēj-s
‘two-time, double’
vis-pār ‘in general’ – vis-pār-ēj-s ‘general, universal’
vien-reiz ‘once’ – vienreiz-ēj-s ‘single, happening
only once’
var-būt ‘possibly, maybe’ – var-būt-ēj-s ‘possible,
prospective’
vakar ‘yesterday’ – vakar-ēj-s ‘yesterday’s’
šo-dien ‘today’ – šo-dien-ēj-s ‘today’s’
-īg- type, permanent, pretī ‘opposite, across’ – pret-īg-s ‘disgusting’
constant properties vien-alga ‘all the same, of no consequence’ –
vien-aldz-īg-s ‘indifferent’
vis-pār ‘in general’ – vis-pār-īg-s ‘overall,
general, broad’
vien-reiz ‘once’ – vien-reiz-īg-s ‘unique, singular’
vien-mēr ‘always, invariably’ –
vien-mēr-īg-s ‘even, uniform, steady’
daudz-kārt ‘many times, repeatedly’ –
daudz-kārt-īg-s ‘multiple, also manyfold’

Table 2.13 Main adjective formation types in Latvian: suffixation

Prefixation
Prefixal adjective formation in Latvian is basically either attenuative or augmentative;
it involves three prefixes – ie-, pa-, and pār-. The negative ne- is semantically different
in that it generally indicates the lack of a property or an attribute. In some cases,
however, it can be attenuative.

Base word – Word-

Derivational
derivative formation Examples
meaning
word class means
ADJ–ADJ ie- attenuation zil-s ‘blue’ – ie-zil-s ‘somewhat blue’
zaļ-š ’green’ – ie-zaļ-š ‘somewhat green’
sārt-en-s ‘pinkish’ – ie-sārt-en-s ‘somewhat pinkish’
brūn-gan-s ‘brownish’ – ie-brūn-gan-s ‘somewhat brownish’
sāļ-š ‘salty’– ie-sāļ-š ‘slightly salty’
apaļ-š ‘round’ – ie-apaļ-š ‘somewhat rounded, curved’
gar-en-s ‘elongated’ – ie-gar-en-s ‘slightly elongated’
pa- attenuation jaun-s ‘new, young’ – pa-jaun-s ‘relatively / fairly new,
(depending young’
on context, tukš-s ‘empty’ – pa-tukš-s ‘relatively / fairly empty’
bāl-s ‘pale’ – pa-bāl-s ‘somewhat pale’
also ‘to sald-s ‘sweet’ – pa-sald-s ‘relatively sweet’
a rather high sald-en-s ‘sweetish’ – pa-sald-en-s ‘rather sweetish’
degree’) draudz-īg-s ‘friendly’ – pa-draudz-īg-s ‘rather friendly’
smilš-ain-s ‘sandy’ – pa-smilšain-s ‘rather sandy’

169
Base word – Word-
Derivational
derivative formation Examples
meaning
word class means
ADJ–ADJ pār- ‘extreme, piln-s ‘full’ – pār-piln-s ‘filled, overfull, overcrowded’
excessive’, gudr-s ‘wise, smart’ – pār-gudr-s ‘smart-alecky’
also bagāt-s ‘rich’ – pār-bagāt-s ‘abundant’
dab-isk-s ‘natural’ – pār-dab-isk-s ‘supernatural’
generalized cilvēc-īg-s ‘humane’ – pār-cilvēc-īg-s ‘superhuman,
properties extraordinary’
ne- lack of lab-s ‘good’ – ne-lab-s ‘bad’
a property or glīt-s ‘pretty’ – ne-glīt-s ‘ugly’
an attribute spodr-s ‘clean, shiny’ – ne-spodr-s ‘dull, lusterless’
līdz-en-s ‘even’ – ne-līdz-en-s ‘uneven’
uz-man-īg-s ‘attentive’ – ne-uz-man-īg-s ‘inattentive’
attenuation tāl-s ‘distant’ – ne-tāl-s ‘nearby’
liel-s ‘large’ – ne-liel-s ‘rather small’
sen-s ‘old, ancient’ – ne-sen-s ‘recent’

Table 2.14 Main adjective formation types in Latvian: prefixes

Compounds
The formation of compound adjectives in Latvian is represented, for the most part,
by semantically exocentric determinative right-headed compounds based on phrases
(i.e., subordinate structures). There is, however, one determinative left-headed
compound formation type with the noun puse ‘half’, i.e., pus-, as the first component,
and two copulative compound formation types.
The description of compound adjectives in this grammar is based on the types
(and subtypes) of syntactic structures underlying compound formation.

Base word – Word-for-

Derivational
derivative mation Examples
meaning
word class means
N+ specifying priek-a piln-s ‘full of joy’ – priek-piln-s ‘joyful’
ADJ – ADJ a property by dom-u piln-s ‘full of thoughts’ – dom-piln-s ‘pensive’
relating it to ziņ-u kār-īg-s ‘eager for information’ –
ziņ-kār-īg-s ‘curious’
1) NGEN+ADJ  an object
mant-as kār-s ‘greedy for wealth’ –
– ADJ mant-kār-s ‘acquisitive, money-oriented’
ugun-s droš-s ‘safe against fire’ –
ugun-(s)-droš-s ‘fireproof’
karst-um-a iz-tur-īg-s ‘resistant against heat’ –
karst-um-iz-tur-īg-s ‘heat-resistant’
specifying rož-u sārt-s ‘pink as a rose’ – rož-sārt-s ‘rose-pink’
a property jūr-as zil-s ‘blue as the sea’ – jūr-(as)-zil-s ‘sea-blue’
by setting sūn-u zaļ-š ‘green as moss’ – sūn-(u)-zaļ-š, also sūnzaļš
‘moss-green’
a standard of
snieg-a balt-s ‘white as snow’ – snieg-balt-s ‘snow-white’
comparison led-us aukst-s ‘cold as ice’ – led-(us)-aukst-s ‘ice-cold’
(esp. when med-us sald-s ‘sweet as honey’ –
naming med-(us)-sald-s ‘honey-sweet’
particular pērkon-a skaļ-š ‘loud as thunder’ –
shades of color) pērkon-skaļ-š ‘thunderous’

170
 Base word – Word-for-
Derivational
derivative mation Examples
meaning
word class means
2) NINS+ADJ  intensifying brīn-um-u jauk-s ‘so lovely as to cause wonder’ – brīn-
– ADJ a property, um-jauk-s ‘wonderfully lovely’
sometimes liel-um-u liels ‘of great size’ – liel-um- liel-s ‘very large’
vec-um-u vec-s ‘of great age’ –
through
vec-um-vec-s ‘very old’
repetition
3) N+ADJGEN  compounds *pus-e tumš-a – pus-tumš-s ‘semi-dark’
– ADJ headed by pus-gatav-s ‘half-done, half-ready’
the word puse pus-jēl-s ‘half-raw, underdone’
pus-sald-s ‘semi-sweet’
‘half’ – reducing
pus-gar-š ‘medium-length, half-length’
the force of pus-tukš-s ‘half-empty’
a property,
indicating its
limitedness;
source
constructions of
the type ‘puse
ADJGEN’ are now
obsolete
ADV+ nuanced gaiši zaļ-š ‘lightly green’ – gaiš-zaļ-š ‘light-green’
ADJ – ADJ properties – tumši zil-s ‘darkly blue’ – tumš-zil-s ‘dark-blue’
usually, shades zaļ-gan-i brūn-s ‘greenishly brown’ –
zaļ-gan-brūn-s ‘greenish-brown’
of color, taste,
saldi skāb-s ‘sweetly sour’ – sald-skāb-s ‘sweet-and-
flavor, etc. sour’
sald-en-i rūgt-s ‘sweetishly bitter’–
sald-en-rūgt-s ‘bittersweet’
ADJ, two different melns, balts ‘black, white’ – meln-balt-s ‘black-and-
ADJ – ADJ properties of white’
a thing, living sarkan-s, balt-s, sarkan-s ‘red, white, red’ – sarkan-balt-
sarkans ‘red-white-red (a reference to the colors of
being, etc.
the Latvian flag)’
zil-s, zaļ-š ‘blue, green’ – zil-zaļ-š ‘blue-green’
zil-s, raib-s ‘blue, speckled’ – zil-raib-s ‘speckled blue’
kurl-s, mēm-s ‘deaf, mute’ – kurl-mēm-s ‘deaf-mute’
liel-s, bagāt-s ‘big / great, rich’ – liel-bagāt-s ‘very rich,
great and rich’
intensifying tāl-s, tāl-s ‘distant, distant’ – tāl-tāl-s ‘very distant’
a property sen-s, sen-s ‘old, old’ – sen-sen-s ‘very old’
through gar-š, gar-š ‘long, long’ – gar-gar-š ‘very long’
repetition
Table 2.15 Main compound adjective formation types in Latvian

171
2.3 NUMERALS
Numerals form a class of words expressing the number or order of objects (viena māja
‘one house’, divas mājas ‘two houses’, trīs mājas ‘three houses’, pirmā māja ‘the first
house’, otrā māja ‘the second house’, trešā māja ‘the third house’) (Skujiņa 2007: 363).
As a word class, numerals are peculiar in that they consist of a relatively small
repertoire of lexemes that can be combined in an unlimited number of ways to denote
any quantity or position in a sequence.
In writing, numerals can be represented as words or figures depending on
the type of text and subject matter, for example, desmit ‘ten’ and 10, piecdesmit divi
‘fifty-two’ and 52.
Within the class of numerals, a distinction is made between cardinal numerals,
which denote numbers (viens ‘one’, divi ‘two’, trīs ‘three’, četri ‘four’, pieci ‘five’, seši
‘six’, septiņi ‘seven’, astoņi ‘eight’, deviņi ‘nine’, desmit / desmits ‘ten’, vienpadsmit
‘eleven’, divpadsmit ‘twelve’, trīspadsmit ‘thirteen’, četrpadsmit ‘fourteen’, piecpadsmit
‘fifteen’, sešpadsmit ‘sixteen’, septiņpadsmit ‘seventeen’, astoņpadsmit ‘eighteen’,
deviņpadsmit ‘nineteen’, divdesmit ‘twenty’, simt / simts ‘hundred’, tūkstoš / tūkstotis
‘thousand’, miljons ‘million’, miljards ‘billion’) and ordinal numerals, which define
the position of something in a sequence (pirmais,-ā ‘the first’, otrais,-ā ‘the second’,
trešais,-ā ‘the  third’, ceturtais,-ā ‘the  fourth’, piektais,-ā ‘the  fifth’, sestais,-ā
‘the  sixth’, septītais,-ā ‘the  seventh’, astotais,-ā ‘the  eighth’, devītais,-ā ‘the  ninth’,
desmitais,-ā ‘the tenth’, vienpadsmitais,-ā ‘the eleventh’, divpadsmitais,-ā ‘the twelfth’,
trīspadsmitais,-ā ‘the thirteenth’, četrpadsmitais,-ā ‘the fourteenth’, piecpadsmitais,-ā
‘the  fifteenth’, sešpadsmitais,-ā ‘the  sixteenth’, septiņpadsmitais,-ā ‘the  seventeenth’,
astoņpadsmitais,-ā ‘the eighteenth’, deviņpadsmitais,-ā ‘the nineteenth’, divdesmitais,-ā
‘the twentieth’, simtais,-ā ‘the hundredth’, tūkstošais,-ā ‘the thousandth’, miljonais,-ā
‘the millionth’, miljardais,-ā ‘the billionth’).
Although ordinal numerals typically take the  definite ending in modern
Latvian, indefinite ordinals are sometimes still used in colloquial speech, dialects,
and literary prose, for example:
(2.3.1) otr-s ‘second’, treš-s ‘third’, ceturt-s ‘fourth’, piekt-s ‘fifth’
Ekonomikas ministrija atradusi otr-u
economics.gen.f ministry.nom.f find.ptcp.nom.f second-acc.m
cilvēku darbam aģentūras valdē.
person.acc.m job.dat.m agency.gen.f board_of_directors.loc.f
‘The Ministry of Economics has found a second person to work on
the agency’s board of directors.’ (www.lsm.lv)
Syntactically, numerals can function as attributes (2.3.2), (rarely) nominal predicates
(2.3.3), subjects (2.3.4), and objects (2.3.5):
(2.3.2) a. Aktrise apprecējusies piecas dienas
actress.nom.f marry.ptcp.nom.f five.nom.pl.f day.nom.pl.f
pirms pirmizrādes.
before premiere.gen.f
‘The actress got married five days before the premiere.’ (Latvijas Avīze)

172
 b. Pirms četriem gadiem bobsleja
before four.dat.pl.m year.dat.pl.m bobsleigh.gen.m
pilots gulēja gultā ar smadzeņu
pilot.nom.m sleep.pst.3 bed.loc.f with brain.gen.pl.f
satricinājumu.
concussion.ins.m
‘Four years ago the bobsleigh pilot lay in bed with a concussion.’
(www.delfi.lv)
(2.3.3) a. Skatītāju bija vesels tūkstotis.
spectator.gen.pl.m be.cop.pst.3 whole.nom.m thousand.nom.m
‘The number of spectators amounted to a full thousand.’
b. Grāmatas ir četras.
book.nom.pl.f be.cop.prs.3 four.nom.pl.f
‘The books are four in number.’
(2.3.4) Kur divi labi, tur trešais
where two.nom.pl.m good.nom.pl.m there third.nom.m
lieks?
unnecessary.nom.m
‘Where two are fine, the third one is the odd one out?’ (www.tvnet.lv)
(2.3.5) Skatītāju skaits nepārsniedz divus
spectator.gen.pl.m number.nom.m not_exceed.prs.3 two.acc.pl.m
tūkstošus.
thousand.acc.pl.m
‘The number of spectators does not exceed two thousand.’
(www.sportacentrs.lv)
While, in general, attributive numerals precede the word they modify (2.3.6), they
can also be used postpositively when expressing approximate values (2.3.7):
(2.3.6) a. sešas dienas
six.nom.pl.f day.nom.pl.f
‘six days’
b. vienpadsmit mēnešu
eleven month.gen.pl.m
‘eleven months’
c. simt gadu
hundred year.gen.pl.m
‘a hundred years’
(2.3.7) a. Puika, gadus četrus vecs, bradā
boy.nom.m year.acc.pl.m four.acc.pl.m old.nom.m wade.prs.3
gar krastu.
along shore.acc.m
‘A boy, some four years of age, is wading along the shore.’
(G. Janovskis)

173
 b. Cik ilgi viņš nav
how_many long_time he.nom not_be.aux.prs.3
baudījis stiprākas lāsītes.
enjoy.ptcp.nom.m strong.cmp.gen.f drop.dim.gen.f
Būs mēneši trīs.
be.cop.fut.3 month.nom.pl.m three
‘It hasn’t been all that long since he last tasted a drop of something
stronger. It will be some three months.’ (G. Janovskis)
c. Tā bilde tur jau kādus
that.nom.f picture.nom.f there already some.acc.pl.m
gadus piecdesmit stāv pie sienas.
year.acc.pl.m fifty stand.prs.3 against wall.gen.f
‘That picture has been on the wall there for some fifty years.’ (G. Janovskis)
Approximate values can be expressed by means of two successive numerals, which
define the range of possible values:
(2.3.8) a. Ja tev trīs četrus mēnešus
if you.dat.sg three four.acc.pl.m month.acc.pl.m
nemaksā algu, rokas nolaižas.
not_pay.prs.3 wage.acc.f hand.nom.pl.f come_down.prs.3
‘When your wages have not been paid to you for three or four months
you lose heart.’ (www.apollo.lv)
b. Krūmiem izveidojušās četrus piecus
bush.dat.pl.m develop.ptcp.nom.pl.f four.acc.pl.m five.acc.pl.m
metrus dziļas saknes.
meter.acc.pl.m deep.nom.pl.f root.nom.pl.f
‘The bushes have developed four to five meter deep roots.’ (www.delfi.lv)
The numerals desmits ‘ten’ (DECL), desmit ‘ten’ (IDECL), simts ‘a hundred’ (DECL),
simt ‘a hundred’ (IDECL), tūkstotis ‘a thousand’ (DECL), tūkstoš ‘a thousand’ (IDECL),
miljons ‘a million’, miljards ‘a billion’, as well as 11–19, traditionally take a noun in
the genitive case, for example:
(2.3.9) a. desmit dienu
ten day.gen.pl.f
‘ten days’
b. simts rožu
hundred.nom.m rose.gen.pl.f
‘a hundred roses’
c. tūkstotis skolu
thousand.nom.f school.gen.pl.f
‘a thousand schools’
d. miljons gadu
million.nom.m year.gen.pl.m
‘a million years’

174
 e. divpadsmit grāmatu
divpadsmit book.gen.pl.f
‘twelve books’
(2.3.10) a. Režisors jau prezentējis jaunās
director.nom.m already present.ptcp.nom.m new.gen.f
sezonas repertuāru, kurā būs 10
season.gen.f repertoire.acc.m which.loc.m be.fut.3 10
jauniestudējumu
new_production.gen.pl.m
‘The director has already announced the repertoire for the upcoming
season, which will include 10 new productions.’ (Diena)
b. Tur bija 500 mēru no visām
there be.pst.3 500 mayor.gen.pl.m from all.dat.pl.f
Eiropas Savienības valstīm
Europe.gen.f Union.gen.f country.dat.pl.f
‘There were 500 mayors there from all of the countries of the European
Union.’ (Privātā Dzīve)
c. Valstī ir gandrīz 10 000 sociālā riska
country.loc.f be.prs.3 almost 10 000 social.gen.m risk.gen.m
ģimeņu, kurās aug 18 000
family.gen.pl.m which.loc.pl.f grow.prs.3 18 000
bērnu
child.gen.pl.m
‘There are almost 10 000 families at social risk in the country, bringing
up 18 000 children.’ (Neatkarīgā Rīta Avīze)
In modern Latvian, however, these numerals also occur with nouns in the nominative,
which seems to compete with the more classic use of the genitive in written texts as
well as colloquial speech (see also Section 2.1.4), for example:
(2.3.11) a. [Drošības padomē] darbojas 10 valstis.
[security council] work.prs.3 10 country.nom.pl.f
‘There are ten countries [on the Security Council].’ (Diena)
b. Lai privātīpašnieki, kuriem Dienvidu
sub private_owner.nom.pl.m which.dat.pl.m south.gen.pl.m
tilta teritorijā pieder aptuveni 30
bridge.gen.m area.loc.f own.prs.3 about 30
hektāri zemes, zinātu
hectare.nom.pl.m land.gen.f know.cond
“spēles noteikumus”.
game.gen.f rule.acc.pl.m
‘So that the private owners who own approximately 30 hectares of land
at the site of the Southern Bridge know the rules of the game.’
(Neatkarīgā Rīta Avīze)

175
Numerals used attributively can be expected to agree in gender, number, and case
with the noun they modify, just like adjectives do. However, the nominal grammatical
categories of gender, number, and case do not apply to all numerals to the same extent.
Ordinal numerals always display numeral–noun agreement for gender, number, and
case, for example:
(2.3.12) ceturt-ais gad-s ‘the fourth year’ (NOM M), ceturt-ajam gad-am (DAT M),
ceturt-ā klas-e ‘the fourth grade’ (NOM F), ceturt-ajā klas-ē (LOC F)
By contrast, cardinal numerals alongside regular numeral–noun agreement also
show some asymmetry of grammatical forms, which manifests itself in several ways
in modern Latvian.
1) Some cardinal numerals are indeclinable, i.e., they do not inflect for any of
these features, for example:
(2.3.13) a. 11–19
vienpadsmit ‘eleven’, divpadsmit ‘twelve’, piecpadsmit ‘fifteen’,
b. 10–90
desmit ‘ten’, divdesmit ‘twenty’, piecdesmit ‘fifty’,
c. 100–900
simt ‘one hundred’, divsimt ‘two hundred’, piecsimt ‘five hundred’,
d. 1000–9000
tūkstoš ‘one thousand’, divtūkstoš ‘two thousand’, piectūkstoš ‘five thousand’
A few numerals have both a declinable and an indeclinable variant:
(2.3.14) trīs ‘three’
desmits – desmit ‘ten’
simts – simt ‘a hundred’
tūkstotis – tūkstoš ‘a thousand’
2) Some cardinal numerals take only masculine (desmits ‘ten’, simts ‘a hundred’,
tūkstotis ‘a thousand’, miljons ‘a million’, miljards ‘a billion’) or only feminine
endings (nulle ‘zero’). The numeral trīs ‘three’, while having both gender
paradigms (see Table 2.13) can also be gender-neutral, i.e., it can be used as
an indeclinable word (trīs brāļi ‘three brothers’, trīs māsas ‘three sisters’).
3) In terms of number, cardinal numerals subdivide into singular-only (viens
‘one’, divdesmit viens ‘twenty-one’, but vieni prieki ‘nothing but delights’) and
plural-only words (2–9 and all corresponding phrasal numerals).
Cardinal and ordinal numerals follow different patterns of inflection.
1) Cardinal numerals, much like indefinite adjectives, mirror the endings of
declension 1 (1–9, desmits ‘ten’, simts ‘a hundred’, miljons ‘a million’, miljards
‘a billion’) and declension 2 nouns (tūkstotis ‘a thousand’) for masculine
gender and declension 4 (1–9) and declension 5 (nulle ‘zero’) nouns for
feminine gender (see Table 2.3). The numeral trīs ‘three’ exhibits a distinct
inflectional pattern:

176
 Case M F
NOM trīs gadi ‘three years’ trīs dienas ‘three days’
GEN triju gadu triju dienu
DAT trim // trijiem gadiem trim // trijām dienām
ACC trīs gadus trīs dienas
INS (ar) trim // trijiem gadiem (ar) trim // trijām dienām
LOC trīs // trijos gados trīs // trijās dienās
VOC trīs gadi! trīs dienas!
Table 2.16 Declension of the numeral trīs ‘three’ (adapted from Kalnača 2013a: 66)

2) Ordinal numerals follow the inflectional pattern of definite adjectives (see

Section 2.2.1 and Table 2.11 above).
In terms of morphological structure, a  distinction is made between simplex,
compound, and phrasal numerals.
1) Simplex numerals consist of a root or a root and an ending, for example:
(2.3.15) a. desmit ‘ten’ (IDECL), simt ‘a hundred’ (IDECL), tūkstoš ‘a thousand’ (IDECL)
b. vien-s ‘one’ (M NOM SG), vien-a (F NOM SG),
div-i ‘two’ (M NOM PL), div-as (F NOM PL), četr-i ‘four’ (M NOM PL),
četr-as (F NOM PL), desmit-s ‘ten’ (DECL), simt-s ‘a hundred’ (DECL).
2) Compound numerals are composed of more than one root, for example:
(2.3.16) a. 11–19 (vienpadsmit ‘eleven’ < vienu pa desmit ‘one by ten’, divpadsmit
‘twelve’ < divi pa desmit ‘two by ten’, piecpadsmit ‘fifteen’ < pieci pa
desmit ‘five by ten’)
b. 20–90 (divdesmit ‘twenty’, trīsdesmit ‘thirty’, piecdesmit ‘fifty’)
c. 200–900 (divsimt ‘two hundred’, trīssimt ‘three hundred’, piecsimt ‘five
hundred’)
d. 2000–9000 (divtūkstoš ‘two thousand’, trīstūkstoš ‘three thousand’,
piectūkstoš ‘five thousand’)
3) Phrasal numerals are formed by combining several simplex or compound
numerals to denote a single concept – a number or quantity, for example:
(2.3.17) a. 21–99
divdesmit viens ‘twenty-one’, trīsdesmit deviņi ‘thirty-nine’,
deviņdesmit divi ‘ninety-two’
b. 101–999
simtu viens ‘one hundred one’, divsimt divdesmit astoņi ‘two hundred
twenty-eight’, deviņsimt piecdesmit trīs ‘nine hundred fifty-three’
c. 1001–9999
tūkstoš viens ‘one thousand one’, divtūkstoš trīssimt četrdesmit pieci ‘two
thousand, three hundred forty-five’, astoņtūkstoš piecsimt divdesmit pieci
‘eight thousand, five hundred twenty-five’

177
Phrasal numerals are also used to express simple (2.3.18) and decimal fractions
(2.3.19):
(2.3.18) a. viena ceturtdaļa
one.nom.f quarter.nom.f
‘one-quarter’
b. divas piektdaļas
two.nom.pl.f fifth.nom.pl.f
‘two-fifths’
c. viens vesels un trīs ceturtdaļas
one.nom.m whole.nom.m and three quarter.nom.pl.f
‘one and three-quarters’
(2.3.19) a. četri, komats, pieci
four.nom.pl.m comma.nom.m five.nom.pl.m
‘four point five’
b. desmit, komats, divi
ten.nom.m comma.nom.m two.nom.pl.m
‘ten point two’
Some numerals have parallel compound and phrasal implementations:
(2.3.20) a. divdesmit // divi desmiti
twenty two.nom.pl.m ten.nom.pl.m
‘twenty’
b. divsimt // divi simti
two_hundred two.nom.pl.m hundred.nom.pl.m
‘two hundred’
c. piectūkstoš // pieci tūkstoši
five_thousand five.nom.pl.m thousand.nom.pl.m
‘five thousand’

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2.4 PRONOUNS
2.4.0 Introductory remarks
The class of pronouns comprises words that point to living beings, things, and
properties without directly naming them and usually substitute for nouns, adjectives,
and numerals in a sentence (Skujiņa 2007: 451).
Similarly to nouns, adjectives, and numerals, a  pronoun can function as
the subject of a sentence (2.4.1a), an attribute (2.4.1b), an object (2.4.1c), or a nominal
predicate (2.4.1d):
(2.4.1) a. Viņš gribēja būt tautas mīlēts
he.nom want.pst.3 be.inf people.gen.f love.ptcp.nom.m
dzejnieks.
poet.nom.m
‘He wanted to be a poet beloved by the people.’ (Jaunā Gaita)
b. Visi mani dokumenti bija
all.nom.pl.m my.gen.pl.m document.nom.pl.m be.pst.3
kārtībā.
order.loc.f
‘All my documents were in order.’ (A. Eglītis)
c. Pa laikam Elzai tos [fotogrāfiju
now_and_then Elza.dat.f they.acc.m [photo
albūmus] patīk pāršķirstīt.
album] like.prs.3 browse_through.inf
‘Elsa likes browsing through them [photo albums] every now and then.’
(A. Žīgure)
d. Sīkstas likstas nav
tough.nom.pl.f hardship.nom.pl.f not_be.cop.prs.3
nekas.
nothing.nom
‘Tough hardships are nothing.’ (www.lsm.lv)
The number of pronouns in Latvian is fixed, that is to say, no new pronouns enter
the language either through word formation or borrowing. Nevertheless, these are
among the most frequently used words in the language, because, in any text, they help
to ensure its semantic wholeness and links with other texts, while also implementing
the language economy principle by eliminating the need to repeat what has already
been stated or is known and pointing to further information.
Based on their meanings and functions, Latvian pronouns are usually grouped
as follows (Paegle 2003: 73–75; Kalnača 2013a: 67):
1) personal pronouns
(2.4.2) es ‘I’, tu ‘you (SG)’, mēs ‘we’, jūs ‘you (PL)’, viņš ‘he’, viņa ‘she’, viņi ‘they (M)’,
viņas (F)

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 2) the reflexive pronoun
(2.4.3) sevis ‘(-)self’
3) possessive pronouns
(2.4.4) mans ‘my (M SG)’, mana (F SG), mani (M PL), manas (F PL), tavs ‘your
(SG) (M SG)’, tava (F SG), tavi (M PL), tavas (F PL), savs ‘own, reflexive
possessive meaning (M SG)’, sava (F SG), savi (M PL), savas (F PL)
4) demonstrative pronouns
(2.4.5) tas ‘that, it (M)’, tā (F), tie ‘those, they (M)’, tās (F), tāds ‘such, that kind
(M SG)’, tāda (F SG), tādi (M PL), tādas (F PL), šis ‘this (M)’, šī (F), šie
‘these (M)’, šīs (F), šāds ‘such, this kind (M SG)’, šāda (F SG), šādi (M PL),
šādas (F PL), viņš ‘that (most distant) (M SG)’, viņa (F SG), viņi (M PL),
viņas (F PL)
5) interrogative pronouns
(2.4.6) kas ‘who, what’, kurš ‘who, which (M SG)’, kura (F SG), kuri (M PL), kuras
(F PL), kāds ‘what, what kind (M SG)’, kāda (F SG), kādi (M PL), kādas (F PL)
6) relative pronouns
(2.4.7) kas ‘who, what, which, that’, kurš ‘who, which, that (M SG)’, kura (F SG),
kuri (M PL), kuras (F PL), kāds ‘which, what kind (M SG)’, kāda (F SG), kādi
(M PL), kādas (F PL)
7) indefinite pronouns
(2.4.8) kas ‘something, somebody’, kurš ‘who, which, whoever, whichever (M SG)’,
kura (F SG), kuri (M PL), kuras (F PL), kāds ‘some, some kind, someone
(M, SG)’, kāda (F SG), kādi (M PL), kādas (F PL), dažs ‘some (M SG)’, daža
(F SG), daži (M PL), dažas (F PL), cits ‘other, someone else (M SG)’, cita
(F SG), citi (M PL), citas (F PL), kaut kas ‘something’, kaut kāds ‘some, some
kind of (M SG)’, kaut kāda (F SG), kaut kādi (M PL), kaut kādas (F PL), kaut
kurš ‘some, somebody (M SG)’, kaut kura (F SG), kaut kuri (M PL), kaut kuras
(F PL), dažs labs ‘some, someone, a certain one (M SG)’, daža laba (F SG),
viens otrs ‘someone, an occasional one (M SG)’, viena otra (F SG), diez(in)
kas (diez(in), nez(in) and sazin when combined with kas, kurš, kāds reinforce
the meaning of indefiniteness, adding different shades of meaning
depending on the context), diez(in) kurš, diez(in) kura, diez(in) kuri, diez(in)
kuras, diez(in) kāds, diez(in) kāda, diez(in) kādi, diez(in) kādas, nez(in) kas,
nez(in) kurš, nez(in) kura, nez(in) kuri, nez(in) kuras, nez(in) kāds, nez(in)
kāda, nez(in) kādi, nez(in) kādas, sazin kas, sazin kurš, sazin kura, sazin kuri,
sazin kuras, sazin kāds, sazin kāda, sazin kādi, sazin kādas, jebkas ‘anything’,
jebkurš ‘any, anyone (M SG)’, jebkura (F SG), jebkuri (M PL), jebkuras (F PL),
jebkāds ‘any, any kind of (M SG)’, jebkāda (F SG), jebkādi (M PL), jebkādas
(F PL)

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 8) definite pronouns
(2.4.9) abi ‘both (M)’, abas (F), viss ‘all, everything, everybody (M SG)’, visa (F SG),
visi (M PL), visas (F PL), pats ‘reflexive emphatic meaning (M SG)’, pati
(F SG), paši (M PL), pašas (F PL), katrs ‘every, each, everyone (M SG)’,
katra (F SG), katri (M PL), katras (F PL), ikkatrs ‘every, each, everyone, all
(M SG)’, ikkatra (F SG), ikviens ‘every, each, everyone, all (M SG)’, ikviena
(F SG), ikkurš ‘every, everyone (M SG)’, ikkura (F SG)
9) negative pronouns
(2.4.10) nekas ‘nothing’, nekāds ‘no, none, not any kind (M SG)’, nekāda (F SG),
nekādi (M PL), nekādas (F PL), neviens ‘no, nobody, no one (M SG)’, neviena
(F SG)
Needless to say, the  above classification should not be seen as absolute: one and
the  same pronoun can have different functions, depending on the  context and
communicative situation. Thus, personal, possessive, and reflexive pronouns, as well
as personal and demonstrative pronouns, are partly bordering on one another in
terms of their meanings and functions.
The pronouns kas, kurš, kura, kuri, kuras, kāds, kāda, kādi, kādas, depending
on how they are used in a specific text, may belong to any of the following three
groups: interrogative, relative, or indefinite pronouns (for more details see Section
2.4.5–2.4.7).
Semantically the pronoun sevis seems to fit in with the group of personal pronouns.
However, due to its defective paradigm and functional distinctness of pointing back
to the agent in a sentence (i.e., to an action which goes back to the agent), it is singled
out into a separate group: the reflexive pronouns. Similar reflexive semantics is also
expressed by the pronominal combinations viens otru, viena otru, cits citu, cita citu
(for more details see Section 2.4.7) as well as the pronouns pats, pati, paši, pašas (see
Section 2.4.8).
The pronouns viņš, viņa, viņi, viņas may act as either personal or demonstrative
pronouns (for more details see Section 2.4.4). Admittedly though, the pronouns viņš,
viņa, viņi, viņas only rarely function as demonstrative pronouns in contemporary
Latvian. What can be observed, however, is functional parallelism between 3rd
person pronouns and the demonstrative pronouns tas, tā, tie, tās (also, šis, šī, šie, šās)
(see, e.g., Sections 2.4.1, 2.4.4).
The variety of uses to which Latvian pronouns lend themselves has been
the  topic of many discussions in Latvian linguistics (in detail see Paegle 2003:
73–76). As a result, several alternative classification principles have been suggested
(Endzelīns, Mīlenbachs 1907a, 1907b; Ahero et al. 1959: 503; Nītiņa 2001: 52–61).
Nītiņa (2013b: 435–455) distinguishes between just three groups: 1) personal and
demonstrative pronouns, 2) general pronouns, 3) indefinite pronouns.
The current grammar retains Paegle’s (2003) classification (see also Kalme,
Smiltniece 2001: 171), which consists of 9 groups, while also highlighting functional

181
similarities between and diversity within those groups. At the same time, one must
agree with Bhat (2004) that functionally and morphosyntactically all pronouns can
also be divided into two types: personal pronouns (1st and 2nd person pronouns
related to the dialogue personae the author of the text and the addressee of the text or
to the author or addressee of the text together with other persons) and pro-forms (all
other pronouns, which can be used as substitutes for all kinds of nouns, adjectives, and
numerals in a text: possessive, reflexive, interrogative, relative, indefinite, definite,
and negative pronouns). In this sense, 3rd person pronouns are a transitional type as
they include the functions of personal as well as demonstrative pronouns (pro-forms),
which cannot always be neatly distinguished from one another in a language system.
Bhat’s classification is consistent with the  functions that, as in other languages,
pronouns have in Latvian:
1) the  exophoric (also deictic) function (Crystal 1997: 143), which is charac­
teristic of direct communication and, although more typical of 1st and
2nd person pronouns, is also possible for 3rd person personal pronouns and
demonstrative pronouns;
2) the endophoric function where a pronoun points to antecedent (anaphora) or
postcedent (cataphora) information within the same text (Crystal 1997: 136),
which is typical of all pro-forms as well as 3rd person personal pronouns and
demonstrative pronouns.
Although overall, pronouns have the  same grammatical categories as nominals  –
gender, number, case – the manner in which these categories manifest themselves is
different:
1) the  personal pronouns es, tu, mēs, jūs, the  reflexive pronoun sevis, and
the pronouns kas, kaut kas, diez(in) kas, nez(in) kas, sazin kas, jebkas, nekas
lack the category of gender;
2) the pronoun, as a word class, does not have the vocative case; rather than
directly naming things and properties, pronouns only point to them (for this
reason the vocative is excluded from pronominal case paradigms);
3) the pronoun sevis (no nominative) and the pronouns kas, kaut kas, diez(in)
kas, nez(in) kas, sazin kas, jebkas, nekas (no locative) have incomplete case
paradigms;
4) the pronouns es, tu, mēs, jūs, sevis, tas, tā, šis, šī historically have suppletive
case forms with distinct roots in the nominative and the oblique cases (see
pronoun declension paradigms Tables 2.16–2.18); the  pronouns kas, kaut
kas, diez(in) kas, nez(in) kas, sazin kas, jebkas, nekas display a  similarly
peculiar declension pattern (Table 2.19); the  aforementioned pronouns
cannot be segmented into morphemes both because of the suppletive forms
and the  fact that the  root and ending have merged into a  single entity in
Latvian;
5) some pronouns exhibit an  incomplete number paradigm; the  pronouns es,
tu are singular only, the pronouns mēs, jūs, abi, abas are plural only, while
the pronouns sevis, kas, kaut kas, diez(in) kas, nez(in) kas, sazin kas, jebkas,

182
 nekas lack this kind of juxtaposition altogether, as they can refer to both
singular and plural referents.
Another notion, which has, albeit limited, relevance to pronouns in Latvian, is
animacy. Personal pronouns and the possessive pronouns mans (mana, mani, manas)
and tavs (tava, tavi, tavas) only refer to humans, while all other pronouns can apply
to living beings as well as objects, i.e., their use is not restricted as to animacy. Unlike
other languages (for example, English and German) Latvian does not have dedicated
pronouns for inanimate objects: the pronoun tas (tā, tie, tās) is used for this purpose
(for more details see Section 2.7.4) when necessary.
In contrast to other declinable word classes, pronouns do not show evidence of
a well-developed word formation system. For the most part, pronouns in contemporary
Latvian are words consisting of either just a root (2.4.11a) or a root and an ending
(2.4.11b).
(2.4.11) a. es ‘I’, tu ‘you (SG)’, mēs ‘we’, jūs ‘you (PL)’, šī ‘this (F)’, tā ‘that (F)’
b. kur-š ‘who, which (interrogative pronoun) (M SG)’
kād-s ‘what, what kind (interrogative pronoun) (M SG)’
tād-s ‘such, that kind (M SG)’
vis-s ‘all, everything, everybody (M SG)’
pat-s ‘reflexive emphatic meaning (M SG)’
man-s ‘my (M SG)’
ab-i ‘both (M)’
There are a number of compounds with a particle in the leftmost part of the word:
(2.4.12) ik-katrs, ik-viens ‘every, each, everyone’
jeb-kas ‘anything’, jeb-kāds ‘any, any kind of’
ne-kas ‘nothing’, ne-viens ‘no one, nobody’
Some pronouns are combinations of a particle and a pronoun (2.4.13a) or a pronoun
and an adjective / numeral (2.4.13b):
(2.4.13) a. kaut kas ‘something’, diez(in) kas, nez(in) kas, sazin kas ‘something,
somebody, who knows what, who knows who’ with diez(in), nez(in),
and sazin reinforcing the meaning of indefiniteness and adding different
shades of meaning depending on the context
b. dažs labs ‘some, someone, a certain one (M SG)’, viens otrs ‘someone,
an occasional one (M SG)’

2.4.1 Personal pronouns

Personal pronouns name a person who either takes part or is made reference to in
a speech situation (Skujiņa 2007: 295–296). Personal pronouns are closely linked to
dialogue and its personae. In a dialogue, the pronoun es ‘I’ refers to the author of
the text (2.4.14a), tu ‘you (SG)’ – to the addressee (2.4.14b), mēs ‘we’ – to the author
of the text together with other persons (2.4.14c), jūs ‘you (PL)’ – to the addressee of
the text together with other persons or to several addressees simultaneously (2.4.14d),

183
whereas the pronouns viņš ‘he’, viņa ‘she’, viņi ‘they (M)’, viņas ‘they (F)’ name persons
who do not participate in the dialogue but are talked about (2.4.15a–d):
(2.4.14) a. Es varēju sēdēt mājās un lasīt
I.nom be_able.pst.1sg sit.inf home.loc.pl.f and read.inf
grāmatas.
book.acc.pl.f
‘I could sit at home and read books.’ (J. Joņevs)
b. Kāpēc tu smaidi?
why you.nom.sg smile.prs.2sg
‘Why are you smiling?’ (C)
c. Mēs atgriežamies lidostā.
we.nom return.prs.1pl airport.loc.f
‘We are going back to the airport.’ (C)
d. Vai jūs saista kopīgas intereses?
Q you.nom.pl bind.prs.3 shared.nom.pl.f interest.nom.pl.f
‘Are you bound together by shared interests?’ (C)
(2.4.15) a. Viņa uzvārdu es aizmirsu.
he.gen surname.acc.m I.nom forget.pst.1sg
‘I forgot his surname.’ (C)
b. Vēl tagad atceros viņas acu mirdzumu.
still now remember.prs.1sg she.gen eye.gen.pl.f radiance.acc.f
‘Even now, I remember the radiance of her eyes.’ (C)
c. Ar viņiem sarunāties bijis ļoti viegli.
with they.ins.m talk.inf be.ptcp.nom.m very easy
‘Talking to them has been very easy.’ (C)
d. Viņas nejūtas vainīgas.
they.nom.f not_feel.prs.3 guilty.nom.pl.f
‘They (F) do not feel guilty.’ (C)
As can be seen from the  examples above, pronouns correspond to the  system of
persons found in Latvian verbs: the pronouns es ‘I’, tu ‘you (SG)’, mēs ‘we’, jūs ‘you
(PL)’ map onto 1st and 2nd person singular and plural, respectively, the pronouns
viņš ‘he’, viņa ‘she’, viņi ‘they (M)’, viņas ‘they (F)’ ­onto 3rd person singular and plural.
The pronouns es, tu, mēs, jūs have the following declension paradigms:

SG PL
NOM es tu mēs jūs
GEN manis tevis mūsu jūsu
DAT man tev mums jums
ACC mani tevi mūs jūs
INS (ar) mani (ar) tevi (ar) mums (ar) jums
LOC manī tevī mūsos jūsos
Table 2.17 Declension of the personal pronouns es, tu, mēs, jūs

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The pronouns viņš, viņa, viņi, viņas inflect as declension 1 nouns in the masculine
and declension 4 nouns in the feminine (see Table 2.3).
Personal pronouns are closely linked to the concept of animacy. The pronouns
es, tu, mēs, jūs always relate to actions carried out by humans (see examples (2.4.14),
with the exception of personification (2.4.16)).
(2.4.16) a. Kur tu esi, vasara?
where you.nom.sg be.prs.2sg summer.nom.f
‘Where are you, summer?’ (www.twitter.com)
b. Maiga vai barga. Kāda tu
mild.nom.f or harsh.nom.f which.nom.f you.nom.sg
būsi, ziema 2015?
be.fut.2sg winter.nom.f 2015
‘Mild or harsh. Which one will you be, winter of 2015?’ (Latvijas Avīze)
In Latvian, especially in colloquial speech, the  meaning of the  pronouns mēs ‘we’
and jūs ‘you (PL)’ is often further specified by naming one or several additional
participants of the  action in the  instrumental case  – the  so-called inclusive plural
pronouns function (Prauliņš 2012: 53).
(2.4.17) a. Mēs ar māsu [bērnībā] netikām
we.nom with sister.ins.f [childhood] not_get.pst.1pl
īpaši lutinātas.
particularly pamper.ptcp.nom.pl.f
‘My sister and I weren’t pampered too much [when we were kids].’
(www.maminuklubs.lv)
b. Vai jūs ar sievu apspriežat viens
q you.nom.pl with wife.ins.f discuss.prs.2pl one.nom.m
otra profesionālo darbību?
other.gen.m professional.acc.f activity.acc.f
‘Do you and your wife discuss each other’s professional activities?’
(www.apollo.lv)
c. Uz pastāvīgu dzīvi šeit [Talsos]
for permanent.acc.f life.acc.f here [in Talsi]
mēs ar vīru un bērniem
we.nom with husband.ins.m and child.ins.pl.m
pārcēlāmies pirms diviem gadiem.
move.pst.1pl before two.dat.pl.f year.dat.pl.m
‘My husband, children, and I moved to live here [in Talsi] two years
ago.’ (Latvijas Avīze)
In colloquial speech, the pronouns mēs ‘we’ and jūs ‘you (PL)’ are sometimes used to
refer to a person together with that person’s pet, usually a dog:
(2.4.18) a. Kādu dienu mēs ar suni pastaigājāmies.
some.acc.f day.acc.f we.pl with dog.ins.m walk.pst.1pl
‘One day I went for a walk with the dog.’ (www.tvnet.lv)

185
 b. Cik ilgi jūs staigājat ar suni pa
how long you.nom.pl walk.prs.2.pl with dog.ins.m prep
āru?
outdoors.acc.m
‘How long do you walk outdoors with your dog?’ (www.draugiem.lv)
In Standard Latvian, the 3rd person pronouns viņš ‘he’, viņa ‘she’, viņi ‘they (M)’, viņas
‘they (F)’ only apply to humans (again, with the exception of personification) (see
examples (2.4.15)). When referring to animals (2.4.19) or inanimate objects (2.4.20)
the (demonstrative) pronouns tas ‘that, it (M)’, tā (F), tie ‘those, they (M)’, tās (F) are
expected to be used.
(2.4.19) a. Pundurcūciņu dzīvnieku patversmē nogādāja no kāda dzīvokļa Rīgā.
Iepriekšējie saimnieki to bija
previous.nom.pl.m owner.nom.pl.m it.acc.f be.aux.pst.3
iegādājušies emociju vadīti.
buy.ptcp.nom.pl.m feeling.gen.pl.f guide.ptcp.nom.pl.m
‘The miniature pig was brought to the animal shelter from some
apartment in Rīga. The previous owners had bought it on impulse.’
(www.delfi.lv)
b. Cilvēki dzīvniekus bieži iegādājas,
person.nom.pl.m animal.acc.pl.m often buy.prs.3
neapzinoties, ka par tiem būs jārūpējas.
not_be_aware.ptcp that for they.acc.m be.aux.fut.3 deb.care
‘People often buy animals without realizing that they will have to take
care of them.’ (www.delfi.lv)
(2.4.20) a. Šīm fotogrāfijām ir lieliska
this.dat.pl.f photo.dat.pl.f be.cop.prs.3 excellent.nom.f
kvalitāte, jo tās nav jāpalielina.
quality.nom.f because it.nom.pl.f not_be.aux.prs.3 deb.enlarge
‘These photographs are of excellent quality, because they don’t need to
be enlarged.’ (C)
b. Šo mežu bioloģisko daudzveidību ir grūtāk novērtēt.
Tajos ir maz tādu
they.loc.m be.cop.prs.3 few that_kind.gen.pl.f
reto sugu,
rare.gen.pl.f species.gen.pl.f
kuras viegli konstatēt.
that.nom.pl.f easily find.inf
‘The biological diversity of these forests is more difficult to assess.
There aren’t many rare species in them which are easily observed.’ (C)
However, in colloquial speech and not infrequently also in the press (especially on
Internet news sites) the pronouns viņš, viņa, viņi, viņas are used to refer to animals
(2.4.21) and inanimate objects (2.4.22), which is not desirable in Standard Latvian:

186
(2.4.21) a. Alnis tuvojas apmeklētājiem, kaut arī kopēja dzīvnieku vēl ne reizi nav saukusi.
“Viņš dzird, ka runā,” kopēja apstiprina.
he.nom hear.prs.3 that talk.prs.3 handler.nom.f confirm.prs.3
‘The moose is moving towards the visitors, although the attendant
hasn’t called the animal yet, not even once. “He hears the talking”,
the attendant confirms.’ (www.delfi.lv)
b. Trusim pašam jāļauj izvēlēties,
kurā būra stūrī viņš gulēs.
which.loc.m cage.gen.m corner.loc.m he.nom sleep.fut.3
‘The rabbit should be allowed to choose in which corner of the cage he
will sleep.’ (Latvijas Avīze)
c. Nesper sunītim, viņam sāp.
not_kick.imp.2sg doggy.dat.m he.dat hurt.prs.3
‘Don’t kick the doggy, you’re hurting him.’ (C)
(2.4.22) a. Manam mazulim niez smaganas.
Viņas niez tāpēc, ka aug pirmie
they.nom.f itch.prs.3 because that grow.prs.3 first.nom.pl.m
zobi?
tooth.nom.pl.m
‘My baby’s gums are itching. Are they itching because of teething?’
(www.maminuklubs.lv)
b. Mans dators ļoti rūc.
Kas jāmaina, lai viņš būtu
what deb.change sub he.nom be.cop.cond
nedzirdams?
inaudible.ptcp.nom.m
‘My computer whirs very loudly. What has to be changed to make it
quiet?’ (www.draugiem.lv)
In contrast to the  pronouns viņš, viņa, viņi, viņas the  use of the  pronouns tas, tā,
tie, tās is not restricted with respect to animacy – these are applied to living beings
(2.4.23) and objects (2.4.24) alike, irrespective of whether the referent is a human
being (2.4.23a) or an animal (2.4.23b).
(2.4.23) a. Kā tikt galā ar tiem,
how get.inf end.loc.m with they.ins.m
kas nekad neko nezina?
‘How to deal with those who never know anything?’ (C)
b. Savvaļā šinšillas dzīvo apmēram desmit gadus,
bet nebrīvē to dzīves ilgums
but captivity.loc.f it.gen.pl.f life.gen.f length.nom.m
var būt 15 gadu.
be_able.prs.3 be.inf 15 year.gen.pl.m
‘Chinchillas live for about ten years in the wild whereas in captivity
their lifespan may reach 15 years.’ (www.eDruva.lv)

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(2.4.24) a. Ejot gar ezera krastu, šķiet,
ka tā ir jūra.
that it.nom.f be.cop.prs.3 sea.nom.f
‘Walking along the shore of the lake it seems like a sea.’ (N. Ikstena)
b. Ziņojumu es sarakstīšu,
pēc pāra dienām
after couple.gen.m day.dat.pl.f
tas būs tev galdā.
it.nom.m be.fut.3 you.dat table.loc.m
‘I will write up the report, in a couple of days it will be on your desk.’
(O. Zebris)
In phrases of politeness, when talking to a person who is older, has a higher standing,
with whom one is in a formal relationship, or with whom one just is not on familiar
terms, the  pronoun jūs ‘you (PL)’ is used and the  predicate is usually concordant,
taking the 2nd person plural form (2.4.25). In letters, invitations, and other similar
texts the pronoun is capitalized (2.4.26).
(2.4.25) a. – Māri, stāsta, ka jūs par Mocartu
Māris.voc.m tell.prs.3 that you.nom.pl about Mozart.acc.m
zināt vairāk nekā par saviem
know.prs.2pl more than about own.dat.pl.m
laikabiedriem.
contemporary.dat.pl.m
‘Māris, word has it that you (PL) know more about Mozart than about
your contemporaries.’ (Latvijas Avīze)
b. Kā jūs sākāt organizēt [arhitektūras]
how you.nom.pl begin.pst.3 organize.inf [architecture]
konkursu?
competition.acc.m
‘How did you (PL) begin organizing the [architecture] competition?’ (Ir)
(2.4.26) a. Arī Jūs mūsu kāzās būsiet mīļi
also you.nom.pl we.gen wedding.loc.pl.f be.cop.fut.3 fondly
gaidīts viesis!
wait.ptcp.nom.m guest.nom.m
‘You (PL) will also be a welcome guest at our wedding!’ (www.precos.lv)
b. Informējam Jūs, ka 8. un 9. janvārī
inform.prs.1pl you.acc.pl that 8th and 9th January.loc.m
bibliotēka būs slēgta.
library.nom.f be.aux.fut.3 close.ptcp.nom.f
‘We would like to inform you (PL) that the library will be closed on
the 8th and 9th of January.’ (www.twitter.com)

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2.4.2 The reflexive pronoun
The reflexive pronoun sevis ‘(-)self’ is used to indicate that an action is directed back
at the agent irrespective of the (grammatical) person of the latter (Skujiņa 2007: 53).
The grammatical person is normally defined by contextual use. Importantly, other
pronouns, personal pronouns included, are never used in this function in Latvian:
(2.4.27) a. 1SG
Barselonā [es] sāku noticēt sev kā
Barcelona.loc.f [I] begin.pst.1sg believe.inf oneself.dat as
māksliniecei.
artist.dat.f
‘In Barcelona [I] began to believe in myself as an artist.’ (Kas Jauns)
b. 2SG
[Tu] Runā ar sevi!
you talk.imp.2sg with oneself.ins
‘[You] Talk to yourself!’ (www.draugiem.lv)
c. 3SG
Gadās, ka cilvēks neieklausās sevī.
occur.prs.3 that person.nom.m not_listen.prs.3 oneself.loc
‘Sometimes one doesn’t listen to oneself.’ (www.apollo.lv)
d. 1PL
Kad mēs sevi mīlam,
when we.nom oneself.acc love.prs.1pl
mūsos veidojas enerģijas lādiņš.
‘When we love ourselves we get an energy boost.’ (www.delfi.lv)
e. 2PL
Vai jums ir bijis tā,
ka jūs sev nopērkat ko nederīgu?
that you.nom.pl oneself.dat buy.prs.2pl what.acc useless.acc.m
‘Has it ever happened to you that you buy yourself something useless?’
(www.cosmo.lv)
f. 3PL
Vikingi sevi nedēvēja par vikingiem.
Viking.nom.pl.m oneself.acc not_call.pst.3 of Viking.dat.pl.m
‘The Vikings didn’t call themselves Vikings.’ (Latvijas Avīze)
Thus, in terms of syntax the reflexive pronoun sevis can act as a subject controller, as it
always points to the agent in a sentence. Consequently, in sentences containing several
agents the pronoun sevis may be ambiguous, in which case it can be disambiguated by
introducing the definite pronoun katrs ‘every, each, everyone (M SG)’, katra (F SG),
katri (M PL), katras (F PL) or by replacing the reflexive pronoun with a combination
of the definite pronoun katrs (katra, katri, katras) and the possessive pronoun savs
‘own, reflexive possessive meaning (M SG)’ (sava, savi, savas):

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(2.4.28) Profesors ieteica studentiem nopirkt
professor.nom.m recommend.pst.3 student.dat.pl.m buy.inf
sev mācību grāmatu.
oneself.dat course.gen.pl.f book.acc.f
‘The professor recommended that the students should buy [themselves]
the course book (in the Latvian version it is unclear whether the reflexive
pronoun sev refers to the professor or the students).’
→
Profesors ieteica studentiem nopirkt katram sev/katram savu kursa mācību
grāmatu.
‘The professor recommended that the students should each buy their own
copy of the course book.’
The reflexive pronoun sevis has the following declension paradigm:

NOM –
GEN sevis
DAT sev
ACC sevi
INS (ar) sevi
LOC sevī
Table 2.18 Declension of the pronoun sevis

Although it is more common to use the pronoun sevis for animate agents (humans
(2.4.27) or animals (2.4.29)), sometimes it is also applied to inanimate objects
(2.4.30):
(2.4.29) a. Kāpēc kaķi sev plēš aiz
why cat.nom.pl.m oneself.dat claw.prs.3 behind
auss?
ear.gen.f
‘Why do cats claw [themselves] at their ears?’ (www.delfi.lv)
b. Lieli suņi rada pret
large.nom.pl.m dog.nom.pl.m create.prs.3 against
sevi cieņu.
oneself.acc respect.acc.f
‘Large dogs command respect [for themselves].’(www.tvnet.lv)
c. Lācene sevi nodevusi,
she-bear.nom.f oneself.acc give_away.ptcp.nom.f
kad tuvējās mājās mielojusies ar āboliem.
‘The she-bear gave herself away when she feasted on apples on a nearby
property.’ (Diena)

190
(2.4.30) a. Es skatos,
kā koks pēc koka plēš
how tree.nom.m after tree.gen.m tear.prs.3
sev lapas nost.
oneself.dat leaf.acc.pl.f off
‘I am looking at how one tree after another tears its leaves off [itself].’ (C)
b. Audzināšanas sistēma ietver sevī arī
education.gen.f system.nom.f include.prs.3 oneself.loc also
nacionālās audzināšanas komponentu.
national.gen.f education.gen.f component.acc.m
‘The education system also includes [in itself] a national awareness
component.’ (Jaunā gaita)
c. Nepareizs sakodiens nes sev līdzi
wrong.nom.m occlusion.nom.m bring.prs.3 oneself.dat along
arī galvassāpes, stājas problēmas.
also headache.acc.pl.f posture.gen.f problem.acc.pl.f
‘Malocclusion also brings about [with itself] headaches, posture
problems.’ (Neatkarīgā Rīta Avīze)

2.4.3 Possessive pronouns

Possessive pronouns indicate possession by a  certain person (Skujiņa 2007, 297).
The possessive pronouns mans ‘my (M SG)’, mana (F SG), mani (M PL), manas (F PL)
attribute possession to 1st person singular (2.4.31), the pronouns tavs ‘your (SG) (M
SG)’, tava (F SG), tavi (M PL), tavas (F PL) – to 2nd person singular (2.4.32):
(2.4.31) a. Jūs kaut ko zināt par manu
you.nom.pl something.acc know.prs.2pl about my.acc.m
tēvu?
father.acc.m
‘Do you know anything about my father?’ (C)
b. Manā dzīvē ir sācies jauns
my.loc.f life.loc.f be.aux.prs.3 begin.ptcp.nom.m new.nom.m
posms.
stage.nom.m
‘A new stage has begun in my life.’ (C)
c. Blakussēdētāji izrādās mani
person_sitting_next.nom.pl.m turn_out.prs.3 my.nom.pl.m
tautieši.
compatriot.nom.pl.m
‘It turns out that the people sitting next to me are my compatriots.’
(P. Bankovskis)

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(2.4.32) a. Cik tavam bērniņam gadu?
how_many your.dat.sg.m child.dat.m year.gen.pl.m
‘How old is your child?’ (C)
b. Saņēmu tavu ziņu.
receive.pst.1sg your.acc.sg.f message.acc.f
‘I’ve received your message.’ (C)
c. Ko stāsta tavas acis?
what.acc tell.prs.3 your.nom.pl.f eye.nom.pl.f
‘What do your eyes say?’ (www.delfi.lv)
The pronouns savs ‘own, reflexive possessive meaning (M SG)’, sava (F SG), savi (M
PL), savas (F PL) are not tied to any particular (grammatical) person. Depending on
the  specific contextual use, these pronouns can be used to attribute possession to
any grammatical person and number. Therefore, just like the reflexive pronoun sevis
the pronoun savs can be used in syntax as a subject controller pointing to the subject:
(2.4.33) a. 1 SG
Es lepojos ar savu skolu.
I.nom take_pride.prs.1sg with own.ins.f school.ins.f
‘I take pride in my school.’ (C)
b. 2 SG
[Tu] Saudzē dabu un mīli savu
you conserve.imp.2sg nature.acc.f and love.imp.2sg own.acc.f
zemi!
country.acc.f
‘[You] Conserve nature and love your country!’ (www.twitter.com)
c. 3 SG
Katram orķestrim ir savs
each.dat.m orchestra.dat.m be.cop.prs.3 own.nom.m
skanējums.
sound.nom.m
‘Each orchestra has its own [distinctive] sound.’ (C)
d. 1 PL
Mums ir sava māja.
we.dat be.prs.3 own.nom.f house.nom.f
‘We have our own house.’ (www.delfi.lv)
2 PL
[Jūs] Izvēlieties savam monitoram
[you (PL)] choose.imp.2pl own.dat.m monitor.dat.m
visatbilstošāko izšķirtspēju.
most_suitable.acc.f resolution.acc.f
‘[You] Choose the best resolution for your monitor.’ (C)

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 e. 3 PL
Ievārījumos ogas daudz zaudē no savas
jam.loc.pl.m berry.nom.pl.f much lose.prs.3 of own.gen.f
uzturvērtības.
nutritional_value.gen.f
‘In jams, berries lose much of their nutritional value.’ (C)
To avoid confusion, in sentences where possession can, in principle, be attributed to
more than one person it is best to use the pronouns mans (mana, mani, manas) or tavs
(tava, tavi, tavas), which apply to specific grammatical persons, instead of savs (sava,
savi, savas), which does not:
(2.4.34) Vai tu man ļautu satikties
Q you.nom.sg I.dat allow.cond meet.inf
ar savu māsu?
with own.ins.f sister.ins.f
‘Would you let me meet ‘reflexive possessive meaning’ sister?’
→
Vai tu man ļautu satikties ar tavu māsu?
‘Would you let me meet your sister?’
/ Vai tu man ļautu satikties ar manu māsu?
‘Would you let me meet my sister?’
The possessive pronouns mans, mana, tavs, tava, savs, sava inflect like adjectives with
an indefinite ending (i.e., as declension 1 nouns in the masculine and declension 4
nouns in the feminine, see Section 2.11, Table 2.3).
In Latvian, in order to indicate possession by someone corresponding to 3rd
person singular and plural or 1st and 2nd person plural, one has to use the appropriate
personal pronouns in the genitive: viņa ‘his’, viņas ‘her’, viņu ‘their’ (one form for both
genders), mūsu ‘our’, jūsu ‘your (PL)’:
(2.4.35) a. Kopā ar muižnieku pie viņa
together with landlord.ins.m by he.gen
kamīna tumšajos vakaros
fireplace.gen.m dark.loc.pl.m evening.loc.pl.m
tika izdzerta ne viena vien
get.aux.pst.3 drink.ptcp.nom.sg.f not one.nom.f only
glāzīte.
glass.nom.f
‘Many a glass was drained together with the landlord by his fireplace
during the dark winter evenings.’ (P. Bankovskis)
b. Pirmo reizi es redzu viņas [sievietes]
first.acc.f time.acc.f I.nom see.prs.1sg she.gen [woman]
acis.
eye.acc.pl.f
‘For the first time I see her [the woman’s] eyes.’ (I. Gaile)

193
 c. Labklājības valsts bija viņu
welfare.gen.f state.nom.f be.pst.3sg they.gen.m
[iedzīvotāju] atalgojums.
[inhabitants’] reward.nom.m
‘A welfare state was their [the inhabitants’] reward.’ (Ir)
d. Mūsu gadījumā vēsture neatkārtojas.
we.gen case.loc.m history.nom.f not_repeat.prs.3
‘In our case, history does not repeat itself.’ (O. Zebris)
e. Jums ir tiesības aizrādīt jebkuram,
kurš jūsu tuvumā smēķē.
who.nom.m you.gen.pl proximity.loc.m smoke.prs.3
‘You have the right to reproach anyone who is smoking near you.’
(Latvijas Avīze)
As far as animacy is concerned, the pronouns mans (mana, mani, manas), tavs (tava,
tavi, tavas) are always associated with an animate agent, namely, a human being (see
examples (2.4.31) and (2.4.32)), as are the genitives of the personal pronouns used to
indicate possession: mūsu, jūsu, viņa (viņas, viņu) (examples (2.4.35)). The pronoun
savs (sava, savi, savas) relates to animate agents, i.e., human beings, if it is applied
to 1st or 2nd person singular or plural (see examples (2.4.33a-b) and (2.4.33d-e)),
otherwise, i.e., in the  3rd person, animacy depends on that of the  antecedent, cf.
(2.4.36a) with an animate agent and (2.4.36b) where the antecedent is an inanimate
object:
(2.4.36) a. Viņš ar savu īpašumu rīkojas, kā grib.
he.nom with own.ins.m property.ins.m act.prs.3 as want.prs.3
‘He does as he pleases with his property.’ (C)
b. Valsts pārvalde savā darbībā
state.gen.f government.nom.f own.loc.f work.loc.f
ievēro cilvēktiesības.
respect.prs.3 human_rights.acc.pl.f
‘The authorities respect human rights in their work.’ (C)
Latvian also has standalone possessive pronouns derived by means of the suffix -ēj-:
manējais ‘mine (M SG)’ (manējā (F SG), manējie (M PL), manējās (F PL)), tavējais
‘yours (SG) (M SG)’ (tavējā (F SG), tavējie (M PL), tavējās (F PL)), viņējais ‘theirs (M
SG)’ (viņējā (F SG), viņējie (M PL), viņējās (F PL)), savējais ‘own, reflexive possessive
meaning (M SG)’ (savējā (F SG), savējie (M PL), savējās (F PL)), mūsējais ‘ours (M SG)’
(mūsējā (F SG), mūsējie (M PL), mūsējās (F PL)), jūsējais ‘yours (PL) (M SG)’, jūsējā (F
SG), jūsējie (M PL), jūsējās (F PL)). These pronouns follow the inflection patterns of
definite adjectives and agree with the antecedent, i.e., the word they stand for:
(2.4.37) a. Šis sporta veids
this.nom.m sport.gen.m manner.nom.m
nav manējais.
not_be.cop.prs.sg3 mine.nom.m
‘This sport is not for me.’ (www.delfi.lv)

194
 b. Tev patīk [kāds mākslas darbs] – paņem
you.dat.sg like.prs.2sg [some art work] – take.imp.prs.2sg
[un nopērc], tas [ir] tavējais!
[and buy] it.nom.m [is] yours.nom.sg.m
‘If you like [a work of art] – take it [and buy it], it [is] yours!’ (Diena)
c. Sporta žurnālisti teiks, ka Miķelis
sport.gen.m journalist.nom.pl.m say.fut.3pl that Miķelis.nom.m
ir viņējais.
be.cop.prs.2 theirs.nom.m
‘Sports journalists will say that Miķelis is one of them.’ (www.lsm.lv)
d. Nepiederu nevienam stilam, man ir
not_belong.prs.1sg none.dat.m style.dat.m I.dat be.cop.prs.3
savējais.
own.nom.m
‘I don’t belong to any style, I have my own.’ (www.draugiem.lv)
e. Atceros daudzu lielo izbrīnu –
remember.prs.sg1 many.gen.pl.m large.acc.m surprise.acc.m
bokseris no Latvijas? Tas taču
boxer.nom.m from Latvia.gen.f he.nom however
[ir] mūsējais!
be ours.nom.m
‘I remember how surprised many were – a boxer from Latvia? But he is
one of ours!’ (Kas Jauns)
f. Dvīņu māmiņas piedzīvojumi ar ratiem.
Kādi ir jūsējie?
what_kind.nom.pl.m be.cop.prs.3 yours.nom.pl.m
‘The pram adventures of a mother of twins. What are yours?’
(www.maminuklubs.lv)
In colloquial speech and written texts that incorporate some of the  elements of
colloquial speech (such as online comments, blog postings, etc.) these derivatives are
often used in the function of the possessive pronouns mans (mana, mani, manas), tavs
(tava, tavi, tavas), savs (sava, savs, savi, savas), and the personal pronouns mūsu, jūsu,
viņa, viņas, viņu, i.e., as attributes showing grammatical agreement with the noun
they modify or as substantivizations substituting for words like vīrs ‘husband’, sieva
‘wife’, dzīvesbiedrs ‘spouse (M)’, dzīvesbiedre ‘spouse (F)’, etc. This usage is considered
non-standard.
(2.4.38) a. Lombardā saka,
ka tas nav
that this.nom.m not_be.cop.prs.3
manējais ritenis.
mine.nom.m bicycle.nom.m
‘The pawnshop says that this is not my (‘mine’) bicycle.’ (www.lsm.lv)
(Correct: mans ritenis ‘my bicycle’)

195
 b. Tavējie bērni vakaros nekur
yours.nom.pl.m child.nom.pl.m evening.loc.pl.m nowhere
neiet?
not_go.prs.3
‘Don’t your (‘yours’) kids go anywhere in the evenings?’ (www.tvnet.lv)
(Correct: tavi bērni ‘your kids’)
c. Viņš pateica savējo vārdu.
he.nom say.pst.3 own.acc.m word.acc.m
‘He has said his (reflexive possessive meaning; ‘of his’) word.’ (C)
(Correct: savu vārdu ‘his (reflexive possessive meaning) word’)
d. Viņš [deputāts] tagad gaida, lai
tauta nostājas viņējā pusē.
people.nom.f stand.prs.3 theirs.loc.f side.loc.f
‘Now he [the MP] expects that the people will be on his (‘of his’) side.’
(Neatkarīgā Rīta Avīze)
(Correct: viņa pusē ‘his side’)
(2.4.39) a. Manējais labi gatavo, nav slinks.
mine.nom.m well prepare.prs.3 not_be.cop.prs.3 lazy.nom.m
‘Mine cooks well, isn’t lazy.’ (www.cosmo.lv)
(Correct: mans vīrs ‘my husband’ / dzīvesbiedrs ‘my spouse’)
b. Kad tavējā ir augstprātīga.
when yours.nom.f be.cop.prs.3 haughty.nom.f
‘When yours begins to put on airs.’ (www.delfi.lv)
(Correct: tava sieva ‘your wife’ / dzīvesbiedre ‘your spouse’)
The word class membership of these derivatives is still a matter of some controversy
in Latvian grammar and they have been classified both as pronouns (Prauliņš
2012: 55–56; Vulāne 2013: 276) and adjectives (for more details and a  discussion
of the descriptive history and problems see Paegle 2003: 80–81). On the one hand,
their semantics and functions correspond to those of possessive pronouns, which
is confirmed by the  fact that they are used in similar ways. On the  other hand,
the derivative type that they exhibit seems to fit in with the adjectival word formation
system. In addition, the definite / indefinite ending opposition, although it is weaker
in contemporary Latvian than it once was and rarely manifests itself in language use,
is also, in principle, possible for these derivatives:
(2.4.40) manējs ‘mine (INDF)’ – manējais (DEF)
tavējs ‘yours (SG) (INDF)’ – tavējais (DEF)
savējs ‘own, reflexive possessive meaning (INDF)’ – savējais (DEF)
viņējs ‘theirs (INDF)’ – viņējais (DEF)
mūsējs ‘ours (INDF)’ – mūsējais (DEF)
jūsējs ‘yours (PL) (INDF)’ – jūsējais (DEF)

196
Admittedly though, there is no difference in meaning between the  members of
the  opposition in contemporary Latvian and, on the  whole, the  definite ending
prevails. The use of indefinite endings has become stylistically marked and is strongly
associated with colloquial speech:
(2.4.41) a. Manējs [dēls] tik basīti dzenā.
mine.nom.m [son] just basketball.dim.acc.m play.prs.3
‘Mine [son] just keeps on playing basketball.’ (www.musturs.lv)
b. Tavējs [vīrs] vēl slēpo?
yours.nom.m [husband] still ski.prs.3
‘Does yours [husband] still ski?’ (www.delfi.lv)
c. Es domāju, ka visai drīz viņēji
I.nom. think.prs.1sg that very soon theirs.nom.pl.m
aizmirsīs par pussalu.
forgot.fut.3 about peninsula.acc.f
‘I think that very soon they (‘theirs’) will forget about the peninsula.’
(Diena)

2.4.4 Demonstrative pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns point to specific living beings, objects, and features that are
recognizable within a given speech situation or to information mentioned elsewhere
in the text (Skujiņa 2007: 258).
As has already been mentioned in the  introductory remarks of this chapter,
Latvian demonstrative pronouns have two functions:
1) an exophoric function, i.e., pointing to that which is nearby or farther away
in space or time;
2) an endophoric function, i.e., pointing to antecedent (anaphora) or postcedent
(cataphora) information within the  same text; as a  result of the  increased
availability of information and also due to written communication being
nowadays widely used in all kinds of situations, the endophoric function of
demonstrative pronouns is dominant in contemporary language.
The pronouns šis ‘this (M)’, šī (F), šie ‘these (M)’, šīs (F), šāds ‘such, this kind
(M SG)’, šāda (F SG), šādi (M PL), šādas (F PL) point to spatially or temporally close
objects or features (2.4.42), the pronouns tas ‘that, it (M)’, tā (F), tie ‘those, they (M)’,
tās (F), tāds ‘such, that kind (M SG)’, tāda (F SG), tādi (M PL), tādas (F PL) point to
objects that are farther away (2.4.43), while the  pronouns viņš ‘that (M SG)’, viņa
(F SG), viņi (M PL), viņas (F PL) point to very distant objects and features (2.4.44):
(2.4.42) a. Šai stāvā šis bija
this.loc.m floor.loc.m this.nom.m be.cop.pst.3
vienīgais apdzīvotais dzīvoklis.
only.nom.m inhabit.ptcp.nom.m apartment.nom.m
‘This was the only inhabited apartment on this floor.’ (J. Joņevs)

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 b. Pūces nebija vienīgie šajā
owl.nom.pl.f not_be.cop.pst.3 only.nom.pl.m this.loc.f
naktī dzirdamie putni.
night.loc.f hear.ptcp.nom.pl.m bird.nom.pl.m
‘Owls weren’t the only birds that could be heard during this night.’ (C)
c. Šādas viesu telpas
this_kind.nom.pl.f guest.gen.pl.m premises.nom.pl.f
patiks arī ciemiņiem!
like.fut.3 too visitor.dat.pl.m
‘Visitors will find guest premises like these agreeable, too.’ (Ievas Māja)
d. Šādās dienās, kad ārā ir tik
this_kind.loc.pl.f day.loc.pl.f when outside be.cop.prs.3 so
auksts, jāsāk domāt par ziemu.
cold.nom.m deb.start think.inf about winter.acc.f
‘On days like these when it is so cold outside one has to start thinking
of winter’ (www.draugiem.lv)
(2.4.43) a. Man [dārzā] patīk skatīties un atcerēties,
ka šis koks ir no brāļa,
that this.nom.m tree.nom.m be.prs.3 from brother.gen.m
bet tas – no draudzenes Siguldā.
but that.nom.m from friend.gen.f Sigulda.loc.f
‘[In the garden] I enjoy looking and remembering that this tree is from
my brother, but that one – from my friend (F) in Sigulda.’
(Neatkarīgā Rīta Avīze)
b. Tā gada janvārī sniegs bija
that.gen.m year.gen.m January.loc.m snow.nom.m be.pst.3
tikai mēneša sākumā.
only month.gen.m beginning.loc.m
‘In January of that year, there was snow only at the beginning of
the month.’ (C)
c. [privāta meža] Teritorijai jābūt norobežotai, ja nav,
tad tādā mežā neviens
then that_kind.loc.m forest.loc.m nobody.nom.m
nedrīkst aizliegt būt.
not_be_allowed.prs.3 prohibit.inf be.inf
‘The territory [of a private forest] must be fenced in, if it isn’t, no one
may prohibit anyone from being in such a forest.’ (www.draugiem.lv)
d. Gatavošanās kāzām –
nāk skumjas par tādu
come.prs.3 sadness.nom.pl.f about that_kind.acc.m
laiku.
time.acc.m
‘Preparing for a wedding – this kind of weather makes one feel sad.’
(www.delfi.lv)

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(2.4.44) a. Pļavas viņā stūrī,
meadow.gen.f yonder.loc.m corner.loc.m
lielu egļu ieskautas, vīdēja mājas.
‘In the farthest part of the meadow, surrounded by large fir trees,
the house loomed ahead.’ (C)
b. Viņu dienu Delila pēkšņi atkal
yonder.acc.f day.acc.f Delilah.nom.f suddenly again
atradās sporta nama zālē.
be_located.pst.3 sports.gen.m building.gen.m hall.loc.f
‘That day Delilah suddenly found herself in the hall of the sports center
again.’ (C)
c. Viņā dienā kreisi mērenais
yonder.loc.f day.loc.f left moderate.nom.m
politiķis ieradās ostā,
politician.nom.m arrive.pst.3 port.loc.f
lai papriecātos par pavasara saulīti.
‘That day the moderately leftist politician arrived at the port to enjoy
the spring sun.’ (Latvijas Avīze)
In modern Latvian, the demonstrative pronouns viņš, viņa, viņi, viņas are perceived
as stylistically marked. They are mostly found in works of literature, somewhat less
frequently in mass media texts (see, e.g., a  fragment of a  feuilleton (2.4.44c)) and
never in business or scientific writing. Therefore, it is safe to say that the tripartite
opposition close – farther away – very distant shows a tendency towards turning into
the bipartite opposition close – distant where the contrast is expressed by the pronouns
šis (šī, šie, šās), šāds (šāda, šādi, šādas), on the one hand, and the pronouns tas (tā, tie,
tās), tāds (tāda, tādi, tādas), on the other hand.
The pronouns tas, tā, tie, tās are used to express general statements and make
concretizing references:
(2.4.45) Gints. Man bija jūrnieka dzīvesveids. Atbraucu mājās un tad atkal mēnesi prom
[darbā].
‘Gints. I lived the life of a sailor. I would come home and then go away
again for a month [at work].’
Agnese. Tas bija grūti.
Agnese. that.nom.m be.cop.pst.3 hard
Bērni slimoja. Vīrs vienmēr prom.
‘Agnese. That was hard. The children were often ill. My husband was
always away.’ (Ievas Stāsti)
(2.4.46) Uz galda bija kāda zēna fotogrāfija.
Tas bija Kārlis,
that.nom.m be.cop.pst.3 Kārlis.nom.m
tikai daudz jaunāks.
‘There was a photograph of a boy on the table. That was Kārlis, just much
younger.’ (I. Gaile)

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The pronouns šis, šī, šie, šās, tas, tā, tie, tās (also šāds, šāda, šādi, šādas, tāds, tāda,
tādi, tādas) are usually used to refer to antecedent or postcedent information in
the same text, i.e., anaphorically (2.4.47) or cataphorically (2.4.48):
(2.4.47) a. Ar latviešu simfoniskās mūzikas atskaņošanu varam parādīt, kas mēs esam.
Šajā mūzikā ir gan latviskais, gan
this.loc.f music.loc.f be.prs.3 conj Latvian.nom.m conj
pasaulīgais.
universal.nom.m
‘By performing Latvian symphonic music we can show who we are. This
music embodies that which is Latvian and also universal.’ (Jaunā Gaita)
b. Daudzās valstīs mums ir problēmas,
bet mēs tās pārvaram
but we.nom they.acc.f overcome.prs.1pl
un noskaidrojam faktus.
and establish.prs.1pl fact.acc.pl.m
‘We have problems in many countries but we overcome them and
establish [what are] the facts.’ (Ir)
c. Nacionālā Botāniskā dārza oranžērijā uzplaukuši agaves ziedi.
Šāds notikums pie mums gadās reti.
this_kind.nom.m event.nom.m by we.dat happen.prs.3 rarely
‘In the greenhouse of the National Botanical Garden, the agave is in
bloom. Such an event is rare around here.’ (C)
d. Visām senajām ēkām bija niedru jumti,
un tādi tie ir arī tagad.
and that_kind.nom.pl.m they.nom.pl.m be.cop.prs.3 also now
‘All ancient buildings had reed roofs and they are still like that today.’
(Ievas Māja)
(2.4.48) a. Šī summa – aptuveni 300 000 EUR –
this.nom.f sum.nom.f approximately 300 000 EUR
paredzēta Rīgas cirka parādsaistību segšanai.
‘These funds – approximately 300 000 EUR – are reserved for covering
the outstanding debts of the Rīga Circus.’ (Latvijas Avīze)
b. Tas bija gandrīz komiski,
it.nom.m be.cop.pst.3 almost comical
kā viņš turējās pie savas vecās somas.
‘It was almost comical how he was clinging to that old bag of his.’
(N. Ikstena)
c. Pagaidām dzīve iekārtojusies šāda –
for_now life.nom.f settle_in.ptcp.nom.f this_kind.nom.f
divreiz gadā gatavoju aksesuāru [rotaslietu] kolekciju.
‘For the time being, life has settled down like this – twice a year I
develop a collection of accessories [jewelry].’ (www.delfi.lv)

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 d.
Te apkārtnē nav nekā tāda,
here surroundings.loc.f not_be.prs.3 nothing.gen that_kind.gen.m
kas liecinātu, ka viņa ir tūkstošiem kilometru prom no mājām.
‘There is nothing around here to indicate that she is thousands of
kilometers away from home.’ (N. Ikstena)
Another noteworthy phenomenon regarding Latvian demonstrative pronouns is
the  neutralization of the  endophoric function, which manifests itself in a  number
of ways (each being non-standard, although very widespread in colloquial speech):
1) the pronouns tas, tā, tie, tās, less frequently also šis, šī, šie, šīs functioning
as definite articles and used to highlight pieces of information considered
important  – usually in colloquial speech and published or broadcast
interviews; in written language such usage is superfluous and demonstrative
pronouns can be omitted without affecting meaning;
(2.4.49) a. Tā pagale ar to lielo
that.nom.f log.nom.f with that.ins.m large.ins.m
zaru [krāsnī] nelīdīs.
branch.ins.m [into the stove] fit_in.fut.3
‘That log with that big branch will not fit [into the stove].’ (C)
b. Daudzi brīnījās, kāpēc man joprojām nav ģimenes, kāpēc es dzīvoju viena.
Bet tad atnāca Jānis...
un tad sākās šī ģimenes dzīve,
and then begin.pst.3 this.nom.f family.gen.f life.nom.f
šī īstā dzīve.
this.nom.f real.nom.f life.nom.f
‘Many were wondering why I still didn’t have a family, why I lived
alone. But then Jānis came along… And then this family life began, this
real life.’ (NRA)
2) the pronouns tas, tā, tie, tās in front of the comparative form of adjectives
used to express the superlative degree;
(2.4.50) a. Vasara ir tas skaistākais
summer.nom.f be.cop.prs.3 that.nom.m beautiful.cmp.nom.m
(= visskaistākais) kāzu laiks.
(= most beautiful) wedding.gen.pl.f time.nom.m
‘Summer is the most beautiful season for a wedding.’ (C)
b. Vecie cilvēki vienmēr tie
old.nom.pl.m person.nom.pl.m always that.nom.pl.m
gudrākie (= visgudrākie).
clever.spl.cmp.pl.m (= most clever)
‘Old people are always the cleverest ones.’ (www.draugiem.lv)
3) the pronouns šis, šī, šie, šīs functioning as the personal pronouns viņš, viņa,
viņi, viņas; this kind of usage usually occurs in Internet comments where

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 readers of news sites actively discuss the actions and attitudes of particular
individuals, announcements of political parties, etc.; this usage, which is
stylistically marked in contemporary Latvian as it accentuates the negative
stance taken by the author, was once stylistically neutral (for more details
see Ahero et al. 1959: 517; Barbare 2002: 353; Kalnača 2011b).
(2.4.51) a. Ar ko šis (= viņš)
with what.ins this.nom.m (=he)
sliktāks par bijušo mēru?
bad.cmp.nom.m than previous.acc.m mayor.acc.m
Tak jau cienījams un turīgs vīrs.
‘How is this one (= he) worse than the previous mayor? Surely, [he’s]
a respected and wealthy man.’ (www.delfi.lv)
b. Ko tādu šī (= viņa) izdarīja?
what.acc that_kind.acc.m this.nom.f (= she) accomplish.pst.3
‘What exactly has this one (= she) accomplished?’ (www.tvnet.lv)
The demonstrative pronouns šis, šī, tas, tā have the following declension paradigms:

M F
SG PL SG PL
NOM šis tas šie tie šī tā šīs tās
GEN šā // šī tā šo to šās // šīs tās šo to
DAT šim tam šiem tiem šai tai šīm tām
ACC šo to šos tos šo to šīs tās
INS (ar) šo (ar) to (ar) šiem (ar) tiem (ar) šo (ar) to (ar) šīm (ar) tām
LOC šajā // tajā // šajos // tajos // šajā // tajā // šajās // tajās //
šai // tai // šais // tais // šai // tai // šais // tais //
šinī tanī šinīs tanīs šinī tanī šinīs tanīs
Table 2.19 Declension of the demonstrative pronouns šis, šī, tas, tā (adapted from Kalnača
2013: 71); all parallel forms in the genitive and locative are standard

The pronouns šāds, šāda, tāds, tāda, viņš, viņa inflect like indefinite adjectives (i.e., as
declension 1 nouns in the masculine and declension 4 nouns in the feminine).
The combinations of demonstrative pronouns šis tas ‘this and that’ (also šis un
tas), šāds tāds ‘some, certain, some kind’ (šāda tāda (F SG), šādi tādi (M PL), šādas
tādas (F PL)), also šāds un tāds mirror the meaning of the indefinite pronouns kaut
kas ‘something’, kaut kāds ‘some kind, someone, something’:
(2.4.52) a. Sakarā ar pārvākšanos šo to
relation.loc.m with moving.ins.f this.acc that.acc
pārdodu.
sell.prs.1sg
‘Because we’re moving, I’m selling this and that.’ (www.cosmo.lv)

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 b. Pārdodu šādas tādas mazuļu
sell.prs.1sg this_kind.acc.pl.f that_kind.acc.pl.f baby.gen.pl.m
lietas.
thing.acc.pl.f
‘I’m selling some baby things.’ (www.delfi.lv)
The non-standard demonstrative pronouns šitas ‘this (M SG)’ (šitā (F SG), šitie (M PL),
šitās (F PL)), also šitais (šitā, šitie, šitās), šitāds ‘such, this kind (M SG)’ (šitāda (F SG),
šitādi (M PL), šitādas (F PL)), šams ‘this, this one (M SG)’ (šama (F SG), šami (M PL),
šamas (F PL)), also šamais (šamā, šamie, šamās), šamējais (šamējā, šamējie, šamējās)
etc., which are functionally identical to their standard language equivalents šis ‘this’,
šāds ‘such, this kind’, mostly occur in colloquial speech, social network communities,
less often also as a stylistic device in mass media or literary texts:
(2.4.53) a. Un kam šitas stress bija vajadzīgs?
and who.dat this.nom.m stress.nom.m be.cop.pst.3 needed.nom.m
‘And who needed this stress?’ (www.maminuklubs.lv)
b. Viņš prata savaldīt šitādus
he.nom know.pst.3 tame.inf this_kind.acc.pl.m
zvērus.
beast.acc.pl.m
‘He knew how to tame such beasts.’ (C)
c. Ko oriģinālu lai uzdāvinu šamajam?
what.acc original.acc.m ptcl gift.prs.1sg this_one.dat.m
‘What original gift should I give to this one?’ (CW)
d. Šamējā kaķene meklē mājas.
this.nom.f she-cat.nom.f search.prs.3 home.acc.pl.f
‘This she-cat is looking for a home.’ (www.draugiem.lv)

2.4.5 Interrogative pronouns

Interrogative pronouns are used to introduce interrogative sentences (Skujiņa 2007:
175):
(2.4.54) kas ‘who, what’
a. Kas tas par troksni?
what.nom that.nom.m for noise.acc.m
‘What’s that noise?’ (C)
b. Kam tas vajadzīgs?
who.dat that.nom.m needed.nom.m
‘Who needs that?’/ ‘What’s that for?’ (Ir)
(2.4.55) kurš, ‘who, which (M SG)’, kura (F SG), kuri (M PL), kuras (F PL)
a. Kurš apgalvojums ir pareizs?
which.nom.m statement.nom.m be.cop.prs.3 correct.nom.m
‘Which statement is correct?’ (C)

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 b. Kuros [pārtikas] produktos ir
which.loc.pl.m [food] product.loc.pl.m be.cop.prs.3
visvairāk dzelzs?
most iron.gen.f
‘Which foods contain the most iron?’ (Ir)
(2.4.56) kāds ‘what, what kind’ (M SG)’, kāda (F SG), kādi (M PL), kādas (F PL)
a. Kāda nozīme ir orhidejas
what_kind.nom.f meaning.nom.f be.cop.prs.3 orchid.gen.f
krāsai?
color.dat.f
‘What meaning does an orchid’s color have?’ (Latvijas Avīze)
b. Kādus darbus mākat darīt?
what_kind.acc.pl.m work.acc.pl.m know.prs.2pl do.inf
‘What kind of work can you do?’ (C)
Questions concerning the identity of the agent, i.e., the doer, or a previously unknown
fact are introduced by means of the pronoun kas:
(2.4.57) a. Kas jūs esat?
who.nom you.nom.pl be.cop.prs.2pl
‘Who are you?’ (J. Joņevs)
b. Ko tas nozīmē?
what.acc it.nom.m mean.prs.3
‘What does it mean?’ (C)
c. Kam jāuzņemas atbildība?
who.dat deb.take_on responsibility.nom.f
‘Who should take responsibility?’ (C)
In order to ask for information specifying a living being or an object from a known
set of possible answers, the pronouns kurš, kura, kuri, kuras are used:
(2.4.58) a. Kura māsa izaugusi skaistāka?
which.nom.f sister.nom.f grow_up.ptcp.nom.f beautiful.cmp.nom.f
‘Which sister grew up to be more beautiful?’ (Dienas Bizness)
b. Kurā klasē tu mācies?
which.loc.f grade.loc.f you.nom.sg study.prs.2sg
‘What grade are you in?’ (C)
c. Kuri ir īpaši vērtīgie
which.nom.pl.m be.cop.prs.3 particularly valuable.nom.pl.m
meži?
forest.nom.pl.m
‘Which forests are particularly valuable?’ (C)
The pronouns kāds, kāda, kādi, kādas are used to ask about a feature or a property:
(2.4.59) a. Kādai jābūt labai skolotājai?
what_kind.dat.f deb.be.cop good.dat.f teacher.dat.f
‘What must a good teacher (F) be like?’ (Lauku Avīze)

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 b. Kāds jums bijis šis
what_kind.nom.m you.dat.pl be.cop.ptcp.nom.m this.nom.m
gads?
year.nom.m
‘What was this year like for you?’ (C)
c. Kādas redzi tuvākās
what_kind.nom.pl.f see.prs.2sg close.acc.pl.f
sezonas teātrī?
season.acc.pl.f theater.loc.m
‘How do you see the next few seasons at the theater?’ (Ir)
It is not recommended to use the pronouns kāds (kāda, kādi, kādas) ‘what, what kind’
in the sense of the pronouns kurš (kura, kuri, kuras) ‘who, which’, e.g.:
(2.4.60) Kāda (= kura) tēja ir visveselīgākā –
what.nom.f (=which) tea.nom.f be.cop.prs.3 spl.healthy.nom.f
melnā, zaļā vai baltā?
black.nom.f green.nom.f or white.nom.f
‘What (= which) tea is the healthiest – black, green, or white?’ (CW)
The pronoun kas ‘who, what’ has the following declension paradigm:

NOM kas
GEN kā
DAT kam
ACC ko
INS (ar) ko
LOC –
Table 2.20 Declension of the pronoun kas (adapted from Kalnača 2013a: 72)

The pronouns kurš, kura, kuri, kuras, kāds, kāda, kādi, kādas inflect like indefinite
adjectives (i.e., as declension 1 nouns in the masculine and declension 4 nouns in
the feminine).

2.4.6 Relative pronouns

Relative pronouns are used to introduce subordinate clauses and define relations
between the clauses of a complex sentence (Skujiņa 2007: 56):
(2.4.61) kas ‘who, what, which, that’
a. Viļņi sitas gar akmens molu,
kas aizved līdz mazai bākai.
which.nom lead.prs.3 to small.dat.f lighthouse.dat.f
‘Waves crash against the stone pier, which leads to a small white
lighthouse.’ (N. Ikstena)

205
 b. Es nezinu,
kam tas [divritenis] pieder.
who.dat that.nom.m [bicycle] belong.prs.3
‘I don’t know to whom this [bicycle] belongs.’ (C)
(2.4.62) kurš ‘who, which, that (M SG)’, kura (F SG), kuri (M PL), kuras (F PL)
a. Kad biju mazs, nekādi nevarēju atcerēties,
kura no upēm ir Driksa
which.nom.f from river.gen.pl.f be.cop.prs.3 Driksa.nom.f
un kura Lielupe.
and which.nom.f Lielupe.nom.f
‘When I was little I never could remember which river was Driksa and
which one was Lielupe.’ (J. Joņevs)
b. Tas ir standarts,
kuru izmantojam
which.acc.m use.prs.1pl
visos savos projektos.
all.loc.pl.m own.loc.pl.m project.loc.pl.m
‘This is the standard used in all our projects.’ (C)
(2.4.63) kāds ‘which, what kind (M SG)’, kāda (F SG), kādi (M PL), kādas (F PL)
a. Skolēni zina,
kādi drošības noteikumi jāievēro.
what_kind.nom.pl.m safety.gen.f rule.nom.pl.m deb.observe
‘The pupils know which safety rules must be observed.’ (C)
b. Ministru kabinets nosaka kārtību,
kādā piešķiramas valsts
which.loc.f assign.ptcp.nom.pl.f state.gen.f
mērķdotācijas.
earmarked_subsidy.nom.pl.f
‘The Cabinet establishes the procedure for assigning state earmarked
subsidies.’ (C)
When due to its broad applicability the pronoun kas can give rise to ambiguity, it is
best to use the pronoun kurš instead, e.g.:
(2.4.64) Dārzā auga upenāji un ābeles,
kas (= kuras) pašlaik krāšņi ziedēja.
which.nom (which) now gorgeously bloom.pst.3
‘The garden contained blackcurrants and apple trees, which were blooming
gorgeously at the time.’
Here, the  pronoun kas, which introduces a  subordinate clause, refers to both
blackcurrants and apple trees, only the latter, however, bloom gorgeously, therefore
the  pronoun kuras (F PL), which refers specifically to the  word ābeles ‘apple trees
(F PL)’, is preferable in this case.
Likewise, when it is required that a relative pronoun introducing a subordinate
clause be in the  locative (2.4.65a) or the  genitive case (2.4.65b) or when there is

206
a need to combine it with a preposition, (2.4.65c-d) the pronouns kurš, kura, kuri,
kuras are used rather than kas (Paegle 2003: 84):
(2.4.65) a. Latvijā ir dārzs,
kurā vīnogas
which.loc.m grape.nom.pl.f
lieliski sadzīvo ar dzērvenēm.
splendidly coexist.prs.3 with cranberry.ins.pl.f
‘There is a garden in Latvia where grapes and cranberries coexist
splendidly.’ (Neatkarīgā Rīta Avīze)
b. Lētākas kļuvušas dažas preces,
kuru īpatsvars ir neievērojams.
which.gen.pl.f share.nom.m be.cop.prs.3 not_notice.ptcp.nom.m
‘A few goods whose share is insignificant have become cheaper.’ (C)
c. Bruņurupucim nav zobu, bet ir knābis,
ar kuru smalcina barību.
with which.ins.m cut.prs.3 food.acc.f
‘Tortoises don’t have teeth but a beak with which they cut their food.’ (C)
d. Tie ir tie apsvērumi,
kuru dēļ es balsošu “pret”.
which.gen.pl.m because_of i.nom vote.fut.1sg against
‘These are the considerations that are behind my decision to vote
“against”. (C)
For the  declension patterns of relative pronouns see the  section on interrogative
pronouns.

2.4.7 Indefinite pronouns

Indefinite pronouns are used to refer to unknown or unspecified living beings,
objects, and features (Skujiņa 2007: 252):
(2.4.66) kas ‘something, somebody’
Bet tagad klausies ko jautru.
but now listen.imp.2sg something.acc funny.acc
‘And now listen to something funny.’ (N. Ikstena)
(2.4.67) kurš ‘who, which, whoever, whichever (M SG)’, kura (F SG), kuri (M PL),
kuras (F PL)
Dalībnieku skaits ir neierobežots:
kurš piesakās, tas piedalās
who.nom.m apply.prs.3 that.nom.m participate.prs.3
sacensībās.
competition.loc.pl.f
‘The number of participants is not limited: whoever applies gets to
participate in the competition.’ (C)

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(2.4.68) kāds ‘some, some kind, someone (M, SG)’, kāda (F SG), kādi (M PL),
kādas (F PL)
Var viņam iedot kādas
be_able.prs.3 he.dat give.inf some_kind.acc.pl.f
nomierinošas zāles.
calm.ptcp.acc.pl.f drug.acc.pl.f
‘He can also be given some sort of sedative.’ (C)
(2.4.69) dažs ‘some (M SG)’, daža (F SG), daži (M PL), dažas (F PL)
Dažiem vairs nebija miera.
some.dat.pl.m anymore not_be.cop.pst.3 peace.gen.m
‘Some could not find peace anymore.’ (J. Joņevs)
(2.4.70) cits ‘other, someone else (M SG)’, cita (F SG), citi (M PL), citas (F PL)
Mana istaba izīrēta citam.
my.nom.f room.nom.f rent.ptcp.nom.f other.dat.m
‘My room has been rented to someone else.’ (C)
(2.4.71) kaut kas ‘something’
Kaut kas bija jāsaka.
something.nom be.aux.pst.3 deb.say
‘Something had to be said.’ (J. Joņevs)
(2.4.72) kaut kāds ‘some, some kind (M SG)’, kaut kāda (F SG), kaut kādi (M PL),
kaut kādas (F PL)
Ir jābūt kaut kādai iespējai.
be.aux.prs.3 deb.be some_kind.dat.f possibility.dat.f
‘There must be some kind of possibility.’ (C)
(2.4.73) kaut kurš ‘some, somebody (M SG)’, kaut kura (F SG), kaut kuri (M PL),
kaut kuras (F PL)
Kaut kuras darbdienas naktī [televīzijā]
some.gen.f weekday.gen.f night.loc.f [television]
gāja tāds seriāls.
go.pst.3 that_kind.nom.m serial.nom.m
‘There was such a TV series [on television] on some weekday night.’ (CW)
(2.4.74) dažs labs ‘some, someone, a certain one (M SG)’, daža laba (F SG)
Dažam labam nācās gaidīt ilgu laiku.
some.dat.m be_obliged.pst.3 wait.inf long.acc.m time.acc.m
‘Some had to wait for a long time.’ (C)
(2.4.75) viens otrs ‘someone, an occasional one (M SG)’, viena otra (F SG)
Viens otrs varbūt neatminas
someone.nom.m maybe not_remember.prs.3
tādu aktieri.
that_kind.acc.m actor.acc.m
‘Probably there are some who don’t remember such an actor.’ (C)

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The pronouns diez(in), nez(in) and sazin when combined with kas, kurš, kāds
reinforce the  meaning of indefiniteness, adding different shades of meaning
depending on the context:
(2.4.76) diez(in) kas
Tev vajadzētu ķerties pie īsta darba,
you.dat.sg need.cond tackle at real.gen.m job.gen.m
lai tu nedomātu diezin ko!
sub you.nom.sg not_think.cond God_knows_what.acc
‘You should take on a real job so that you don’t think goodness knows
what! (C)
(2.4.77) diez(in) kurš (M SG), diez(in) kura (F SG), diez(in) kuri (M PL),
diez(in) kuras ( F PL)
Diezin kurš būs hokeja komandas
God_knows_who.nom.m be.cop.fut.3 hockey.gen.m team.gen.f
vārtsargs?
goalkeeper.nom.m
‘Who will be the goalkeeper of the hockey team, I wonder?’
(www.sportacentrs.com)
(2.4.78) diez(in) kāds (M SG), diez(in) kāda (F SG), diez(in) kādi (M PL),
diez(in) kādas (F PL)
Mūslaikos tu nevari izvēlēties
nowadays.loc.pl.m you.nom.sg not_be_able.prs.2sg choose.inf
diezin kādu dzīvokli .. .
God_knows_what_kind.acc.m apartment.acc.m
‘Nowadays you can’t expect to get a decent apartment .. .’ (C)
(2.4.79) nez(in) kas
Acis veras spogulī,
it kā nezin ko tur ieraudzījušas
as_if not_know_what.acc there perceive.ptcp.nom.pl.f
‘Eyes looking into the mirror as if they are seeing who knows what in there.’ (C)
(2.4.80) nez(in) kurš, nez(in) kura, nez(in) kuri, nez(in) kuras
Viņa nezin kurā paaudzē esot
she.nom not_know_which.loc.f generation.loc.f be.aux.obl
cēlusies no vecticībniekiem.
descend.ptcp.nom.f from Old_Believers.dat.pl.m
‘She is descended from Old Believers in I don’t know which generation.’ (C)
(2.4.81) nez(in) kāds, nez(in) kāda, nez(in) kādi, nez(in) kādas
Negribu, lai mani uztver kā
not_want.prs.1sg sub I.acc perceive.inf as
nez kādu mākslinieci .. .
some_kind.acc.f artist.acc.f
‘I don’t want to be perceived as some kind of [great] artist .. .’ (C)

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(2.4.82) sazin kas
Tas [lakats] no mammas.
Un pirms viņas vēl sazin kam
and before she.gen additionally who_knows_who.dat.m
piederējis.
belong.ptcp.nom.m.
‘This [neckerchief] is my mother’s. And before that it belonged to God
knows whom else.’ (C)
(2.4.83) sazin kurš, sazin kura, sazin kuri, sazin kuras
Viņš rakstīja savam draugam [vēstuli]
he.nom write.pst.3 own.dat.m friend.dat.m [letter]
sazin kurā pasaules malā.
who_knows_which.loc.f world.gen.f side.loc.f
‘He was writing [a letter] to his friend in who knows which end of
the world.’ (C)
(2.4.84) sazin kāds, sazin kāda, sazin kādi, sazin kādas
Tas krējums ir
that.nom.m cream.nom.m be.cop.prs.3
sazin kādas izcelsmes.
who_knows_what_kind.gen.f origin.gen.f
‘Who knows where that cream comes from.’ (C)
(2.4.85) jebkas ‘anything’
Un kamēr es mīlu,
varu piedot jebko.
be_able.prs.1sg forgive.inf anything.acc
‘And as long as I feel love, I can forgive anything.’ (C)
(2.4.86) jebkurš ‘any, anyone (M SG)’, jebkura (F SG), jebkuri (M PL), jebkuras
(F PL)
Jebkuri panākumi ir kā
any.nom.pl.m achievement.nom.pl.m be.cop.prs.3 like
spārni.
wings.nom.pl.m
‘Any achievements are like wings.’ (C)
(2.4.87) jebkāds ‘any, any kind (M SG)’, jebkāda (F SG), jebkādi (M PL), jebkādas
(F PL)
Futbolistam piedāvāta jebkāda naudas
footballer.dat.m offer.ptcp.nom.f any.nom.f money.gen.f
summa pēc paša vēlēšanās.
amount.nom.f after own.gen.m discretion.gen.f
‘The footballer was offered any amount of money he wanted.’ (C)

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It is important to ensure the  correct spelling of indefinite pronouns. Pronouns
containing kaut, diez(in), nez(in), or sazin as their leftmost element are written
separately (kaut kas, kaut kāds, kaut kurš, dažs labs, viens otrs, diez(in) kas, diez(in)
kurš, diez(in) kāds, nez(in) kas, nez(in) kurš, nez(in) kāds, sazin kas, sazin kurš,
sazin kāds), while those beginning with jeb are written as one word (jebkas, jebkurš,
jebkāds).
Some of the meanings of the indefinite pronoun kāds ‘some, some kind, someone,
any, whatever (M, SG)’, kāda (F SG) can also be expressed by means of the numeral
viens ‘one (M SG)’, viena (F SG) (Paegle 2003: 86):
(2.4.88) a. Vienu (= kādu) dienu satiku Sandi
one (=some).acc.f day.acc.f meet.pst.1sg Sandis.acc.m
Vecrīgā.
Old_Rīga.loc.f
‘One (= some) day I met Sandis in Old Rīga.’ (www.delfi.lv)
b. Vienā (= kādā) vecā mājā bija
one (=some).loc.f old.loc.f house.loc.f be.pst.3
tāds pats vannas istabas platums.
same_kind.nom.m bath.gen.f room.gen.f width.nom.m
‘One (= some) old house had a bathroom of the same width.’
(www.draugiem.lv)
The combinations of pronouns viens otru ‘each other (M ACC)’, viena otru (F ACC),
viens otram (M DAT), viena otrai (F DAT), viens otrā (M LOC), viena otrā (F LOC), cits
citu ‘one another (M NOM)’, cita citu (F NOM), cits citam (M DAT), cita citai (F DAT),
cits citā (M LOC), cita citā (F LOC) express reciprocal meaning (Paegle 2003: 85–86):
(2.4.89) a. Suņi rēja un dzenāja
dog.nom.pl.m bark.pst.3 and chase.pst.3
viens otru.
one.nom.m other.acc.m.
‘The dogs were barking and chasing each other.’ (C)
b. Brīdi mēs skatījāmies
moment.acc.m we.nom look.pst.1pl
viens otram acīs.
one.nom.m other.dat.m eyes.loc.pl.f
‘For a moment, we were looking into each other’s eyes.’ (C)
c. Brīdi viņas lūkojas
moment.acc.m they.nom.pl.f look.prs.3
viena otrā.
one.nom.f other.loc.f
‘For a moment, they were looking at each other (F).’ (C)
(2.4.90) a. Cilvēki cits citu atdarina.
person.nom.pl.m other.nom.m other.acc.m imitate.prs.3
‘People imitate one another.’ (C)

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 b. Instrumentu kļuva arvien vairāk,
[mūzikas] variācijas sekoja
[of music] variations.nom.pl.f follow.pst.3
cita citai.
other.nom.f other.dat.f
‘The number of instruments increased, [musical] variations followed
one after another.’ (C)
c. Kā jau tādās reizēs,
visi saspringti skatījās
everybody.nom.pl.m anxiously look.pst.3
cits citā.
other.nom.m other.loc.m
‘As always happens in such cases, everybody was looking anxiously at
one another.’ (www.tvnet.lv)
Indefinite pronouns are declined in the same way as adjectives with the indefinite
ending (i.e., as declension 1 nouns in the  masculine and declension 4 nouns in
the  feminine), with the  exception of the  pronoun kas and word combinations and
compounds ending in kas; the declension of the pronoun kas is described in the section
on interrogative pronouns.

2.4.8 Definite pronouns

Definite pronouns are used to refer to known, identifiable living beings, objects, or
generalized features (Skujiņa 2007: 262).
(2.4.91) abi ‘both (M)’, abas (F)
Abas spēles sāksies sešos
both.nom.pl.f game.nom.pl.f begin.fut.3 six.nom.pl.m
vakarā.
evening.loc.m
‘Both games will begin at six p.m.’ (C)
(2.4.92) viss ‘all, everything, everybody (M SG)’, visa (F SG), visi (M PL), visas (F PL)
Viss ir sajucis –
everything.nom.m be.aux.prs.3 get_mixed_up.ptcp.nom.m
dienas un naktis.
day.nom.pl.f and night.nom.pl.f
‘Everything is mixed up – days and nights.’ (N. Ikstena)
(2.4.93) katrs ‘every, each, everyone (M SG)’, katra (F SG), katri (M PL), katras
(F PL)
Katrs tic, kam vēlas.
everyone.nom.m believe.prs.3 what.dat want.prs.3
‘Everyone believes what they want to believe.’ (C)

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(2.4.94) ikkatrs ‘every, each, everyone, all (M SG)’, ikkatra (F SG)
Ikkatrā cilvēka šūnā ir gēni,
each.loc.f human.gen.m cell.loc.f be.prs.3 genes.nom.pl.m
kas atbild par tās izdzīvošanu.
‘Each human cell contains genes responsible for its survival.’ (C)
(2.4.95) ikviens ‘every, each, everyone, all (M SG)’, ikviena (F SG)
Ikvienas studiju programmas īstenošanai
every.gen.f studies.gen.pl.f program.gen.f implementation.dat.f
jāsaņem licence.
deb.receive license.nom.f
‘The implementation of any program of studies requires a license.’ (C)
(2.4.96) ikkurš ‘every, everyone (M SG)’, ikkura (F SG)
Literatūra ir dabiska ikkuras
literature.nom.f be.cop.prs.3 natural.nom.f every.gen.f
valodas blakne.
language.gen.f by_product.nom.f
‘Literature is a natural by-product of any language.’ (C)
The definite pronouns pats ‘reflexive emphatic meaning (M SG)’, pati (F SG), paši
(M PL), pašas (F PL) are used in Latvian with the so-called emphatic function – to
stress the autonomy, detachedness of an agent (2.4.97) or significance of some fact
(2.4.98):
(2.4.97) a. Viņa bija mazliet īsāka par mani,
kaut es pati nemaz
although I.nom self.nom.f not_at_all
nebiju no garākajām.
not_be.cop.pst.1sg from tall.dat.pl.f
‘She was a bit shorter than me, although I myself wasn’t very tall
either.’ (www.tvnet.lv)
b. Kolēģis pats nevarēja piedalīties.
colleague.nom.m self.nom.m not_be_able.pst.3 participate.inf
‘The colleague could not personally participate.’ (C)
c. Direktore stāsta par pašas
director.nom.f talk.prs.3 about self.gen.f
rakstītajiem projektiem.
write.ptcp.dat.pl.m project.dat.pl.m
‘The director is talking about projects she herself has written.’ (C)
(2.4.98) a. Gar pašu ezera malu aizlīkumoja
along emph.acc.f lake.gen.m edge.acc.f meander.pst.3
šaura taka.
narrow.nom.f path.nom.f
‘A narrow path meandered along the very edge of the lake.’ (C)

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 b. Viņa iestājās rindas galā,
kas bija jau pašās durvīs.
which.nom be.pst.3 already emph.loc.pl.f door.loc.pl.f
‘She stood at the end of the queue, which stretched to the door.’ (C)
The significance of a fact can also be emphasized by means of the demonstrative–
definite pronoun combination tas pats ‘the very same, selfsame (M SG)’, tā pati (F SG),
tie paši (M PL), tās pašas (F PL) (examples 2.4.99), also tāds pats ‘the same, same kind
(M SG)’, tāda pati (F SG), tādi paši (M PL), tādas pašas (F PL) (examples 2.4.100):
(2.4.99) a. Tajā pašā acumirklī viņi viens
very_same.loc.m instant.loc.m they.nom.pl.m one.nom.m
otru pazina.
other.acc.m recognize.pst.3
‘At the very same instant they recognized each other’ (C)
b. Viņa tajā pašā dienā pārdeva
she.nom very_same.loc.f day.loc.f sell.pst.3
īpašumu citam.
property.acc.m another.dat.m
‘That same day she sold the property to someone else.’ (C)
(2.4.100) a. Viss vienmēr tāds pats un
everything.nom.m always very_same.nom.m and
tajās pašās vietās.
very_same.loc.pl.f place.loc.pl.f
‘Everything is always the same and in the same places.’ (C)
b. Īrnieka ģimenes loceklim ir
tenant.gen.m family.gen.f member.dat.m be.prs.3
tādas pašas tiesības un pienākumi
very_same.nom.pl.f right.nom.pl.f and responsibility.nom.pl.f
kā īrniekam.
as tenant.dat.m
‘The tenant’s family members have the same rights and responsibilities
as the tenant.’ (CW)
The emphatic function of the pronouns pats, pati, paši, pašas also manifests itself in
connection with verb reflexivity; in such cases the  pronouns occur in conjunction
with the  reflexive pronoun sevis, reinforcing its meaning and drawing attention
to the  fact that the  action is oriented towards the  sphere of the  subject (examples
(2.4.101)). The use of such emphatic pronouns for expressing reflexivity, however, is
not obligatory in Latvian.
(2.4.101) a. Cilvēks pats sevi spogulī
person.nom.m self.nom.m own.acc.m mirror.loc.m
redz skaistāku,
see.prs.3 beautiful.cmp.acc.m
nekā patiesībā viņu redz citi.
‘One sees oneself in the mirror as more beautiful than actually seen by
others.’ (www.cosmo.lv)

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 b. Es pazīstu pati sevi,
I.nom know.prs.1sg self.nom.f own.acc.f
esmu strādīga.
‘I know myself, I am hard-working.’ (CW)
c. Viņš teica pats sev to,
he.nom tell.pst.3 self.nom.m own.dat.m that.acc.m
ko gribēja dzirdēt.
what.acc want.pst.3 hear.inf
‘He told himself what he wanted to hear.’ (www.satori.lv)
In addition, the  definite pronouns pats, pati, paši, pašas can be used to form
the superlative forms of adjectives (see Section 2.2.2).
The pronouns pats, pati have the following declension paradigm:

M F
Case
SG PL SG PL
NOM pat-s paš-i pat-i paš-as
GEN paš-a paš-u paš-as paš-u
DAT paš-am paš-iem paš-ai paš-ām
ACC paš-u paš-us paš-u paš-as
INS (ar) paš-u (ar) paš-iem (ar) paš-u (ar) paš-ām
LOC paš-ā paš-os paš-ā paš-ās
Table 2.21 Declension of the  pronouns pats, pati, paši, pašas (adapted from Kalnača
2013a: 73)

All definite pronouns inflect like adjectives with the  indefinite ending (i.e., as
declension 1 nouns in the masculine and declension 4 nouns in the feminine).

2.4.9 Negative pronouns

Negative pronouns are used to negate or indicate the absence of living beings, objects,
or features (Skujiņa 2007: 255):
(2.4.102) nekas ‘nothing’
a. Taču nekas nav mūžīgs.
however nothing.nom not_be.cop.prs.3 eternal.nom.m
‘Nothing lasts forever though.’ (C)
b. Vai tev ir bijusi tā sajūta –
nekā nav bijis un
nothing.gen not_be.aux.prs.3 be.ptcp.nom.m and
nekā nebūs,
nothing.gen not_be.fut.3
tikai šis brīdis?
‘Have you ever had that feeling – there never has been and never will
be anything, just this moment?’ (N. Ikstena)

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(2.4.103) nekāds ‘no, none, not any kind (M SG)’, nekāda (F SG), nekādi (M PL),
nekādas (F PL)
Nekāds līgums ar mums
not_any_kind.nom.m agreement.nom.m with we.ins
netika noslēgts.
not_get.aux.pst.3 conclude.ptcp.nom.m
‘No agreement was concluded with us.’ (C)
(2.4.104) neviens ‘no, nobody, no one (M SG)’, neviena (F SG), nevieni (M PL),
nevienas (F PL)
Nevieni vārti nav
no_one.nom.pl.m gate.nom.pl.m not_be.aux.prs.3
atvērti.
open.ptcp.pl.m
‘No gate is open.’ (C)
The absence of persons, i.e., humans, is usually indicated by means of the pronoun
neviens ‘no one’:
(2.4.105) a. Mani neviens nesaprot.
I.acc no_one.nom.m not_understand.prs.3
‘No one understands me.’ (Diena)
b. Jā, sapņot nevienam nav
yes dream.inf no_one.dat.m not_be.aux.prs.3
liegts.
forbid.ptcp.m
‘Yes, nobody is forbidden from dreaming.’ (C)
c. Pie jūras nebija neviena
at sea.gen.f not_be.pst.3 no_one.gen.m
cilvēka.
person.gen.m
‘There wasn’t a single person on the beach.’ (N. Ikstena)
If a sentence contains a negative pronoun, the finite form of the verb, i.e., the predicate,
is usually also negative:
(2.4.106) a. Šādās mājās nekas
this_kind.loc.pl.f house.loc.pl.f nothing.nom
nevar notikt.
not_be_able.prs.3 happen.inf
Nekas te nevar
nothing.nom here not_be_able. prs.3
ienākt prātā.
come.inf mind.loc.m
‘Nothing can ever happen in such houses. Nothing can cross one’s mind
here.’ (J. Joņevs)

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 b. Nekādas atrunas nav
not_any_kind.nom.pl.f excuses.nom.pl.m not_be.cop.prs.3
iespējamas.
possible.ptcp.nom.pl.f
‘No excuses are possible.’ (C)
c. Ģimenē neviens nesmēķē.
family.loc.f no_one.nom.m not_smoke.prs.3
‘No one smokes in the family.’ (C)
The negative pronouns neviens, neviena, nekāds, nekāda are declined in the same way
as adjectives with an indefinite ending (i.e., as declension 1 nouns in the masculine
and declension 4 nouns in the feminine).

2.5 VERBS
2.5.0 Introductory remarks
The verb is a word class which comprises words expressing actions, states, and
relations, and has, in Latvian, the  grammatical categories of person, tense, mood,
and voice (Skujiņa 2007: 76). In addition, declinable participles are marked for
the categories of gender, number, and case.
Verbs are also connected to transitivity (Section 2.5.6) and expression of
different reflexive (Section 2.5.7) and aspectual meanings (see Section 2.5.8).
Semantically, verbs can be subdivided into various groups or classes, for
example:
1) verbs of speaking
(2.5.1) runāt ‘to talk, speak’, teikt ‘to tell’, sacīt ‘to say’, stāstīt ‘to tell, narrate’
2) verbs of motion
(2.5.2) iet ‘to walk, go’, skriet ‘to run’, lēkt ‘to jump’, kāpt ‘to climb, ascend’
3) verbs of sound
(2.5.3) rūkt ‘to roar, rumble’, svilpt ‘to whistle’, klabēt ‘to clack’, rībēt ‘to rumble,
thunder’
4) verbs of senses and perception
(2.5.4) just ‘to sense, feel’, redzēt ‘to see’, dzirdēt ‘to hear’, skatīties ‘to look’
5) modal verbs
(2.5.5) spēt ‘to be capable of’, varēt ‘to be able’, gribēt ‘to want’, vajadzēt ‘to need’
6) aspectual verbs
(2.5.6) sākt ‘to begin’, beigt ‘to end’, turpināt ‘to continue’

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In sentences, verbs characteristically function as predicates:
(2.5.7) a. Pagāja dažas dienas.
pass.pst.3 few.nom.pl.f day.nom.pl.f
‘A few days passed.’ (A. Eglītis)
b. Būtu es to toreiz
be.aux.cond I.nom that.acc then
zinājis!
know.ptcp.nom.m
‘If only I’d known it then!’ (J. Joņevs)
c. Uzzini, kāpēc sviests tomēr ir
find_out.imp.2sg why butter.nom.m still be.aux.prs.3
jāēd.
deb.eat
‘Find out why you should eat butter after all.’ (Latvijas Avīze)
In addition, infinitives can be used as clause subjects (2.5.8a), parts of complex
predicates (2.5.8b), and secondary predicates (2.5.8c):
(2.5.8) a. Domāt ir māksla.
think.inf be.cop.prs.3 art.nom.f
‘Thinking is an art.’ (Ir)
b. Pirms 70 gadiem Daugavpilī
before 70 year.dat.pl.m Daugavpils.loc.f
sāka kursēt pirmie tramvaji.
start.pst.3 run.inf first.nom.pl.m tram.nom.pl.m
‘The first trams started running in Daugavpils 70 years ago.’ (Diena)
c. Nesāc sarunu ar uzbrūkošiem vārdiem,
lai otram nerastos vēlme
sub another.dat.m not_originate.cond urge.nom.f
aizstāvēties.
defend_oneself.inf
‘Do not start a conversation with an attack so as not to put your
interlocutor on the defensive.’ (www.delfi.lv)
Verb forms are classified as either finite or non-finite depending on whether they are
marked for person:
1) finite verb forms are marked for person and usually function as predicates
with tense, mood, and voice (see Section 3.1.2);
2) non-finite verb forms – the  infinitive and participles – are not marked for
person and do not normally function as predicates (see Sections 3.2.3, 3.2.6,
3.2.9 on the use of the infinitive, see Sections 2.5.9, 3.2.3, 3.2.4, 3.2.9 on
participles).

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Latvian uses the following means for deriving the grammatical forms of verbs:
1) endings, e.g., for person forms
(2.5.9) PRS
1SG es rakst-u ‘I write’
2SG tu rakst-i ‘you (SG) write’
3SG/PL viņš, viņi rakst-a ‘he/she writes, they write’
1PL mēs rakst-ām ‘we write’
2PL jūs rakst-āt ‘you (PL) write’
2) suffixes, e.g., for tense forms
(2.5.10) a. PRS
sē-t – sē-j-u ‘to sow – (I) sow’
skrie-t – skrie-n-u ‘to run – (I) run’
nir-t – nir-st-u ‘to dive – (I) dive’
b. FUT 1SG, 1PL
sē-t – sē-š-u, sē-s-im ‘to sow – (I) will sow, (we) will sow’
skriet – skrie-š-u, skrie-s-im ‘to run – (I) will run, (we) will run’
nir-t – nir-š-u, nir-s-im ‘to dive – (I) will dive, (we) will dive’
3) combining an auxiliary verb with a declinable participle
(2.5.11) a. in perfect tense forms
esmu lasījis, biju lasījis, būšu lasījis ‘I have read, I had read, I will have read’
b. in passive voice forms
tiek lasīts, tika lasīts, tiks lasīts ‘is read, was read, will be read’
4) suppletion, i.e., using different roots in one paradigm when forming
the person and tense forms of the verbs būt ‘to be’ and iet ‘to walk, go’
(2.5.12) a. esmu, esi, ir, biju, būšu ‘am, are, is, was, will be’
b. eju, gāju ‘(I) go, (I) went’
In addition, Latvian verbal inflection involves different types of sound alternations
(these usually occur in synthetic forms) – palatalization, consonant n alternation (for
both see Section 1.1.2), fronting (see Section 1.1.1), consonant loss (see Section 1.1.3),
and apophony (see Section 1.2.1 for detail).
The base of the  inflectional forms of verbs in Latvian is the  infinitive stem
(Kalnača 2013b, 458–459). All simple tense forms – the  present, past, future
indefinite – are constructed from the  infinitive stem with the  help of different
morphophonological (sound alternation) and morphological (suffixes) operations:

INF PRS 1SG PST 1SG FUT 1SG

sie-t ‘to tie’ sie-n-u ‘(I) tie’ sēj-u ‘(I) tied’ sie-š-u ‘(I) will tie’
domā-t ‘to think’ domā-j-u ‘(I) think’ domā-j-u ‘(I) thought’ domā-š-u ‘(I) will think’
cel-t ‘to raise’ ceļ-u ‘(I) raise’ cēl-u ‘(I) raised’ cel-š-u ‘(I) will raise’
lasī-t ‘to read’ las-u ‘(I) read’ lasī-j-u ‘(I) read’ lasī-š-u ‘(I) will read’
Table 2.22 The infinitive, present, past, and future stems of verbs (adapted from Kalnača
2014: 78)

219
The infinitive stem and all indefinite (simple) tense stems can be used as bases for
constructing further inflectional forms of verbs:
1) the infinitive stem:
a) the present indefinite conditional form
(2.5.13) INF – COND
sie-t – sie-tu ‘to tie – would tie’
domā-t – domā-tu ‘to think – would think’
lasī-t – lasī-tu ‘to read – would read’
b) the past passive participle forms
(2.5.14) INF – PTCP.PST.PASS
sie-t – sie-t-s ‘to tie – tied’
domā-t – domā-t-s ‘to think – thought’
lasī-t – lasī-t-s ‘to read – read’
c) the semi-declinable participle forms
(2.5.15) INF – PTCP.SEM.DECL
sie-t – sie-dam-s ‘to tie – (while) tying’
domā-t – domā-dam-s ‘to think – (while) thinking’
lasī-t – lasī-dam-s ‘to read – (while) reading’
2) the present stem:
a) the present indefinite oblique form
(2.5.16) PRS – OBL.PRS
sien-u – sien-ot ‘(I) tie – reportedly tie’
domāj-u – domāj-ot ‘(I) think – reportedly think’
las-u – las-ot ‘(I) read – reportedly read’
b) the debitive form
(2.5.17) PRS – DEB
sien-u – jā-sien ‘(I) tie – must tie’
domāj-u – jā-domā ‘(I) think – must think’
las-u – jā-lasa ‘(I) read – must read’
c) the present active participle form
(2.5.18) PRS – PTCP.PRS.ACT
sien-u – sien-oš-s ‘(I) tie – tying’
domāj-u – domāj-oš-s ‘(I) think – thinking’
las-u – las-oš-s ‘(I) read – reading’
d) the present passive participle form
(2.5.19) PRS – PTCP.PRS.PASS
sien-u – sien-am-s ‘(I) tie – (should / can be) tied, tieable’
domāj-u – domāj-am-s ‘(I) think – (should / can be) thought’
las-u – las-ām-s ‘(I) read – (should / can be) read, readable’

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 e) indeclinable participle forms
(2.5.20) PRS – PTCP.IDECL
sien-u – sien-ot, sien-am ‘(I) tie – tying’
domāj-u – domāj-ot, domāj-am ‘(I) think – thinking’
las-u – las-ot, las-ām ‘(I) read – reading’
3) the past stem – the past active participle forms
(2.5.21) PST – PTCP.PST.ACT
sēj-u – sēj-is (M), sēj-us-i (F) ‘(I) tied – (have / has / had) tied’
domāj-u – domāj-is (M), domāj-us-i (F) ‘(I) thought – (have / has / had)
thought’
lasīj-u – lasīj-is (M), lasīj-us-i (F) ‘(I) read – (have / has / had) read’
4) the future stem – the future indefinite oblique form
(2.5.22) FUT – OBL.FUT
sieš-u – sieš-ot ‘(I) will tie – reportedly will tie’
domāš-u – domāš-ot ‘(I) will think – reportedly will think’
lasīš-u – lasīš-ot ‘(I) will read – reportedly will read’

2.5.1 Conjugation
Contemporary Latvian has three verb conjugation classes, which are distinguished
based on the morphemic composition of the infinitive and certain specifics of present
tense forming operations (Paegle 2003: 104–105; Kalnača 2013a: 75, 2013c: 545).
Prefixes and reflexive endings are not considered significant in determining
conjugation classes even when they make the verbs that contain them semantically
distinct from their non-prefixed or non-reflexive counterparts (2.5.23a) or when such
counterparts do not exist in contemporary Latvian (2.5.23b and 2.5.23c):
(2.5.23) a. dot ‘to give’ and pār-dot ‘to sell’, nes-t ‘to carry’ and nes-ties ‘to rush’
b. pa-zīt ‘to know, recognize’, aiz-mirst ‘to forget’
c. mosties ‘to wake up’, kļūdīties ‘to be wrong, err’ (note that most and kļūdīt
do not exist)
The verbs iet ‘to go, walk’, dot ‘to give’, būt ‘to be’ do not fit into any of the classes
and are classified as irregular, because they have suppletive stems and non-systemic
person forms.
Conjugation class 1 verbs can be identified based on the infinitive form, which,
unlike the infinitive form of other verbs, contains just a root and an ending:
(2.5.24) nes-t ‘to carry’, aug-t ‘to grow’, kris-t ‘to fall’, kus-t ‘to melt’, cel-t ‘to lift,
to build’, lauz-t ‘to break’, kāp-t ‘to climb, ascend’, sil-t ‘to get warm’, aus-t
‘to dawn’, plūs-t ‘to flow’

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Conjugation class 2 (2.5.25a) and 3 (2.5.25b) verbs cannot be mutually differentiated
in the infinitive as both can contain the same set of suffixes between the root and
the ending:
(2.5.25) a. med-ī-t ‘to hunt’, dom-ā-t ‘to think’, tēr-ē-t ‘to spend (money)’
b. rakst-ī-t ‘to write’, dzied-ā-t ‘to sing’, redz-ē-t ‘to see’
Therefore, the  conjugation class membership of such verbs has to be established
based on their present tense forms.
It should be noted that the  suffix -inā- occurs only in the  infinitive form of
conjugation class 3 verbs:
(2.5.26) audz-inā-t ‘to bring up’, smīd-inā-t ‘to make laugh’, midz-inā-t ‘to put
to sleep’
Conjugation class 1 verbs use a number of different devices to form present tense
forms and are therefore grouped into three subclasses.
The present tense forms of conjugation class 1 subclass 1 verbs are constructed
without the help of either suffixes or sound alternation operations (augt ‘to grow’, nest
‘to carry’, degt ‘to burn’). The group also includes words that have undergone phonetic
change in the  infinitive but not in present tense forms (consonant t alternation
(2.5.27a), tautosyllabic in – ī alternation (2.5.27b)), as well as verbs having ī – ij
(2.5.27c), ei – ej (2.5.27d) alternations at the root and present tense person ending
junction to prevent vowel clustering.
(2.5.27) INF – PRS 1SG
a. mest – metu ‘to throw – (I) throw’, vest – vedu ‘to drive, carry – (I) drive,
carry’
b. mīt – minu ‘to tread – (I) tread’, pīt – pinu ‘to braid, weave – (I) braid,
weave’
c. rīt – riju ‘to gobble, swallow – (I) gobble, swallow’, vīt – viju ‘to weave,
wind, twine – (I) weave, wind, twine’
d. liet – leju ‘to pour – (I) pour’, smiet – smeju ‘to laugh – (I) laugh’

aug-t ‘to grow’, mes-t ‘to throw’, pī-t ‘to braid, weave’, rī-t ‘to gobble, swallow’,
smie-ties ‘to laugh’
PRS
Person
SG PL
1 aug-u, met-u, pin-u, rij-u, aug-am, met-am, pin-am, rij-am,
smej-os smej-amies
2 audz-ø, met-ø, pin-ø, rij-ø, aug-at, met-at, pin-at, rij-at,
smej-as smej-aties
3 aug-ø, met-ø, pin-ø, rij-ø, smej-as
Table 2.23 The present indefinite forms of conjugation class 1 subclass 1 verbs (adapted
from Kalnača 2013a: 76)

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The formation of present tense forms of conjugation class 1 subclass 2 verbs involves
apophony (2.5.28a), consonant n alternation (2.5.28b), and palatalization (2.5.28c).
(2.5.28) INF – PRS 1SG
a. vilkt ‘to draw’, pirkt ‘to buy’, migt ‘to fall asleep’, likt ‘to put’ – velku ‘(I)
draw’, pērku ‘(I) buy’, miegu ‘(I) fall asleep’, lieku ‘(I) put’
b. krist ‘to fall’, just ‘to feel’, prast ‘to know how’ – krītu ‘(I) fall’, jūtu ‘(I)
feel’, protu ‘(I) know how’
c. celt ‘to lift’, plēst ‘to rip, tear’, griezt ‘to cut’, pūst ‘to blow’, grūst ‘to push’,
braukt ‘to drive, go (to)’, lūgt ‘to ask’, kāpt ‘to climb, ascend’, glābt ‘to
save’, lemt ‘to decide’ – ceļu ‘(I) lift’, plēšu ‘(I) rip, tear’, griežu ‘(I) cut’,
pūšu ‘(I) blow’, grūžu ‘(I) push’, braucu ‘(I) drive, go (to)’, lūdzu ‘(I) ask’,
kāpju ‘(I) climb, ascend’, glābju ‘(I) save’, lemju ‘(I) decide’
The group also includes verbs that once had r – ŗ palatalization (2.5.29) in the present
tense forms. Although still considered standard, this type of palatalization nowadays
survives almost exclusively in the speech of elderly people and in subdialects.
(2.5.29) INF – PRS 1SG
dzert ‘to drink’, bērt ‘to pour’, vērt ‘to open’, pērt ‘to whip’, svērt ‘to weigh’,
art ‘to plough’, šķirt ‘to separate, distinguish (between)’ – dzeŗu ‘(I) drink’,
beŗu ‘(I) pour’, veŗu ‘(I) open’, peŗu ‘(I) whip’, sveŗu ‘(I) weigh’, aŗu ‘(I) plough’,
šķiŗu ‘(I) separate, distinguish (between)’

vilk-t ‘to draw’, mig-t ‘to fall asleep’, ras-ties ‘to appear’, plēs-t ‘to rip, tear’,
lem-t ‘to decide’
PRS
Person
SG PL
1 velk-u, mieg-u, rod-os, plēš-u, velk-am, mieg-am, rod-amies, plēš-am,
lemj-u lemj-am
2 velc-ø, miedz-ø, rod-ies, plēs-ø, velk-at, mieg-at, rod-aties, plēš-at,
lem-ø lemj-at
3 velk-ø, mieg-ø, rod-as, plēš-ø, lemj-ø
Table 2.24 The present indefinite forms of conjugation class 1 subclass 2 verbs (adapted
from Kalnača 2013a: 76)

The present tense forms of conjugation class 1 subclass 3 verbs are constructed by
means of the suffixes ­-n- (2.5.30a), -j- (2.5.30b), -st- (2.5.30c).
(2.5.30) INF – PRS 1SG
a. siet ‘to tie’, skriet ‘to run’ – sienu ‘(I) tie’, skrienu ‘(I) run’
b. sēt ‘to sow’, rāt ‘to rebuke’, pļaut ‘to mow’ – sēju ‘(I) sow’, rāju ‘(I) rebuke’,
pļauju ‘(I) mow’
c. birt ‘to drop (no object), spatter’, mirkt ‘to soak’, dzimt ‘to be born’ –
birstu ‘(I) drop (no object), spatter’, mirkstu ‘(I) soak’, dzimstu ‘(I) am born’

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When the suffix -st- is used in verbs whose roots end in s, z, t, or d a reduction of
the inflectional stem (i.e., loss of the root-final consonant) occurs to avoid consonant
clustering at the root and present tense suffix junction (2.5.31) (see Section 1.1.3).
(2.5.31) INF – PRS 1SG
aizmirs-t, lūz-t, klīs-t, mos-ties – aizmir-st-u, lū-st-u, klī-st-u, mo-st-os ‘to forget,
break (no object), wander, wake up – (I) forget, break (no object), wander,
wake up’

skrie-t ‘to run’, kau-ties ‘to fight’, dil-t ‘to wear out’, lūz-t ‘to break (no object)’
Person PRS
SG PL
1 skrie-n-u, kau-j-os, dil-st-u, skrie-n-am, kau-j-amies, dil-st-am,
lū-st-u lū-st-am
2 skrie-n-ø, kau-j-ies, dil-st-i, lū-st-i skrie-n-at, kau-j-aties, dil-st-at, lū-st-at
3 skrie-n-ø, kau-j-as, dil-st-ø, lū-st-ø
Table 2.25 The present indefinite forms of conjugation class 1 subclass 3 verbs (adapted
from Kalnača 2013a: 76)

Conjugation class 1 verbs skriet ‘to run’ (2.5.32a), gulties ‘to lie down’ (2.5.32b), and
sēsties ‘to sit down’ (2.5.32c) permit parallel sets of present indefinite tense forms.
(2.5.32) a. skrie-n-u and skrej-u ‘(I) run’
b. gul-st-os and guļ-os ‘(I) lie down’
c. sē-st-os and sēž-os ‘(I) sit down’
Generally, the present tense form of conjugation class 2 verbs (containing the suffixes
-ā-, -ē-, -ī, -o- [uo] in the infinitive) is derived by attaching the suffix -j- and a person
ending to the infinitive stem. In the second-person singular and third-person singular
and plural, however, there is neither a person ending nor a present tense suffix. As
all conjugation class 2 verbs form their present tense forms in the same way they are
not classified into further subclasses. The verb dabūt ‘to get’ is also included in this
conjugation class, as an exception.

valk-ā-t ‘to wear’, tēr-ē-ties ‘to spend (money)’, med-ī-t ‘to hunt’, slēp-o-t ‘to ski’
Person PRS
SG PL
1 valk-ā-j-u, tēr-ē-j-os, med-ī-j-u, valk-ā-j-am, tēr-ē-j-amies, med-ī-j-am,
slēp-o-j-u slēp-o-j-am
2 valk-ā-ø-ø, tēr-ē-j-ies, med-ī-ø-ø, valk-ā-j-at, tēr-ē-j-aties, med-ī-j-at,
slēp-o-ø-ø slēp-o-j-at
3 valk-ā-ø-ø, tēr-ē-j-as, med-ī-ø-ø, slēp-o-ø-ø
Table 2.26 The present indefinite forms of conjugation class 2 verbs (adapted from
Kalnača 2013a: 77)

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The present tense form of conjugation class 3 verbs (having the suffixes -ā-, -ē-, -ī-,
-inā- in the  infinitive) involves modifying the  infinitive stem by either shortening
or discarding the  infinitive suffix, and then adding a  person ending to the  result.
Conjugation class 3 verbs are further classified into two subclasses depending on
the present tense person ending paradigm that they follow.
Conjugation class 3 subclass 1 verbs have a full paradigm of person endings
and a long vowel ā in the first-person and second-person plural. As far as Standard
Latvian is concerned, this subclass includes the  verb zināt (note that in colloquial
speech it is also used as a conjugation class 3 subclass 2 verb).

rakst-ī-t ‘to write’, loc-ī-ties ‘to bow, twist’, liec-inā-t ‘to testify’, zin-ā-t ‘to know’
Person PRS
SG PL
1 rakst-u, lok-os, liec-in-u, zin-u rakst-ām, lok-āmies, liec-in-ām, zin-ām
2 rakst-i, lok-ies, liec-in-i, zin-i rakst-āt, lok-āties, liec-in-āt, zin-āt
3 rakst-a, lok-ās, liec-in-a, zin-a
Table 2.27 The present indefinite forms of conjugation class 3 subclass 1 verbs (adapted
from Kalnača 2013a: 77)

Conjugation class 3 subclass 2 verbs lack third-person endings and take a  short
a in the first-person and second-person plural. The subclass permits words requiring
palatalization in the present tense form.

gul-ē-t ‘to sleep’, dzied-ā-t ‘to sing’

PRS
Person
SG PL
1 guļ-u, dzied-u guļ-am, dzied-am
2 gul-i, dzied-i guļ-at, dzied-at
3 guļ-ø, dzied-ø
Table 2.28 The present indefinite forms of conjugation class 3 subclass 2 verbs (adapted
from Kalnača 2013a: 77)

Some verbs, such as pētīt ‘to research’, mērīt ‘to measure’, vēlēt ‘to elect, vote’, cerēt ‘to
hope’, sargāt ‘to guard’, can inflect either as conjugation class 2 or conjugation class
3 verbs. In language practice, though, it is recommended not to use forms belonging
to different conjugation classes within one formal paradigm.
The irregular verbs iet ‘to walk, go’, dot ‘to give’, būt ‘to be’ have, in part,
suppletive person and tense forms and, in part, non-systemic person forms. Non-
systemicity is only found in the present and past tense forms, the future tense forms
being regular (see Section 2.5.3 on forming future tense forms).

225
bū-t ‘to be’, ne-bū-t ‘not to be’
PRS PST
Person
SG PL SG PL
1 es-mu, ne-es-mu es-am, ne-es-am bij-u, ne-bij-u bij-ām, ne-bij-ām
2 esi, ne-esi es-at, ne-es-at bij-i, ne-bij-i bij-āt, ne-bij-āt
3 ir, nav bij-a, ne-bij-a
Table 2.29 The present and past indefinite forms of the verbs būt ‘to be’ and nebūt ‘not to
be’ (adapted from Kalnača 2013a: 78)

ie-t ‘to walk, go’

Person PRS PST
SG PL SG PL
1 ej-u ej-am gā-j-u gā-j-ām
2 ej-ø ej-at gā-j-i gā-j-āt
3 ie-t gā-j-a
Table 2.30 The present and past indefinite forms of the  verb iet ‘to walk, go’ (adapted
from Kalnača 2013a: 78)

do-t ‘to give’

PRS PST
Person
SG PL SG PL
1 dod-u dod-am dev-u dev-ām
2 dod-ø dod-at dev-i dev-āt
3 dod-ø dev-a
Table 2.31 The present and past indefinite forms of the verb dot ‘to give’ (adapted from
Kalnača 2013a: 78)

2.5.2 Person
In Latvian, the verbal category of person comprises three singular and three plural
persons (e.g., Kalnača 2013a: 78).
Because linguistic communication, or a  dialogue, is only possible between
human beings the  first- and second-person forms always express human actions
(2.5.33a-b), with the exception of personifications (2.5.33c).
(2.5.33) a. es ēdu, runāju, priecājos ‘I eat, talk, rejoice’
b. tu ēd, runā, priecājies ‘you eat, talk, rejoice’
c. Sniedziņ, uzklausi mani!
snow.dim.voc.m hear.imp.2sg I.acc
‘Dear snow, hear me out!’ (www.mammamuntetiem.lv)
No such semantic restrictions apply to third-person forms, which can refer to literally
any concrete or imagined actions performed by living things (humans, animals) and
inanimate objects (such as natural phenomena, plants, abstract concepts, etc.) alike.

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(2.5.34) a. Mans brālis ir
my.nom.m brother.nom.m be.cop.prs.3
skolotājs un lauksaimnieks.
teacher.nom.m and farmer.nom.m
‘My brother is a teacher and a farmer.’ (Ieva)
b. Dzeņi apdzīvo
woodpecker.nom.pl.m inhabit.prs.3
dažādus mežus.
different.acc.pl.m forest.acc.pl.m
‘Woodpeckers inhabit different forests.’ (www.lsm.lv)
c. Rudens grima tendences
autumn.gen.m makeup. gen.m trend.nom.pl.f
demonstrē sistēmas ignoranci.
demonstrate.prs.3 system.gen.f ignoring.acc.f
‘Autumn makeup trends are all about ignoring the system.’ (Santa)
Latvian uses three different means for expressing verbal person:
1) person endings – in synthetic verb forms, this includes the so-called zero
endings;
2) finite forms of auxiliary verbs – in analytical (periphrastic) verb forms (see
Sections 2.5.3, 2.5.4);
3) personal pronouns, nouns or other words used as nouns – in contexts
where verb forms lack person endings, usually, in the conditional, oblique,
or debitive moods (see Section 2.5.4).
The synthetic forms of the Latvian verb have two main types of person endings:
1) non-reflexive endings;
2) reflexive endings.
A possible representation of the  system of verbal person and number endings is
shown in Tables 2.32–2.33 (non-reflexive verbs) and Tables 2.34–2.35 (reflexive
verbs) (endings preceded by palatalization are displayed as separate exponents).
Tables 2.32–2.35 contain person endings of all conjugation classes, except for
the  irregular verbs būt ‘to be’, iet ‘to walk, go’, dot ‘to give’. The symbols used in
the tables have the following meaning:
1 – conjugation class 1, subdivided into two subclasses:
1a – all conjugation class 1 verbs, excluding subclass 1b verbs, which take
the ending -i in the second-person singular
2 – conjugation class 2
3 – conjugation class 3, subdivided into two further subclasses:
3a – conjugation class 3 subclass 1, 3b – all other conjugation class 3 verbs, i.e.,
conjugation class 3 subclass 2 verbs.
In Standard Latvian, the  future indefinite second-person plural form permits two
endings: -it (the original, older ending) and -iet for non-reflexive and -ities and -ieties
for reflexive verbs, both being equally acceptable (see for example, Veidemane 2002:
414–415; Paegle 2003: 93; Kalnača 2013c: 520). Ozola (2005) points out that because

227
school grammars were promoting the use of the forms with -iet, -ieties in the second
half of the 20th century these are more frequent in modern day speech. The paradigm
of person endings presented below does not treat -it/-iet or -ities/-ieties as separate
exponents.

Non-reflexive
SG
PRS PST FUT
Person Conjugation
2 1a 3b 1b 3a all all
1 -u -’u, -u -u
2 -ø -i
-ø-ø
3 -’ø, -ø -ø -a -ø
Table 2.32 The person endings of the singular non-reflexive paradigm

PL
PRS PST FUT
Person Conjugation
2 1, 3b 3a all all
1 -am -’am, -am -ām -im
2 -at -’at, -at -āt -it / -iet
3 -ø-ø -’ø, -ø -a -ø
Table 2.33 The person endings of the plural non-reflexive paradigm

Apart from third-person SG/PL syncretism, the non-reflexive paradigm also shows

syncretic forms in the  present tense second-person and third-person singular for
conjugation class 1 (partly) and conjugation class 2 verbs. In addition, the present
tense second-person and third-person forms of conjugation class 2 verbs have a zero
morph in place of an ending and the present tense suffix -j-. This results in the 1SG,
1PL, 2PL forms domāju ‘I think’, domājam ‘we think’, domājat ‘you think’, and the 2SG,
3SG/PL syncretic form domā ‘he/she thinks, they think’.

Reflexive
SG
Person PRS PST FUT
Conjugation
1, 2 3 all all
1 -’os, -os -os
2 -ies
3 -’as, -as -ās
Table 2.34 The person endings of the singular reflexive paradigm

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PL
PRS PST FUT
Person Conjugation
1, 2, 3b 3a all all
1 -’amies, -amies -āmies -imies
2 -’aties, -aties -āties -ities/ -ieties
3 -’as, -as -ās -ies
Table 2.35 The person endings of the plural reflexive paradigm

Reflexive verbs not only have a syncretic third-person SG/PL in all tenses, but also
future tense 2SG and 3SG/PL forms ending in -ies.
The use of verb person depends on animacy and is based on the  opposition
animate / inanimate, which also underlies the division of verbs into three-person and
single-person words. It is usually the case that all three persons are possible for verbs
expressing actions performed by living beings – humans or (less frequently) animals.
(2.5.35) skriet ‘to run’, ēst ‘to eat’, smaidīt ‘to smile’, nirt ‘to dive’, domāt ‘to think’,
runāt ‘to speak’, audzināt ‘to bring up (e.g., children)’, laimēt ‘to win’
Actions by inanimate objects (in the broadest sense – including natural phenomena
and abstract concepts), on the contrary, are almost invariably expressed in the third
person, i.e., by single-person verbs.
(2.5.36) birt ‘to drop (no object), spatter’, mirkt ‘to soak’, plukt ‘to lose color’, plīst
‘to break (no object), dīgt ‘to sprout’, līt ‘to pour (no object), snigt ‘to snow’,
tumst ‘to grow dark’
Graudi birst apcirkņos.
grain.nom.pl.m pour.prs.3 grain_tank.loc.pl.m
‘Grain pours into grain tanks.’ (www.tvnet.lv)
Actions involving human beings as experiencers are also mostly third-person.
(2.5.37) sāpēt ‘to ache’, smelgt ‘to nag, to smart’, kniest ‘to tickle (no object)’, niezēt
‘to itch’, laimēties ‘to have luck’, gribēties ‘to want’, veikties ‘to succeed’
Cauruma nav, zobs sāp!
cavity.gen.m not_be.prs.3 tooth.nom.m ache.prs.3
‘There is no cavity but the tooth is aching!’ (www.tvnet.lv)
Very rarely single-person verbs are used in the  first or second person – mainly to
create or enhance poetic imagery in poetry and prose.
(2.5.38) jūs man sāpat
you.nom.pl I.dat ache.prs.2pl
tāpat kā smiekli
same as laughter.nom.pl.m
‘You pain me
the same as laughter’ (Viks)

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Likewise, actions characteristic of animals but not humans are usually in the third
person.
(2.5.39) riet ‘to bark’, ņaudēt ‘to meow’, blēt ‘to bleat’, maut ‘to moo’, lakt ‘to lap’,
zviegt ‘to neigh’, pīkstēt ‘to cheep’, ņurdēt ‘to growl’
Such verbs are sometimes figuratively applied to humans, but this type of usage
tends to be stylistically restricted to colloquial speech or slang (cf. examples (2.5.40)
a and b).
(2.5.40) a. Zirgs zviedz ar augsti paceltu galvu.
horse.nom.m neigh.prs.3 with highly elevate.ins.f head.ins.f
‘The horse neighs with its head held high.’ (www.tvnet.lv)
b. Par aktieru ākstīšanos zviedz
about actor.gen.pl.m tomfoolery.acc.f neigh.prs.3
lielākā daļa skatītāju.
major.cmp.nom.f part.nom.f audience.gen.pl.m
‘The majority of the audience laughs at the actors making fools of
themselves.’ (Diena)

2.5.3 Tense
The verbal category of tense refers to the unfolding of actions in time. In Latvian,
the verbal category of tense comprises six tense forms – three indefinite or simple
tenses (present indefinite, past indefinite, future indefinite) and three perfect or
complex tenses (present perfect, past perfect, future perfect) (Skujiņa 2007: 203).
Indefinite and perfect tense forms differ as to their internal structure.
Indefinite tenses are synthetic, formed by means of suffixes and various kinds of
morphophonological operations (for the most part, sound alternations).
The internal makeup of present indefinite forms is discussed in the description
of conjugation classes and subclasses above.
Past indefinite forms are also, to a degree, sensitive to conjugation classes. The
past indefinite forms of irregular verbs are provided in the description of conjugation
classes above. The past forms of conjugation class 2 and 3 verbs are constructed by
attaching the suffix -j- and a person ending to the infinitive stem.

tēr-ē-t ‘to spend (money)’ (conjugation class 2), las-ī-t ‘to read’, māc-ī-ties ‘to learn,
study’ (conjugation class 3)
PST
Person
SG PL
1 tēr-ē-j-u, las-ī-j-u, māc-ī-j-os tēr-ē-j-ām, las-ī-j-ām, māc-ī-j-āmies
2 tēr-ē-j-i, las-ī-j-i, māc-ī-j-ies tēr-ē-j-āt, las-ī-j-āt, māc-ī-j-āties
3 tēr-ē-j-a, las-ī-j-a, māc-ī-j-ās
Table 2.36 The past indefinite forms of conjugation class 2 and 3 verbs

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Constructing the past form of conjugation class 1 verbs may consist of attaching
a  person ending to an unmodified infinitive stem (2.5.41a) or it may additionally
involve apophony (2.5.41b) or fronting (2.5.41c).
(2.5.41) INF – PST 1SG
a. augt ‘to grow’, mest ‘to throw’, vest ‘to drive, carry’, vilkt ‘to draw’,
pirkt ‘to buy’, kāpt ‘to climb, ascend’, glābt ‘to save’, tīt ‘to wrap’, pīt
‘to braid, weave’ – augu ‘(I) grew’, metu ‘(I) threw’, vedu ‘(I) drove,
carried’, vilku ‘(I) drew’, pirku ‘(I) bought’, kāpu ‘(I) climbed, ascended’,
glābu ‘(I) saved’, tinu ‘(I) wrapped’, pinu ‘(I) braided, weaved’
b. dzert ‘to drink’, svērt ‘to weigh’, liet ‘to pour’, smiet ‘to laugh’, kraut
‘to load’, pļaut ‘to mow’ – dzēru ‘(I) drank’, svēru ‘(I) weighed’, lēju
‘(I) poured’, smēju ‘(I) laughed’, krāvu ‘(I) loaded’, rāvu ‘(I) pulled’
c. saukt ‘to call’, braukt ‘to drive, go (to)’, lūgt ‘to ask’, kliegt ‘to scream’ –
saucu ‘(I) called’, braucu ‘(I) drove, went (to)’, lūdzu ‘(I) asked’, kliedzu
‘(I) screamed’
Some verbs, such as vīt ‘to weave, wind, twine’, rīt ‘to gobble, swallow’, mīt ‘to
exchange’, etc., take a root-internal ī – ij alternation to prevent vowel clustering at
the root and ending junction.
(2.5.42) INF – PST 1SG
vīt ‘to weave, wind, twine’, rīt ‘to gobble, swallow’, mīt ‘to exchange’ –
viju ‘(I) weaved, wound, twined’, riju ‘(I) gobbled, swallowed’, miju
‘(I) exchanged’
In addition, a number of verbs take the suffix -j- in past tense forms.
(2.5.43) INF – PST 1SG
klāt ‘to cover’, rāt ‘to rebuke’, plāt ‘to flatten, thin’ – klāju ‘(I) covered’, rāju
‘(I) rebuked’, plāju ‘(I) flattened, thinned’

vilk-t ‘to draw’, tī-t ‘to wrap’, smie-ties ‘to laugh’, pļau-t ‘to mow’, sauk-t ‘to call’, klā-t
‘to cover’
PST
Person
SG PL
vilk-u, tin-u, smēj-os, pļāv-u, vilk-ām, tin-ām, smēj-āmies, pļāv-ām,
1
sauc-u, klā-j-u sauc-ām, klā-j-ām
vilk-i, tin-i, smēj-ies, pļāv-i, sauc-i, vilk-āt, tin-āt, smēj-āties, pļāv-āt,
2
klā-j-i sauc-āt, klā-j-āt
3 vilk-a, tin-a, smēj-ās, pļāv-a, sauc-a, klā-j-a
Table 2.37 The past indefinite forms of conjugation class 1 verbs

The verbs gulties ‘to lie down’ (2.5.44a) and plest ‘to spread’ (2.5.44b) permit two
parallel sets of past tense forms. It is not recommended to fuse the parallel paradigms
together in language use.

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(2.5.44) a. gul-ās and gūl-ās ‘lay down’
b. plet-a and plēt-a ‘spread’
The future indefinite of all verbs is derived in the  same manner – by attaching
the  future tense suffix -š- in 1SG and -s- in all other persons and numbers to an
unmodified infinitive stem. In Standard Latvian, the future indefinite second-person
plural permits two alternative endings: -it and -iet (see Section 2.5.2 for details).

smie-ties ‘to laugh’ (conjugation class 1), tēr-ē-t ‘to spend (money)’ (conjugation
class 2), las-ī-t ‘to read’ (conjugation class 3)
FUT
Person
SG PL
1 smie-š-os, tēr-ē-š-u, las-ī-š-u smie-s-imies, tēr-ē-s-im, las-ī-s-im
2 smie-s-ies, tēr-ē-s-i, las-ī-s-i smie-s-ities/-ieties, tēr-ē-s-it/-iet, las-ī-s-it/-iet
3 smie-s-ies, tēr-ē-s-ø, las-ī-s-ø
Table 2.38 The future indefinite forms of all conjugation classes

Conjugation class 1 verbs with a root-final t, d, s, or z take the interfix -ī- between

the root and the future tense suffix to avoid unpronounceable consonant clusters (see
section 1.1.3).
(2.5.45) INF – FUT 1SG, 1PL
a. vērs-t – vērt-(ī)-š-u, vērt-(ī)-s-im ‘to direct, turn – (I) will direct, turn,
(we) will direct, turn’
b. aus-t – aud-(ī)-š-u, aud-(ī)-s-im ‘to weave – (I) will weave, (we) will
weave’
c. nes-t – nes-(ī)-š-u, nes-(ī)-s-im ‘to carry – (I) will carry, (we) will carry’
d. lauz-t – lauz-(ī)-š-u, lauz-(ī)-s-im ‘to break – (I) will break, (we) will break’
Perfect tense forms are analytical, conjugation class-independent, and consist of
the auxiliary verb būt ‘to be’ in a finite form and a declinable past active participle
inflected for number and gender.

dziedāt ‘to sing’, smieties ‘to laugh’

Person SG PL
PRS PST FUT dziedāj-is PRS PST FUT dziedāj-uši
1 esmu biju būšu (M), esam bijām būsim (M),
‘have’ ‘had’ ‘will -usi (F) ‘have’ ‘had’ ‘will -ušas (F)
have’ ‘sung’; have’ ‘sung’;
smēj-ies smēj-ušies
2 esi biji būsi (M), esat bijāt būsit/ (M),
-usies (F) -iet -ušās (F)
3 ir bija būs ‘laughed’ ir bija būs ‘laughed’
Table 2.39 The paradigm of perfect tense forms (the indicative mood)

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In addition, Latvian also has a  special kind of past perfect indicative (used, for
the most part, in colloquial speech, and sometimes in literary and mass media texts)
composed of the past tense form of the auxiliary verb tikt ‘to get’ (in all persons) and
a declinable past active participle (Kalnača 2013c: 479–480):
(2.5.46) a. Par visu to es tiku
about all.acc that.acc I.nom get.aux.pst.1sg
jau rakstījis 2013. gada novembrī.
already write.ptcp.nom.m 2013 year.gen.m November.loc.m
‘I had already written about all this in November 2013.’ (www.satori.lv)
b. Savus gadus viņa nekad netika
own.acc.pl.m year.acc.pl.m she.nom never not_get.aux.pst.3
slēpusi.
hide.ptcp.nom.f
‘She had never made a secret of her age.’ (R. Ezera)
c. Iepriekšējā gadā liktenis atkal stilisti
previous.loc.m year.loc.m fate.nom.m again stylist.acc.f
netika saudzējis.
not_get.aux.pst.3 spare.ptcp.nom.m
‘Last year, again, fate had not been kind to the stylist.’ (Kas Jauns)
d. Pa visiem tiem gadiem, kopš viņi dzīvo mūsu mājā,
ne reizes netikām Armīnu šeit
neg.ptcl time.gen.f not_get.aux.pst.1pl Armīns.acc.m here
redzējušas...
see.ptcp.nom.pl.f
‘In all these years that they have been living in our house we hadn’t
seen Armīns here, not once.’ (G. Priede)

dziedāt ‘to sing’, smieties ‘to laugh’

Person SG PL
1 tiku ‘(I) had’ dziedāj-is (M), tikām ‘(we) had’ dziedāj-uši (M),
-usi (F) ‘sung’; -ušas (F) ‘sung’;
smēj-ies (M), smēj-ušies (M),
2 tiki ‘(you) had’ -usies (F) ‘laughed’ tikāt ‘(you) had’ -ušās (F) ‘laughed’

3 tika ‘(he/she/it) tika ‘(they) had’

had’

Table 2.40 Past perfect indicative with the auxiliary verb tikt ‘to get’

The above forms express the  so-called dynamic perfect as opposed to the  static
perfect of the basic present and past perfect. The difference in meaning springs from
the auxiliary tikt ‘to get’, which stands for processes as distinct from the verb būt ‘to
be’, which represents states. Although, in Latvian, these forms have no counterparts

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in other tenses and moods, similar variability of perfect forms and meanings based
on the lexical meaning of auxiliaries exists in the passive voice (see Section 2.5.5).
The meaning of any tense form can vary depending on contextual use. Latvian
draws a  basic distinction between indefinite (simple) and perfect (complex) tense
forms. The former characterize an action relative to the  moment of speaking
or another action but do not provide an evaluation of its resultativeness. The
characteristic common feature of the  latter, on the  contrary, is that they express
resultativeness, i.e., an evaluation of the  consequences of a  previously performed
action relative to the present moment (present perfect) or a moment in the past (past
perfect) or future (future perfect) (Skujiņa 2007: 336). A perfect tense form always
expresses a  completed action irrespective of whether there is a  verbal prefix (see
Section 2.5.8 on verbal prefixes and aspect).
The basic meanings of tense forms in Latvian can be summarized as follows:

THE PRESENT INDEFINITE

1. The primary meaning – an action taking place at the moment of speaking.
(2.5.47) Divas sievietes sēž uz soliņa un
two.nom.pl.f woman.nom.pl.f sit.prs.3 on bench.gen.m and
nerunā.
not_speak.prs.3
‘Two women are sitting on the bench and are not talking (to each other).’
(N. Ikstena)
2. Generalized time
(2.5.48) Laukos jau tā ir: visi kopā
countryside.loc.pl.m ptcl so be.prs.3 all.nom.pl.m together
strādā, un visi kopā iet ēst.
work.prs.3 and all.nom.pl.m together go.prs.3 eat.inf
‘That’s the way things are in the countryside: everyone works together and
then everyone goes and eats together.’ (Ieva)
3. Future time
(2.5.49) Uz Gruziju pēc nedēļas dodamies pirmo
to Georgia.acc.f after week.gen.f leave_for.prs.1pl first.acc.f
reizi mūžā.
time.acc.f lifetime.loc.m
‘We are going to Georgia in a week’s time for the first time in our lives.’
(Diena)
4. Narrative present (praesens historicum), an entire text or a segment of a narrative
being expressed in the  present indefinite (in fiction, fairy tales, tales, business
texts, etc.)

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(2.5.50) Vienu dienu viņš brauc makšķerēt uz ezeru. Makšķerētājs apsēžas uz strupa,
plata liellaivu piestājamā steķa, izņem no brezenta somas tārpu bundžu un
grāmatu. Viņš liek tārpu uz āķa, met makšķeri ūdenī un pats iegrimst grāmatā.
Zivis kustina pludiņu. Ja kāda rauda pieķeras, jāmet atpakaļ ezerā. Tad viņš
izvelk vienu asari, otru.
‘One day he goes fishing on the lake. The fisherman sits down on a stumpy,
broad barge mooring bollard, gets a  can of worms and a  book out of
a  canvas bag. He baits a  worm, casts the  fishing rod, and immerses
himself in reading. Fish pull the  bobber. If a  roach gets caught he has to
throw it back into the lake. Then he lands one perch, another.’ (Dz. Sodums)
5. Present perfect meaning
(2.5.51) Bet cienītā kundze, vai jūs nepadomājat
but dear.nom.f madam.nom.f q you.nom.pl not_think.prs.2pl
(=neesat padomājusi),
(=not_be.aux.prs.2pl think.ptcp.nom.f),
ka cilvēks uzzinot rēķinu, kas Jums jāmaksā, uztrauksies vēl vairāk?
‘But, dear Madam, hasn’t it occurred to you that when that person finds out
the amount you have to pay they will worry even more?’ (www.apollo.lv)
6. Adjusting to the  contextual meaning of surrounding tense forms (usually in
subordinate clauses).
(2.5.52) Viņš vairākkārt redzēja sapnī,
kā viņa stāv mēnesnīcā
how she.nom stand.prs.3 moonlight.loc.f
ar paceltu roku,
with elevate.ins.f hand.ins.f
bet pamodies nekad neatcerējās.
‘Several times he saw in a  dream how she’d stand in the  moonlight with
one hand lifted, but when he’d wake up he’d never remember it.’ (R. Ezera)

THE PAST INDEFINITE

1. The primary meaning – an action that took place prior to the moment of speaking.
(2.5.53) Visi klātesošie dziedāja [mūziķiem] līdzi.
all.nom.pl.m attendant.nom.pl.m sing.pst.3 [musician] along
‘Everybody sang along [with the musicians].’ (J. Joņevs)
2. Generalized time
(2.5.54) Zirgs ar vilku tiesājās, tikai aste ar
horse.nom.m with wolf.ins.m litigate.pst.3 only tail.nom.f with
krēpēm atlikās.
mane.ins.pl.f remain.pst.3
‘When the horse took the wolf to court, the tail and mane were all that
remained.’ (a Latvian proverb)

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3. Narrative past, an entire text or a  segment of a  narrative being set in the  past
indefinite
(2.5.55) Teātra primadonnas laulības ar desmit gadus jaunāku aktieri, kas pabāli
spēlēja otrā un trešā plāna lomiņas, izvērtās par sensāciju, protams, īslaicīgu.
Viņam glaimoja sievas slava un izcilie tituli. Savukārt viņa jaunā vīra klātbūtnē
kļuva vēl spožāka, lai gan viņas spožumam arī līdz šim trūka robežu. Pasaulē
nebija lomas, ko viņa nespētu nospēlēt.
‘The marriage of the leading actress to an undistinguished supporting actor
ten years her junior caused a  sensation – short-lived, of course. He was
flattered by his wife’s fame and distinguished titles. She became even
more brilliant with a  young husband by her side, not that her brilliance
had been limited in any way before. There wasn’t a  role in the  whole
world she couldn’t play.’ (R. Ezera)
4. Present perfect meaning
(2.5.56) Pētot dokumentus, Latvijas valsts mežu speciālisti noskaidrojuši,
ka kādreiz te bija (= ir bijušas)
that once here be.pst.3 (=be.aux.prs.3 be.ptcp.nom.pl.f)
parkveida pļavas ar ozoliem.
park_type.gen.m meadow.nom.pl.f with oak_tree.ins.pl.m
‘When studying the  documents, the  specialists from Latvia’s State Forests
found out that the area was once occupied by park-like meadows with oak
trees.’ (www.delfi.lv)
5. Past perfect meaning
(2.5.57) Kad apprecējāmies (= bijām apprecējušies),
when marry.pst.1pl (=be.aux.pst.1pl marry.ptcp.nom.pl.m)
sākām dzīvot Rūjienā.
‘When we got married we started living in Rūjiena.’ (Ieva)

THE FUTURE INDEFINITE

1. The primary meaning – an action that will take place after the  moment of
speaking.
(2.5.58) Nav pat skaidrības,
vai jelkad viņi viens otru vēl redzēs.
if ever they.nom.pl.m one.nom.m another.acc.m again see.fut.3
‘It’s not even clear that they will see each other ever again.’ (N. Ikstena)
2. Generalized time
(2.5.59) Lēnāk brauksi, tālāk tiksi.
slow go.fut.2sg farther get.fut.2sg
‘Travel slower, get farther.’ (a Latvian proverb equivalent to “Slow and
steady wins the race.”)

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3. Narrative future, an entire text or a segment of a narrative being set in the future
indefinite
(2.5.60) “Tā. Tūlīt jūs dosities klasē. Es iešu līdzi un stādīšu jūs priekšā. Cerēsim, ka
viss noritēs labi.”
‘“So. In a  moment, you will enter the  classroom. I will accompany you
and present you. Let’s hope all will go well.”’ (A. Eglītis)
4. Modal function, expressing doubt (in the  present), also in polite expressions,
apologies, etc.
(2.5.61) a. Vakars it kā jauks, bet laikam
evening.nom.m as if fine.nom.m but probably
būšu (= esmu) slima.
be.cop.fut.1sg (=be.cop.prs.1sg) ill.nom.f
‘It’s a fine evening, so it would seem, but I think I’m going to be ill.’
(www.twitter.com)
b. Neko tuvāk laikam nevarēšu
nothing.acc closer probably not_be_able.fut.1sg
jums paskaidrot.
you.dat.pl explain.inf
‘I think I will be unable to explain anything further to you.’ (G. Priede)
5. Expressing a  categorical command or a  threat (predominantly, in colloquial
speech in conjunction with a  personal pronoun in the  dative case, i.e., ethical
dative).
(2.5.62) Tu man to Ernestu neprecēsi!
you.nom.sg I.emph that.acc.m Ernests.acc.m not_marry.fut.2sg
‘I won’t allow you to marry that Ernests!’ (V. Belševica)
6. Future perfect meaning
(2.5.63) Mēs arī tā darīsim,
tiklīdz atpūtīšos (= būšu atpūties)
as_soon_as rest.fut.1sg (=be.aux.fut.1sg rest.ptcp.nom.m)
no saviem pēdējiem darbiem.
from own.dat.pl.m last.dat.pl.m job.dat.pl.m
‘We will do the same as soon as I recover (= will have recovered) from my
last jobs.’ (C)

THE PRESENT PERFECT

1. The primary meaning – pointing to the consequences of a previously completed
action in the present, expressing an action state.
(2.5.64) a. Aktīvā satiksme [pilsētā] liecina,
ka darba diena ir sākusies.
that work.gen.m day.nom.f be.aux.prs.3 begin.ptcp.nom.f
‘Busy traffic [in the city] shows that the work day has begun.’ (Ieva)

237
 b. Esmu noguris, gribētos visu
be.aux.prs.1sg tired.ptcp.nom.m wish.cond all.acc.m
aizmirst.
forget.inf
‘I’m tired, I’d like to forget everything.’ (www.tvnet.lv)
2. Generalized time
(2.5.65) Rakstniekam nekad mūžā nav
writer.dat.m never lifetime.loc.m not_be.aux.prs.3
bijis sava dzīvokļa.
be.ptcp.nom.m own.gen.m apartment.gen.m
‘The writer has never had an apartment of his own during his life.’
(L. Volkova)
3. Narrative tense, an entire text or a segment of a narrative being set in the present
perfect
(2.5.66) Jāmaksā... Domās kaut kā gluži nejauši ir uzniris šis vārds. Jāmaksā... Ar ko
un kā? Kur un kad esmu to lasījis? Un kādā sakarībā? Jā, viņš ir maksājis
augstu cenu. Noguris maksādams. Sapinies parādu verdzībā. Un tālāk – šitā
pat vēl divdesmit gadus – līdz pensijai?
‘Have to pay… The words sprang to mind as if out of nowhere. Have
to pay… With what and how? Where and when did I read them? And in
what connection? Yes, he has paid dearly. Got tired paying. Became
immersed in debt servitude. And what’s next – another twenty years of
the same – up until retirement?’ (R. Ezera)

THE PAST PERFECT

1. The primary meaning – evaluating the consequences of a completed action at
a point in the past.
(2.5.67) Šo tekstu es izlasīju brīdī,
kad jau biju uzrakstījusi
when already be.aux.pst.1sg write.ptcp.nom.f
par visām režisora izrādēm.
about all.dat.pl.f director.gen.m staging.dat.pl.f
‘When I read this text I had already written about all the director’s
productions.’ (I. Zole)
2. Generalized time
(2.5.68) Dzīvojot Amerikā, mums vienmēr bija
live.ptcp.idecl America.loc.f we.dat always be.cop.pst.3
bijusi svarīga Latvija.
be.ptcp.nom.f important.nom.f Latvia.nom.f
‘Living in America, Latvia had always been important to us.’
(Latvijas Avīze)

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3. Narrative tense (small fragments of a text)
(2.5.69) Viņas skatienam, viņas balsij nebija nekādas varas pār Askolda izjūtām. Viņa
bija izcīnījusi uzvaru un ieguvusi tiesības uz šo cilvēku. Viņa bija to karsti
vēlējusies un gribējusi par katru cenu, lūgusies un pazemojusies, pieprasījusi
un uzstājusi.
‘Her glance, her voice had no power over Askolds’ feelings. She had won
a victory and gained the right to this man. She had wished it ardently and
wanted it at all costs, she had begged and humiliated herself, demanded
and insisted.’ (R. Ezera)

THE FUTURE PERFECT

1. The primary meaning – evaluating the consequences of a completed action at
a point in the future.
(2.5.70) Kad iznāks žurnāls,
aktrise jau būs nospēlējusi
actress.nom.f already be.aux.fut.3 perform.ptcp.nom.f
galveno lomu
main.acc.f role.acc.f
ļoti sarežģītā pirmizrādē.
very difficult.loc.f premiere.loc.f
‘When the magazine comes out, the actress will have already played
the lead role in a very difficult premiere.’ (Santa)
2. Modal function (present perfect meaning), also in polite expressions, apologies,
etc.
(2.5.71) a. Par pozitīvo kalcija un D vitamīna
about positive.acc.f calcium.gen.m and D vitamin.gen.m
ietekmi uz organismu reti kurš
effect.acc.f on body.acc.m rarely who.nom.m
nebūs dzirdējis vai lasījis.
not_be.aux.fut.3 hear.ptcp.nom.m or read.ptcp.nom.m
‘There won’t be many who will not have heard or read about
the positive effects of calcium and Vitamin D on the human body.’
(www.tvnet.lv)
b. Vai es būšu ko sajaucis?
q I.nom be.aux.fut.1sg what.acc mix_up.ptcp.nom.m
‘Have I gotten something wrong?’ (G. Priede)
In the grammatical system of Latvian, tense relations find their clearest reflection
in the active indicative – as a totality, or a complex, of symmetrical indefinite and
perfect tense forms in the  present, past, and future with diverse contextual uses
(Paegle 2003: 97). This complex of tense forms, then, can be viewed as the center of
the functional system of verbal tense forms (Paulauskienė 1994: 326). Non-indicative
(oblique, conditional, and debitive mood) tense forms, passive voice tense forms

239
as well as participial forms of the  verb are, in this sense, peripheral. Their basic
function is to convey modal, voice, and sequence meanings rather than to encode
tense relations.
Tenses expressed by verb forms in the oblique, debitive, and conditional moods
are usually construed relative to contextual indicative mood tense forms in terms
of simultaneity, anteriority, and posteriority (see Section 2.5.4). Likewise, verb
participles can express either simultaneity (present participles, partly declinable and
indeclinable participles) or anteriority (past participles).
The active and passive voices both have six tense forms in the indicative mood
and similar systems of tense forms in the oblique and conditional moods (see Section
2.5.5). The meanings and uses of corresponding active and passive voice tense forms
are also much the same. Since the principal function of passive voice forms is to name
actions whose agent is unspecified or unimportant expressing tense meanings should
be considered peripheral to such forms.

2.5.4 Mood
The category of mood expresses modality as well as the speaker’s attitude towards
the  contents of an utterance or the  reality of an action (Skujiņa 2007: 173). In
Latvian, the verbal category of mood comprises five moods: the indicative, oblique,
conditional, debitive, and imperative moods. With regard to the reality or non-reality
of actions the moods are classified as follows (Paegle 2003: 113):

Realis Irrealis
Indicative Oblique
Conditional
Debitive
Imperative

In Latvian, the  indicative mood is grammatically unmarked, actions considered

to be realis are expressed by means of the  indefinite and perfect indicative tense
forms (see the description of the category of tense in Section 2.5.3). Irrealis moods,
on the  contrary, are grammatically marked: the  suffix -ot, -oties is used to form
the oblique, the suffix -tu, -tos – the conditional, the prefix jā- – the debitive, and
the ending -iet – the imperative mood.

Oblique mood
The oblique mood is used to renarrate information originating from another source
(2.5.72a-b) or indicate that the  speaker is unsure as to whether it is actually true
(2.5.72c-d) (Skujiņa 2007: 55). Oblique sentences often contain a  verbum dicendi
(construed literally or figuratively) signaling that the text is being renarrated, i.e.,
that it involves second-hand information.

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(2.5.72) a. Sieviete noprasīja, kurš no bērnības
woman.nom.f ask.pst.3 who.nom.m from childhood.gen.f
atceroties kādu skaitāmpantiņu.
remember.obl.prs some.acc.m nursery_rhyme.acc.m
‘The woman asked who could remember a nursery rhyme from their
childhood.’ (C)
b. Viņa atteicās [..] starpgadījumu komentēt, sakot,
ka vispirms konsultēšoties ar juristu.
that at_first consult.obl.fut with lawyer.ins.m
‘She refused [..] to comment on the incident, saying that she would
consult her lawyer first.’. (C)
c. Alma pati stāstīja,
ka viņai esot jūras zilas
that she.dat be.cop.obl.prs sea.gen.f blue.nom.pl.f
acis.
eye.nom.pl.f
‘Alma said so herself, that she had sea blue eyes.’ (I. Ābele)
d. Šogad būšot ļoti silta
this_year be.cop.obl.fut very warm.nom.f
vasara, prognozē sinoptiķi.
summer.nom.f forecast.prs.3 meteorologist.nom.pl.m
‘The meteorologists are forecasting a very warm summer this year.’
(Kas Jauns)
In addition, the  oblique mood is sometimes used to show that the  speaker feels
surprised at something while also being ironic or disapproving about it (i.e., mirativity,
see DeLancey 1997, 2012; Aikhenvald 2004, 2012; Kalviša 2018 for detail).
(2.5.73) a. Un tās esot draudzenes!
and that.nom.pl.f be.cop.obl.prs friend.nom.pl.f
‘And they’re supposed to be friends!’ (G. Priede)
b. Un grīda!
Tas esot parkets!
that.nom.m be.cop.obl.prs parquet_floor.nom.m
Melns kā darva!
‘And the floor! That’s supposed to be parquet! It’s pitch black!’
(A. Eglītis)
The quotative semantics of oblique forms is often considered an obstacle to viewing
the  oblique as a  verb mood (see, e.g., Holvoet 2007: 87). However, since Latvian
oblique forms are also used to express doubt about the  truth of what is said (e.g.,
examples (2.5.73)), which is a  typical modal meaning, and, in addition, it is not
uncommon for both meanings (referencing second-hand information and conveying
modality) to co-occur in one sentence (see examples (2.5.72c–d)), the oblique can be
classified as a verb mood without causing any inconsistencies as to the use of forms
in the language.

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 The oblique forms are derived by attaching the suffix -ot, -oties to the present
or future stem of a verb.
(2.5.74) a. INF – PRS – OBL PRS
darī-t – dar-u – dar-ot ‘to do – (I) do – reportedly do(es)’
cel-ties – ceļ-os – ceļ-oties ‘to rise – (I) rise – reportedly rise(s)’
b. INF – FUT – OBL FUT
darī-t – darīš-u – darī-š-ot ‘to do – (I) will do – will reportedly do’
cel-ties – celš-os – celš-oties ‘to rise – (I) will rise – will reportedly rise’
The perfect oblique forms involve the auxiliary verb esot ‘reportedly am / is / are’
(PRS) or būšot ‘will reportedly be’ (FUT) and a declinable past active participle.
(2.5.75) a. Visi sacīja –
tas esot bijis
that.nom.m be.cop.obl.prs be.ptcp.nom.m
prātīgi no vecās dāmas puses.
prudent of old.gen.f lady.gen.f side.gen.f
‘Everyone said – it was prudent on the part of the old lady.’ (C)
b. Viņš samaksāšot parādu pēc tam,
kad būšot saņēmis plānoto
when be.aux.obl.fut receive.ptcp.nom.m plan.ptcp.acc.f
naudu.
money.acc.f
‘He says he will repay the debt when, as he says, he will have received
the expected amount of money.’ (C)
Since the oblique mood lacks person forms, person meanings are derived from clause
subjects.
(2.5.76) a. es darot, tu darot ‘I reportedly do, you reportedly do’
b. mēs darīšot, viņi darīšot ‘we will reportedly do, they will reportedly do’
c. es esot gājis, tu esot gājis ‘I have reportedly gone, you have reportedly
gone’
d. mēs būšot gājuši, viņi būšot gājuši ‘we will reportedly have gone, they
will reportedly have gone’
The oblique mood has the following paradigm of forms:

dar-ī-t ‘to do’, cel-ties ‘to rise’

Perfect
Tense Indefinite
SG PL
PRS dar-ot ‘reportedly do(es)’, es-ot ‘have / has darīj-is (M), darīj-uši (M),
ceļ-oties ‘reportedly rise(s)’ reportedly’ darīj-usi (F) darīj-ušas (F)
‘done’ ‘done’
FUT darīš-ot ‘will reportedly do’, būš-ot ‘will have cēl-ies (M), cēl-ušies (M),
celš-oties ‘will reportedly rise’ reportedly’ -usies (F) ‘risen’ -ušās (F) ‘risen’
Table 2.41 The paradigm of oblique forms

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The auxiliary verb esot ‘reportedly am / is / are’ is often omitted in the  present
perfect oblique, especially in longer stretches of text, in tales, fairy tales, etc.
(2.5.77) Par deviņpadsmito gadu vectēvam daudz bija stāstījis viņa tēvs, kas lielinieku
laiku kopā ar Morbergu bija pārlaidis namā iepretim Bastejkalnam. Kādu nakti
pie durvīm pavēloši [esot] klauvēts. Morbergs [esot] uzvilcis un atkal [esot]
novilcis ziemas mēteli ar lapsādas oderi un [esot] atdevis Ulstem. Jaunās
varas mērķis tomēr [esot] izrādījies cits – Morberga dzīvokļa un mantas
atsavināšana. Paglābtais mētelis Morbergam vēlāk [esot] labi noderējis.
‘Grandfather had heard a lot about the year 1919 from his father, who had
spent the  Bolshevik period together with Morbergs in a  house opposite
Bastejkalns. One night they heard someone knocking commandingly on
the  door. Morbergs put on his winter coat with the  fox-fur collar, then
took it off again and gave it to Ulste. It turned out though that the  new
government had other intentions – confiscation of Morbergs’ apartment and
belongings. The rescued coat proved useful to Morbergs later on.’ (Z. Skujiņš)
In colloquial speech and literary texts, the  present perfect oblique negative is
sometimes formed by merging the auxiliary verb neesot ‘reportedly have / has not’
with a declinable past active participle into one combined form.
(2.5.78) neesot teicis (M)/-usi (F) ‘reportedly have / has not told’, neesot rakstījis
(M)/-usi (F) ‘reportedly have / has not written’, neesot devis (M)/-usi (F)
‘reportedly have / has not given’
→
neteicis (M)/-kusi (F) ‘having not told / without telling’, nerakstījis
(M)/-usi (F) ‘having not written / without writing’, nedevis (M)/-usi (F)
‘having not given / without giving’
(2.5.79) a. Kad mājas saimnieks teicis,
lai [kaimiņi] savācot [izbērtās
sub [neighbor] clear.obl.prs [scatter
smiltis], [tie esot] teikuši:
sand] [they be.aux.obl.prs] say.ptcp.nom.pl.m
jā, bet nevākuši (= neesot
yes but not_clear.ptcp.nom.pl.m (= not_be.aux.obl.prs
vākuši).
clear.ptcp.nom.pl.m)
‘When the house owner told [the neighbors] to clear [the scattered
sand] away, [they reportedly] said: yes, but didn’t.’ (Latvijas Avīze)
b. Lai gan ekspedīcija kopumā noritējusi veiksmīgi,
neizticis (= neesot
not_be_without.ptcp.nom.m (=not_be.aux.obl.prs
izticis) arī bez starpgadījumiem.
be_without.ptcp.nom.m also without incident.gen.pl.m
‘Although, on the whole, the expedition has gone well, it has not been
without incidents.’ (Latvijas Avīze)

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In relation to indicative tense forms appearing in the  same context, the  present
indefinite oblique expresses simultaneity, the future indefinite oblique – posteriority,
the  present perfect oblique – resultativeness of a  previously completed action at
the time of the main event of the clause, and the future perfect oblique – resultativeness
of a completed action at a point prior to another future event.

Conditional mood
The conditional mood is used to name a  desirable or an imaginary, unreal action
(Skujiņa 2007: 440).
(2.5.80) a. Vecākiem bija ļoti svarīgi,
lai mēs ar māsu mācītos tālāk.
sub we.nom with sister.ins.f study.cond further
‘It was very important to our parents that I and my sister continue our
education.’ (Ieva)
b. Filipam likās, itin kā viņu kāds
Philip.dat.m seem.pst as_if he.acc someone.nom.m
novērotu.
watch.cond
‘Philip felt as if someone was watching him.’ (A. Eglītis)
The conditional mood is also used in different kinds of exclamations conveying wishes
(2.5.81) and in polite expressions, including polite requests (2.5.82) and (2.5.83).
(2.5.81) a. Kaut Anete būtu šeit līdzās!
ptcl Anete.nom.f be.cond here by_side
‘I wish Anete was here by my side!’ (C)
b. Būtu es to toreiz zinājis!
be.aux.cond I.nom it.acc then know.ptcp.nom.m
‘If only I knew it then!’ (J. Joņevs)
(2.5.82) a. Labdien, vai Dairis būtu jau mājās?
good_afternoon q Dairis.nom.m be.cond already home.loc.pl.f
‘Good afternoon, is Dairis home yet?’ (G. Priede)
b. Būtu labāk, ja jūs ietu prom.
be.cond better if you.nom.pl go.cond away
‘It would be better if you left.’ (Dz. Sodums)
Requests phrased as negative conditionals are perceived as less direct and particularly
polite.
(2.5.83) a. Vai tu nevarētu palīdzēt
q you.nom not_be_able.cond help.inf
žurnālistiem vadīt sporta raidījumu?
journalist.dat.pl.m anchor.inf sport.gen.m program.acc.m
‘You couldn’t help the journalists anchor the sports program, could
you?’ (www.sportacentrs.lv)

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 b. Dairīt, vai tu neuznāktu pabeigt
Dairis.dim.voc q you.nom.sg not_come.cond finish.inf
[krāsot] to grīdu?
[paint.inf] that.acc.f floor.acc.f
‘Dairis, I don’t suppose you could come upstairs and finish [painting]
that floor, could you?’ (G. Priede)
The conditional tense forms are constructed by attaching the  suffix -tu, -tos to
the infinitive stem of a verb.
(2.5.84) INF – COND
darī-t – darī-tu ‘to do – would do’,
cel-ties – cel-tos ‘to rise – would rise’
The present perfect conditional tense is formed by combining the auxiliary verb būtu
‘would be’ with a declinable past active participle.
(2.5.85) Ja mūs nebūtu mācījis tik labs
if we.acc not_be.aux.cond teach.ptcp.nom.m such good.nom.m
režisors,
director.nom.m
mēs nebūtu tik labs [aktieru] kurss.
‘If we hadn’t been trained by such a good director we wouldn’t have
become such a good class [of actors].’ (Santa)
Just as the oblique forms, the conditional tense forms are not marked for person and
person meanings are therefore derived from clause subjects.
(2.5.86) a. es darītu ‘I would do’
b. tu darītu ‘you would do’
c. mēs būtu darījuši ‘we would have done’
d. jūs būtu cēlušies ‘you (PL) would have risen’
The conditional mood has the following paradigm of forms:

dar-ī-t ‘to do’, cel-ties ‘to rise’

Perfect
Tense Indefinite
SG PL
PRS darī-tu ‘would do’, bū-tu ‘would darīj-is (M), darīj-uši (M),
cel-tos ‘would rise’ have’ darīj-usi (F) ‘done’ darīj-ušas (F) ‘done’
cēl-ies (M), cēl-ušies (M),
-usies (F) ‘risen’ -ušās (F) ‘risen’
Table 2.42 The paradigm of conditional forms

In the  present perfect conditional negative, just as in the  present perfect oblique
negative, the auxiliary verb nebūtu ‘would not have’ and the past active participle are
sometimes fused into one combined form, mostly in colloquial speech and literary
texts.

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(2.5.87) nebūtu aizgājuši ‘wouldn’t have gone’, nebūtu sācis ‘wouldn’t have started’ →
neaizgājuši ‘having not gone / without going’, nesācis ‘having not started /
without starting’
Mēs būtu sadraudzējušies,
ja neaizgājuši (= nebūtu
if not_go.ptcp.pl.m (= not_be.aux.cond
aizgājuši) katrs uz savu fakultāti [studēt].
go.ptcp.pl.m) each to own.acc.f faculty.acc.f [study]
‘We would have become friends if we hadn’t each gone to our own faculty
[to study].’ (G. Priede)
Relative to indicative tense forms present in the same context, the present indefinite
conditional may indicate either simultaneity or posteriority. The present perfect
conditional, on the other hand, is used to express resultativeness.

Debitive mood
The debitive mood is used to name a necessary, obligatory action, i.e., an action that
must be performed (Skujiņa 2007: 416).
(2.5.88) a. Es zinu, ka man ir jāmaksā,
I.nom know.prs.1sg that I.dat be.aux.prs.3 deb.pay
un es maksāšu.
‘I know I must pay and I will.’ (C)
b. Man bija jāatgūst miers.
I.dat be.aux.pst.3 deb.recover peace.nom.m
‘I had to recover peace of mind.’ (C)
c. Būs jāaiziet pie ārsta,
be.aux.fut.3 deb.go to doctor.gen.m
zāles beidzas.
‘I will have to go to the doctor, I am running out of pills.’ (C)
The debitive forms are analytical and consist of a tense form of the auxiliary verb būt
‘to be’ and the debitive form of a lexical verb derived by attaching the prefix jā- to
the third-person present indefinite of the verb.
(2.5.89) INF – PRS – DEB
dar-ī-t – dar-a – ir jā-dar-a ‘to do – (he / she / it / they) do – must do’
cel-ties – ceļ-as – ir jāceļas. ‘to rise – (he / she / it / they) rise – must rise’
The verb būt ‘to be’ is an exception in this respect: its debitive form is constructed by
attaching the prefix jā- to the infinitive.
(2.5.90) INF – DEB
bū-t – ir jā-bū-t ‘to be – must be’
The debitive forms are not marked for person; person is usually expressed by a dative
clause subject.

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(2.5.91) a. man ir jādara darbs
I.dat be.aux.prs.3 deb.do job.nom.m
‘I must do my job’
b. tev ir jāceļas augšā
you.dat be.aux.prs.3 deb.get_up up
‘You have to get up’
c. mums bija jādara darbs
we.dat be.aux.pst.3 deb.do job.nom.m
‘We had to do our job’
d. jums būs jāceļas augšā
you.dat.pl be.aux.fut.3 deb.get_up up
‘You will have to get up’
The auxiliary verb ir ‘is / are’ is often omitted in the present indefinite debitive.
(2.5.92) a. Bet kāpēc māksla vispār [ir] jāsaprot?
but why art.nom.f at_all [be.aux.prs.3] deb.understand
‘But why does art need to be understood at all?’ (A. Eglītis)
b. Tur [ir] jābūt tādām ugunsdzēsēju
there [be.aux.prs.3] deb.be such.dat.pl.m fireman.gen.pl.m
kāpnītēm.
ladder.dat.pl.f
‘There should be one of those little fire escape ladders.’ (G. Priede)
Forming the debitive involves changes to sentence structure (see also Section 3.2.3).
(2.5.93) Es (SNOM) daru darbu (OACC)
I.nom do.prs.1 job.acc.m
‘I do my job’
→
Man (SDAT) ir jādara darbs (ONOM).
I.dat be.aux.prs.3 deb.do job.nom.m
‘I must do my job’
Verbs in the  debitive mood usually take a  nominative object (2.5.94), with
the exception of first- and second-person objects and the reflexive pronoun, which
remain in the accusative (2.5.95).
(2.5.94) a. Viedokļi ir jāsaskaņo.
opinion.nom.pl.m be.aux.prs.3 deb.reconcile
‘Opinions must be reconciled.’ (C)
b. Jāmācās viss bija atkal no
deb.learn everything.nom.m be.aux.pst.3 again from
sākuma.
beginning.gen.m
‘Everything had to be learned all over again.’ (C)

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(2.5.95) a. Man beidzot jāsatiek tevi un jāatdod
I.dat finally deb.meet you.acc.sg and deb.give_back
grāmata.
book.nom.f
‘I must finally meet you and give you back the book.’ (www.delfi.lv)
b. Ir reizes,
kad man ir jāpiespiež sevi
when I.dat be.aux.prs.3 deb.force self.acc
piecelties agrāk.
wake_up.inf earlier
‘There are times when I have to force myself to wake up earlier.’
(Kas Jauns)
In contemporary Latvian, when a verb in the debitive mood takes an infinitive, an
object can be either in the  nominative (2.5.96a) or the  accusative (2.5.96b) (e.g.,
Paegle 2003: 119; Kalnača 2013c: 487).
(2.5.96) a. Kad suns pieradis pie saimnieka,
tas jāsāk audzināt un mācīt.
it.nom.m deb.begin raise.inf and teach.inf
‘As soon as a dog gets used to its master, it’s time to start training it and
make it learn new things.’ (www.tvnet.lv)
b. Ministram jāmēģina lauzt stereotipus.
minister.dat.m deb.try break.inf stereotype.acc.pl.m
‘The minister must try to break stereotypes.’ (Diena)
The aforementioned fact that the debitive causes changes to sentence structure has
given rise to a  certain amount of discussion as to the  status of these forms  – are
they best viewed as a  verb mood, passive voice forms with a  modal meaning or,
perhaps, a group of special modal forms (Kalnača 2013c: 481, 2014: 115, Lokmane,
Kalnača 2014, for details about the debate; also see Holvoet, Grzybowska 2014)? In
Latvian, the debitive has passive voice forms just as other moods (see Section 2.5.5),
in addition, constructions of the  type Man ir jālasa grāmata ‘I must read a  book’
express an action of a non-canonical subject in the active voice, making it impossible,
on the whole, to view all debitive forms as a subtype of the passive voice. Another
fact in favor of the mood interpretation is that the debitive is characterized by very
homogeneous, regular semantics – expressing necessity, and debitive forms exist for
all Latvian verbs.
Perfective actions are expressed by combining two auxiliary verbs: būt ‘to be’ in
a finite form (i.e., ir ‘is, are’, bija ‘was, were’, būs ‘will be’) and būt ‘to be’ in the past
active participle form bijis.
(2.5.97) a. Apgrozījums ir bijis jākāpina
turnover.nom.m be.aux.prs.3 be.aux.ptcp.nom.m deb.increase
par apmēram 200 %.
by about 200 %
‘[We] have had to increase the turnover by approximately 200%.’ (C)

248
 b. Šāds notikums vēl nebija
this_kind.nom.m event.nom.m yet not_be.aux.pst.3
bijis jāpiedzīvo.
be.aux.ptcp.nom.m deb.experience
‘[I] had never had to experience such an event [before].’ (C)
c Diez vai motoram būs bijis
ptcl ptcl engine.dat.m be.aux.fut.3 be.aux.ptcp.nom.m
jāstrādā ekstrēmos apstākļos.
deb.work extreme.loc.pl.m condition.loc.pl.m
‘The engine will hardly have had to run under extreme conditions.’ (C)
The debitive mood has the following paradigm of forms:

dar-ī-t ‘to do’, cel-ties ‘to rise’

Tense Indefinite Perfect
PRS ir ‘have, has’ ir ‘have, has’
jā-dara ‘to do’, jā-dara ‘to do’,
PST bija ‘had’ bija ‘had’ bijis ‘had’
jā-ceļas ‘to rise’ jā-ceļas ‘to rise’
FUT būs ‘will have’ būs ‘will have’
Table 2.43 The paradigm of debitive forms

In relation to indicative tense forms appearing in the same context, the debitive tense

forms can express anteriority, simultaneity, or posteriority.
The debitive mood has two subtypes – the oblique debitive and the conditional
debitive. The oblique subtype incorporates both debitive and oblique semantics and
is used to renarrate another person’s necessity to perform an action (Skujiņa 2007:
416–417).
(2.5.98) a. Līdz Ankorvata templim esot jābrauc
to Angkor_Wat.gen.m temple.dat.m be.aux.obl.prs deb.drive
30–40 minūtes.
30-40 minute.nom.pl.f
‘Apparently it’s a 30–40-minute drive to the Angkor Wat temple.’
(www.delfi)
b. Tev, piemēram, būšot jāsāk strādāt,
you.dat.sg for_example be.aux.obl.fut deb.begin work.inf
jāmācās, jāatmet dzeršana...
deb.study deb.give_up drinking.nom.f
‘You, for example, will apparently have to start working, will have to
study, give up drinking…’ (G. Priede)
The oblique debitive forms are constructed by combining the debitive form of a lexical
verb with an auxiliary verb in an oblique-mood form.
(2.5.99) a. esot jādara ‘reportedly must do’, būšot jādara ‘reportedly will have to do’
b. esot jāceļas ‘reportedly must rise’, būšot jāceļas ‘reportedly will have to rise’

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The present indefinite oblique debitive has parallel formal variants – ir jā-dar-ot, esot
jā-dar-ot, which mostly occur in colloquial speech and sometimes also in mass media
and literary texts and are not considered acceptable in Standard Latvian.
(2.5.100) Partijas vadītājs teica,
ka premjeram esot jāzinot,
that prime_minister.dat.m be.aux.obl.prs deb.know.obl
ko viņš runā.
‘The head of the party said that the prime minister should know what he
is talking about.’ (www.delfi.lv)
The oblique subtype of the debitive mood has the following paradigm of forms:

dar-ī-t ‘to do’, cel-ties ‘to rise’

Tense Indefinite Perfect
esot ‘reportedly esot ‘reportedly
PRS jā-dara jā-dara
have / has’ have / has’
‘to do’, ‘to do’,
būšot būšot bijis ‘had’
jā-ceļas jā-ceļas
FUT ‘reportedly will ‘to rise’ ‘reportedly will ‘to rise’
have’ have’
Table 2.44 The paradigm of oblique debitive forms

The conditional subtype of the  debitive mood combines debitive and conditional
semantics and is used to name a possible or desirable action, which would have to be
performed if conditions allowed (Skujiņa 2007: 417).
(2.5.101) a. Un kāpēc taisni šeit tev būtu jāstrādā?
and why exactly here you.dat.sg be.aux.cond deb.work
‘And why would you have to work here of all places?’ (G. Priede)
b. Man šķiet,
nevienam nebūtu jāapšauba dzejas
nobody.dat not_be.aux.cond deb.question poetry.gen.f
antoloģijas nepieciešamība.
anthology.gen.f need.nom.f
‘I think nobody should question the need for a poetry anthology.’
(V. Rūmnieks, A. Migla)
The conditional subtype of the debitive mood has the following paradigm of forms:

dar-ī-t ‘to do’, cel-ties ‘to rise’

Tense Indefinite Perfect
būtu ‘would jā-dara ‘to do’, būtu ‘would jā-dara ‘to do’,
PRS bijis ‘had’
have’ jā-ceļas ‘to rise’ have’ jā-ceļas ‘to rise’
Table 2.45 The paradigm of conditional debitive forms

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Alongside the debitive forms, Latvian also has a number of constructions for expressing
necessity, all of which can be rephrased by means of the debitive. Such constructions
are similar to the debitive mood in that, when there is a formally expressed subject,
it is in the dative case.
The construction with the verb vajadzēt ‘to need, require’ + infinitive is widely
used in colloquial speech and mass media texts.
(2.5.102) a. Šo [mūzikas] albūmu nevajag klausīties
this.acc.m [music] album.acc.m not_need.prs.3 listen.inf
cilvēkiem ar depresīvām nosliecēm.
people.dat.pl.m with depressive.ins.pl.f disposition.ins.pl.f
‘People who are prone to depression should not listen to this [music]
album.’ (J. Joņevs)
b. Pienāca Jāņu vakars.
Vajadzēja sagatavot
need.pst.3 prepare.inf
vietu svinēšanai.
place.acc.f celebration.dat.f
‘Midsummer’s Eve was upon us. We had to prepare a place for
celebration.’ (I. Ābele)
c. Antidopinga komitejai no sākuma
anti-doping.gen.m committee.dat.f from beginning.gen.m
vajadzēs izlasīt un izanalizēt
need.fut.3 read.inf and analyze.inf
atklāto pierādījumu kopumu.
available.ptcp.gen.pl.m evidence.gen.pl.m body.acc.m
‘First, the Anti-doping committee will have to read and analyze
the available body of evidence.’ (www.lsm.lv)
Aside from the indicative, the above construction can also be used in the oblique and
conditional mood.
(2.5.103) a. Viena meitene rakstīja,
ka matus ābolu
that hair.acc.pl.m apple.gen.pl.m
etiķī vajagot skalot.
vinegar.loc.m need.obl.prs rinse.inf
‘One girl wrote that apparently one has to rinse one’s hair in apple
cider vinegar.’ (Neatkarīgā Rīta Avīze)
b. 10 lietas, ko Tev vajadzētu zināt,
10 thing.nom.pl.f that you.dat.sg need.cond know.inf
ja tiešām pazīsti savu vīru.
‘10 things you should know if you really know your
husband.’ (www.delfi.lv)

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Another similar construction consists of the verb nākties ‘to be obliged, have to’ +
infinitive, and it is mostly used in official communications, mass media, and literary
texts.
(2.5.104) Resno [bērza] stumbru ar mazo
thick.acc.m [birch] trunk.acc.m with small.ins.m
cirvīti nācās pārcirst
hatchet.ins.m have.pst.3 chop.inf
pat divās vietās,
even two.loc.pl.f place.loc.pl.f
un tikai tad koku izdevās novākt no ceļa.
‘The thick trunk [of the birch-tree] had to be chopped in three with
the small hatchet, only then did we manage to clear the tree from
the road.’ (P. Bankovskis)
Like the previous one, this construction can be used in the oblique and conditional
mood.
(2.5.105) a. Viņam esot nācies
he.dat be.aux.obl.prs have.ptcp.nom.m
dzīvi atsākt pilnīgi no nulles.
life.acc.f restart.inf absolutely from zero.gen.f
‘He purportedly had to start a new life from nothing.’ (Kas Jauns)
b. Ja iebraucējiem būtu nācies
if newcomer.dat.pl.m be.aux.cond have.ptcp.nom.m
iziet cauri tam visam,
go.inf through that.dat.m all.dat.m
ko pārcietuši šejienes iedzīvotāji, tad viņu šeit vairs nebūtu.
‘If the newcomers had to go through everything that the locals had
endured they wouldn’t be here any more.’ (Latvijas Avīze)
In addition, there is a  construction made up of the  past or future indefinite form
of the  verb būt ‘to be’ + infinitive. It occurs predominantly in literary texts and
colloquial speech.
(2.5.106) a. Par ko gan šeit bija uztraukties
about what.acc ptcl here be.cop.pst.3 worry.inf
turīgajiem?
wealthy.dat.pl.m
‘What was even there for the wealthy to worry about?’ (www.delfi.lv)
b. Kas nepiedalās [pašvaldību] vēlēšanās,
tam nebūs
that.dat.m not_be.cop.fut.3
[to rezultātus] kritizēt.
[it outcome] criticize.inf
‘Those who don’t vote in the [local] elections shall not criticize
[the outcome]. (Diena)

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Finally, in all varieties of Latvian, necessity can be expressed by means of the present
passive participle combined with a copula functioning as a predicate.
(2.5.107) a. Drāma ir daudz ilgāk rakstāma
drama.nom.f be.cop.prs.3 much longer write.ptcp.nom.f
nekā cita veida teksti.
than other.gen.m type.gen.m text.nom.pl.m
‘A drama takes much longer to write than other types of text.’ (C)
b. Partijas pārstāvētajās ministrijās
party.gen.f represent.ptcp.loc.pl.f ministry.loc.pl.f
vēl daudz esot paveicams.
still much be.cop.obl.prs do.ptcp.nom.m
‘Apparently, much still remains to be done in the ministries represented
by the party.’ (Latvijas Avīze)
c. Nevienam nav tiesību norādīt,
kas šai valstij
what.nom this.dat.f country.dat.f
būtu darāms.
be.cop.cond do.ptcp.nom.m
‘No one has a right to tell this country what to do.’ (www.lsm.lv)

Imperative mood
The imperative mood is used to express the speaker’s will with respect to a particular
action; it can be an encouragement (2.5.108a), order (2.5.108b-c), request (2.5.108d-
e), invitation (2.5.108f-g), or prohibition (2.5.108h) (Skujiņa 2007: 292).
(2.5.108) a. Apsēdies.
sit.imp.2sg
Kurā klasē iet tavs vecākais zēns?
‘Sit down. Which form is your oldest boy in?’ (Dz. Sodums)
b. Kāp iekšā,
get.imp.2sg in
uzsauca šoferis.
‘Get in, the driver called out.’ (R. Ezera)
c. Sēdiet klusu!
sit.imp.2pl still
‘Sit still!’ (C)
d. Mirkli, jel apstājies!
moment.voc.m ptcl stop.imp.2sg
‘Stay, fleeting moment!’ (R. Ezera)
e. Atcerieties –
remember.imp.2pl
ja atrodat ūpja mazuli zemē pie koka, tad tam tur arī jābūt un jāpaliek!
‘Remember, if you find a baby eagle owl on the ground under a tree,
it’s where it should be and it should remain there!’ (Diena)

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 f. Lai dzīvo karalis!
let live.imp.3sg king.nom.m
‘Long live the king!’ (C)
g. Iesim uz veikalu!
go.imp.1pl to shop.acc.m
‘Let’s go to the shop!’ (J. Joņevs)
h. Neskatieties uz mani tā!
not_look.imp.2pl at I.acc that
‘Don’t look at me like that!’ (C)
In Latvian, proper imperative forms only exist in the  second-person singular and
plural. The second-person singular form is the same as the second-person singular
present indicative; the second-person plural is derived by attaching the ending -iet,
-ieties to the present tense stem of a verb.
(2.5.109) INF – PRS – IMP 2PL
darī-t – dar-u – dar-iet ‘to do – (I) do – do!’
cel-ties – ceļ-os – cel-ieties ‘to rise – (I) rise – rise!’
It should be observed that the consonant preceding the ending of the second-person
plural imperative is the same as the root-final consonant of the second-person singular,
e.g., nāc – nāc-iet! ‘come!’, audz – audz-iet! ‘grow!’, cel – cel-iet! ‘build!’, kāp – kāp-iet!
‘climb!’, guli – gul-iet! ‘sleep!’, sēdi – sēd-iet! ‘sit!’ (Kalme, Smiltniece 2001: 241).
The personal pronouns tu ‘you (SG)’, jūs ‘you (PL)’, mēs ‘we’ do not normally
appear with imperatives (Ahero et al. 1959: 606; Nītiņa 2001: 75), see examples
(2.5.108a–c, e, h). It is only in emotionally highly loaded exclamations that a second-
person pronoun may be used to show the  speaker’s anger or express a  negative
attitude and disdain towards the addressee.
(2.5.110) a. Tu tur nemuldi tik
you.nom.sg there not_babble.imp.2sg so
daudz!
much
‘You there! Stop babbling so much!’ (Diena)
b. Tu te, sīkais, neizrunājies!
you.nom.sg there kid.nom.m not_babble.imp.2sg
‘You, kid, don’t babble!’ (www.draugiem.lv)
The third-person singular and plural forms used in conjunction with the  particle
lai ‘let’ (lai dara! ‘let (him / her / them) do!’; lai ceļ! ‘let (him / her / them) build!’)
(2.5.111) and the first-person plural (darīsim! ‘let’s do!’; celsimies! ‘let’s rise!’) (2.5.112)
are actually third-person present and first-person future indefinite indicative forms
that function as imperatives in specific contexts and speech situations.
(2.5.111) a. Lai [viņš] atnāk,
let [he] come.imp.3
es ar viņu parunāšu!
‘Let [him] come, I’ll talk to him!’ (C)

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 b. Lai parādās tagad Sibilla Švirkste!
let appear.imp.3 now Sibilla.nom.f Švirkste.nom.f
‘Let Sibilla Švirkste appear now!’ (G. Priede)
(2.5.112) a. Lūdzu, cienīsim cits citu!
please respect.imp.1pl other.nom.m other.acc.m
‘Please, let’s respect one another!’ (C)
b. Mēģināsim noskaidrot,
try.imp.1pl establish.inf
kas viņš tāds ir un ko pārstāv!
‘Let’s try to establish who he is and what he represents!’ (G. Priede)
In contrast to other verb moods, the  imperative lacks tense forms but has person
forms, with the exception of the first-person singular:

dar-ī-t ‘to do’, cel-ties ‘to rise’

Person SG PL
1 – darīs-im! ‘let’s do!’, cels-imies! ‘let’s rise!’
2 dar-i! ‘do!’, cel-ies! ‘rise!’ dar-iet! ‘do!’, cel-ieties! ‘rise!’
3 lai dar-a! ‘let him / her / them do!’, lai ceļ-as! ‘let him / her / them rise!’
Table 2.46 The paradigm of imperative forms (adapted from Kalnača 2013a: 87)

In colloquial speech (and its literary renderings), the  first-person plural present
indefinite indicative is widely used as the  first-person plural imperative  – darām!
‘let’s do!’; ceļamies! ‘let’s rise!’; ejam! ‘let’s go!’; braucam! ‘let’s drive!’
(2.5.113) a. Ejam sēnēs!
go.prs.1pl mushroom.loc.pl.f
‘Let’s go picking mushrooms!’ (Kas Jauns)
b. Pietiks izklaidēties,
braucam mājās!
go.prs.1pl home.loc.pl.f
‘Enough hanging out, let’s go home!’ (www.delfi.lv)
c. Kāpjam lejā pie manis
go.prs.1pl downstairs to I.gen
[uz manu dzīvokli]!
‘Let’s go downstairs [to my apartment]!’ (G. Priede)
Finally, in polite expressions and colloquial speech, the  second-person plural
imperative is sometimes expressed by means of the  second-person plural future
indefinite indicative.
(2.5.114) a. Ģenerāļa kungs, atļausiet ziņot!
general.gen.m sir.nom.m permit.fut.2pl speak.inf
‘General, permission to speak!’ (I. Ābele)

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 b. Jūs tūlīt pat iesiet lejā
you.nom.pl at_once go.fut.2pl downstairs.loc.f
savākt to visu
pick_up.inf it.acc all.acc.f
[pa dzīvokļa logu izmestas krāsu kārbas]!
‘You will go downstairs and pick all this up at once [paint cans thrown
out the apartment window]!’ (G. Priede)
Relative to indicative tense forms appearing in the  same context, the  imperative
forms express posteriority, i.e., actions that must take place after the speech moment.

Modality and evidentiality

In Latvian, verb moods can express both deontic and epistemic modality, as well as
evidential meanings. Modal meanings are also present in some uses of the infinitive.
Deontic modality indicates how the state of the world ought to be according to
the speaker (usually in the form of an order, prohibition, recommendation) (Palmer
2001: 9,10; Skujiņa 2007: 499). In Latvian, deontic modality is mainly manifested in
the imperative mood, which is used to express the speaker’s assessment of an action
in such a way so as to influence the addressee to fulfil the speaker’s intention – to
make sure that the action is performed, see examples (2.5.108).
Deontic modality can also be communicated by means of the  debitive mood,
see examples (2.5.88). In that case, however, an addressee is not addressed directly.
Since the  subject is in the  dative case, the  speaker can only describe an action as
being obligatory for himself or others.
Moreover, in specific contextual uses, deontic modality can be conveyed by
the indicative mood, namely, when indicative forms function as imperatives:
1) the present indefinite indicative expressing invitations
(2.5.115) Nākamgad tiekamies pie mums Latgalē!
next_year meet.prs.1pl by we.dat Latgale.loc.f
‘Let’s meet at our place in Latgale next year!’ (C)
2) the future indefinite indicative
a) expressing polite requests
(2.5.116) “Kundzīt, jūs ar to grozu,
lady.voc.f you.nom.pl with that.ins.m basket.ins.m
panāksit tuvāk!”
come.fut.2pl closer
Salutaurs uzsauca.
‘“Dear lady, you with that basket, will you come closer!” Salutaurs called
out.’ (A. Eglītis)
b) demanding something categorically; such sentences usually contain
the so-called ethical dative – a pronoun in the dative case referring to
the speaker

256
(2.5.117) Tādā apģērbā tu man nekur
such.loc.m clothing.loc.m you.nom.sg I.dat nowhere
neiesi!
not_go.fut.2sg
‘I won’t let you go anywhere in clothes like that!’ (www.delfi.lv)
Deontic modality is clearly manifested in the  predicative uses of the  infinitive in
imperative sentences – exclamations (2.5.118), instructions (2.5.119), and prohibitions
(2.5.120).
(2.5.118) a. Kaut ātrāk tikt atvaļinājumā!
ptcl sooner get.inf vacation.loc.m
‘If only I could be on vacation sooner!’ (www.apollo.lv)
b. Cilvēki, jums mani vairs ne
person.nom.pl.m you.dat.pl I.acc anymore not
ar ko nepārsteigt.
with anything.ins not_surprise.inf
‘People, you can’t surprise me with anything anymore.’
(www.twitter.com)
(2.5.119) a. Dokumentus iesniegt dekanātā.
document.acc.pl.m submit.inf dean’s_office.loc.m
‘Documents are to be submitted to the dean’s office.’ (www.lu.lv)
b. Tad atskanēja komanda:
– Mierā! Pacelt karogu!
attention raise.inf flag.acc.m
‘Then they heard a command: Attention! Raise the flag!’ (I. Ābele)
(2.5.120) a. Pa sliežu ceļiem nestaigāt!
on rail.gen.pl.f track.acc.pl.m not_walk.inf
‘Do not walk on the railway tracks!’ (a warning on a railway track)
b. Neienākt virsdrēbēs un neienest
not_enter.inf street_clothes.loc.pl.m and not_carry.inf
bibliotēkā pārtikas produktus.
library.loc.f food.gen.f products.acc.pl.m
‘Do not enter in street clothes, do not take food products into the library.’
(a warning displayed at a public library)
Epistemic modality concerns the  speaker’s attitude towards or evaluation of
the  information contained in an utterance (a judgment, assertion), for example,
certainty, possibility, probability, or disbelief (Palmer 2001: 8,9; Skujiņa 2007:
107). In Latvian, it is usually associated with the conditional mood, as its semantics
naturally accommodate references to possible, uncertain, future-oriented actions, see
examples (2.5.80)–(2.5.83). In addition, in certain contexts epistemic modality can
be expressed by means of the indicative (2.5.121) and oblique (2.5.122) mood (often
with the help of a particle, adverb, etc.).

257
(2.5.121) a. FUT Indefinite
Uz sēdi aicinātais aizturētā cilvēka advokāts nespēja paskaidrot, kā un
kāpēc nelikumības notikušas.
“To es šobrīd nemācēšu teikt,
that.acc.m I.nom now not_know.fut.1sg say.inf
jo es aizturētā ģimeni pārstāvu tikai apmēram gadu un par iepriekšējiem
notikumiem man nav informācijas.”
‘The lawyer of the arrested man invited to the hearing was unable to
explain how and why the offences took place.
“I won’t be able to tell you this, as I have been representing the family
of the defendant for only a year and do not have information about
earlier occurrences.”’ (Kas Jauns)
b. FUT Perfect
Un es vēl savā naivumā domāju, ka maz būs to, kas balsos par šo
[deputāta] kandidātu.
Laikam būšu kļūdījusies.
probably be.aux.fut.1sg mistaken.ptcp.nom.f
‘And I was naïve enough to believe that hardly anybody would vote for
this [parliamentary] candidate. It appears, I was mistaken.’
(www.cosmo.lv)
(2.5.122) a. – Varbūt [Rīgā] nemaz nav tādas koncertu vietas?
– It kā laikam noteikti esot.
as if probably definitely be.obl.prs
‘Maybe, there just isn’t a concert venue like that [in Rīga]?
I’ve heard that there must be.’ (J. Joņevs)
b. Uzņēmējs tiesājas ar kluba līdzīpašniekiem,
jo viņi
because they.nom.m
esot pārskaitījuši
be.aux.obl.prs transfer.ptcp.nom.pl.m
miljoniem mārciņu uz citām
million.ins.pl.m pound.gen.pl.f to other.dat.pl.f
sev piederošām kompānijām.
self.dat own.ptcp.dat.pl.f company.dat.pl.f
‘The businessman has sued the co-owners of the club, because they
have allegedly transferred millions of pounds to other companies they
own.’ (www.delfi.lv)
Evidentiality is a  semantic category, which is concerned with the  means that
a  language has for indicating the  source of information included in an utterance
and for providing an evaluation of the nature of such information (Wiemer 2007a:
198, 2007b; also see Holvoet 2001: 111). In Latvian, evidentiality, i.e., an indication
that the speaker is not the source of information, is usually expressed by means of
the oblique mood (Holvoet 2007: 80–105), see examples (2.5.72).

258
 Evidential-type information, i.e., a  renarrated necessity, is also inherent in
the oblique subtype of the debitive mood, which is widely used in spoken language,
see examples (2.5.98).
In addition, evidential semantics typically occur in indicatives functioning as
obliques  – usually, in composite sentences containing a  verbum dicendi in one of
the clauses.
(2.5.123) a. Māsa lūdza,
lai es satieku (= satiekot)
sub I.nom meet.prs.1sg (=meet.obl.prs)
to sievieti,
that.acc.f woman.acc.f
kas koordinējusi bērnu adopciju.
‘Sister asked me to meet the woman who had coordinated the children’s
adoption.’ (Ieva)
b. Vecomāt, jums nupat zvanīja no radio un teica,
ka dzejoli ir (= esot)
that poem.acc.m be.aux.prs.3 (=be.obl.prs)
sacerējis pavisam cits rakstnieks.
write.ptcp.nom.m completely other.nom.m writer.nom.m
‘Grandmother, you just got a call from the radio, they said the poem
was written by a completely different writer.’ (G. Priede)

2.5.5 Voice
Voice is a lexico-grammatical category of verbs encoding the relationship between
an action and its subject and object (Skujiņa 2007: 179). Depending on whether
the speaker, in the process of communication, views the subject of a clause as being
important with regard to a particular instance or manifestation of a process, a clause
may be in the active (2.5.124a) or passive voice (2.5.124b), without affecting the logic
of the judgment contained in it.
(2.5.124) a. active voice
Viņš savā dārzā
he.nom own.loc.m garden.loc.m
ir sastādījis sparģeļus.
be.aux.prs.3 plant.ptcp.nom.m asparagus.acc.pl.m
‘He has planted asparagus in his garden.’ (A. Žīgure)
b. passive voice
Mākslinieces darbos bieži ir
artist.gen.f work.loc.pl.m often be.aux.prs.3
gleznoti putni.
paint.ptcp.nom.pl.m bird.nom.pl.m
‘Birds are often painted in the artist’s works.’ (Jaunā Gaita)

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Overall, Latvian verbs have two voices  – the  active and the  passive voice. This
opposition, however, is only found in a lexically and grammatically limited range of
verbs – mostly, transitive non-reflexive verbs taking an accusative object (see Section
2.5.6). In contemporary Latvian, reflexive verbs fall outside the category of voice and
form a distinct lexico-grammatical group (see Section 2.5.7).
The active voice is grammatically unmarked, it is expressed by the indefinite
and perfect tense forms of the  indicative and other moods (see Tables 2.47–2.54).
The passive voice forms are analytical. The indefinite passive tense forms are derived
by means of the auxiliary verb tikt ‘to get’ in a finite form + past passive participle
(Table 2.47), while the perfect passive tense forms use the auxiliary verb būt ‘to be’
in a finite form + past passive participle (Table 2.48).

slavināt ‘to praise’

SG PL
Person
PRS PST FUT PRS PST FUT
tieku tiku tikšu tiekam tikām tiksim
1
‘am’ ‘was’ ‘will be’ ‘are’ ‘were’ ‘will be’
slavināt-s slavināt-i
(M), tiksit/ (M),
tiec tiki tiksi -a (F) tiekat tikāt -as (F)
2 -iet
‘are’ ‘were’ ‘will be’ ‘praised’ ‘are’ ‘were’ ‘praised’
‘will be’
tiek tika tiks tiek tika tiks
3
‘is’ ‘was’ ‘will be’ ‘are’ ‘were’ ‘will be’

Table 2.47 Passive voice, indefinite tenses, indicative mood

SG PL
Person
PRS PST FUT PRS PST FUT
esmu biju būšu esam bijām būsim
1 ‘have ‘had ‘will have ‘have ‘had ‘will have
been’ been’ been’ been’ been’ been’
slavināt-s slavināt-i
(M), būsit/ (M),
esi biji būsi esat bijāt
-a (F) -iet -as (F)
2 ‘have ‘had ‘will have ‘have ‘had
‘praised’ ‘will have ‘praised’
been’ been’ been’ been’ been’
been’
ir bija būs ir bija būs
3 ‘has ‘had ‘will have ‘have ‘had ‘will have
been’ been’ been’ been’ been’ been’

Table 2.48 Passive voice, perfect tenses, indicative mood

The formation of passive voice forms is linked to changes in sentence structure:

the  agent in passive clauses is usually omitted, while the  accusative object of
the active voice transforms into a nominative object.

260
(2.5.125) Es (SNOM) daru darbu (OACC)
I.nom do.prs.1sg work.acc.m
‘I am doing work.’
→
Darbs (ONOM) tiek darīts.
work.nom.m get.aux.prs.3 do.ptcp.nom.m
‘Work is being done.’
Present perfect (2.5.127a) (also past (2.5.127b) and future perfect (2.5.127c)) passive
clauses may contain a genitive agent forming a nominal phrase with the past passive
participle.
(2.5.126) Es (SNOM) esmu darījis darbu (OACC)
I.nom be.aux.prs.1sg do.ptcp.nom.m work.acc.m
‘I have done work.’
→
Darbs (ONOM) ir manis (SGEN) darīts.
work.nom.m be.aux.prs.3 I.gen do.ptcp.nom.m
‘The work has been done by me.’
(2.5.127) a. Dzīvoklis ir mūsu abu
apartment.nom.m be.aux.prs.3 we.gen both.gen.pl
pirkts uzreiz pēc kāzām.
buy.ptcp.nom.m shortly after wedding.dat.pl.m
‘The apartment was bought by both of us shortly after the wedding.’
(www.cosmo.lv)
b. Kandavas kultūras nama lielā
Kandava.gen.f culture.gen.f house.gen.m grand.nom.f
zāle bija skatītāju
hall.nom.f be.aux.pst.3 spectator.gen.pl.m
pārpildīta.
overcrowd.ptcp.nom.f
‘The grand hall of the Kandava community center was overcrowded
(with spectators).’ (www.kandava.lv)
c. Mazi šokolādes cepumiņi – kārums,
little.nom.pl.m chocolate.gen.f cookie.nom.pl.m treat.nom.m
kas noteikti būs bērnu
that.nom definitely be.aux.fut.3 child.gen.pl.m
iecienīts.
appreciate.ptcp.nom.m
‘Little chocolate cookies – a treat that will definitely be appreciated by
children.’ (www.draugiem.lv)
Passive voice forms are also possible for verbs taking an indirect – usually, a dative
(2.5.128a) or a prepositional (2.5.128b) – object. In that case, the grammatical form
of the object remains unchanged.

261
(2.5.128) a. Dēls (SNOM) stāsta vecākiem (ODAT)
son.nom.m tell.prs.3 parent.dat.pl.m
‘The son is telling his parents’
→
Vecākiem (ODAT) tiek stāstīts
parent.dat.pl.m get.aux.prs.3 tell.ptcp.nom.m
‘Parents are being told’
b. Es (SNOM) runāju ar māsu (OPREP)
I.nom talk.pst.1sg with sister.ins.f
‘I talked to my sister’
→
Ar māsu (OPREP) tiek runāts
with sister.ins.f get.aux.prs.3 talk.ptcp.nom.m
‘My sister is being spoken to’
(2.5.129) a. Ja [Saeimas] deputātam patiešām
if [Saeima] member_of_parliament.dat.m really
ir uzbrukts viņa pildāmo
be.aux.prs.3 attack.ptcp.nom.m he.gen officiate.ptcp.gen.pl.m
pienākumu dēļ,
duty.gen.pl.m because_of
tad tas ir nopietni.
‘If it’s really the case that the MP has been attacked because of his
official duties then it’s serious.’ (Latvijas Avīze)
b. Par vecvecākiem [ģimenē] netika daudz
about grandparent.dat.pl.m [family] not_get.aux.pst.3 much
runāts.
talk.ptcp.nom.m
‘The grandparents were not talked about much [in the family].’ (Ieva)
In some cases, Latvian also permits passive voice forms of intransitive non-reflexive
verbs.
(2.5.130) a. Mati pirmie reaģē, ja uzturā
hair.nom.pl.m first.nom.pl.m react.prs.3 if diet.loc.m
trūkst vitamīnu vai ilgi [ir]
lack.prs.3 vitamin.gen.pl.m or long [is]
slimots.
be_ill.ptcp.nom.m
‘Hair is the first to react to a lack of vitamins in the diet or a long
illness.’ (www.delfi.lv)
b. Simt gadu te nav
hundred year.gen.pl.m here not_be.aux.prs.3
būts.
be.ptcp.nom.m
‘It’s been ages since [I] was last here.’ (www.cosmo.lv)

262
 c. Kāvies dažreiz esmu, pa
fight.ptcp.nom.m sometimes be.aux.prs.1sg through
logu arī kāpts ir iekšā.
window.acc.m also climb.ptcp.nom.m be.aux.prs.3 inside
‘I have been known to get into fights and climb through windows.’
(www.tvnet.lv)
Usually, such sentences are used to express generalized, regular or habitual actions,
or for impersonal statements of fact. In addition, passive voice forms are only possible
for three-person intransitive verbs denoting actions performed by human beings or
(less frequently) animals. Single-person intransitive verbs do not occur in the passive
voice in Latvian.
The active and passive voices function in parallel in all moods. In the passive
voice, mood is marked on the auxiliary verb tikt ‘to get’ in indefinite tenses and on
the auxiliary verb būt ‘to be’ in perfect tenses, see Tables 2.48–2.54 (the forms are
exemplified by the verb slavināt ‘to praise’):

Oblique mood
Tense Indefinite Perfect SG PL
tiekot ‘reportedly esot ‘reportedly
PRS
is’ has been’ slavināt-s (M), slavināt-i (M),
tikšot ‘reportedly būšot ‘reportedly -a (F) ‘praised’ -as (F) ‘praised’
FUT
will be’ will have been’

Table 2.49 Passive voice, oblique mood

(2.5.131) a. Ja nekas netiekot prasīts, tad

if nothing.nom not_get.aux.obl.prs require.ptcp.nom.m then
nekas arī netiekot darīts.
nothing.nom also not_get.aux.obl.prs do. ptcp.nom.m
‘They said, if nothing was required, nothing was done.’ (C)
b. Konkursa rezultāti netikšot
competition.gen.m result.nom.pl.m not_get.aux.obl.fut
pārskatīti.
review.ptcp.nom.pl.m
‘Apparently, the results of the competition will not be reviewed.’ (C)
c. Viņš palika pie saviem meliem.
Mana informācija esot
my.nom.f information.nom.f be.aux.obl.prs
safantazēta...
make_up.ptcp.nom.f
‘He stuck to his lies. According to him, my information is invented.’
(G. Priede)

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 d. Zoodārza pārstāve piebilst,
ka Mežaparks esot lapsu plaši
that Mežaparks.nom.m be.aux.obl.prs fox.gen.pl.f widely
apdzīvots.
inhabit.ptcp.nom.m
‘The zoo’s spokesperson adds that Mežaparks is widely inhabited by
foxes.’ (Latvijas Avīze)
e. Mūzikas skolas apkārtne šajā
music.gen.f school.gen.f vicinity.nom.f this.loc.m
mācību gadā vakaros būšot
studies.gen.pl.m year.loc.m evening.loc.pl.m be.aux.obl.fut
apgaismota.
light_up.ptcp.nom.f
‘Apparently, this academic year there will be street lighting in
the vicinity of the music school in the evenings.’ (C)

Conditional mood
Tense Indefinite Perfect SG PL
tiktu būtu slavināt-s (M), slavināt-i (M),
PRS
‘would be’ ‘would have been’ -a (F) ‘praised’ -as (F) ‘praised’

Table 2.50 Passive voice, conditional mood

(2.5.132) a. Demokrātijas principi tiktu pilnībā

democracy.gen.f principle.nom.pl.m get.aux.cond fully.loc.f
ievēroti.
observe.ptcp.nom.pl.m
‘The principles of democracy would be fully observed.’ (C)
b. Ugunsgrēks būtu pamanīts ātrāk,
fire.nom.m be.aux.cond detect.ptcp.nom.m sooner
ja cilvēki dzīvokļos ierīkotu dūmu detektorus.
‘The fire would have been detected sooner if people had installed
smoke detectors in their apartments.’ (C)

Debitive mood
Tense Indefinite Perfect SG PL
PRS ir ‘has to’
slavināt-am slavināt-iem
PST bija ‘had to’ jābūt ‘have (M), (M),
jātiek ‘be’
been’ -ai (F) -ām (F)
būs ‘will have ‘praised’ ‘praised’
FUT
to’
Table 2.51 Passive voice, debitive mood

264
In the debitive mood, the passive construction differs from the active construction in
that the former requires the passive participle to be in the dative case, as it agrees in
gender, number and case with the semantic object, i.e., the patient (Kalnača 2013c:
554–556).
(2.5.133) a. Šim likumprojektam ir jātiek
this.dat.m bill.dat.m be.aux.prs.3 deb.get.aux
izstrādātam Tieslietu ministrijā.
draft.ptcp.dat.m Justice.gen.pl.f Ministry.loc.f
‘This bill has to be drafted in the Ministry of Justice.’ (C)
b. Viņa pavēlei bija jātiek
he.gen order.dat.f be.aux.pst.3 deb.get.aux
izpildītai.
follow.ptcp.dat.f
‘His order had to be followed.’ (C)
(2.5.134) a. Datoram ir jābūt saslēgtam
computer.dat.m be.aux.prs.3 deb.be.aux connect.ptcp.dat.m
ar drukāšanas iekārtu.
with printing.gen.f device.ins.f
‘The computer has to have a connecti on to a printing device.’ (C)
b. Līdz Lieldienām visiem dzīvokļa
by Easter.dat.pl.f all.dat.pl.m apartment.gen.m
logiem bija jābūt
window.dat.pl.m be.aux.pst.3 deb.be.aux
nomazgātiem.
clean.ptcp.dat.pl.m
‘All windows in the apartment had to be cleaned by Easter.’ (C)
As shown in examples (2.5.133)–(2.5.134) and Tables 2.51–2.53, the  hallmark of
the passive debitive is a combination of two auxiliaries – the auxiliary verb būt ‘to
be’ in a finite form and the auxiliary tikt ‘to get’ or būt ‘to be’ in the debitive form,
signaling, respectively, the  dynamic or static meaning of the  passive debitive, i.e.,
jātiek (indefinite forms) or jābūt (perfect forms).

Debitive mood, oblique subtype

Tense Indefinite Perfect SG PL
esot
PRS ‘reportedly slavināt-am slavināt-iem
has to’ jābūt ‘have (M), (M),
jātiek ‘be’
FUT būšot been’ -ai (F) -ām (F)
‘reportedly ‘praised’ ‘praised’
will have to’
Table 2.52 Passive voice, debitive mood, oblique subtype

265
(2.5.135) a. Mītam, ka sviests ir neveselīgs,
myth.dat.m that butter.nom.m be.cop.prs.3 unhealthy.nom.m
esot jātiek pamatotam.
be.aux.obl.prs deb.get.aux validate.ptcp.dat.m
‘It seems, the myth that butter is unhealthy needs to be validated.’
(www.tvnet.lv)
b. Ierobežojumiem esot jābūt
restriction.dat.pl.m be.aux.obl.prs deb.be.aux
noteiktiem ar likumu.
specify.ptcp.dat.pl.m by law.ins.m
‘Apparently, restrictions have to be specified by the law.’ (C)

Debitive mood, conditional subtype

Tense Indefinite Perfect SG PL

būtu jātiek jābūt ‘have to slavināt-am (M), slavināt-iem (M),

PRS
‘would’ ‘have to be’ have been’ -ai (F) ‘praised’ -ām (F) ‘praised’

Table 2.53 Passive voice, debitive mood, conditional subtype

(2.5.136) a. Šiem likumu grozījumiem būtu

this.dat.pl.m law.gen.pl.m amendment.dat.pl.m be.aux.cond
jātiek iesniegtiem jau līdz 27.
deb.get.aux submit.ptcp.dat.pl.m already by 27
novembrim.
November.dat.m
‘These amendments to the law would have to be submitted by
November 27.’ (C)
b. Tam [dokumentam] būtu jābūt
it.dat.m [document] be.aux.cond deb.be.aux
apliecinātam ar parakstu.
certify.ptcp.dat.m with signature.ins.m
‘It [the document] would have to have been certified with a signature.’ (C)

Imperative mood
Person SG PL
2 esi slavināts (M), -a (F)! ‘be praised!’ esiet slavināti (M), -as (F)! ‘be praised!’
lai slavināts (M), -a (F)! lai slavināti (M), -as (F)!
3
‘(let) be praised!’ ‘(let) be praised!’
Table 2.54 Passive voice, imperative mood

(2.5.137) a. Esi sveicināta Holivudā!

be.aux.imp.2sg welcome.ptcp.nom.f Hollywood.loc.f
‘Welcome to Hollywood!’ (Ieva)

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 b. Mīliet un esiet mīlēti!!!
love.aux.imp.2pl and be.aux.imp.2.pl love.ptcp.nom.pl.m
‘Love and be loved!!!’ (C)
c. Lai [ir] slavēta vienlīdzība!
let [is] praise.ptcp.nom.f equality.nom.f
‘Equality be praised!’ (www.apollo.lv)
In mass media, literary, and certain other types of text, passive perfect tense forms
sometimes contain a combination of two auxiliaries – būt ‘to be’ in a finite form and
būt or tikt ‘to get’ in the past active participle (on active past tense forms with tikt see
Section 2.5.3):
1) ticis ‘got (M, SG)’, tikusi ‘got (F, SG)’, tikuši ‘got (M, PL)’, tikušas ‘got (F, PL)’
(2.5.138) Ķīmiskas vielas tvaika noplūdes
chemical.gen.f substance.gen.f fume.gen.m leakage.gen.m
dēļ trešdien Rīgā [ir]
because_of Wednesday.loc.f Rīga.loc.f [is]
tikuši evakuēti
get.aux.ptcp.nom.pl.m evacuate.ptcp.nom.pl.m
32 cilvēki,
32 person.nom.pl.m
norādīja Valsts ugunsdzēsības un glābšanas dienests.
‘Due to leakage of chemical fumes in Rīga on Wednesday, 32 people got
evacuated, the State Fire and Rescue Service of Latvia reported.’
(www.apollo.lv)
2) bijis ‘been (M, SG)’, bijusi ‘been (F, SG)’, bijuši ‘been (M, PL)’, bijušas ‘been
(F, PL)’
(2.5.139) Trešais bērns ģimenē ir
third.nom.m child.nom.m family.loc.f be.aux.prs.3
bijis ļoti gaidīts.
be.aux.ptcp.nom.m very wait.ptcp.nom.m
‘The third child in the family was very much looked forward to.’
(Latvijas Avīze)
Apart from the indicative, such forms also occur in the oblique (2.5.140), conditional
(2.5.141), and debitive (2.5.142) passive.
(2.5.140) a. Par ministrijas plāniem reorganizēt universitāti
about ministry.gen.f plan.dat.pl.m reorganize.inf university.acc.f
tās rektore iepriekš neesot
it.gen.f rector.nom.f in_advance not_be.aux.obl.prs
tikusi informēta.
get.aux.ptcp.nom.f inform.ptcp.nom.f
‘The rector said she hadn’t been informed in advance about the ministry’s
plans to reorganize the university.’ (www.delfi.lv)

267
 b. Viņš esot bijis aicināts
he.nom be.obl.prs be.aux.ptcp.nom.m invite.ptcp.nom.m
liecināt tiesā.
testify.inf court.loc.f
‘Reportedly, he had been called to testify in court.’ (Jaunā Gaita)
(2.5.141) Ja es būtu ticis pieņemts
if I.nom be.aux.cond get.aux.ptcp.nom.m accept.ptcp.nom.m
bērnu ansamblī,
child.gen.pl.m ensemble.loc.m
mans muzikālais ceļš izskatītos citāds.
‘If I had gotten accepted into the children’s ensemble, my musical path
would have been different.’ (www.parmuziku.lv)
Consequently, there exist passive debitive forms containing a combination of three
auxiliaries:
(2.5.142) a. Ar šo kārtību
with this.ins.f procedure.ins.f
ir jābūt tikušam
be.aux.prs deb.be.aux get.aux.ptcp.dat.m
iepazīstinātam arī iestādes vadītājam.
inform.ptcp.dat.m also organization.gen.f head.dat.m
‘The head of the organization has to have been informed of the procedure
as well.’ (www.pietiek.com)
b. Lai saņemtu nekustamā īpašuma nodokļa atlaidi,
ārvalstniekam ir jābūt bijušam
foreigner.dat.m be.aux.prs.3 deb.be.aux be.aux.ptcp.dat.m
deklarētam
declare.ptcp.dat.m
Latvijā pirms taksācijas gada 1. janvāra.
Latvia.loc.f before taxation.gen.f year.gen.m first January.gen.m
‘In order to be eligible for a real estate tax discount, a foreigner has to
have had a residence registration in Latvia before January 1 of
the taxation year.’ (www.info.riga.lv)
c. Katrs cilvēks apzinās lietas,
every.nom.m person.nom.m realize.prs.3 thing.acc.pl.f
kurām būtu bijis
which.dat.pl.f be.aux.cond be.aux.ptcp.nom.
jābūt izdarītām tā un ne savādāk.
deb.be.aux do.ptcp.dat.pl.f thus and no other_way
‘Everyone is aware of things, which should have been done in one way
and not another.’ (Ir)
Examples of language use indicate that Latvian perfect passive forms with the above
auxiliaries are akin to the distinction between the dynamic and static passive found

268
in many other languages, especially considering that indefinite passive tense forms
with tikt ‘to get’ typically have a  processual meaning, while perfect tense forms
with būt ‘to be’ express states and, at the  same time, resultativeness. However, in
Latvian, this kind of distinction between the forms and meanings of perfect tense
forms (both in the  active and passive voice) has never fully grammaticalized and
is not consistently realized throughout the system of verbal forms, it only becomes
relevant in specific cases when it is particularly significant in terms of content for
the speaker. Due to inconsistent form usage and semantic non-obligatoriness, Latvian
grammars have tended to exclude the  distinction between the  static and dynamic
perfect of both voices from descriptions of the verb, leaving it outside the paradigm
despite it being present in language use (Ahero et al. 1959: 552–553; Kalnača 2013c:
505–506; also see Nītiņa 2001: 81; Holvoet 2001: 164).

2.5.6 Transitivity
Transitivity is a property of verbs that refers to whether a verb can take a prepositionless
accusative object (Skujiņa 2007: 284–285). Based on this ability, all verbs can be
classified as either transitive or intransitive.
Transitivity or intransitivity depends on the  lexical meaning of a  verb and is
expressed through syntactic relations in phrases or clauses, where a transitive verb
takes an accusative object (2.5.143) while an intransitive verb does not (2.5.144).
(2.5.143) a. vilkt mēteli ‘to put on a coat’, ravēt dārzu ‘to weed the garden’, nest somu
‘to carry a bag’, pirkt pārtiku ‘to buy food’
b. Viesmīlis ienesa kafiju.
waiter.nom.m bring_in.pst.3 coffee.acc.f
‘The waiter brought in the coffee.’ (A. Eglītis)
c. No dārznieka advokāts ik gadu
from gardener.gen.m lawyer.nom.m every year.acc.m
pērk jaunus [rožu] stādus ar
buy.prs.3 new.acc.pl.m [rose] plant.acc.pl.m with
skaistiem nosaukumiem.
beautiful.ins.pl.m name.ins.pl.m
‘Every year, the lawyer buys young [rose] plants with beautiful names
from the gardener.’ (A. Žīgure)
(2.5.144) a. salt ‘to be cold’, krist ‘to fall’, zust ‘to disappear’, snigt ‘to snow’, tumst
‘to grow dark’, jukt ‘to fall to pieces’, gulēt ‘to sleep’, sēņot ‘to pick
mushrooms’, ziedēt ‘to bloom’
b. Puķudobēs zied smaržīgās
flower_bed.loc.pl.f bloom.prs.3 fragrant.nom.pl.f
lefkojas.
gillyflower.nom.pl.f
‘Fragrant gillyflowers are blooming in the flower beds.’ (A. Žīgure)

269
 c. O, kā es salstu!
oh how I.nom be_cold.prs.1sg
‘Oh, am I cold!’ (C)
In Latvian, verbs can also take prepositionless genitive objects. Although genitive
objects mainly occur in literary prose, subdialects and in the speech of elderly people,
they are also used in mass media texts for poetic effect  – usually, with a  negated
predicate or verbs like pietikt ‘to be enough’, vajadzēt ‘to need’, gribēt ‘to want’, kārot ‘to
crave’, bīties ‘to be afraid of’, dot ‘to give’, etc. (on adverbial genitive see Section 2.1.4)
(2.5.145) a. Cilvēkiem darba pietiek.
person.dat.pl.m work.gen.m be_enough.prs.3
‘People have enough work.’ (I. Ābele)
b. Es negribu teikt par jums
I.nom not_want.prs.1sg say.inf about you.dat.pl
nekā slikta.
anything.gen bad.gen.m
‘I don’t want to say anything bad about you.’ (A. Eglītis)
c. Dārgakmeņu un kažoka man nevajag.
jewel.gen.pl.m and fur_coat.gen.m I.dat not_need.prs.3
‘I don’t need jewels or a fur coat.’ (Ir)
The syntactic relations that transitive verbs typically enter into are not limited to
taking a direct accusative (or genitive) object. For example, object clauses (2.5.146)
or direct speech if it stands in an object relation to the introductory verb (2.5.147)
can both be viewed as analogues of a direct object.
(2.5.146) Elza cenšas izdomāt, kāds ir
Elza.nom.f try.prs.3 figure_out.inf what.nom.m be.cop.prs.3
viņas dzīves uzdevums.
she.gen life.gen.f mission.nom.m
‘Elza tries hard to figure out what her mission in life is.’ (A. Žīgure)
(2.5.147) Māte saka: “Tu būsi dzejnieks, /
mother.nom.f say.prs.3 you.nom.sg be.cop.fut.2sg poet.nom.m
Bet dzejniekam grūts mūžs.”
but poet.dat.m hard.nom.m life.nom.m
‘Mother says: “You will be a poet, / But life is hard for a poet.”’ (L. Tauns)
An object presupposed by the  lexical meaning of a  transitive verb is not always
obligatory in a  sentence. For example, an object may not be explicitly stated if it
follows from the  context or when expressing a  generalized action; in that case,
context and verbal lexical meaning provide sufficient semantic compensation.
(2.5.148) a. Ja tu runā pārāk ātri
if you.nom.sg speak.prs.2sg too fast
– ievelc elpu un turpini nesteidzoties.
‘If you’re speaking too fast – take a breath and then go on at an easier
pace.’ (www.tvnet.lv)

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 b. Nesen esi sācis spēlēt oboju Nacionālās operas orķestrī. Kādēļ tev to vajag?
Nespēlēju orķestrī ne naudas, ne
not_play.prs.1sg orchestra.loc.m not money.gen.f not
slavas dēļ.
glory.gen.f because_of
‘Recently, you started playing the oboe in the National Opera Orchestra.
Why do you need that? I don’t play in the orchestra for money or glory.’
(Santa)
c. Senāk arī es kalu un metināju
earlier also I.nom forge.pst.1sg and weld.pst.1sg
[tēlniecības darbus].
[sculpture work]
Bet tad es atklāju mākslīgā koka masu. Tā pārveidoja visu manu dzīvi.
‘There was a time when I also forged and welded [sculptures]. And
then I discovered artificial wood mass. It changed my whole life.’
(A. Eglītis)
Although, as a  rule, transitive verbs are non-reflexive, Latvian has a  number of
transitive reflexive verbs (Ahero et al. 1959: 557; Kalnača 2013c: 508; see also Section
2.5.7), which fall under one of the following types:
1) verbs with a concrete meaning (indirect-reflexive verbs)
(2.5.149) a. iegādāties (iegādāt sev) apģērbu ‘to purchase clothes (for oneself)’
uzlikties (uzlikt sev) cepuri ‘to put on (on oneself) a hat’
apsieties (apsiet sev) priekšautu ‘to tie an apron (around oneself), etc.
b. Kad vecāki iegādājās dārzu,
when parent.nom.pl.m buy.pst.3.refl garden.acc.m
man lika zemi rakt.
‘When my parents bought a garden plot I was told to dig.’ (www.tvnet.lv)
c. Vēlāk Lapiņš devās pie sava dienas darba – grāmatas siet,
arī Birznieks apsējās priekšautu,
also Birznieks.nom.m tie.pst.3.refl apron.acc.m
lai dotos Lapiņam palīgā.
‘Later on Lapiņš went to do his daily work, which was binding books,
Birznieks put an apron on, too, intending to help.’ (C)
2) verbs with abstract semantics related to memory, thinking and perception
(2.5.150) a. klausīties ‘to listen’, atcerēties ‘to remember’, iedomāties ‘to imagine’,
mācīties ‘to learn’, noskatīties ‘to watch (a film, etc.), look’
b. Dažreiz Elza atceras
sometimes Elza.nom.f remember.prs.3.refl
kādu skumju dziesmu.
some.acc.f sad.acc.f song.acc.f
‘Sometimes Elza remembers some sad song.’ (A. Žīgure)

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 c. Vairāki pedagogi gaidīja,
ka mācīšos klasisko dziedāšanu.
that study.fut.1sg.refl classical.acc.f singing.acc.f
‘Several teachers expected me to study classical singing.’ (Santa)
Transitive reflexive verbs do not have passive voice forms and, therefore, like the rest
of reflexive verbs, are not part of the active/passive voice opposition.

2.5.7 Reflexive verbs

Reflexive verbs form a distinct lexico-grammatical group of verbs based on at least
one shared formal feature – a reflexive ending with a final formative -s in all persons,
tenses, and moods. In terms of meaning and distribution, however, reflexive verbs are
quite diverse and have been given different interpretations in Latvian grammars – as
representing the middle voice in a ternary active – middle – passive voice opposition
(Ahero et al. 1959: 548, 554–561; Holvoet 2001: 188–189; Holvoet, Grzybowska,
Rembiałkowska 2015) as a  special lexico-grammatical category of verbs (Paegle
2003: 128–130), or as part of the binary derivative opposition non-reflexive verbs –
reflexive verbs, i.e., part of the system of word formation (Soida 2009: 218–219). In
the Grammar of Latvian published in 2013, reflexive verbs are treated as a special
lexico-grammatical group having links, in part, with the  verbal category of voice
and, in part, with verbal word formation (Kalnača 2013c: 457, 511–515); the same
descriptive principle is used here with an additional focus on relations between
semantics and distribution. This approach is based on the fact that reflexive verbs, as
a whole, can neither all be placed under the category of voice (although some reflexive
verbs express middle voice meanings), nor exhaustively analyzed as derivatives of
non-reflexive verbs (although some of them are related to certain word-formation
models). The fact of the matter is that Latvian reflexive verbs are a heterogeneous
group having both inflectional and derivational features.
It should also be emphasized that there does not exist a symmetrical system of
non-reflexive/reflexive verbs in Latvian. Thus, intransitive non-reflexive verbs, for
the most part, do not have reflexive counterparts.
(2.5.151) būt ‘to be’, tapt ‘to become, to get’, nirt ‘to dive’, silt ‘to grow warm’, mirkt
‘to soak’, dilt ‘to wear out’, kalst ‘to wither’, snigt ‘to snow’
Likewise, in some cases there is only a reflexive verb (2.5.152).
(2.5.152) kļūdītie-s ‘to err’, atcerēties ‘to remember’, gadītie-s ‘to happen’, pūlēties
‘to try hard’, mostie-s ‘to wake up (no obj.)’ (from *kļūdīt, *atcerēt, *gadīt,
*pūlēt, *most)
Quite frequently, non-reflexive/reflexive pairs break up into separate lexemes. More
often than not it happens as a result of metonymic changes in the original middle
voice meaning (Gerritsen 1990; Kalnača 2014).

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(2.5.153) a. dot ‘to give smb. (smth.)’ – dotie-s ‘to go away, move away’
b. salikt ‘to put together, to put in’ – saliktie-s ‘colloq. to get ready’
c. prasīt ‘to ask’ – prasītie-s ‘colloq. to want’
Usually, the  non-reflexive verb in such pairs is neutral, while the  semantically
different reflexive verb is a  colloquialism, as shown in (2.5.153b-c). For instance,
the reflexive verbs prasīties ‘to want’ and bremzēties ‘to slow down’ clearly add a sense
of colloquiality to the text in the examples below:
(2.5.154) a. Ja prasās apēst ko ļoti treknu,
if crave.prs.3.refl eat.inf something.acc very fat-rich.acc.m
organismam nepieciešams kalcijs.
‘If one craves fat-rich food it means that the body needs calcium.’
(Neatkarīgā Rīta Avīze)
b. Mazumtirdzniecības izaugsme lēnām
retail_sector.gen.f growth.nom.f gradually
bremzēsies.
slow_down.fut.3.refl
‘Growth in the retail sector will gradually slow down.’ (Kas Jauns)
Given the  functional heterogeneity of reflexive verbs and their strong links to
the semantic and grammatical structure of sentences, they are best grouped according
to how they stand in relation to the  prototypical reflexive meaning. Prototypical
reflexive verbs are verbs whose subject and object refer to one and the same entity,
i.e., whose agent and patient coincide (e.g., ietīties ‘to wrap oneself’, atjaunoties ‘to
recover (no obj.)’, mainīties ‘to change (no obj.)) (among others, Wierzbicka 1996;
Enger, Nesset 1999; Haspelmath 2002). In Latvian, reflexive verbs have trifurcated
into the following semantically and functionally distinct branches (Kalnača, Lokmane
2012; Kalnača 2013c: 512):
1) subject reflexive verbs, which come the closest to the prototypical meaning
and are related to the middle voice meaning;
2) object reflexive verbs;
3) impersonal reflexive verbs.
Functionally and semantically, object reflexive and impersonal reflexive verbs are
the  farthest from the  prototypical meaning. In terms of the  semantico-syntactic
sentence structure this means that either there is no agent or it is replaced with an
experiencer or a beneficiary in the dative case (see also Section 3.2.3). In addition,
reflexive verbs of all semantic groups also involve different kinds of modal and
aspectual meanings, most of which arise due to changes in the agent’s status or its
absence (i.e., zero form).

Subject reflexive verbs

Actions expressed by subject reflexive verbs are subject-oriented: the agent functions
as a syntactic subject and at the same time the subject and object fully or partially
coincide (Klaiman 1991: 4; Kemmer 1993: 2–5).

273
(2.5.155) a. Vai tas ir normāli,
ka kaķis tik ilgi mazgājas?
that cat.nom.m so long_time wash.prs.3. refl
‘Is it normal that a cat washes itself for so long?’ (www.delfi.lv)
b. Šorīt agri cēlos,
this_morning early get_up.pst.1sg.refl
lai piedalītos TV raidījumā.
‘I got up early today to participate in a television program.’
(www.twitter.com)
c. Pārsvarā pēc dušas slaukos ātri.
mostly after shower.gen.f dry_oneself.prs.1sg.refl quickly
‘Mostly, I dry myself with a towel right after a shower.’ (www.cosmo.lv)
Thus, for example, the subject and object of the verbs celties (no gultas) ‘to get up
(from bed)’, slaucīties (pēc peldes) ‘to dry oneself with a  towel (after swimming)’,
mazgāties (vannā) ‘to have a bath’ are entirely the same, while the subject and object
of the verb ķemmēties ‘to comb (one’s hair)’ only partially overlap, since it is usually
one’s hair and not the whole body that one combs.
In functional and derivational terms, there are two kinds of subject reflexive
verbs – with an implied reflexive pronoun in the accusative (2.5.156) or the dative
case (2.5.157) (Endzelīns, Mülenbachs 1907a, 1907b).
(2.5.156) mazgāties ‘to wash oneself’
celties ‘to get (oneself) up’
liekties ‘to bend (oneself)’
(2.5.157) sapirkties ‘to buy (for oneself)’
apsieties ‘to tie (around oneself)’
apauties ‘to put on shoes (on oneself)’
While accusative reflexive verbs can have fully or partially coinciding subjects and
objects, only a  partial overlap is often possible for dative reflexive verbs (apsieties
priekšautu ‘to tie an apron (around oneself)’ means to tie it around the waist or neck,
i.e., around a certain part of the body rather than the whole body).
Subject reflexive verbs can be classified into the following semantic groups:
1. Verbs expressing everyday activities / grooming verbs – the patient is the same
as the agent or agent’s body part (mazgāties ‘to wash (oneself)’, ģērbties ‘to dress
(oneself)’, skūties ‘to shave (oneself)’, slaucīties ‘to dry oneself with a  towel’,
ķemmēties ‘to comb one’s hair’, etc.).
(2.5.158) a. Līga [maza meitene] jau mēģina pati
Līga.nom.f [little girl] already try.prs.3 self
ķemmēties.
comb.inf.refl
‘Līga [a little girl] already is trying to comb her hair.’
(www.maminuklubs.lv)

274
 b. Kā arī aukstā laikā ģērbties
how even cold.loc.m weather.loc.m dress.inf.refl
moderni?
fashionably
‘How to dress fashionably even in cold weather?’ (www.delfi.lv)
2. Autocausative verbs – the patient is the agent’s physical body, which changes its
location, position, etc.:
a) an animate agent
(2.5.159) a. Ja jāved suns ārā,
tad ceļos no gultas jau
then get_up.prs.1sg.refl from bed.gen.f already
piecos [no rīta].
five.loc.m [in morning]
‘When I have to walk the dog I get up as early as five o’clock [in
the morning].’ (www.cosmo.lv)
b. Bille un Ausma paslējās pirkstgalos.
Bille.nom.f and Ausma.nom.f raise.pst.3.refl tiptoe.loc.pl.m
‘Bille and Ausma raised themselves up on their tiptoes.’ (V. Belševica)
b) an inanimate agent; although an action takes place on its own, without
human agency, it is described with the help of personification as though it
were brought about by an agent. Reflexive verbs of this type can alternatively
be interpreted as object verbs, i.e., passive verbs, since they lack an active
agent (see, e.g., Paegle 2003: 130)
(2.5.160) a. Vasara nebeidzas:
sārtojas zemenes,
ripen.prs.3.refl strawberry.nom.pl.f
zied puķes.
‘The summer is not nearing its end yet: strawberries are ripening,
flowers are blooming.’ (Neatkarīgā Rīta Avīze)
b. Daugavā ceļas ūdens līmenis.
Daugava.loc.f rise.prs.3.refl water.gen.m level.nom.m
‘The water level is rising in the Daugava.’ (www.lsm.lv)
3. Reciprocal verbs – an action is exchanged between several (at least two) agent–
patients acting upon each other (Ahero et al. 1959: 558; Skujiņa 2007: 344).
(2.5.161) a. [Futbolistam Lionelam] Mesi nākot no rezervistu soliņa,
“Barcelona” cīnās neizšķirti ar
Barcelona.nom.f fight.prs.3.refl in_a_draw with
“Juventus”.
Juventus.ins.m
‘As [the football player Lionel] Messi returns from the bench the points
are even between Barcelona and Juventus.’ (Diena)

275
 b. Liekas,
ka viņi sarunājas spāniski.
that they.nom.m speak.prs.3.refl Spanish
‘It seems, they are speaking in Spanish.’ (A. Eglītis)
4. Indirect-reflexive verbs – the agent is also the beneficiary (sapirkties ‘to buy for
oneself’, sagrābties ‘to grab, seize for oneself’, apsieties ‘to tie around/onto oneself’,
apvilkties ‘to wrap oneself in smth.’, uzlikties ‘to place on oneself’, uzvilkties ‘to put
on oneself’).
(2.5.162) a. Sapirkos lētas drēbes.
buy.pst.1sg.refl cheap.acc.pl.f clothes.acc.pl.f
‘I have bought a lot of cheap clothes.’ (www.delfi.lv)
b. Apvilcies esmu savas labākās
dress.ptcp.nom.m.refl. be.aux.prs.1sg my.acc.pl.f best.acc.pl.f
drānas.
clothes.acc.pl.f
‘I have dressed myself up in my best attire.’
(www.lauksaimnieks.wordpress.com)
c. Viņš gribēs še naudas sagrābties!
he.nom want.fut.3 here money.gen.pl.f grab.inf.refl
‘He will want to lay his hands on some money here.’ (C)
5. Reflexive verbs with a modal or aspectual meaning – subject reflexive verbs
expressing aspectuality and (in certain contexts involving a positive or negative
attitude) also modality:
a) an action with a  focus on its extent or quantity with or without negative
evaluation on the  part of the  speaker, expressed derivationally by means
of circumfixation (prefix + reflexive ending) pie- ... -s; sa- ... -s, pa- ... -s,
pār- ... -s, aiz- ... -s, no- ... -s, etc.
a1) an action carried out in full
(2.5.163) a. Viņš nezaudē cerības aizbraukt uz
he.nom not_lose.prs.3 hope.acc.pl.f go.inf to
laukiem pie vecāsmātes, tur kārtīgi
country.dat.pl.m to grandmother.gen.f there a_lot
sadzerties pienu.
drink.inf.refl milk.acc.m
‘He still hopes to go to the country, to his grandmother’s, and drink all
the milk he wants.’ (Latvijas Avīze)
b. Dundagā pamatīgi pieēdāmies kādā
Dundaga.loc.f thoroughly eat.pst.1pl.refl some.loc.f
ēstuvē.
restaurant.loc.f
‘We ate our fill at some restaurant in Dundaga.’ (C)

276
 b1) an action done to excess
(2.5.164) a. Nekad nav laika,
vienmēr aizguļos.
always oversleep.prs.1sg.refl
‘I never have time, I always oversleep.’ (C)
b. Ja bail pārdzerties kafiju,
if afraid drink_too_much.inf.refl coffee.acc.f
to vienmēr var aizstāt ar kakao.
‘If you’re afraid of drinking too much coffee you can always replace it
with cocoa.’ (C)
b) an action with an inchoative focus, referring to the beginning of a sudden,
unexpected, brief action, expressed derivationally by means of the circumfixes
pie- ... -s; ie- ... -s; sa- ... -s, pa- ... -s, pār- ... -s, aiz- ... -s, no- ... -s, etc.:
(2.5.165) a. Ja cilvēkam kaut kas iesāpas nakts
if person.dat.m something hurt.prs.3.refl night.gen.f
vidū,
middle.loc.m
viņš neies pie ģimenes ārsta.
‘If one just feels a brief sting of pain at night one doesn’t rush to the GP.’ (C)
b. Es patiešām satrūkos,
I.nom really jump.pst.1sg.refl
kad ieraudzīju, kādi tenisisti ir “Top 100“.
‘It really made me jump when I saw which tennis players are included
in the “Top 100”’. (www.sportacentrs.com)
c) an iterative action not having an end
(2.5.166) a. Diemžēl nekur nav iespēju
unfortunately nowhere not_be.prs.3 possibility.gen.pl.f
kārtīgi pabraukāties [ar automašīnu],
normally drive.inf.refl [with car]
policija tūlīt noķer.
‘Unfortunately, there is no place where you can drive to your heart’s
content, the police will catch you at once.’ (Ieva)
b. – Vai tu tomēr nevarētu apsēsties, taisni neeērti [ka stāvi kājās].
– Esmu diezgan izsēdējies.
be.aux.1sg enough sit.ptcp.nom.m.refl
‘“Still, can’t you sit down, it feels awkward [that you are standing].”
“I have sat enough.”’ (Z. Skujiņš)

Object reflexive verbs

Object reflexive verbs express object-oriented actions with the  patient usually
functioning as a syntactic subject.

277
(2.5.167) Gredzens atradās,
ring.nom.m find.pst.3.refl
kad visi sāka celties, lai ietu mājās, – tas gulēja uz maza galdiņa istabas otrajā
pusē.
‘The ring was found when everybody started to leave – it lay on the small
table at the opposite end of the room.’ (Z. Skujiņš)
Since the  agent of an object reflexive verb is either generalized, as shown in
example (2.5.168), or transformed into a dative experiencer, it cannot be identical to
the patient.
(2.5.168) Man aizmirsās maks airBaltic
I.dat forget.pst.3.refl purse.nom.m airBaltic
lidmašīnā.
plane.loc.f
‘My purse got left on an airBaltic plane.’ (www.twitter.com)
Object reflexive verbs can be classified into the following semantic groups:
1. Anticausative verbs refer to unexpected events occurring independently of
human will or actions; the agent is absent or expressed as a dative experiencer,
while the patient functions as a nominative syntactic subject; some of these verbs,
with the help of personification, can be alternatively interpreted as autocausatives.
(2.5.169) a. Pagraba stāvā vērās [dzīvokļa] durvis. Izplūda svaigi ceptas maizes smarža.
Tad durvis aizcirtās.
then door.nom.pl.f slam.pst.3.refl
‘A[n] [apartment] door opened in the basement. The smell of freshly
baked bread flowed out. Then the door slammed shut.’ (Jaunā Gaita)
b. Draugam vienubrīd atsējās
friend.dat.m at_some_point untie.pst.3.refl
kurpes aukla,
shoe.gen.f lace.nom.f
un viņš noliecās to aizsiet.
‘At some point, my friend’s shoelace came undone and he stooped to
tie it.’ (www.tvnet.lv)
2. Reflexive verbs with a modal or aspectual meaning – reflexive verbs used with
the so-called false passive meaning; although an action expressed in this way may
not be agentless the speaker may choose to focus attention on the action itself and
the fact that it is not always performed deliberately and actively, hence, the agent
may be omitted or transformed into a  dative experiencer, while the  patient
functions as a nominative syntactic subject.
a) imperfective reflexive verbs with no agent or with a dative experiencer are
usually related to a positive or negative evaluation of the action expressed;
in many cases, this kind of usage is considered non-standard

278
(2.5.170) a. Patērētājam ir ļoti svarīgi zināt,
kādā veidā [adījums] valkāsies vai
which.loc.m way.loc.m [knitting] wear.fut.3.refl or
lietosies.
use.fut.3.refl
‘It’s very important for a consumer to know how [the fabric] will
withstand wear or use.’ (C)
b. Šis veļas pulveris tīri
this.nom.m washing.gen.f powder.nom.m clean
mazgā, labi izskalojas.
wash.prs.3 well rinse.prs.refl
‘This washing powder cleans and rinses well.’
(www.mammamuntetiem.lv)
b) perfective reflexive verbs often accompanied by a dative experiencer are used
to express a sudden, unexpected action, likely to have negative consequences,
and to shift responsibility from the doer – usually in colloquial or children’s
speech (Holvoet 2001: 184–189; Kalnača 2006; Kalnača, Lokmane 2012).
(2.5.171) a. Un tad man aizmirsās atlikt to
and then I.dat forget.pst.1sg.refl put_back.inf it.acc.m
[nazi] atpakaļ.
[knife] back
‘And then I somehow forgot to put that [knife] back.’ (www.delfi.lv)
b. Man apēdās dažas sliktas
I.dat eat.pst.3.refl some.nom.pl.f bad.nom.pl.f
lietas.
thing.nom.pl.f
‘It so happened that I ate some bad things.’ (C)
3. Reflexive verbs with a passive meaning are used as passive voice verbs; the agent
is left unexpressed and the subject position is filled by the patient in the nominative
case; this kind of usage, however, is not encouraged in Standard Latvian:
(2.5.172) a. Izstāde atvērsies 3. maijā.
exhibition.nom.f open.fut.3.refl 3 May.loc.f
‘The exhibition will open on the 3rd of May.’ (Latvijas Avīze)
b. Vārdi ar vienu nozīmi bieži
word.nom.pl.m with one.ins.f meaning.ins.f often
rakstās un lasās katram no
write.prs.3.refl and read.pst.3.refl each.dat.m of
šiem grieķu valodas
this.gen.pl.m Greek.gen.pl.m language.gen.f
veidiem citādi.
variety.dat.pl.m differently
‘Words with the same meaning are often written and pronounced
differently in each of these varieties of Greek.’ (C)

279
Impersonal reflexive verbs
Impersonal reflexive verbs do not allow for a syntactic subject and, hence, are either
agentless or take an agent in the form of a dative experiencer.
(2.5.173) a. Sestdien būs apmācies
Saturday be.aux.fut.3 be_cloudy.ptcp.nom.m.refl
un līs.
and rain.fut.3
‘It will be cloudy and rainy on Saturday.’ (www.lsm.lv)
b. Pa ceļam uz Grieķiju man laimējās
on way.dat.m to Greece.acc.f I.dat be_lucky.pst.3.refl
apmeklēt seno baznīcu.
visit.inf ancient.acc.f church.acc.f
‘On my way to Greece, I was lucky to be able to visit this ancient
church.’ (www.apollo.lv)
Impersonal reflexive verbs can be classified into the following semantic groups:
1. Agent-downgrading verbs with a modal meaning – the agent is downgraded to
an experiencer in the dative case:
a) in questions and expressions of good wishes, mostly in colloquial speech and
mass media texts, although the usage is considered non-standard.
(2.5.174) a. Kā tev vispār tagad dzīvojas?
how you.dat.sg generally now live.prs.3.refl
‘How is life these days?’
Tā arī dzīvojas, kā redzi.
so also live.prs.3.refl as see.prs.2sg
‘It’s going just like it seems.’
b. Lai labi rokas kartupeļi!
let well dig.pst.3.refl potato.nom.pl.m
‘May your potato digging go well!’ (Kas Jauns)
b) when expressing an accidental, unintentional or spontaneous action that is
not always anticipated or probable.
(2.5.175) a. Dzīvē gadās visādi.
life.loc.f happen.pst.3.refl variously
‘Things happen.’ (Ir)
b. Viņam negribējās tūdaļ celties un
he.dat not_want.pst.3.refl immediately get_up.inf and
doties laukā [no restorāna]
go.inf outside [from restaurant]
dedzinošajā saulē.
scorching.loc.f sun.loc.f
‘He didn’t want to get up and head right out into the scorching sunlight
[from the restaurant].’ (A. Eglītis)

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2. Verbs with an inchoative meaning express a  sudden, unexpected action,
focusing on its outset or starting point, and usually take a  dative experiencer
without either an agent or a patient; verbs of this type are derived by means of
the circumfix ie- ... -s.
(2.5.176) a. Man iedūrās krūtīs,
I.dat pierce.pst.3.refl chest.loc.pl.f
likās, ka nevaru līdz galam ieelpot.
‘I felt a piercing sensation in my chest, I couldn’t seem to breathe in
fully.’ (NRA)
b. Jā, mums iesāpas sirdī,
yes we.dat hurt.prs.3.refl heart.loc.f
ieduras smeldze.
pierce.prs.3.refl ache.nom.f
‘Yes, we feel a twinge of pain in our hearts, pierced by an ache.’ (C)

2.5.8 Aspect
Aspect refers primarily to the way grammar marks the duration or type of a temporal
activity denoted by a verb (Crystal 1997: 29). In other words, aspect characterizes
an action in terms of results (an incomplete, complete, initiated action, an action
performed in part, to excess, etc.), quantity (a single or iterative action), duration (a
brief or prolonged action) and other properties (Skujiņa 2007: 439).
In much the  same way as verb reflexivity, verbal aspect in Latvian has both
derivational and inflectional features. Consequently, some grammarians view verbal
aspect as part of word formation, while others attribute it to verbal inflection and,
accordingly, it is seen either as a  phenomenon emerging from derivation or as
a  grammatical category of the  verb. Endzelīns (1971: 307–655) and Soida (2009:
219–265) treat verbal aspect as a  derivational phenomenon and do not postulate
a category of aspect due to there not being sufficient grammatical abstraction (for
a similar opinion see, e.g., Mathiassen 1997; Holvoet 2001; Kalnača 2013c: 531–545).
On the  other hand, e.g., Staltmane (1958), Ahero et al. (1959: 564–582), Nītiņa
(2001: 90–93), Paegle (2003: 130–138) propose to treat verbal aspect as a  verbal
grammatical category while also recognizing, as a  compromise, its links to word
formation.
It should be emphasized that, in Latvian, aspectual meanings are not
grammaticalized and rest on the  lexical meaning of verbs as well as prefix and
suffix semantics, while their realization is contingent on the opposition of indefinite/
perfect tense forms and context. These are the  main reasons why aspect cannot
really be seen as a grammatical category. In fact, aspectual meanings in Latvian are
a matter of pragmatics and as such are not a proper object of analysis for morphology
or grammar.
In Latvian, aspectual opposition occurs in two kinds of cases (also see
Section 2.5.10 on verbal derivation):

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 1) between imperfective/perfective actions where unprefixed verbs express
imperfective actions, while verbs containing the verbal prefixes aiz-, ap-, at-,
ie-, iz-, no-, pa-, pār-, sa-, uz- are perfective:
(2.5.177) nest ‘to carry’ – aiz-nest ‘to carry (to a destination)’
krist ‘to fall’ – ap-krist ‘to fall (around smth.)’
vērt ‘to open’ – at-vērt ‘to open (completely)’
brauk-t ‘to drive’ – ie-braukt ‘to drive into, enter (by car)’
nākt ‘to come’ – iz-nākt ‘to come out’
kāpt ‘to climb’ – no-kāpt ‘to climb down’
lasīt ‘to read’ – pa-lasīt ‘to read for some time’
lēkt ‘to jump’ – pār-lēkt ‘to jump over’
mest ‘to throw’ – sa-mest ‘to throw together, in one heap’
likt ‘to put’– uz-likt ‘to put onto’
2) between semelfactive/iterative actions where primitive verbs express
semelfactive actions, while verbs derived by means of the suffixes -ā-, -ē-, -ī-,
-inā- (2.5.178) or -alē-, -aļā-, -elē-, -uļo-, for atelic, chaotic iterative activities
(2.5.179), are iterative:
(2.5.178) lēk-t ‘to jump’ – lēk-ā-t ‘to jump iteratively’
mērk-t ‘to soak’ – mērc-ē-t ‘to soak for some time’
stiep-t ‘to pull, drag’ – staip-ī-t ‘to pull, drag on several occasions’
vēr-t ‘to open’ – vir-inā-t ‘to open iteratively’
(2.5.179) brauk-t ‘to drive’ – brauk-alē-t ‘to drive around’
kāp-t ‘to climb’ – kāp-aļā-t, kāp-elē-t ‘to climb around’
šņāk-t ‘to hiss, puff’ – šņāk-uļo-t ‘to hiss, puff repeatedly’
The semelfactive/iterative aspect and the  imperfective/perfective aspect are not
segregated from each other and can be combined. For example, an iterative verb can
be turned into a perfective iterative verb by means of prefixation.
(2.5.180) a. nest ‘to carry’ – nēs-ā-t ‘to carry around’ – pa-nēsāt ‘to carry around
a little’, iz-nēsāt ‘to carry (a child)’, sa-nēsāt ‘to carry to one spot iteratively’
b. vilkt ‘to put on’ – valk-ā-t ‘to wear’ – pa-valkāt ‘to wear a little’,
no-valkāt ‘to wear out’, iz-valkāt, ie-valkāt ‘to wear in (shoes)’, sa-valkāt
‘to wear too long, until untidy’
c. kāpt ‘to climb’ – kāpēlēt ‘to climb around’ – pa-kāpelēt ‘to climb around
a little’, iz-kāpelēt ‘to climb, walk throughout’
d. braukt ‘to drive’ – braukalēt ‘to drive around’ – pa-braukalēt ‘to drive
around a little’
Unlike inflectional (person, tense, mood) verbal formatives, aspectual prefixes and
suffixes are present in the infinitive and all other grammatical forms of a verb (see
Section 2.5.1, 2.5.3, 2.5.4 on tense and mood forms).
Apart from expressing perfectivity, verbal prefixes usually also add additional,
e.g., spatial (2.5.181a), quantitative (2.5.181b-c), aspectual, etc. information to
the lexical meaning of a verb (see Section 2.5.10 on verbal derivation).

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(2.5.181) a. skriet ‘to run’ – aiz-skriet ‘to run away’, at-skriet ‘to come running’,
ie-skriet ‘to run in, into’, iz-skriet ‘to run out’, ap-skriet ‘to run around’,
uz-skriet ‘to run up’, no-skriet ‘to run down, to run a certain distance’,
sa-skriet ‘to come together running’, pār-skriet ‘to run over’, pa-skriet
‘to run a little’
b. kost ‘to bite’ – aiz-kost ‘take a bite (e.g., of an apple)’, ie-kost ‘to bite
(once)’, sa-kost ‘to bite all over’, no-kost ‘to bite off’, pār-kost ‘to bite
in two’
c. kurt ‘to make a fire’ – aiz-kurt, ie-kurt ‘to make a fire’, sa-kurt ‘to heat well’
Imperfectivity/perfectivity in Latvian is neither symmetrical nor universal in that it
does not apply to all verbs:
1) some prefixed verbs do not have an unprefixed counterpart, e.g.:
(2.5.182) atzīt ‘to acknowledge’, pazīt ‘to know, recognize’, aizmirst ‘to forget’,
apnikt ‘to bore’, atgādināt ‘to remind’, ietekmēt ‘to influence’, pielāgot
‘to adjust’, sastapt ‘to meet’
2) the lexical meanings of certain unprefixed and prefixed verbs are so dissimilar
that they cannot possibly form an imperfective/perfective opposition, e.g.:
(2.5.183) a. dzīvot ‘to live’ – uz-dzīvot ‘to carouse’
b. mantot ‘to inherit’ – iz-mantot ‘to use’
c. stāvēt ‘to stand’ – pie-stāvēt ‘to suit (smb.)’
d. rast ‘to find’ – ap-rast ‘to get used to’
e. vēlēt ‘to vote (in an election)’ – pa-vēlēt ‘to order, to command’
However, such source verbs usually enter into an opposition with other prefixed
derivatives having more similar semantics (e.g., dzīvot ‘to live’ – pa-dzīvot ‘to live for
some time’, sa-dzīvot ‘to live with’, pie-dzīvot ‘to live to, to live over’, etc.).
3) some verbs (mostly, borrowed) do not readily combine with prefixes, e.g.:
(2.5.184) adaptēt ‘to adapt’, legalizēt ‘to legalize’, reabilitēt ‘to vindicate’, kanonizēt
‘to canonize’, konsolidēt ‘to consolidate’, pasterizēt ‘to pasteurize’, karbonizēt
‘to carbonize’, jonizēt ‘to ionize’
Taken out of context, the above verbs can be said to be biaspectual. Their aspectual
meaning is context-dependent and may be closely linked to the  semantics of
the subject or object of a clause, also an attribute or an adverbial modifier, e.g.:
(2.5.185) imperfective aspect
a. Man šķita,
ka tikko satiktos latviešus
that just meet.ptcp.pl.m Latvian.acc.pl.m
pazīstu jau gadiem ilgi.
know.prs.1sg already year.ins.pl.m long
‘I felt as though I had known the Latvians I had just met for years.’
(www.kurzemnieks.lv)

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 b. Ūdeni pēc diennakts nostādināšanas vienmēr
water.acc.m after day_and_night.gen.f let_settle.gen.f always
izmantoju puķu laistīšanai.
use.prs.1sg flower.gen.pl.f watering.dat.f
‘I always use the water for flowers, after letting it settle for
a twenty-four-hour period.’ (Latvijas Avīze)
c. [ekonomiskās] Krīzes laikā mēs
[economic] crisis.gen.f time.loc.m we.nom
konsolidējām visu pēc kārtas,
consolidate.pst.1pl everything.acc.m after row.gen.f
neiedziļinoties – ir attiecīgā nozare stratēģiski svarīga vai nav.
‘Throughout the [economic] crisis we consolidated anything and
everything, never considering the strategic importance of each industry.’
(www.tvnet.lv)
(2.5.186) perfective aspect
a. Katrā mākslinieka akvarelī uzreiz
each.loc.m artist.gen.m painting.loc.m instantly
pazīstu Latgali.
recognize.prs.1sg Latgale.acc.f
‘I instantly recognize Latgale in every watercolor painting by that
artist.’ (www.rezeknesbiblioteka.lv)
b. Mēs nepērkam lielveikalā pārtiku
we.nom not_buy.prs.1pl supermarket.loc.m food.acc.f
lielā daudzumā un visu [noprirkto]
large.loc.m quantity.loc.m and all.acc.m [bought]
ļoti ekonomiski izmantojam.
very economically use.prs.1pl
‘We don’t buy much food at supermarkets and we use all of it very
sparingly.’ (www.lsm.lv)
c. Ekonomiskās krīzes laikā visas
economic.gen.f crisis.gen.f time.loc.m all.nom.pl.f
dalībvalstis konsolidēja
member_state.nom.pl.f consolidate.pst.3
savu budžetu.
own.acc.m budget.acc.m
‘During the economic crisis all member states consolidated their
budgets.’ (Neatkarīgā Rīta Avžie)
In example (2.5.185), imperfectivity is signaled by the adverbial modifiers gadiem ilgi
‘for years’ (2.5.185a), vienmēr ‘always’ (2.5.185b), krīzes laikā ‘throughout the crisis’
(2.5.185c) and the  object visu pēc kārtas ‘anything and everything’ (2.5.185c). By
contrast, the adverbial modifier uzreiz ‘instantly’ in (2.5.186a), the object visu ‘all of
it’ in (2.5.186b) and the clause subject with an attribute visas dalībvalstis ‘all member

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states’ in (2.5.186c) indicate perfectivity. Importantly, the opposition that biaspectual
verbs seem to show in context is between general and specific actions rather than
the imperfective and perfective aspect. According to Plungian (2011: 398–400), this
type of aspectual opposition is secondary in that it is the result of a context-driven
transformation of the  imperfective aspect into a  general action and the  perfective
aspect into a  concrete action, in which the  absence or presence of a  verbal prefix
becomes insignificant (also see Horiguči 2011: 102).
In Latvian, the  realization of aspectual meanings within the  imperfective/
perfective opposition is tied to the parallel uses of indefinite and perfect tense forms
(see Section 2.5.3 on perfect tenses and aspect), while the  semelfactive/iterative
aspect is not directly related to the paradigm of tense forms or their contextual uses.
Thus, an action occurring prior to another action in the present, past, or future
can be expressed, interchangeably, either by indefinite or perfect tense forms, cf.
examples (2.5.187) and (2.5.188) (Kalnača 2013c: 544–555). This becomes obvious
in complex sentences containing relative temporal relations between clauses and
subordinate relations between finite verb forms.
(2.5.187) a. PRS Indefinite // PRS Perfect
Jūs aizmirstat (// esat aizmirsis),
you.nom.pl forget.prs.2pl (// have forgotten)
kur atrodaties.
‘You forget (have forgotten) where you are.’ (M. Zīverts)
b. PST Indefinite // PRS Perfect
Kad viesi beidzot pamodās
when guest.nom.pl.m finally awake.pst.3
(// ir pamodušies),
(// have awakened)
tēvs lepni izrāda [dārzā] padarīto.
‘When the guests finally wake up (have finally woken up) father proudly
shows them what has been accomplished [in the garden].’ (A. Žīgure)
c. PST Indefinite // PST Perfect
Kad iebraucām (// bijām iebraukuši) [Amerikā],
when come.pst.1pl (// had come) [to America]
pirmajos gados es taisījos pieņemt kādu vienkāršu darbu, bet Jolanta neļāva.
‘When we first came (had come) [to America] I wanted to take an
unskilled job but Jolanta would not let me.’ (A. Eglītis)
d. FUT Indefinite // FUT Perfect
Kad pēc pusgada debesīs atkal
when after half_year.gen.m sky.loc.pl.f again
atgriezīsies (// būs atgriezusies) saule,
return.fut.3 (// will have returned) sun.nom.f
pretī šalkos klūgu jaunās lapiņas.
‘When, in half a year, the sun will return (will have returned) to
the sky it will be greeted by the rustle of young osier leaves.’ (I. Ābele)

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(2.5.188) a. PRS Perfect // PRS Indefinite
Ap tevi aplīp ziedputekšņu spieti,
..
Ko saules klajos [ir]
what.acc sun.gen.f space.loc.pl.m [having been]
pacēlis (// paceļ)
bring_up.ptcp.nom.m (// bring)
tavs dārzs.
your.nom.m garden.nom.m
‘The clouds of pollen cling to you,
..
Brought up (having been brought up) into the sunlit spaces by your
garden.’ (L. Tauns)
b. PRS Perfect // PST Indefinite
Laikam sporta ziņu portāls
probably sports.gen.m news.gen.pl.f portal.nom.m
[ir] aizmirsis (// aizmirsa),
[has] forget.ptcp.nom.m (// forgot)
ka pašlaik notiek hokeja spēle!
‘It seems, the sports news portal has forgotten (forgot) that there’s
a hockey game going on!’ (www.sportacentrs.com)
c. PST Perfect // PST Indefinite
Kamēr Fīlips spēja sevi atcerēties,
viņš bija visiem paticis
he.nom be.aux.pst.3 everybody.dat.pl.m like.ptcp.nom.m
(// patika).
(// liked)
Īpaši meitenēm.
‘As long as Philip could remember everybody had always liked (liked)
him. Especially, girls.’ (A. Eglītis)
d. FUT Perfect // FUT Indefinite
Izlasot šo grāmatu,
būsim izgājuši (// iziesim) cauri
be.aux.fut.1pl go.ptcp.nom.pl.m (// go) through
vairāk nekā pieciem gadu desmitiem.
more than five.dat.pl.m year.gen.pl.m ten.dat.pl.m
‘Having read this book, we will have gone through (go through) more
than five decades.’ (www.kurzemesvards.lv)
It follows that, perfectivity can be expressed syntactically, i.e., making use of
the  properties of complex sentences. Interestingly, despite the  fact that indefinite
tense forms are shorter and easier to use, on the whole, there is no sign that they
tend to supplant perfect forms in complex sentences. This shows that the tense forms

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the speaker chooses to use to indicate that an action in one clause ends sooner than
an action in another clause depends on the communicative situation.
The expression of imperfectivity/perfectivity can be linked to the  lexical
meaning, namely, the telicity of a verb. This is clearly manifested in the so-called telic
constructions – couplings of an unprefixed/prefixed, i.e., an imperfective/perfective
verb of motion with a spatial adverb:
(2.5.189) a. skriet prom – aizskriet prom ‘to run away’
b. skriet šurp – atskriet šurp ‘to run hither’
c. kāpt augšā – uzkāpt augšā ‘to go up, climb up’
d. kāpt lejā – nokāpt lejā ‘to go down, climb down’
(2.5.190) unprefixed verb + adverb
a. Pa kārtai viņi smeļ ārā ūdeni
one_by_one they.nom.m scoop.prs.3 out water.acc.m
[no laivas].
[from boat]
‘They are scooping water [from the boat] one by one.’ (N. Ikstena)
b. Viņš gāja lejā pa kāpnēm.
he.nom go.pst.3 down by stair.dat.f
‘He was going down the stairs.’ (Joņevs)
c. Mamma grib mest laukā
mummy.nom.f want.prs.3 throw.inf out
[Ķīnas rozi],
[Chinese hibiscus]
jo zemes baktērijas var būt kaitīgas veselībai.
‘Mummy wants to throw [the Chinese hibiscus] away, because soil
bacteria can be bad for one’s health.’ (N. Ikstena)
(2.5.191) prefixed verb + adverb
a. Viņš pa-skatījās apkārt.
he.nom pref-look.pst.3 around
‘He looked around.’ (Joņevs)
b. Cerams, ka viņi aku aiz-vēra
hopefully that they.nom.m well.acc.f pref-close.pst.3
ciet.
closed
‘Hopefully, they closed that well.’ (www.tvnet.lv)
c. Ilze nav ie-nesusi iekšā somu.
Ilze.nom.f not_be.aux.prs.3 pref-bring.ptcp in bag.acc.f
‘Ilze hasn’t brought in the bag.’ (I. Gaile)
In such constructions, a  prefix indicates perfectivity and an adverb specifies
the  direction or purpose of motion but is not in itself a  perfectivizing element
and when used in a  sentence is classified as an adverbial modifier (see examples
(2.5.190)–( 2.5.191)).

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 In colloquial speech, adverbial modifiers are sometimes used with telic verbs
denoting non-physical actions and mental activities, however, such usage is usually
evaluative and stylistically marked (Kalnača 2013c: 537; Kalnača 2014: 100):
(2.5.192) a. [viņi] Saņem savu vai bērnu
[they] get.prs.3 own.acc.m or child.gen.pl.m
pabalstu un tik dzīvo nost.
benefit.acc.m and just live.prs.3 away
Parazitē uz bērnu rēķina.
‘[They] get their welfare benefits or child care allowance and just live
it up. Leeching off their children.’ (Kas Jauns)
b. Ātrāk gribējās tikt laukumā [pēc traumas].
Nīku ārā no bezdarbības.
wither.pst.1sg out from idleness.gen.f
‘I wanted to get back on the field as soon as possible [after the injury].
I was withering away from idleness.’ (Ieva)
Latvian linguistics has traditionally recognized the  unprefixed verb + adverb type
of telic constructions as marginal means of expressing aspectuality, and there have
always been different opinions as to whether it applies to the imperfective (Paegle
2003; Soida 2009; Kalnača 2013c, 2014) or the perfective aspect (see Ahero et al.
1959; Kalme, Smiltniece 2001).
On the  one hand, there is a  tendency to use the  construction unprefixed
verb  + adverb to emphasize a  prolonged, continuous action (2.5.193) or whenever
a  perfectivity signaling prefix is undesirable, e.g., with the  primary meaning of
the  present indefinite tense  – an action taking place at the  moment of speaking
(2.5.194).
(2.5.193) a. Mēs kāpām ārā [no mašīnas].
we.nom get.pst.1pl out [of car]
‘We were getting out [of the car].’ (J. Joņevs)
b. Norunāsim, bērns, tā:
kad ciemiņš ies projām,
when guest.nom.m go.fut.3 away
es piezvanīšu.
‘Let’s agree, child, that I will call you the moment the guest will be
leaving.’ (G. Priede)
(2.5.194) Nu ko viņi tur tik ilgi dara,
joprojām kumodi lauž vaļā?
still bureau.acc.f break.prs.3 open
‘What’s taking them so long, are they still breaking open that chest of
drawers?’ (G. Priede)
On the  other hand, the  construction unprefixed verb + adverb can also express
perfective actions (see Horiguchi 2016; Kalnača 2017b for a detailed discussion), as
in this example:

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(2.5.195) Vai obligāti jāstrādā mēnesis,
ja eju prom no darba?
if go.pst.1sg away from job.gen.m
‘Do I have to work for the [notice] month if I am quitting my job?’
(www.delfi.lv)
In sum, the so-called telic constructions do not, in themselves, express aspectuality
in Latvian, and, while, on the  whole, verbal prefixes are the  principal markers of
perfectivity, in some cases perfectivity is contextual.

2.5.9 Participles
A participle is a  non-finite form of a  verb used to express an action, process, or
state as an attribute and combining the  inherent characteristics of a  verb and an
adjective or a verb and an adverb. Based on their inflectional properties, participles
are classified into declinable, indeclinable, and semi-declinable participles (Skujiņa
2007: 94–95). Active participles have non-reflexive and reflexive endings.
Declinable participles make use of the  verbal categories of voice, tense,
and aspect and the  adjectival categories of gender, number, case and, in part,
also definiteness and gradation (Skujiņa 2007: 223) (see Section 2.2.2 and 2.2.3
for a  detailed discussion on gradation and definiteness). Syntactically, declinable
participles function either as attributes (2.5.196) or secondary predicates (2.6.197)
(see 3.2.9 and 3.2.11).
(2.5.196) a. Skrejoši ļaudis piesēduši
run.ptcp.nom.pl.m people.nom.pl.m sit_down.ptcp.nom.pl.m
saulītē ar kafijas turziņām.
sun.loc.f with coffee.gen.f cup.ins.pl.f
‘Hurrying people were sitting in the sun with paper coffee cups.’
(N. Ikstena)
b. Uz skatuves uznāk vasarīgi
on stage.gen.f come_on.prs.3 summery
ģērbies diriģents.
be_dressed.ptcp.nom.m conductor.nom.m
‘The conductor dressed in summery clothes comes on the stage.’
(A. Žīgure)
c. Jolanta apēda sviestmaizi ar redzamu
Jolanta.nom.f eat.pst.3 sandwich.acc.f with see.ptcp.ins.f
apetīti.
appetite.ins.f
‘Jolanta ate the sandwich with a visible appetite.’ (A. Eglītis)
d. Viņai rokās ir atplēsta
she.dat hand.loc.pl.f be.cop.prs.3 open.ptcp.nom.f
aploksne.
envelope.nom.f
‘She is holding an opened envelope in her hands.’ (N. Ikstena)

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(2.6.197) a. Dārzs mani sagaidīja, piebiris
garden.nom.m I.acc greet.pst.3 get_filled.ptcp.nom.m
dzeltenām lapām.
yellow.ins.pl.f leaf.ins.pl.f
‘The garden greeted me, strewn with yellow leaves.’ (N. Ikstena)
b. Tikai vairākkārt mudināta, viņa
only several_times prompt.ptcp.nom.f she.nom
piecēlās un devās uz virtuvi.
get_up.pst.3 and go.pst.3 to kitchen.acc.f
‘Only after being prompted several times did she get up and go to
the kitchen.’ (A. Eglītis)
Depending on the voice meanings they express, declinable participles can be active or
passive. Active voice participles are used to refer to active, subject-oriented actions.
(2.5.198) a. smejoša meitene ‘a laughing girl’
šalcoša jūra ‘a soughing sea’
b. aizmidzis bērns ‘a child fallen asleep’
sarūdzis piens ‘milk turned sour’
Passive voice participles, on the other hand, denote passive, object-centered actions.
(2.5.199) a. ravējams dārzs ‘a garden to be weeded’
pārstādāma roze ‘a rose to be replanted’
b. uzkopts dzīvoklis ‘a cleaned apartment’
pārcelta brīvdiena ‘a non-working day transferred to another date’
The formation of participles is, to a degree, linked to verb transitivity. For instance,
declinable present active participles derived from intransitive verbs (2.5.200) are
more common than those based on transitive verbs (2.5.201).
(2.5.200) ziedēt – ziedošs ‘to flower – flowering’
plaukt – plaukstošs ‘to flourish, blossom – flourishing, blossoming’
krist – krītošs ‘to fall – falling’
(2.5.201) zināt – zinošs ‘to know – knowing’
lasīt – lasošs ‘to read – reading’
nest – nesošs ‘to carry – carrying’
Passive participles, conversely, are usually formed from transitive verbs (2.5.202);
past passive participles from intransitive verbs are, in principle, possible (2.5.203) but
only as part of passive voice constructions expressing generalized actions (2.5.204).
(2.5.202) nest – nesams, nests ‘to carry – to be carried, carried PTCP’
rakstīt – rakstāms, rakstīts ‘to write – to be written, written PTCP’
domāt – domājams, domāts ‘to think – to be thought, thought PTCP’
(2.5.203) mirkt – mirkts ‘to soak – soaked PTCP’
augt – augts ‘to grow – grown PTCP’
būt – būts ‘to be – been PTCP’

290
(2.5.204) a. Kad ilgi nav būts
when long not_be.aux.prs.3 be.ptcp.nom.m
Rīgā, man ir tāds kā
Rīga.loc.f I.dat be.prs.3 a_sort_of
nemiers.
uneasiness.nom.m
‘If I haven’t been to Rīga for a while I start feeling somewhat uneasy.’
(www.kurzemesvards.lv)
b. Labs rīts!
Šonakt [ir] slikti gulēts,
tonight [have] poorly sleep.ptcp.nom.m
jāmēģina celties.
deb.try get_up.inf
‘Good morning! Having not slept well, [I] must try and get up.’
(www.blogi.oho.lv)
Latvian makes a  formal distinction between present and past tense declinable
participles. Present participles are used to refer to actions taking place simul­
taneously with the main action of a clause (Skujiņa 2007: 386).
(2.5.205) a. Viņa no skrejošiem mākoņiem
she.nom from run.ptcp.dat.pl.m cloud.dat.pl.m
vairās.
shy_away.prs.3
‘She shies away from running clouds.’ (L. Tauns)
b. Debesis austrumos jau blāzmoja
sky.nom.pl.f east.loc.pl.m already glow.pst.3
mostošās saules pirmajos staros.
wake_up.ptcp.gen.f sun.gen.f first.loc.pl.m beam.loc.pl.m
‘The eastern sky glowed brightly in the first beams of the morning sun.’
(www.tvnet.lv)
c. Kūstošā sniega dēļ [rīt]
melt.ptcp.gen.m snow.gen.m because_of [tomorrow]
veidosies lielas lāmas.
form.fut.3 large.nom.pl.f puddle.nom.pl.f
‘The melting snow [tomorrow] will result in large puddles.’
(Neatkarīgā Rīta Avīze)
(2.5.206) a. Tās [dainas] ir viegli
that.nom.pl.f [dainas] be.cop.prs.3 easily
dziedamas, viegli iegaumējamas,
sing.ptcp.nom.pl.f easily memorize.ptcp.nom.pl.f
pateicoties savam ritmam un uzbūvei.
thank.ptcp.ind own.dat.m rhythm.dat.m and structure.dat.f
‘They [the dainas] are easy to sing, easy to remember, thanks to their
rhythm and structure.’ (www.delfi.lv)

291
 b. Mums bija ļoti daudz darāmu
we.dat be.pst.3 very much do.ptcp.acc.pl.m
darbu.
work.gen.pl.m
‘We had quite a lot to do.’ (Diena)
c. Viņš savā blogā publicējis savas
he.nom own.loc.m blog.loc.m publish.ptcp.nom.m own.acc.pl.f
jaunākās prognozes, kāda būs
newest.acc.pl.f forecast.acc.pl.f what_kind.nom.f be.fut.3
gaidāmā ziema.
await.ptcp.nom.f winter.nom.f
‘He has published his latest forecasts for the coming winter in his blog.’
(Neatkarīgā Rīta Avīze)
The present active and passive participles are formed by attaching the  suffix -oš-
or am-/-ām- (the  suffix -ām- is reserved for conjugation class 3 subclass 1 verbs),
respectively, to the present tense stem of a verb.
(2.5.207) a. aug-t – aug-u – aug-oš-s, aug-oš-a ‘to grow – (I) grow –
growing PTCP (M), (F)’
smie-ties – smej-os – smej-oš-ies, smej-oš-ās ‘to laugh – (I) laugh –
laughing PTCP (M), (F)’
b. nes-t – nes-u – nes-am-s, nes-am-a ‘to carry: (I) carry –
to be carried (M), (F)’
rakst-ī-t – rakst-u – rakst-ām-s, rakst-ām-a ‘to write – (I) write –
to be written (M), (F)’
The declinable present active participle inflects according to the  following
paradigm:

M – aug-t – aug-u – aug-oš-s, aug-oš-ais ‘to grow – (I) grow – growing (INDF), (DEF)’
SG PL
Case
INDF DEF INDF DEF
NOM aug-oš-s aug-oš-ais aug-oš-i aug-oš-ie
GEN aug-oš-a aug-oš-ā aug-oš-u aug-oš-o
DAT aug-oš-am aug-oš-ajam aug-oš-iem aug-oš-ajiem
ACC aug-oš-u aug-oš-o aug-oš-us aug-oš-os
INS (ar) aug-oš-u (ar) aug-oš-o (ar) aug-oš-iem (ar) aug-oš-ajiem
LOC aug-oš-ā aug-oš-ajā aug-oš-os aug-oš-ajos
VOC aug-oš-s! aug-oš-ais!, aug-oš-o! aug-oš-i! aug-oš-ie!
Table 2.55 Inflection of the declinable present active participle, in the masculine (adapted
from Kalnača 2013a: 93)

292
F – aug-t – aug-u – aug-oš-a, aug-oš-ā ‘to grow – (I) grow – growing (INDF), (DEF)
SG PL
Case
INDF DEF INDF DEF
NOM aug-oš-a aug-oš-ā aug-oš-as aug-oš-ās
GEN aug-oš-as aug-oš-ās aug-oš-u aug-oš-o
DAT aug-oš-ai aug-oš-ajai aug-oš-ām aug-oš-ajām
ACC aug-oš-u aug-oš-o aug-oš-as aug-oš-ās
INS (ar) aug-oš-u (ar) aug-oš-o (ar) aug-oš-ām (ar) aug-oš-ajām
LOC aug-oš-ā aug-oš-ajā aug-oš-ās aug-oš-ajās
VOC aug-oš-a! aug-oš-ā!, aug-oš-o! aug-oš-as! aug-oš-ās!
Table 2.56 Inflection of the declinable present active participle, in the feminine (adapted
from Kalnača 2013a: 93)

The paradigm of reflexive present active participle forms is defective in both genders:
mos-ties – mo-st-os – mos-st-oš-ies, mos-st-oš-ās ‘to wake up – (I) wake up – waking up
PTCP (M), (F)’:
SG PL
Case
M F M F
NOM – – mo-st-oš-ies mo-st-oš-ās
GEN – mo-st-oš-ās mo-st-oš-os mo-st-oš-os
DAT – – – –
ACC mo-st-oš-os mo-st-oš-os mo-st-oš-os mo-st-oš-ās
INS (ar) mo-st-oš-os (ar) mo-st-oš-os – –
LOC – – – –
VOC – – mo-st-oš-ies! mo-st-oš-ās!
Table 2.57 Inflection of reflexive declinable present active participles (adapted from
Kalnača 2013a: 93)

The declinable present passive participle inflects according to the  following

paradigm:
M  – sveik-t  – sveic-u  – sveic-am-s, sveic-am-ais ‘to greet  – (I) greet  – to be greeted
(INDF), (DEF)’
SG PL
Case
INDF DEF INDF DEF
NOM sveic-am-s sveic-am-ais sveic-am-i sveic-am-ie
GEN sveic-am-a sveic-am-ā sveic-am-u sveic-am-o
DAT sveic-am-am sveic-am-ajam sveic-am-iem sveic-am-ajiem
ACC sveic-am-u sveic-am-o sveic-am-us sveic-am-os
INS (ar) sveic-am-u (ar) sveic-am-o (ar) sveic-am-iem (ar) sveic-am-ajiem
LOC sveic-am-ā sveic-am-aj-ā sveic-am-os sveic-am-ajos
VOC sveic-am-s! sveic-am-ais!, sveic-am-o! sveic-am-i! sveic-am-ie!
Table 2.58 Inflection of the  declinable present passive participle, in the  masculine
(adapted from Kalnača 2013a: 94)

293
F – sveik-t – sveic-u – sveic-am-a, sveic-am-ā ‘to greet – (I) greet – to be greeted (INDF),
(DEF)’
SG PL
Case
INDF DEF INDF DEF
NOM sveic-am-a sveic-am-ā sveic-am-as sveic-am-ās
GEN sveic-am-as sveic-am-ās sveic-am-u sveic-am-o
DAT sveic-am-ai sveic-am-ajai sveic-am-ām sveic-am-ajām
ACC sveic-am-u sveic-am-o sveic-am-as sveic-am-ās
INS (ar) sveic-am-u (ar) sveic-am-o (ar) sveic-am-ām (ar) sveic-am-ajām
LOC sveic-am-ā sveic-am-aj-ā sveic-am-ās sveic-am-ajās
sveic-am-ā!,
VOC sveic-am-a! sveic-am-as! sveic-am-ās!
sveic-am-o!
Table 2.59 Inflection of the declinable present passive participle, in the feminine (adapted
from Kalnača 2013a: 94)

Past participles are used to refer to actions preceding the main action of a clause
(Skujiņa 2007: 272–273).
(2.5.208) a. Rīta gaisma spīd cauri
morning.gen.m light.nom.f shine.prs.3 through
[dzelzceļa stacijas] iedzelteni noputējušajam
[railway station] yellowish become_dusty.ptcp.dat.m
stiklotajam jumtam.
put_in_glass.ptcp.dat.m roof.dat.m
‘The morning light shines through the yellowish dusty glass roof [of
the railway station].’ (A. Žīgure)
b. Viņa sagurusi un nobijusies
she.nom get_tired.ptcp.nom.f and get_frightened.ptcp.nom.f
skaidroja,
explain.pst.3
ka brauc pie sava drauga.
‘Tired and frightened, she explained that she was on her way to meet
her friend.’ (N. Ikstena)
c. Rīt saglabāsies daļēji apmācies
tomorrow remain.fut.3 partly get_cloudy.ptcp.nom.m
laiks.
weather.nom.m
‘Tomorrow, it will continue to be partly cloudy.’ (www.tvnet.lv)

294
(2.5.209) a. Divas sievietes, izkāpušas no
two.nom.pl.f woman.nom.pl.f get_out.ptcp.nom.pl.f from
īrētas mašīnas, sēž uz soliņa un
rent.ptcp.gen.f car.gen.f sit.prs.3 on bench.gen.m and
nerunā.
not_talk.prs.3
‘The two women, having gotten out of the rented car, are sitting on
the bench, not talking to each other.’ (N. Ikstena)
b. Mintauts salasīja izsvaidītos
Mintauts.nom.m pick_up.pst.3 scatter.ptcp.acc.pl.m
papīrus un piezīmes.
paper.acc.pl.m and note.acc.pl.f
‘Mintauts picked up the scattered papers and notes.’ (A. Eglītis)
c. Jācer,
ka tas būs rūpīgi
that it.nom.m be.aux.fut.3 carefully
pārdomāts lēmums.
consider.ptcp.nom.m decision.nom.m
‘Hopefully, it will be a carefully considered decision.’ (Jurista Vārds)
In Latvian, past participles are formed by adding the  ending -is / the  suffix -us-
(2.5.210a) to the  past tense stem of a  verb (to form the  past active participle) or
by attaching the suffix -t- to the infinitive stem of a verb (to form the past passive
participle) (2.5.210b).
(2.5.210) a. vel-t – vēl-u – vēl-is, vēl-us-i ‘to roll (obj.) – (I) rolled – rolled PTCP (M), (F)’
nobī-ties – nobij-os – nobij-ies, nobij-us-ies ‘to get frightened –
(I) got frightened – frightened PTCP (M), (F)’
b. lik-t – lik-t-s, lik-t-a ‘to put – put PTCP (M), (F)’
cien-ī-t – cien-ī-t-s, cien-ī-t-a ‘to respect – respected PTCP (M), (F)’
The declinable past active participle inflects according to the following paradigm:
M – cel-t – cēl-u – cēl-is, cēl-uš-ais ‘to lift – (I) lifted – lifted PTCP (INDF), (DEF)’
SG PL
Case
INDF DEF INDF DEF
NOM cēl-is cēl-uš-ais cēl-uš-i cēl-uš-ie
GEN cēl-uš-a cēl-uš-ā cēl-uš-u cēl-uš-o
DAT cēl-uš-am cēl-uš-ajam cēl-uš-iem cēl-uš-ajiem
ACC cēl-uš-u cēl-uš-o cēl-uš-us cēl-uš-os
INS (ar) cēl-uš-u (ar) cēl-uš-o (ar) cēl-uš-iem (ar) cēl-uš-ajiem
LOC cēl-uš-ā cēl-uš-ajā cēl-uš-os cēl-uš-ajos
VOC cēl-is! cēl-uš-ais!, cēl-uš-o! cēl-uš-i! cēl-uš-ie!
Table 2.60 Inflection of the declinable past active participle, in the masculine (adapted
from Kalnača 2013a: 95)

295
F – cel-t – cēl-u – cēl-us-i, cēl-us-ī ‘to lift – (I) lifted – lifted PTCP (INDF), (DEF)’
SG PL
Case
INDF DEF INDF DEF
NOM cēl-us-i cēl-us-ī cēl-uš-as cēl-uš-ās
GEN cēl-uš-as cēl-uš-ās cēl-uš-u cēl-uš-o
DAT cēl-uš-ai cēl-uš-ajai cēl-uš-ām cēl-uš-ajām
ACC cēl-uš-u cēl-uš-o cēl-uš-as cēl-uš-ās
INS (ar) cēl-uš-u (ar) cēl-uš-o (ar) cēl-uš-ām (ar) cēl-uš-ajām
LOC cēl-uš-ā cēl-uš-ajā cēl-uš-os cēl-uš-ajos
VOC cēl-us-i! cēl-us-ī!, cēl-uš-o! cēl-uš-as cēl-uš-ās
Table 2.61 Inflection of the  declinable past active participle, in the  feminine (adapted
from Kalnača 2013a: 95)

The paradigm of reflexive past active participle forms is defective in both genders:
mos-ties – mod-os – mod-ies, mod-us-ies ‘to wake up – (I) woke up – woken up PTCP
(M), (F)’
SG PL
Case
M F M F
NOM mod-ies mod-us-ies mod-uš-ies mod-uš-ās
GEN mod-uš-ās mod-uš-ās mod-uš-os mod-uš-os
DAT – – – –
ACC mod-uš-os mod-uš-os mod-uš-os mod-uš-ās
INS (ar) mod-uš-os (ar) mod-uš-os – –
LOC – – – –
VOC mod-ies! mod-us-ies! mod-uš-ies! mod-uš-ās!
Table 2.62 Inflection of reflexive declinable past active participles (adapted from Kalnača
2013a: 95)

The declinable past passive participle inflects according to the following paradigm:

M – cel-t – cel-t-s, cel-t-ais ‘to lift – lifted PTCP (INDF), (DEF)’
SG PL
Case
INDF DEF INDF DEF
NOM cel-t-s cel-t-ais cel-t-i cel-t-ie
GEN cel-t-a cel-t-ā cel-t-u cel-t-o
DAT cel-t-am cel-t-ajam cel-t-iem cel-t-ajiem
ACC cel-t-u cel-t-o cel-t-us cel-t-os
INS (ar) cel-t-u (ar) cel-t-o (ar) cel-t-iem (ar) cel-t-ajiem
LOC cel-t-ā cel-t-ajā cel-t-os cel-t-ajos
VOC cel-t-s! cel-t-ais!, cel-t-o! cel-t-i! cel-t-ie!
Table 2.63 Inflection of the declinable past passive participle, in the masculine (adapted
from Kalnača 2013a: 96)

296
F – cel-t – cel-t-a, cel-t-ā ‘to lift – lifted PTCP (INDF), (DEF)’
SG PL
Case
INDF DEF INDF DEF
NOM cel-t-a cel-t-ā cel-t-as cel-t-ās
GEN cel-t-as cel-t-ās cel-t-u cel-t-o
DAT cel-t-ai cel-t-ajai cel-t-ām cel-t-ajām
ACC cel-t-u cel-t-o cel-t-as cel-t-ās
INS (ar) cel-t-u (ar) cel-t-o (ar) cel-t-ām (ar) cel-t-ajām
LOC cel-t-ā cel-t-ajā cel-t-ās cel-t-ajās
VOC cel-t-a! cel-t-ā!, cel-t-o! cel-t-as! cel-t-ās!
Table 2.64 Inflection of the declinable past passive participle, in the feminine (adapted
from Kalnača 2013a: 96)

The semi-declinable participle is formed by attaching the  suffix -dam- to

the  infinitive stem of a  verb and its inflection is limited to gender and number in
the nominative case.
(2.5.211) a. sauk-t ‘to call’ – sauk-dam-s ‘(while) calling PTCP (M, SG, NOM)’,
sauk-dam-a (F, SG, NOM), sauk-dam-i (M, PL, NOM), sauk-dam-as
(F, PL, NOM),
b. liek-ties ‘to bend’ – liek-dam-ies ‘(while) bending PTCP (M)’, liek-dam-ās (F)
The semi-declinable participle is an active voice participle used to refer to actions
occurring simultaneously with the  main action of a  clause; it therefore typically
functions as a secondary predicate, agreeing in number and gender with the agent of
the action, i.e., the clause subject (see also 3.2.9) (Skujiņa 2007: 74–75).
(2.5.212) a. Katru reizi, ieiedama katedrālē, viņa
every time enter.ptcp.nom.f cathedral.loc.f she.nom
vispirms nostājas pie durvīm,
at_first stand.pst.3 at door.dat.pl.f
lai izjustu telpas garu.
‘Every time she enters the cathedral she first stops in the doorway to
feel the spirit of the place.’ (A. Žīgure)
b. Viņš nolika somas priekšnamā un, juzdamies
he.nom put.pst.3 bag.acc.pl.f hall.loc.m and feel.ptcp.nom.m
kā viesis, izstaigāja visas istabas.
like visitor.nom.m walk.pst.3 all.acc.f room.acc.pl.f
‘He put down the bags in the hall and, feeling like a visitor, walked
around every room.’ (A. Eglītis)
c. Lielākā daļa [cilvēku] klusēdami
larger.nom.f part.nom.f [people] be_quiet.ptcp.nom.pl.m
ies garām.
go.fut.3 by
‘Most people will just silently pass by.’ (www.tvnet.lv)

297
In certain expressions mostly found in colloquial speech, the  semi-declinable
participle may function as a predicate.
(2.5.213) a. Vīrs painteresējās: “Kurp iedams?”
man.nom.m take_interest.pst.3 where_to go.ptcp.nom.m
‘The man asked: “Where do you think you are going?”’
(www.delfi.lv)
b. Iznāk daži jauni robežsargi,
prasa [man], uz kurieni [es]
ask.prs.3 [I.dat] to where [I.nom]
braukdams.
go.ptcp.nom.m
‘Several young border guards appear, ask [me] where I am going.’
(www.draugiem.lv)
In colloquial speech, mass media and literary texts containing irony, as well as in
subdialects the semi-declinable participle is sometimes used as an attribute (2.5.214).
(2.5.214) Ak, ļaunā pasaule!
Nelabais staigā kā rūkdams lauva
evil.nom.m walk.prs.3 like roar.ptcp.nom.m lion.nom.m
paparaci izskatā.
paparazzo appearance.loc.m
‘Oh, this wicked world! The evil one prowls around like a roaring lion
disguised as a paparazzo.’ (Ir)
Indeclinable participles lack grammatical forms and are used to denote an attribute
of an action or state (Skujiņa 2007: 251), which, as an action or state in itself, is
understood to occur simultaneously with the main action of a clause, see examples
(2.5.217)-( 2.5.218).
Indeclinable participles are formed by adding the  non-reflexive or reflexive
formatives -ot, -oties (2.5.215); -am/-ām, -amies/-āmies (the suffix -ām- is reserved
for conjugation class 3 subclass 1 verbs) (2.5.216), namely, to the present tense stem
of a verb.
(2.5.215) a. liek-ties – liec-os – liec-oties ‘to bend – (I) bend – bending PTCP’
b. dom-ā-t – dom-ā-j-u – dom-ā-j-ot ‘to think – (I) think – thinking PTCP’
c. māc-ī-ties – māc-os – māc-oties ‘to study – (I) study – studying PTCP’
(2.5.216) a. liek-ties – liec-os – liec-amies ‘to bend – (I) bend – bending PTCP’
b. dom-ā-t – dom-ā-j-u – dom-ā-j-am ‘to think – (I) think – thinking PTCP’
c. māc-ī-ties – māc-os – māc-āmies ‘to study – (I) study – studying PTCP’
The indeclinable participles typically function as secondary predicates and may also
occur in various kinds of raising and control constructions with either shared or
distinct participle and matrix predicate agents (see also 3.2.9).

298
(2.5.217) -ot, -oties
a. Bobslejisti pirmo braucienu veica minūtē un 5,18 sekundēs,
esot līderi un par 0,06
be.ptcp.idecl leader.nom.pl.m and prep 0.06
sekundēm apsteidzot konkurentus.
second.dat.pl.f overtake.ptcp.idecl competitor.acc.pl.m
‘The bobsleigh team completed the first run in one minute and 5.18
seconds, leading the competition and being 0.06 seconds ahead of
their closest competitors.’ (www.apollo.lv)
b. [Jelgavas] Mērs teicies neko
[Jelgava] mayor.nom.m admit.ptcp.nom.m nothing.acc
nesaprotot no franču vīniem.
understand.ptcp.idecl from French.gen.pl.m wine.dat.pl.m
‘The mayor [of Jelgava] admitted to knowing nothing about French
wines.’ (Latvijas Avīze)
c. Miers reģionā iespējams,
esot politiskai gribai.
be.ptcp.idecl political.dat.f will.dat.f
‘Peace in the region is possible, there being sufficient political will.’
(www.tvnet.lv)
(2.5.218) -am / -ām, -amies / -āmies
a. Andreju vasarās ik dienas
Andrejs.acc.m summer.loc.pl.f every day.acc.pl.f
redz līkājamies rožu dārzā,
see.prs.3 bend.ptcp.idecl rose.gen.pl.f garden.loc.f
rosāmies pie bišu stropiem,
bustle.ptcp.idecl at bee.gen.pl.f hive.dat.pl.m
apstaigājam tīrumus.
walk.ptcp.idecl field.acc.pl.m
‘In summer, Andrejs is always seen bending down in the rose garden,
busying himself around the beehives, or walking in the fields.’
(A. Žīgure)
b. Viņš juta tuvojamies šo
he.nom feel.pst.3 approach.ptcp.idecl this.acc.f
iespēju.
opportunity.acc.f
‘He felt this opportunity approaching.’ (www.korpuss.lv)
c. Viņš teicās acumirklī atrodamies
he.nom claim.pst.3 instant.loc.m find.ptcp.idecl
visai grūtos apstākļos.
rather difficult.loc.pl.m circumstance.loc.pl.m
‘He did though claim that he found himself at once in a rather difficult
situation.’ (A. Eglītis)

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The indeclinable participle ending in -ot, -oties is widely used in absolute dative
constructions, i.e., in participial clauses consisting of a indeclinable participle and
a noun or a pronoun in the dative case naming the agent (Skujiņa 2007: 12).
(2.5.219) a. No rīta,
saulei lecot,
sun.dat.f rise.ptcp.idecl
pārgāju pār Bruklinas tiltu.
‘In the morning, just when the sun was rising, I crossed the Brooklyn
Bridge. (N. Ikstena)
b. Lietum līstot,
rain.dat.m pour.ptcp.idecl
[pilsētā] iededz Ziemassvētku egli.
‘The Christmas tree is lit [in the town], with rain pouring down.’
(www.liepajniekiem.lv)
The indeclinable participle ending in -am/-ām, -amies/-āmies usually appears in
conjunction with verbs of perception (verba sentiendi): redzēt ‘to see’, dzirdēt ‘to hear’,
manīt ‘to glimpse’, pamanīt ‘to notice’, ieraudzīt ‘to see’, sadzirdēt ‘to hear’, klausīties
‘to listen’, just ‘to feel’, sajust ‘to start to feel’, jaust ‘to foresee’, etc.
(2.5.220) a. Viņš redzēja mani raudam.
he.nom see.pst.3 I.acc cry.ptcp.idecl
‘He saw me cry.’ (J. Joņevs)
b. Cilvēks, ieraudzījis nākam tramvaju,
person.nom.m see.ptcp.nom.m come.ptcp.idecl tram.acc.m
sāka skriet.
start.pst.3 run.inf
‘The person, seeing the tram approaching, started running.’ (Kas Jauns)
c. [Mūzikas] albumā klavierspēle
[music] album.loc.m piano_playing.nom.f
dzirdama skanam visā krāšņumā.
hear.ptcp.nom.f sound.ptcp.idecl all.loc.m splendor.loc.m
‘The [music] album reveals piano music in its full splendor.’
(www.parmuziku.lv)
In raising constructions, but never in absolute dative constructions, the two types of
indeclinable participles can be used interchangeably.
(2.5.221) a. Es dzirdēju dzērves sakliedzamies // sakliedzoties.
I.nom hear.pst.1sg crane.acc.pl.f call.ptcp.idecl
‘I heard cranes calling to each other.’
b. Aiz pārsteiguma paliku stāvam // stāvot
from surprise.gen.m stay.pst.1sg stand.ptcp.idecl
uz vietas.
on place.gen.f
‘I froze in surprise.’

300
 c. Meitene, sajutusi ieplūstam // ieplūstot
girl.nom.f feel.ptcp.nom.f flow.ptcp.idecl
telpā vēsumu,
room.loc.f cool.acc.m
aizvēra logu.
‘Feeling cool air flowing in, the girl closed the window.’
In control constructions with a shared agent, the indeclinable participle ending in
-ot, -oties and the semi-declinable participle are synonymous.
(2.5.222) a. Mēness, gaiši mirdzot // mirdzēdams,
moon.nom.m light shine.ptcp.idecl
rādīja tumsā ceļu.
‘The moon, shining bright, showed the way in the dark.’
b. Bērni rotaļājās jūras malā,
līksmi smejoties // smiedamies un
joyfully laugh.ptcp.idecl and
ceļot // celdami smilšu pilis.
build.ptcp.idecl sand.gen.pl.f castle.acc.pl.f
‘Children were playing by the sea, laughing with joy and building sand
castles.’

2.5.10 Word formation

Verb formation in Latvian is primarily based on suffixation, prefixation (Table 2.65
and Table 2.66), and a  few circumfixal (prefix–postfix) verb formation types
(Table 2.67).
Compound verbs are not particularly widespread in Latvian and are mostly
limited to a relatively small number of compounds having an adverb as the first base
(Soida 2009: 263; Vulāne 2013: 292–293), e.g.:
(2.5.223) ADV + V (also V + ADV)
a. cauri skat-ī-t (also skatīt cauri) ‘to look through’ – caur-skat-ī-t ‘to look
through, to peruse’
cauri urb-t (also urbt cauri) ‘to bore through, to drill through’ – caur-urb-t
‘to bore through, to drill through, to perforate’
cauri strāv-o-t (also strāvot cauri) ‘to flow through, to stream through’ –
caur-strāv-o-t ‘to spread throughout, to permeate, to pervade’
b. pretī stat-ī-t (also statīt pretī) ‘to set against’ – pret-stat-ī-t ‘to set against,
to counterpose, to contrast’
c. labi pa-tik-t (also patikt labi) ‘to like well, to like fine’  – lab-pa-tik-t
‘to please, to wish’
d. gana dar-ī-t (also darīt gana) ‘to do enough’  – gan-dar-ī-t ‘to satisfy,
to gratify’

301
Some compound verbs of this type are loan translations, e.g.:
(2.5.224) from English
augšup-lādēt ‘to upload’, lejup-lādēt ‘to download’
Due to the small number and the (often) problematic origins of compound verbs they
are not given further consideration in this grammar.
In Latvian linguistics, reflexive verbs are traditionally interpreted as derivatives
formed from non-reflexive verbs by means of the reflexive ending (see, e.g., Soida 2009:
206–219; Vulāne 2013: 291). The semantics and functions of Latvian reflexive verbs,
however, are closely linked to distribution, diathesis, and, hence, to the  syntactic
structure of sentences; furthermore, reflexive verbs do not show systematic, clearly
definable derivational meanings in the  same way as suffixal and prefixal verbal
derivatives. Thus, verb reflexivity in Latvian clearly goes beyond the boundaries of
word formation. Circumfixal (i.e., prefix + the  reflexive formative ­-s) derivatives
expressing aspectual meanings are a notable exception. In this grammar, the system
of reflexive verbs is described from the point of view of semantics and distribution (see
Section 2.5.7), rather than as part of the system of verb formation. That said, Table
2.67 contains a brief summary of prefix + -s combinations available for expressing
quantitative meanings (such as duration, iterativity, etc.).
The INF ending -t is not listed under Word-formation means in the tables below,
as it is the same for all word-formation types. Where necessary (i.e., for circumfixal
derivatives) both the  non-reflexive ending ­-t and the  reflexive formative -s (in
examples, the INF reflexive ending -ties) are specified.
Likewise, as almost all word-formation types can produce INTRANS and
TRANS verbs, and some verbs may be transitive or intransitive depending on context
(see Section 2.5.6 on transitivity), the  INTRANS/TRANS feature is only stated for
strictly transitive derivatives, i.e., V–V with the suffix -ē- and V–V, N–V, ADJ–V with
the suffix -inā-.

Suffixation
Suffixal verb formation in Latvian is represented by a wide range of word-formation
types/models, defined, to a large extent, by the word class of the base. In Latvian,
verbs are formed from other verbs, nouns, adjectives, and interjections (see Table
2.65). There are no systemic word-formation models for forming verbs from other
word classes, therefore, these are not discussed in this grammar.
Although Latvian has just a few verbalizing suffixes – -ā-, -ē-, -ī-, -inā-, -o-, they
are capable of carrying various derivational meanings, e.g., in V–V word-formation
types – aspectuality and valency-related meanings, in N–V word-formation types –
mainly, subject- and object-related meanings, in ADJ–V types – meanings related to
subject/object attributes, in INT–V types – sound imitative meanings. The V–V suffixes
-alē-, -aļā-, -elē-, -uļo- are monosemous and always express iterativity (usually, with
chaotic actions and actions having no goal or endpoint).
In V–V derivatives, suffixes as the main means of word formation are sometimes
accompanied by apophony (see Section 1.2.1 on apophony). The interfixes -(d)-,

302
-(st)-, -(ņ)-, less frequently also -(šļ)-, -(šņ)-, -(žļ)- occur as a  byproduct of word
formation when there is a need to avoid vowel clustering between a vocalic suffix and
a (primary) verbal root (see Section 1.1.4 on interfixes). These interfixes sometimes
also occur, by analogy, where they are not formally necessary.

Base word – Word-

Derivational
derivative formation Examples
meaning
word class means
V–V -ā-; usually iterative brauk-t ‘to go (in a vehicle), to drive’ – brauk-ā-t
attaches to (iterative)
the INF stem sauk-t ‘to call’ – sauk-ā-t (iterative)
trenk-t ‘to drive, to propel’ – trenk-ā-t (iterative)
of a verb; ves-t ‘to carry (in a vehicle), to lead smth. / smb.
may be somewhere’– vad-ā-t (iterative)
accompanied nes-t ‘to carry, to bear’ – nēs-ā-t (iterative), also ‘to
by apophony wear’
and/or an mī-t ‘to tread, trample’ –
interfix: -(ņ)-, mī-(ņ)-ā-t (iterative)
rak-t ‘to dig’ – rak-(ņ)-ā-t, also rak-ā-t (iterative)
-(šļ)-, -(šņ)-,
kos-t ‘to bite’– ko-(šļ)-ā-t ‘to chew’
-(žļ)- os-t ‘to smell’ – o-(šņ)-ā-t ‘to sniff, to sniff around’
zīs-t ‘to suck, to nurse’ – zī-(žļ)-ā-t (iterative)
-ī-; usually iterative lauz-t ‘to break’ – lauz-ī-t (iterative)
attaches to kas-t ‘to scrape’ – kas-ī-t (iterative), ‘to scratch’
the INF stem stiep-t ‘to drag, to stretch’ – staip-ī-t (iterative)
svies-t ‘to toss’ – svaid-ī-t (iterative)
of a verb; ķer-t ‘to catch’ – ķer-(st)-ī-t (iterative), ‘to try to catch’
may be bēr-t ‘to pour (of dry substances)’ – bār-(st)-ī-t ‘to
accompanied strew, to scatter’
by apophony vel-t ‘to roll (with object)’ – val-(st)-ī-t (iterative)
and/or an lie-t ‘to pour (of liquids)’ – lai-(st)-ī-t (iterative), ‘to
interfix: -(st)- water’
mī-t ‘to tread, trample’ – mī-(d)-ī-t (iterative)
or -(d)-
sper-t ‘to kick with the foot’ – spār-(d)-ī-t (iterative)
skrie-t ‘to run’ – skrai-(d)-ī-t (iterative), ‘to run about’
-ē-; usually causative aug-t ‘to grow (no object)’ –
attaches to (always TRANS) audz-ē-t ‘to grow (with an object)’
the INF stem kars-t ‘to grow hot’ – kars-ē-t ‘to heat’
slāp-t ‘to be thirsty, to thirst, to fade’ – slāp-ē-t ‘to
of a verb; put out, to suppress, to damp down’
may be kus-t ‘to melt (no object)’ –
accompanied kaus-ē-t ‘to melt (with an object)’
by apophony rūg-t ‘to ferment (no object)’ – raudz-ē-t ‘to ferment
and/or (with an object)’
the interfix dīg-t ‘to germinate (no object)’ – diedz-ē-t ‘to
germinate (with an object)’
-(d)-
žau-t ‘to hang smth. out (to dry)’ – žāv-ē-t ‘to dry,
to cure, to smoke (with an object)’
rau-t ‘to draw, to pull’ – rav-ē-t ‘to weed’
klīs-t ‘to wander’ – klie-(d)-ē-t ‘to dissipate, to dispel’
dzī-t ‘to heal (no object)’ –
dzie-(d)-ē-t ‘to heal (with an object)
grim-t ‘to sink, to go under’ – grem-(d)-ē-t ‘to sink
(with an object), to immerse’
rim-t ‘to cease, to subside’ –
rem-(d)-ē-t ‘to alleviate, to soothe’

303
Base word – Word-
Derivational
derivative formation Examples
meaning
word class means
V–V -inā-; usually causative ēs-t ‘to eat’ – ēd-inā-t ‘to feed’
attaches to (always TRANS) reib-t ‘to become dizzy, giddy’ –
verbal roots; reib-inā-t ‘to make dizzy, giddy’
brēk-t ‘to scream’ – brēc-inā-t ‘to let or make smb.
may be
scream’
accompanied deg-t ‘to burn (no object)’ –
by apophony dedz-inā-t ‘to burn (with an object)’
and/or šū-t ‘to sew’ – šū-(d)-inā-t ‘to sew, to have smth.
the interfix sewn’
-(d)- gul-t ‘to fall, to cover’ –
gul-(d)-inā-t ‘to lay (with an object)’
dzer-t ‘to drink’ – dzir(d)-inā-t ‘to give to drink’
raud-ā-t ‘to cry’ – raud-inā-t ‘to make smb. cry’
elp-o-t ‘to breathe’ – elp-inā-t ‘to apply artificial
breathing’
put-ē-t ‘to be dusty’ – put-inā-t ‘to be blown by
the wind (of leaves, snow, dust)’
skan-ē-t ‘to sound, to be heard’ – skan-(d)-inā-t ‘to
jingle, to repeat, to chant’
krakšķ-ē-t ‘to crack (of sound)’ –
krakšķ-inā-t ‘to make smb. or smth. crack’
plīkšķ-ē-t ‘to patter, to smack’ – plīkšķ-inā-t ‘to
cause to patter, to smack’
švīkst-ē-t ‘to whiz’ – švīkst-inā-t ‘to cause to whiz’
iterative (always urb-t ‘to bore, to drill’ – urb-inā-t ‘to pick, to poke’
TRANS) ves-t ‘to carry (in a vehicle), to lead smth. / smb.
somewhere’ – ved-inā-t ‘to lead smb. somewhere,
to direct’
vil-t ‘to let down, to mislead, to lure’ – vil-inā-t ‘to
allure, to tempt, to entice’
vēr-t ‘to open/to shut’ – vir-inā-t ‘to keep opening
and shutting’
-alē-, -aļā-, iterative verbs brauk-t ‘to go (in a vehicle), to drive’ – brauk-alē-t
-elē-, expressing (iterative)
-uļo-; usually chaotic actions tec-ē-t ‘to flow’ – tek-alē-t ‘to bustle about’
kāp-t ‘to climb’ – kāp-aļā-t (iterative)
attach to and actions
snaus-t ‘to nap’ – snaud-aļā-t (iterative)
the INF stem having no goal spries-t ‘to reason, to judge’ – spried-elē-t ‘to hold
of a verb; in or endpoint forth about, to speak at length about’
some cases, jā-t ‘to ride (a horse)’ –
occur with jā-(d)-elē-t (iterative)
the interfix bēg-t ‘to run away’ – bēg-uļo-t ‘to be on the run’
-(d)- vārg-t ‘to grow weak, to weaken (no object)’ – vārg-
uļo-t (iterative)
-ā- agent-, object- sarg-s ‘guard’ – sarg-ā-t ‘to guard’
and instrument- bēd-a ‘trouble, also sorrow’ –
motivated verbs bēd-ā-t ‘to trouble about/over’
rot-a ‘ornament, adornment’ –
rot-ā-t ‘to adorn’
bur-a ‘sail’ – bur-ā-t ‘to sail’
-ē- agent-motivated ārst-s ‘(medical) doctor’ – ārst-ēt ‘to treat, to cure’
verbs aukl-e ‘nanny’ – aukl-ē-t ‘to nurture’
bend-e ‘executioner’ – bend-ē-t ‘to kill, to wreck’

304
Base word – Word-
Derivational
derivative formation Examples
meaning
word class means
V–V instrument- air-is ‘oar’ – air-ē-t ‘to row’
motivated verbs kapl-is ‘hoe’ – kapl-ē-t ‘to hoe’
sūkn-is ‘pump’ – sūkn-ē-t ‘to pump’
object-motivated laim-e ‘luck, fortune’ – laim-ē-t ‘to win’
verbs kās-s ‘cough’ – kās-ē-t ‘to cough’
smīn-s ‘sneer’ – smīn-ē-t ‘to sneer’
vīl-e ‘hem’ – vīl-ē-t ‘to hem’
-inā- object-motivated mier-s ‘calm’ – mier-inā-t ‘to calm’
verbs (always god-s ‘honor’ – god-inā-t ‘to honor’
TRANS) spēk-s ‘strength’ – spēc-inā-t ‘to strengthen’
šausm-as ‘horror’ – šausm-inā-t ‘to horrify’
-o- agent-motivated tulk-s ‘translator’ – tulk-o-t ‘to translate’
verbs spieg-s ‘spy’ – spieg-o-t ‘to spy’
saim-niek-s ‘owner, master’ –
saim-niek-o-t ‘to manage, to run’
kalp-s ‘servant’ – kalp-o-t ‘to serve’
instrument- bumb-a ‘ball, bomb’ – bumb-o-t ‘to play ball, to bomb’
and means- lāpst-a ‘shovel’ – lāpst-o-t ‘to shovel’
motivated verbs plost-s ‘raft’ – plost-o-t ‘to float in a raft’
vask-s ‘wax’ – vask-o-t ‘to wax’
krās-a ‘paint, color’ – krās-o-t ‘to paint’
object-motivated glezn-a ‘painting’ – glezn-o-t ‘to paint (to produce
verbs a painting)’
1) ‘to produce dej-a ‘dance’ – dej-o-t ‘to dance’
tēl-s ‘image, character’ – tēl-o-t ‘to personate, to act
an object or
the part of, also to affect’
phenomenon lap-a ‘leaf’ – lap-o-t ‘to leaf’
denoted by zar-s ‘branch’ – zar-o-t ‘to branch’
the base word’ sūn-a ‘moss’ – sūn-o-t ‘to be overgrown with moss’
jok-s ‘joke’ – jok-o-t ‘to joke’
glaim-i ‘flattery’ – glaim-o-t ‘to flatter’
mel-i ‘lie’ – mel-o-t ‘to lie’
baum-as ‘rumor’ – baum-o-t ‘to rumor’
2) ‘to gather og-a ‘berry’ – og-o-t ‘to pick berries’
objects denoted riekst-s ‘nut’ – riekst-o-t ‘to gather nuts’
by the base sēn-e ‘mushroom’ – sēņ-o-t ‘to gather mushrooms’
vēz-is ‘crayfish’ – vēž-o-t ‘to catch crayfish’
word’
3) ‘to have brokast-is ‘breakfast’ –
a meal’ brokast-o-t ‘to breakfast’
pus-dien-as ‘dinner, lunch’ –
pus-dien-o-t ‘to dine, to lunch’
vakariņ-as ‘supper’ –
vakariņ-o-t ‘to eat supper’
4) ‘to assign, alg-a ‘pay, salary’ – alg-o-t ‘to employ, to pay wages’
to provide an bals-s ‘vote, voice’ – bals-o-t ‘to vote’
object denoted ēn-a ‘shade’ – ēn-o-t ‘to shade’
gaism-a ‘light’ – gaism-o-t ‘to light’
by the base
piln-var-a ‘power of attorney’ –
word’ piln-var-o-t ‘to assign a power of attorney to smb.’
veid-s ‘kind, shape, form’  –
veid-o-t ‘to shape, to form’

305
Base word – Word-
Derivational
derivative formation Examples
meaning
word class means
V–V -o- spatially and tirg-us ‘market’ – tirg-o-t ‘to sell’
temporally māj-a ‘dwelling, home’ – māj-o-t ‘to dwell’
motivated verbs ziem-a ‘winter’ – ziem-o-t ‘to winter, to spend
the winter’
nakt-s ‘night’ – nak-(šņ)-o-t ‘to spend the night’
ADJ–V -ē- processes klus-s ‘silent’ – klus-ē-t ‘to be silent’
bringing about biez-s ‘thick’ – biez-ē-t ‘to thicken’
the attribute ciet-s ‘hard’ – ciet-ē-t ‘to harden’
tiev-s ‘slim’ – tievē-t ‘to slim down’
denoted by
the base word
to cause skāb-s ‘sour’ – skāb-ē-t ‘to ferment’
to acquire blīv-s ‘dense’ – blīv-ē-t ‘to seal, to pack, to compress’
the attribute smail-s ‘pointy, sharp’  – smail-ē-t ‘to prick (one’s
ears)’
denoted by
the base word
-ī- to cause tīr-s ‘clean’ – tīr-ī-t ‘to clean’
to acquire svēt-s ‘holy, sacred, blessed’ – svēt-ī-t ‘to bless’
the attribute šķīst-s ‘pure, virtuous’ – šķīst-ī-t ‘to purge, to purify’
denoted by
the base word
-inā- to cause as-s ‘sharp’ – as-inā-t ‘to sharpen’
to acquire droš-s ‘sure, secure’ – droš-inā-t ‘to reassure, to
the attribute encourage’
glud-s ‘smooth’ – glud-inā-t ‘to iron’
denoted by
maz-s ‘little, small’ – maz-inā-t ‘to lessen, to reduce’
the base word ret-s ‘rare’ – ret-inā-t ‘to thin out, to rarefy’
(always TRANS) trak-s ‘mad’ – trac-inā-t ‘to madden’
-o- to cause līksm-s ‘joyous’ – līksm-o-t ‘to feel joy, to rejoice’
to acquire lab-s ‘right, good’ – lab-o-t ‘to correct, to put right,
the attribute to repair’
klib-s ‘lame’ – klib-o-t ‘to limp’
denoted by
skaidr-s ‘clear’ – skaidr-o-t ‘to clarify, to make clear,
the base word to explain’
taisn-s ‘straight’ – taisn-o-t ‘to straighten’
vingr-s ‘fit, agile’ – vingr-o-t ‘to exercise’
INT–V -ā- onomatopoeia – ai ‘ah!’ – aij-ā-t ‘to rock (a baby)’
sound imitation pai (used when caressing, gently stroking smb.,
saying that smb. is good) – paij-ā-t ‘to caress’
-ē- blīkš ‘bang!’ – blīkš-ē-t,
blīkšķ-ē-t ‘to bang’
krakš ‘crack!’ – krakš-ē-t, krakšķ-ē-t ‘to crack (of
sound)’
ņau ‘meow!’ – ņaud-ē-t ‘to meow’
plunkš ‘plop!’ – plunkšķ-ē-t ‘to plop’
švīks ‘whiz!’ – švīkst-ē-t ‘to whiz’
-o- ku-kū ‘coo-coo!, cuckoo!’ –
kūk-o-t ‘to produce the sound of a cuckoo bird’
žū-žū ‘sound made to lull a child to sleep’ – žūž-o-t
‘to lull a child to sleep’
ūja ‘ooh!’– ūjav-o-t ‘to ooh’

306
Base word – Word-
Derivational
derivative formation Examples
meaning
word class means
INT–V -inā- iterative čiv-čiv ‘chirp’ – čiv-inā-t ‘to chirp’
onomatopoeic gā-gā ‘honk’ – gāg-inā-t ‘to honk, to cackle’
verbs si-si ‘chirr’ – sis-inā-t ‘to chirr’
u-ū ‘o-o-oo!’ – ūj-inā-t ‘to call out, to hoot, to heckle’

Table 2.65 Main verb formation types: suffixation

Prefixation
In Latvian, prefixal verb formation is strictly deverbal. Prefixation does not affect
the  overall phonetic and morphological shape of the  base word. The number of
prefixes in a given verb, excluding the negative ne- ‘not, also dis-’ (2.5.225), is usually
limited to one, with the exception of verbs that are never used without a prefix and
can therefore acquire a second prefix in the process of word formation (2.5.226).
(2.5.225) a. iz-skrie-t ‘to run out’ – ne-iz-skrie-t ‘to not run out’
b. ap-ģērb-t ‘to dress’ – ne-ap-ģērb-t ‘to not dress’
c. pār-las-ī-t ‘to reread’ – ne-pār-las-ī-t ‘to not reread’
(2.5.226) a. pa-zī-t ‘to be acquainted, to know’ – ie-pa-zī-t ‘to get acquainted’,
at-pa-zī-t ‘to recognize’
b. ap-bed-ī-t ‘to bury’ – pār-ap-bed-ī-t ‘to rebury’
All verbal prefixes (aiz-, ap-, at-, ie-, iz-, no-, pa-, pār-, pie-, sa-, uz-) are perfective and
polysemous. In addition to perfectivity, verbal prefixes often simultaneously express
other, e.g., spatial (incl. spatial oppositions), quantitative, temporal and aspectual
meanings (among others, Soida 2009: 219–261; see Section 2.5.8). Some prefix
meanings can only be realized in specific contexts; furthermore, prefix meanings
characteristically depend on the semantics of the base verb to which they attach (e.g.,
verbs of motion, state, telic / atelic verbs, etc.).
The meanings of each prefix in Table 2.66 are organized into three basic
blocks (spatial, quantitative, temporal / aspectual) with the most common meaning
variations being listed for each block. Prefix meanings falling outside of the  basic
blocks are not discussed in this grammar; notably, verbal prefixes may have highly
individualized meanings depending on the meaning of the base verb (see, e.g., Soida
2009: 257–259). All examples include a prefixless verb, either primary or derived by
suffixation, and a corresponding prefixed verb. Verbs lacking prefixless or prefixed
correlates as well as pairs of prefixless and prefixed verbs with different lexical
meanings (i.e., lexicalized prefixed verbs) are not analyzed.
The negative ne-, which negates actions, processes, and states, is not included
in the description of verb formation, since it typically applies on the sentence rather
than on the word level (see also 3.2.3).

307
Base word – Word-
Derivational
derivative formation Examples
meaning
word class means
V–V aiz- spatial meanings kris-t ‘to fall’ – aiz-kris-t ‘to fall and land behind
1) direction: another object’
‘away’ ie-t ‘to go’ – aiz-ie-t ‘to go away, to go to a destination’
skrie-t ‘to run’ – aiz-skrie-t ‘to run away, to run to
a destination’
peld-ē-t ‘to swim’ – aiz-peld-ē-t ‘to swim away, to swim
to a destination’
2) ‘in front of; bir-t ‘to drop, to run, to fall (of substances)’ – aiz-bir-t
up (so as to be ‘to get filled up (with sand, etc.)’
closed)’ lik-t ‘to put’ – aiz-lik-t ‘to put in front of, to put behind’
sie-t ‘to tie’ – aiz-sie-t ‘to tie up, to fasten’
slēg-t ‘to shut, to lock’ – aiz-slēg-t ‘to lock up’
quantitative kur-t ‘to stoke’ – aiz-kur-t ‘to make a fire’
meanings deg-t ‘to burn’ – aiz-deg-t ‘to light, to kindle’
1) inchoative smēķ-ē-t ‘to smoke’ – aiz-smēķ-ē-t ‘to light up (a
cigarette)’
(inceptive) verbs
2) incomplete lauz-t ‘to break’ – aiz-lauz-t ‘to break without
actions, actions a complete separation of the parts’
kos-t ‘to bite’ – aiz-kos-t ‘to take a bite of (an apple,
performed in part
etc.)’
plēs-t ‘to tear’ – aiz-plēs-t ‘to tear without a complete
separation of the parts’
3) actions carried mig-t ‘to be in the process of falling asleep’– aiz-mig-t
out in full ‘to fall asleep’
krau-t ‘to load, to pile up’ – aiz-krau-t ‘to block up with
smth.’
pild-ī-t ‘to fill’ – aiz-pild-ī-t ‘to fill up’
ap- spatial meanings brauk-t ‘to go (in a vehicle), to drive’ – ap-brauk-t ‘to
direction: ‘around, go (in a vehicle), to drive around smth., to bypass’
round’ skrie-t ‘to run’ – ap-skrie-t ‘to run around smth.’
pļau-t ‘to mow’ – ap-pļau-t ‘to mow around smth.’
quantitative žū-t ‘to dry’ – ap-žū-t ‘to dry up a little bit’
meanings deg-t ‘to burn’ – ap-deg-t ‘to become burnt, scorched
1) incomplete on the surface’
pū-t ‘to rot’ – ap-pū-t ‘to become slightly rotten, to
actions, actions
begin to rot’
performed in part
2) actions carried ģērb-t ‘to dress’ – ap-ģērb-t (PFV)
bir-t ‘to drop, to run, to fall (of substances)’ – ap-bir-t
out in full
‘to get covered, to get buried’
au-t ‘to put on one’s shoes’ – ap-au-t (PFV)
at- spatial meanings nāk-t ‘to come’ – at-nāk-t ‘to come here, to arrive, to
1) direction: come back’
inbound, ‘here, brauk-t ‘to go (in a vehicle), to drive’ – at-brauk-t ‘to
arrive, to come back (in a vehicle)’
back’
nes-t ‘to carry’ – at-nes-t ‘to bring, to fetch’
2) ‘off, away’ ņem-t ‘to take’ – at-ņem-t ‘to take away’
plīs-t ‘to tear (no object)’ – at-plīs-t ‘to be torn off’
baid-ī-t ‘to scare’ – at-baid-ī-t ‘to scare away’
3) ‘up (so as to be vēr-t ‘to open / close’ – at-vēr-t ‘to open’
open)’ pog-ā-t ‘to button’ – at-pog-ā-t ‘to unbutton’
tais-ī-t ‘to make’ – at-tais-ī-t ‘to open’

308
Base word – Word-
Derivational
derivative formation Examples
meaning
word class means
V–V at- quantitative skan-ē-t ‘to sound, to be heard’ –
meanings at-skan-ē-t ‘to resound, to ring out, to echo’
1) inchoative spīd-ē-t ‘to shine’ – at-spīd-ē-t ‘to begin to shine, to be
reflected’
(inceptive) verbs

2) incomplete ģērb-t ‘to dress’ – at-ģērb-t ‘to take off (a coat, etc.)’
actions, actions lie-t ‘to pour (of liquids)’ – at-lie-t ‘to pour off’
performed in part ir-t ‘to fray’ – at-ir-t ‘to become unravelled’
pa-lik-t ‘to remain’ – at-pa-lik-t ‘to fall behind’
3) actions carried dzis-t ‘to fade, to go out’ – at-dzis-t ‘to cool, to become
out in full cold’
min-ē-t ‘to guess’ – at-min-ē-t ‘to solve, to figure out, to
remember’
mod-inā-t ‘to wake, to rouse’ –
at-mod-inā-t ‘to wake up’
ie- spatial meanings ie-t ‘to go’ – ie-ie-t ‘to go in’
direction: ‘in, into’ nāk-t ‘to come’ – ie-nāk-t ‘to come in’
kris-t ‘to fall’ – ie-kris-t ‘to fall in, to fall into’
kāp-t ‘to step, to climb’ – ie-kāp-t ‘to get into, to step
into’
quantitative kur-t ‘to stoke’ – ie-kur-t ‘to make a fire, to cause to
meanings start burning’
1) inchoative deg-t ‘to burn’ – ie-deg-t ‘to light, to kindle, to switch
on’
(inceptive) verbs
šūp-o-t ‘to swing’ – ie-šūp-o-t ‘to cause to swing’
līksm-o-t ‘to feel joy, to rejoice’ –
ie-līksm-o-t ‘to make glad, to make happy’
2) incomplete skāb-t ‘to turn sour’ – ie-skāb-t ‘to start to turn sour, to
actions, actions turn slightly sour’
performed in part pel-ē-t ‘to grow moldy’ – ie-pel-ē-t ‘to start to grow
moldy, to grow slightly moldy’
boj-ā-t ‘to spoil’ – ie-boj-ā-t ‘to spoil a little bit’
3) actions carried do-t ‘to give’ – ie-do-t (PFV)
out in full gū-t ‘to get, to gain’ – ie-gū-t ‘to acquire, to obtain’
māc-ī-t ‘to teach’ – ie-māc-ī-t (PFV)
iz- spatial meanings skrie-t ‘to run’ – iz-skrie-t ‘to run out’
1) direction: ‘out’ ie-t ‘to go’ – iz-ie-t ‘to go out’
brauk-t ‘to go (in a vehicle), to drive’ – iz-brauk-t ‘to
drive out, to depart’
svies-t ‘to toss’ – iz-svies-t ‘to toss out’

2) direction: ‘in klīs-t ‘to wander’ – iz-klīs-t ‘to wander in different

directions, to disperse’
all directions,
kais-ī-t ‘to strew, to scatter’ –
every which way’ iz-kais-ī-t ‘to strew, to scatter over a wide area’
sē-t ‘to sow’ – iz-sē-t ‘to sow out’
3) direction: lauz-t ‘to break’ – iz-lauz-t ‘to break through, to make
‘through’ a hole in’
sil-t ‘to get warm’ – iz-sil-t ‘to get thoroughly warm’
rūs-ē-t ‘to rust’ – iz-rūs-ē-t ‘to rust through’

309
Base word – Word-
Derivational
derivative formation Examples
meaning
word class means
V–V iz- quantitative beig-t ‘to stop’ – iz-beig-t ‘to bring to an end, to
meanings terminate’
actions carried dil-t ‘to wear out’ – iz-dil-t ‘to become worn out’
audz-inā-t ‘to raise, to bring up’ –
out in full
iz-audz-inā-t (PFV)
med-ī-t ‘to hunt’ – iz-med-ī-t ‘to hunt to extinction’
temporal and slim-o-t ‘to be ill’ – iz-slim-o-t ‘to have had (a certain
aspectual illness)’
meanings mit-inā-t ‘to give shelter, to give board and lodging’ –
iz-mit-inā-t ‘to give shelter, to give board and lodging
prolonged actions
for a certain time’
ēd-inā-t ‘to feed’ – iz-ēd-inā-t ‘to feed all of smth. to
smb.’
no- spatial meanings kāp-t ‘to step, to climb’ – no-kāp-t ‘to descend, to
1) direction: come down’
‘down’ kris-t ‘to fall’ – no-kris-t ‘to fall down’
nāk-t ‘to come’ – no-nāk-t ‘to come down’
2) ‘off’ griez-t ‘to cut’ – no-griez-t ‘to cut off’
vilk-t ‘to pull’ – no-vilk-t ‘to pull off, to take off’
pūs-t ‘to blow’ – no-pūs-t ‘to blow off’
quantitative pras-t ‘to know how, to be able’ –
meanings no-pras-t ‘to perceive, to guess’
1) incomplete gaid-ī-t ‘to wait’ – no-gaid-ī-t ‘to wait until certain
conditions are met’
actions, actions
smīn-ē-t ‘to grin, to sneer’ –
performed in part no smīn-ē-t ‘to give a quick grin’
sal-t ‘to be cold’ – no-sal-t ‘to get chilled to the bone,
2) actions carried
to freeze, to freeze to death’
out in full grim-t ‘to sink, to go under’ – no-grim-t (PFV)
bals-o-t ‘to vote’ – no-bals-o-t (PFV)
dzied-ā-t ‘to sing’ – no-dzied-ā-t ‘to sing (a song, etc.
in full)’
temporal and dreb-ē-t ‘to shiver’ – no-dreb-ē-t ‘to give a shiver’
aspectual čukst-ē-t ‘to whisper’ – no-čukst-ē-t ‘to whisper smth.
meanings briefly’
grab-ē-t ‘to rattle’ – no-grab-ē-t ‘to produce a sudden
1) sudden and
and brief rattling sound’
brief actions
2) prolonged liet-o-t ‘to use’ – no-liet-o-t ‘to wear out’
peld-ē-t ‘to swim’ – no-peld-ē-t ‘to swim for some time
actions
or to swim a certain distance’
valk-ā-t ‘to wear’ – no-valk-ā-t ‘to wear out’
pa- spatial meanings ie-t ‘to go’ – pa-ie-t ‘to pass under (a bridge, etc.)’
1) direction: kris-t ‘to fall’ – pa-kris-t ‘to fall under, to get run over
‘under, below’ by’
brauk-t ‘to go (in a vehicle), to drive’ – pa-brauk-t ‘to
drive under’
lid-o-t ‘to fly’ – pa-lid-o-t ‘to fly under’
2) ‘open’ lais-t ‘to let, to release’ – pa-lais-t ‘to let loose, to set
free’
sis-t ‘to hit’ – pa-sis-t ‘to throw open’
rau-t ‘to pull’ – pa-rau-t ‘to pull open’

310
Base word – Word-
Derivational
derivative formation Examples
meaning
word class means
V–V pa- 3) ‘away, aside’ lēk-t ‘to jump, to leap’ – pa-lēk-t ‘to jump aside, to
leap aside’
muk-t ‘to bolt’ – pa-muk-t ‘to bolt away’
sper-t ‘to kick’ – pa-sper-t ‘to kick aside’
quantitative aug-t ‘to grow’ – pa-aug-t ‘to grow a little bit’
meanings ceļ-o-t ‘to travel’ – pa-ceļ-o-t ‘to travel a little bit’
1) incomplete vār-ī-t ‘to boil’ – pa-vār-ī-t ‘to boil a little bit’
tīr-ī-t ‘to cleanse’ – pa-tīr-ī-t ‘to cleanse a little bit’
actions, actions
performed in part
2) actions carried ēs-t ‘to eat’ – pa-ēs-t (PFV)
out in full bar-o-t ‘to feed’ – pa-bar-o-t (PFV)
zus-t ‘to disappear’ – pa-zus-t (PFV)
darī-t ‘to do’ – pa-dar-ī-t (PFV)
temporal and spīd-ē-t ‘to shine’ – pa-spīd-ē-t ‘to shine briefly or
aspectual suddenly’
meanings zib-ē-t ‘to flash’ – pa-zib-ē-t ‘to flash suddenly’
mirdz-ē-t ‘to twinkle’ – pa-mirdz-ē-t ‘to twinkle briefly’
sudden and brief
actions
pār- spatial meanings kāp-t ‘to step, to climb’ – pār-kāp-t ‘to step over’
1) direction: skrie-t ‘to run’ – pār-skrie-t ‘tu run across’
‘across, over’ nes-t ‘to carry’ – pār-nes-t ‘to carry across, to carry
over’
lid-o-t ‘to fly’ – pār-lid-o-t ‘to fly over’
2) ‘somewhere bēr-t ‘to pour (of dry substances)’ – pār-bēr-t ‘to pour
else’ from one container into another’
bēg-t ‘to flee’ – pār-bēg-t ‘to flee to’
krau-t ‘to load’ – pār-krau-t ‘to transfer cargo to
another vehicle, place, etc.’
stād-ī-t ‘to plant’ – pār-stād-ī-t ‘to replant’
3) direction: nāk-t ‘to come’ – pār-nāk-t ‘to come back’
‘back’ brauk-t ‘to go (in a vehicle), to drive’ – pār-brauk-t ‘to
return’
quantitative tulk-o-t ‘to translate’ – pār-tulk-o-t (PFV)
meanings cies-t ‘to suffer’ – pār-cies-t ‘to have been through
1) actions carried smth., to have had (an illness, operation, etc.)’
zied-ē-t ‘to blossom’ – pār-zied-ē-t ‘to cease blossoming’
out in full
2) actions done to bar-o-t ‘to feed’ – pār-bar-o-t ‘to overfeed’
excess sāl-ī-t ‘to season with salt’ –
pār-sāl-ī-t ‘to oversalt’
tēr-ē-t ‘to spend’ – pār-tēr-ē-t ‘to overspend’
temporal and las-ī-t ‘to read’ – pār-las-ī-t ‘to read over, to reread’
aspectual dom-ā-t ‘to think’ – pār-dom-ā-t ‘to think over’
meanings skat-ī-t ‘to view, to consider’ – pār-skat-ī-t ‘to go over
again, to revise, to reconsider’
prolonged actions
pie- spatial meanings ie-t ‘to go, to walk’ – pie-ie-t ‘to walk up to smb., to
1) direction: ‘up approach’
(so as to be near), nāk-t ‘to come’ – pie-nāk-t ‘to come up to smb.’
nes-t ‘to carry’ – pie-nes-t ‘to bring to smb.’
towards’
lik-t ‘to put’ – pie-lik-t ‘to add, attach smth. to smth.’

311
Base word – Word-
Derivational
derivative formation Examples
meaning
word class means
V–V pie- 2) ‘to add, to audz-ē-t ‘to grow (with an object) – pie-audz-ē-t ‘to
supplement’ extend (hair, etc.)’
dzer-t ‘to drink’ – pie-dzer-t ‘to accompany food with
a drink, to wash down’
ēs-t ‘to eat’ – pie-ēs-t ‘to accompany food with smth.
extra to eat’
quantitative lab-o-t ‘to correct, to repair’ –
meanings pie-lab-o-t ‘to make small / quick repairs’
1) incomplete taupī-t ‘to save, to spare’ –
pie-taup-ī-t ‘to reserve’
actions, actions
seg-t ‘to cover’ – pie-seg-t ‘to cover partly, to cover
performed in part only on a particular occasion’
2) actions carried
dzim-t ‘to be born’ – pie-dzim-t (PFV)
out in full
ēd-inā-t ‘to feed’ – pie-ēd-inā-t ‘to feed until one is full’
raž-o-t ‘to manufacture’ – pie-raž-o-t ‘to manufacture
as much as needed or more’
temporal and dom-ā-t ‘to think’ – pie-dom-ā-t ‘to think over, to think
aspectual out’
meanings aug-t ‘to grow (no object) – pie-aug-t ‘to be growing up’
prolonged actions
sa- spatial meanings lik-t ‘to put’ – sa-lik-t ‘to put together’
1) direction: mes-t ‘to throw’ – sa-mes-t ‘to throw together, to throw
‘together’ in one heap, etc.’
šū-t ‘to sew’ – sa-šū-t ‘to stitch up’
2) direction: ‘in,
into’ ie-t ‘to go’ – sa-ie-t ‘to go in, to fit in, to have room’
kris-t ‘to fall’ – sa-kris-t ‘to fall into, to pile up’
put-inā-t ‘to be blown about by the wind (typically of
dust, snow)’ –
sa-put-inā-t ‘to drift, to be blown into heaps by
the wind’
quantitative skum-t ‘to be sad’ – sa-skum-t ‘to become sad’
meanings sirg-t ‘to ail, to be ill’ – sa-sirg-t ‘to be taken ill’
1) inchoative strut-o-t ‘to fester’ – sa-strut-o-t ‘to begin to fester’
(inceptive) verbs
2) actions carried deg-t ‘to burn’ – sa-deg-t ‘to burn down (no object)’
out in full lī-t ‘to rain’ – sa-lī-t (PFV)
ciet-ē-t ‘to solidify’ – sa-ciet-ē-t (PFV)

temporal and krā-t ‘to put aside, to save’ – sa-krā-t ‘to save up, to
aspectual accumulate’
meanings glab-ā-t ‘to keep, to store’ – sa-glab-ā-t ‘to preserve, to
retain’
prolonged actions
sēņ-o-t ‘to gather mushrooms’ –
sa-sēņ-o-t ‘to gather a certain amount of mushrooms’
uz- spatial meanings kāp-t ‘to step, to climb’ – uz-kāp-t ‘to climb up, to
direction: ‘on, ascend; to step on, to tread on; to board (a ship)’
above, up’ mes-t ‘to throw’ – uz-mes-t ‘to throw onto’
brauk-t ‘to go (in a vehicle), to drive’ – uz-brauk-t ‘to
go up, to drive up’
ie-t ‘to go, to walk’ – uz-ie-t ‘to go up, to walk up’

312
Base word – Word-
Derivational
derivative formation Examples
meaning
word class means
V–V uz- quantitative zied-ē-t ‘to blossom’ – uz-zied-ē-t ‘to begin to
meanings blossom’
1) inchoative gavil-ē-t ‘to rejoice, to feel or show great joy’ –
uz-gavil-ē-t ‘to cheer, to hail’
(inceptive) verbs
liesm-o-t ‘to be in flames’ –
uz-liesm-o-t ‘to burst into flame, to flare up’
2) incomplete
actions, actions gaid-ī-t ‘to wait’ – uz-gaid-ī-t ‘to wait for a short
performed in part while’
kos-t ‘to bite’ – uz-kos-t ‘to have a snack, to have
a bite’
3) actions carried
spēl-ē-t ‘to play’ – uz-spēl-ē-t ‘to play for a short
out in full while’
cel-t ‘to build’ – uz-cel-t (PFV)
cep-t ‘to bake’ – uz-cep-t (PFV)
plauk-t ‘to blossom, to bloom’ – uz-plauk-t (PFV)
temporal and run-ā-t ‘to speak’ – uz-run-ā-t ‘to speak to, to
aspectual address’
meanings lūk-o-t ‘to look, to check’ – uz-lūk-o-t ‘to direct a look
at’
1) sudden and
elp-o-t ‘to breathe’ – uz-elp-o-t ‘to be able to
brief actions breathe again, to take a breath’
2) prolonged
bar-o-t ‘to feed’ – uz-bar-o-t ‘to fatten’
actions
krā-t ‘to put aside, to save’ – uz-krā-t ‘to save up, to
accumulate’
glab-ā-t ‘to keep, to store’ –
uz-glab-ā-t ‘to store for a certain period of time’

Table 2.66 Main verb formation types: prefixation

Combined, i.e., circumfixal, derivatives

Meanings related to the  quantitative aspect of actions can also be expressed by
means of circumfixes – prefix+postfix combinations where the postfix is the reflexive
formative -s. Circumfixes of this type can attach both to primary verb stems and
to secondary verb stems derived by suffixation (see the  V-V word-formation type
below). The reflexive formative -s in the examples below is shown as part of the INF
ending, i.e., -­ ties.
Verbal circumfixes consisting of a  prefix and the  formative -s are associated
with the following meanings (see also Section 2.5.7):
1) sudden, unexpected, and brief actions;
2) actions done to a great extent, a great deal;
3) actions done to excess
The last two cases may additionally involve modality, as excessive actions are not
always viewed positively.
Circumfixes consisting of a prefix and a suffix are used for forming verbs from
nouns (N-V) and adjectives (ADJ-V).

313
Base word – Word- Derivational meaning Examples
derivative formation
word class means
V–V aiz- + -s brief, sudden, svil-t ‘to burn superficially or lightly’ –
unexpected, also aiz-svil-ties ‘to catch fire’
inchoative actions
actions done to a great dom-ā-t ‘to think’ –
extent, also for too aiz-dom-ā-ties ‘to be deep in thought, to be
long lost in thought’
gul-ē-t ‘to sleep’ – aiz-gul-ē-ties ‘to oversleep’
sēd-ē-t ‘to sit’ – aiz-sēd-ē-ties ‘to sit for too
long, to overstay’
sapņ-o-t ‘to dream’ –
aiz-sapņ-o-ties ‘to be lost in dreams, to
daydream’
at- + -s actions done to a great ēs-t ‘to eat’ – at-ēs-ties ‘to eat one’s fill’
extent, also until one is dzer-t ‘to drink’ – at-dzer-ties ‘to drink one’s
tired of them fill, to quench one’s thirst’
gul-ē-t ‘to sleep’ – at-gul-ē-ties ‘to sleep as
much as one wishes’
sēd-ē-t ‘to sit’ – at-sēd-ē-ties ‘to sit a lot, also
for a long time’
ie- + -s brief, sudden, klieg-t ‘to scream’ – ie-klieg-ties ‘to cry out’
unexpected, also klep-o-t ‘to cough’ – ie-klep-o-ties ‘to cough
inchoative actions (a little, once or twice)’
rie-t ‘to bark’ – ie-rie-ties ‘to begin to bark’
sāp-ē-t ‘to ache’ – ie-sāp-ē-ties ‘to ache
suddenly and briefly’
niez-ē-t ‘to itch’ – ie-niez-ē-ties ‘to begin to
itch’
mirdz-ē-t ‘to twinkle’ –
ie-mirdz-ē-ties ‘to begin to twinkle, also for
a brief moment’
iz- + -s actions done to a very ceļ-o-t ‘to travel’ – iz-ceļ-o-ties ‘to travel a lot
great extent, also to and for a long time’
one’s limits brauk-t ‘to go (in a vehicle), to drive’ –
iz-brauk-ties ‘to move about a lot, to drive
a lot’
skrie-t ‘to run’ – iz-skrie-ties ‘to run to one’s
heart’s content’
klep-o-t ‘to cough’ – iz-klep-o-ties ‘to cough it
out’
dej-o-t ‘to dance’ – iz-dej-o-ties ‘to dance to
one’s heart’s content’
smēķ-ē-t ‘to smoke’ – iz-smēķ-ē-ties ‘to smoke
to one’s heart’s content’
no- + -s actions done to a great brēk-t ‘to cry’ – no-brēk-ties ‘to cry oneself
extent, also until one is hoarse’
tired of them bris-t ‘to wade’ – no-bris-ties ‘to wade for
a long time, until tired’
staig-ā-t ‘to walk’ –
no-staig-ā-ties ‘to walk a lot until tired’
raud-ā-t ‘to weep’ –
no-raud-ā-ties ‘to weep intensely, over
a certain period of time’

314
Base word – Word- Derivational meaning Examples
derivative formation
word class means
V–V pie- + -s actions done to a great ēs-t ‘to eat’ – pie-ēs-ties ‘to eat one’s fill’
extent dzer-t ‘to drink’ – pie-dzer-ties ‘to get drunk’
smel-t ‘to draw (water)’ – pie-smel-ties ‘to
draw (water) until filled’
zag-t ‘to steal’ – pie-zag-ties ‘to steal a lot,
a quantity of smth.’
pār- + -s actions done to excess ēs-t ‘to eat’ – pār-ēs-ties ‘to overeat’
dzer-t ‘to drink’ – pār-dzer-ties ‘to drink too
much’
gaidī-t ‘to wait’ –
pār-gaid-ī-ties ‘to be tired of waiting’
strād-ā-t ‘to work’  –
pār-strād-ā-ties ‘to work too hard, too much’
gul-ē-t ‘to sleep’ – pār-gul-ē-ties ‘to sleep too
much, for too long’
sa- + -s actions done to a great elp-o-t ‘to breathe’ – sa-elp-o-ties ‘to
extent breathe in, to inhale a significant quantity
of smth.’
dom-ā-t ‘to think’ –
sa-dom-ā-ties ‘to think carefully, for a long
time, to be lost in thoughts’
las-ī-t ‘to read’ – sa-las-ī-ties ‘to read a lot
about smth.’
smēķ-ē-t ‘to smoke’ –
sa-smēķ-ē-ties ‘to smoke a lot so as to reach
a certain physical state’
N–V ap- + acquiring or causing balv-a ‘award, prize’ – ap-balv-o-t ‘to award’
-o-t / -ties to acquire the thing mež-s ‘forest’ – ap-mež-o-t ‘to afforest, to
denoted by the base cover with forest’
laim-e ‘happiness’ – ap-laim-o-t ‘to make very
word
happy’
led-us ‘ice’ – ap-led-o-t ‘to become covered
with ice’
siev-a ‘wife’ – ap-siev-o-ties ‘to take a wife’
bērn-s ‘child’ – ap-bērn-oties ‘to have a child’
pār- + becoming the thing purv-s ‘bog, swamp’ –
-o-ties; denoted by the base pār-purv-o-ties ‘to become boggy, to turn into
attaches to word swamp’
akmen-s ‘stone’ –
the GEN
pār-akmeņ-oties ‘to petrify, to fossilize’
PL stem of kaul-s ‘bone’ – pārkaul-o-ties ‘to ossify’
nouns ogl-e ‘coal’ – pār-ogļ-o-ties ‘to get charred, to
turn into coal’
cukur-s ‘sugar’ –
pār-cukur-o-ties ‘to become candied, to form
sugar crystals’
ADJ–V ap- + causing to acquire grūt-s ‘difficult’ –
-inā-t / -o-t the attribute denoted ap-grūt-inā-t ‘to inconvenience, to trouble, to
by the base word make smth. difficult’
stulb-s ‘stupid’ – ap-stulb-inā-t, ap-stulb-o-t ‘to
stupefy’
tumš-s ‘dark’ – ap-tumš-o-t ‘to darken, to
cloud’

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Base word – Word- Derivational meaning Examples
derivative formation
word class means
ADJ–V at- + restoring or enhancing jaun-s ‘new’ – at-jaun-inā-t ‘to update’,
-inā-t / -o-t the attribute denoted at-jaun-o-t ‘to restore, to renew’
by the base word sveš-s ‘strange, alien’ – at-sveš-inā-t ‘to
estrange, to alienate’
tāl-s ‘distant’ – at-tāl-inā-t ‘to remove, to
move away from’
viegl-s ‘easy, light’ – at-viegl-inā-t ‘to make easier’
no- + causing to acquire gatav-s ‘ready, ripe’ –
-inā-t / -o-t the attribute denoted no-gatav-inā-t ‘to ripen’
by the base word trul-s ‘dull, blunt’ – no-trul-inā-t ‘to dull, to
blunt’
meln-s ‘black’ – no-meln-o-t ‘to become black,
to denigrate’
pa- + enhancing, increasing ātr-s ‘fast, speedy’ – pa-ātr-inā-t ‘to speed up’
-inā-t the attribute denoted augst-s ‘high’ –
by the base word pa-augst-inā-t ‘to raise, to increase’
ilg-s ‘long’ – pa-ildz-inā-t ‘to prolong’
slikt-s ‘bad’ – pa-slikt-inā-t ‘to worsen’
sa- + causing to acquire raib-s ‘mottled, speckled’ –
-inā-t/ -o-t the attribute denoted sa-raib-inā-t ‘to mottle’
by the base word to šaur-s ‘narrow’ – sa-šaur-inā-t ‘to narrow, to
narrow down’
the highest degree
rūgt-s ‘bitter’ – sa-rūgt-inā-t ‘to upset’
nikn-s ‘furious, enraged’ – sa-nikn-o-t ‘to
infuriate, to enrage’

Table 2.67 Main verb formation types: circumfixation

2.6 ADVERBS
2.6.0 Introductory remarks
The adverb is a word class which consists of indeclinable words used to characterize
actions, properties, circumstances, and, less frequently, objects. In sentences, adverbs
function as adverbial modifiers (usually, those of place, time, measure, manner, cause,
and purpose) (Skujiņa 2007: 40), typically attaching to verbs (2.6.1a), adjectives
(2.6.1b) other adverbs (2.6.1c), and, occasionally, nouns (2.6.1d-e), pronouns (2.6.1f),
and numerals (2.6.1g):
(2.6.1) a. ēst lēni ‘to eat slowly’
b. ārkārtīgi skaists ‘extraordinarily beautiful’
c. ļoti ātri ‘very quickly’
d. blakus stāvētājs ‘a bystander’
e. papildu atvaļinājums ‘additional vacation’
f. gluži cits ‘quite different’
g. aptuveni simts ‘approximately a hundred’

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Moreover, adverbs can be used to introduce sentences, in which case they apply to, or
characterize, the entire content of such sentences (see also 3.2.10), e.g.:
(2.6.2) expressing time
a. Tūlīt atbrauks daži
in_a_moment come.fut.3 some.nom.pl.m
mani draugi.
my.nom.pl.m friend.nom.pl.m
‘Some friends of mine will be here in a moment.’ (C)
b. Šodien gaidāms stiprs lietus.
today expect.ptcp.nom.m heavy.nom.m rain.nom.m
‘Heavy rain is expected today.’ (www.apollo.lv)
(2.6.3) expressing place
a. Vietām upe ir seklāka
in_places river.nom.f be.cop.prs.3 shallow.cmp.nom.f
par metru.
than meter.acc.m
‘In some spots, the river is less than a meter deep.’ (C)
b. Ārā iedziedas gailis.
outside begin_singing.prs.3 rooster.nom.m
‘A rooster starts crowing outside.’ (C)
The adverbs kad ‘when’, kur ‘where’, kurp ‘where to’, kā ‘how’, cik ‘how much’, kāpēc,
kādēļ, kālab ‘why, for what reason, what for’ are used to introduce interrogative
sentences, asking questions about time (2.6.4), place (2.6.5), manner (2.6.6), cause
(2.6.7), and quantity (2.6.8):
(2.6.4) Kad tev jābūt pilsētā?
when you.dat.sg deb.be city.loc.f
‘When do you need to be in the city?’ (C)
(2.6.5) a. Kur izeja?
where exit.nom.f
‘Where is the exit?’ (C)
c. Kurp mēs braucam?
where_to we.nom go.prs.1pl
‘Where are we going to?’ (C)
(2.6.6) Kā pareizi kopt zemenes?
how properly care.inf strawberry.acc.pl.f
‘How to properly care for strawberries?’ (www.draugiem.lv)
(2.6.7) a. Kāpēc tūjas dzeltē?
why thuja.nom.pl.f yellow.prs.3
‘What causes thujas to turn yellow?’ (Latvijas Avīze)
b. Kādēļ sevi ir tik grūti mīlēt?
why oneself.acc be.cop.prs.3 so difficult love.inf
‘Why is it so difficult to love oneself?’ (www.tvnet.lv)

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 Kālab vajadzīga
d. lidosta?
why necessary.nom.f airport.nom.f
‘Why is an airport necessary?’ (C)
(2.6.8) Cik ilgi jūs strādājat par
how long you.nom.pl work.prs.2pl as
pārdevēju?
shop_assistant.acc
‘How long have you been working as a shop assistant?’ (C)
All the above adverbs can also function as subordinating conjunctions introducing
subordinate clauses (for details on conjunctions and conjunction words see Sections
2.6 and 3.5.2):
(2.6.9) Kad esi atbildīgas izvēles
when be.cop.prs.2sg responsible.gen.f choice.gen.f
priekšā,
front.loc.f
jāpaskatās uz savām iespējām no malas.
‘When you’re facing a difficult choice, you have to take a look at your
options from the side.’ (Diena)
(2.6.10) a. Kartē apkopotas ēdināšanas iestādes Rīgā,
kur var paēst vegānu pusdienas.
where be_able.prs.3 eat.inf vegan.gen.pl.m dinner.acc.pl.f
‘The map shows restaurants in Rīga where one can have a vegan dinner.’
(CW)
b. Karte ar dabas taku aprakstiem palīdzēs izlemt,
kurp doties brīvdienās.
where_to go.inf holidays.loc.pl.f
‘A map with descriptions of nature trails will help [you] decide where
to go on the weekend.’ (www.delfi.lv)
(2.6.11) Es zinu, kā ir, kad
I.nom know.prs.1sg how be.prs.3 when
nezini, ko gribi.
not_know.prs.2sg what.acc want.prs.2sg
‘I know what it’s like when you don’t know what you want.’ (Ir)
(2.6.12) a. Tūristi nesaprot,
kāpēc jāmaksā par ieeju dabas
why deb.pay for enter.acc.f nature.gen.f
parkā.
park.loc.m
‘Tourists do not understand why they have to pay to enter a nature
park.’ (www.tvnet.lv)

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 b. Ministrija pieprasa skaidrot,
kādēļ uz sacensībām trenera vietā
why to competition.dat.pl.f trainer.gen.m place.loc.f
devies sporta federācijas prezidents.
go.ptcp.pst.m sports.gen.m federation.gen.f president.nom.m
‘The ministry demands an explanation as to why the president of
the sports federation went to the competition instead of the trainer.’
(Diena)
c. Gribu zināt, kālab nepiegādā
want.prs.1sg know.inf why not_deliver.prs.3
[pasūtīto] avīzi.
[subscribed] newspaper.acc.f
‘I want to know why the newspaper [I have subscribed to] isn’t being
delivered.’ (Latvijas Avīze)
Structurally, it is possible to distinguish between three kinds of adverbs:
1) one-word adverbs
(2.6.14) te ‘here’, tur ‘there’, tad ‘then’, iekšā ‘inside’, braukšus ‘riding, driving as
opposed to ‘on foot’’, kopā ‘together’, nekur ‘nowhere’, nedaudz ‘a little’,
retumis ‘occasionally’, tagad ‘now’
2) compound adverbs
(2.6.15) šovakar ‘this evening’, nākamvasar ‘next summer’, toreiz ‘then’
3) word combinations (of two words)
(2.6.16) šur tur ‘here and there’, kaut kad ‘at some point in time’, vienis prātis
‘of the same opinion’, galu galā ‘eventually’, pa labi ‘right’

2.6.1 Semantic groups

Based on their semantics adverbs can be classified into (Paegle 2003: 162–179):
1) adverbs of time – kad ‘when’, tad ‘then’, nekad ‘never’, kaut kad ‘at some
point in time’, šad tad ‘now and then’, tagad ‘now’, tikko ‘just’, vēlāk ‘later’,
rīt ‘tomorrow’, vakar ‘yesterday’, šodien ‘today’, šogad ‘this year’, nākamnedēļ
‘next week’, pirmdien ‘on Monday’, etc.
(2.6.17) a. Tagad nenožēloju toreizējo lēmumu.
now not_regret.prs.1sg of_that_time.acc.m decision.acc.m
‘At this moment in time I don’t regret the decision I made then.’ (C)
b. Varbūt piezvani vēlāk?
maybe call.prs.2sg later
‘Maybe you can call later?’ (C)
e. Šogad visu vasaru ir auksti.
this_year all.acc.f summer.acc.f be.cop.prs.3 cold
‘This year, it has been cold throughout the summer.’ (C)

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 2) adverbs of place – te ‘here’, še ‘here’, tur ‘there’, turp ‘to there’, kur ‘where’, kurp
‘where to’, šur ‘here’, šurp ‘to here’, nekur ‘nowhere’, kaut kur ‘somewhere’, šur
tur ‘here and there’, visur ‘everywhere’, ārā ‘outside’, iekšā ‘in, inside’, augšā
‘up’, lejā ‘down’, laukā ‘outside’, etc.
(2.6.18) a. Kas te notiek?
what.nom here happen.prs.3
‘What’s happening here?’ (C)
b. Fausts vienmēr, visur bija viens.
Faust.nom.m always everywhere be.cop.pst.3 alone.nom.m
‘Faust was always, everywhere alone.’ (C)
c. Emīls iziet laukā,
Emīls.nom.m go_out.prs.3 out
Balvis paliek sēžam.
‘Emīls goes out, Balvis remains seated.’ (C)
3) adverbs of manner – kā ‘how’, tā ‘like that’, šā ‘like this’, nekā ‘in no way’,
kaut kā ‘somehow’, šā tā ‘anyhow, somehow’, labi ‘well’, lēni ‘slowly’, skriešus
‘running, at a run’, lēkšiem ‘at a gallop’, aumaļām ‘in great amount, pouring’,
etc.
(2.6.19) a. No dokumentiem varēja secināt,
ka [viņš]
that [he]
skolu šā tā ir beidzis.
school.acc.f like_this like_that be.aux.prs.3 finish.ptcp.nom.m
‘It could be concluded from the documents that [he] got through school
somehow.’ (C)
b. Rītausma nāk lēni.
dawn.nom.f come.prs.3 slowly
‘The dawn breaks slowly.’ (C)
c. Viņam aumaļām tecēja asaras.
he.dat.m in_streams pour.pst.3 tear.nom.pl.f
‘Tears were streaming down his face.’ (C)
4) adverbs of measure – cik ‘how much’, tik ‘that much’, kaut cik ‘any, at all’,
necik ‘not very’, daudz ‘much’, maz ‘little’, mazliet ‘slightly’, nedaudz ‘a little’,
gana ‘enough’, pietiekami ‘sufficiently’, etc.
(2.6.20) a. Cik skaisti!
how beautiful
‘How beautiful!’ (C)
b. Patērētāji maz zina par savām
consumer.nom.pl.m little know.prs.3 about own.acc.pl.f
tiesībām.
right.acc.pl.f
‘Consumers know little about their rights.’ (C)

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 c. Kārlim rotaļlietu ir gana.
Kārlis.dat.m toy.gen.pl.f be.cop.prs.3 enough
‘Kārlis has enough toys.’ (www.mansmazais.lv)
5) adverbs of purpose and cause – kāpēc, kādēļ, kālab ‘why, for what reason,
what for’, tāpēc, tādēļ, tālab ‘for that reason, therefore, because’
(2.6.21) a. Kāpēc piekritāt kandidēt uz iestādes
why agree.pst.2pl run.inf for institution.gen.f
direktora amatu?
director.gen.m position.acc.m
‘Why did you agree to run for the position of the director of
the institution?’ (Ir)
b. U-18 basketbolistēm grūts un
U-18 basketball_player.dat.pl.f difficult.nom.m and
tāpēc lielisks panākums
therefore remarkable.nom.m achievement.nom.m
Eiropas čempionātā.
Europe.gen.f championship.loc.m
‘A difficult and therefore remarkable achievement for the U-18 basketball
players (F) at the European championship.’ (Latvijas Avīze)
c. Katram jāmācās paša dēļ,
everybody.dat.m deb.study self.gen.m because_of
nevis tālab, ka skolotājs to grib.
not for_that_reason that teacher.nom.m it.acc.m want.prs.3
‘One has to study for one’s own sake rather than because their teacher
wants them to.’ (C)
The above classification is, to an extent, arbitrary: some adverbs can express different
meanings depending on the context (for a detailed discussion see Paegle 2003: 159–
161). For example, the adverbs tūlīt, tūdaļ ‘in a moment, right away’ can carry time
(2.6.22a) as well as place (2.6.22b) semantics:
(2.6.22) a. Tūlīt sākas olimpiskās
shortly begin.prs.3 Olympic.nom.pl.f
spēles.
game.nom.pl.f
‘The Olympic games will start shortly.’ (Kas Jauns)
b. Debitanti basketbola līgas tabulā
newcomer.nom.pl.m basketball.gen.m league.gen.f table.loc.f
redzami tūlīt aiz trim
see.ptcp.nom.pl.m immediately behind three.dat
spēcīgākajām komandām.
strong.gen.comp.pl.f team.gen.pl.f
‘The newcomers immediately follow the three strongest teams on
the basketball league table.’ (Diena)

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Likewise, the adverb turpat ‘in the same place, right there’, for example, can express
place (2.6.23a) and measure (2.6.23b) meanings:
(2.6.23) a. Hokejistu apcietina turpat uz ledus.
hockey_player.acc.m arrest.prs.3 there on ice.gen.m
‘The hockey player is arrested right there on the ice.’
(Neatkarīgā Rīta Avīze)
b. Zemessardzes kājnieku bataljonā
National_Guard.gen.f infantry.gen.pl.m battalion.loc.m
dienē turpat pieci simti
serve.prs.3 almost five.nom.m hundred.nom.pl.m
cilvēku.
person.gen.pl.m
‘Almost five hundred persons serve in the National Guard infantry
battalion.’ (Diena)
Moreover, the adverbial meanings of manner and measure, manner and time, manner
and place are not always clearly distinguishable, i.e., it is perhaps best to view them
as being realized simultaneously. For example, the adverb of manner lēni ‘slowly’ in
example (2.6.24a) can also be interpreted as an adverb of measure, while the adverb
of time palaikam ‘from time to time’ (2.6.24b) and the adverb of place vietumis ‘here
and there’ (2.6.24c) can both be construed as adverbs of manner.
(2.6.24) a. Valstij ir lēni augoša, bet
country.dat.f be.cop.prs.3 slowly grow.ptcp.nom.f but
daudzsološa ekonomika.
promising.nom.f economy.nom.f
‘The country has a slowly growing but promising economy.’ (Ir)
b. Naktī visā valstī palaikam līs.
night.loc.f entire.loc.f country.loc.f occasionally rain.fut.3
‘Intermittent rain is expected tonight throughout the country.’
(www.apollo.lv)
c. Ostā vietumis redzami ledus
port.loc.f here_and_there see.ptcp.nom.pl.m ice.gen.m
sastrēgumi.
jam.nom.pl.m
‘Ice jams can be seen here and there in the port.’ (www.liepajniekiem.lv)

2.6.2 Comparison
Since adverbs are indeclinable they lack grammatical categories. Some adverbs of
adjectival origin (mostly derived from qualitative adjectives), however, are gradable
and can appear in the positive, comparative, and superlative degrees, which are formed
in the same way as adjectival degrees of comparison: using the suffix -āk- to form
the comparative degree and the prefix vis- to form the superlative degree; word-final
-i, -u, and -ām are not retained in the comparative and superlative forms:

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(2.6.25) a. maz – maz-āk – vis-maz-āk ‘little – less – least’
b. gudr-i – gudr-āk – vis-gudr-āk ‘cleverly – more cleverly – most cleverly’
c. tāl-u – tāl-āk – vis-tāl-āk ‘far – farther – farthest’
d. lēn-ām – lēn-āk – vis-lēn-āk ‘slowly – more slowly – most slowly’
(2.6.26) labi ‘well’
a. Jums labi padodas valodas?
you.dat.pl good come_easy.prs.3 language.nom.pl.f
‘Are you good at languages?’ (C)
b. Lauku sētā labāk
countryside.gen.pl.m farmstead.loc.f better
iederēsies peonijas.
fit_in.fut.3 peony.nom.pl.f
‘Peonies will be better suited for a farmstead.’ (C)
c. Tas [saldējums] viņiem garšo
that.nom.m [ice_cream] they.dat.m like.prs.3
vislabāk.
best
‘They like that [ice cream] the best.’ (C)
Forming the comparative and superlative degrees of the adverb daudz ‘much, a lot’
involves using a different root:
(2.6.27) daudz – vair-āk – vis-vair-āk ‘much – more – most’
a. Ar optimismu var ļoti daudz
with optimism.ins.m be_able.prs.3 very much
izdarīt.
accomplish.inf
‘Much can be accomplished with optimism.’ (C)
b. Šogad skolas gaitas sāks
this_year school.gen.f activity.nom.pl.f begin.fut.3
vairāk pirmklasnieku nekā pērn.
more first_form_pupils.gen.pl.m than last_year.
‘More first form pupils will begin their schooling this year than the year
before.’ (www.tvnet.lv)
c. “Ar sudrabu strādāju visvairāk, bet
with silver.ins.m work.prs.1sg most but
izmantoju arī zeltu,”
use.prs.1sg also gold.acc.m
stāsta [rotu] mākslinieks.
‘“I work with silver the most, but I also use gold”, the [jewelry] artist
says.’ (Kas Jauns)
As a rule, the comparative and superlative degrees of adverbs derived from relational
adjectives either do not occur at all or are rare, e.g., the adverb latviski ‘in Latvian,
in a Latvian manner’ in mass media texts:

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(2.6.28) a. Bet varbūt ir veids, kā to
but maybe be.prs.3 way.nom.m how it.acc.m
pateikt latvisk-āk, ne zinātniskā valodā?
say.inf Latvian-cmp not scientific.loc.f language.loc.f
‘But maybe there is a more Latvian way to say it rather than using
scientific language?’ (www.delfi.lv)
b. Domāju, tas ir
think.prs.1sg he.nom.m be.cop.prs.3
vis-latvisk-āk domājošais politiķis.
spl-pro_Latvian-cmp thinking.ptcp.nom.m politician.nom.m
‘I believe he is the most pro-Latvian thinking politician.’ (Diena)
Likewise, examples of gradable adverbs derived from compound adjectives are very
rare in language use, e.g., the comparative of the adverb melnbalti ‘in a black-and-
white manner’:
(2.6.29) a. Dramaturģe daudz melnbalt-āk iezīmējusi
playwright.nom.f much black_white-cmp outline.ptcp.nom.f
galvenās varones mazdēla raksturu.
main.gen.f heroine.gen.f grandson.gen.m character.acc.m
‘The playwright (F) outlines the character of the protagonist’s (F)
grandson in a much more black-and-white manner.’
(Latvijas Avīze)
b. Fotoattēls jāmēģina veidot bāl-āk
photo.nom.m deb.try produce.inf pale-cmp
vai melnbalt-āk.
or black_white-cmp
‘[You] should try to produce paler or more black-and-white photographs.’
(www.draugiem.lv)

2.6.3 Word formation

As a  word class, adverbs originate from words of other word classes through
conversion, i.e., adverbialization of isolated word forms or word combinations (for
more details see Soida 1969; Paegle 2003: 157–159; Vulāne 2013: 294–295). Adverbial
word formation in Latvian lacks systematicity in the sense that in many cases it is
closely linked with the specific historical backgrounds of certain kinds of lexemes
and changes in the syntactic functions of words of some word classes. Therefore, only
a few morphological and syntactic word formation types can be singled out.

Morphological word formation

Alongside conversion, Latvian has developed several morphological adverbial word
formation types. Suffixation, i.e., derivation of adverbs by means of the suffix -i (also,
-u, -ām) and the suffix -p, shows the greatest degree of generalization.

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Suffixation
ADJ–ADV
Derivation of adverbs by means of the suffix -i
1) Adverbs ending in -i can be derived from virtually any adjective regardless
of its internal morphological makeup (2.6.30), semantics, or stratum of
the vocabulary (2.6.31):
(2.6.30) a. from primary adjectives
viegl-s – viegl-i ‘easy – easily’
ērt-s – ērt-i ‘comfortable – comfortably’
b. from derived adjectives
zar-ain-s – zar-ain-i ‘branchy – in a branched manner
ie-zaļ-š – ie-zaļ-i ‘greenish – greenishly’
vēstur-isk-s – vēstur-isk-i ‘historical – historically’
c. from compound adjectives
zil-zaļ-š – zil-zaļ-i ‘blue-green – in a blue-green manner’
meln-balt-s – meln-balt-i ‘black-and-white – in a black-and-white manner’
(2.6.31) from borrowed adjectives
aktīv-s – aktīv-i ‘active – actively’
abstrakt-s – abstrakt-i ‘abstract – abstractly’
destruktīv-s – destruktīv-i ‘destructive – destructively’
konsekvent-s – konsekvent-i ‘consistent – consistently’
2) In addition, adverbs ending in -i can also be derived from declinable parti­
ciples, namely, the  present active participle (2.6.32a), present passive
participle (2.6.32b), and past passive participle (2.6.32c); here, again, whether
the source verb is a primary or a derived word is of no particular significance:
(2.6.32) a. klieg-t – kliedz-oš-s – kliedz-oš-i ‘shout – shouting – in a shouting manner’
ap-stulb-inā-t – ap-stulb-in-oš-s – ap-stulb-in-oš-i ‘dazzle – dazzling –
dazzlingly’
b. teik-t – teic-am-s – teic-am-i ‘commend – commendable –commendably’
pār-skat-ī-t – pār-skat-ām-s – pār-skat-ām-i ‘peruse – perusable –
in a perusable manner’
c. slēp-t – slēp-t-s – slēp-t-i ‘hide – hidden – in a hidden manner’
aiz-vain-o-t – aiz-vain-o-t-s – aiz-vain-o-t-i ‘offend – offended –
in an offended manner’

Derivation of adverbs by means of the suffixes -u, -ām

Although the  adverbial suffixes -u, -ām can only combine with native primary
qualitative adjectives, the  resulting adverbs do not differ from adverbs derived by
means of the suffix -i either semantically or with respect to usage, therefore, all three
suffixes are considered to be derivational variants. In contemporary Latvian, some
adverbs can occur in any of the three variants:

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(2.6.33) klusi, klusu, klusām ‘quietly’
a. Tēvs klusi elpo.
father.nom.m quietly breath.prs.3
‘Father is breathing quietly.’ (C)
b. Viņi klusu izgāja.
they.nom.m quietly leave.pst.3
‘They left quietly.’ (C)
c. Valdis klusām iesvilpās.
Valdis.nom.m quietly whistled.pst.3
‘Valdis whistled quietly.’ (C)
There are also adverbs that permit two variants:
(2.6.34) -i and -ām
a. lēni, lēnām ‘slowly’
Lēni kāpjos atpakaļ pa rasaino taku.
slowly back.prs.1sg away down dewy.acc.f path.acc.f
‘I back away slowly down the dewy path.’ (C)
Kuģi lēnām apledo.
ship.nom.pl.m slowly ice_over.prs.3
‘The ships slowly become covered with ice.’ (C)
b. gauži, gaužām ‘very, intensely, bitterly’
Viņa sāka gauži raudāt.
she.nom start.pst.3 bitterly cry.inf
‘She started to weep bitterly.’ (C)
Stādi izskatās gaužām vārīgi.
seedling.nom.pl.m look.prs.3 very frail.nom.pl.m
‘The seedlings look very frail.’ (C)
(2.6.35) -i and -u
a. tāli, tālu ‘far (away)’
Kaut kur tāli vēl ducina.
somewhere far still rumble.prs.3
‘The rumbling sound is still coming from somewhere far away.’ (C)
Tikai nepeldi tālu.
just not_swim.imp.2sg far.
‘Just do not swim far.’ (C)
b. augsti, augstu ‘highly’
Šīs nozares prasa
this.nom.pl.f industry.nom.pl.f require.prs.3
augsti kvalificētu darbaspēku ..
highly qualified.ptcp.acc.m personnel.acc.m
‘These industries require highly qualified personnel …’ (C)
Tu pārāk augstu sevi vērtē.
you.nom.sg too highly self.acc rate.prs.2sg
‘You rate yourself too highly.’ (C)

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N–ADV, PRON–ADV
Derivation of adverbs by means of the suffix -p
In addition to the above, there is a group of adverbs expressing direction and derived
from spatial nouns (2.6.36a) and pronouns (2.6.36b) by means of the suffix -p:
(2.6.36) a. augšu-p ‘upwards’, leju-p ‘downwards’, āru-p ‘outwards’, iekšu-p
‘inwards’, kalnu-p ‘uphill’, māju-p ‘homeward’, sauļu-p ‘sunward’
b. kur-p ‘where to’, tur-p ‘to there’, šur-p ‘to here’
(2.6.37) a. Ar uzvaru mājup no Ventspils
with victory.ins.f home from Ventspils.gen.f
atgriežas volejbolisti.
return.prs.3 volleyball_player.nom.pl.m
‘The volleyball players are coming home from Ventspils with a victory.’
(www.sportacentrs.lv)
b. Paskaties augšup!
look.imp.2sg upwards
Vai pazīsti Vecrīgas celtnes?
‘Look up! Do you recognize the buildings of Old Rīga?’
(www.delfi.lv)
c. Viņš bieži turp aizbrauc.
he.nom often to_there go.prs.3
‘He often goes there.’ (C)
d. Nāc šurp!
come.imp.2sg to_here
‘Come here!’ (C)

Syntactic word formation

Conversion – adverbialization
Adverbs produced by conversion can be of nominal, pronominal, or verbal origin
(with reduced or retained case endings, which in some cases belong to obsolete
grammatical forms):
1) nominal origin – adverbs derived from different forms of nouns (2.6.38),
adjectives (2.6.39), or numerals (2.6.40)
(2.6.38) a. NOM SG
gana ‘enough’, pulka ‘a lot’, etc.
b. DAT SG
mūžam ‘forever’, laikam ‘possibly’, etc.
c. ACC SG
drusku ‘a little bit’, rīt(u) ‘tomorrow’, etc.
d. INS SG
milzum ‘extremely’, brīnum ‘astonishingly’, krustu šķērsu
‘in all directions’, etc.

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 e. LOC SG
augšā ‘up’, ārā ‘outside’, laukā ‘out’, vaļā ‘open’, kopā ‘together’,
reizē ‘at the same time’, vienatā ‘on one’s own’, divatā ‘the two
(of us, them, etc.), two together’, pirmdien ‘on Monday’, otrdien
‘on Tuesday’, etc.
f. ACC PL
teciņus ‘quickly and lightly’, sāņus ‘sideways’, etc.
g. INS PL
vienis prātis ‘of the same opinion’, retumis ‘occasionally’, vietumis
‘here and there’, sānis ‘sideways’, brīžiem ‘from time to time’, vietām
‘in spots’, lēkšiem ‘at a gallop’, etc.
h. LOC PL
lēkšos ‘at a gallop’, pušu ‘in half, asunder’, etc.
(2.6.39) tukšā ‘empty-handedly’, dīkā ‘idly’, lāgā ‘quite’, maz ‘little’, daudz
‘much’, žēl ‘pity’, brīv ‘allowed’, ciet ‘closed’, etc.
(2.6.40) pirms ‘before’
2) pronominal origin – adverbs derived from pronouns
(2.6.41) kur ‘where’, tur ‘there’, šur ‘here’, te ‘here’, še ‘here’, šeit ‘here’, kad ‘when’,
tad ‘then’, kā ‘how’, tā ‘like that’, šā ‘like this’, citur ‘elsewhere’,
visur ‘everywhere’, cik ‘how much’, tik ‘that much’
3) verbal origin – adverbs mostly derived from participial forms of verbs
a) adverbializations of indeclinable participles
(2.6.42) beidzot ‘at last’, negribot ‘unwittingly’, nekavējoties ‘immediately’
b) old participial forms in -u, -us, -šus
(2.6.43) a. tupu ‘squatting’, rāpu ‘crawling’, papildu ‘additionally’, etc.
b. sēdus ‘sitting’, stāvus ‘standing’, papildus ‘additionally’, četrrāpus
‘on all fours’, etc.
c. braukšus ‘riding, driving as opposed to ‘on foot’’, skriešus ‘running,
at a run’, līšus ‘creeping’, etc.

Compounds and word combinations

Compound adverbs
1) PREP + N (2.6.44), PREP + ADJ (2.6.45), PREP + NUM (2.6.46) – with or
without case endings:
(2.6.44) pa-galam ‘over, finished’, uz-reiz ‘at once’, aiz-vakar ‘the day before
yesterday’, bez-gala ‘infinitely’, no-pakaļ ‘following closely’, pa-reizi
‘correctly’, pa-tiesi ‘indeed’, etc.
(2.6.45) pa-retam ‘seldom’, pa-pilnam ‘in abundance’, aiz-pērn ‘the year before last’, etc.
(2.6.46) aiz-vien ‘always, still’, ar-vien ‘always, still, increasingly’, etc.

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 2) PREP + PRON (2.6.47a) and PRON + POST (2.6.47b)
(2.6.47) a. pa-visam ‘very, completely, at all’
b. kā-pēc, kā-dēļ, kā-lab ‘why, for what reason, what for’, tā-pēc, tā-dēļ,
tā-lab ‘for that reason, therefore, because’
3) PTCL + ADV (2.6.48a) and ADV + PTCL (2.6.48b)
(2.6.48) a. jeb-kad ‘ever’, jeb-kur ‘anywhere’, jeb-kā ‘in whatever way’, ne-kad
‘never’, ne-kur ‘nowhere’, ne-kā ‘in no way’, etc.
b. tur-pat ‘right there’, te-pat, še-pat ‘right here’, tā-pat ‘in the same way’
4) N + N (2.6.49a), ADJ + N (2.6.49b), NUM + N (2.6.49c))
(2.6.49) a. mūž-dien ‘always’, viet-vietām ‘here and there’, etc.
b. lielāko-ties ‘mostly’, maz-liet ‘slightly’, galveno-kārt ‘for the most part’, etc.
c. pirm-kārt ‘firstly’, otr-kārt ‘secondly’, desmit-reiz ‘ten times’, vien-laikus
‘simultaneously’, etc.
5) PRON + N
(2.6.50) šo-gad ‘this year’, to-dien ‘that day’, to-gad ‘that year’, viņ-gad ‘last year’,
viņ-nedēļ ‘last week’, citu-dien ‘next day, another day’, daž-brīd ‘at times’,
paš-reiz ‘at present’, kād-reiz ‘once, someday’, etc.
6) PTCP DECL + N
(2.6.51) nākoš-reiz ‘next time’, nākam-gad ‘next year’, pagājušo-ziem ‘last winter’, etc.

Adverbial word combinations

1) N + N (2.6.52a) (although it is also possible that some of them are
historical participial forms (see Soida 1969) (2.6.52b))
(2.6.52) a. krustu šķērsu ‘in all directions’, beigu beigās ‘after all’, etc.
b. juku jukām ‘in a topsy-turvy manner’, līču loču ‘in a zigzag manner’,
atliku likām ‘more than enough, plenty’, etc.
2) PREP + ADJ
(2.6.53) pa īstam ‘genuinely, for real’, pa vecam ‘in the old way’, pa labi ‘right’,
pa kreisi ‘left’, etc.
3) ADV + ADV
(2.6.54) šad tad ‘now and then’, šur tur ‘here and there’, šurp turp ‘back and forth’,
šā tā ‘anyhow, somehow’, cik necik ‘more or less, a little’, etc.
4) PTCL + ADV
(2.6.55) kaut kad ‘at some point in time’, kaut kur ‘somewhere’, kaut kā ‘somehow’,
sazin kad, diez(in) kad, nez(in) kad ‘at an unknown moment’, sazin kur,
diez(in) kur, nez(in) kur ‘at an unknown place’, sazin kā, diez(in) kā, nez(in)
kā ‘in an unknown manner’ with sazin, diez(in), and nez(in) reinforcing
the meaning of indefiniteness and adding different shades of meaning
depending on the context

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2.7 PREPOSITIONS
Prepositions (adpositions) are a class of function words indicating relations between
objects, phenomena, processes, etc. In a sentence, a preposition typically combines
with a noun (2.7.1a), a word functioning as a noun (2.7.1b), or a pronoun (2.7.1c) in
a particular case, helping to establish syntactic relationships between content words
in the containing clause and specify case meanings (Skujiņa 2007: 311).
(2.7.1) a. No rīta biju uz pastu.
from morning.gen.m be.pst.1sg to post_office.acc.m
‘In the morning, I went to the post office.’ (I. Ābele)
b. Pelēkais tērps viņai bija
grey.nom.m garment.nom.m she.dat.f be.cop.pst.3
vairākus numurus par lielu.
several.acc.pl.m size.acc.pl.m too large.acc.m
‘The grey garment was several sizes too large for her.’ (A. Eglītis)
c. Pie manis atbrauca krusttēvs!
by I.gen come.pst.3 godfather.nom.m
‘My godfather has come to visit!’ (www.draugiem.lv)
Most prepositions are polysemous so that their actual meaning can only be determined
within context.
As a rule, Latvian prepositions come before the word with which they combine, e.g.:
(2.7.2) a. ap koku
around tree.acc.m
‘around a tree’
b. ar māsu
with sister.ins.f
‘with one’s sister’
c. bez naudas
without money.gen.f
‘without money’
d. caur tirgu
through market.acc.m
‘through the market’
e. gar māju
along house.acc.f
‘along a house’
f. no atvilktnes
from drawer.gen.f
‘from a drawer’
g. pār strautu
over brook.acc.m
‘over a brook’

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 h. pie krūma
by bush.gen.m
‘by a bush’
i. pirms nedēļas
before week.gen.f
‘a week ago’
j. pret logu
against window.acc.m
‘against a window’
k. uz galda
on table.gen.m
‘on a table’
There is, however, a small number of postpositions, e.g., dēļ ‘due to, because of’ and
labad ‘for the sake of’:
(2.7.3) a. Lietus dēļ Rīgā applūdušas
rain.gen.m because_of Rīga.loc.f flood.ptcp.nom.pl.f
ielas.
street.nom.pl.f
‘Rain left the streets of Rīga flooded.’ (www.delfi)
b. Precēti vīrieši veselīgu ēdienu
marry.ptcp.nom.pl.m man.nom.pl.m healthy.acc.m food.acc.m
mājās ēd tikai mīļā miera
home.loc.pl.f eat.prs.3 only dear.gen.m peace.gen.m
labad,
for_the_sake_of
savukārt, kad sieva neredz, labprāt mielojas ar neveselīgām ātrajām
uzkodām.
‘Married men only eat healthy food at home to keep the peace, but
whenever their wife isn’t looking they are only too happy to treat
themselves to unhealthy fast food snacks.’
(www.tvnet.lv)
While the postposition dēļ is sometimes used prepositively, e.g., in colloquial speech
and mass media texts, such usage is considered non-standard:
(2.7.4) a. Tikai dēļ tevis reģistrējos sporta
only because_of you.gen register.pst.1sg sport.gen.m
portālā.
website.loc.m
‘You are the only reason why I registered at the sports website.’
(www.sportacentrs.lv)
Correct: tevis dēļ

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 b. Adīt nevaru dēļ [slimas]
knit.inf not_be_able.prs.1sg due_to [ill]
sirds, paskatos televizoru, palasu
heart.gen.f watch.prs.1sg television.acc.m read.prs.1sg
kādu grāmatu.
some_kind.acc.f book.acc.f
‘I can’t knit because of [an ill] heart, [so] I watch a bit of television,
read a book.’(C)
Correct: sirds dēļ
The preposition pēc ‘after, by, for, because of’ can be used either prepositively
(when expressing spatial, temporal relations, intent or purpose, etc. (2.7.5a)), or
postpositively (when stating causes and reasons (2.7.5b)):
(2.7.5) a. Sākumā cilvēki nāca [uz veikalu]
at_first.loc.m person.nom.pl.m come.pst.3 [to shop]
pēc lauku produktiem.
for country.gen.pl.f product.dat.pl.m
‘At first, people would come [to the shop] for farm produce.’ (Ir)
b. Kāda jēga precēties, ja tāda
what_kind.nom.f point.nom.f marry.inf if that_kind.gen.m
nieka pēc nevarat vienoties.
trifle.gen.m for not_be_able.prs.2pl agree.inf
‘What’s the point of marrying if you can’t agree over such a trifle.’
(www.cosmo.lv)

The distribution of prepositions

Prepositions determine the case of words with which they combine. Case requirements
differ depending on whether the dependent words are in the singular or plural.

SINGULAR
GEN
(2.7.6) a. aiz ‘after, behind’
Aiz loga ir silts
behind window.gen.m be.prs.3 warm.nom.m
septembris mazā Amerikas miestā.
September.nom.m small.loc.m America.gen.f village.loc.m
‘Outside the window is a warm September in a small American village.’
(N. Ikstena)
b. bez ‘without’
Pārdevējas [veikalā] strādā bez atelpas.
shop_assistant.nom.pl.f [shop] work.prs.3 without rest.gen.f
‘The shop assistants [at the shop] are working without a moment’s rest.’
(Ir)

332
 c. kopš ‘since, from’
Par locītavām jārūpējas kopš jaunības.
about joint.dat.pl.f deb.take_care from youth.gen.f
‘One needs to take care of one’s joints from a young age.’
(Neatkarīgā Rīta Avīze)
d. dēļ ‘due to, because of’
Jau piektdienas vakarā Rīgā
already Friday.gen.f evening.loc.m Rīga.loc.f
būs satiksmes ierobežojumi maratona
be.fut.3 traffic.gen.f restriction.nom.pl.m marathon.gen.m
dēļ.
due_to
‘Traffic restrictions will be in place in Rīga already on Friday evening
due to the marathon.’ (www.lsm.lv)
e. labad ‘for the sake of’
Kārtības labad atjaunojām ēkas
order.gen.f for_the_sake_of restore.pst.3 building.gen.f
fasādi.
façade.acc.f
‘For the sake of order we have restored the façade of the building.’
(www.liepajniekiem.lv)
f. no ‘from, out of’
Pilsētas torņi bija redzami
city.gen.f tower.nom.pl.m be.cop.pst.3 see.ptcp.nom.pl.m
no mūsu mājas otrā stāva
from we.gen house.gen.f second.gen.m floor.gen.m
loga.
window.gen.m
‘The city’s towers could be seen from our second-floor window.’
(Jaunā Gaita)
g. pēc ‘after, by, for, because of’
Pēc izglītības filoloģe viņa
by education.gen.f philologist.nom.f she.nom
Zviedrijā daudz laika veltījusi
Sweden.loc.f much time.gen.m devote.ptcp.nom.f
latviešu valodas mācīšanai.
Latvian.gen.pl.m language.gen.f teaching.dat.f
‘A philologist by training, she devoted a lot of time to teaching Latvian
in Sweden.’ (Jaunā Gaita)
h. pie ‘at, by’
Visiem mums patīk pie dabas.
all.dat.pl.m we.dat like.prs.3 by nature.gen.f
‘We all like to spend time in nature.’ (Ir)

333
 i. pirms ‘before, prior to, ahead of, ago’
Viņš ir atnācis pirms
he.nom be.aux.prs.3 arrive.ptcp.nom.m ahead_of
laika.
time.gen.m
‘He arrived ahead of time.’ (M. Zīverts)
j. priekš ‘ago’
Kaimiņu draudzes mācītājs priekš neilga
neighbor.gen.pl.m parish.gen.f priest.nom.m before short.gen.m
laika ar visu draudzi bija
time.gen.m with entire.ins.f parish.ins.f be.aux.pst.3
pārgājis vispirms katoļticībā, tad
convert.ptcp.nom.m at_first Catholicism.loc.f then
pareizticībā.
Orthodoxy.loc.f
‘Recently, the neighboring parish priest converted first to the Catholic,
then to the Orthodox faith together with the whole congregation.’ (C)
k. virs ‘above, over’
Liepājā virs jūras novērots
Liepāja.loc.f above sea.gen.f spot.ptcp.nom.m
virpuļviesulis.
whirlwind.nom.m
‘A whirlwind was spotted in Liepāja over the sea.’ (Ir)
l. zem ‘under’
Bille mazliet paceļ [albuma] lapu,
Bille.nom.f slightly lift_up.prs.3 [album] page.acc.f
kas zem zīdpapīra.
which.nom underneath tissue_paper.gen.m
‘Bille lifts up the [album] page slightly, which is underneath the tissue
paper.’ (V. Belševica)

DAT
(2.7.7) līdz ‘until, (up) to’
Ņujorkā reiz latvieši dzīrodami
New_York.loc.f once Latvian.nom.pl.m carouse.ptcp.nom.pl.m
dzejoja un staigāja pa ielām līdz
compose.poetry.pst.3 and walk.pst.3 in street.dat.pl.f until
rītam.
morning.dat.m
‘Once upon a time in New York, Latvians made up poems and walked
the (city’s) streets carousing until morning.’ (Jaunā Gaita)

334
ACC
(2.7.8) a. ap ‘around, about’
Zemes ap muižu [baronam]
land.gen.m around manor_house.acc.m [baron]
palicis maz.
remain.ptcp.nom.m little
‘[The baron hasn’t] much land left around the manor house.’
(V. Belševica)
b. caur ‘through’
Es skrēju caur mežu uz
I.nom ran.pst.1sg through forest.acc.m towards
mājām.
home.dat.pl.f
‘I ran home through the forest.’ (www.tvnet.lv)
c. gar ‘along, past’
Viņa atceras stāvas kāpnes gar
she.nom recall.prs.3 steep.acc.pl.f staircase.acc.pl.f along
mājas ārpusi.
house.gen.f outside.acc.f
‘She recalls a steep staircase running along the outside of the house.’
(V. Belševica)
d. pa ‘on, during’
Pa to laiku kļuvis pavisam
during that.acc.m time.acc.m become.ptcp.nom.m quite
gaišs.
light.nom.m
‘In the meantime, daylight broke.’ (A. Žīgure)
e. par ‘about, on’
Vai tu tagad runā par savu
Q you.nom.sg now talk.prs.2sg about own.acc.m
stāstu?
story.acc.m
‘Are you talking about your story now?’ (N. Ikstena)
f. pār ‘across, over’
Pārkāpumā pieķertais zvejnieks aiz
offense.loc.m catch.ptcp.nom.m fisherman.nom.m out_of
pārsteiguma gandrīz pārvēlās pār laivas
surprise.gen.m almost roll_over.pst.3 over boat.gen.f
malu.
side.acc.f
‘The fisherman caught committing an offense almost rolled overboard
with surprise.’ (Ir)

335
 g. pret ‘against, towards’
[Latvijas] Hokeja mačos pret
[Latvia] hockey.gen.m match.loc.pl.m against
Dāniju un Slovākiju favorīti
Denmark.acc.f and Slovakia.acc.f favorite.nom.pl.m
bija pretinieki.
be.cop.pst.3 opponent.nom.pl.m
‘In [Latvia’s] ice hockey matches against Denmark and Slovakia
the opposing teams were the favorites.’ (Diena)
h. starp ‘between, among’
Kurš ir novilcis robežu
who.nom.m be.aux.prs.3 draw.ptcp.nom.m boundary.acc.f
starp divu cilvēku
between two.gen.pl.m person.gen.pl.m
apbrīnu?
admiration.acc.f
‘Who has drawn a line between the admiration of two people?’
(Jaunā Gaita)

INS
(2.7.9) ar ‘with’
Darbs, pārslodzei mijoties ar
work.nom.m overwork.dat.f alternate.ptcp.idecl with
bezdarbību, postīja Žaņa
idleness.ins.f devastate.pst.3 Žanis.gen.m
veselību.
health.acc.f
‘Work, with frequent transitions from overwork to idleness, was taking its
toll on Žanis’s health.’ (Jaunā Gaita)
The prepositions uz ‘to, on’ and pa ‘on’ can take words in two different cases in
the singular:
1) uz with GEN denotes location (2.7.10a), while with ACC it denotes direction
(2.7.10b)
(2.7.10) a. Uz rokas tev smaržoja rožu
on arm.gen.f you.dat.sg smell.pst.3 rose.gen.pl.f
klēpis.
armful.nom.m
‘There was an armful of fragrant roses resting against your arm.’
(M. Zīverts)
b. Viņš gāja atpakaļ uz istabu.
he.nom go.pst.3 back to room.acc.f
‘He went back to the room.’ (I. Ābele)

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 2) the  meaning of pa is partitive with DAT (2.7.11a) and spatial with ACC
(2.7.11b)
(2.7.11) a. Šo maizi grūti griezt, vieglāk
this.acc.f bread.acc.f difficult slice.inf easier
ir lauzt pa gabalam.
be.cop.prs.3 break.inf by piece.dat.m
‘This bread is difficult to slice, it’s easier to break off piece by piece.’
(www.tvnet.lv)
b. Pa ganību ceļu uz sētu
along pasture.gen.pl.f road.acc.m towards yard.acc.f
nāca govs.
come.pst.3 cow.nom.f
‘A cow was approaching the yard by the pasture road.’ (V. Belševica)
The prepositions abpus ‘on either side’, apakšpus ‘below’, ārpus ‘outside, beyond’,
augšpus ‘above, up’, lejpus ‘below, down’, šaipus ‘on this side’, viņpus ‘on that side, on
the far side’, otrpus ‘on the other side, across’, iekšpus ‘inside’, virspus ‘above, over’
usually govern GEN SG, but can also be used with DAT SG with no difference in
meaning:
(2.7.12) abpus ‘on either side’
a. GEN
Jo lielāks [mašīnu] ātrums, jo
conj great.cmp.nom.m [car] speed.nom.m conj
platākiem ceļiem jābūt, jo
wide.comp.dat.pl.m road.dat.pl.m deb.be conj
platākai brīvajai joslai abpus ceļa.
wide.cmp.dat.f free.dat.f lane.dat.f on_either_side road.gen.m
‘The greater the [car] speed, the wider the necessary [width] of
the motorways and the hard shoulders on either side of the road.’ (CW)
b. DAT
Par grāvju izrakšanu abpus
about ditch.gen.pl.m digging_up.acc.f on_either_side
ceļam, to labojot, aizmirsts.
road.dat.m it.acc.m repair.ptcp.idecl forget.ptcp.nom.m
‘They forgot to dig ditches on either side of the road when repairing it.’
(Kas Jauns)
(2.7.13) lejpus ‘below, down’
a. GEN
Ceļi vēl joprojām savieno cietokšņus ar pilsētu,
kas atrodas lejpus kalna.
that.nom locate.prs.3 below mountain.gen.m
‘To this day, the roads connect the fortresses to the town at the foot of
the mountain.’ (C)

337
 b. DAT
Izkāpjot [no mašīnas] pie mājas ar koptu
step.ptcp [out_of car] at house.gen.f with groom.ins.m
pagalmu un ezeru lejpus kalnam
courtyard.ins.m and lake.ins.m down mountain.dat.m
redzu durvju priekšā rosāmies cilvēkus.
‘Stepping out [of the car] at a house with a well-kept courtyard and
a lake at the foot of the hill, I see people bustling about in front of
the door.’ (www.delfi.lv)
(2.7.14) šaipus ‘on this side’
a. GEN
Vai viņš kur paslēpies šaipus upes?
Q he.nom anywhere hide.prs.3 on_this_side river.gen.f
‘Is he hiding somewhere on this side of the river?’ (www.draugiem.lv)
b. DAT
Arī šaipus upei ir klusas un
also on_this_side river.dat.f be.prs.3 quiet.nom.pl.f and
interesantas vietas.
interesting.nom.pl.f place.nom.pl.f
‘There are quiet and interesting places on this side of the river, too.’
(Diena)

PLURAL
GEN
When combined with words in the plural, all three Latvian postpositions, namely, dēļ
‘due to, because of’ (2.7.15a), labad ‘for the sake of’ (2.7.15b), and pēc ‘for, because of’
(2.7.15c), require the genitive case:
(2.7.15) a. Kanādā plūdu dēļ
Canada.loc.f flood.gen.pl.m because_of
evakuēti 2000 cilvēki.
evacuate.ptcp.nom.pl.m 2000 person.nom.pl.m
‘In Canada, 2000 people were evacuated due to the flood.’ (Diena)
b. Vai bērnu labad vecākiem
q child.gen.pl.m for_the_sake_of parent.dat.pl.m
jāatsakās no operas apmeklēšanas?
deb.give_up from opera.gen.f visiting.gen.f
‘Should parents forgo going to the opera for the sake of children?’
(Latvijas Avīze)
c. Jums jābeidz apvainoties kaut kādu
you.dat.pl deb.stop take_offense.inf some_kind.acc.pl.m
nieku pēc.
trifle.gen.pl.m because_of
‘You should stop taking offense at trifles.’ (CW)

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Although the  preposition bez ‘without’ sometimes does occur with words in
the genitive plural, especially in literary works, colloquial speech, and mass media
texts (see examples (2.7.16)), in contemporary Latvian, it is more commonly followed
by nouns or pronouns in the dative plural (see example (2.7.18)).
(2.7.16) a. Šajā dārzā un mājā var iet
this.loc.m garden.loc.m and house.loc.f be_able.prs.3 go.inf
bez baiļu.
without fear.gen.pl.f
‘One can enter this garden and house without fear.’ (C)
b. Ārpus pilsētas centra zālienā uzturēties
outside city.gen.f center.gen.m lawn.loc.m stay.inf
var bez bēdu.
be_able.prs.3 without worry.gen.pl.f
‘Outside the city center you can use public lawns without worries.’ (C)
c. Uzcel pili tā bez logu,
build.imp.2sg castle.acc.f so without window.gen.pl.m
bez durvju.
without door.gen.pl.f
‘Build a castle like that, with no windows, no doors.’ (C)

INS
(2.7.17) ar ‘with’
Stacijās vagons piepildās ar jauniem
station.loc.pl.f carriage.nom.m fill_up.prs.3 with new.ins.pl.m
pasažieriem.
passenger.ins.pl.m
‘At the stations, the carriage fills up with new passengers.’ (A. Žīgure)

DAT
The rest of the prepositions, i.e., aiz ‘after, behind’, ap ‘around, about’, bez ‘without’,
gar ‘along, past’, no ‘from, out of’, par ‘about, on’, pār ‘across, over’, pēc ‘after, by’, pie
‘at, by’, pret ‘against, towards’, zem ‘under’, uz ‘to, on’, virs ‘above, over’, govern plural
words in the dative, e.g.:
(2.7.18) a. Elza bez grūtībām iekļaujas pilsētas
Elsa.nom.f without difficulty.dat.pl.f adapt.prs.3 city.gen.f
ritmā.
rhythm.loc.m
‘Elsa has no difficulty in adapting to the rhythm of the city.’ (A. Žīgure)
b. Dievs mums katram piešķīris savu daļu laimes,
bet tā nenonāk līdz mums.
but it.nom.f not_reach.prs.3 to we.dat
‘God has given each of us our share of happiness, only it does not reach
us.’ (M. Zīverts)

339
 c. Celtniecība man patikusi jau no
construction.nom.f I.dat like.ptcp.nom.f already from
seniem laikiem.
ancient.dat.pl.m time.dat.pl.m
‘I’ve liked construction for ages.’ (A. Eglītis)
d. Par vecākām jāuzskata [latviešu]
prep old.dat.cmp.pl.f deb.consider [Latvian]
tautasdziesmas,
folk_song.nom.pl.f
kur vēstīts, kā tabaku audzē un šņauc.
‘The [Latvian] folk songs that talk about how to grow tobacco and take
snuff should be considered the oldest.’ (A. Johansons)
e. Pirms 100 gadiem,
ago 100 year.dat.pl.m
ja tu vispār gribēji tomātu,
if you.nom.sg at_all want.pst.2sg tomato.acc.m
tas bija pašam jāizaudzē.
it.nom.m be.aux.pst.3 self.dat.m deb.grow
‘A hundred years ago, if you wanted a tomato at all, you had to grow it
yourself.’ (Ir)
f. Suns noliek galvu uz ķepām un
dog.nom.m put.prs.3 head.acc.f on paw.dat.pl.f and
iesmilkstas.
whimper.prs.3
‘The dog puts its head on its paws and whimpers.’ (V. Belševica)
Likewise, all prepositions ending in -pus, such as abpus ‘on either side’, apakšpus
‘below’, ārpus ‘outside, beyond’, augšpus ‘above, up’, lejpus ‘below, down’, šaipus ‘on
this side’, viņpus ‘on that side, on the  far side’, otrpus ‘on the  other side, across’,
iekšpus ‘inside’, and virspus ‘above, over’ combine with dative plurals, e.g.:
(2.7.19) a. Augšpus [upes] krācēm ir liels
above [river] rapid.dat.pl.f be.prs.3 large.nom.m
atvars.
whirlpool.nom.m
‘There is a large whirlpool upstream from the [river] rapids.’ (C)
b. Kā uzvesties iekšpus mājām?
how behave.inf inside house.dat.pl.f
‘How to behave inside the house?’ (www.satori.lv)
c. Ainava otrpus logiem neko
landscape.nom.f other_side window.dat.pl.m nothing.acc
aizdomīgu neliecina.
suspicious.acc.m not_suggest.prs.3
‘The landscape on the other side of the windows does not suggest
anything suspicious.’ (C)

340
The semantics of prepositions
Most prepositional meanings fall under one of the following basic domains (also see
Kalme 2001: 28–38; Paegle 2003: 187–206; Nītiņa 2013c: 621–625, 629–640):
1) spatial relationships
(2.7.20) a. aiz ‘after, behind’
Aiz pilsētas sākās lauki un
behind city.acc.f begin.pst.3 field.nom.pl.m and
meži.
forest.nom.pl.m
‘The fields and forests began beyond the city.’ (V. Belševica)
b. ap ‘around, about’
Kā sniegputenis plosās ap mūsu
how blizzard.nom.m rage.prs.3 around we.gen
māju!
house.acc.f
‘How the blizzard is raging around our house!’ (M. Zīverts)
c. caur ‘through’
Gāju uz jūru caur mežu.
go.pst.1sg towards sea.acc.f through forest.acc.m
‘I was walking towards the sea through the forest.’ (I. Ābele)
d. gar ‘along, past’
Būvēs vairāk nekā 500 km garu
build.fut.3 more than 500 km long.acc.m
veloceliņu gar Baltijas jūras
bicycle_path.acc.m along Baltic.gen.f sea.gen.f
krastu.
shore.acc.m
‘A bicycle path more than 500 kilometers in length will be built along
the shore of the Baltic Sea.’ (www.db.lv)
e. līdz ‘(up) to’
Bille [vilcienā] nogulēja līdz pašam
Bille.nom.f [train] sleep.pst.3 up_to same.dat.m
Tukumam.
Tukums.dat.m
‘Bille slept [on the train] all the way to Tukums.’ (V. Belševica)
f. no ‘from, out of’
Viņa baidījās,
ka tiks izlikta no šīs
that get.aux.fut.3 evict.ptcp.nom.f out_of this.gen.f
sanatorijas.
sanatorium.gen.f
‘She was afraid that she would get evicted from this sanatorium.’
(M. Zīverts)

341
 g. pie ‘at, by’
Ārsts pasauca mani novakarē pie
doctor.nom.m call_over.pst.3 I.acc afternoon.loc.f at
loga.
window.gen.m
‘In the late afternoon, the doctor called me over to the window.’
(I. Ābele)
h. pa ‘on’
Mintauts bungoja ar pirkstgaliem pa
Mintauts.nom.m tap.pst.3 with fingertip.ins.pl.m on
galdu.
desk.acc.m
‘Mintauts was tapping his fingertips on the desk.’ (A. Eglītis)
i. pār ‘across, over’
Laba braukšana bija vienīgi pār
good.nom.f ride.nom.f be.pst.3 only across
tiltu.
bridge.acc.m
‘The ride was good only when crossing the bridge.’ (V. Belševica)
i. pret ‘against, towards’
Atbalstījos pret tilta malu un
support.pst.1sg against bridge.gen.m parapet.acc.f and
raudzījos tālumā.
look.pst.1sg distance.loc.m
‘I supported [myself] against the parapet of the bridge and looked into
the distance.’ (N. Ikstena)
j. starp ‘between, among’
Viņi ieraudzīja Fīlipu staigājam starp
they.nom.m see.pst.3 Philip.acc.m walk.ptcp.idecl between
[restorāna] galdiņiem.
[restaurant] table.dat.pl.m
‘They saw Philip walking between the [restaurant] tables.’ (A. Eglītis)
k. uz ‘to, on’
Bille apsēdās mājas priekšā uz
Bille.nom.f sit_down.pst.3 house.gen.f front.loc.f on
soliņa.
bench.gen.m
‘Bille sat down on the bench in front of the house.’ (V. Belševica)
l. virs ‘above, over’
Virs Vecrīgas jumtiem pacēlās migla.
over Old_Rīga.gen.f roof.dat.pl.m rise.pst.3 fog.nom.f
‘The fog rose over the roofs of Old Rīga.’ (www.delfi.lv)

342
 m. zem ‘under’
Laulātais pāris pastaigājās zem
marry.ptcp.nom.m couple.nom.m stroll.pst.3 under
neredzētu sugu palmām.
not_see.ptcp.gen.pl.m species.gen.pl.f palm._tree.dat.pl.f
‘The married couple was strolling under never-before-seen varieties of
palm trees.’ (A. Eglītis)
In addition to the above, all prepositions ending in -pus also express very concrete
spatial meanings:
(2.7.21) a. apakšpus ‘below’
Augšpus un apakšpus [klēpjdatora] tastatūrai
above and below [laptop_computer] keyboard.dat.f
iestrādātas metāla joslas.
work_into.ptcp.nom.pl.f metal.gen.m band.nom.pl.f
‘Above and below the keyboard [of the laptop computer] are metal
bands (which) had been worked into it.’ (CW)
b. augšpus ‘above, up’
20 kilometru augšpus Jelgavas
20 kilometer.gen.pl.m above Jelgava.gen.f
ūdens līmenis [Lielupē] pēdējās
water.gen.m level.nom.m [Lielupe] last.gen.f
nedēļas laikā cēlies par 2,2
week.gen.f time.loc.m rise.ptcp.nom.m of 2.2
metriem.
meter.dat.pl.m
‘Twenty kilometers upstream from Jelgava the water level [in the Lielupe
River] has risen 2.2 meters over the last week.’ (www.delfi.lv)
c. lejpus ‘below, down’
Otrdienas pēcpusdienā izkustējies ledus
Tuesday.gen.f afternoon.loc.f budge.ptcp.nom.m ice.gen.m
sastrēgums Daugavā lejpus
jam.nom.m Daugava.loc.f downstream
Jēkabpils.
Jēkabpils.gen.f
‘On Tuesday afternoon, an ice jam broke free on the Daugava,
downstream from Jēkabpils.’ (www.lsm.lv)
d. šaipus ‘on this side’
Tas notika pirtiņā šaipus
it.nom.m happen.pst.3 bathhouse.loc.f this_side
rijas.
threshing_barn.gen.f
‘It happened in the bathhouse on this side of the threshing barn.’ (C)

343
 e. viņpus ‘on that side, on the far side’
Latvijas vieglatlētu starti
Latvia.gen.f track_and_field_athlete.gen.pl.m start.nom.pl.m
viņpus okeāna ir veiksmīgi.
across ocean.gen.m be.cop.prs.3 successful.nom.pl.m
‘Latvian track and field athletes are making good starts overseas.’
(www.sportacentrs.lv)
f. otrpus ‘on the other side, across’
Valsts šogad otrpus robežai
state.nom.f this_year other_side border.dat.f
atstājusi daudz iebraucēju.
leave.ptcp.nom.f many foreigner.gen.pl.m
‘This year, the state left many foreigners on the other side of the border.’
(Diena)
g. iekšpus ‘inside’
[tēlniecības] Kvadriennāle pirmo reizi
[sculpture] quadrennial.nom.f first.acc.f time.acc.f
būs skatāma iekšpus [muzeja]
be.cop.fut.3 see.ptcp.nom.f inside [museum]
sētas.
fence.gen.f
‘For the first time the [sculpture] Quadrennial will be held inside
the [museum] fence.’ (Diena)
h. ārpus ‘outside, beyond’
Cilvēkam vajag laiku,
kad var kaut ko paspēt
when be_able.prs.3 something.acc manage.inf
izdarīt ārpus darba.
do.inf outside work.gen.m
‘A person needs time to be able to do something outside work.’
(Ir)
i. virspus ‘above, over’
Viņš ilgi nespēšot noturēties virspus
he.nom long_time not_be_able.obl.fut stay.inf above
ūdens.
water.gen.m
‘Apparently, he will not be able to stay afloat for long.’ (C)
j. abpus ‘on either side’
Abpus šosejai būs sēta.
both_sides motorway.dat.f be.fut.3 fencing.nom.f
‘There will be fencing on either side of the motorway.’
(www.lsm.lv)

344
 2) temporal relationships
(2.7.22) a. ar ‘with’
Ar nākamo gadu plānots celt
with next.ins.m year.ins.m plan.ptcp.nom.m rise.inf
ūdens pakalpojumu tarifus.
water.gen.m service.gen.pl.m rate.acc.pl.m
‘Beginning next year, water rates are expected to rise.’
(www.liepajniekiem.lv)
b. ārpus ‘outside’
Skolotājiem arī ārpus darba laika
teacher.dat.pl.m also outside work.gen.m time.gen.m
jāievēro profesijas ētika.
deb.observe profession.gen.f ethics.nom.f
‘Teachers should also observe professional ethics outside working
hours.’ (www.lsm.lv)
c. kopš ‘since’
Kopš šī brīža dzejnieks Elzu
since this.gen.m moment.gen.m poet.nom.m Elsa.acc.f
dēvē tikai par Marselīni.
refer_to.prs.3 only as Marcelina.acc.f
‘From this moment on, the poet always refers to Elsa as “Marcelina”.’
(A. Žīgure)
d. līdz ‘until’
Līdz šim es te dzīvoju viens.
until this.dat.m I.nom here live.pst.1sg alone.nom.m
‘Until now, I have lived here alone.’ (M. Zīverts)
e. no ‘from’
No rīta vides inspektori
from morning.gen.m environment.gen.f inspector.nom.pl.m
ieraudzīja,
see.pst.3
ka [upē] airē viens vīrs ar tīkliem laivā.
‘In the morning, environmental inspectors saw a man rowing on the river
with a fishing net in (his) boat.’ (Ir)
f. pa ‘during’
Pa svētku laiku te ciemojās
during holiday.gen.pl.m time.acc.m here stay.pst.3
daudzi tēva studiju laika
many. nom.pl.m father.gen.m studies.gen.pl.f time.gen.m
draugi.
friend.nom.pl.m
‘During the holidays, many of my father’s friends from (his) student
days stayed here.’ (A. Žīgure)

345
 g. pēc ‘after’
Pēc gada obligāti būs jāliek
after year.gen.m compulsory be.aux.fut.3 deb.take
eksāmens fizikā un ķīmijā.
exam.nom.m physics.loc.f and chemistry.loc.f
‘A year from now, the physics and chemistry exams will be compulsory.’
(www.lsm.lv)
h. pirms ‘before, prior to, ahead of, ago’
Pirms vairākiem gadiem nokritu no
prior_to several.dat.pl.m year.dat.pl.m fall.pst.1sg from
zirga.
horse.gen.m
‘Several years ago, I fell off a horse.’ (I. Ābele)
g. priekš ‘ago’
Apiņiem šais laikos ir
hop.dat.pl.m this.loc.pl.m time.loc.pl.m be.cop.prs.3
lielāka vērtība nekā priekš 10 gadiem.
high.nom.cpm.f value.nom.f than ago 10 year.dat.pl.m
‘These days, hops are more valuable than ten years ago.’ (CW)
i. uz ‘before’
Nakts uz otrdienu būs auksta.
night.nom.f before Tuesday.acc.f be.cop.fut.3 cold.nom.f
‘Monday night will be cold.’ (www.lsm.lv)
3) manner
(2.7.23) a. ar ‘with’
Egle sāk svērties un ar varenu
fir_tree.nom.f start.prs.3 lean.inf and with mighty.ins.m
šalcienu nokrīt.
rustle.ins.m fall.prs.3
‘The fir tree starts to lean to one side and falls down with a mighty
rustle.’ (V. Belševica)
b. aiz ‘by’
Neraustiet savu suni aiz pavadas.
not_pull.imp.2pl own.acc.m dog.acc.m by leash.gen.f
‘Do not pull your dog by the leash.’ (www.delfi.lv)
c. bez ‘without’
Saeima noraida ierosinājumu šovasar
parliament.nom.f reject.prs.3 proposal.acc.m this_summer
strādāt bez brīvdienām.
work.inf without recess.dat.pl.f
‘The parliament rejects the proposal to work without a recess this
summer.’ (www.tvnet.lv)

346
 d. pa ‘out, through’
Pamodos šorīt,
paskatījos pa logu.
look.pst.1sg through window.acc.m
‘I woke up this morning, looked out the window.’ (I. Ābele)
e. pie ‘at, by’
Jolanta paņēma Mintautu pie elkoņa.
Jolanta.nom.f take.pst.3 Mintauts.acc.m by elbow.gen.m
‘Jolanta took Mintauts by the elbow.’ (A. Eglītis)
f. pēc ‘according to’
Bērnam jāsaprot,
ka ne vienmēr viss
that not always everything.nom.m
notiek pēc viņa prāta.
happen.prs.3 according_to he.gen mind.gen.m
‘A child needs to understand that things don’t always go the way he
wants.’ (CW)
g. par ‘as, having the quality of’’
Pārstrādāšanās nāk par sliktu sirdij.
overwork.nom.f come.prs.3 as bad.acc.m heart.dat.f
‘Overwork is bad for the heart.’ (Neatkarīgā Rīta Avīze)
h. uz ‘on’
Kā var iemācīties staigāt uz galvas?
how be_able.prs.3 learn.inf walk.inf on head.gen.f
‘How can one learn to walk on one’s hands [lit. head]?’ (CW)
i. zem ‘under’
Vannojot turi zīdaini no
bathing.ptcp.idecl hold.imp.2sg infant.acc.m from
galvas puses zem padusēm.
head.gen.f side.gen.f under underarm.dat.pl.f
‘When bathing an infant, place your arm under his head grasping his
underarms.’ (www.delfi.lv)
4) reason or cause
(2.7.24) a. aiz ‘with, out of’
Bija laiks,
kad smējos aiz laimes.
when laugh.pst.1sg out_of happiness.gen.f
‘There was a time when I used to laugh out of happiness.’ (M. Zīverts)
b. ar ‘with’
Ar vējbakām meitene [ir]
with chickenpox.ins.pl.f girl.nom.f [is]
saslimusi bērnudārzā.
caught.ptcp.nom.f kindergarten.loc.m
‘The girl caught chickenpox in kindergarten.’ (Neatkarīgā Rīta Avīze)

347
 c. dēļ ‘due to, because of’
Līdzīgā izskata dēļ daudzi
similar.gen.m appearance.gen.m due_to many.nom.pl.m.
visas krunkainās pavasara sēnes
all.acc.pl.f wrinkly.acc.pl.f spring.gen.m mushrooms.acc.pl.f
maldīgi uzskata par ēdamām.
mistakenly consider.prs.3 as edible.dat.pl.f
‘Due to a similar appearance, many mistakenly believe all wrinkly
spring mushrooms to be edible.’ (www.delfi.lv)
d. no ‘from, out of’
Dziedātāja pēc koncerta raudāja no prieka.
singer.nom.f after concert.gen.m cry.pst.3 from joy.gen.m
‘After the concert, the singer wept with joy.’ (Kas Jauns)
e. par ‘for’
Par godu Mātes dienai notiks
for honor.acc.m mother.gen.f day.dat.f happen.fut.3
dažādi pasākumi.
various.nom.pl.m events.nom.pl.m
‘Various events will take place in honor of Mother’s Day.’ (Diena)
f. pēc ‘due to, for, over’
Niecīga parāda pēc tiesu izpildītājs
trifling.gen.m debt.gen.m for court.gen.pl.f bailiff.nom.m
atņem ģimenei māju.
take_away.prs.3 family.dat.f home.acc.f
‘Due to a trifling debt, the bailiff takes away the family’s home.’
(Kas Jauns)
5) intent or purpose
(2.7.25) a. ar ‘with’
Viņš atsūtīts šurp ar
he.nom send.ptcp.nom.m to_here with
kādu uzdevumu.
some_kind.ins.m mission.ins.m
‘He has been sent here with a mission.’ (M. Zīverts)
b. dēļ ‘for’
Lūk, tā dēļ ir vērts censties.
look, it.gen.m for be.cop.prs3 worth.cop.nom.m strive.inf
‘Look, that’s why it’s worth making an effort.’ (C)
c. labad ‘for the sake of, for’
Dzeltenās līnijas [māju pagalmos]
yellow.nom.pl.f line.nom.pl.f [building yard]
novilktas iedzīvotāju. drošības labad.
draw.ptcp.nom.pl.f resident.gen.pl.m safety.gen.f for
‘These yellow lines [in the yards of apartment buildings] have been
painted for the safety of the residents.’ (www.lvportals.lv)

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 d. par ‘as’
Esmu mācījusies par sākumskolas
be.aux.prs.1sg studied .ptcp.nom.f as primary_school.gen.f
logopēdu un skolotāju.
speech_therapist.acc.m and teacher.acc.f
‘I trained as a primary school speech therapist and teacher.’
(www.cosmo.lv)
e. uz ‘for’
Pabarojusi bērnus,
viņa sāk posties uz darbu.
she.nom start.prs.3 prepare.inf for work.acc.m
‘After feeding the children, she starts getting ready for work.’
(www.delfi.lv)
6) partitivity
(2.7.26) a. pa ‘by (as in expressions like hour by hour, step by step, etc.)’
Mēs palīdzēsim jums [jūsu atmiņai]
we.nom help.fut.1pl you.dat.pl [your memory]
pēdas dzīt soli pa solim.
trace.acc.pl.f track.inf step.acc.m by step.dat.m
‘We will help you recover [your memory] step by step.’ (M. Zīverts)
b. no ‘of’
Pagājušajā nedēļā divi no mums bija
last.loc.f week.loc.f two.nom.pl.m of we.dat be.pst.3
[mūzikas] ierakstu studijā.
[music] recording.gen.pl.m studio.loc.f
‘Last week two of us were at the [music] recording studio.’ (CW)
7) quantity:
a) a definite quantity
(2.7.27) a. par ‘for’
Pirmās mellenes tirgū var
first.acc.pl.f blueberry.acc.pl.f market.loc.m be_able.prs.3
nopirkt par četriem eiro litrā.
buy.inf for four.acc.pl.m euro liter.loc.m
‘The first blueberries [of the season] can be bought at the market for
four euros per liter.’ (www.delfi.lv)
b. pret ‘against, for’
Mainu divistabu dzīvokli
change.prs.1sg two-room.gen.pl.f apartment.acc.m
Liepājā pret īpašumu laukos.
Liepāja.loc.f for property.acc.m country.loc.pl.m
‘I’m looking to swap a two-room apartment in Liepāja for a property in
he country.’ (www.liepajniekiem.lv)

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 b) an approximate quantity (in the sense of a numerical value, which can
include time)
(2.7.28) a. ap ‘about, around’
Aizmigu ap septiņiem vakarā.
fall_asleep.pst.1sg about seven.dat.pl.m evening.loc.m
‘I fell asleep at about seven in the evening.’ (I. Ābele)
b. līdz ‘up to’
Vasaras ceļojumiem atlaides līdz 20
summer.gen.f trip.dat.pl.m discount.nom.pl.f up_to 20
procentiem ar mūsu klienta
percent.dat.pl.m with we.gen client.gen.m
karti.
card.ins.f
‘Up to twenty percent off on summer trips with our loyalty card.’
(www.apollo.lv)
c. pret ‘at, towards’
Pret rītu sāka celties
towards morning.acc.m start.pst.3 gather.inf
vētra, sāka līt.
storm.nom.f started rain
‘In the small hours of the morning, a storm began to gather, it started
to rain.’
d. starp ‘between’ (CW)
Starp pirmdienu un otrdienu
between Monday.acc.f and Tuesday.acc.f
gulējām divas stundas.
sleep.pst.1pl two.acc.pl.f hour.acc.pl.f
‘We had two hours of sleep sometime between Monday and Tuesday.’
e. virs ‘over, above’ (CW)
Ūdens līmenis Daugavā pakāpies
water.gen.m level.nom.m Daugava.loc.f rise.ptcp.nom.m
virs normas.
above norm.gen.f
‘The water level in the Daugava has risen above the norm.’
(www.tvnet.lv)
8) absence or lack
(2.7.29) bez ‘without’
[Ceptuves] izveidošanā esam iztikuši
[bakery] formation.loc.f be.aux.prs.1pl subsist.ptcp.nom.pl.m
bez aizdevumiem.
without loan.dat.pl.m
‘When setting up [the bakery] we did so without a loan.’ (Ir)

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 9) means, co-presence
(2.7.30) ar ‘with, by means of’
a. [saldējuma] Pārdevējs aicinot māja
[ice cream] seller.nom.m invite.ptcp.idecl wave.pst.3
ar roku.
with hand.ins.f
‘The [ice cream] seller waved his hand invitingly.’ (V. Belševica)
b. Sēžot ar šiem zinātniekiem,
sitting.ptcp.idecl with this.ins.pl.m scientist.ins.pl.m
laiks bija paskrējis nemanot.
‘Sitting with these scientists, time went by without us noticing.’
(A. Eglītis)
10) relationships forming semantic objects
(2.7.31) a. ar ‘with’
Es piedalījos [viesnīcas] projekta
I.nom. participate.pst.1sg [hotel] project.gen.m
izstrādāšanā un sadarbojos ar
development.loc.f and work.pst.1sg with
būvuzņēmējiem.
contractor.ins.pl.m
‘I participated in the development of the design [of the hotel] and
worked with the building contractors.’ (A. Eglītis)
b. par ‘about, of’
Izrāde stāsta par attiecībām
performance.nom.f tells.prs.3 of relationship.dat.pl.f
trīs cilvēku starpā.
three people.gen.pl.m space.loc.f
‘The performance is about the relationship among three people.’ (Ir)
c. pēc ‘after’
Es pat uz veikalu pēc maizes
I.nom even to shop.acc.m after bread.gen.f
eju ar fotoaparātu.
go.prs.1sg with camera.ins.m
‘I take the camera with me even when I go to the shop for bread.’
(Diena)
d. pie ‘(on)to, (along) with’
Izvārītas lēcas var pievienot
boiled.ptcp.acc.pl.f lentil.acc.pl.f be_able.prs.3 add.inf
pie dažādiem ēdieniem.
onto different.dat.pl.m dish.dat.pl.m
‘Boiled lentils can be added to all kinds of dishes.’
(Neatkarīgā Rīta Avīze)

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 e. pret ‘towards’
Bet kā ar mūsu cieņu pret
but how with we.gen respect.ins.f towards
vecākiem?
parent.dat.pl.m
‘But what about our respect for parents?’ (www.maminuklubs.lv)
f. no ‘of’
Viņa vēlējās redzēt kaut ko no
she.nom want.pst.3 see.inf something of
[acteku] drupām.
[Aztec] ruin.dat.pl.f
‘She wanted to see something of the [Aztec] ruins.’ (A. Eglītis)
g. uz ‘at, towards’
Tēvs skatās uz meitu, un
father.nom.m look.prs.3 at daughter.acc.f and
acīs ir lepnums.
eye.loc.pl.f be.prs.3 pride.nom.m
‘The father looks at his daughter and there is pride in his eyes.’
(A. Žīgure)
11) features
(2.7.32) a. ar ‘with’
Brūnais [albuma] vāks ar zeltītām
brown.nom.m [album] cover.nom.m with gilded.ins.pl.f
pogām izskatās smags.
button.ins.pl.f look.prs.3 heavy.nom.m
‘The brown cover [of the album], with its gilded buttons, looks heavy.’
(V. Belševica)
b. aiz ‘behind, across’
Ar pirmajām pavasara dienām saimnieks
with first.ins.pl.f spring.gen.m day.ins.pl.f master.nom.m
dzen aitas uz ganībām aiz
drive.prs.3 sheep.acc.pl.f to pasture.dat.pl.f behind
meža.
forest.gen.m
‘With the coming of spring, the head of the household takes the sheep
to the pasture beyond the forest.’ (www.tvnet.lv)
c. bez ‘without’
Kivi ir putns vistas lielumā,
bez spārniem un ar garu knābi.
without wing.dat.pl.m and with long.ins.m beak.ins.m
‘The kiwi is a chicken-sized bird, without wings and with a long beak.’
(CW)

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 d.
pret ‘against’
Mūsu projekts bija par priežu
we.gen project.nom.m be.cop.pst.3 about pine.gen.pl.f
izturību pret slimībām.
resistance.acc.f against disease.dat.pl.f
‘Our project was about the resistance of pines against diseases.’ (Ir)
12) sequence, order
(2.7.33) a. aiz ‘after, behind’
Riteņbarucēji drīkst braukt viens
cyclist.nom.pl.m be_allowed.prs.3 ride.inf one.nom.m
aiz otra.
behind other.gen.m
‘The cyclists are allowed to follow closely behind one another.’
(www.tvnet.lv)
b. pēc ‘after’
Nākamajā pieturā pēc Jelgavas,
next.loc.f station.loc.f after Jelgava.gen.f
Krimūnās, vilciens stāv ilgāk.
‘At the next station after Jelgava, Krimūnas, the train stops for a longer
time.’ (A. Žīgure)
13) comparison
(2.7.34) a. no ‘of’
Viņš bija skaistākais no
he.nom be.cop.pst.3 handsome.cmp.nom.m of
brāļiem.
brother.dat.pl.m
‘He was the handsomest of the brothers.’ (V. Belševica)
b. par ‘than’
Ir arī skaistākas meitenes par
be.prs.3 also beautiful.cmp.nom.pl.f girls.nom.pl.f than
mani.
I.acc
‘There are more beautiful girls than me.’ (M. Zīverts)
c. starp ‘among’
Viņš ir labākais starp Latvijas
he.nom be.cop.prs.3 good.cmp.nom.m among Latvia.gen.f
kamaniņu sportistiem.
luge.gen.pl.f athlete.dat.pl.m
‘He is the best among Latvian luge athletes.’ (Diena)
This account of prepositional meanings is not intended as a  set of hard and fast
categories, since, clearly, category membership may vary depending on interpretation

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in at least some of the  cases. For example, some prepositional meanings included
under ‘manner’ can be construed as being concerned with spatial relationships or
semantic objects, and vice versa. Likewise, prepositions used to indicate means
or co-presence can be analyzed as also serving to mark semantic objects, etc.
Although originally the preposition priekš ‘ago’ expressed temporal relationships,
this usage is now, to an extent, dated, and the  preposition pirms ‘before, prior to,
ahead of, ago’. In colloquial speech, priekš often indicates intent or purpose:
(2.7.35) a. Likums ir viens priekš
law.nom.m be.cop.prs.3 one.nom.m for
visiem.
everyone.dat.pl.m
‘The law is the same for everyone.’ (C)
b. Ne priekš sevis viņš dzīvo, bet gan
not for self.gen he.nom live.prs.3 but rather
priekš pasaules.
for world.gen.f
‘It’s not for himself that he lives, it’s for the world.’ (C)
Such usage, however, is considered incorrect in Standard Latvian, prepositionless
dative or genitive constructions being preferred instead:
(2.7.36) a. Likums ir viens visiem.
law.nom.m be.cop.prs.3 one.nom.m everyone.dat.pl.m
‘The law is the same for everyone.’
b. Ne sev .., bet gan pasaulei.
not self.dat.m but rather world.dat.f
‘Not for himself…, but for the world.’
Latvian has a number of adverbs functioning as prepositions. These usually express
spatial and temporal relationships, manner, etc., for example, apkārt ‘around’, cauri
‘through’, garām ‘past, by’, pāri ‘over, across’, pretī ‘opposite, across’, virsū ‘on top of,
on, onto, over’, and combine with nouns and other declinable words in the dative:
(2.7.37) a. Es piecēlos kājās un lēnām
I.nom stand.pst.1sg foot.loc.pl.f and slowly
apgāju apkārt istabai.
walk_around.pst.1sg around room.dat.f
‘I got to my feet and slowly walked around the room.’ (C)
b. Saule spīd cauri koku galotnēm.
sun.nom.f shine through tree.gen.pl.m top.dat.pl.f
‘The sun is shining through the treetops.’ (C)
c. Iedama garām spogulim,
walk.ptcp.nom.f past mirror.dat.m
viņa nepacēla acis.
‘She did not look up as she walked past the mirror.’ (C)

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 d. Es pāri laukam steidzos mājup.
I.nom across field.dat.m hurry.pst.1sg homeward
‘I hurried home across the field.’ (C)
e. Mēs dzīvojam kalnā tieši pretī
we.nom live.prs.1pl mountain.loc.m directly opposite
jūrai.
sea.dat.f
‘We live on a mountain, directly opposite the sea.’ (C)
f. Putni metas virsū graudiem.
bird.nom.pl.m swoop.prs.3 onto grain.dat.pl.m
‘The birds swoop down onto the grain.’ (C)

2.8 PARTICLES
Particles are a class of function words used to express the speaker’s attitude towards
the content of an utterance and add a modal, emotional, and/or semantic meaning
to a particular part of a sentence (i.e., a sentence constituent) or to an utterance as
a  whole (Skujiņa 2007: 288). The majority of particles are polysemous and their
meaning is highly context-dependent.
Particles do not inflect, do not function as parts of sentences and, in general, are
usually uninvolved in dependencies.
Particles may express the  following types of meaning (Kalme 2001: 56–63;
Paegle 2003: 210–213):
1) affirmative
(2.8.1) a. jā ‘yes’
– Vai es drīkstu ienākt? – Jā, jā, lūdzu.
q I.nom may.prs.1sg enter.inf yes yes please
‘May I come in? – Yes, yes, please.’ (C)
b. nujā, nuja ‘yes’ (in colloquial speech)
“Nujā, [mēs esam] meža malā”, viņš
yes [we are] forest.gen.m edge.loc.f he.nom
apstiprina.
confirm.prs.3
‘Yes, [we are] at the edge of the forest,’ he confirms. (C)
2) negative
(2.8.2) a. nē ‘no’
Nē, es te vairs nepalikšu.
no I.nom here anymore not_stay.fut.1sg
‘No, I won’t stay here any longer.’ (C)

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 b. ne ‘not’
[dziesmas] Aizliegums attiecas tikai uz valsts radio un televīziju,
bet ne privātām stacijām.
but not private.dat.pl.f station.dat.pl.f
‘The [song broadcasting] prohibition only applies to public radio and
television but not to private stations.’ (www.tvnet.lv)
3) interrogative
(2.8.3) vai ‘whether, if’
Vai Kārlis vēl nav
q Kārlis.nom.m still not_be.aux.prs.3
apprecējies?
marry.ptcp.nom.m
‘Is Kārlis still unmarried?’ (I. Gaile)
4) comparative
(2.8.4) a. it kā, itin kā ‘as if, as though, seemingly’
Tā ir skaista vieta,
it.nom.f be.cop.prs.3 beautiful.nom.f place.nom.f
meži ir it kā atkāpušies
forest.nom.pl.m be.aux.prs.3 as though retreat.ptcp.nom.pl.m
no jūras.
from sea.gen.f
‘It is a beautiful place, the forests look as though they have retreated
from the coast.’ (N. Ikstena)
Trīs bērni dzīvo itin kā
three.nom child.nom.pl.m live.prs.3 seemingly
pilnīgi normālā mūsdienu realitātē.
absolutely normal.loc.f modern.loc.pl.f reality.loc.f
‘The three children live in a seemingly normal modern reality.’
(Diena)
b. kā ‘like, as’
Rakstnieka tēlotajam zēnam pasaule
writer.gen.m depict.ptcp.dat.m boy.dat.m world.nom.f
ir kā brīnums.
be.cop.prs.3 as miracle.nom.m
‘The boy depicted by the writer sees the world as a miracle.’ (Jaunā Gaita)
c. nekā ‘than, as’
Mēs dzīvojām citā pilsētā nekā
we.nom live.pst.1pl other.loc.f town.loc.f than
mātes vecāki.
mother.gen.f parent.nom.pl.m
‘We live in a different town than our maternal grandparents.’
(Jaunā Gaita)

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 5) conditional
(2.8.5) a. kaut ‘if only, I wish’
Kaut nebūtu tik neciešami karsti!
if_only not_be.cond so unbearably hot
‘If only it weren’t so unbearably hot!’ (A. Eglītis)
b. lai ‘let, may’
Lai viss izdodas!
let all.nom.m succeed.prs.3
‘Let it all go well!’ (www.draugiem.lv)
6) limitative
(2.8.6) a. tikai ‘only’
Tikai pēc ilgākas meklēšanas Argods
only after long.gen.f searching.gen.f Argods.nom.m
atrada brīvu vietu [automašīnas novietošanai].
find.pst.3 vacant.acc.f space.acc.f [car parking]
‘Only after a long search did Argods find a vacant [parking] space.’
(A. Eglītis)
b. vien ‘unless, as long as’
Gadu tūkstošu gaitā ir izrādījies, ka cilvēks ir pārāks [par zvēriem].
Ja vien nav no bailīgajiem.
if as_long_as not_be.cop.prs.3 of timid.dat.pl.m
‘Over the course of the millennia, it turned out that man is superior
[to animals]. As long as he or she is not timid.’ (P. Bankovskis)
c. vienīgi ‘only, though’
Vienīgi gribētos zināt, kas ir
only wish.cond know.inf what.nom be.cop.prs.3
mani kaimiņi.
my.nom.pl.m neighbor.nom.pl.m
‘I would just like to know who my neighbors are.’ (www.tvnet.lv)
d. vairs ‘anymore, already’
Tur vairs nekas nav glābjams.
there already nothing.nom not_be.cop.prs.3 save.ptcp.nom.m
‘It is beyond saving already.’ (A. Žīgure)
7) emphasizing, intensifying, or attenuating
(2.8.7) a. ak ‘oh, I see’
“Es biju sapratis, ka arī viņa [krustmāte] ir šeit [slimnīcā].”
“Ak tā?” Ārsts teica.
oh_I_see so doctor.nom.m say.pst.3
“Interesanti. Bet, nē, viņas te nav.”
‘I was led to believe that she [the aunt] is here [at the hospital], as well.
“Were you, indeed?” the doctor said.
“That’s interesting. But, no, she is not here.”’ (I. Gaile)

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 b. arī, ar ‘also, what’s more, at that, either’
Daudzi [cilvēki] vispār neko nedara.
Un negrib arī mācīties.
and not_want.prs.3 either learn.inf
‘Many [people] don’t do anything at all. And don’t want to learn either.’
(www.tvnet.lv)
c. ir, i ‘also, too’
“Mainies ir tu uz augšu”, teica
change.imp.1pl too you.nom.sg to top.acc.f say.pst.3
režisors citiem.
director.nom.m other.dat.pl.m
‘“You, too, should strive to elevate yourself.” said the director to
the others.’ (www.kroders.lv)
d. it, itin ‘at all, in the slightest’
Tā [abstraktā tēlniecība] vispār
it.nom.f [abstract sculpture] at_all
nav it nekas!
not_be.cop.prs.3 at_all nothing.nom
‘It [abstract sculpture] is nothing at all!’ (A. Eglītis)
Par privāto dzīvi es negribu runāt
about private.acc.f life.acc.f I.nom not_want.prs.1sg talk.inf
itin nemaz.
at_all not_at_all
‘I do not want to talk about my private life at all.’ (Latvijas Avīze)
e. gan ‘emphasis, e.g., ‘really’’
Kad mēs augām, tā gan
when we.nom grow_up.pst.1pl like_that really
nebija.
not_be.pst.3
‘It really wasn’t like that when we were growing up.’ (www.tvnet.lv)
f. jau ‘already’
Nekad nevajag atstāt teātri jau
never not_should.prs.3 leave.inf theater.acc.m already
pēc pirmā cēliena.
after first.gen.m act.gen.m
‘One should never leave the theater [already] after the first act.’
(A. Eglītis)
g. jel, jele ‘emphasis, e.g., emphatic ‘do’’
“Bet saki jel, Bērtuli,” viņš runāja,
but tell.imp.2sg emph Bērtulis.acc.m he.nom say.pst.3
“kādēļ gan Jēkabs tā nebēdājās kā tu?”
‘“Bērtulis, do tell,” he said, “why didn’t Jēkabs grieve as much as you
did?”’ (C)

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 Vai tu vispār esi jele ko
q you.nom.sg at_all be.aux.prs.2sg emph what.acc
darījis [manā labā]?
do.ptcp.nom.m [my sake]
‘Have you ever done anything at all [for me]?’ (A. Eglītis)
h. jo ‘emphasis’
Piektdienas rītā Latvijā, jo īpaši
Friday.gen.f morning.loc.m Latvia.loc.f emph particularly
Latgalē, apgrūtināta satiksme
Latgale.loc.f burden.ptcp.nom.f traffic.nom.f
[snigšanas dēļ].
[snowfall due_to]
‘On Friday morning, traffic is heavy [due to snow] throughout Latvia,
especially in Latgale.’ (Neatkarīgā Rīta Avīze)
i. nebūt ‘by no means, at all’
Man liekas,
ka mums viss nebūt
that we.dat all.nom.m by_no_means
nav tik labi,
not_be.cop.prs.3 so well
kā varētu būt.
‘It seems to me that all is, by no means, as well as it could be between
you and me.’ (Jaunā Gaita)
j. nu ‘emphasis’
Bet te nu tā [iespēja] bija.
but here emph it.nom.f [opportunity] be.pst.3
‘There it [the opportunity] was.’ (I. Gaile)
k. pat ‘even’
Viņš raksta, glezno un iet pat
he.nom write.prs.3 paint.prs.3 and go.prs.3 even
zvejot.
fish.inf
‘He writes, paints, and even goes fishing.’ (Jaunā Gaita)
l. tad ‘emphasis’
Jā, bet kā tad to var zināt?
yes but how emph it.acc be_able.prs.3 know.inf
‘Yes, but how are you supposed to know that?’ (Rīgas Laiks)
m. tak ‘emphasis’
Jūs tak zināt prāvestu Plāni
you.nom.pl emph know.prs.2pl dean.acc.m Plānis.acc.m
Nikolaju?
Nikolajs.acc.m
‘You do know the dean, Nikolajs Plānis, don’t you?’ (I. Ābele)

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 n. tik, tikai ‘just, nothing more than’
Bet bērns tik stāv kā
but child.nom.m just stand.prs.3 as
stāvējis.
stand.ptcp.nom.m
‘But the child just keeps standing.’ (L. Tauns)
Tās visas ir tikai tavas
that.nom.pl.f all.nom.f be.cop.prs.3 just your.nom.pl.f
iedomas.
imagination.nom.pl.f
‘These are all just figments of your imagination.’ (Latvijas Avīze)
o. vēl ‘still, yet’
Dēli vēl snauda savās
son.nom.pl.m still snooze.pst.3 own.loc.pl.f
gultās.
bed.loc.pl.f
‘The sons were still snoozing in their beds.’ (I. Ābele)
p. vien, vienīgi ‘(when/what/etc.)ever, only, except that’
Katrā laikā,
kad vien tev izdevīgi [varam satikties]!
when ever you.dat.sg convenient
‘Any time, whenever it suits you [we can meet]!’ (A. Eglītis)
Ārēji ģimenē nekas nemainās,
outwardly family.loc.f nothing.nom not_change.prs.3
vienīgi meita aug.
except_that daughter.nom.f grow.prs.3
‘Outwardly, nothing changes in the family, except that the daughter is
growing up.’ (A. Žīgure)
r. vis ‘negative emphasis’
Kad Artūrs šo [lidostas] departamentu sāka veidot,
tā [tik labi] vis nebija.
that [so well] neg.emph not_be.pst.3
‘When Arthur first started setting up this [airport] department it was
nothing like that.’ (Diena)
8) generalizing
(2.8.8) ik ‘every’
Archīva darbinieks ik rītu šķērso
archive.gen.m worker.nom.m every morning.acc.m cross.prs.3
Stokholmu trolejbusā.
Stockholm.acc.f trolleybus.loc.m
‘Every morning, the archive worker crosses Stockholm in a trolleybus.’
(Dz. Sodums)

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 9) indefinite
(2.8.9) a. diez, diezin ‘who knows’, diez vai, diezin vai ‘hardly’
Ko viņš [dēls] diez tagad dara?
what.acc he.nom [son] who_knows now do.prs.3
‘Who knows what he [the son] is up to these days?’ (www.maminuklubs.lv)
Diezin vai šajā laikā [1. pasaules
hardly this.loc.m time.loc.m [first world
kara laikā] būs iespējams novākt ražu.
war time] be.cop.fut.3 possible gather.inf crop.acc.f
‘It would have hardly been possible to gather the crops at that time
[during WWI].’ (P. Bankovskis)
b. it kā, itin kā ‘sort of, kind of’
Miegs it kā nāca, it kā nenāca.
sleep.nom.m sort_of come.pst.3 sort_of not_come.pst.3
‘I sort of felt and sort of didn’t feel like falling asleep.’ (C)
c. kaut ‘at least’
Es varēju ar vienu vārdu, kaut
I.nom be_able.pst.1sg with one.ins.m word.ins.m at_least
pusvārdu, pateikt,
half_word.ins.m say.inf
ka es tam nepiekrītu.
‘I could say a word, or even a half word, to show that I didn’t agree.’
(www.satori.lv)
d. nez ‘(I) wonder’, nezin ‘somehow, for some reason’
Nez, vai viņš mani atlaidīs [no darba]?
ptcl q he.nom I.acc fire.fut.3 [from job]
‘I wonder, will he fire me?’ (I. Gaile)
Man nezin kāpēc ir labs
I.dat for_some_reason why be.prs.3 good.nom.m
garastāvoklis.
mood.nom.m
‘I feel great for some reason.’ (Neatkarīgā Rīta Avīze)
e. lai ‘uncertainty regarding a future action’
Ko lai iesāku?
what.acc ptcl do.prs.1sg
‘What shall I do?’ (L. Tauns)
f. tā kā ‘as it were’
Būtu vērts [pēc svētkiem] tā kā izdarīt
be.cop.cond worth [after festival] as_it_were do.inf
kādus secinājumus.
some.acc.pl.m conclusion.acc.pl.m
‘It would be wise, as it were, to draw some conclusions [after
the festival]’ (Diena)

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 g. vai ‘almost, nearly’
Tēlnieka daiļrade pētīta gadiem ilgi,
bet vai ik reizi atklājas
but almost every time.acc.f be_discovered.prs.3
kaut kas jauns.
something.nom new.nom.m
‘The sculptor’s works have been studied for years, yet one still discovers
something new almost every time.’ (www.lsm.lv)
10) expressing doubt
(2.8.10) a. droši vien ‘probably, likely’
Droši vien [senās ēkas] telpu
probably [ancient buildings] room.gen.pl.f
iekārtojums jāsaista ar kādiem
design.nom.m deb.tie with some.ins.pl.m
vēstures notikumiem.
history.gen.f event.ins.pl.m
‘The design of indoor spaces [in the ancient building] should probably
be tied to relevant historical events.’ (Latvijas Avīze)
b. laikam ‘probably, likely’
Sarūgtināts viņš nodomāja,
ka laikam būs jānēsā brilles.
that probably be.aux.fut.3 deb.wear glasses.nom.f
‘He was upset and thought that he would probably have to wear
glasses.’ (R. Ezera)
c. sak ‘you know’
Būt par aktieri...
Sak, tas jau bija
you_know it.nom.m already be.cop.pst.3
vienīgais pareizais ceļš.
only.nom.m right.nom.m way.nom.m
‘To be an actor … It was the only right way, you know.’
(www.liepājniekiem.lv)
d. tā kā ‘like, as if’
Francis augšstāvā tā kā ieklepojas.
Francis.nom.m upstairs.loc.m as_if cough.prs.3
‘It sounds like Francis is coughing upstairs.’ (C)
e. varbūt ‘perhaps, maybe’
Varbūt es pārāk slikti domāju par
perhaps I.nom too badly think.prs.1sg about
cilvēkiem?
person.dat.pl.m
‘Perhaps, I think too badly of people?’ (I. Gaile)

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 11) positive or negative evaluation
(2.8.11) a. diemžēl ‘unfortunately’
diemžēl iepriecināt nevarēsim –
unfortunately cheer_up.inf not_be_able.fut.1pl
laiks kļūs siltāks tikai marta otrajā pusē.
‘Unfortunately, we won’t be able to cheer you up – the weather will not
get warmer until the second half of March.’ (Kas Jauns)
b. tātad ‘so, then’
Kalnus vēl neredzam, jo ir tumšs,
tātad rīt mūs sagaida pārsteigums.
so tomorrow we.acc await.prs.3 surprise.nom.m
‘We can’t see the mountains yet, because it’s dark, so there is going to
be a surprise for us tomorrow.’ (www.lsm.lv)
In Latvian, particles often occur in combinations (usually, of two particles) (also see
examples (2.8.9)–(2.8.10) with the particles it kā, itin kā, tā kā, droši vien, diezin vai,
vai ne above), e.g.:
(2.8.12) a. gan jau ‘surely’
Gan jau drīz redzēsimies.
surely soon meet.fut.1pl
‘Surely, we will meet again soon.’ (C)
b. nu gan ‘emphasis, e.g., really, indeed’
Tu nu gan esi
you.nom.sg really be.cop.prs.2sg
naivs.
naïve.nom.m
‘You really are naïve.’ (C)
c. vai tad ‘disbelief, e.g., really, actually’
Vai tad mums ļoti jāsteidzas?
q emph we.dat very deb.hurry
‘Are we really in such a hurry?’ (C)
d. tad gan ‘emphasis, focus, e.g., that’s when’
Tad gan iestājās liela bezcerība
that’s_when start.pst.3 large.nom.f hopelessness.nom.f
un izmisums.
and despair.nom.m
‘That’s when real hopelessness and despair kicked in.’ (C)
e. nu tad ‘well then’
Nu tad uz drīzu tikšanos,
well then to near.acc.f meeting.acc.f
Kārli.
Kārlis.voc.m
‘Well then, see you soon, Kārlis.’ (I. Gaile)

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Affirmative, negative, interrogative, and conditional particles usually apply to whole
utterances, therefore, their typical position is at the beginning of a text.
(2.8.13) a. Jā, tā tas ir.
yes so it.nom.m be.prs.3
‘Yes, that’s the case.’ (C)
b. – Vai tu vēl raksti
q you.nom.sg still write.prs.2sg
dzeju?
poetry.acc.f
‘Do you still write poetry?’
– Nē, sen vairs ne.
no long anymore no
‘No, not for a long time.’ (C)
c. Vai tu zini,
q you.nom.sg know.prs.2sg
ko tu tikko pasūtināji [restorānā]?
‘Do you know what you have just ordered [at the restaurant]?’
(A. Eglītis)
d. Kaut es varētu iekāpt tanī
if­­_only I.nom be_able.cond board.inf that.loc.m
[kuģī]!
[ship]
‘If only I could board that [ship]!’ (L. Tauns)
In spoken language, especially in colloquial speech, affirmative, negative, and
interrogative particles are sometimes placed at the end of a text.
(2.8.14) a. Es, protams, biju laimīgs, jā.
I.nom of_course be.cop.pst.1sg happy.nom.m yes
‘I was, of course, happy, to be sure.’ (C)
b. Vai jums ir pazīstams šis
q you.dat.pl be.cop.prs familiar.nom.m this.nom.m
vārds? Nē?
name.nom.m no
‘Do you know this word? No?’ (P. Bankovskis)
c. Taču nebūsim nodevēji, vai ne?
still not_be.fut.1pl traitor.nom.pl.m q emph
‘Let’s not be traitors though, OK?’ (R. Ezera)
All other particles usually precede or follow the syntactic constituent to which their
modal, emotional, etc. meaning relates (see examples above). Irrespective of their
position in a sentence, all particles function as discourse markers, since their meaning
always rests on a  wider context inextricably linked to a  specific communicative
situation.

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 The negative particles nē ‘no’ and ne ‘not’ are not synonymous. The particle
nē ‘no’ usually applies to the  whole content of an utterance and is separated by
a comma.
(2.8.15) “Vai vēlaties ceļot uz [Meksikas]
q want.prs.2pl travel.inf to [Mexico]
galvaspilsētu?”
capital.acc.f
‘Do you want to travel to the capital [of Mexico]?’
“Nē, uz Akapulko.”
no to Acapulco
‘No, to Acapulco.’ (A. Eglītis)
The particle ne ‘not’, by contrast, applies to a  particular part of sentence, either
preceding it (2.8.16) or substituting for, or pointing to, a  previously mentioned
negated predicate (2.8.17).
(2.8.16) Ne mirkli nešaubījos par to,
not moment.acc.m not_doubt.pst.1sg about that.acc.m
ka drošības sajūtu rada ģimene.
‘Not for a moment did I doubt that family gives us a sense of security.’
(Latvijas Avīze)
(2.8.17) a. Meitu viņam nebija, māsu
daughter.gen.pl.f he.dat not_be.pst.3 sister.gen.pl.f
arī ne [nebija].
also not [not_be]
‘He didn’t have daughters or sisters.’ (I. Ābele)
b. Mēs katrs zinām, kas
we.nom each.nom.m know.prs.1pl what.nom
mums der un kas ne
we.dat suit.prs.3 and what.nom not
[neder].
[not_suit]
‘Each of us knows what suits us and what doesn’t.’ (C)
Particles may be homonymous with adverbs (tad ‘then’, jau ‘already’, nu ‘now’,
vēl  ‘yet, still’), conjunctions (arī ‘and also, as well’, vai ‘or’, lai ‘so that’, ne ‘not’,
i ‘both … and’, ir ‘both … and’, gan ‘both … and’, jo ‘as, since’), and interjections
(ak ‘oh’, nu ‘well, why’) (see Section 2.0.4).

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2.9 CONJUNCTIONS
Conjunctions are a  class of function words used to connect syntactic units, such
as content (lexical) words, phrases, clauses, and, at the  text level, also sentences.
Conjunctions do not inflect and are not included in parts of sentences (Skujiņa 2007:
332). Depending on the type of syntactic relationship they signal, conjunctions are
further classified into coordinating and subordinating conjunctions.
Coordinating conjunctions join syntactic units that are of equal syntactic
importance, such as coordinated parts of sentences (2.9.1), coordinated clauses
(2.9.2), independent clauses (2.9.3), and sentences (2.9.4) (Skujiņa 2007: 334).
(2.9.1) a. Pa dienu vēl bija saulains
during day.acc.f still be.pst.3 sunny.nom.m
un silts, bet naktīs kļuva
and warm.nom.m but night.loc.pl.f become.cop.pst.3
vēsāks.
chillier.nom.m
‘The days were still sunny and warm, but nights were getting chillier.’
(P. Bankovsksis)
b. Rozes, neļķes un lilijas
rose.nom.pl.f carnation.nom.pl.f and lily.nom.pl.f
vislabāk jūtas atsevišķās, nevis
best_of_all feel.prs.3 separate.loc.pl.f instead_of
jauktās buķetēs.
mix.ptcp.loc.pl.f bouquets.loc.pl.f
‘Roses, carnations, and lilies feel best in separate, rather than mixed,
bouquets.’ (www.delfi.lv)
(2.9.2) Un notrīs meitene,
Kas ar vecmāmiņu iet pa ielu
Un ēd ābolu.
and eat.prs.3 apple.acc.m
‘And the girl,
Who is walking down the street with her grandmother
And is eating an apple, shivers.’ (L. Tauns)
(2.9.3) Puķu [dārzā] ir daudz, un tās
flower.gen.pl.f [garden] be.prs.3 a_lot and they.nom.f
zied tik koši.
bloom.prs.3 so colorfully
‘There are a lot of flowers [in the garden] and they are so colorful.’
(A. Žīgure)

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(2.9.4) [1921. gadā] Izrādās, lielā florencieša [Dantes] darbi latviski vispār nav atdzejoti.
Un pēkšņi jauns atklājums – tomēr
and suddenly new.nom.m discovery.nom.m after_all
ir gan!
be.aux.prs.3 ptcl
‘[In 1921] It turns out that the great Florentine [Dante] has never been
translated into Latvian. And then all of a sudden another discovery – he
has been, after all!’ (Z. Skujiņš)
Coordinating conjunctions may have one of the  following meanings (Paegle 2003:
216–219):
1) cumulative or copulative
(2.9.5) a. un ‘and’
Viņš pirka un pārdeva mežus.
he.nom buy.pst.3 and sell.pst.3 woodland.acc.pl.m
‘He bought and sold woodland.’ (I. Ābele)
b. arī ‘also, too’
Mūsu mājās [viesībās] arī tika dejots.
we.gen home.loc.pl.f [parties] also get.aux.pst.3 dance.ptcp.nom.f
‘We also used to have dances at our house [during parties].’ (Jaunā Gaita)
c. kā arī ‘and also, as well as’
Revīzijā tika vērtēta tilta
audit.nom.f get.aux.pst.3 assess.ptcp.nom.f bridge.gen.m
projektēšana un būvniecība, kā arī izmaksas.
design.nom.f and construction.nom.f as_well_as cost.nom.pl.f
‘The audit assessed the design and construction workflow, as well as
the cost of the bridge.’ (C)
d. gan – gan ‘both … and’
Sēnes ir gan vienšūnas, gan
fungi.nom.pl.f be.cop.prs.3 conj single-celled.gen.f conj
daudzšūnu organismi.
multicellular.gen.pl.f organism.nom.pl.m
‘There are both single-celled and multicellular organisms among fungi.’ (C)
e. ir – ir, i – i ‘both … and’
Tētis mīlēja ir māmiņu, ir
daddy.nom.m love.pst.3 both mummy.acc.f and
bērnus, ir godīgu darbu.
child.acc.pl.m and honest.acc.m work.acc.m
‘Daddy loved mummy, the children, and also honest work.’ (C)
Uz šo adresi agrāk bieži braucām
to this.acc.f address.acc.f before often drive.pst.1pl
i no rītiem, i pusnaktīs.
both in morning.dat.pl.m and midnight.loc.pl.f
‘In the past, we often drove to this address in the morning and at
midnight alike.’ (I. Ābele)

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 f. ne – ne, nedz – nedz ‘(n)either … (n)or’
Par to vairs negribas ne runāt,
about it.acc.m anymore not_want.aux.prs.3 neg.conj talk.inf
ne lasīt, ne domāt.
neg.conj read.inf neg.conj think.inf
‘One neither wants to talk, nor read, nor think about it anymore.’ (C)
Mājās nav nedz gaļas, nedz
home.loc.pl.f not_be.prs.3 neither meat.gen.f nor
kāpostu.
cabbage.gen.pl.m
‘There is neither meat nor cabbage at home.’ (A. Eglītis)
g. ne vien – bet arī, ne tikai – bet arī ‘not only / not just … but also’
Šī ierīce uzrāda ne vien siltuma,
this.nom.f device.nom.f show.prs.3 not only heat.gen.m
bet arī ūdens cirkulāciju.
but also water.gen.m circulation.acc.f
‘This device keeps track of heat as well as water circulation.’ (C)
Martinam Rīgā patīk ne tikai
Martins.dat.m Rīga.loc.f like.prs.3 not only
skaistā vecpilsēta un jūgendstils, bet
beautiful.nom.f old_town.nom.f and Art_Nouveau.nom.m but
arī kultūra.
also culture.nom.f
‘What Martins likes about Rīga is not just the beauty of the Old Town
and Art Nouveau, but also the culture.’ (Ir)
h. tiklab – kā arī ‘equally well’
Tas var liecināt tiklab par
that.nom.m may.prs.3 signify.inf as_much about
iekšējās kultūras trūkumu, kā arī par
inner.gen.f culture.gen.f lack.acc.m as also about
kaitīgu ieradumu.
harmful.acc.m habit.acc.m
‘This may equally well indicate a lack of personal culture as a bad
habit.’ (C)
i. kā – tā ‘either’
Papildlaikā pie panākuma varēja tikt
extra_period.loc.m to success.gen.m be_able.pst.3 get.inf
kā viena, tā otra [basktebola]
conj one.nom.f conj other.nom.f [basketball]
komanda.
team.nom.f
‘Either [basketball] team could have been successful in the extra
period.’ (C)

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 2) adversative
(2.9.6) a. bet ‘but’
Dzīvoklis ir liels, bet tumšs.
apartment.nom.m be.cop.prs.3 large.nom.m but dark.nom.m
‘The apartment is large but dark.’ (A. Žīgure)
b. nevis ‘instead of, rather than’
Domā par veselību, nevis [ķermeņa]
think.imp.2sg about health.acc.f rather_than [body]
svaru!
weight.acc.m
‘Think in terms of health rather than [body] weight!’ (www.delfi.lv)
c. taču ‘however, whereas’
Veco šķirņu gurķi sausumā un karstumā kļuva rūgti,
taču modernajām šķirnēm tā nenotiek.
however modern.dat.pl.f variety.dat.pl.f so not_happen.prs.3
‘Old varieties of cucumbers would turn bitter in dry and hot conditions,
modern varieties, however, do not.’ (www.mammamuntetiem.lv)
d. tomēr ‘nevertheless, still, yet’
Pilsēta bija tukša, kā jau dienas vidū.
Tomēr tā bija moderna un
still that.nom.f be.cop.pst.3 modern.nom.f and
cerīga vieta.
hopeful.nom.f place.nom.f
‘The city was empty, as might be expected at noon. Still it was a modern
place, full of hope.’ (A. Eglītis)
e. turpretī ‘whereas, on the contrary’
Uzņēmēji esot aicinājuši ministru prezidentu uz tikšanos.
Turpretī premjera preses sekretāre
whereas prime_minister.gen.m press.gen.f secretary.nom.f
to noliedza.
that.acc.m deny.pst.3
‘Business owners apparently proposed a meeting with the prime minister.
The prime minister’s press secretary, however, denies this.’ (Diena)
3) disjunctive
(2.9.7) a. vai ‘or’
Ir pilnīgi skaidrs,
ka tas [fotogrāfijā redzamais siluets]
that that.nom.m [photograph visible figure]
nav alnis, briedis vai stirna.
not_be.cop.prs.3 moose.nom.m stag.nom.m or doe.nom.f
‘It’s quite clear that this [a figure in a photograph] is not a moose, stag,
or doe.’ (P. Bankovskis)

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 b. vai – vai ‘whether … or, no matter …’
Vai bija ziema, vai vasara,
whether be.pst.3 winter.nom.f or summer.nom.f
skujeņi slejas kā mūris.
‘Winter or summer, the conifers stood like a wall.’ (Diena)
c. vai nu – vai ‘either … or’
Es dzīvoju vai nu tikai nākotnē, vai
I.nom live.prs.1sg either only future.loc.f or
pagātnē.
past.loc.f
‘I live either entirely in the future, or in the past.’ (C)
d. te – te ‘now… now…’
Jūra viļņojās te tumši zila, te
sea.nom.f wave.pst.3 now dark blue.nom.f now
neparasti zaļa.
unusually green.nom.f
‘The waves came now dark blue, now unusually green.’ (C)
e. drīz – drīz ‘now… now…, at one moment … at the next …’
Skaļu strazdu bars apsēž
loud.gen.pl.m blackbird.gen.pl.m flock.nom.m sit.prs.3
pamestā dārzā drīz vienu,
abandoned.loc.m garden.loc.m one_moment one.acc.m
drīz otru ķiršu koku.
next_moment second.acc.m cherry.gen.pl.m tree.acc.m
‘At one moment a flock of loud blackbirds in the abandoned garden sits
on one cherry-tree, at the next – on another.’ (C)
f. nevis – bet ‘rather than, not… but…’
Durvis veras nevis uz āru,
door.nom.pl.f open.prs.3 not towards outside.acc.m
bet uz iekšpusi.
but towards interior.acc.f
‘The door opens inwards rather than outwards.’ (C)
4) explanatory
(2.9.8) jeb ‘or (a.k.a.)’
Vasaras saulgrieze jeb saulespuķe
summer.gen.f helianthus.nom.f or sunflower.nom.f
ir kurvjziežu dzimtas lakstaugs.
be.cop.prs.3 daisy.gen.pl.m family.gen.f herbaceous.nom.m
‘Helianthus annuus, or the sunflower, is a herbaceous plant of the daisy
family.’ (Latvijas Avīze)

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In Latvian, the coordinating conjunctions vai ‘or’ and jeb ‘or (a.k.a.)’ have different
functions and, therefore, should not be used interchangeably: the conjunction vai is
disjunctive (2.9.9a), whereas jeb is explanatory (2.9.9b).
(2.9.9) a. diena vai nakts ‘day or night’
b. kadiķis jeb paeglis ‘Juniperus communis, or common juniper’
Likewise, the  conjunction jeb is not synonymous with the  somewhat outdated
subordinating conjunction jebšu ‘although, despite’.
(2.9.10) Viņš ir pagarš, plecīgs un,
he.nom be.cop.prs.3 tallish.nom.m broad_shouldered.nom.m and
jebšu (// kaut gan) jau students, tomēr visai
despite (//despite) already student.nom.m yet rather
vienkāršs [jauneklis].
simple.nom.m [young_man]
‘He is tallish, broad-shouldered and, despite already being a student,
[a] rather simple [young man].’ (www.letonika.lv)
However, in mass media and other contemporary texts, the  conjunction jebšu
‘although, despite’ is sometimes used instead of the conjunction jeb ‘or (a.k.a.)’ (and
also instead of vai ‘or’), possibly because it is seen as an interesting, unusual means
of expression, i.e., a stylistic device.
(2.9.11) Nauda kāzu dāvanā jebšu (correct: jeb)
money.nom.f wedding.gen.pl.f gift.loc.f or
[kāzu viesiem] palika bēdīgi.
[wedding guest] become.pst.3 sad
‘Money as a wedding gift or this made us [the guests] sad.’ (www.precos.lv)
Subordinating conjunctions are used to connect a subordinate clause to the main
clause of a  sentence (2.9.12a-b) or to join one or several dependent clauses to an
independent clause (which may be the  main clause of a  sentence or another
subordinate clause) (2.9.12c) (Skujiņa 2007: 273).
(2.9.12) a. Man šķita, ka tas nav iespējams.
I.dat seem.pst.3 that it.nom.m not_be.cop.prs.3 possible
‘I didn’t think it was possible.’ (Diena)
b. Ja būvuzraugs nebūtu apjucis,
if construction_supervisor.nom.m not_be.aux.cond confused
viņš varētu man samelot,
ka tieši tajā [ēkas apšuvuma] vietā
that exactly that.loc.f [building paneling] spot.loc.f
tehnisku iemeslu dēļ vienai
technical.gen.pl.m reason.gen.pl.m because_of one.dat.f
plāksnei mala šaurāka.
panel.dat.f edge.nom.f narrow.nom.cmp.f
‘If it weren’t for the confusion, the construction supervisor could have
lied to me that one of the panels having a narrower edge in that particular
spot [of the façade paneling] was a technical necessity.’ (A. Eglītis)

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 c. Lai gan nevar sacīt, ka tas [stāsts]
although not_be_able.prs.3 say.inf that it.nom.m [story]
būtu bijis literārs
be.aux.cond be.cop.ptcp.nom.m literary.nom.m
sacerējums ar augstu vērtību,
composition.nom.m with high.ins.f value.ins.f
muižas īpašniekam piemita raita stāstītāja dotumi.
‘Although it [the story] could not be said to be a work of great literary
merit, the lord of the manor had the makings of a fluent storyteller.’
(P. Bankovskis)
Subordinating conjunctions can express the  following meanings (Paegle 2003:
219–220):
1) purpose
(2.9.13) lai ‘in order that, so as to, so that’
Emocijas jāpazīst,
lai tās kļūtu vieglāk kontrolējamas.
so_that it.nom.pl.f become.cop.cond easier control.ptcp.nom.pl.f
‘One should learn about one’s emotions so that they become easier to
control.’ (C)
2) condition
(2.9.14) ja ‘if, unless, provided that’
Ja bērnu ved pirmo reizi klausīties
if child.acc.m take.prs.3 first.acc.def.f time.acc.f listen.inf
operu,
opera.acc.f
tai jābūt ļoti augstā izpildījumā.
‘If you take a child to the opera for the first time, it should be a really
sublime performance.’ (Latvijas Avīze)
3) cause
(2.9.15) a. tā kā ‘since, as’
Tā kā tuvojās sēdes beigas,
so as get_nearer.pst.3 meeting.gen.f end.nom.f
deputāti nebija noskaņoti turpināt diskutēšanu.
‘Since the meeting was nearing its end, the MPs didn’t seem disposed to
continue the discussion.’ (C)
b. tāpēc ka, tādēļ ka ‘because’
Šie cilvēki neprāto par zemākām [dzīvokļu] cenām nākotnē,
tāpēc ka īpašums viņiem vajadzīgs
because property.nom.m they.dat.m needed.nom.m
dzīvošanai tūlīt.
living.dat.f right_now
‘These people don’t speculate about lower [apartment] prices in the future,
because they need somewhere to live right now.’ (C)

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 Šo [darba plānošanas] kļūdu ir nepieciešams labot,
tādēļ ka tā nav tikai
because it.nom.f not_be.cop.prs.3 only
tehniska.
technical.nom.f
‘This [task planning] error ought to be corrected, because it’s not just
a technicality.’ (C)
4) consequence
(2.9.16) tā ka ‘therefore, hence, so’
Vārti [dārzam] ir gana plati,
tā ka arī lielais pašizgāzējs varēs
so that also large.nom.m lorry.nom.m be_able.fut.3
tikt iekšā.
get.inf inside.loc.f
‘The [garden] gates are wide enough, so that even the large lorry will be
able to get inside.’ (C)
5) reason, justification
(2.9.17) jo ‘as, for the reason that’
Pamest galvaspilsētu nebija žēl,
jo mani vienmēr saistījuši lauki.
as I.acc always fascinate.ptcp.nom.pl.m countryside.nom.pl.m
‘I wasn’t sorry to leave the capital, as I have always been fascinated by
the countryside.’ (C)
6) concession
(2.9.18) a. kaut ‘even though’, kaut gan ‘although, though’, kaut arī ‘even if’
Sniega šogad nav,
kaut tuvojas jau Ziemassvētki.
even approach.prs.3 already Christmas.nom.pl.m
‘There is no snow this year, even though Christmas is just around
the corner.’ (C)
Bieži esmu neizlēmīgs,
kaut gan no malas tā nešķiet.
even_though from side.gen.f so not_seem.prs.3
‘I am often indecisive, although it is not apparent to others.’ (C)
Taču kritiens,
kaut arī no neliela augstuma,
even_if from not_large.gen.m height.gen.m
bija diezgan neveiksmīgs.
‘However, it was a rather unfortunate fall, even if not from a great
height.’ (C)

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 b. lai gan ‘although, despite’, lai arī ‘although, despite’
Lai gan acis ir ciet,
although eye.nom.pl.f be.prs.3 closed
miegs tomēr vēl nenāk.
‘Although my eyes are closed, I’m still not tired.’ (C)
Tēvs, lai arī svešzemnieks,
father.nom.m even_though foreigner.nom.m
bija ļoti cienīts ārsts.
‘My father, despite being a foreigner, was a very well-respected
doctor.’ (C)
7) comparison
(2.9.19) jo – jo ‘the … the’
Jo ātrāk mēs tiekam no šejienes projām,
conj sooner we.nom get.prs.1pl of here.gen.f away
jo labāk.
conj better
‘The sooner we get out of here, the better.’ (A. Eglītis)
The subordinating conjunctions ka, lai, vai are considered to be semantically neutral
when they are used to introduce the following types of subordinate clauses:
1) attributive clauses
(2.9.20) Žanis bija secinājis ka vislabāk
Žanis.nom.m be.aux.pst.3 conclude.ptcp.nom.m that best
ir dzīvi iedalīt posmos,
be.cop.prs life.acc.f divide.inf stage.loc.pl.m
kas sākas un beidzas.
‘Žanis had concluded that life was best divided into stages, each with
a beginning and an end.’ (Jaunā Gaita)’
2) object clauses
(2.9.21) a. Šajā brīdī sapratu,
ka atpakaļceļa vairs nav.
that return.gen.m anymore not_be.prs.3
‘At that moment I realized that there was no going back.’ (C)
b. Es negribu, lai jūs domājat,
I.nom not_want.prs.1sg sub you.nom.pl think.prs.2pl
ka izliekos.
‘I don’t want you to think that I am pretending.’ (www.arterritory.com)
c. Dodoties prom un nezinot,
vai kādreiz vēl atgriezīšos [dzimtenē],
whether ever still return.fut.1sg [faherland]
es gribēju apciemot vecākus.
‘Going away and not knowing whether I was ever going to come back
[to my country], I wanted to visit my parents.’ (P. Bankovskis)

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 3) subject clauses
(2.9.22) Iespējams, ka jums taisnība.
possible.nom.m that you.dat.pl truth.nom.f
‘You may be right.’ (C)
In addition, the conjunction ka ‘that’ can be used to express the cause of something
being a certain way:
(2.9.23) Labi, ka darba kolektīvs jauks un
well that work.gen.m collective.nom.m nice.nom.m and
atbalstošs.
supportive.ptcp.nom.m
‘It’s a good thing that the staff are nice and supportive.’ (C)
When introducing subordinate clauses, the adverb kad ‘when’ should not be confused
with, i.e., used instead of, the subordinating conjunction ka ‘that’:
(2.9.24) a. Nu gadās,
kad (correct: ka) [dēls] aizmirst piezvanīt ...
when (correct: that) [son] forget.prs.3 call.inf
‘Well, there are times when [my son] forgets to call …’ (C)
b. Es, protams, ļoti atvainojos,
kad (correct: ka) aizkavēju jūsu
when (correct: that) keep.prs.1sg you.gen.pl
uzmanību.
attention.acc.f
‘I am, of course, very sorry to have kept your attention [for so long].’ (C)
Kad ‘when’ is an adverb of time and it therefore usually introduces subordinate
clauses of time (2.9.25), whereas the  conjunction ka ‘that’ is used for attributive,
object, subject, and other subordinate clauses (see examples (2.9.21)–(2.9.23)).
(2.9.25) a. Ko darīt, kad ārā līst?
what do.inf when outside rain.prs.3
‘What to do when it’s raining outside?’ (www.tvnet.lv)
b. Kad Mintauts neko neteica,
when Mintauts.nom.m nothing.acc not_say.pst.3
profesors runāja vien tālāk.
‘When Mintauts didn’t say anything the professor just kept on talking.’
(A. Eglītis)
In Latvian, a conjunction may consist of a single word (un ‘and’, bet ‘but’, ja ‘if’, ka
‘that’, lai ‘in order to, so’, jo ‘as’), a correlative pair (gan – gan ‘both … and’, ne – ne
‘(n)either … (n)or’, jo – jo ‘the … the …’, nedz – nedz ‘(n)either … (n)or’) or of several
words (kā arī ‘and also, as well as’, kaut arī ‘even if’, lai gan ‘although, despite’, tāpēc
ka ‘because’, tā ka ‘therefore, hence, so’, ne vien – bet arī ‘not only / not just … but
also’, tiklab – kā arī ‘equally well’).

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 In addition, some particles may function as coordinating (2.9.26) or subordinating
(2.9.27) conjunctions, e.g.:
(2.9.26) a. tikai ‘only’
Jezups nekad nebija juties piederīgs pie šīs dzīves,
tikai Marcela samierināja viņu ar
only Marcela.nom.f reconcile.pst.3 he.acc with
ikdienu.
everyday.ins.f
‘Jezups had never felt like he belonged in this life, only Marcela was
able to reconcile him with everyday existence.’ (I. Ābele)
b. toties ‘but, at the same time’
Šķiedrvielas nedod kalorijas,
toties izdara daudz ko citu
but do.prs.3 many what.acc other.acc.m
noderīgu.
useful.acc.m
‘Fiber has no caloric value but it does many other useful things.’
(www.delfi.lv)
c. vienīgi
Vecmāmiņa ir laipna,
vienīgi melnā kleita un
only black.nom.f dress.nom.f and
mežģīņu aube padara viņu ļoti
lace.gen.pl.f bonnet.nom.f make.prs.3 she.acc very
cienīgu.
dignified.acc.f
‘The grandmother is kind, only the black dress and the lace bonnet give
her a very dignified look.’ (A. Žīgure)
(2.9.27) it kā, itin kā ‘as if, as though’
Vējš viņiem pūta mugurā,
it kā kaut kur dzītu.
as_if somewhere chase.cond
‘The wind was blowing on their backs, as if chasing them away.’ (C)
Finally, the  relative pronouns kas ‘who, what, which, that’, kurš ‘who, which, that
(M SG)’, and kāds ‘which (M SG)’ (see Section 2.7.6), as well as a number of adverbs,
such as kad ‘when’, kur ‘where’, kā ‘how’, cik ‘how much’, can be used as subordinating
conjunctions (see Section 2.9; for details on conjunction words see 3.5.2).

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2.10 INTERJECTIONS
Interjections are lexical units used to communicate the speaker’s emotions (2.10.1a),
volition (2.10.1b), or to express (reproduce) the sounds of the world (2.10.1c) (Kalnača
2011a: 95).
(2.10.1) a. Ai, jasmīns uzziedējis!
ah jasmine.nom.m bloom.ptcp.nom.m
‘Ah, the jasmine has bloomed!’ (C)
b. Ei! Pagaidi!
hey wait.imp.2sg
‘Hey! Wait!’ (C)
c. Apčī! Apčī! – Tobiass šķaudīja gandrīz
achoo achoo Tobias.nom.m sneeze.pst.3 almost
pēc katra soļa.
after every.gen.m step.gen.m
‘Achoo! Achoo! – Tobias sneezed almost after every step.’ (C)
The class of interjections also covers greetings and polite expressions such as labrīt
‘good morning!’, labdien ‘good afternoon!’, labvakar ‘good evening!’, ar labu nakti
‘good night!’, sveiki ‘hello!’, sveicināti ‘how do you do?’, uz redzēšanos ‘bye!’, visu labu
‘all the best!’, ardievu ‘farewell!’, atā ‘so long!, ta-ta!’, lūdzu ‘please’, paldies ‘thanks!’,
pateicos ‘thank you!’, tencinu ‘thank you!’, atvainojos ‘I’m sorry!’, atvainojiet ‘excuse
me!’, piedod ‘sorry!’, piedodiet ‘I beg your pardon!, (please) forgive me!’.
(2.10.2) a. Labrīt vēl jūlijā!
good_morning still July.loc.m
‘Good morning while it’s still July!’ (Diena)
b. Es tas esmu. Labvakar!
I.nom that.nom.m be.cop.prs.1sg good_evening
‘That’d be me. Good evening!’ (M. Zīverts)
c. Sveiki, kā jums klājas?
hello how you.dat.pl do.prs.3
‘Hello, how do you do?’ (www.lsm.lv)
d. Ardievu, Laine.
farewell Laine.nom.f
‘Farewell, Laine.’ (M. Zālīte)
e. Atā, cīsiņi!
so_long sausage.nom.pl.m
‘So long, sausages!’ (Diena)
f. Pastāstiet, lūdzu, sīkāk par šo projektu.
tell.imp.2pl please in_more_detail about this.acc.m project.acc.m
‘Please, tell [us] more about this project.’ (C)
g. Paldies par uzmanību!
thank_you for attention.acc.f
‘Thank you for your attention!’ (C)

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 h. Piedodiet, Durbes kundze, ka ierodos
forgive_me Durbe.gen.f madam.nom.f that arrive.prs.1sg
jūsu mājā.
you.gen.pl home.loc.f
‘Please forgive me, Mrs. Durbe, for visiting you at your home.’
(A. Eglītis)
Generally, interjections do not inflect and are not involved in the syntactic structure
of sentences. Interjections function as discourse markers and are always stressed
and separated by a  pause in oral speech or delimited by a  comma (2.10.3a), dash
(2.10.3b), or an exclamation mark (2.10.3c) in writing.
(2.10.3) a. Atā, tēt.
ta-ta dad.voc.m
‘Ta-ta, daddy.’ (C)
b. Noskanēja – bliukš! – un terīne, pārsprāgusi uz
sound.pst.3 bang and tureen.nom.f crack.ptcp.nom.f in
pusēm, gulēja uz grīdas.
half.dat.pl.f lay.pst.3 on floor.gen.f
‘And then – bang – the tureen, having cracked in half, lay on the floor.’
(CW)
c. Ā! Tas esat jūs! Labvakar!
a-ha it.nom.m be.cop.2.pl you.nom.pl good_evening
A-ha! It’s you! Good evening!’ (A. Eglītis)
Semantically, interjections are closely linked to the  speech or writing (rhetorical)
situation in which they occur. That is to say, one and the same interjection can be
used to express very different meanings depending on the  speaker’s feelings. For
instance, the interjection ai ‘oh’ may convey pleasure (2.10.4a), surprise (2.10.4b), or
disbelief (2.10.4c).
(2.10.4) a. Ai, ai, cik tad bija labi!
oh oh how then be.cop.pst.3 good
‘Oh, oh, what great times those were!’ (C)
b. Paskatījos uz savām kājām,
ai, es biju piebradājis
oh I.nom be.aux.pst.1sg trample_down.ptcp.nom.m
balto, pūkaino grīdsegu.
white.acc.f fluffy.acc.f carpet.acc.f
‘I looked at my feet, oh, I had left footprints on the white, fluffy
carpet.’ (C)
c. Ai, nu ko tu tur
eh ptcl what.acc you.nom.sg ptcl
runā?
say.prs.2sg
‘Eh, why do you say that?’ (C)

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On the whole, interjections can express four kinds of meanings:
1) emotions and sensations
(2.10.5) a. Joprojām esmu bez ziemas jakas. Brr!
still be.prs.1sg without winter.gen.f jacket.gen.f brr
‘I still don’t have a winter jacket. Brr!’ (C)
b. Ehē, tie taču kokosrieksti!
aha that.nom.pl.m ptcl coconut.nom.pl.m
‘Aha, if those aren’t coconuts!’ (C)
2) attitude, evaluation
(2.10.6) a. Piecas meitas [ir mūsu ģimenē].
Re, kā dzīvē gadās!
look how life.loc.f happen.prs.3
‘Five daughters [in our family]. Look, how things go in life!’ (I. Ābele)
b. Vai dieniņ, kas tik mūžā
oh day.voc.f what.nom ptcl lifetime.loc.m
nav darīts!
not_be.aux.prs.3 do.ptcp.nom.m
‘Dear me, I’ve done all kinds of things in my life!’ (R. Ezera)
3) volition
(2.10.7) a. Labi, es ķeros pie darba [grīdu
ok I.nom get_down_to.prs.1sg to work.gen.m [floor
krāsošanas].
painting]
‘OK, I’m getting to work [painting the floor].’ (G. Priede)
b. Kad no sētas puses atskanēja:
when from backyard.gen.f side.gen.f sound.pst.3
– U-ū-ū! –, vajadzēja dzīt govis mājās.
o-o-oo have_to.pst.3 drive.inf cow.acc.pl.f home.loc.pl.f
‘“O-o-oo!” coming from the backyard meant that the cows had to be
driven home.’ (V. Belševica)
4) sound imitation, or onomatopoeia – unlike other types of interjections,
imitative interjections are basically monosemous and are used to depict
(reproduce) specific sounds occurring in nature or produced by humans or
animals
(2.10.8) apčī ‘achoo’, čiv čiv ‘chirp’, ku-kū ‘cuckoo’, ņau ‘meow’, vau ‘woof’, pēk-pēk
‘quack’, mū ‘moo’, iā ‘hee haw’, bladāc ‘bam, wham, boom, fa-thud’, džinks
‘ding’, plunkš ‘plop’, krakš ‘crack’, krā ‘caw’, tfū ‘ptui (ptooey)’, zliukš ‘snip
snap, swish, swoosh’, žvīks ‘zing’
a. – Phe! – nicīgi izsaucās vecais kungs.
pshaw scornfully exclaim.pst.3 old.nom.m gentleman.nom.m
‘– Pshaw! – the old gentleman scornfully exclaimed.’ (I. Ābele)

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 b. – Ņau! – teica kaķis, baltgalvītis.
meow say.pst.3 cat.nom.m white_head.nom.m
‘– Meow! – the white-headed cat said.’ (C)
c. – Bē! – Jēriņš teica un paskurināja ļipu.
baa lamb.nom.m say.pst.3 and wag.pst.3 tail.acc.f
‘– Baa! – said the lamb and wagged its tail.’ (V. Belševica)
d. Paldies jums, vegāni, saka gotiņas.
thank you.dat.pl vegan.nom.pl.m say.prs.3 cow.nom.pl.f
Mū mū!
moo moo
‘Thank you, vegans, the cows say. Moo moo!’ (C)
e. Bladāc, piezemējos sniega kaudzē.
bam land.pst.1sg snow.gen.m pile.loc.f
‘Bam, I landed in a pile of snow.’ (C)
f. Un dažbrīd pagriezienos [vilciena riteņi]
and sometimes turn.loc.pl.m [train wheel]
ieskanas. Šņirkt, šņirkt.
resound.prs.3 clack clack
‘And sometimes, at turns, [the wheels of the train] would clack.
Clickety-clack.’ (C)
Interjections usually occur at the beginning of a sentence or text as an introductory
element, i.e., as a  semantically and grammatically undifferentiated sentence
expressing, on a very generic level, the speaker’s emotions or reaction to a previous
event or remark. The text that follows, then, provides more specific, elaborate
information.
(2.10.9) a. Vai, kāds skaists kaķis!
aww what_kind beautiful.nom.m cat.nom.m
‘Aww, what an adorable cat!’ (C)
b. Pag, kas tā par skaņu?
hey what.nom that.nom.f of sound.acc.f
‘Hey, what’s that sound?’ (R. Ezera)
c. – Re, ka tev bail!
see ptcl you.dat.sg afraid
– smējās Anita [kad Bille bija nokāpusi no koka].
‘See, you are afraid, after all! – Anita laughed [when Bille had climbed
down from the tree].’ (V. Belševica)
Interjections can also be used to evaluate and summarize, in which case they are
placed at the end of a sentence or text.
(2.10.10) a. Tur ir durvis, lūdzu!
there be.prs.3 door.nom.pl.f here_you_are
‘The door is right there, help yourself!’ (G. Priede)

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 b. Tikai vēsturnieki to [valdnieka vārdu]
only historian.nom.pl.m that.acc.m [ruler name]
atceras. Tā, lūk.
remember.prs.3 so look
‘Only historians remember it [the ruler’s name]. That’s how the story
goes.’ (C)
c. Ūdenī viņš met mazus
water.loc.m he.nom throw.prs.3 small.acc.pl.m
akmentiņus. Plunkš, plunkš, plunkš.
pebble.acc.pl.m plop plop plop
‘He throws pebbles into the water. Plop, plop, plop.’ (C)
When used in the  middle of a  sentence, interjections function a  bit like particles,
either adding modality-related shades of meaning to the content of an utterance or
emphasizing information that might be important to the speaker or the addressee.
(2.10.11) a. Kumoss pa kumosam un, skat, jau
bite.nom.m by bite.dat.m and look already
esi pārēdies ..
be.aux.prs.2sg overeat.ptcp.nom.m
‘Bite by bite and, there you are, you have already eaten too much ..’ (C)
b. Te pēkšņi viņam ieniezējās deguns un
here suddenly he.dat itch.pst.3 nose.nom.m and
viņš – apčī! – nošķaudījās.
he.nom achoo sneeze.pst.3
‘He suddenly felt a tickling sensation in his nose and – achoo! –
sneezed.’ (C)
c. Kā, Dievs pasargi, viņi ar
how God.nom.m protect.imp.2sg they.nom.m with
to [parāda atmaksu] tiks
that.ins.f [debt repayment] get.fut.3
galā?
end.loc.m
‘And how, God forbid, will they manage [to repay the debt]?’ (C)
Etymologically, interjections can be classified into several groups.
1) primary interjections – ai ‘oh’, ak ‘oh’, ei ‘hey’, ū ‘meaning defined by
intonation and context’, tprr ‘whoa’, ā-ū ‘cooee’, aijā ‘rock-a-bye’, ūjā ‘heh,
ooh, oho, gee’, kukū ‘cuckoo’, ai ai ‘tut-tut, tsk tsk’, etc.
(2.10.12) a. Ak, mēs malači!
yay we.nom successful_person.nom.pl.m
‘Yay, we did great!’ (www.delfi.lv)
b. Ei, vai te kāds ir?
hey q here anybody.nom.m be.prs.3
‘Hey, is there anybody here?’ (C)

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 c. Skropstu tuša – ū, super, kāda
eyelash.gen.pl.m mascara.nom.f wow super what.nom.f
līka birstīte!
curved.nom.f brush.nom.f
‘Mascara – wow, super, what a curved brush!’ (C)
d. Ē, bet varbūt viņš var nokāpt
er but maybe he.nom be_able.prs.3 go_down.inf
pagrabā paskatīties,
basement.loc.m look.inf
kāpēc nav ūdens.
‘Er, maybe he can go down to the basement and check why there is no
water.’ (C)
e. Ai ai, tomēr tu esi divkosis!
tut tut yet you.nom.sg be.cop.prs.2sg hypocrite.nom.m
‘Tut-tut, you are a hypocrite, after all.’ (C)
2) secondary interjections formed by zero-derivation from certain forms of
content words (often, from the  vocative form of a  noun (2.10.13a) or its
nominative form functioning as the vocative (2.10.13b), also from the 2SG
(2.10.14a-b), 2PL (2.10.14c) imperative and other forms of a verb (2.10.14d),
or the nominative form of an adjective (2.10.15)), as well as from adverbs
(2.10.16) and word groups (2.10.17).
(2.10.13) a. Jēziņ, nu kas te notiek?
jeez ptcl what.nom here happen.prs.3
‘Jeez, what’s happening here?’ (Diena)
b. Ak kungs, kā Nellija uztraucas!
oh Lord.nom.m how Nellija.nom.f worry.prs.3
‘Oh my Lord, Nellija looks so nervous!’ (C)
(2.10.14) a. Klau, man ir nepieciešama tava
look I.dat be.cop.prs necessary.ptcp.nom.f your.nom.f
palīdzība.
help.nom.f
‘Look, I need your help.’ (C)
b. Redzi, bērns, dzīvi skaistu
see child.nom.m life.acc.f beautiful.acc.f
dara atklātība
make.prs.3 openness.nom.f
un godīgums.
and honesty.nom.m
‘You see, child, openness and honesty are what make this life
beautiful.’ (G. Priede)
c. Piedodiet, skolotāj!
forgive teacher.voc.m
‘Forgive me, teacher.’ (V. Belševica)

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 d. Lūdzu, parādiet dokumentus!
please show.imp.2pl document.acc.pl.m
‘Show me your documents, please!’ (C)
(2.10.15) a. Flilip! Sveiks!
Philip.voc.m howdy
‘Philip! Howdy!’ (A. Eglītis)
b. Vesels, brāl!
cheers brother.voc.m
Daudz laimes!
‘Cheers, brother! Congratulations!’ (www.draugiem.lv)
(2.10.16) a. Tikai nesāc ķildu, labi!
just not_start.imp.2sg fight.acc.f ok
‘Just don’t start a fight, OK!’ (M. Zīverts)
b. Žēl, bet atpakaļceļa vairs
unfortunately but return.gen.m anymore
nav.
not_be.prs.3
‘Unfortunately, there’s no turning back.’ (G. Priede)
(2.10.17) a. Jūs atkal traucē Sibilla Švirkste,
you.acc.pl again disturb.prs.3 Sibilla.nom.f Švirkste.nom.f
labdien.
hello
‘It’s Sibilla Švirkste intruding on you again, good afternoon.’
(G. Priede)
b. Pie joda, kur tu staigā?
bloody_hell where you.nom.sg wander.prs.2sg
‘Bloody hell, where have you been wandering?’ (I. Ābele)
c. Ak tu debestiņ! Bille iemācīsies
good_heavens Bille.nom.f learn.fut.3
[vācu valodu] viens un divi,
[german language] one.nom and two.nom
viņai viegla galva.
‘Good heavens! Bille will master [German] in no time, she has a good
head for it.’ (V. Belševica)
d. Neapmierināts klients, velns parāvis.
not_satisfy.ptcp.nom.m customer.nom.m damn_it
‘A dissatisfied customer, damn it.’ (C)
Some interjections may have undergone articulatorily motivated changes – shortening
(clipping) (2.10.18) or shortening with subsequent merging, i.e., compounding
(2.10.19), e.g.:
(2.10.18) a. klau ‘look!, listen!, look here!’ < klausies ‘listen’ (IMP 2SG)
b. paga ‘hey!, wait!’ < pagaidi ‘wait’ (IMP 2SG)

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(2.10.19) a. eku ‘look!, there it goes!’ < redzi ‘see’ (IMP 2SG) + kur ‘where’
b. vaizi ‘you know’ < vai ‘if, whether’+ zini ‘know’ (IND 2SG)
‘do you know?’
c. vadzi ‘listen!, look here!’ < vai ‘if, whether’+ dzirdi ‘hear’ (IND 2SG)
‘do you hear?’
d. āre ‘aha, you see!’ < ā ‘ah!’ + redzi ‘see’ (IMP 2SG)
e. paldies ‘thanks!’ < palīdzi ‘help’ (IMP 2SG) + Dievs ‘God’ (NOM SG)
f. labdien ‘good afternoon!’ < labu dienu ‘good afternoon’ (INS)
Finally, there are a number of borrowed interjections, such as marš ‘go!, off you go!,
mil. march!, forward!’, kuš ‘shh!’, urrā ‘hurrah!, hooray!’ (2.10.20). Some borrowed
interjections are mostly used in colloquial speech, e.g., opsā ‘meaning is highly
context-dependent, e.g., uh-oh!, whoops!, but also alley-oop!’, čau ‘hi!, bye!, ciao!’,
davai ‘come on!, let’s [do it]!, bring it on!’ (2.10.21):
(2.10.20) a. Un tagad, marš, klasē!
and now off_you_go classroom.loc.f
‘And now, off you go to the classroom!’ (C)
b. Sveicieni Lainei 2 gadu
greeting.nom.pl.m Laine.dat.f 2 year.gen.pl.m
jubilejā!! Urrā!!!
birthday.loc.f Hurrah!!!
‘Greetings to Laine on her second birthday!! Hurrah!!!’ (C)
c. Kuš! Tūlīt runās prezidente!
shh now speak.fut.3 president.nom.f
‘Shh! The president is about to speak!’ (C)
(2.10.21) a. Opsā... Visai sarežģīta situācija.
uh-oh… quite complicate.ptcp.nom.f situation.nom.f
‘Uh-oh… That’s quite a complicated situation.’ (CW)
b. Dairi, čau!
Dairis.voc.m hi
‘Dairis, hi!’ (G. Priede)
c. Davai, kaut ko darām!
come_on something.acc do.imp.1pl
‘Come on, let’s do something!’ (C)

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ILZE LOKMANE

3. SYNTAX

3.0 Introductory remarks

3.0.1 Syntactic subsystems
The system of syntax can be divided into three subsystems: the  simple sentence,
the  composite sentence, and text. Latvian research into syntax also proposes that
word syntax (Kārkliņš 1976: 9) and phrase syntax be treated as separate subfields
or levels of syntax (Ahero et al. 1962: IX–X). Nevertheless, the  word or the  word
form is a component of the minimal syntactic unit or an element of a syntactic unit,
as these do not act as units of syntax by themselves. The phrase, in its turn, is a non-
predicative syntactic unit, as  it cannot accomplish the  function of communication
on its own. It reflects the relationships between the realia, but it is not connected
to the speech situation or the speaker’s judgment of the situation, therefore its main
function is to provide the building material for the sentence. The role of the phrase
in the  development of a  sentence will be discussed in the  chapters dealing with
the extenders of the simple sentence.
The main subsystem of syntax is the syntax of the simple sentence. The simple
sentence is a  predicative syntactic unit, developed on the  basis of several
syntactically connected word forms, or a  single word form based on a  specific
model (Skujiņa 2007:  447). The composite sentence is a  combination of several
predicative units formed on the basis of a syntactic relation or a polypredicative unit
(Skujiņa 2007: 341). The basis of a composite sentence is also a specific model. Text is
a logically structured conceptually connected body of utterances, aimed at achieving
a  communicative goal (Skujiņa 2007: 392). Text syntax establishes the  units of
the text, namely the utterances and the phrasal units, studies their structural changes
in reaction to the context and the communicative situation as well as the syntactic
and contextual relations developing between the textual units.

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3.0.2 Syntactic relations
Syntactic units usually consist of several components. Although a  simple sentence
can be based on a single component, it can also be expanded, thus every sentence is
a potentially multi-componential unit.
A syntactic relation describes a  relation between word forms, words, and
predicative units (sentences or clauses) that form the bases of the syntactical unit:
the sentence, the phrase, the text (Skujiņa 2007: 359).
Syntactic relations have their formal and informal indicators. To establish
the  existence of the  syntactic relations between word forms or predicative units,
the formal indicator is the safest criterion. Nevertheless, we cannot say that syntactic
relations are solely based on formal indicators, as syntactic relations can exist also
without any formal indications in syntactic units – sentences and phrases.
The means for expressing the syntactic relations in Latvian are as follows:
1) word forms (for example, the case forms of nouns; the gender, number, and
case forms of adjectives; the person and number of the verb);
2) prepositions;
3) conjunctions and conjunctive words  – the  functional substitutes of
the conjunctions;
4) word order in the cases when the same grammatical form can accomplish
different syntactic functions, for example, the  subject of the  sentence in
the dative precedes the object:
(3.0.1) a. Kas man jums jāiedod?
what.nom I.dat you.dat.pl deb.give
‘What do I have to give you?’ (A. Kolbergs)
b. Tev rīt būs man jāiedod
you.dat.sg tomorrow be.aux.fut.3 I.dat deb.give
savs numurs.
own.nom.m number.nom.m
‘Tomorrow you will have to give me your number.’ (P. Bankovskis)
The noun in the nominative can take on different syntactic functions depending on
word order:
(3.0.2) Māksla kā pretošanās un pretošanās
art.nom.f as resistance.nom.f and resistance.nom.f
kā māksla.
as art.nom.f
‘Art as a form resistance and resistance as a form of art.’
(www.barikades.lv)
The word order, as the indicator of syntactic relations, is signaled by the fact that
the syntactically related word forms are positioned in the sentence next to each other,
especially in the  cases when there are no other formal indicators of the  syntactic
relations.

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 5) in spoken text  – syntagmatic parsing connects syntactically related word
forms in one syntagm or intonationally separated unit; this is shown using
punctuation marks in a written text, compare (3.0.3a) and (3.0.3b):
(3.0.3) a. Kārtīgs latvju puika dzied,
proper. nom.m Latvian.gen.pl.m guy.nom.m sing.prs.3
labi sporto un dejo!
well do_sports.prs.3 and dance.prs.3
‘A proper Latvian guy sings, does well in sports, and dances!’
(www.jaunjelgavasvidusskola.lv)
b. Kārtīgs latvju puika dzied
proper.nom.m Latvian.gen.pl.m guy.nom.m sing.prs.3
labi, sporto un dejo!
well do_sports.prs.3 and dance.prs.3
‘A proper Latvian guy sings well, does sports, and dances!’
Different paradigmatic criteria can be used to establish syntactic relations, for
example, the analogy of the syntactic position. If in the sentence (3.0.4a), the word
gaidīšana ‘waiting’ is the subject of the sentence, analogically the same function will
be accomplished by the infinitive form in the sentence (3.0.4b):
(3.0.4) a. Reizēm gaidīšana ir labākais.
sometimes waiting.nom.f be.cop.prs.3 good.nom.spl.m
‘Sometimes waiting is the best part.’ (www.delfi.lv)
b. Reizēm gaidīt ir labākais.
sometimes wait.inf be.cop.prs.3 good.nom.spl.m
‘Sometimes it is best to wait.’
The principle of analogy is used also in the  cases when not only the  subject
of the  sentence, but also the  predicate is formally changed, but keep the  same
semantic function. The bolded forms in examples (3.0.5) to (3.0.6) are the subject of
the sentence:
(3.0.5) a. Pusaudžu nodarbināšana ir
teenager.gen.pl.m employment.nom.f be.aux.prs.3
pieļaujama.
allow.ptcp.nom.f
‘Employment of teenagers is allowed.’ (www.lm.gov.lv)
b. Nodarbināt pusaudžus ir pieļaujams.
employ.inf teenager.acc.pl.m be.aux.prs.3 allow.ptcp.nom.m
‘It is allowed to employ teenagers.’
(3.0.6) a. Pie mums ir sniegs.
at we.dat be.prs.3 snow.nom.m
‘We have snow here.’ (www.facebook.com)
b. Pie mums sniega nav.
at we.dat snow.gen.m not_be.prs.3
‘We do not have any snow here.’

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The types of syntactic relations
The predicative relation exists between the  subject and the  predicate of
the sentence; it forms the basic syntactic unit – the simple sentence (Skujiņa 2007:
307). The predicative nucleus of the  sentence is the  predicate, as  its grammatical
categories – tense and modality – express the predicativity. Several syntactic theories
consider the predicate as the main semantic unit of the sentence, with the subject of
the sentence being one of the arguments of the predicate. However, there are several
reasons to consider the subject of the sentence as a part of the syntactic center.
Firstly, the subject of the sentence is a compulsory extension of the predicative
nucleus in the sentences with a bipartite structure.
Secondly, the  distinction between the  subject of the  sentence and the  other
arguments is signaled by the  agreement between the  forms of the  subject and
predicate in most cases. The formal dependence between the subject and the predicate
of the sentence is two-directional: the subject of the sentence determines the gender,
number, and person of the  predicate, but the  predicate demands the  subject of
the sentence be in a particular case.
The form of the predicate thus depends on the form of the subject of the sentence,
but not on the direct extralinguistic reality:
(3.0.7) a. Es esmu rakstījis par to
I.nom be.aux.prs.1sg write.ptcp.nom.m about it.acc.m
jau iepriekš.
already before
‘I already have written about this before.’ (A. Dripe)
b. Organizācijas ir rakstījušas
organization.nom.pl.f be.aux.prs.3 write.ptcp.nom.pl.f
valdībai vēstules.
government.dat.f letter.acc.pl.f
‘Organizations have written letters to the government.’ (www.providus.lv)
The case of the subject of the sentence, in its turn, depends on the lexico-grammatical
nature and grammatical form of the  predicate. Three-person verbs occur with
the  nominative case, in contrast to impersonal verbs, which cannot occur with
the nominative case:
(3.0.8) Es gribu pateikt paldies.
I.nom want.prs.1sg say.inf thank_you
‘I would like to say thank you.’ (www.draugiem.lv)
(3.0.9) Man gribas lidot.
I.dat want.prs.3 fly.inf
‘I want to fly.’ (www.dziesmas.lv)
The nominative case does not occur with the infinitive:
(3.0.10) Tev to nesaprast.
you.dat.sg it.acc.m not_understand.inf
‘You would not understand.’ (www.dziesmas.lv)

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There are several verbs for which the subject of the sentence is in the genitive case:
(3.0.11) a. Šeit tevis nav.
here you.gen.sg not_be.prs.3
‘You are not here.’ (www.dziesmas.lv)
b. Man tevis nepietiek.
I.dat you.gen.sg not_be_enough.prs.3
‘I have not had enough of you.’ (www.dziesmas.lv)
Thus, on the basis of the agreement between the forms, the predicative agreement is
two-directional. We can also say that it is the subject of the sentence that is in control
of agreement, and the predicate that is in control of the semantic and grammatical
categories of the sentence.
The secondary predicative and adjunctive relations are the  syntactic
relations, on the  basis of which the  extenders can join the  simple sentence. Both
types of syntactic relations are similar, as the dependent word form is joined not to
a single word, but to a predicative unit or a phrase. The secondary predicate joins
the  sentence on the  basis of the  secondary predicative relation, but the  adjuncts
join the  sentence on the  basis of the  adjunctive relation or relation of sentence
determination. In sentence (3.0.12), the  secondary predicate miglains ‘foggy’ joins
the predicative unit rīts atausa ‘dawn broke’.
(3.0.12) Pārgājiena rīts atausa miglains.
hike.gen.m morning.nom.m break.pst.3 foggy.nom.m
‘The dawn broke foggy on the day of the hike.’ (Z. Ērgle)
In (3.0.13), the  secondary predicate par vadītāju ‘as manager’ is related to both
the components of the phrase iecelt viņu ‘to appoint her’ simultaneously.
(3.0.13) Šodien domes deputāti
today council.gen.f member_of_council.nom.pl.m
iecēla viņu par bērnudārza
appoint.pst.3 she.acc prep kindergarten.gen.m
vadītāju.
manager.acc.f
‘Today the members of the local council appointed her as manager of
the kindergarten.’ (www.aprinkis.lv)
The secondary predicate possesses an additional or secondary predication, i.e.,
the  meaning of tense and modality, and this can be transformed into a  separate
predicative unit:
(3.0.14) Rīts atausa + Rīts
morning.nom.m break.pst.3 morning.nom.m
bija miglains.
be.cop.pst.3 foggy.nom.m
‘The day broke + The morning was foggy.’

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Thus, the characteristic feature of the secondary predicate is its capability to form
a second, hidden syntactic center.
The adjuncts or sentence determiners (see Mel’chuk 1995: 139; Skujiņa 2007:
86) are the so called free sentence extenders: the parts of the sentence that are not
related syntactically to any word in the sentence, but refer to the sentence as a whole.
For example, the adverbial modifiers (mostly those of time and place) can refer to
the whole sentence, especially if positioned at the beginning of the sentence:
(3.0.15) Vakarpusē vēja brāzmas pierims.
evening.loc.f wind.gen.m gust.nom.pl.f subside.fut.3
‘In the evening, the gusts of wind will subside.’ (www.nra.lv)
Subordination and coordination form a traditional opposition in syntactic research.
In subordination, the dependent component is joined to the independent one, thus,
their functions in the  sentence are different (Skujiņa 2007: 273). For example, if
a  subordinate phrase is introduced into the  sentence, the  independent component
cannot be dismissed without the dependent word, compare (3.0.16a) and (3.0.16b):
(3.0.16) a. Igauņi ir pieņēmuši
Estonian.nom.pl.m be.aux.prs.3 accept.ptcp.nom.pl.m
labus lēmumus.
good.acc.pl.m decision.acc.pl.m
‘The Estonians have made good decisions.’ (www.delfi.lv)
b. *Igauņi ir pieņēmuši
Estonian.nom.pl.m be.aux.prs.3 accept.ptcp.nom.pl.m
labus.
good.acc.pl.m
‘The Estonians have made good...’
In coordination, the components are syntactically equal, thus they have the same
functions in the  sentence (Skujiņa 2007: 335). If a  coordinative phrase or its
components are introduced in a sentence, they adopt the same syntactic position and
we can dismiss any of them:
(3.0.17) Jauks un patīkams vīrietis
nice.nom.m and pleasant.nom.m man.nom.m
meklē draudzeni.
look_for.prs.3 girlfriend.acc.f
‘A nice and pleasant man is looking for a girlfriend.’ (www.viss.lv)
Both subordination and coordination are implemented in several syntactic subsystems.
Phrases, which function in simple sentences, are built on the basis of subordination
and coordination. Subordination and coordination dominate in the  relations of
a composite sentence.

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3.1 The simple sentence as a mono-predicative syntactic unit
3.1.1 The main features of the simple sentence
The simple sentence is the main unit of syntax, and the syntax of the simple sentence
is the most important subsystem of syntax.
The two characteristic features of the  simple sentence are its communicative
function and a  certain structural organization pattern. The simple sentence can
be defined as a minimal predicative unit formed by a single word form, or several
syntactically related word forms, based on a particular model (Valdmanis 1985: 69).
Thus, firstly, every single sentence informs about something, as it is a com­mu­
nicative unit. Secondly, every simple sentence is based on a  generalized, abstract
pattern, on the  basis of which the  particular sentence is built. The sentence
reflects in a generalized way a real, typified situation. The sentence is independent
from the  context or the  communicative situation, thus it is both structurally and
semantically complete. The abstract pattern or the  model of the  sentence can be
described using formal and semantic features, thus we can speak about its formal
structure and semantic structure.
To indicate a  particular sentence, the  term utterance is used. The utterance
as  a  speech unit possesses not only formal and semantic structures, but also
a particular communicative structure. The utterance is aimed at a particular speech
situation and it is integrated into the  context (Skujiņa 2007: 173). The essential
features of the  utterance are, for example, the  particular word order and, in
the spoken text, its intonation. Therefore, the structure of the simple sentence can be
discussed with respect to three aspects: its formal structure, its semantic structure,
and its communicative structure.

3.1.2 Predicativity as the main grammatical feature of the simple sentence

Predicativity is the  main grammatical meaning of the  sentence, which relates
the  sentence to the  speech situation and makes it a  unit of communication.
Predicativity is an obligatory feature of the simple sentence. It shows the attitude of
the contents to reality and expresses itself as the unity of the two obligatory sentence
categories: the  syntactic tense and the  syntactic modality (Skujiņa 2007: 307).
Namely, every particular sentence describes the particular situation simultaneously
assessing it from the  point of view of reality/irreality and placing it in time with
regard to the time of the speech event. The simple sentence has a single predicative
nucleus; therefore it is a mono-predicative unit.
The predicative relation is only one of the ways in which predicativity manifests.
The sentence possesses predicativity even if there is no overt subject, as in (3.1.1) and
(3.1.2), or no overt predicate, as in (3.1.3):
(3.1.1) Tur taču ir tumšs!
there however be.cop.prs.3 dark.nom.m
‘But it is dark there!’ (C)

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(3.1.2) Kādreiz jau vajag priecāties arī.
sometimes just need.prs.3 be_happy.inf too
‘Sometimes one just needs to be happy, too.’ (C)
(3.1.3) Mēģinājumi katru dienu.
rehearsal.nom.pl.m every day.acc.f
‘Rehearsals every day.’ (Diena)

Syntactic expression of tense

The category of syntactic tense is connected to the morphological tense category of
the  verb (see Section 2.5.3); however, the  two are not identical. Syntactic tense is
a broader term than morphological tense, as the sentence can have a tense even when
there is no overt predicate present, as in (3.1.4):
(3.1.4) Izbrīns mātes tumšzaļās
surprise.nom.m mother.gen.f dark_green.loc.pl.f
acīs.
eye.loc.pl.f
‘The surprise in mother’s dark green eyes.’ (I. Ābele)
The syntactic tense can be expressed by lexical means, i.e., the adverbial modifiers
of time, as in (3.1.5):
(3.1.5) Es rīt braucu uz Parīzi.
I.nom tomorrow go.prs.1sg to Paris.acc.f
‘I am going to Paris tomorrow.’ (C)
The syntactic tense opposition is a three-member opposition: present – past – future.
To establish the syntactic tense of the event reflected in the sentence, it is important
to establish the relationship between the time of the event in relation to the speech
time, regardless of the  finite form of the  verb. Thus, for example, (3.1.5) is in
the syntactic future.

Syntactic modality
The meaning of the modality as well as the meaning of the tense is related to the speech
situation and expresses the attitude of the contents of the sentence towards reality
from the point of view of the speaker or as assessed by the speaker.
Syntactic modality is based on the concept of reality/irreality, thus the syntactic
modality is a  binary opposition: realis  – irrealis. The irrealis meanings can differ:
expressing a need, wish, possibility, order, suggestion, etc.
The basis of syntactic modality is formed by the morphological mood category
of the  verb (see Section 2.5.4), but both of these categories are not identical. The
verb form system participates in the expression of the syntactic modality: the realis
modality is expressed with the help of the indicative mood, the irrealis modality with
the help of all the other moods (Freimane 1985: 17). Nevertheless, the realis modality
is also present in sentences where there is no overt predicate:

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(3.1.6) Acis lielas un gudras.
eye.nom.pl.f big.nom.pl.f and clever.nom.pl.f
‘The eyes are big and clever.’ (I. Ābele)
Modal verbs and modal particles also participate in the expression of the syntactic
modality. (3.1.7) and (3.1.8) are in the  irrealis syntactic modality, although
the predicative nucleus contains a finite verb form in the indicative mood:
(3.1.7) Viņa laikam grib naudu.
she.nom probably want.prs.3 money.acc.f
‘She may want some money.’ (C)
(3.1.8) Nāksies likt lietā mazu viltībiņu.
must.fut.3 put.inf to_use little.acc.f cunning.acc.f
‘We will have to be a little cunning here.’ (C)

Syntactic person
The main word form in the sentence is the finite form of the verb, therefore, in Latvian
linguistics, it is often defined as the form that embodies the grammatical category
of the  person (Kalnača 2013c: 459). From this we can conclude that the  syntactic
person should be an obligatory sentence category. Nevertheless, the  conception of
the syntactic person is problematic.
At present, the syntactic person is perceived in two ways: it can be considered
as 1) the grammatical subject of the sentence or 2) any word representing some agent
(Freimane 2008: 85).
If the person’s conception is semantic, namely, if the syntactic person is the word
representing the agent or the experiencer, then the person is not an obligatory trait
of the sentence, as there are many kinds of sentence patterns, which do not contain
either the agent or the experiencer, as in (3.1.9) to (3.1.11):
(3.1.9) Barga ziema.
harsh.nom.f winter.nom.f
‘A harsh winter.’ (C)
(3.1.10) Jau viegli krēslo.
already lightly dusk.prs.3
‘Dusk is already falling.’ (C)
(3.1.11) Saule būs silta un maiga.
sun.nom.f be.cop.fut.3 warm.nom.f and gentle.nom.f
‘The sun will be warm and gentle.’ (C)
If we consider the subject of the sentence as the syntactic person, even then the person
is not an obligatory feature of the sentence, as in (3.1.12) and (3.1.13):
(3.1.12) Ik pa brīdim puteņo.
ptcl prep while snow.prs.3
‘Every few moments there is a snow flurry.’ (C)

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(3.1.13) Ārā ir auksts.
outside be.cop.prs.3 cold.nom.m
‘It is cold outside.’ (C)
Thus, whichever conception of the person we presume, it is an optional feature of
the sentence.
The meaning of the person (in contrast with the tense and mood) is not contained
only in the  finite verb, but also in the  personal pronoun. Therefore, the  sentence
can express meanings of several persons. The syntactic person can contrast with
the morphological person (see Section 2.5.2), for example:
(3.1.14) Bet vai tev vajag eksperimentēt?
But q you.dat.sg need.prs.3 experiment.inf
‘But do you need to experiment?’ (C)
The verb vajag ‘need’ in (3.1.14) is in its third person form, but the sentence itself has
a syntactic second person meaning. (3.1.15) has a syntactic third person meaning,
although the  predicate is in the  infinitive, which does not have the  meaning of
a person:
(3.1.15) Visiem stāt!
everyone.dat.pl stop.inf
‘Everyone stop!’ (www.delfi.lv)
Thus, the meaning of the person is not part of the complex that forms the predicativity.

3.2 Formal structure of the simple sentence

3.2.0 Introductory remarks
The description of the formal structure of the simple sentence is based on the study
of the typical pattern, which forms the basis of any sentence structure. The formal
organization of the  simple sentence involves the  system of the  sentence forms or
its paradigm, and the types of sentence expansion. In the description of the formal
structure of the sentence, however, one cannot completely ignore the semantics of
the sentence and its components.

3.2.1 Simple sentence patterns

The sentence is formed by word forms. The word form separately or together
with another word form is part of a  sentence. The pattern of the  simple sentence
is a  generalized and abstract model, formed by the  necessary minimum of
the  components. The sentence pattern is part of every speaker’s consciousness
and is materialized in the  communications process with the  help of the  words of
the particular lexical meanings and the particular morphological forms (Freimane
1985: 21).

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 The aim of sentence pattern theory is to establish the  necessary minimum
of components for particular sentence types, so that these sentences can perform
their main functions: communication and expression of thought also outside of their
immediate context (Valdmanis 1987: 73).
In the  description of the  simple sentence pattern it is useful to distinguish
between  the  minimal pattern or the  predicative minimum and the  expanded
pattern or the  semantic minimum (Skujiņa 2007: 445). The predicative and
the  semantic minimum can be considered as  separate stages in the  process
of the development of the sentence structure.

The minimal pattern of the simple sentence

The predicative minimum is necessary so that the sentence could be a syntactically
formed predicative unit. At this level of high abstraction, it is not important if this
structural minimum can form a  complete communicative unit. Thus, for example,
(3.2.1) and (3.2.2), formed on the  basis of the  minimal pattern, are complete in
the semantic sense:
(3.2.1) Un iestājas nakts.
and set_in.prs.3 night.nom.f
‘And night sets in.’ (www.facebook.com)
(3.2.2) Krēslo.
dusk.prs.3
‘Dusk is falling.’ (C)
(3.2.3), formed on the basis of the minimal pattern, is not semantically complete and
cannot function as an independent communicative unit.
(3.2.3) Lūdzu, atnes!
please bring.imp.2sg
‘Could you please bring it here!’ (www.twitter.com)
The principal parts of the sentence – the subject and the predicate – are the components
of the predicative minimum. A sentence formed only by the components of the minimal
pattern is traditionally called the simple unexpanded sentence (Skujiņa 2007: 446).
On the basis of quantity, we can distinguish two types of syntactic centers:
1) the  unexpanded syntactic center and 2) the  expanded syntactic center. In
the  unexpanded syntactic center there is only one sentence subject and
sentence predicate. In the  expanded syntactic center there are several
coordinated subjects (3.2.4) or predicates (3.2.5 and 3.2.6) in a coordinated
relationship (Freimane 1985: 22–23):
(3.2.4) Nedz es, nedz kāds cits nezina,
neither I.nom nor anybody.nom.m else.nom.m not_know.prs.3
vai Dievs man lēmis atgriešanos.
if god.nom.m I.dat decide.ptcp.pst.3 return.acc.f
‘Neither I nor anybody else knows if God has destined me to return.’
(G. Berelis)

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(3.2.5) Viņa nebija un arī negribēja
she.nom not_be.cop.pst.3 and also not_want.pst.3
būt raudīga.
be.cop.inf tearful.nom.f
‘She was not and did not want to be tearful.’ (Ē. Kūlis)
(3.2.6) Ausainē bija silti un labi.
fur_hat.loc.f be.cop.pst.3 warm and nice
‘It was nice and warm in the fur hat.’ (C)
There are different possibilities for forming real sentences or semantically complete
communication units on the  basis of minimal patterns. Firstly, there are patterns
which permit free development of complete, context independent unexpanded
sentences with different lexical means of implementation where the co-occurrence
of the words depends mostly on extralinguistic factors. For example, on the basis of
the NNOM  – VFIN,COP ADJ pattern, one can form different sentences without semantic
limitations:
(3.2.7) Seja ir sarkana.
face.nom.f be.cop.prs.3 red.nom.f
‘The face is red.’ (C)
(3.2.8) Pamazām laiks kļūst siltāks.
slowly weather.nom.m become.cop.prs.3 warmer
‘The weather is slowly warming up.’ (C)
Secondly, there are patterns, on the  basis of which one can form unexpanded
sentences only with words from particular semantic groups. For example, the pattern
NNOM – VFIN permits unexpanded sentences if the predicate is an intransitive verb. If
the verb is transitive, the pattern has to be expanded with the name of the object in
the accusative:
(3.2.9) Mana puķe pazaudēja vienu
my.nom.f flower.nom.f lost.pst.3 one.acc.m
ērkšķi.
thorn.acc.m
‘My flower lost one thorn.’ (C)
Thirdly, there are minimal patterns which do not permit unexpanded sentences,
thus, extenders are an obligatory condition of sentence formation in such cases.
For example, the  sentences based on the  single component pattern VFIN3, naming
the phenomena connected with auditory or gustatory perception, involve an extender
with an adverbial meaning:
(3.2.10) Pie durvīm zvana.
at door.dat.pl.f ring.prs.3
‘Someone is ringing at the door.’ (C)

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(3.2.11) Tur patīkami smaržo pēc svaigas
there pleasantly smell.prs.3 of fresh.gen.f
koksnes
wood.gen.f
‘It smells pleasantly of fresh wood there.’ (C)
The sentences based on the  same pattern describing a  state involve extenders
describing the experiencer:
(3.2.12) Man šausmīgi salst.
I.dat terribly be_cold.prs.3
‘I am terribly cold.’ (C)
(3.2.13) Kur tev sāp?
where you.dat hurt.prs.3
‘Where does it hurt?’ (C)
(3.2.14) Tagad veicas tikai tirgoņiem.
now fare.prs.3 only trader.dat.pl.m
‘Now it is only traders who are in luck.’ (C)
Therefore, the question of the necessary expanded model or the issue of semantic
completeness is an important question with regard to the  syntax of the  simple
sentence.

Expanded pattern of the simple sentence

The components that are necessary to make the  sentence into a  semantically
complete communication unit are part of the  expanded simple sentence pattern.
From this point of view, all the informationally necessary components are considered
to be substantial and, thus, an obligatory part of the  pattern (see Freimane 1985,
2008; Kārkliņš 1974, 1976; Lagzdiņa 1997; Lokmane 2004; Valdmanis 1987, 1989).
In contrast, the  optional non-obligatory extenders express meanings that are not
crucial components in the  expression of the  conceptual structure of the  sentence.
They do enrich the meaning of the sentence, but do not participate in the formation
of the semantic type of the sentence.
Obligatory extenders do not differ from optional extenders either with respect
to formal characteristics or their semantic relation to the  predicate. Nevertheless,
the non-obligatory extenders have more variability in both their formal and semantic
features.
The grammatical minimum together with the  obligatory extenders form
the semantic minimum. The degree of abstraction of the expanded pattern is lesser,
therefore, the  lexical semantics of the  verb gain more importance. The degree of
obligation for having extenders depends on different factors. Firstly, it can depend
on the  general semantic features which form the  meaning of the  verb (rarely,
other parts of speech), for example, transitivity, movement, or the  particularities
of the semantics of the lexeme. Secondly, the degree of obligation is dependent on

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the semantics of the arguments involved, that is their semantic roles have different
degrees of importance. The most important or the central semantic roles (for example,
agent and patient) are syntactically obligatory more often than the  less important
or more peripheral roles (Lokmane 2004). Thirdly, the  degree of obligation can
depend on the peculiarities of the syntactic center, especially, if it consists of a single
component, for example:
(3.2.15) Pretiniekam pašam ir bail.
opponent.dat.m self.dat.m be.cop.prs.3 afraid
‘The opponent is himself afraid.’ (C)
(3.2.16) Uz melniem ceļgaliem – baltas
on black.dat.pl.m knee.dat.pl.m white.nom.pl.f
stiegrainas plaukstas.
sinuous.nom.pl.f palm.nom.pl.f
‘The white, sinuous palms on the black knees.’ (Diena)
It is the  direct object in the  accusative that is obligatory in combination with
the transitive verbs (see Section 2.5.6). Usually, it has the role of the patient (3.2.17),
but it can also have other roles, for example, the  role of the  percept (3.2.18) or
content (3.2.19):
(3.2.17) Nocirtām lielu, vecu meža
cut_down. pst.1pl big.acc.f old.acc.f forest.gen.m
ābeli.
apple_tree.acc.f
‘We cut down a big, old crab apple tree.’ (C)
(3.2.18) Viņš apskatīja senču dzimtās
he.nom view.pst.3 ancestor.gen.pl.m native.acc.pl.f
vietas.
place.acc.pl.f
‘He visited the native places of his ancestors.’ (C)
(3.2.19) Šo stāstu izdomāja indiāņi.
this.acc.m story.acc.m invent.pst.3 Indian.nom.pl.m
‘This story was invented by the Indians.’ (C)
Transitive verbs with the meaning of ‘to be able to carry out a particular activity’ are
used without the accusative, but the sentence is usually expanded with the help of
an adverbial modifier:
(3.2.20) Mani abi bērni
my.nom.pl.m both.nom.pl.m child.nom.pl.m
peld jau pāris gadus.
swim.prs.3 already couple.nom.pl.m year.acc.pl.m
‘Both of my children have been swimming already for a couple of years.’
(www.bdaugava.lv)

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If the object is generic, adverbial modifiers are characteristic extenders of the sentence,
too:
(3.2.21) Es lasīju ilgi, lēni un pamatīgi.
I.nom read.pst.1sg long slowly and thoroughly
‘I was reading for a long time, slowly, and thoroughly.’ (A. Kolbergs)
The roles of the direct object in linguistic communication are very important, as there
are many actions that are carried out with the help of different objects and cannot be
accomplished without them. As the direct objects can be of various kinds, they are
not obvious or deducible from the meaning of the verb, thus, the addressee can not
identify them unless they are verbalized or named.
The obligatory indirect object is the extender in the dative, which usually has
the semantic role of the beneficiary:
(3.2.22) Vai tev palīdzēja kādi eksperti?
q you.dat.sg help.pst.3 any.nom.pl.m expert.nom.pl.m
‘Did you get help from any experts?’ (C)
Usually the  indirect object is obligatory when the  direct object is absent from
the sentence.
An obligatory component with an adverbial meaning expresses place (3.2.23),
time (3.2.24), or the type of action (3.2.25):
(3.2.23) Prezidents atrodas ārpus
president.nom.m be_located.prs.3 outside
valsts.
country.gen.f
‘The President is outside the country.’ (C)
(3.2.24) Nu tā nopļāpājām līdz pusnaktij.
ptcl so prattle.pst.1pl until midnight.dat.f
‘Well then, we have prattled until midnight.’ (C)
(3.2.25) Suns uzvedās kārtīgi.
dog.nom.m behave.pst.3 orderly
‘The dog was behaving itself.’ (C)
The obligatory presence of the components with an adverbial meaning in the sentence
usually depends on the lexical semantics of the predicate, as in (3.2.26) and (3.2.27):
(3.2.26) Viņi apmetās pie
they.nom.pl.m settle_down.pst.3 by
kupla bērza.
with_dense_foliage.gen.m birch_tree.gen.m
‘They settled down by the birch tree with dense foliage.’ (C)
(3.2.27) Rucavieši rīkojās prātīgāk.
inhabitant_of_Rucava.nom.pl.m act.pst.3 sensibly.cmp
‘The inhabitants of Rucava acted in a more sensible way.’ (C)

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The obligatory use of adverbs in subjectless sentences can be dictated not by the single
lexeme, but by the pattern of the sentence itself. For example, the characteristics of
a place are often needed in describing a state:
(3.2.28) Tur ir kluss un mierīgs.
there be.cop.prs.3 quiet.nom.m and calm.nom.m
‘It is calm and quiet there.’ (C)
(3.2.29) Ārā sāka krēslot.
outside start.pst.3 dusk.inf
‘The dusk began to fall outside.’ (C)
An obligatory extender describing a place, suggests that the name of the agent should
not be searched for in this context, as it is evident or is not important:
(3.2.30) Visapkārt brīkšķēja un šalca, kauca un
all_around crackle.pst.3 and rustle.pst.3 howl.pst.3 and
gaudoja.
wail.pst.3
‘It was crackling and rustling, howling and wailing all around us.’
(maxima-library.org)
If the action has an animate agent not mentioned in the sentence, the adverb assigns
a grammatically unequivocal meaning to the form of the verb, i.e., that of a generic
person (Freimane 1985: 21):
(3.2.31) Šeit runā daudzas
here speak.prs.3 many.acc.pl.f
nesaprotamas lietas.
incomprehensible.acc.pl.f thing.acc.pl.f
‘Here people talk about many puzzling things.’ (C)
Characterization of the place is obligatory in most potentially verbal sentences:
(3.2.32) Turpat arī Dīdžejs, skaists
there also Deejay.nom.m handsome.nom.m
un bīstams cilvēks.
and dangerous.nom.m person.nom.m
‘Deejay was there too, a handsome and a dangerous person.’ (J. Joņevs)
The dative-marked adjunct with the  meaning of the  experiencer is obligatory in
(3.2.33):
(3.2.33) Jums veicas.
you.dat.pl do_well.prs.3
‘You are lucky.’ (C)
In a  communicative situation, the  role of the  experiencer is among the  most
substantial. If the state experienced by somebody is named, then it is important also
to name the experiencer, unless it is clear from the situation or the context. Naming
the experiencer depends not so much on the lexical meaning of the verb (or some

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other word), as on the situation being described and the structure of the sentence in
general, as the experienced states can be expressed not only in verbal, but also in
adverbial and nominal sentences:
(3.2.34) Šoreiz vecākiem būs interesanti.
this_time parent.dat.pl.m be.cop.fut.3 interesting
‘This time it will be interesting for the parents.’ (C)
(3.2.35) Man ir silts.
I.dat be.cop.prs.3 warm.nom.m
‘I am warm.’ (C)
There are sentences where the  presence of one of the  two possible extenders is
obligatory. In these cases, we can apply the concept of quasi-obligation (see Freimane
1983: 47), for example:
(3.2.36) Ausīs /auss džinkst.
ear.loc.pl.f/nom.f ring.prs.3
‘There is ringing in the ears.’ (www.dzivei.lv)
(3.2.37) Galvā /galva dun.
head.loc.f/nom.f boom.prs.3
‘There is booming in the head.’ (www.termorelax.com)
In some cases, both extenders can be implemented simultaneously, but it is not
obligatory:
(3.2.38) Tehnika kalpo ilgi /
technology.nom.f serve.prs.3 for_a_long_time
kā kredīta garants.
as loan.gen.m guarantee.nom.m
‘The technology serves as security for the loan / for a long time.’ (C)
(3.2.39) Viņa samaksāja par maizes kukuli /
she.nom pay.pst.3 for bread.gen.f loaf.acc.m
bargu naudu / vietējam fermerim.
harsh.acc.f money.acc.f local.dat.m farmer.dat.m
‘She paid the local farmer / a huge sum of money / for the loaf of bread.’ (C)
Quasi-obligatory extenders can be found in sentences naming states:
(3.2.40) Visiem / te ir interesanti.
everyone.dat.pl.m here be.cop.prs.3 interesting
‘For everyone / it interesting here.’ (www.vaduguns.lv)
(3.2.41) Man / istabā ir karsti.
I.dat room.loc.f be.cop.prs.3 hot
‘For me / it is hot in the room.’ (www.calis.delfi.lv)
Thus, we can conclude that from the  perspective of efficiency of communication,
it is important not to overdo the verbalization of the components. If one is named,

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the others are either known to the addressee, are obvious or not important, or can
be partly deduced from the named component. Therefore, the number of obligatory
extenders does not exceed one.
Presenting a complete list of the expanded patterns is not possible at the current
stage of study of Latvian syntax, due to several reasons. Firstly, syntactic obligatoriness
cannot be analyzed as a sentence category independently of the context or situation.
The speaker chooses to verbalize the most important components of the situation, but
the components that are deducible from the situation do not need to be verbalized.
Thus, obligatoriness mainly depends on the  communicative situation: the  aim of
the  speaker, the  addressee’s knowledge and capability to identify the  participants
of the situation. The absence of certain components makes us interpret the sentence
as one which is closely related to the communicative situation:
(3.2.42) Salst.
freeze.prs.3
‘It is cold [to the speaker].’ (C)
(3.2.43) Ir labi un mierīgi.
be.cop.prs.3 good and quiet
‘It is good and quiet [to the speaker].’ (C)
(3.2.44) Bet ir silts.
But be.cop.prs.3 warm.nom.m
‘But it is warm [here].’ (C)
(3.2.45) Viņa ir tālu.
she.nom be.cop.prs.3 far
‘She is far away [from the speaker].’ (S. Kaldupe)
(3.2.42) to (3.2.45), however, cannot be considered as semantically incomplete. Thus,
secondly, the syntactic obligation has different levels; we cannot speak of a binary
opposition: obligatory – non-obligatory. The level of obligation depends on the nature
of the  situation described (which is generally reflected in the  language through
the  verb meanings and sentence types), but mostly it depends on the  speaker’s
interpretation of the needs of communication. Thirdly, because of the low level of
abstraction of the sentence patterns, their number would be exceedingly large.
A list of simple sentence patterns in Latvian is given in Section 3.2.7 as a summary
of a detailed description of basic predicate and subject types.

3.2.2 Basic sentence types

The basic sentence type characterizes the contents of the minimal pattern of a simple
sentence. There are two basic sentence types in Latvian: the  canonical bipartite
sentence and the single-component subjectless sentence.
The bipartite sentence minimum consists of a subject and a predicate (Skujiņa
2007: 96). The predicate is the more important component as it expresses predicativity.

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Typically, the predicate is formed by a finite verb form with its tense and modality
directly related to the expression of predicativity.
The bipartite sentence predicate is syntactically related to the  subject of
the sentence in a predicative relation. As stated before, the special status of the subject
in a sentence is derived from the fact that in most cases it agrees with the predicate,
therefore, the  subject participates in the  formation of the  syntactic center of
the sentence. If none of the word forms agree with the predicate, then semantic and
paradigmatic criteria are used to establish the syntactic center of the sentence. As
the bipartite sentence is the main sentence type in Latvian, it will be discussed in
detail in later sections focused on morphological sentence types.
A subjectless sentence consists of one main part of the  sentence without any
formal reference to the second possible part of the syntactic center (Skujiņa 2007:
447). The single component pattern is formed with invariable word forms, which are
strictly predetermined from the point of view of person, number, gender, and case.
The subjectless pattern is a common, although less characteristic, type of pattern in
Latvian. Subjectless sentences are used to describe states and processes occurring
of their own accord, without an agent, and the  causes of which are unknown or
unimportant to the speaker. The main semantic domains of subjectless sentences are
natural phenomena, spontaneous bodily functions, or phenomena associated with
one’s inner world.
On the basis of the semantic and formal differences among predicates and their
typical extenders, the following subjectless sentence types have been established for
Latvian.
1) Sentences describing different natural processes (astronomical and
meteorological phenomena):
(3.2.46) Pēdējoreiz lija krietni pirms
last_time rain.pst.3 considerably before
Jāņiem.
Midsummer’s_Day.dat.pl.m
‘The last time it rained was long before Midsummer’s Day.’ (C)
(3.2.47) Tā mīlīgi miglo.
so tenderly become_misty.prs.3
‘The mist is gently descending.’ (C)
(3.2.48) Laukā jau krēsloja.
outside already darken.pst.3
‘It was already twilight outside.’ (C)
2) Sentences describing phenomena perceived through hearing (3.2.49), smell
(3.2.50), and, less often, vision (3.2.51, 3.2.52):
(3.2.49) Visapkārt dun, rīb un dārd.
all_around boom.prs.3 ramble.prs.3 and roll.prs.3
‘It is booming, rambling, and rolling all around.’ (C)

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(3.2.50) Gaisā smaržo pēc Havannas liķiera.
air.loc.m smell.prs.3 prep Havana.gen.f liqueur.gen.m
‘There is a scent of Havana liqueur in the air.’ (C)
(3.2.51) Kaut kur pie Smiltenes gaisos nozibsnīja
somewhere by Smiltene.gen.f air.loc.pl.m flash.pst.3
balti.
whitely.
‘Somewhere near Smiltene there was a white flash in the air.’
(L. Muktupāvela)
(3.2.52) Tai mājā spokojas.
that.loc.f house.loc.f haunt.prs.3
‘That house is haunted.’ (C)
3) Sentences describing physical sensations or mental states:
(3.2.53) Galvā dunēja.
head.loc.f boom.pst.3
‘(His) head was booming.’ (C)
(3.2.54) Gurnos dīvaini kņudēja.
loin.loc.pl.m oddly tingle.pst.3
‘There was a strange tingling in (his) loins.’ (C)
(3.2.55) Man jau bērnībā bija bail no
I.dat already childhood.loc.f be.cop.pst.3 afraid of
zirgiem.
horse.dat.pl.m
‘I have been afraid of horses since childhood.’ (C)
4) Sentences describing involuntary processes connected with human existence:
(3.2.56) Man vienkārši laimējās.
I.dat simply be_lucky.pst.3.
‘I was just lucky.’ (C)
(3.2.57) Kā tev, draudziņ, klājas?
how you.dat friend.dim.voc.m do.prs.3
‘How are you, my friend?’ (C)
5) Sentences with a generic or unspecified agent and a predicate in the passive
voice:
(3.2.58) Skolas koncertā tika dejots
school.gen.f concert.loc.m get.aux.pst.3 dance.ptcp.nom.m
labāk nekā rajona skatē.
good.cmp than district.gen.m competition.loc.f
‘There was better dancing at the school concert than in the regional
competition.’ (C)

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(3.2.59) Šajā gadā tiks aktīvi
this.loc.m year.loc.m get.aux.fut.3 actively
strādāts.
work.ptcp.nom.m
‘There will be a lot of hard work done this year.’ (C)
(3.2.60) Uz koncertiem vispār sen
to concert.dat.pl.m at_all for_a_long_time
nav būts. (C)
not_be.aux.prs.3 be.ptcp.nom.m
‘One has not been to any concerts at all lately.’
Sentences with a generic or unspecified agent and a predicate in the third person are
borderline cases between subjectless and bipartite sentences:
(3.2.61) a. Priekšā runā citādi kā aiz muguras.
in_front speak.prs.3 differently than behind back.gen.f
‘They say things differently in front of you than behind your back.’ (C)
(3.2.62) a. No tālienes var dzirdēt vilciena
from distance.gen.f be_able.prs.3 hear.inf train.gen.m
svilpšanu.
whistling.acc.f
‘One can hear the train’s whistling from a distance.’ (C)
(3.2.63) Tā to dara jau 3500 gadu.
so it.acc.m do.prs.3 already 3500 year.gen.pl.m
‘It has been done this way already for 3500 years.’ (C)
In this type of sentence, just as in the previously discussed sentences with predicates
in the passive voice, attention is directed towards an action abstracted from the agent.
Nevertheless, the sentence structure could formally be supplemented with the name
of the agent in a certain grammatical form:
(3.2.61) b. Priekšā [visi, cilvēki] runā
in_front [all.nom.pl.m person.nom.pl.m] speak.prs.3
citādi kā aiz muguras.
differently than behind back.gen.f
‘[Everyone, people] say(s) things differently in front of you than behind
your back.’ (www.epupa.valoda.lv)
(3.2.62) b. No tālienes [ikviens, jebkurš]
from distance.gen.f [everyone.nom.m anyone.nom.m]
var dzirdēt vilciena svilpšanu.
be_able.prs.3 hear.inf train.gen.m whistling.acc.f
‘[Everyone, anyone] can hear the train’s whistling from a distance.’
(www.valoda.ailab.lv)

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This allows one also to consider this type of sentence as  an incompletely realized
bipartite pattern sentence.
The same can be said about sentences containing a predicate in the infinitive:
(3.2.63) a. Stāt!
stop.inf
‘Stop!’ (C)
(3.2.64) a. Zvanīt pēc pulksten 17.00.
call.inf after o’clock 5_p.m.
‘Call after 5 o’clock!’ (C)
(3.2.65) a. Kā atrisināt drošības
how resolve.inf security.gen.f
problēmas?
problem.acc.pl.f
‘How to resolve security problems?’ (C)
If the agent is generic, these sentences can be formally supplemented with an agent
in the dative:
(3.2.63) b. [Ikvienam, visiem] Stāt!
[everyone.dat.m all.dat.m] stop.inf
‘[Everyone,] stop!’
(3.2.64) b. [Ikvienam, visiem] Zvanīt pēc
[everyone.dat.m all.dat.m] call.inf after
pulksten 17.00.
o’clock 5_p.m.
‘[Everyone,] call after 5 o’clock!’
Semantically, subjectless sentences can be potentially equivalent to potentially verbal
bipartite sentences describing natural phenomena and weather conditions:
(3.2.66) Vietām īslaicīgs lietus.
here_and_there short_term.nom.m rain.nom.m
‘Sporadic showers here and there.’ (C)
(3.2.67) Visu laiku troksnis no
all.acc.m time.acc.m noise.nom.m from
tilta puses.
bridge.gen.m side.gen.f
‘Constant noise from the direction of the bridge.’ (C)

3.2.3 Verbal sentences

The morphological type of a  sentence depends on the  part of speech used in
the predicate. In verbal, nominal, and adverbial sentences, the predicate is a verb,
nominal (noun or adjective), or adverb, respectively. If a  verbal sentence does not

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formally contain the predicate, that is, the full lexical verb būt ‘to be’, then this is
considered a potentially verbal sentence (see, e.g., (3.1.3, 3.1.4) and (3.2.66, 3.2.67)).
In most cases, the function of the predicate is taken on by just the finite verb or
together with another word form or several word forms. If the predicate is formed
by the full lexical verb, it is a verbal predicate (Skujiņa 2007: 441). If the predicate
is formed by a functional verb expressing only or mostly a grammatical meaning, it
is considered to be a copula, which is used together with a nominal or an adverb to
form a nominal or adverbial predicate.

Simple verbal predicates in bipartite sentences

A simple verbal predicate is usually formed by a  verb in a  finite form (see, e.g.,
(3.2.17–3.2.27)).
A simple verbal predicate in the infinitive is found in three communicatively
and semantically different types of sentences.
First of all, in categorical command sentences:
(3.2.68) Visiem gulēt!
everyone.dat.pl.m sleep.inf
‘Everyone to bed!’ (www.spoki.lv)
Second of all, in interrogative sentences with a modal meaning indicating necessity
or possibility:
(3.2.69) Ko man jautās darba intervijā
what.acc I.dat ask.fut.3 job.gen.m interview.loc.f
un ko man atbildēt?
and what.acc I.dat answer.inf
‘What will they ask in the job interview, and what should I answer?’
(www.workingday.lv)
Third of all, in sentences describing an impossible action:
(3.2.70) Kur nu man līdzināties jaunajiem
where ptcl I.dat be_like.inf young_one.dat.pl.m
ar viņu izglītību un
with he.gen.pl.m education.ins.f and
zināšanām.
knowledge.ins.pl.f
‘How could I measure up to those young ones with their education and
knowledge!’ (www.procesilatvija.lv)
(3.2.71) Man uz atpūtu necerēt ...
I.dat for rest.acc.f not_hope.inf
‘No hope for any rest for me ...’ (D. Zigmonte)
These sentences contain an irrealis modal meaning, which can be deduced from
the syntactic construction as a whole, rather than from any particular grammatical
form.

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Compound verbal predicates in bipartite sentences
The compound verbal predicate is formed by a copula and an infinitive:
(3.2.72) Taisnīgā cīņā krist ir tomēr
just.loc.f fight.loc.f fall.inf be.cop.prs.3 still
uzvarēt.
be_victorious.inf
‘Dying in a just battle is still a victory.’ (C)
In this type of sentence, the  infinitive also functions as  the  subject, therefore,
the  syntactic function of the  word depends on the  word order, i.e., the  predicate
follows the subject of the sentence. These sentences have the meaning of aphorisms,
therefore, they often do not possess all the paradigmatic tense forms and the copula
is used in the present tense.
In addition to the verb būt ‘to be’, the verb nozīmēt ‘to mean’ can also be used in
the function of a copula:
(3.2.72) Dzimto zemi mīlēt nozīmē arī
native.acc.f land.acc.f love.inf mean.prs.3 also
to apstrādāt.
it.acc.f cultivate.inf
‘Love for one’s native land means its cultivation, too.’ (Lubānas Ziņas)
The compound verbal predicate is used in sentences containing a copula in the past
or future tense form, as the present tense form of the copula is impossible in such
sentences. Interrogative sentences have the meaning of necessity or possibility:
(3.2.73) Ko citu man bija teikt?
what.acc else.acc.m I.dat be.cop.pst.3 say.inf
‘What else could I say?’(C)
(3.2.74) Vai man būs tevi aizlaist?
q I.dat be.cop.fut.3 you.acc.sg let_go.inf
‘Shall I let you go?’ (I. Šķipsna)
Imperative sentences express necessity:
(3.2.75) Jums būs darīt tā un ne citādi.
you.dat.pl be.cop.fut.3 do.inf thus and not otherwise
‘You are to do it exactly like this and not otherwise.’ (C)
(3.2.76) Te tad nu arī mums būs palikt.
here then ptcl also we.dat be.cop.fut.3 stay.inf
‘This is where we stay.’ (P. Bankovskis)
In the function of the subject of the sentence, we can encounter not only the speaker
or the addressee, but also the name of an inanimate object:
(3.2.77) Dāvanai būs būt!
present.dat.f be.cop.fut.3 be.inf
‘There shall be presents!’ (Mans Mazais)

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Negative sentences mostly express prohibition:
(3.2.78) Tev nebūs par mani visu
you.dat.sg not_be.cop.fut.3 about I.acc all.acc.m
zināt!
know.inf
‘You are not to know everything about me.’ (www.apollo.lv)
Thus, first, the formally implemented copula is not possible in the present; second,
sentences with and without copulas are semantically different, therefore, a  fully
formed system in the present, past, and future tenses in many cases is impossible;
and third, sentences with a  copula (especially in the  future tense) are stylistically
expressive. This allows us to presume that sentences with and without copulas form
two different sentence types (for more on this see Lokmane 2014a, 2016).

Complex verbal predicates in bipartite sentences

The complex verbal predicate is formed with a finite modal or aspectual verb in an
auxiliary meaning together with an infinitive. The finite form expresses the modal
and aspectual (therefore, grammatical) meanings, while the action itself is described
by the lexical verb in its infinitive form:
(3.2.79) Mazais noteikti gribēja gulēt.
little.nom.m definitely want.pst.3 sleep.inf
‘The little one must have been sleepy.’ (C)
(3.2.80) Mēs sākām runāt par Raini.
we.nom start.pst.1pl talk.inf about Rainis.acc.m
‘We started talking about Rainis.’ (C)
(3.2.81) Viņai izdevās pagriezt atslēgu.
she.dat manage.pst.3 turn.inf key.acc.f
‘She managed to turn the key.’ (C)
The verb in the infinitive has the main function in the sentence both semantically
and from the point of view of argument structure. The auxiliary only adds semantic
nuance to the action described in the sentence.
However, in some cases the  argument structure is determined not only
by the  infinitive but also by a  modal or aspectual auxiliary which proves that
the predicate is indeed a complex one. First of all, this can be seen when the sentence
is transformed into the passive voice, with the object of the infinitive turning into
the subject in the nominative case that agrees with the aspectual auxiliary:
(3.2.82) a. Pils ir sākta būvēt
castle.nom.f be.aux.prs.3 begin.ptcp.nom.f build.inf
1214. gadā.
1214 year.loc.m
‘The construction of the castle began in 1214.’ (www.travelnews.lv)

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A similar sentence in the passive with the modal auxiliary:
(3.2.83) a. Zinātniskie pētījumi pat nav
scientific.nom.pl.m research.nom.pl.m even not_be.aux.prs.3
mēģināti izskaidrot.
attempt.ptcp.nom.pl.m explain.inf
‘There was not even an attempt to explain the scientific research.’
(www.apollo.lv)
It should be noted that both sentences can also have different forms in the passive –
subjectless sentences, where the  object retains its function and remains in
the accusative:
(3.2.82) b. Pili ir sākts būvēt
castle.acc.f be.aux.prs.3 begin.ptcp.nom.m build.inf
1214. gadā.
1214 year.loc
‘The construction of the castle began in 1214.’
(3.2.83) b. Zinātniskos pētījumus pat nav
scientific.acc.pl.m research.acc.pl.m even not_be.aux.prs.3
mēģināts izskaidrot.
attempt.ptcp.nom.m explain.inf
‘There was not even an attempt to explain the scientific research.’
Second of all, another argument that would argue in favor of the complex nature of
the predicate is offered by sentences that have their modal or aspectual auxiliary in
the debitive but the object of the infinitive – in the nominative. Although language
policy requires one to use the object in the accusative if it follows an infinitive, it is
not infrequent to find sentences like (3.2.84) and (3.2.85) which show that speakers
perceive the predicate as a complex unit and use the nominative just like in the other
cases where the predicate is in the debitive mood:
(3.2.84) Tas jāsāk darīt tieši tagad.
it.nom.m deb.start do.inf exactly now
‘It must be started now.’ (C)
(3.2.85) Valsts institūcijām ir jāspēj
state.gen.f institution.dat.pl.f be.aux.prs.3 deb.be_able
sasniegt mērķis.
reach.inf objective.nom.m
‘State institutions must be able to reach their objective.’ (C)
Third of all, in sentences with a negated modal auxiliary, the object of the infinitive,
i.e., the negative pronoun, is in the genitive case. The use of the genitive in this case
is licensed by the negated auxiliary rather than the infinitive:
(3.2.86) Bet tur nekā nevar darīt.
But there nothing.gen not_can.prs.3 do.inf
‘But there is nothing one can do about it.’ (C)

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The modal meaning of the  auxiliary can be combined with other lexico-semantic
elements. The infinitive can be used after several verbs, which have a modal element
in their meaning. The modal meaning of these words is not as  important as  their
lexical meaning, therefore, they can be used as full lexical verbs, as well. In Latvian,
these words are as follows: atzīt ‘to recognize’, gatavoties ‘to get ready’, taisīties ‘to
prepare’, nodomāt ‘to intend’, nolemt ‘to decide’, mēgt ‘to be in the habit of’, nevīžot
‘to not care’, neklāties ‘to not fare’, dergties ‘to be disgusted’, patikt ‘to like’, pierast
‘to get used to’, mācēt ‘to know’, prast ‘to know how’, iemācīties ‘to learn’, baidīties ‘to
be afraid’, kautrēties ‘to be shy’, and others. The modal meaning is enhanced in co-
occurrence with the infinitive:
(3.2.87) Izaugusi tepat jūrmalā, viņa
grow.ptcp.nom.f right_here seaside.loc.f she.nom
kopš bērnības pierada justies
since childhood.gen.f get_used_to.pst.3 feel.inf
kā zivs ūdenī.
like fish.nom.f water.loc.m
‘Having grown up right here at the seaside, she was used to feeling like
a fish in water.’ (L. Brīdaka)
(3.2.88) Filmas skatīties viņš atzina
film.acc.pl.f watch.inf he.nom admit.pst.3
tikai svētdienās un savus ieradumus
only Sunday.loc.pl.f and own.acc.pl.m habit.acc.pl.m
reti kad mainīja.
rarely when change.pst.3
‘He would admit to watching films only on Sundays and he rarely changed
his habits.’ (I. Grebzde)

Verbal predicates in subjectless sentences

The verbal predicate in a  subjectless sentence is formed with a  verb in the  third
person. Most often these are impersonal verbs that describe natural phenomena:
(3.2.89) Bija kārtīgi uzsalis.
be.aux.pst.3 thoroughly freeze.ptcp.nom.m
‘It had frozen all over.’ (C)
Verbal predicates are formed using auditory or visual perception verbs if the source
of the sound or smell is not mentioned in the sentence, due to it not being known or
not being important to the speaker:
(3.2.90) Būdā burbuļoja, sprakšķēja, gruzdēja,
hut.loc.f bubble.pst.3 crackle.pst.3 smolder.pst.3
vira, čurkstēja.
boil.pst.3 sizzle.pst.3
‘It was bubbling, crackling, smoldering, boiling, sizzling in the hut.’
(N. Ikstena)

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(3.2.91) Zem kokiem smaržo pēc trūdošām
under tree.dat.pl.m smell.prs.3 of moldering.dat.pl.f
lapām.
leaf.dat.pl.f
‘It smells of moldering leaves under the trees.’ (C)
The function of the predicate can be taken on by the verbs naming the visual percept:
(3.2.92) Man jau dubultojas.
I.dat already double.prs.3
‘I have started seeing double already.’ (C)
(3.2.93) Liepājā naktīs spokojas.
Liepāja.loc.f night.loc.pl.f haunt.prs.3
‘Liepāja is haunted at night.’ (C)
(3.2.94) Acīs miglojās.
eye.loc.pl.f be_mist.pst.3
‘My eyes misted over.’ (C)
The predicate can be formed by verbs describing physical sensations or mental states:
(3.2.95) Atkal iesāpējās pēdās.
again ache.pst.3 foot.loc.pl.f
‘[My] feet twinged with pain again.’ (C)
(3.2.96) Viņam varbūt nedaudz smeldza
he.dat possibly slightly ache.pst.3
pakrūtē.
pit_of_the_stomach.loc.f
‘The pit of his stomach might have been aching a bit.’ (C)
(3.2.97) Kņudēja sirdī, urdījās, dedzināja.
tingle.pst.3 heart.loc.f poke.pst.3 burn.pst.3
‘There was a tingling, poking, burning feeling in his heart.’ (C)
As can be seen in (3.2.92–3.2.97), this type of expansion is usually taken on by
the name of the experiencer in the dative case and the extender in the locative, which
provides more precise information about the  particular organ or part of the  body
where the  feeling is localized. Similarly, we can also form bipartite constructions
where the part of the body takes on the function of the subject of the sentence:
(3.2.98) No nepatīkamajām pārdomām
from unpleasant.dat.pl.f contemplation.dat.pl.f
iesāpējās galva.
ache.pst.3 head.nom.f
‘The unpleasant thoughts prompted a headache.’ (C)
The nominative case indicates that the  entire body is involved, while the  locative
case signals partial involvement. The nominative and locative arguments are

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quasi-compulsory syntactic elements. The indefinite pronouns kas ‘what, who’, kaut
kas ‘something’ are frequently used as substitutes for an unknown source of a process
or state:
(3.2.99) Manī kaut kas smeldz.
I.loc something ache.prs.3
‘Something is aching inside of me.’ (www.sargs.lv)
Some modal verbs can be used as full lexical verbs with the function of a predicate,
signifying the accidental nature of the action:
(3.2.100) Vispār visu ko gribas.
generally all.acc.m what.acc want.prs.3
‘Just in general, one wants all sorts of things.’ (C)
(3.2.101) Šoreiz laimējās.
this_time have_luck.pst.3
‘This time (we) were lucky.’ (C)
Three-person verbs can function as predicates when they can take on the name of
the agent in bipartite sentences, if the agent is generic or unspecified. The predicate
is formed by the verb in the passive:
(3.2.102) Ar mašīnīti diezgan ripināts pa
with car.ins.f enough roll.ptcp.nom.m along
noziedzīgiem ceļiem.
criminal.dat.pl.m road.dat.pl.m
‘The car has been involved in many a crime.’ (A. Bels)
An infinitive verbal predicate can occur in subjectless sentences with a necessitative
or imperative meaning:
(3.2.103) Kā atrast īstu mīlestību?
how find.inf true.acc.f love.acc.f
‘How to find true love?’ (C)
(3.2.104) Ievērot klusumu!
observe.inf silence.acc.m
‘Silence is to be observed!’ (www.mammamuntetiem.lv)

3.2.4 Nominal sentences

The nominal predicate is usually a  compound predicate, formed by a  copula and
a  nominal or its substitute  – a  noun, adjective, numeral, pronoun, or declinable
participle (Skujiņa 2007: 257). A copula is the  finite form of a  verb expressing its
grammatical meaning. For this reason, it has a leading role in expressing predicativity.
With respect to lexical meaning, the nominal part of the predicate plays the more
important role.

413
(3.2.105) Dzīve ir skaista.
life.nom.f be.cop.prs.3 beautiful.nom.f
‘Life is beautiful!’ (C)
In bipartite sentences, a  declinable participle can form either a  verbal or nominal
predicate depending on whether it primarily describes the result of an action (verbal)
or the  characteristics of an action (adjectival). The nominal predicate is usually
formed by the present declinable participle. This can be partly explained by the fact
that these participles do not form analytical forms of the verb (see Section 2.5.1):
(3.2.106) Lēmums ir galīgs un
decision.nom.m be.cop.prs.3 final.nom.m and
nepārsūdzams.
non-appealable.ptcp.nom.m
‘The decision is final and non-appealable.’ (C)
The nominal predicate can be formed also by the past declinable participle, if it is
functioning as  an adjective. Whether it is used as  an adjective or not, depends on
the semantics of the verb and its distribution:
(3.2.107) Bērns ir uztraukts un
child.nom.m be.cop.prs.3 worried.ptcp.nom.m and
nemierīgs.
agitated.nom.m
‘The child is worried and agitated.’ (www.mammamuntetiem.lv)
The predicates formed by the present declinable participle with a modal meaning are
borderline cases between the verbal and nominal predicate types:
(3.2.108) Te nekas vairs nav
here nom anymore not_be.cop.prs.3
līdzams.
help.ptcp.nom.m
‘Nothing can be done here.’ (Ē. Kūlis)
The finite form of the verb būt ‘to be’, which expresses the grammatical meanings, is
most often used to form the copula. In modern Latvian, the verb kļūt ‘to become’ can
also be used as a copula:
(3.2.109) Meistari kļuva domīgi.
repairman.nom.pl.m become.cop.pst.3 puzzled.nom.pl.m
‘The repairmen became puzzled.’ (C)
In specific environments, several different linking verbs can take on the function of
a copula. Elsewhere, these verbs can also be used as full or lexical verbs (Freimane
1985: 56).
First of all, these are verbs describing the characteristics of the subject (as is
done by the copula būt ‘to be’): izdoties ‘to succeed’, padoties ‘to excel at’, iznākt ‘to
end up’, izrādīties ‘to turn out’, justies ‘to feel’, palikt ‘to stay’, stāvēt ‘to stand’, turēties
‘to hold on’, pieturēties ‘to remain’, nesties ‘to rush’:

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(3.2.110) Sportisti ir un paliek
athlete.nom.pl.m be.cop.prs.3 and stay.cop.prs.3
sportisti.
athlete.nom.pl.m
‘Athletes will be athletes.’ (C)
(3.2.111) Koks stāv kluss un
tree.nom.m stand.cop.prs.3 quiet.nom.m and
mirdzošs.
shimmer.ptcp.nom.m
‘The tree stands quiet and shimmering.’ (B. Veisberga)
Second of all, verbs describing a  change in the  characteristics of the  subject can
function as copulas (as is done by the copula kļūt ‘to become’): palikt ‘to stay’, nākt ‘to
come’, mesties ‘to rush’, tapt ‘to become’, tikt ‘to arrive’:
(3.2.112) Pusdienas jau nāk gatavas.
dinner.nom.pl.f already come.cop.prs.3 ready.nom.pl.f
‘Dinner is going to be ready soon.’ (www.pictame.com)
(3.2.113) Nakts metas tumša.
night.nom.f rush.cop.prs.3 dark.nom.f
‘The night is getting dark.’ (www.jaunagaita.net)
Third of all, in simple sentences verbs relating to perception can function as copulas:
šķist ‘to seem’, likties ‘to resemble’, rādīties ‘to appear’, izskatīties ‘to look like’:
(3.2.114) Šāda atbilde liekas
this_kind.nom.f answer.nom.f seem.cop.prs.3
dīvaina.
strange.nom.f
‘This kind of answer seems strange.’ (C)
(3.2.115) Abi attēli izskatās vienādi.
both picture.nom.pl.m look.cop.prs.3 alike.nom.pl.m
‘Both pictures look alike.’ (C)
Desemanticization is enhanced by the  lexical semantics of the  verb (words with
a  general meaning desemanticize more easily) and the  environment of the  verb.
Both lexical and semantic factors can have an impact on the meaning of a verb if
the  words preceding or following the  verb all share common semantic elements.
First, the lexical semantics of the words preceding and following the verb, namely,
their common semantic elements, must be taken into account:
(3.2.116) Ķurzēns vēl arvien stinga kluss
Kurzēns.nom.m still ever freeze.cop.pst.3 quiet.nom.m
un mēms.
and speechless.nom.m
‘Ķurzēns remained frozen, all quiet and speechless.’ (A. Eglītis)

415
Second, the syntactic function of the words preceding and following the verb must
be taken into account. In (3.2.117), the verb gulēt ‘to stay in bed’ does not have an
important informative meaning, as it is not unusual for people who are sick to be
lying down. For this reason, it can be considered to be functioning as a copula. On
the other hand, in (3.2.118), the same verb is used with its full lexical meaning and
forms a collocation gulēt mājās ‘to stay at home’. The word slims ‘ill’ fulfils the function
of a secondary predicate in this example.
(3.2.117) Vectēvs guļ ļoti slims.
grandfather.nom.m stay_in_bed.cop.prs.3 very ill.nom.m
‘Grandfather is in bed, very sick.’ (www.spoki.lv)
(3.2.118) Bērns atkal divas nedēļas guļ
child.nom.m again two.acc.pl.f week.acc.pl.f stay_in_bed.prs.3
mājās slims.
home.loc.pl.m ill.nom.m
‘The child has stayed at home sick again for two weeks.’
(www.mammamuntetiem.lv)
The zero form of the  copula does not change the  type of the  compound nominal
predicate:
(3.2.119) Zeme [ir] stingra, gan
ground.nom.f [be.cop.prs.3] firm.nom.f surely
neiegrims.
not_cave_in.fut.3
‘The ground is firm, it will surely not cave in.’ (C)
Quite often the declinable forms of the words depending on the nominal (noun or
pronoun) can also form part of the  nominal predicate. In this case, the  predicate
does not agree with the  subject of the  sentence, thus, there is no formal marker
of the  predicative relationship. Nouns are found in this function in the  genitive,
instrumental, and locative cases. The locative is the most productive in this regard,
which can be explained by the tendency of the locative to adverbalize:
(3.2.120) Vairums dejotāju bija
majority.nom.m dancer.gen.pl be.cop.pst.3
kostīmos un maskās.
costume.loc.pl.m and mask.loc.pl.f
‘The majority of the dancers wore costumes and masks.’ (A. Eglītis)
If the predicate contains a locative describing the state of the subject, the sentence
is marginally adverbial, but if the noun has the full paradigm, it can be considered
nominal:
(3.2.121) Valsts ir pārādā policistiem.
state.nom.f be.cop.prs.3 debt.loc.m policeman.dat.pl.m
‘The state is in debt to the policemen.’ (C)

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(3.2.122) Abi vienmēr ir badā.
both.nom.pl.m constantly be.cop.prs.3 hunger.loc.m
‘They are both constantly hungry.’ (C)
The genitive or compound genitive, which describes a  characteristic feature of
the subject of the sentence, can have the function of a nominal predicate:
(3.2.123) Korpuss ir plastmasas vai vieglmetāla.
body.nom.m be.cop.prs.3 plastic.gen.f or light_metal.gen.m
‘The body is made of plastic or light alloy.’ (C)
(3.2.124) Piegāde ir bezmaksas.
delivery.nom.f be.cop.prs.3 free.gen.f
‘Delivery is free.’ (C)
The instrumental case functions as part of the nominal predicate:
(3.2.125) Bokseris ir ar raksturu.
boxer.nom.m be.cop.prs.3 with character.ins.m
‘The boxer has character.’ (C)
(3.2.126) No ielas puses nams
from street.gen.f side.gen.f building.nom.m
ir ar diviem stāviem.
be.cop.prs.3 with two.ins.pl.m floor.ins.pl.m
‘From the street side, the building has two floors.’ (C)
A nominal predicate can be formed by a prepositional phrase:
(3.2.127) Tagad sēnes ir bez
now mushroom.nom.pl.f be.cop.prs.3 without
tārpiem.
worm.dat.pl.m
‘Now the mushrooms are without worms.’ (C)
(3.2.128) Industrija ir kļuvusi par
industry.nom.f be.cop.prs.3 become.ptcp.nom.f prep
zinātnes mērķi un tās
science.gen.f target.acc.m and it.gen.f
eksistences attaisnojumu.
existence.gen.f reason.acc.m
‘The industry has become a target of science and its reason for existence.’
(R. Mūks)
A nominal predicate can contain a comparative phrase:
(3.2.129) Viņš ir kā zibensnovedējs
he.nom be.cop.prs.3 like lightning_rod.nom.m
gan ģimenē, gan skolā.
conj family.loc.f conj school.loc.f
‘He is like a lighting rod both at home and at school.’ (C)

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A nominal predicate containing a modal or aspectual auxiliary is a complex nominal
predicate:
(3.2.130) Viņa grib būt tieši
she.nom want.prs.3 be.cop.inf precisely
operas režisore.
opera.gen.f director.nom.f
‘She wants to be precisely an opera stage manager.’ (C)
In a  subjectless sentence, a  nominal predicate is formed by an adjective in
the nominative case and a copula.
These predicates describe natural phenomena, which are climatic or
meteorological in character as well as those connected with the change between day
and night, seasons, and so on:
(3.2.131) Tur taču ir tumšs!
there however be.cop.prs.3 dark.nom.m
‘But it is really dark there!’ (C)
(3.2.132) Nedēļas otrajā pusē atkal
week.gen.f second.loc.f half.loc.f again
kļuva siltāks.
become.cop.pst.3 warm.cmp.nom.m
‘In the second half of the week, it became warmer again.’ (C)
The zero form of the copula does not change the predicate type:
(3.2.133) Mājā [ir] tumšs.
house.loc.f [be.cop.prs.3] dark.nom.m
‘It is dark inside the house.’ (C)
Just like in bipartite sentences, the modal or aspectual auxiliaries can form a part of
the predicate, changing it into a complex predicate:
(3.2.134) Sāk kļūt siltāks.
start.prs.3 become.cop.inf warm.cmp.nom.m
‘It is starting to become warmer.’ (C)

3.2.5 Adverbial sentences

The adverbial predicate is usually a  compound predicate, formed by a  copula and
an adverb (Skujiņa 2007: 17). The capacity of the  adverb to form the  predicate is
semantically limited. Only those adverbs (predicative adverbs of state verbs), which
have meanings related to the meanings of the words used as predicates (verbs and
adjectives), can typically form the predicate.
(3.2.135) Tev tas ir vienalga.
you.dat.sg it.nom.m be.cop.prs.3 indifferent
‘It does not matter to you.’ (C)

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These predicates can be formed by adverbs, which express an evaluation or a physical
or psychological state:
(3.2.136) Tas ir garlaicīgi.
that.nom.m be.cop.prs.3 boring
‘That is boring.’ (C)
Adverbs of degree:
(3.2.137) Ogu ir maz.
berry.gen.pl.f be.cop.prs.3 few
‘There are few berries.’ (C)
And some adverbs of manner:
(3.2.138) Te viss ir godīgi.
here everything.nom.m be.cop.prs.3 honestly
‘Everything is done honestly here.’ (C)
Not all word types can function as subjects in adverbial sentences. Subjects most often
are indefinite pronouns describing the entire situation (tas ‘that’, viss ‘everything’),
as in (3.2.136) and (3.2.138), or by a verb in the infinitive:
(3.2.139) Strādāt ir droši.
work.inf be.cop.prs.3 safe
‘It is safe to work.’ (C)
A noun can be the subject of a sentence if the adverb describes a state:
(3.2.140) Nu viss darbs bija pagalam.
now all.nom.m work.nom.m be.cop.pst.3 lost
‘Now the whole job was in vain.’ (C)
These types of sentences can be considered to be on the  borderline with nominal
sentences if the predicate contains a noun form describing a state and if this form has
also partly adverbialized:
(3.2.141) Esmu pilnīgā sajūsmā.
be.cop.prs.1 complete.loc.f delight.loc.f
‘I am completely delighted.’ (C)
An adverbial clause can also contain a copula in its zero form, which does not change
the predicate type:
(3.2.142) Un tomēr viss [ir] citādi.
and still everything.nom.m [be.cop.prs.3] different
‘And still, everything has changed.’ (C)
If an adverbial predicate attracts a modal or aspectual auxiliary, it forms a complex
adverbial predicate:
(3.2.143) Nākošnedēļ viss var būt citādi.
next_week everything.nom.m be_able.prs.3 be.cop.inf different
‘Next week everything may be different.’ (C)

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An adverbial predicate in a  subjectless sentence describes physical sensations or
mental states:
(3.2.144) Saulītē jau ir silti.
sun.loc.f already be.cop.prs.3 warm
‘It is already warm in the sunshine.’ (C)
(3.2.145) Ar viņiem vienkārši nebija
with they.ins.pl.m just not_be.cop.pst.3
interesanti.
interesting
‘Being with them was just not interesting.’ (V. Freimane)

3.2.6 Simple sentence subjects

A subject of a sentence is normally a noun or its substitute (an adjective, numeral,
pronoun, or declinable participle) in a particular case (Skujiņa 2007: 390). Subjects
are typically in the nominative case; however, in Latvian it is also possible for subjects
to be in several oblique cases.
The subject of a sentence is the genitive case form of a noun or its substitute in
sentences with the verb nebūt ‘to not be’ or the verbs trūkt ‘to lack’, pietikt ‘to suffice’
in the predicate:
(3.2.146) Konkrētu plānu man nebija.
concrete.gen.pl.m plan.gen.pl.m I.dat not_be.pst.3
‘I did not have any concrete plans.’ (C)
(3.2.147) Vai tad Rīgas policijai trūkst darba?
q really Rīga.gen.f police.dat.f lack.prs.3 work.gen.m
‘Do the Rīga police really not have enough work?’ (C)
(3.2.148) Vietas pietiek visiem.
space.gen.f suffice.prs.3 everyone.dat.m
‘There is enough space for everyone.’ (C)
The subject of a sentence is the dative case form of a noun or its substitute in three
different types of sentences. First of all, in sentences with a predicate in the debitive
mood:
(3.2.149) Lēmumam jābūt motivētam.
decision.dat.m deb.be.aux. justify.ptcp.dat.m
‘The decision has to be justified.’ (C)
Second of all, in sentences with a complex predicate, containing a modal or aspectual
auxiliary:
(3.2.150) Man iepatikās stāstīt par savu dzīvi.
I.dat start_enjoying.pst.3 tell.inf about own.acc.f life.acc.f
‘I started to enjoy talking about my life.’ (C)

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Third of all, in sentences containing a predicate in the infinitive:
(3.2.151) Laikam jau man to
perhaps already I.dat this.acc.m
nesaprast.
not_understand.inf
‘Perhaps this is not for me to understand.’ (C)
The reasons for treating dative forms as  grammatical subjects of sentences, are
as follows:
1) semantic reasons, that is, these dative forms have an agent meaning,
2) formal agreement with the nominal predicate,
3) paradigmatic criteria.
If we recognize the debitive mood as part of the morphological paradigm of the verb
form, then, syntactically, sentences in the  indicative mood and the  debitive mood
belong to one and the same sentence pattern. In the oblique forms of this syntactic
paradigm, all the  arguments maintain their original functions (for discussion of
differential or non-canonical subject marking in Latvian see Fennells 1995; Holvoet
2013; Holvoet & Grzybowska 2014; Holvoet & Nau 2014a; Seržant 2013).
Occasionally, the subject position is occupied by a prepositional phrase with pa
‘along, by’ expressing a distributive meaning or rare/dispersed occurrence (see also
Holvoet 2011b, 18):
(3.2.152) Tas ļautu iebaudīt pa
that.nom.m allow.cond enjoy.inf prep
glāzītei.
glass.dat.f.
‘That would allow one to enjoy a fine glass of alcohol.’ (C)
Infinitive forms are used as  sentence subjects quite often. Instead of just
identifying the  separate realia, an infinitive together with its arguments (if any)
describes  the  entire situation, while the  predicate expresses an evaluation or
qualification of the situation. Use of the infinitive as a sentence subject occurs in four
different types of sentences.
First of all, an infinitive can function as  a  subject in verbal sentences where
the compound predicate is formed by a copula together with an infinitive:
(3.2.153) Mīlēt ir atdot sevi pilnībā.
love.inf be.cop.prs.3 surrender.inf self.acc fully
‘To love is to surrender oneself fully.’ (C)
Second of all, an infinitive functioning as a subject can be found in verbal sentences
with a simple predicate in its passive form:
(3.2.154) Šeit peldēties ir aizliegts.
here swim.inf be.aux.prs.3 forbid.ptcp.nom.m
‘It is forbidden to swim here.’ (C)

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Third of all, subjects containing infinitives can be found in nominal sentences, if
the predicate is formed by a copula with a nominal, which is most often a noun, less
often an adjective in the superlative degree:
(3.2.155) Toties ģimnāzijā strādāt ir
however high.school.loc.f work.inf be.cop.prs.3
viens prieks.
one.nom.m delight.nom.m
‘Working at the high school, however, is a delight.’ (C)
(3.2.156) Visgrūtākais ir izlikties un
difficult.spl.nom.m be.cop.prs.3 pretend.inf and
klusēt.
be_quiet.inf
‘The most difficult thing is to pretend and stay quiet.’ (www.dziesmas.lv)
Fourth of all, infinitives functioning as  sentence subjects are possible in adverbial
sentences formed by a copula and an adverb:
(3.2.157) Garāžā dzīvot ir jautri.
garage.loc.f live.inf be.cop.prs.3 cheerfully
‘Living in the garage is fun.’ (C)
If an infinitive functions as a subject, the predicate will have an evaluative meaning
in nominal as  well as  adverbial sentences. Additionally, this evaluation will refer
to the  experiencer or agent, stating that something for that individual is easy or
difficult, good or bad, etc.
An infinitive sentence subject can also marginally function as  a  secondary
predicate, if that sentence has a modal meaning:
(3.2.158) Audzēkņiem ir pienākums
student.dat.pl.m be.cop.prs.3 responsibility.nom.m
atbildēt par savu rīcību.
answer.inf for own.acc.f action.acc.f
‘The students have the responsibility to answer for their actions.’ (C)
It is also possible to develop a compound subject for a sentence formed by a copula in
the infinitive and a dative or a prepositional phrase:
(3.2.159) Būt cilvēkam grūti.
be.cop.inf human.dat.m difficult
‘It is difficult to be human.’ (C)
(3.2.160) Būt par upuri dažreiz ir
be.cop.inf as victim.acc.m sometimes be.cop.prs.3
ļoti izdevīgi.
very convenient
‘To be a victim is sometimes very convenient.’ (C)

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Sentences containing an infinitive can also be considered verbal sentences with
a complex predicate and an unrealized sentence subject in the dative case:
(3.2.161) Troksnī [ikvienam] ir grūti strādāt.
noise.loc.m [everybody.dat] be.cop.prs.3 hard work.inf
‘It is hard (for anyone) to work in a noisy environment.’ (C)
The subject of this sentence type is understood as either a generic agent or experiencer,
or, alternatively, it may be deduced from context.

3.2.7 A list of basic simple sentence patterns

Sentence patterns can be depicted with symbols denoting the  part of speech and
morphological form of the subject and predicate. If necessary, the pattern can also
contain some generalized semantic features (anim ‘animate’, mod ‘modal’, quant
‘having a quantitative meaning’). If the pattern contains only some specific lexemes,
these can also be indicated.
Not all minimal patterns can be used with equal flexibility for sentence
development. There are some patterns that can be realized quite freely, limited only
by the rules of semantic compatibility. Other patterns can be realized only if their
components belong to specific semantic groups. There are also patterns that can be
realized only with specific lexemes.
The sentence pattern depicts only the basic form of the paradigm. If necessary,
the  symbolic depiction can be made more concrete, for example, the  generalized
pattern nmnom – vFIN can be made more specific using its concrete version Nnomanim – vFIN
or Nnom  – vFIN3. By specifying the generalized pattern, we can develop the variants
of the pattern. It is possible to develop patterns and their variants, if necessary, also
the subvariants, with a different level of abstraction. The sequence of components
depicts the so-called direct word order, which in informative sentences is stylistically
and emotionally neutral.
A dash is placed between the  symbols representing the  components of
the sentence in the minimal two-component patterns: nmnom – vFIN. If a component is
formed by an indivisible word group, the + sign is used.

Bipartite sentences
Verbal sentences
nmnom – vFIN
(3.2.162) Talkas notika arī pirms tam.
joint.work.nom.pl.f happen.pst.3 also before that.dat.m
‘People used to help each other also in the past.’ (C)
nmgen – vFIN3 [nebūt ‘to not be’, (ne)trūkt ‘to (not) lack’, (ne)pietikt ‘to (not) suffice’]
(3.2.163) Apņēmības netrūkst.

determination.gen.f not_lack.prs.3
‘There is no shortage of determination here.’ (C)

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(3.2.164) Vietas pietiek visiem.
space.gen.f suffice.prs.3 everyone.dat.pl.m
‘There is enough space for everyone.’ (C)
(3.2.165) Konkrētu plānu man nebija.
concrete.gen.pl.m plan.gen.pl.m. I.dat. not_be.pst.3
‘I did not have any concrete plans.’ (C)
pron/adv + vinf – vFIN3 [nebūt ‘to not be’, (ne)trūkt ‘to (not) lack’, (ne)pietikt ‘to (not) suffice’]
(3.2.166) Tik un tā ir ko darīt.
even_so be.prs.3 what.acc do.inf
‘Even so, there is enough to do.’ (C)
(3.2.167) Pagaidām pietiek ko darīt.
for_now suffice.prs.3 what.acc do.inf
‘For now there is enough to do.’ (C)
vinf – vFIN, COP vinf
(3.2.168) Dzīvot ir ciest.
live.inf be.cop.prs.3 suffer.inf
‘To live is to suffer.’ (C)
vinf – vFIN3, pass
(3.2.169) Par to domāt nebija
about that.acc think.inf not_be.aux.pst.3
ļauts.
allow.ptcp.pass.nom.m
‘Thinking about it was not permitted.’ (C)
nmdat – (vFIN, COP) vinf
(3.2.170) Kā mums reaģēt?
how we.dat react.inf
‘How do we react?’ (C)

Nominal sentences
Pattern 1
nmnom – vFIN, COP nm
This pattern can have several variants and subvariants.
Variant 1
nmnom – vFIN, COP n
Further subvariants can be identified according to the  case of the  noun used in
the formation of the predicate.

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nmnom – vFIN, COP nnom
(3.2.171) Students visos laikos ir
student.nom.m all.loc.pl.m time.loc.pl.m be.cop.prs.3
students.
student.nom.m
‘The student will always be a student.’ (C)
nmnom – vFIN, COP ngen
(3.2.171) Grīda barakās ir
floor.nom.f barrack.loc.pl.f be.cop.prs.3
koka.
wood.gen.m
‘The floor in the barracks is made of wood.’ (C)
nmnom – vFIN, COP nloc
(3.2.172) Bērns ir nomodā.
child.nom.m be.cop.prs.3 awake.loc.m
‘The child is awake.’ (C)
nmnom – vFIN, COP prep n
(3.2.173) Siliņš droši vien būtu kļuvis
Siliņš.nom.m probably be.aux.cond become.ptcp.nom.m
par skolotāju.
prep teacher.acc.m
‘Siliņš probably would have become a teacher.’ (C)
nmnom – vFIN, COP ptcl[kā ‘like’] + nmnom
(3.2.174) Zeme ir kā ripa.
Earth.nom.f be.cop.prs.3 like disc.nom.f
‘The Earth is like a disc.’ (C)
Variant 2
nmnom – vFIN, COP adj
The subalternatives of variant 2:
nmnom – vFIN, COP adjnom
(3.2.175) Naktis kļuva vēsākas.
night.nom.pl.f become.cop.pst.3 cool.nom.pl.f
‘The nights were getting cooler.’ (C)
nmnom – vFIN, COP prep adj
(3.2.176) Publika tur būs par jaunu.
audience.nom.pl.f there be.cop.fut.3 prep young.acc.f
‘The audience will be too young there.’ (C)

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Variant 3
nmnom – vFIN, COP ptcpnom
(3.2.177) Šis albums nav zemē
this.nom.m album.nom.m not_be.cop.prs.3 ground.loc.f
metams.
throw.ptcp.nom.m
‘This album is not bad.’ (C)
Variant 4
nmnom – vFIN, COP pronnom
(3.2.178) Tas arī ir viss.
that.nom.m also be.cop.prs.3 all.nom.m
‘That is all.’ (C)
Variant 5
nmnom – vFIN, COP numnom
(3.2.179) Spēlētāji bija četri.
player.nom.pl.m be.cop.pst.3 four.nom.pl.m
‘There were four players.’ (C)
Pattern 2
nmgen – vFIN, COP nmquant
(3.2.180) Sarežģītu situāciju nebija
complicated.gen.pl.f situation.gen.pl.f not_be.cop.pst.3
mazums.
shortage.nom.m
‘There was no shortage of complicated situations.’ (C)
Pattern 3
vinf – vFIN, COP nm
Variant 1
vinf – vFIN, COP nnom
(3.2.181) Tagad tavs pienākums ir
now your.nom.m duty.nom.m be.cop.prs.3
mācīt dzīvot citiem.
teach.inf live.inf other.dat.pl.m
‘Now it is your duty to teach others how to live.’ (D. Zigmonte)
Variant 2
vinf – vFIN, COP adjnom
(3.2.182) Galvenais ir sākt.
important.nom.m be.cop.prs.3 begin.inf
‘The most important thing is to begin.’ (C)

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Variant 3
vinf – vFIN, COP pronnom
(3.2.183) Pārpeldēt pāri Daugavai viņam
swim_across.inf across Daugava.dat.f he.dat.m
nav nekas.
not_be.prs.3 nothing.nom.m
‘Swimming across the River Daugava is nothing to him.’
(Neatkarīgā Rīta Avīze)
Variant 4
vinf – vFIN, COP ptcpnom
(3.2.184) Kaitināt viņus nav ieteicams.
annoy.inf they.acc.m not_be.cop.prs.3 advise.ptcp.nom.m
‘It is not advisable to annoy them.’ (C)
Variant 5
vinf – vFIN, COP prep n
(3.2.185) Jautāt sev būs kļuvis par
ask.inf self.dat be.aux.fut.3 become.ptcp.nom.m prep
ieradumu.
habit.acc.m
‘To question oneself will have become a habit.’ (C)
Pattern 4
pronnom – vFIN, COP pron prep [kas ‘what’ par ‘of’] nm
(3.2.186) Kas tā būs par brangu
what.nom that.nom.f be.cop.fut.3 prep jolly_good.acc.f
saimnieci!
hostess.acc.f
‘What a jolly good hostess she will be!’ (C)

Adverbial sentences
Pattern 1
pronnom – vFIN, COP adv
(3.2.187) Mums tas likās smieklīgi.
we.dat it.nom.m seem.pst.3 ridiculous
‘It seemed ridiculous to us.’ (C)
Pattern 2
vinf – vFIN, COP adv
(3.2.188) Bija skaisti un labi dzīvot.
be.cop.pst.3 beautifully and well live.inf
‘It was nice and good to live (there).’ (D. Zigmonte)

427
Pattern 3
nnom – vFIN, COP adv
(3.2.189) Maisam gals ir vaļā.
sack.dat.m end.nom.m be.cop.prs.3 open
‘Here comes the deluge. (lit. The end of the sack is open.)’ (C)
Pattern 4
ngen – vFIN, COP advquant
(3.2.190) Ogu ir maz.
berry.gen.pl.f be.cop.prs.3 few
‘There are few berries.’ (C)

Subjectless sentences
Verbal sentences
vFIN3
(3.2.191) Ik pa brīdim puteņo.
ptcl prep moment.dat.m be_snowstorm.prs.3
‘Snowstorms come and go.’ (C)
(3.2.192) Limbažu rajonā uzbrukts
Limbaži.gen.pl district.loc.m attack.ptcp.pass.nom.m
pasta mašīnai.
post.gen.m car.dat.m
‘The postman’s car has been attacked in Limbaži District.’ (LNT)
vinf
(3.2.193) Ko nu tur daudz runāt un
what.acc well there much say.inf and
stāstīt!
tell.inf
‘There is not much to say or tell!’ (www.facebook.com)

Nominal sentences
vFIN3, cop adjnom
(3.2.194) Kļūst siltāks un gaišāks.
become.cop.prs.3 warm.cmp.nom.m and light.cmp.nom.m
‘It is getting warmer and lighter.’ (C)
vFIN3, cop prep n
(3.2.195) Bija pāri pusnaktij.
be.cop.pst.3 over midnight.dat.f
‘It was after midnight.’ (C)

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Adverbial sentences
vFIN3, cop adv
(3.2.196) Šodien ir gana.
today be.cop.prs.3 enough
‘Enough for today.’ (C)

3.2.8 Paradigm of the simple sentence

Using a  paradigmatic approach in viewing the  phenomena of syntax allows us to
implement the systemic principle, that is simplifying the system of syntax, thereby
making it more understandable while unifying an endless variety of utterances into
specific types and subtypes. The paradigmatic approach is based on the supposition
that the  sentence structural pattern is not set in stone, that it is variable within
certain limits. Thus the simple sentence, just like the word in morphology, possesses
a system of forms or a paradigm.
Each paradigm has a  basic form  – which is the  sentence in the  syntactic
indicative active voice form of the present indefinite.
The paradigmatic approach facilitates the  classification of the  parts of
the sentence in cases when the form and contents of the utterance are in an asymmetric
relationship, i.e., when its formal features contradict its semantic features and neither,
therefore, allow us to establish the function of a part of the sentence (for example,
sentences with the predicate in the debitive mood).
The two distinct approaches that are used in the study of language, the formal
and the  semantic, allow us to distinguish the  formal paradigm relations from
the semantic paradigm relations. The formal paradigm implementation allows us to
omit some formal component without changing the semantics of the sentence. The
semantic implementation can be seen in how the  change of the  meaning leads to
the formal changes of the utterance.

The formal aspect of the syntactic paradigm

Bipartite sentences permit the regular zero form of the subject or the predicate of
the  sentence. The full or partial realization of the  forms can be considered parts
of the same paradigm. The meaning of the sentence does not change, although its
stylistic or emotional expressiveness can be affected.
Two partial realization forms have been established for Latvian. First, the zero
form of the  subject of the  sentence can occur in sentences with the  predicate in
the first or second person:
(3.2.197) [Es] Neesmu ticis pie
[I] not_be.aux.prs.1sg get.ptcp.nom.m prep
savas lauku mājas.
own.gen.f country.gen.pl.m house.gen.f
‘(I) Have never gotten my own country home.’ (C)

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Second, the zero form of the predicate is possible in sentences containing the verb
būt ‘to be’ in its full lexical meaning (or a  synonymous verb). These sentences
can be considered to be potentially verbal according to their morphological type.
Potentially verbal sentences contain the unrealized verb būt ‘to be’ in all three lexical
meanings – existential (3.2.198), locative (3.2.199) and possessive (3.2.200):
(3.2.198) Šogad [ir] tā siltā
this_year [be.prs.3] that.nom.f warm.nom.f
ziema.
winter.nom.f
‘This year (it is) that warm winter.’ (C)
(3.2.199) Viņam tagad ozoli [ir]
he.dat now oak.nom.pl.m [be.prs.3]
tepat aiz meža.
right_here behind forest.gen.m
‘Now he has oak trees right behind the forest.’ (C)
(3.2.200) Viņiem [ir] labi bīti
they.dat.pl.m [be.prs.3] good.nom.pl.m beat.nom.pl.m
un teksti.
and text.nom.pl.m
‘Their beats and lyrics are good.’ (C)
The adjunct is a typical means for sentence expansion. If there is no adjunct, the noun
in the nominative case will be expanded with the help of attributes:
(3.2.201) Burvīgs un dūmakains rīts.
charming.nom.m and misty.nom.m morning.nom.m
‘It is a magical and misty morning.’ (C)
Potentially verbal sentences are paradigmatically limited, as  they exist only in
the simple present of the indicative mood.
When assessing the  realization of the  incomplete form, we need to take into
account the  possibility of the  parallel use of the  complete form. In the  imperative
mood the full form is normally not used, unless we want to sound more emphatic, or
to single out the agent of the action from among other subjects:
(3.2.202) Nu nāciet jūs citi un ziņojiet!
well come.imp.2pl you.nom.pl other.nom.pl.m and report.imp.2pl
‘Come on you others, and deliver your news!’ (C)
Thus, the presence of the subject in the imperative sentence is not freely controllable.

The semantic aspect of the syntactic paradigm

According to the  narrow meaning of the  paradigm, the  sentence is a  system of
forms that is connected with the  expression of predicativity. It is only the  tense
and the modality – the grammatical meanings which turn the sentence into a unit
of communication  – that can change within the  paradigm (Skujiņa 2007: 445).

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The paradigm is based on the morphological form of the verb. The form of the verb
can change only in tense and mood categories, but the subject of the sentence can
change the form of its case. The full paradigm is formed by the five modal meanings
and all tense forms possible for each mood (see Sections 2.5.3 and 2.5.4).
According to the broad concept of the syntactic paradigm, it contains not only
the different tense and modal forms of the sentence, but also the so-called regular
semantic realization forms (Lokmane 2013: 735). The semantic realization is
the variability of the structural sentence pattern within specific limits: the denotative
contents of the sentence do not change, although some of the grammatical or closely-
related meanings do change as  they are expressed with a  specific lexeme instead
of the verb form (as in the narrow meaning of the paradigm). The auxiliary verb is
added to the sentence adding the meaning of modality, aspect, or unintentionality.
Nevertheless, the limitations of the paradigmatic change are not obvious, as they
are set differently in different authors’ writing. It would be more useful to consider
only those changes as  paradigmatic, where neither the  sentence proposition, nor
the word class of its components, nor their syntactic function changes. The changes
do not affect the meanings that refer to the propositional contents of the sentence,
but rather the  meanings that connect the  utterance to the  speech situation, thus
changing the meaning of the time or modality (it could express the speaker’s opinion
of the credibility of the contents).
If the auxiliary in the finite form is included in the structural sentence pattern,
the  verb of the  predicate changes its form to the  infinitive. Nevertheless, it keeps
the main function in the sentence both structurally and from the point of view of its
range of co-occurrence:
(3.2.203) Deputātam neklājas šādā
parliamentarian.dat.m not_befit.prs.3 such.loc.m
veidā runāt.
way.loc.m speak.inf
‘Members of parliament should not be speaking in this way.’ (C)
Having become a part of the sentence, the auxiliary can change the form of the subject
of the sentence, thus replacing its nominative case with the dative (while keeping its
meaning and the function of the subject of the sentence):
(3.2.204) Man reiz gadījās redzēt sava
I.dat once happen.pst.3 see.inf own.gen.m
kaķa rotaļu ar peli.
cat.gen.m game.acc.f with mouse.ins.f
‘Once I stumbled upon my cat playing with a mouse.’ (C)
(3.2.205) Man pietika tikai uzmest
I.dat be_enough.pst.3 only throw.inf
kādam no tiem aci
somebody.dat.m of that.dat.pl.m eye.acc.f
‘It was enough for me to get a glimpse of one of them.’ (C)

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It is not necessary to be able to deduce all the  possible paradigmatic forms of
the specific sentence pattern. The possibilities will depend on the lexical meanings
of the  words and the  entire content of the  sentence, namely, the  real situation
as described by the sentence.

3.2.9 The secondary predicate

Depending on the  syntactic relations, we can distinguish two types of means for
sentence expansion: the extenders of the relations of the word and the extenders of
the relations of the sentence (Lokmane 2013: 740–741).
The extenders of the  word are connected with the  particular word of
the  sentence. They can be taken on in subordination (as dependent components
of the phrases with the meaning of the attribute, object, subject, or an adverbial) or
on a formally equivalent basis (the extenders with the meaning of the apposition).
The extenders of the sentence, however, are related not to one particular word, but
the entire predicative unit – the sentence – or a phrase. Thus, they are incorporated
into the  sentence independently of the  word relations  – straight into the  second-
level syntactic relations – on the basis of the relations of secondary predication and
sentence determination (Lokmane 2013: 741–742).
The simple sentence can be expanded by parts of speech which form a latent,
supplementary syntactic center of the  sentence, which expresses additional or
secondary predication (Skujiņa 2007: 346). The fact that these parts of speech can
be easily transformed into primary predicates also suggests their supplementary or
partial predicativity:
(3.2.206) Pa laipu iedams, neskaties
prep plank-way.acc.f walk.ptcp.nom.m not_look.imp.2sg
zvaigznēs!
star.loc.pl.f
‘Don’t look at the stars while walking on a plank-way.’ (C)
(3.2.207) Uzreiz sajutām jaunus
right_away feel.pst.1pl fresh.acc.pl.m
vējus pūšam no Liepājas puses
wind.acc.pl.m blow.ptcp from Liepāja.gen.f side.gen.f
‘Right away we felt fresh winds coming from Liepāja.’ (C)
Thus, secondary predication has a certain similarity with primary predication, that
is, the components of secondary predication possess the meaning of the tense and
modality.
The expression of the meaning of the tense can be different for different types
of secondary predicates (Lokmane 2013: 742–743).
The characteristics that are given in the secondary predicate are mostly limited
to the time period mentioned within the predicate:

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(3.2.208) Dzintars skraida apkārt vesels
Dzintars.nom.m run.prs.3 around fit.nom.m
kā rutks.
as black_radish.nom.m
‘Dzintars is running around as fit as a fiddle.’ (C)
It is possible that the secondary predicate has its own explicit time reference:
(3.2.209) Citā reizē viņu sastapis,
another.loc.f time.loc.f he.acc meet.ptcp.nom.m
es sūdzējos par savu neveiksmi.
I.nom complain.pst.1sg about own.acc.f mishap.acc.f
‘The next time I met him, I complained about my mishap.’ (A. Eglītis)
Sometimes secondary predicates are semantically related to adverbials – this depends
on the  lexical meaning of the  word and is possible in situations when the  named
characteristic can describe the realia themselves and also the process:
(3.2.210) Spuldžu gaisma vairs nešķiedās
light_bulb.gen.pl.f light.nom.f anymore not_scatter.pst.3
ārā, bet aptinās istabai
outside but wind_around.pst.3 room.dat.f
silti un mīlīgi.
warmly and gently
‘The lighting did not spill outside anymore, but warmly embraced
the room’. (I. Šķipsna)
The secondary predicate can contain the  meaning of the  result, that is, it names
the characteristic that was not there before the action described by the predicate, but
which appeared as a result of that action:
(3.2.210) Tas mani kā ārstu darīja
that.nom.m I.acc as doctor.acc.m make.pst.3
uzmanīgu.
cautious.acc.m
‘As a doctor, this made me cautious.’ (C)
The secondary predicate also possesses a  modal meaning, which depends on
the modality of the predicate.
The secondary predication is less important than the  primary predication
and can be realized only on its basis. Predication expresses the  relation between
the  subject and its characteristics, just like the  attributive relation, but contrary
to it, here the  characteristic is attributed to the  subject during the  speech act (in
the sentence itself), that is, the relation is named by the speaker and as such it is
accepted as a given (Lokmane 2013: 743–744). The attributive relation is realized in
the nominal phrase, it is taken ready-made into the sentence, while the secondary
predication is realized in the  sentence itself. The adjective forming the  attribute
can be either in its definite or indefinite form, but the  adjective in the  function

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of the  secondary predicate can be only in its indefinite form, as  it delivers new
information.
From the point of view of the semantic structure, there are several propositions
in sentences with secondary predicates. New additional conceptual relations can
appear between these propositions, for example, the relations of cause and effect:
(3.2.211) Es sēdēju zem loga un
I.nom sit.pst.1sg under window.gen.m and
izmisis raudāju.
despair.ptcp.nom.m cry.pst.1sg
‘I was sitting under the window and crying my heart out.’ (C)
(3.2.212) Viņš, nepatīkami pārsteigts,
he.nom unpleasantly surprise.ptcp.nom.m
iesaucās.
exclaim.pst.3
‘He cried out unpleasantly surprised.’ (C)
In relation to the secondary predicate, the issue of the main and auxiliary meaning
of the  verb arises. Sometimes the  appearance of the  secondary predicate reduces
the  meaning of the  primary predicate, downgrading it to a  copula (Freimane
1985: 74). This creates a nominal compound predicate:
(3.2.213) Ziemā šis vienistabas dzīvoklis
winter.loc.f this.nom.m single_room.gen.m apartment.nom.m
parasti stāv tukšs.
normally remain.cop.prs.3 empty.nom.m
‘During winter this single room apartment is normally vacant.’ (H. Gulbis)
If the verb has been used in its full lexical meaning, then two statements have been
expressed, that is, the sentence is based on two propositions:
(3.2.214) Knēvelis šaušalīgi lepns stāv
youngster.nom.m ghastly proud.nom.m stand.prs.3
rasainā rītā uz mājas
dewy.loc.m morning.loc.m on house.gen.f
lieveņa.
porch.gen.m
‘The little whippersnapper is standing on the porch incredibly proud of
himself.’ (C)
Secondary predicates can be characterized by several features.
First, according to their function in the nuclear sentence, secondary predicates
can be divided into two groups – secondary predicates (the predicates in the nuclear
sentence) and secondary subjects (the subject of the nuclear sentence). The majority
of secondary predicates during the sentence transformation obtain the function of
the predicate (see examples 3.2.211–3.2.214).

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 The type of secondary predicates that obtain the function of the sentence subject
are less frequent. Since they do not have a formal agreement with any of the members
of the syntactic center, they are placed into the periphery of the secondary predicates:
(3.2.215) Viņš nosēd pie televizora
he.nom sit_about.prs.3 by television.gen.m
ar drūmu izbrīnu acīs.
with dismal.ins.m surprise.ins.m eye.loc.pl.f
‘He remains sitting by the television with a dismally stunned look in his
eyes.’ (A. Liepa)
Secondly, secondary predicates can be characterized according to the  presence or
absence of the formal agreement with their controller. The controller of the secondary
predicate is usually the subject or object of the sentence.
The controller for subject-oriented secondary predicates is the  subject of
the sentence:
(3.2.216) Pieticīgie grieķi, no
unpretentious.nom.pl.m Greek.nom.pl.m prep
rīta piecēlušies, segu
morning.gen.m rise.ptcp.nom.pl.m blanket.acc.f
pārvērta par togu un izgāja
change.pst.3 prep toga.acc.f and go_out.pst.3
pilsētā viegli un gudri.
city.loc.f light.nom.pl.m and wise.nom.pl.m
‘The unpretentious Greeks, rising in the morning, changed their blanket
into a toga and walked into the city easily and wisely.’ (I. Šķipsna)
The controller for the  object-oriented secondary predicate is the  object of
the sentence:
(3.2.217) Mani dara uzmanīgu šī pieeja
I.acc make.prs.3 cautious.acc this.nom.f approach.nom.f
zinātnei.
science.dat.f
‘This approach to science makes me cautious.’ (C)
Third, secondary predicates can be characterized by their (in)dispensability.
Secondary predicates are usually dispensable, but there are verbs whose meaning
can be realized in the sentence only with the help of a secondary predicate:
(3.2.218) Atcerēties mēs mēdzam
remember.inf we.nom be_accustomed.prs.1pl
tikai to, ko vēlākie
only that.acc.m that.acc later.nom.pl.m
notikumi padarījuši svarīgu.
event.nom.pl.m make.ptcp.nom.pl.m important.acc.m
‘We usually remember only those events that have turned out to be
important afterwards.’ (I. Šķipsna)

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Fourth, the  part of the  speech is also important in the  realization of secondary
predicates. It is possible to distinguish two groups:
1) nominals in the function of secondary predicates;
2) verbs in the function of secondary predicates.

Nominal forms as secondary predicates

The adjective or its substitute (adjectivized participle, numeral), or less frequently
a noun in the nominative, can be used in the function of the secondary predicate:
(3.2.219) Jezga apkārt brāzmoja pamatīga.
hustle.nom.f around storm.pst.3 ample.nom.f
‘There was ample hustle and bustle around us.’ (Z. Skujiņš)
The adjective or its substitute in the  accusative is the  object-oriented secondary
predicate:
(3.2.220) Tas viņa sirdi dara priecīgu.
it.nom.m he.gen heart.acc.f make.prs.3 joyful.acc.f
‘It makes his heart joyful.’ (C)
The form of the  prepositional nominal with the  preposition par in the  function
of the  secondary predicate is possible with verbs whose meaning incorporates
the  meaning of ‘doing something to convert something into something else’ or
‘considering that something is something else’: norīkot ‘to appoint’, iekārtot ‘to
arrange’, ievēlēt ‘to elect’, atzīt ‘to recognize’, uzskatīt ‘to consider’, nosaukt ‘to name’,
etc. All these object-oriented secondary predicates are compulsory in the sentence:
(3.2.221) Pēteris šos vārdus
Peter.nom.m this.acc.pl.m word.acc.pl.m
atzina par ļoti prātīgiem.
consider.pst.3 prep very wise.dat.pl.m
‘Pēteris considered these words as very wise.’ (C)
The secondary predicative function can be carried out by the  instrumental case
with the  meaning of a  type or characteristic feature. The instrumental can name
a  characteristic feature of the  agent, which describes the  agent during the  action
named by the predicate:
(3.2.222) Mārtiņa vakarā meitas ar
Martin.gen.m Eve.loc.m young_woman.nom.pl.f with
aizsietām acīm un izplestām
cover.ptcp.ins.pl.f eye.ins.pl.f and outstrech.ptcp.ins.pl.f
rokām skrejot uz sētu.
hand.ins.pl.f run.ptcp to courtyard.acc.f
‘On Martinmas Eve the young women run to the courtyard with their
eyes covered and their hands outstretched. (While the young women are
running to the courtyard, their eyes are covered and their hands are
outstretched).’ (C)

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More frequently, however, the  instrumental names the  characteristics that are
constant for the agent:
(3.2.223) Manā virzienā nāk kāda
my.loc.m direction.loc.m come.prs.3 some.nom.f
jauka būtne ne pārāk gariem
nice.nom.f creature.nom.f not too long.ins.pl.m
matiem.
hair.ins.pl.m
‘A beautiful creature with medium-length hair is walking in my direction.’
(C)
The instrumental in the function of the secondary predicate does not formally agree
with its controller, and as  we can see, the  meaning of the  tense is not so evident
either or sometimes can be absent altogether. Thus, we can consider these forms
as  secondary predicates because of the  transformations which are enabled, and
secondly because they do not have subordinate relations with any of the words in
the sentence.
The instrumental zero prepositional phrase is often used in the  function of
the secondary predicate:
(3.2.224) Resns vīrietis raibu cepuri
fat.nom.m man.nom.m multi-colored.ins.f hat.ins.f
galvā izrīkoja darbiniekus.
head.loc.f order.pst.3 worker.acc.pl.m
‘A fat man wearing a multi-colored hat was ordering the workers
around.’ (C)
Nearly always when the  instrumental case describing the  characteristic feature is
used in the  function of the  secondary predicate, it demands an attribute, which
presents the new information.
The locative case which describes a characteristic feature functions similarly to
the instrumental case:
(3.2.225) Puiku izlaiduši ziemas laikā
boy.acc.m let.ptcp.nom.pl.m winter.gen.f weather.loc.m
vienā kreklā.
one.loc.m shirt.loc.m
‘The boy has been let out into the wintery weather, wearing only a shirt’.
(C)
Detached secondary predicates can also be expressed with the  help of nominal
forms, which in Latvian linguistics have traditionally been considered to be detached
attributes or appositions. Detachment in Latvian grammar is defined as a specifically
stressed part of the  sentence or a  phrase that has been attributed with a  certain
syntactic independence and intonational distinction (Nītiņa & Grigorjevs 2013:
810–811). This is most often achieved by moving that part of the  sentence to an

437
unusual position, for example, the  attribute is placed after the  word it qualifies.
In those cases, the  syntactic function of the  controlling word does not matter.
Undetached attributes and detachments describe a characteristic feature as one that
has been known before, but the detached attributes express new information which
the author considers to be particularly important. Here is an example of a detached
attribute:
(3.2.226) Acīm paveras akmeņu
eye.dat.pl.f open_up.prs.3 stone.gen.pl.m
muguras, tik lielas un lēzenas
back.nom.pl.m so big.nom.pl.f and smooth.nom.pl.f
kā jūra.
as sea.nom.f
‘The backs of the stones stretch out before one’s eyes, as big and
as smooth as the sea itself.’ (C)
Detached attributes are distinctly different from undetached attributes.
First of all, they can easily form coordinative phrases regardless of the number
of attributes in the sentence:
(3.2.227) Viņa skatās lielām, pelēkām
she.nom gaze.prs.3 large.ins.pl.f grey.ins.pl.f
acīm, ļoti nopietnām, ļoti
eye.ins.pl.f very serious.ins.pl.f very
uzmanīgām.
attentive.ins.pl.f
‘She is gazing with her very serious and very attentive large grey eyes.’
(D. Zigmonte)
Second of all, the detached attribute and apposition can be used next to a pronoun:
(3.2.228) Tas bija visapkārt – caurspīdīgs un
it.nom.m be.pst.3 everywhere transparent.nom.m and
sāļš.
salty.nom.m
‘It was everywhere – transparent and salty.’ (N. Ikstena)
Third of all, the  detached attribute or apposition group can include the  adverbial
modifier of time (or some other kind of modifier), which enhances the predicativity
of the phrase, as modifiers function as extenders of the predicative unit:
(3.2.229) Nācija sastāvēja no daudzām dažādām
nation.nom.f consist.pst.3 of many.dat.f different.dat.pl.f
tautībām, lielākoties rupjām,
ethnic_group.dat.pl.f mostly brutal.dat.pl.f
kareivīgām un necivilizētām.
warmongering.dat.pl.f and uncivilized.dat.pl.f
‘The nation consisted of many different ethnic groups, mostly brutal,
warmongering, and uncivilized.’ (C)

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Fourth of all, the  detached attributes and appositions in particular surroundings
can be perceived as predicates, which form the boundary cases between simple and
complex sentences:
(3.2.230) Tā bija buļļa seja – pietiekami
it.nom.f be.cop.pst.3 bull.gen.m face.nom.f sufficiently
svaiga, veselīgu, sārtu iedegumu,
fresh.nom.f healthy.ins.m rosy.ins.m suntan.ins.m
sparīgiem vaibstiem.
vigorous.ins.pl.m feature.ins.pl.m
‘It was the face of a bull – sufficiently fresh, healthy, rosy from the sun,
and sporting vigorous features’. (I. Šķipsna)
Fifth of all, the detached attributes, appositions and their groups are detached from
the rest of the sentence with the help of the intonation, which in written language is
depicted with the help of punctuation marks:
(3.2.231) Tāds paliks kalns mūsu
such.nom.m remain.fut.3 mountain.nom.m we.gen
atmiņā – skaists un auksts.
memory.loc.f beautiful.nom.m and cold.nom.m
‘This is how the mountain will remain in our memory – beautiful and
cold.’ (C)
All the  abovementioned features suggest that these types of extenders can easily
become part of a complex sentence. Therefore, they can be considered to be secondary
predicates and are not positional attributes or types of appositions.
Secondary predicativity is also a characteristic feature of address forms. These
obtain the function of secondary predicate in cases where they describe the addressee:
(3.2.232) Tu nelieti, tu briesmoni,
you.nom.sg bastard.voc.m you.nom.sg monster.voc.m
es tevi nositīšu.
I.nom you.acc kill.fut.1sg
‘You bastard, you monster, I will kill you.’ (C)
Even in cases where the  addressee is only named, the  address form should be
considered a secondary predicate, as its transformation (3.2.233 a. and b.) is possible:
(3.2.233) a. Kungi, man jūsu neauglīgais
gentleman.nom.pl.m I.dat you.gen.pl. fruitless.nom.m
strīds jau ir apnicis.
quarrel.nom.m already be.aux.prs.3 tire.ptcp.nom.m
‘Gentlemen, I am tired of your fruitless quarrel.’ (C)
(3.2.233) b. Jūs [uzrunātie] esat kungi.
you.nom.pl [addressee] be.cop.prs.2pl gentleman.nom.pl.m
‘You, that is the addressees, are gentlemen.’

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Verbal forms as secondary predicates
In a sentence the function of the secondary predicate can be carried out by all Latvian
participles (see Section 2.5.9).
The meaning of the relative tense is inherent in the form of the participle itself –
in relation to the action named by the finite form of the verb, it is either simultaneous
with the action or precedes the action.
Declinable present participles are rarely found functioning as  secondary
predicates as they function just like adjectives and mostly name the feature and not
the parallel action; therefore, they are considered to be substitutes of adjectives:
(3.2.234) Tualetes galdiņam abās malās
toilet.gen.f table.dat.m both.loc.f side.loc.pl.f
bija spoguļi, grozāmi kā
be.cop.pst.3 mirror.nom.pl.m adjust.ptcp.nom.pl.m like
spārni.
wing.nom.pl.m
‘The dressing table had mirrors on both sides, which could be adjusted
like wings.’ (I. Šķipsna)
(3.2.235) Labais stils ir airanu
good.nom.m style.nom.m be.cop.prs.3 ayran.acc.m
pasniegt putojošu.
serve.inf froth.ptcp.acc.m
‘It is good practice to serve the ayran frothy.’
(L. Kota)
In contrast, declinable past participles are often found functioning as  secondary
predicates. They can either substitute the  nominal or function as  the  central
components of the participial clause:
(3.2.236) Nama vidū apgaismota
building.gen.m middle.loc.m lit_up.ptcp.nom.f
laistījās milzīga ambrazūra.
shine.pst.3 huge.nom.f embrasure.nom.f
‘In the middle of the building there was a huge embrasure, all shiny and
lit up.’ (A. Eglītis)
(3.2.237) Bim‑bomm, pulkstenis Katoļu ielā
ding_dong clock.nom.m Katoļu.gen.pl.m street.loc.f
aizsmacis nodun.
be_hoarse.ptcp.nom.m resound.prs.3
‘Ding-dong, the clock on Katoļu Street resounded heavily.’
(I. Ābele)
The semi-declinable participle has a  very narrow semantics (it only names
the  accompanying action) and only one syntactic function, that is, it is always
the secondary predicate:

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(3.2.238) Nezinādama, vilcinādamās mana
not_know.ptcp.nom.f linger.ptcp.nom.f my.nom.f
roka beidzot iegrima mitrajā
hand.nom.f finally sink.pst.3 damp.loc.f
masā.
mass.loc.f
‘Not knowing, lingering, my hand finally sank into the damp mass.’
(I. Šķipsna)
Similarly, indeclinable participles also function only as  secondary predicates. In
cases where they function as  subject-oriented secondary predicates, the  subject
of the sentence becomes the agent of both the finite form and the form named by
the participle.
Participles with the ending -am are found with verbs describing psychological
states:
(3.2.239) Ar degsmi un prieku daru tikai to,
ko [es] apzinos darām
what.acc [I.nom] perceive.prs.1sg do.ptcp
vai zinām labāk nekā citi.
or know.ptcp better than other.nom.pl.m
‘I can carry out only those actions with joy and passion that I perceive
as being capable of doing or knowing better than others.’ (V. Freimane)
The indeclinable participle with the ending -am is often used together with the verbs
šķist, likties ‘to seem’. In this case we can observe the raised subject construction where
the agent of the action named by the participle becomes the subject of the sentence,
but the patient of the state named by the predicate is either generalized or deducible
from the context:
(3.2.240) Smadzenes šķiet neizjūtam
brain.nom.pl.f seem.prs.3 not_distinguish.ptcp
atšķirību starp reālo un
difference.acc.f between real.acc.m and
iedomāto.
imagine.ptcp.acc.m
‘The brain seemingly fails to distinguish the real from the imagined.’ (C)
(3.2.241) Krāsns mute likās žāvājamies
furnace.gen.f mouth.nom.f seem.pst.3 yawn.ptcp
aiz garlaicības.
from boredom.gen.f
‘The mouth of the furnace seemed to be yawning from boredom.’
(D. Zigmonte)
Participles ending with -ot functioning as subject-oriented secondary predicates are
mostly found in participial clauses:

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(3.2.242) Lasot vēstuli, Oto bija gar
read.ptcp letter.acc.f Oto.nom.m be.aux.pst.3 along
sienu noslīdējis līdz sēdus tupienam.
wall.acc.f sink.ptcp.nom.m until sitting squatting.dat.m
‘While reading the letter, Oto had sunk down along the wall and was
squatting in a sitting position.’ (L. Muktupāvela)
The agent can be generalized, thereby remaining syntactically unrealized:
(3.2.243) [Tu] jutīsies labi, darot ko
[you.nom.sg] feel.fut.2sg good do.ptcp something.acc
pozitīvu.
positive.acc.m
‘You will feel good doing something positive.’ (C)
Sometimes the agent of the action described by a participle ending in -ot is different
than the  subject of the  sentence, and can be deduced from context or general
knowledge:
(3.2.244) Skatoties uz viņiem no Vidzemes augstienes,
look.ptcp at they.dat.m from Vidzeme.gen.f upland.gen.f
viņi izskatās tāli un sīki.
they.nom.m seem.prs.3 distant.nom.m and tiny.nom.m
‘Looking at them from the Vidzeme Upland, they all seem distant and
tiny.’ (A. Līce)
Indeclinable participles, especially the  participles ending in -am, can also act
as  object-oriented secondary predicates, that is, the  agent of the  action named by
the participle is the object of the sentence:
(3.2.245) Ik rudeni viņš gaidīja uzkrītam
every autumn.acc.m he.nom wait.pst.3 fall.ptcp
pirmo sniegu.
first.acc.m snow.acc.m
‘Every autumn he was looking forward to the falling of the first snow.’
(D. Zigmonte)
It is also possible that syntactically the participle is subject-oriented, but semantically
object-oriented, because it characterizes the  patient of the  action named by
the predicate:
(3.2.246) Vēl ceturtdien “Eolikas” četrotne
just Thursday Eolika.gen.f four_members.nom.f
bija manāma draudzīgi esam uz
be.cop.pst.3 notice.ptcp.nom.f friendly be.ptcp on
skatuves.
stage.gen.f
‘Just this Thursday, the four members of the group «Eolika» could be seen
being friendly on the stage.’ (www.nra.lv)

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Used together with the transitive reflexive verbs teikties ‘to claim’, sacīties ‘to claim’
the  participle is semantically syncretic, because the  subject and the  object are
coreferential:
(3.2.247) Vēl pirmdien abas puses teicās
just Monday both.nom.pl.f side.nom.pl.f claim.pst.3
par kandidātiem neko nezinām.
about candidate.dat.pl.m nothing.acc. not_know.ptcp
‘Just this Monday both sides were claiming not to know anything about
their candidates.’ (LNT)
An indeclinable participle ending in -ot can be used together with the  name of
a separate agent in its dative form in the absolute dative construction:
(3.2.248) Ķekatnieki aizlaidās puteņainajā naktī,
mummer.nom.pl.m leave.pst.3 blizzardy.loc.f night.loc.f
kamanu zvārguļiem šķindot.
sleigh.gen.pl.f bell.dat.pl.m jingle.ptcp
‘With the jingle of sleigh bells, the mummers disappeared into
the blizzardy night.’ (D. Zigmonte)
The infinitive form of the verb can be used in the sentence in different functions
(see Sections 3.2.3 and 3.2.6), but the function of the secondary predicate is the most
characteristic one.
The subject infinitive names the  action carried out by the  person named by
the subject, therefore, it is the subject-oriented secondary predicate.
The infinitive of the  subject describing the  purpose is found after verbs of
direction:
(3.2.249) Iešu salikt mantas.
go.fut.1sg pack.inf belonging.acc.pl.f
‘I will go pack.’ (C)
The object infinitive describes an action carried out by the object of the sentence,
thus, in the sentence it has the function of the object-oriented secondary predicate. In
Latvian, the object infinitive is used together with verbs that have meanings relating
to encouragement or prohibition – aicināt ‘to invite’, ieteikt ‘to suggest’, likt ‘to force,
make’, liegt ‘to forbid’, lūgt ‘to ask’, mācīt ‘to teach’, mudināt ‘to encourage’, pavēlēt
‘to order’, piesacīt ‘to admonish’, prasīt ‘to demand’, pierunāt ‘to persuade’ (Freimane
1985: 72):
(3.2.250) Ar pogām man ļāva spēlēties.
with button.ins.pl.f I.dat allow.pst.3 play.inf
‘I was allowed to play with buttons.’ (C)
The object infinitive can be compulsory depending on the  lexical meaning of
the matrix verb.

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 The infinitive in Latvian is normally used after nouns with a meaning relating
to modality, and less often after adjectives (vēlēšanās ‘wish’, iespēja ‘possibility’, spēja
‘capacity’, alkas ‘longing, desire’, griba ‘will’, apņēmība ‘resolution’, nepieciešamība
‘need’, pienākums ‘duty’, pamudinājums ‘encouragement’, aicinājums ‘appeal’, cerība
‘hope’, lūgums ‘request’, nodoms ‘intention’, paraša, paradums ‘habit’, spējīgs ‘capable
of’, and so on):
(3.2.251) Viņa ķermeni caurdūra alkas
he.gen body.acc.m pierce.pst.3 desire.nom.pl.f
meiteni saķert.
girl.acc.f catch.inf
‘His body was pierced by the desire to catch the girl.’ (G. Repše)
(3.2.252) Viņa paklausīja aicinājumam aizvizināt
she.nom succumb.pst.3 request.dat.m take.inf
līdz pašām namdurvīm.
to self.dat.pl.f door.dat.pl.f
‘She gave in to the request to take (the passenger) all the way to
the actual door.’ (I. Grebzde)
The majority of these nouns and adjectives are derived from verbs and their semantics
are very close to the semantics of verbs used as auxiliaries.
The infinitive can be taken on by other nouns (and adjectives) with an abstract
meaning relating to the  outcome of a  thought process, emotional state, or ethical
concept (prieks ‘joy’, kauns ‘shame’, tiesības ‘rights’, bailes ‘fear’, drosme ‘courage’, jēga
‘sense’, iemesls ‘reason’, nozīme ‘meaning’, and so on).
(3.2.253) Man vairs nav iemesla par
I.dat anymore not_be.prs.3 reason.gen.m about
kaut ko šaubīties
something.acc doubt.inf
‘I have no reason to doubt anything anymore.’ (C)
(3.2.254) Nav nozīmes kaut ko atstāt
not_be.prs.3 sense.gen.f something.acc leave.inf
bērniem
child.dat.pl.m
‘There is no sense in leaving anything for the children.’ (C)
(3.2.255) Tagad vecmāmiņai īstais laiks paskatīties
now granny.dat.f right.nom.m time.nom.m look.inf
izbrīnā.
surprise.loc.m
‘Now is just the time for the granny to look up in surprise.’ (D. Zigmonte)
Typically, nouns (and adjectives) are part of the syntactic center of the sentence, thus
it is the predicative use of the word that implements the meaning of the modality or

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evaluation. It suggests that the infinitive is part of the predicative complex instead of
just describing the noun.
This is one of the reasons why infinitive forms used after the noun or adjective
should be considered secondary predicates and not dependent components of
nominal phrases. The other reason is the fact that the lexical meaning of the noun
does not suggest the need for an extender in the meaning of the object of the sentence
which is in the form of the infinitive. The infinitive used after the noun differs from
the  attribute, because the  attribute describes a  characteristic feature of the  noun,
but in the sentence, e.g., (3.2.256), the infinitive does not describe the noun doma
‘thought, idea’, but characterizes the action while pointing to its agent.
(3.2.256) Kā tev radās doma kļūt
how you.dat arise.pst.3 idea.nom.f become.inf
par modes mākslinieci?
prep fashion.gen.f designer.acc.f
‘How did it occur to you to become a fashion designer?’ (C)
A compound secondary predicate is formed by a copula together with a nominal
or its substitute, and the  secondary predicate also aligns its form with that of
the primary predicate:
(3.2.257) Kā jūs to varat panākt,
how you.nom.pl.m that.acc be_able.prs.2pl achieve.inf
mācītājs būdams?
priest.nom.m be.cop.ptcp.nom.m
‘How can you achieve that being a priest?’ (C)
(3.2.258) Tās bija divas
that.nom.pl.f be.cop.pst.3 two.nom.pl.f
dienas, kas mums lika būt
days.nom.pl. f that we.dat made.pst.3 be.cop.inf
laimīgiem.
happy.dat.pl.m
‘Those were two days that made us happy.’ (C)
If a secondary predicate or its phrase precedes its controller, the sentence will contain
the zero form of the copula būdams ‘being’:
(3.2.259) [Būdama] dzīves likstu
[be.cop.ptcp] life.gen.f misfortune.gen.pl.f
nomākta, saimniece vairs
deject.ptcp.nom.f mistress.nom.f anymore
nemācēja pasmaidīt.
not_know_how.pst.3 smile.inf
‘Having succumbed to the misfortunes of her life, the mistress of
the house would not smile anymore.’ (D. Zigmonte)

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The copula in the form of the indeclinable participle can be found in different types
of syntactic constructions:
(3.2.260) Zemledus makšķernieki izrādījušies
under_ice.gen.m fisherman.nom.pl.m turn_out.ptcp.nom.pl.m
esam glābējeņģeļi tieši nelaimes
be.cop.ptcp guardian_angel.nom.pl.m just accident.gen.f
vietā.
place.loc.f
‘The ice fishermen turned out to be guardian angels right at the location
of the accident.’ (Diena)
Second, the  object-oriented secondary predicate can be found in the  form of
the indeclinable participle:
(3.2.261) Žurnālisti iedomājās sevi
journalist.nom.pl.m imagine.pst.3 self.acc
esam rakstnieces uzticības personas.
be.cop.ptcp writer.gen.f loyalty.gen.f person.acc.pl.m
‘The journalists see themselves as the confidantes of the writer.’
(G. Repše)
Third, when used together with the  reflexive verbs teikties ‘to claim’, dēvēties ‘to
call oneself’, sacīties ‘to claim’, domāties ‘to think’, sajusties ‘to feel’ the compound
secondary predicate is object-oriented according to its form, and syncretic according
to its meaning:
(3.2.262) Viņš sakās esam
he.nom suggest.prs.3 be.cop.ptcp
trakoti norūpējies par
go_wild concern.ptcp.nom.m about
tiesiskumu valstī.
justice.acc.m country.loc.f
‘He is suggesting being madly concerned about the situation of justice in
this country.’ (www.delfi.lv)
(3.2.263) Vai viņš ir tas, kas
q he.nom be.cop.prs.3 that.nom.m who.nom
domājās esam?
think.pst.3 be.cop.ptcp
‘Is he really the person he thinks he is?’ (A. Neiburga)
A copula in the  infinitive form together with a  nominal in the  dative is part of
the object-oriented secondary predicate. The controller is the name of the object in
the dative:
(3.2.264) Ļauj viņam būt laimīgam.
let.imp.prs.2sg he.dat be.cop.inf happy.dat.m
‘Let him be happy.’ (C)

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The secondary predicate, just like the  primary predicate, can contain a  modal or
aspectual auxiliary. In this case it forms a compound secondary predicate:
(3.2.265) Tagad bija laiks sākt mācīties
now be.pst.3 time.nom.m start.inf learn.inf
dzīvi.
life.acc.f
‘Now was time to start learning how to live.’ (I. Šķipsna)
(3.2.266) Viņš man vēstules rakstīja,
he.nom I.dat letter.acc.pl.f write.pst.3
pielabināties gribēdams.
get_into_good_graces.inf want.ptcp.m
‘He was writing letters to me hoping to get into my good graces.’ (C)

The comparative clause in the function of the secondary predicate

In a simple sentence, the secondary predicate is formed by the comparative clause.
If the comparative clause contains a noun, it is most often a secondary subject:
(3.2.267) Viņu pareģojumi izšķīduši kā
they.gen prediction.nom.pl.m burst.ptcp.nom.pl.m like
ziepju burbuļi.
soap.gen.pl.f bubble.nom.pl.m
‘Their predictions have burst like soap bubbles.’ (C)
If the comparative clause contains a noun in the dative, it is a secondary predicate:
(3.2.268) Kā jau domātājam, Ziedonim ļoti
as ptcl thinker.dat.m Ziedonis.dat.m very
svarīgs ir ceļa
important.nom.m be.cop.prs.3 road.gen.m
jēdziens.
concept.nom.m
‘As can be expected from a thinker, the concept of the road was very
important for Ziedonis.’ (G. Berelis)
If the comparative clause contains a verb form, then the verb is a secondary predicate:
(3.2.269) Visi ziņojumi tika atzīmēti
all.nom.pl.m report.nom.pl.m get.aux.pst.3 mark.ptcp.nom.pl.m
kā izlasīti.
as read.ptcp.nom.pl.m
‘All the reports got marked as read.’ (C)
When comparing, it is difficult to differentiate between secondary predication in
a simple sentence and ellipsis in the clause of a complex sentence. This is an objective
difficulty, as sentences with a comparative clause can be expanded into several core

447
sentences. The number of extenders and their types could serve as  a  criterion for
establishing the type of sentence, for example:
(3.2.270) Vieglie lido kā spalviņas
light.nom.pl.m fly.prs.3 like feather.nom.pl.f
viļņa galotnē.
wave.gen.m top.loc.f
‘The light ones fly like feathers at the top of a wave.’ (C)
The extender with an adverbial meaning galotnē ‘at the  top’, suggests that
the comparative phrase could form a clause (flying like feathers fly at the top of a wave).

3.2.10 Adjuncts
Adjuncts are free extenders of a  sentence, which are valency-independent and
whose form and semantics are independent of the predicate. They possess syntactic
autonomy and they modify the  entire sentence  – not only the  predicate, but also
the parts of the sentence that are connected to it – the subject of the sentence and
the sentence extenders, if they are present (Skujiņa 2007: 86). Adjuncts can be found
in different types of sentences usually situated at the beginning of the sentence.
A dative-marked adjunct with the meaning of an experiencer (3.2.271, 3.2.272)
or a possessor (3.2.273) usually names a person or another living being:
(3.2.271) Lai tev veicas visās dzīves
may you.dat.sg succeed.prs.3 all.loc.pl.f life.gen.f
jomās!
area.loc.pl.f
‘Good luck in all areas of your life!’ (www.nra.lv)
(3.2.272) Zivīm slāpst.
fish.dat.pl.f suffocate.prs.3
‘The fish are suffocating.’ (www.spoki.lv)
(3.2.273) Mums ir jauna mājas lapa.
we.dat be.prs.3 new.nom.f home.gen.f page.nom.f
‘We have a new homepage.’ (www.facebook.com)
Latvian syntax has conceptualized the  experiencer or the  dative of possession in
different ways. Ozols (1967: 202) considers the dative of experiencer or possession
to function as  the  so-called indirect subject of the  sentence. Thus, he proposes
a  three-member syntactic center for the  sentence, formed by the  verb, the  direct
subject of the sentence in the nominative, and the indirect subject of the sentence in
the dative. In addition, the dative is not considered to have any additional syntactic
function, if the sentence does not contain the direct subject of the sentence. In cases
where the dative has a syncretic indirect subject and object function, it is proposed
that the dative form should be considered the object-subject of the sentence (Ozols
1967: 181).

448
 Kārkliņš (1968: 295) offers a  similar solution, proposing a  complex syntactic
center for the  sentence. He points out that the  predication is implemented in two
simultaneous aspects: the predicative personal aspect, expressed by the dative and
the  impersonal predicative aspect, expressed by the  nominative. The function of
the subject of the sentence, according to Kārkliņš (1968: 291), can be based on the fact
that the  dative expresses the  meaning of person, and the  name of the  person is
always the subject of the sentence. However, the proposed model of a three-member
syntactic center for the sentence did not gain wider support.
According to Freimane (1984: 56), the dative of the experiencer and possession
should be considered a free sentence extender – an adjunct. It is a part of the sentence,
which is not subordinated to any word, and remains loosely connected to the whole
sentence. Thus, the  attribution of the  meaning to the  whole structural basis of
the sentence and the lack of a direct connection to any particular word in the sentence
has to be considered the  main characteristic feature of the  dative-marked adjunct
(Freimane 1984: 58–59). Rozenbergs (1970: 56), in turn, suggested that adjuncts are
the parts of the sentence that are not conditioned by the valency of the predicate,
nevertheless, they form the basic structure of the sentence.
The other words of the sentence do not form the relation of subordination with
the dative of the experiencer or possession. The head of a phrase usually is a lexeme
which can be used in any grammatical form, however, e.g., the infinitive forms of
the verbs in the examples (3.2.271–3.2.273) veikties ‘to succeed’, slāpt ‘to suffocate’,
būt ‘to be’ are not compatible with the dative of the experiencer or possession.
An important feature of the adjunct is its place at the beginning of the sentence.
Although word order in Latvian is rather free and is mostly used to express
information structure, it is nevertheless often related to the type of syntactic relations
and semantics of a particular part of a sentence, for example, the sentences (3.2.274
and 3.2.275) have completely different meanings:
(3.2.274) Viņam tas viss ir.
he.dat it.nom.m all.nom.m be.prs.3
‘He has it all.’ (www.apollo.lv)
(Viņam is the dative of possession, thus the adjunct.)

(3.2.275) Tas viss ir viņam.

that.nom.m all.nom.m be.prs.3 he.dat
‘All that is for him.’
(Viņam is the dative of the beneficiary, thus it is a component of
the phrase.)
The dative-marked adjunct can often be compulsory in the sentence, as the sentence
cannot function as an independent communicative unit without it. The dative-marked
adjunct can be found in different types of sentences, although it will mostly occur in
the following distribution.

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 First of all, the dative of the experiencer can be found in verbal sentences where
the predicate or the main part of the sentence is an impersonal verb naming a state
or a matter of chance:
(3.2.276) Tev nepatīk baritons?
you.dat.sg not_like.prs.3 baritone.nom.m
‘Don’t you like baritone?’ (I. Šķipsna)
Second of all, the dative of the experiencer can be found in adverbial sentences where
the predicate names some state:
(3.2.277) Tas būs interesanti ikvienam.
it.nom.m be.cop.fut.3 interesting anyone.dat.m
‘It will be interesting for anyone.’ (www.fenikssfun.com)
Third of all, the dative of possession can be found in verbal sentences with the verb
būt ‘to be’ or nebūt ‘not to be’ as a full lexical verb in the predicate:
(3.2.278) Tagad mums ir vairāki
now we.dat be.prs.3 several.nom.pl.m
drošības dienesti.
security.gen.f service.nom.pl.m
‘Now we have several security services.’ (A. Kolbergs)
A possessive meaning can be also seen in the cases where the adjunct and the subject
of the sentence stand in relation to the part and the whole or when they describe
characteristic features:
(3.2.279) Gara pasaulei nav robežu.
spirit.gen.m world.dat.f not_be.prs.3 border.gen.pl.f
‘The spiritual world does not have any borders.’ (Z. Mauriņa)
Būt ‘to be’ can be also used in its zero form in potentially verbal sentences:
(3.2.280) Kādas jums te [ir]
what_kind.nom.pl.f you.dat.pl here [be.prs.3]
dīvainas metaforas ...
strange.nom.pl.f metaphor.nom.pl.f
‘What strange metaphors you have here!’ (S. Kaldupe)
The dative in the sentences (3.2.281) and (3.2.282) can also be considered an adjunct:
(3.2.281) Tūristiem Ventspilī būs ko darīt.
tourist.dat.pl.m Ventspils.loc.f be.fut.3 what.acc do.inf
‘The tourists in Ventspils will have something to do.’ (www.ventspils.lv)
(3.2.282) Man viņām nav ko
I.dat she.dat.pl.f not_be.prs.3 what.acc
pārmest.
reprimand.inf
‘I have nothing to reprimand them for.’ (A. Kolbergs)

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Such sentences in modern Latvian are considered to be simple (see also 3.5.2).
Fourth of all, dative-marked adjuncts with the combined meaning of the possessor
and experiencer can be rather freely situated in the sentence – their distribution does
not have any formal or semantic limitations:
(3.2.283) Man sirds top smaga.
I.dat heart.nom.f get.cop.prs.3 heavy.nom.f
‘My heart feels heavy.’ (V. Jākobsons)
(3.2.284) Šodien man nav darāmā diena.
today I.dat not_be.prs.3 do.ptcp.nom.f day.nom.f
‘Today is not my day of action.’ (V. Jākobsons)
(3.2.285) Lielākoties man izrādījās taisnība.
mostly I.dat turn_out.pst.3 truth.nom.f
‘Most of the time, I turned out to be right.’ (V. Freimane)
When the  dative expresses a  possessive meaning it competes with the  genitive;
however, there are some semantic differences between the  two case forms. The
dative stresses the existence of possessive relations at the moment of utterance, while
the possessive genitive does not imply this meaning (Lokmane 2014b).
Fifth of all, the dative when used together with the present passive participle
as  the  predicate has the  meaning of the  agent. Usually, the  verb is transitive;
the object is named in the nominative, and thus carries out the function of the subject
of the sentence. Therefore, the dative functions as an adjunct:
(3.2.286) Man vēl viens darbiņš darāms.
I.dat still one.nom.m job.nom.m do.ptcp.nom.m
‘I have one more job to do.’ (www.maminuklubs.lv)
If the  participle is formed from an intransitive verb, the  meaning of the  agent is
even stronger. Nevertheless, due to systemic assumptions, the  dative is still to be
considered an adjunct:
(3.2.287) Mums bija caur uguni ejams.
we.dat be.cop.pst.3 through fire.acc.f go.ptcp.nom.m
‘We were to go through the fire.’ (I. Indrāne)
Adverbial adjuncts, like dative-marked adjuncts, expand the  sentence regardless
of the relations between the words, thus they are not part of any phrase (Freimane
1985: 83). Usually they refer to the sentence as a whole and are placed at the beginning
of the sentence:
(3.2.288) Pirkstos mirdzēja smalkas sidraba
finger.loc.pl.m glitter.pst.3 fine.nom.pl.f silver.gen.m
rotas.
jewelry.nom.pl.f
‘Fine silver jewelry glittered on the fingers.’ (L. Muktupāvela)

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The sentence can start with several locative adjuncts used in parallel:
(3.2.289) Augšā aiz mākoņiem lido
high.loc.f behind cloud.dat.pl.m fly.prs.3
melnās pīles.
black.nom.pl.f duck.nom.pl.f
‘The black ducks fly high up above the clouds.’ (A. Bels)
The adverbial adjunct usually expresses the meaning of the place or time, but there
are also other adverbial adjuncts, for example, those with the meaning of the cause:
(3.2.290) Naktī, vējā smiltīm ir
night.loc.f wind.loc.m sand.dat.pl.f be.prs.3
balss.
voice.nom.f
‘At night, in the wind, the sand has a voice.’ (A. Bels)
In the  sentences with adverbial adjuncts, the  predicate is often placed before
the subject of the sentence:
(3.2.291) Barā tomēr bija stingra
crowd.loc.m however be.pst.3 strict.nom.f
kārtība.
order.nom.f
‘There was, however, a strict order in the crowd.’ (A. Eglītis)
(3.2.292) Virs galvas šalca putnu spārni.
above head.gen.f rustle.pst.3 bird.gen.pl.m wing.nom.pl.m
‘The wings of the birds rustled overhead.’ (A. Bels)
The adverbial adjunct can also be an obligatory sentence extender, especially in
potentially verbal sentences:
(3.2.293) Uz vārtiņiem vējrādītājs
on gate.dat.pl.m weather_vane.nom.m
ķēmīga putna izskatā.
freakish.gen.m bird.gen.m look.loc.m
‘There was a freakish birdlike weather vane on the gate.’ (S. Kaldupe)
Often there is both an adverbial and a  dative-marked adjunct at the  beginning of
the sentence:
(3.2.294) Viņam kājās tie paši
he.dat foot.loc.pl.f that.nom.pl.m same.nom.pl.m
jau divdesmit piecus gadus
already twenty five.acc.pl.m year.acc.pl.m
valkātie zābaki.
wear.ptcp.nom.pl.m boot.nom.pl.m
‘His feet were covered by the same boots that he had been wearing for
twenty-five years.’ (Z. Mauriņa)

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If the  predicate is not verbal, identification of the  adjunct does not cause any
difficulties, since there is no verb to subordinate the adverb (Freimane 1984: 59). In
verbal sentences, however, the detection of adjuncts can be problematic. Although, if
the adverbial does not depend on the valency of the predicate, then there is no doubt
that it is an adjunct as it will not be part of any verbal phrase:
(3.2.295) Trešajā dienā vairs nesāp.
third.loc.f day.loc.f anymore not_hurt.prs.3
‘On the third day it does not hurt anymore.’ (A. Līce)
There is a view in Latvian syntax, that any adverb, positioned at the beginning of
the sentence, has the potential to refer to the whole sentence regardless of the lexical
meaning of the predicate (Freimane 1984: 64).
(3.2.296) Manī kaut kas sabrieda, sasparojās,
I.loc something swell.pst.3 brace_up.pst.3
sadīga, ieriesās un atvērās.
sprout.pst.3 germinate.pst.3 and open_up.pst.3
‘Something swelled and braced up, sprouted, germinated and opened up
within me.’ (L. Muktupāvela)
The opening position in the  sentence (or in a  clause of a  composite sentence) is
the  most characteristic feature of the  adjunct, as  the  components of phrases are
usually found on the right side of the predicate.
Adverbials that follow the  noun and are not subordinated to any word in
the sentence should also be considered adjuncts:
(3.2.297) a. Lielais zālājs aiz loga
large.nom.m lawn.nom.m behind window.gen.m
vēl bija krēslā.
still be.cop.pst.3 dusk.loc.f
‘The large lawn behind the window was still in the dusk.’ (I. Šķipsna)
The lexical meaning of the word zālājs ‘lawn’ does not require the characterization of
its place, (zālājs aiz loga ‘the lawn behind the window’ is not a phrase), therefore we
can transform the sentence into two predicative units:
(3.2.297) b. Lielais zālājs, kas ir
large.nom.m lawn.nom.m which.nom be.prs.3
aiz loga, vēl
behind window.gen.m still
bija krēslā.
be.cop.pst.3 dusk.loc.f
‘The large lawn, which was behind the window, was still in the dusk.’
This signals the implicit predicativity of this adjunct. The structure of this sentence
has been condensed to such a  level, that neither the  subject, nor the  predicate of
the proposition have been realized, thus formally there is only an adverbial.

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 An adverbial positioned after the secondary predicate also represents a separate
proposition and should be considered an adjunct:
(3.2.298) Viņš nosēd pie televizora
he.nom sit.prs.3 by television.gen.m
drūmu izbrīnu acīs.
gloomy.ins.m astonishment.ins.m eye.loc.pl.f
‘He stays in front of the TV screen, with a gloomy astonishment in his
eyes.’ (A. Liepa)

3.2.11 Subordination in the simple sentence

The extenders standing in relation to a separate word are incorporated into sentences
by means of subordination. Subordinative relations between words are forged by
the  word as  a  lexico-grammatical unit (Lokmane 2013: 761). The relations create
phrases with lexical units as  their heads, in some rare cases the  head can also be
a word form. Regardless of the grammatical form of the head, the phrase does not
collapse, which suggests that the phrase has its own paradigm, which is based on
the form system of the head (its morphological paradigm), for example, lasīt ogas ‘to
pick berries’, lasu ogas ‘I am picking berries’, lasījām ogas ‘we were picking berries’,
lasot ogas ‘while picking berries’, etc.
The subordinated extenders can function as an object, attribute, adverbial, or
apposition. They can also have the meaning of an agent.

Objects
Extenders functioning as objects have traditionally been called complements and most
often are arguments of the verb (Skujiņa 2007: 278). The object is a generalization,
which can be made more concrete depending on the  grammatical form used to
express the object, thus creating different kinds of objects.
The direct object can be expressed by a noun or its substitute in the accusative,
which usually has the meaning of a patient (3.2.299) or percept (3.2.300):
(3.2.299) Tu visu vari ēst?
you.nom.sg all.acc.m be_able.prs.2sg eat.inf
‘Can you eat anything?’ (C)
(3.2.300) Es redzēju briesmīgu sapni.
I.nom see.pst.1sg terrible.acc.m dream.acc.m
‘I saw a terrible dream.’ (C)
The indirect object can be expressed by a noun or its substitute in the dative, which
usually has the meaning of an addressee or a beneficiary:
(3.2.301) Viņš stāstīja man savu sapni.
he.nom tell.pst.3 I.dat own.acc.m dream.acc.m
‘He told me his dream.’ (C)

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Next to the  indirect object, the  phrase can also contain the  direct object in
the accusative:
(3.2.302) Tēt, nopērc man suni.
dad.voc.m buy.imp.2sg I.dat dog.acc.m
‘Dad, buy me a dog!’ (T. Zeltiņš)
Only the indirect object without the direct object can be subordinated to the verb:
(3.2.303) Tu drīksti viņiem pieskarties.
you.nom.sg be_allowed.prs.2sg they.dat.m touch.inf
‘You can touch them.’ (C)
The dative-marked object can also have the syncretic meaning of the experiencer and
possessor, if the sentence contains a name of a body part of the object:
(3.2.304) Cauna man iekoda rokā.
marten.nom.f I.dat bite.pst.3 hand.loc.f
‘The marten bit my hand. (C)
The direct object can be expressed by a noun or its substitute in the instrumental
with the meaning of an instrument or companion:
(3.2.305) Piedāvājumā rokām darināti un
offer.loc.m hand.ins.pl.f make.ptcp.nom.pl.m and
rūpnieciski austi paklāji.
industrially weave.ptcp.nom.pl.m carpet.nom.pl.m
‘Offering handmade and industrially woven carpets.’ (C)
(3.2.306) Kā tu varēji dzīvot ar
how you.nom.sg be_able.pst.2sg live.inf with
mani?
I.ins
‘How could you live with me?’ (C)
The indirect object can be expressed by a  prepositional phrase with a  variety of
meanings depending on the semantics of the preposition:
(3.2.307) Katra meitene sapņo par
every.nom.f girl.nom.f dream.prs.3 about
baltu kleitu.
white.acc.f dress.acc.f
‘Every girl dreams of a white dress.’ (C)
(3.2.308) No kļavas taisa cirvja kātus.
of maple.gen.f make.prs.3 axe.gen.m handle.acc.pl.m
‘Axe handles are made from maple.’ (C)
The nouns and their substitutes in the  nominative together with the  predicate
in the  debitive mood can also be considered subordinated, namely, as  objects.

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In such sentences the  function of the  subject is expressed by the  dative, whereas
the nominative has the semantics typical of an object:
(3.2.309) Dzīvokļos bija jātaisa
flat.loc.pl.m be.aux.pst.3 deb.make.
remonts.
renovation.nom.m
‘The flats had to be renovated.’ (C)
Although the syntactic function of the nominative in sentences with the debitive is
problematic (see Holvoet & Grzybowska 2014; Holvoet & Nau 2014a for more), an
additional semantic criterion to support its object function is the fact that the first
and second person pronouns in the standard language are in the accusative (see also
Fennells 1995: 46):
(3.2.310) Man tevi jāsauc īstajā vārdā.
I.dat you.acc.sg deb.call real.loc.m name.loc.m
‘I have to call you by your real name.’ (C)
(3.2.311) Viņiem būtu jāredz mani šeit.
they.dat.m be.aux.cond deb.see I.acc here
‘They should have seen me here.’ (C)
In spoken language and less formal standard language, the  accusative form of
the object can substitute for the nominative:
(3.2.312) To jāredz katram. (C)
it.acc deb.see everybody.dat.m
‘This must be seen by everybody.’ (C)
The object can be subordinated to a deverbal noun. In this case, the object can be
expressed with a genitive or a prepositional phrase:
(3.2.313) Lasīšanas kāre bija mazliet
reading.gen.f desire.nom.f be.aux.pst.3 partially
apmierināta.
satisfy.ptcp.nom.f
‘The desire to read had been partially satisfied.’ (C)
(3.2.314) Kādi ir iebildumi pret
what_kind.nom.pl.m be.prs.3sg objection.nom.pl.m against
šādu sadarbību?
this_kind.acc.f cooperation.acc.f
‘What are the objections against this kind of cooperation?’ (C)
If the noun which co-occurs with an object is not derived from a verb, the phrase still
has the meaning of the action:
(3.2.315) vēstule dēlam
letter.nom.f son.dat.m
‘a letter to the son’

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(3.2.316) pateicības vārdi mūsu
gratitude.gen.f word.nom.pl.m we.gen
draugam
friend.dat.m
‘words of gratitude to our friend’
Speakers know that the  letters are written and the  words are said, thus we can
postulate the implicit components of the phrase: dēlam [uzrakstīta] vēstule ‘a letter
[written] to the son’; draugam [pateikti] pateicības vārdi ‘words [said to] a friend’.
The object in the genitive or a prepositional object can be subordinated to an
adjective:
(3.2.317) Teksts paskumjš un pilns
text.nom.m slightly_sad.nom.m and full.nom.m
pārdomu.
reflection.gen.pl.f
‘A slightly sad text filled with reflections.’ (C)
(3.2.318) Tīmeklis ir pilns ar
internet.nom.m be.cop.prs.3 full.nom.m with
muļķībām.
nonsense.ins.pl.f
‘The internet is full of nonsense.’ (C)
The objects are subordinated to an adjective in the comparative degree:
(3.2.319) Klusēšana ir labāka par
silence.nom.f be.cop.prs.3 better.nom.f than
runāšanu.
talking.acc.f
‘Keeping silent is better than talking.’ (C)

Extenders functioning as agents

An extender as a component of a subordinative phrase functioning as an agent, is
expressed in the form of a noun or its substitute in the genitive case (Lokmane 2013:
763). The head of the phrase can be a noun derived from a verb:
(3.2.320) Dīvaino noskaņu pastiprināja
weird.acc.f ambience.acc.f enhance.pst.3
vēja kaukšana.
wind.gen.m howling.nom.f
‘The weird ambience was enhanced by the howling of the wind.’ (C)
(3.2.321) Vecu sievu tenkas
old.gen.pl.f wife.gen.pl.f gossip.acc.pl.f
noraidi!
reject.imp.2sg
‘Disregard old wives’ tales!’ (C)

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(3.2.322) Jurģa kritiens nav
Jurģis.gen.m fall.nom.m not_be.cop.prs.3
vienīgais.
only_one.nom.m
‘Jurģis’ fall is not the only one.’ (C)
The head of the phrase can be expressed by the past passive participle:
(3.2.323) Manis radītie projekti
I.gen create.ptcp.nom.pl.m project.nom.pl.m
ir daudz apjomīgāki.
be.cop.prs.3 more ambitious.nom.pl.m
‘The projects created by me are more ambitious.’ (C)
A participle with the subordinate agentive genitive can take the position of the predicate
with the auxiliary būt. In such cases, a specific kind of passive construction is created
which names the agent and describes the result instead of the process of the action
(see Holvoet 2011b: 22):
(3.2.324) Daudz kas ir paša
much be.aux.prs.3 self.gen.f
roku darināts.
hand.gen.pl.f make.ptcp.nom.m
‘Much has been made with his own hands.’ (C)

Attributes
Extenders with an attributive function that are subordinated to the  noun are
mostly adjectives or their substitutes (declinable participles or pronouns) or nouns
in the  genitive case (Skujiņa 2007: 42). The relationship between two nominals
is considered to be attributive, and in the  widest sense it can be considered
as the relationship between a realia and its features. The attributive relationship is
a generalization that can be specified. The attributive relations can be of different
types, for example:
• Characteristic features:
(3.2.325) Būs vēls un silts
be.cop.fut.3 late.nom.m and warm.nom.m
rudens.
autumn.nom.m
‘It will be a late and warm autumn.’ (C)
• The relationship of a whole and its parts:
(3.2.326) Numurs izvietots uz krekla
number.nom.m place.ptcp.nom.m on shirt.gen.m
piedurknes.
sleeve.gen.f
‘The number is marked on the sleeve of the shirt.’ (C)

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 • Possession:
(3.2.327) Tiek meklēta Daigas pazudusī
get.aux.prs.3 search.ptcp.nom.f Daiga.gen.f lose.ptcp.nom.f
cepure.
hat.nom.f
‘Daiga’s lost hat is being searched for.’ (C)
• Material or substance:
(3.2.328) Kreklu sasprauda ar mazu sudraba
shirt.acc.m fasten.pst.3 with small.ins.f silver.gen.m
saktiņu.
brooch.ins.f
‘The shirt was fastened with a small silver brooch.’ (C)
• The “inverted” relation of the  object where the  head of the  phrase names
the object of the action expressed by a passive participle:
(3.2.329) Bet tā ir labojama
but that.nom.f be.cop.prs.3 repair.ptcp.nom.f
kaite.
problem.nom.f
‘That, however, is a repairable problem.’ (C)
Here, the dependent component can be considered to name a characteristic feature
of the  head, because the  passive participle can form a  coordinative phrase with
an adjective:
(3.2.330) Grūti lasāms un neskaidrs teksts.
difficult read.ptcp.nom.m and unclear.nom.m text.nom.m
‘A difficult to read and unclear text.’ (C)
The attributive relations can border with the  adverbial ones. Borderline relations
such as these result from the lexical meaning of the dependent component.
• Purpose or usefulness:
(3.2.331) Ēkas foajē ir
building.gen.f lobby be.aux.prs.3
novietota ziedojumu kaste.
set.ptcp.nom.f donation.gen.pl.m box.nom.f
‘There is a collection box in the lobby of the building.’ (C)
• Place:
(3.2.332) Policija saista zelta pārdevējus
police.nom.f link.prs.3 gold.gen.m vendor.acc.pl.m
ar lielceļu krāpniekiem.
with highway.gen.pl.m criminal.ins.pl.m
‘The police link gold vendors with highway criminals.’ (C)

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 • Time:
(3.2.333) Marta vējš un aprīļa lietus
March.gen.m wind.nom.m and April.gen.m rain.nom.m
nes mājā lielu svētību.
bring.prs.3 home.loc.f great.acc.f blessing.acc.f
‘The March wind and April rain bring home great benefits.’ (C)
The obligatory attributes are to some extent similar to predicates. These attributes
are mostly compulsory, if they are subordinated to the term for a part of the body:
(3.2.334) Viņš bij skaists cilvēks
he.nom be.cop.pst.3 handsome.nom.m man.nom.m
ar platiem pleciem, zilām,
with broad.ins.pl.m shoulder.ins.pl.m blue.ins.pl.f
mīļām acīm un gaišiem matiem.
loving.ins.pl.f eye.ins.pl.f and light.ins.pl.m hair.ins.pl.m
‘He was a handsome man with broad shoulders, loving blue eyes, and
light hair.’ (C)
Attributes are compulsory if related to the cognate object:
(3.2.335) Viņš smaidīja savu plato
he.nom smile.pst.3 own.acc.m wide.acc.m
sirmgalvja smaidu.
old_man.gen.m smile.acc.m
‘The old man was smiling his wide smile.’ (C)
In the sentences with the lexical verb nebūt ‘not to be’, the attribute can be closer to
the predicate:
(3.2.336) Šobrīd tam visam nav
now it.dat.m all.dat.m not_be.cop.prs.3
īstais laiks.
right.nom.m time.nom.m
‘This is not the right moment for it.’ (C)
Sentence (3.2.336) cannot contain a subject in the genitive case (*Šobrīd tam visam
nav īstā laika), therefore the function of the attribute of the word form īstais ‘the real
one’ is doubtful.
The predicative meaning of the attribute is also enhanced by adding an adverbial
of time:
(3.2.337) Man ir liela pieredze un
I.dat be.prs.3 large.nom.f experience.nom.f and
pagaidām vēl diezgan nesabojāta
for_now still fairly not_damage.ptcp.nom.f
atmiņa.
memory.nom.f
‘I have a lot of experience and, for now, still a fairly intact memory.’ (C)

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Adverbial modifiers
Extenders with an adverbial function are subordinated to a verb and can be expressed
with the help of different parts of speech in different grammatical forms – different
case forms of nouns (mostly locative, instrumental, and dative), prepositional phrases,
and adverbs (Skujiņa 2007: 39). The adverbial meaning is also a  generalization,
which can be specified:
• Manner:
(3.2.338) Uzvedies kārtīgi!
behave.imp.2sg properly
‘Behave yourself!’ (C)
• Degree:
(3.2.339) Vēl drusku līņāja.
still slightly drizzle.pst.3
‘It was still drizzling slightly.’ (C)
• Cause:
(3.2.340) Sēžu, bailēs sarāvusies.
sit.prs.1sg fear.loc.pl.f shrink.ptcp.nom.f
‘I am sitting shrunken with fear.’ (C)
• The meaning of location. As was mentioned earlier, the  extenders with
the meaning of a location can be adjuncts, if they are placed at the beginning
of the sentence or directly after the noun. The adverbial modifiers of place
can be considered to be subordinated if they depend on the  valency of
the verb, usually in the function of a predicate, and are normally placed to
the right of the verb in sentences with a neutral word order:
(3.2.341) Viņa iekāpa trolejbusā un
she.nom get_in.pst.3 trolleybus.loc.m and
apsēdās pie loga.
sit_down.pst.3 next_to window.gen.m
‘She got on the bus and sat down next to a window.’ (C)
• Time. Extenders with time-related or temporal meanings are most often
adjuncts. Nevertheless, they can be subordinated to a verb, if a verb requires
(3.2.342) or can optionally be expanded (3.2.343) with a temporal adverbial:
(3.2.342) Es nemāku nokrist pludmalē
I.nom not_know_how.prs.1sg fall_down.inf beach.loc.f
un nogulēt tur septiņas
and sleep.inf there seven.acc.pl.f
dienas.
day.acc.pl.f
‘I don’t know how to fall down onto the beach and lay there for seven
days.’ (C)

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(3.2.343) Citi ir aizmirsti
other.nom.pl.m be.aux.prs.3 forget.ptcp.nom.pl.m
uz visiem laikiem.
for all.dat.pl.m time.dat.pl.m
‘Others are forgotten forever.’ (C)

Appositions
The syntactic relationship that exists between an apposition and the word it describes
(its head) can be considered to be a word relation. However, this does not form a real
phrase, as  both the  apposition and its head are nouns of the  same case, therefore
the syntactic link between the words is weaker than subordination. Descriptions of
Latvian syntax contain different views on apposition: Valdmanis (1989: 21) states
that since an apposition agrees with its head, it is subordinated to it, Freimane
(1985: 102), however, considers that the apposition within a sentence is a determiner
on the  basis of formal equivalence, but is not subordinated to it. The apposition
also has been ascribed a predicative relationship with the head noun (Ahero et. al.
1962: 273; Holvoet 2011b: 15–16).
Appositions can be situated both in front of the  head noun (3.2.345) as  well
as after it (3.2.344). An apposition and a head noun are co-referential, therefore their
main distinguishing feature lies in their semantics, as  the  apposition can describe
a  characteristic feature of a  head noun (3.2.344) as  well as  relatedness (3.2.345),
ethnicity (3.2.346), or occupation (3.2.347):
(3.2.344) Viņu visu laiku uzskatīja par
he.acc all.acc.m time.acc.m consider.pst.3 as
puiku palaidni.
boy.acc.m rascal.acc.m
‘He was always considered a mischievous boy.’ (C)
(3.2.345) Māsa Dace bija ļoti
sister.nom.f Dace.nom.f be.cop.pst.3 very
maiga rakstura.
gentle.gen.m character.gen.m
‘(His/Her/Their/etc.) sister Dace was of an extremely gentle character.’
(C)
(3.2.346) Uzvarēja igaunis Raimo Kulli.
win.pst.3 Estonian.nom.m Raimo.nom.m Kulli.nom.m
‘An Estonian, Raimo Kulli, won.’ (C)
(3.2.347) Bija ataicināts dakteris
be.aux.pst.3 invite.ptcp.nom.m doctor.nom.m
Pūpolītis.
pussy-willow.nom.m
‘Doctor Pussy-willow had been invited.’ (C)

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An apposition and its head noun can also have the relationship of a more general
notion and its subtype:
(3.2.348) Par kandidātu var būt
as candidate.acc.m be_able.prs.3 be.inf
ārsts anesteziologs vai ārsts
doctor.nom.m anesthesiologist.nom.m or doctor.nom.m
stažieris.
trainee.nom.m
‘A physician anesthesiologist or a trainee doctor can apply for
the position.’ (C)

3.3 The communicative structure of a simple sentence

3.3.0 Introductory remarks
The communicative structure of a sentence closely reflects the functions of a sentence
in communication, either written or oral. Communicative structure encompasses
various communicative features expressed both grammatically (forms of verbs in
various moods, particular syntactic constructions, word order) and lexically (particles,
interjections) and also phonetically (emphasis and intonation). This chapter will
examine the communicative types and information structure of sentences in Latvian.
The communicative type of a  sentence shows the  communicative purpose
of an utterance and is closely connected with the  type of the  speech act (Austin
1962; Searle 1969: Levinson 1983). All speech act types and communicative types
of utterances are best revealed in a dialogue, namely, in a conversational situation
involving both a sender and an addressee. Since this work refers to written language
(texts), the communicative types will be exemplified mainly from written sources. In
spoken language, the communicative type is signaled by the intonation of the phrase,
partly reflected in the punctuation of the written phrase. Therefore, the punctuation –
especially in the absence of any grammatical or lexical marking – can be regarded
as  a  formal indicator of the  communicative type. If the  communicative type of
the phrase is marked grammatically, the punctuation is secondary and in most cases
is not decisive for the  definition of the  communicative type. In combination with
grammatical means, the  communicative type is also indicated by the  presence of
separate lexical units (particles, interjections, certain lexical verbs).
In some types of speech acts, utterances with limited or no predication are used,
for instance, in expressive or directive speech acts, as well as in certain standardized
communication situations, for example, greetings or farewells:
(3.3.1) Lieliski!
splendid
‘Splendid!’ (C)

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(3.3.2) Uzmanību!
attention
‘Attention!’ (C)
(3.3.3) Sveiki, Leon!
hi Leons.voc.m
‘Hi, Leon!’ (C)
(3.3.4) Nu tad atā!
well then bye
‘Bye bye then!’ (C)

3.3.1 Declarative sentences

Declarative sentences are used mainly in representative speech acts that aim at
providing information (Skujiņa 2007: 373):
(3.3.5) Visu laiku līst.
all.acc.m time.acc.m rain.prs.3
‘It is raining all the time.’ (C)
The declarative sentence is different from all other communicative types because
its main function is informative, while the  communicative purpose of other
communicative types is related to emotional expression and to verbal influence upon
speech actors. Therefore, the declarative construction – as the most neutral structure
in a  given context and communicative situation  – can acquire different functions,
for example, the  interrogative function or the  expressive function. In the  case of
a written text, only the punctuation functions as the marker of the commu­nicative
type:
(3.3.6) Tu taču nedomā mani tā
you.nom.sg ptcl not_think.prs.2sg I.acc like_that
atstāt?
leave.inf
‘You’re not thinking of leaving me like that?’ (C)
(3.3.7) Te notiek kaut kas ārkārtējs!
here happen.prs.3 something.nom extraordinary.nom.m
‘Something extraordinary is going on here!’ (C)
If declarative sentences contain certain performative verbs, they are also used in
declarative speech acts so that the utterance corresponds to some action:
(3.3.8) Saeimas ārkārtas sēdi pasludinu
Saeima.gen.f extraordinary.gen.f session.acc.f declare.prs.1sg
par atklātu.
as open.ptcp.acc.f
‘I hereby declare the extraordinary session of the Saeima open.’ (C)

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(3.3.9) Ar šo pavēli es atbrīvoju jūs
by this.ins.f order.ins.f I.nom release.prs.1sg you.acc.pl
no jūsu līdzšinējām karavīru saistībām.
from you.gen.pl former.dat.pl.f soldier.gen.pl.m duty.dat.pl.f
‘By this order I release you from all your former soldier’s duties.’ (C)
Declarative sentences are also used in commissive speech acts by which the speaker
takes on some future obligations, for instance, by promising or threatening something:
(3.3.10) Es drīz nākšu pie tevis.
I.nom soon come.fut.1sg to you.gen.sg
‘I will soon come to you.’ (C)
(3.3.11) Lieliski, es būšu pēc kādas stundas, labi?
great I.nom be.fut.1sg after some.gen.f hour.gen.f okay
‘Great, I will be there in an hour or so, okay?’ (C)
(3.3.12) Tu tikai pamēģini neizēst zupas šķīvi!
you.nom.sg just try.imp.2sg not_eat_up.inf soup.gen.f plate.acc.m
‘You just try leaving your soup unfinished!’ (C)

3.3.2 Exhortative sentences

Exhortative sentences are used in directive speech acts. Such speech acts are used
to encourage the hearer or some third party to perform some action (Skujiņa 2007:
277). Exhortative utterances normally are grammatically marked because they
typically feature the use of the verb in the imperative mood, mainly in the second
person of the singular or plural:
(3.3.13) Ej, atgulies gultā.
go.imp.2sg lie_down.imp.2sg bed.loc.f
‘Go, lie down in bed.’ (C)
(3.3.14) Nāciet man līdzi!
come.imp.2pl I.dat with
‘Come with me.’ (C)
The addressee of the  exhortative sentences usually remains unnamed except for
particularly emphatic uses where it is stated that only the addressee and no one else
must perform the action in question:
(3.3.15) Nē, tu atbildi skaidri un
no you.nom.sg answer.imp.2sg clearly and
gaiši: būs naktsmājas man
brightly be.fut.3 night’s_shelter.nom.f I.dat
pie tevis vai nebūs?
with you.gen.sg or not_be.fut.3
‘Hey, will you give me a clear answer – may I stay overnight at your place
or not?’ (C)

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(3.3.16) Tad nu arī jūs kādreiz uzņemieties
then ptcl too you.nom.pl someday assume.imp.2pl
šo politisko atbildību.
this.acc.f political.acc.f responsibility.acc.f
‘You too will assume this political responsibility someday.’ (C)
Often the emphasis is further reinforced by a marked word-order where the subject
is adjacent to the predicate, or by means of a particle:
(3.3.17) Tad atbildiet jūs par to!
then be_responsible.imp.2pl you.nom.pl for that.acc
‘Then you be responsible for that!’ (C)
(3.3.18) Nezinu. Saki tu.
not_know.prs.1sg say.imp.2sg you.nom.sg
‘I don’t know. You tell (me).’ (C)
(3.3.19) Ejiet arī jūs pie zemnieku
go.imp.2pl too you.nom.pl to farmer.gen.pl.m
organizācijām!
organization.dat.pl.f
‘Why don’t you also go to the farmers’ organizations!’ (C)
In broad terms, the  sentences with the  addressee in the  third person singular or
the first person plural are also considered exhortative sentences. In order to encourage
use of the third person, the modal particle lai is used in Latvian. The verb in such
sentences is in the first or third person of the present indicative (see the paradigm of
the imperative in Latvian in Section 2.5.4):
(3.3.20) Nē, lai viņš saka!
no ptcl he.nom say.prs.3
‘No, let him speak!’ (C)
(3.3.21) Lai viņas vairs nebaidās
ptcl they.nom.f anymore not_be_afraid.prs.3
precēties!
get_married.inf
‘Let them not be afraid to get married!’ (C)
(3.3.22) Lai mēs no akmeņiem nekārojam
ptcl we.nom from stone.dat.pl.m not_desire.prs.1pl
maizi, nedz pasaulīgās lietās
bread.acc.f nor worldly.loc.pl.f matter.loc.pl.f
meklētu savu prieku!
seek.cond own.acc.m joy.acc.m
‘Let us not covet bread from stones, nor seek joy in worldly matters!’ (C)
The modal marker lai stems from the  particle found in the  exhortative sentences
(Holvoet 2001: 196), but it can also function as  a  subordinating conjunction

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(see 3.5.2). Thus the encouragements addressed to a third party can contain explicit
performative verbs in the main clause with an object clause introduced by lai:
(3.3.23) Palūdziet, lai viņš izveido objektīvu
ask.imp.2pl conj he.nom develop.prs.3 objective.acc.m
un saprātīgu vērtējumu.
and reasonable.acc.m assessment.acc.m
‘Ask him to develop an objective and reasonable assessment.’ (C)
(3.3.24) Es teicu, lai viņš tā dara.
I.nom say.pst.1sg conj he.nom so do.prs.3
‘I told him to do so.’ (C)
Encouragements addressed to a third party border on permission or wishing:
(3.3.25) Lai viņš visu risina.
ptcl he.nom everything.acc solve.prs.3
‘Let him solve everything.’ (C)
(3.3.26) Lai viņš ņem to būdu.
ptcl he.nom take.prs.3 that.acc.f shack.acc.f
‘Let him take the shack.’ (C)
(3.3.27) Bērnam liec mieru, lai bērns
child.dat.m leave.imp.2sg peace.acc.m ptcl child.nom.m
guļ!
sleep.prs.3
‘Leave the child alone, let the child sleep!’ (C)
(3.3.28) Lai jums izdodas atrast savu
ptcl you.dat.pl accomplish.prs.3 find.inf own.acc.f
vietu dzīvē, piepildīt sapņus!
place.acc.f life.loc.f fulfil.inf dream.acc.pl.m
‘May you find your place in life and fulfil your dreams!’ (C)
Permission and wishing can also be signaled by explicit performatives in the main
clause along with an object clause introduced by lai:
(3.3.29) Ļauj, lai viss rit savu
let.imp.2sg conj everything.nom flow.prs.3 own.acc.f
gaitu.
pace.acc.f
‘Let everything go with the flow.’ (C)
(3.3.30) Vēlos, lai viņa mani arī nākamgad
wish.prs.1sg conj she.nom I.acc too next_year
nēsā uz rokām.
carry.prs.3 on arm.dat.pl.f
‘I want her to court me next year too.’ (C)

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In order to extend the encouragement to the group containing the speaker, the first
person plural of the present or future tense is used. In this case, the addressee is not
explicitly named:
(3.3.31) Braucam!
go.prs.1pl
‘Let’s go!’ (C)
(3.3.32) Labi, iesim laukā no ķēķa.
okay go.fut.1pl outside from kitchen.gen.m
‘Okay, let’s leave the kitchen.’ (C)
Encouragement is expressed by sentences with the  predicate in the  infinitive but
the addressee, if present, is either in the vocative or in the dative case:
(3.3.33) Gulties! Komanda gulties!
lie_down.inf order.nom.f lie_down.inf
‘Lie down! Lie down, it’s an order!’ (C)
(3.3.34) Un tā visiem gulēt ar rokām virs
and so everyone.dat.pl.m lie.inf with hand.ins.pl.f above
galvas līdz nākamajai komandai!
head.gen.f until next.dat.f order.dat.f
‘And everyone keep their hands above their heads like so until I give
the next order.’ (C)
The verb in the  infinitive can convey encouragement as  well as  an injunction or
instruction, as is frequently the case in formal style:
(3.3.35) Atzīt par spēku zaudējušu
acknowledge.inf as power.acc.m lose.ptcp.acc.m
Alternatīvā dienesta likumu.
alternative.gen.m service.gen.m law.acc.m
‘The Alternative Service Law shall be declared invalid.’ (www.likumi.lv)
(3.3.36) Veicināt lauku kultūrvides
advance.inf rural.gen.pl.m cultural_environment.gen.f
atjaunošanu.
revival.acc.f
Sekmēt zinātnes attīstību valsts
promote.inf science.gen.f development.acc.f state.gen.f
politikas līmenī.
policy.gen.f level.loc.m
‘The rural cultural environment shall be revived. The development of
science shall be promoted at the state policy level.’ (www.cvk.lv)
In directive speech acts, sentences appear in the imperative along with the particle ja
or a desemanticized adverb labi at the end of the utterance. Although such sentences

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normally end with a question mark, their main function is encouragement or even
a rather categorical order, and the imperative mood is consistently used:
(3.3.37) Izbeidz, ja?
stop.imp.2sg okay
‘Stop it, will you?’ (C)
(3.3.38) Un nemēģini aizmigt,
and not_try.imp.2sg fall_asleep.inf
ja?
okay
‘Don’t you dare fall asleep, okay?’ (C)
(3.3.39) Turies, labi?
hold_on.imp.2sg okay
‘Be brave, okay?’ (C)
(3.3.40) Piedod, labi?
forgive.imp.2sg okay
‘Forgive me, will you?’ (C)
(3.3.41) Tu paklusē, labi?
you.nom.sg be_silent.imp.2sg okay
‘Shut up, will you?’ (C)
Such encouragement can be addressed to the group containing the speaker him- or
herself:
(3.3.42) Iesim visi uz istabu, labi?
go.fut.1pl everybody.nom.m to room.acc.f okay
‘Let’s all go to that room, okay?’ (C)
Exhortative sentences can also contain direct address and the interjection lūdzu:
(3.3.43) Tikai neuztraucies, tēt.
just not_worry.imp.2sg dad.voc.m
‘Just don’t worry, dad.’ (C)
(3.3.44) Lūdzu, sēdiet mierīgi!
please sit.imp.2pl calmly
‘Please, sit and be quiet!’ (C)
It should be noted that lūgt in exhortative sentences can also be a finite lexical verb. In
this case, it is normally followed by the infinitive or a noun phrase in the accusative:
(3.3.45) Lūdzu pieņemt likumprojektu pirmajā
ask.prs.1sg pass.inf bill.acc.m first.loc.m
lasījumā.
reading.loc.m
‘I ask for the bill to be passed in the first reading.’ (C)

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(3.3.46) Lūdzam saglabāt mieru.
ask.prs.1pl preserve.inf peace.acc.m
‘We ask that you stay calm.’ (C)
(3.3.47) Lūdzu rezultātu!
request.prs.1sg result.acc.m
‘I request the result!’ (C)
Encouragement is often expressed by means of utterances with limited or no
predication:
(3.3.48) Marš, uz durvīm!
interj to door.dat.pl.f
‘Go, to the door!’ (C)
(3.3.49) Stop!
interj
‘Stop!’ (C)

3.3.3 Interrogative sentences

Interrogative sentences are used in interrogative speech acts where the  speaker is
attempting to obtain information from the addressee (Skujiņa 2007: 175).
Polar questions presuppose affirmative or negative answers. In Latvian, such
questions can be marked with the interrogative particle at the beginning of a sentence:
(3.3.50) Vai viņš ir greizsirdīgs?
q he.nom be.cop.prs.3 jealous.nom.m
‘Is he jealous?’ (C)
Polar interrogative sentences often lack an explicit means for expressing
the communicative type and a question is only marked (in speech) by intonation and
(in writing) with a question mark generally at the end of the sentence. With regard
to word order, interrogative sentences do not differ from declarative ones:
(3.3.51) Jūs dzersiet tēju?
you.nom.pl drink.fut.2pl tea.acc.f
‘Would you like some tea?’ (C)
The interrogative particle can also be located at the  end of the  sentence. Such
sentences also convey the doubts or dissatisfaction of the speaker and therefore must
also be considered as expressive speech acts:
(3.3.52) Viņš dzimteni pārdod, vai?!
he.nom motherland.acc.f sell.prs.3 q
‘He is selling his motherland, is he?!’ (C)
(3.3.53) Slikti, vai? Nepatīk?
badly q not_like.prs.3
‘It’s bad, huh? Don’t you like it?’ (C)

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(3.3.54) Ko no skolotāja var ņemt?
what.acc from teacher.gen.m be_able.prs.3 take.inf
Grāmatas, vai?
book.acc.pl.f q
‘What can we take from a teacher? Books, huh?’ (C)
If a speaker wishes to ascertain whether his or her thoughts are correct and expects an
acknowledgment from the addressee, the word combination vai ne or, more seldom,
vai jā, as  well as the particles ne and ja can be used at the  end of the  declarative
sentence:
(3.3.55) Dzīve taču ir skaista,
life.nom.f ptcl be.cop.prs.3 beautiful.nom.f
vai ne?
q ptcl
‘Life is beautiful though, isn’t it?’ (C)
(3.3.56) Tu taču esi nopircis
you.nom.sg ptcl be.aux.prs.2sg buy.ptcp.nom.m
šokolādes kūciņas, vai jā?
chocolate.gen.f cake.acc.pl.f q ptcl
‘You bought some chocolate cakes though, didn’t you?’ (C)
(3.3.57) Tagad tak būsit visu
now ptcl be.aux.fut.2pl everything.acc
paspējušas, ne?
manage.ptcp.nom.pl.f ptcl
‘Now you’ll have managed to do everything, right?’ (C)
(3.3.58) Tu sevi māni, ja?
you.nom.sg self.acc deceive.prs.2sg ptcl
‘You are deceiving yourself, aren’t you?’ (C)
Declarative sentences marked with the  particles taču, tad, varbūt are also used to
perform a polar interrogative function. In this case the particle expresses a certain
degree of assurance concerning the sentence content and provides an indication as to
the type of answer expected:
(3.3.59) Tu taču nebrauksi ar viņu?
you.nom.sg ptcl not_go.fut.2sg with he.ins
‘You’re not going with him, are you?’ (C)
(3.3.60) Tad tu neiebilsti?
ptcl you.nom.sg not_object.prs.2sg
‘So you don’t object?’ (C)
(3.3.61) Varbūt tomēr citādi jāizvieto mēbeles?
maybe ptcl differently deb.place furniture.nom.pl.f
‘Perhaps we should place the furniture differently?’ (C)

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If the desemanticized adverb labi ‘well’ is used at the end of a declarative sentence
along with a question mark, the speaker does not really seek to obtain information
but rather asks permission with regard to some action and expects the addressee to
grant it:
(3.3.62) Es ieliešu, labi?
I.nom pour.fut.1sg okay
‘I’ll pour some, okay?’ (C)
(3.3.63) Es visu uzsaucu, labi?
I.nom everything.acc pay.prs.1sg okay
‘I’ll pay for everything, okay?’ (C)
(3.3.64) Es varu un gribu katru dienu
I.nom be_able.prs.1sg and want.prs.1sg every.acc.f day.acc.f
iet uz skolu un braukt mājās, labi?
go.inf to school.acc.f and go.inf home.loc.pl.f okay
‘I can and want to go to school and back home every day, okay?’ (C)
Polar interrogative sentences are also used in directive speech acts. Most often
such sentences are marked by modal words, the  conditional mood, negation, or
a combination of the above:
(3.3.65) Vai tu vari palikt mierīga
q you.nom.sg be_able.prs.2sg stay.inf still.nom.f
un negrozīties?
and not_move.inf
‘Could you sit still and not fidget?’ (C)
(3.3.66) Negribi pafilmēt?
not_want.prs.2sg record.inf
‘Would you like to record it?’ (C)
(3.3.67) Godātie kolēģi, vai jūs
honorable.nom.pl.m colleague.nom.pl.m q you.nom.pl
varētu mazliet klusāk?
be_able.cond a_little quietly
‘Dear colleagues, could you keep the volume a little down?’ (C)
(3.3.68) Vai jūs man neatvērtu durvis?
q you.nom.pl I.dat not_open.cond door.acc.pl.f
‘Could you open the door for me?’ (celoju.draugiem.lv)
Directive speech acts can also include interrogative sentences with the  verb in
the future tense:
(3.3.69) Cukuru padosi?
sugar.acc.m pass.fut.2sg
‘Could you pass me some sugar?’ (C)

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(3.3.70) Varbūt iesim padzert tēju?
maybe go.fut.1pl drink.inf tea.acc.f
‘Shall we go drink some tea?’ (C)
Special questions are introduced using the  pronouns kas ‘who, what’, kurš
‘who,  which’, kāds ‘what’ or adverbs (for instance, kā ‘how’, kur ‘where’, kad
‘when’,  cik  ‘how many, how much’, kāpēc ‘why’) and these presuppose a  more
informative contribution. Special questions are used when the  speaker wishes
the listener to reveal or specify some particular item of information topicalized by
the question:
(3.3.71) Kas tad paliek pāri?
what.nom then be_left.prs.3 over
‘What is left over then?’ (C)
(3.3.72) Kurš cits viņu atbalstīs?
who.nom.m another.nom.m he.acc support.fut.3
‘Who else will support him?’ (C)
(3.3.73) Kādi ir eiro ieviešanas
which.nom.pl.m be.cop.prs.3 euro introduction.gen.f
pamatprincipi?
main_principle.nom.pl.m
‘What are the main principles for the introduction of the euro?’ (C)
(3.3.74) Kāpēc paliku?
why stay.pst.1sg
‘Why did I stay?’ (C)
(3.3.75) Cik droši varam justies blakus
how safe be_able.prs.1pl feel.inf beside
jaunajiem vadītājiem?
new.dat.pl.m manager.dat.pl.m
‘How safe can we feel with our new managers?’ (C)
A particular special question type in Latvian is represented by the  construction
kas ... par along with a noun phrase in the accusative:
(3.3.76) Un kas par lietu?
and what.nom prep matter.acc.f
‘And what’s the matter?’ (C)
(3.3.77) Kas tas par vārdu?
what.nom that.nom.m prep name.acc.m
‘What kind of name is that?’ (C)
(3.3.78) Kas tas ir par signālu?
what.nom that.nom.m be.cop.prs.3 prep signal.acc.m
‘What kind of signal is that?’ (C)

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Alternative questions require one to choose from several options. Alternative
questions can formally appear both as  polar and special questions. The possible
options within this type of question are bound by the conjunction vai:
(3.3.79) Tu paliec vai kāp?
you.nom.sg stay.prs.2sg or climb.prs.2sg
‘Are you staying or climbing?’ (C)
(3.3.80) Ko tu dzersi – tēju vai
what.acc you.nom.sg drink.fut.2sg tea.acc.f or
kafiju?
coffee.acc.f
‘What are you having – tea or coffee?’ (C)
If the question contains two predicates, one of them can be negated:
(3.3.81) Ņemsit vai neņemsit?
take.fut.2pl or not_take.fut.2pl
‘Are you taking it or not taking it?’ (C)
(3.3.82) Vai tad tu nāksi vai nenāksi
q ptcl you.nom.sg come.fut.2sg or not_come.fut.2sg
pie briežiem palīgā?
to deer.dat.pl.m to_aid
‘Are you coming or not coming to rescue the deer?’ (C)

3.3.4 Exclamative sentences

Exclamative sentences are used in expressive speech acts and convey the speaker’s
attitude or emotions (Skujiņa 2007: 171). Since exclamative sentences in their
structure often resemble declarative sentences, they do not contain specific markers
of the  communicative type. The main purpose of an exclamative sentence is to
express emotional content which is shown by the  exclamation mark at the  end of
the sentence:
(3.3.83) Bet es nemaz negribu viņu
but I.nom not_at_all not_want.prs.1sg he.acc
precēt!
marry.inf
‘But I don’t even want to marry him!’ (C)
In exclamative sentences a variety of emotionally expressive lexical means, especially
interjections and particles, can occur:
(3.3.84) Ak, laime, cik tu biji
oh happiness.nom.f how you.nom.sg be.cop.pst.2sg
īsa!
brief.nom.f
‘Oh happiness, how brief you were!’ (C)

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(3.3.85) Tad nudien smaržoja pēc svētkiem!
then indeed smell.pst.3 prep party.dat.pl.m
‘Then it really smelled like a party!’ (C)
(3.3.86) Ir nu gan laiki pienākuši!
be.aux.prs.3 ptcl ptcl time.nom.pl.m come.ptcp.nom.pl.m
‘Oh, what times!’ (C)
In expressive speech acts, sentences can be used that formally resemble the special
interrogative sentences. They can be introduced by the pronoun kāds ‘what’ or by
the quantitative adverb cik ‘how much, how many’. Both the content of the sentence –
an emphatic statement rather than a question – and the punctuation at the end of
the sentence indicate an expressive speech act:
(3.3.87) Kāds spēks ir šajos
what.nom.m strength.nom.m be.prs.3 this.loc.pl.m
jauniešos!
young_person.loc.pl.m
‘These young people have such strength!’ (C)
(3.3.88) Cik viņš bija neveikls un smieklīgs!
how he.nom be.cop.pst.3 clumsy.nom.m and funny.nom.m
‘How clumsy and funny he was!’ (C)
The interrogative construction kas ... par along with a noun phrase in the accusative
can also acquire an expressive function:
(3.3.89) Kas par kaunu!
what.nom prep shame.acc.m
‘How shameful!’ (C)
(3.3.90) Kas tas bija par braucienu!
what.nom that.nom.m be.cop.pst.3 prep ride.acc.m
‘What a ride that was!’ (C)
(3.3.91) Kas tas bija par skatu!
what.nom that.nom.m be.cop.pst.3 prep spectacle.acc.m
‘What a spectacle that was!’ (C)
Exclamative sentences introduced by a  question-word may be elliptical if they
describe an item or a situation that can be identified in the communicative context
or situation:
(3.3.92) Jasmīne: Reku tavs spieķis, vecmamm...
Jasmīne.nom.f look_here your.nom.sg cane.nom.m granny.voc.f
Ģertrūde: Kāda laime!
Ģertrūde.nom.f what.nom.f luck.nom.f
‘Jasmīne: Look, your cane, granny...
Ģertrūde: What luck!’ (C)

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(3.3.93) Kas par vārdu! Feklēnija!
what.nom prep name.acc.m Feklēnija.nom.f
‘What a name! Feklēnija!’ (C)

3.3.5 Optative sentences

Optative sentences can be used in optative speech acts and are used for expressing
wishes or desires (Skujiņa 2007: 440). These sentences typically are grammatically
marked – they feature the verb in the conditional mood and the particles kaut ‘may’
or lai ‘let, may’. A desire expressed in this type of sentence mainly relates to some
action or state relating to the speaker:
(3.3.94) Kaut būtu vēl tumšāks, kaut
ptcl be.cop.cond more dark.cmp.nom.m ptcl
varētu paslēpties tumsā…
be_able.cond hide.inf dark.loc.f
‘If only it were even darker, if only I could hide in the dark…’ (C)
A wish is normally addressed to an interlocutor or any other person in question. Most
often, an optative sentence contains the particle lai and a verb in the third person
present indicative. A wish mentions the addressee, usually in the dative case:
(3.3.95) Lai jums izdodas!
ptcl you.dat.pl succeed.prs.3
‘Good luck to you!’ (C)
The addressee can also be expressed by a pronoun in the third person singular or
the first person plural:
(3.3.96) Lai viņam ilgs mūžs.
ptcl he.dat long.nom.m life.nom.m
‘May he have a long life!’ (C)
(3.3.97) Lai mums visiem veiksmīga
ptcl we.dat all.dat.pl successful.nom.f
nedēļa.
week.nom.f
‘May we all have a successful week!’ (C)
A wish can also be expressed using a verb in the conditional mood:
(3.3.98) Lai mums būtu panākumi
ptcl we.dat be.cond success.nom.pl.m
darbā un liels progress
work.loc.m and great.nom.m progress.nom.m
studijās!
study.loc.pl.f
‘May our work be successful and may we have great progress in our
studies!’ (C)

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(3.3.99) Lai skolotājiem būtu eņģeļiem
ptcl teacher.dat.pl.m be.cond angel.dat.pl.m
raksturīgā laika izjūta un
typical_of.nom.f time.gen.m sense.nom.f and
eņģeļu pacietība!
angel.gen.pl.m patience.nom.f
‘Let the teachers have an angelic sense of time and angelic patience!’ (C)
Optative speech acts more often than other types of speech acts contain explicit
performatives in the  main clause along with the  object clause, introduced by
the particles lai or kaut functioning as conjunctions:
(3.3.100) Vēlos, lai Aizkrauklē būtu
wish.prs.1sg conj Aizkraukle.loc.f be.cond
skeitparks.
skatepark.nom.m
‘I wish there was a skatepark in Aizkraukle.’ (C)
(3.3.101) Mums rūp, lai ikviens bankas
we.dat care.prs.1pl conj every.nom.m bank.gen.f
darbinieks justos labi.
employee.nom.m feel.cond good
‘We care that every bank employee should feel good.’ (C)
(3.3.102) Gribas, lai tas notiek uzreiz.
wish.prs.3 conj it.nom.m happen.prs.3 immediately
‘I wish it would happen immediately.’ (C)
(3.3.103) Bērnībā [Rita] drīzāk vēlējusies,
childhood.loc.f [Rita] rather wish.ptcp.nom.f
kaut varētu dzīvot dzīvoklī.
ptcl be_able.cond live.inf apartment.loc.m
‘As a child Rita wished she could live in an apartment instead.’ (C)
Wishes can also contain the  explicit finite verb vēlēt or novēlēt ‘wish’, followed by
the infinitive or a direct object:
(3.3.104) Vēlu visiem šī gada
wish.prs.1sg all.dat.pl.m this.gen.m year.gen.m
beidzējiem neapstāties, turpināt mācīties.
graduate.dat.pl.m not_stop.inf continue.inf learn.inf
‘I wish for all of this year’s graduates to never stop learning!’ (C)
(3.3.105) Es jums vēlu laimīgu
I.nom you.dat.pl wish.prs.1sg happy.acc.m
ceļu!
journey.acc.m
‘I wish you a good trip!’ (C)

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(3.3.106) Novēlu tautai mīlestību un
wish.prs.1sg nation.dat.f love.acc.f and
ticību.
faith.acc.f
‘I wish our nation love and faith!’ (C)
Such sentences have given rise to elliptical wishes:
(3.3.107) Laimīgu ceļu jums visiem!
happy.acc.m journey.acc.m you.dat.pl all.dat.pl.m
‘Have a good trip everyone!’ (C)
(3.3.108) Daudz laimes, Latvija!
much happiness.gen.f Latvia.nom.f
‘Happy birthday, Latvia!’ (C)

3.4 Word order in simple sentences

3.4.0 Introductory remarks
In Latvian, word order has three types of functions:
1) a  grammatical function: word order shows the  grammatical relation
between word forms (if the order is changed, the grammatical structure of
the sentence changes, too),
2) a  communicative function: word order reveals the  information structure
of the  sentence (if the  order is changed, the  grammatical structure of
the sentence does not change),
3) a  stylistic function: word order conveys added stylistic and/or emotional
information (if the  order is changed, the  grammatical structure of
the sentence remains unchanged).
For the purposes of this study, “a neutral or direct word order” refers to an order
that expresses the  notional content without any added information, namely, it is
stylistically and emotionally neutral, context-independent, and unrelated to any
special communicative purpose or emphatic use (Skujiņa 2007: 403). Conversely,
“an indirect word order” indicates one that carries added stylistic and/or emotional
information or implies a special communicative purpose (Skujiņa 2007: 254).
The word order in a sentence can be examined in two ways:
1) The word order in the  sentence as  a  whole, or the  absolute word order.
For instance, in Latvian, the predicate in interrogative sentences is mostly
at the absolute end of the sentence (3.4.1), while the adjuncts are usually at
the beginning of the sentence (3.4.2):
(3.4.1) Kur tad es paliktu?
where ptcl I.nom be_left.cond
‘Where would I go?’ (C)

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(3.4.2) Vakarā restorānā ar milzu
evening.loc.m restaurant.loc.m with huge
apetīti notiesājām uz oglēm ceptu
appetite.ins.f eat.pst.1pl on charcoal.dat.pl.f grill.ptcp.acc.f
cūku ar dārzeņiem.
pork.acc.f with vegetable.ins.pl.m
‘Yesterday at the restaurant we eagerly ate charcoal-grilled pork with
vegetables.’ (C)
2) Two or more word forms occur in relation to one another, or the relative
word order. Typologically, Latvian belongs to the  SVO languages with
the  following basic word order: the  subject comes first, the  verb second,
and the  object third. Latvian shows all six possible subject/verb/object
distributions, the  least common types being VSO and VOS (Valkovska
2016a:  41). SVO is the  most common type and can be found in various
sentence constructions and sentence communicative types. The second
most common type is OVS, typically occurring with the direct object and its
phrase at the beginning of the sentence, most often it is contextually-bound
and expresses information that is already known:
(3.4.3) Šo faktu savos darbos
this.acc.m fact.acc.m own.loc.pl.m work.loc.pl.m
atzīmē arī citi līdzīgu
refer.prs.3 also other.nom.pl.m similar.gen.pl.m
pētījumu autori.
study.gen.pl.m author.nom.pl.m
‘This fact is referred to by authors of similar studies.’ (C)
The SOV order is most typical of sentences with a pronoun functioning as the object:
(3.4.4) Kur jūs tos niedru
where you.nom.pl that.acc.pl.m reed.gen.pl.f
jumtus iemācījāties likt?
roof.acc.pl.m learn.pst.3 make.inf
‘Where did you learn to make these thatched roofs?’ (C)
(3.4.5) Viņš mani lasa kā atvērtu grāmatu...
he.nom I.acc read.prs.3 like open.acc.f book.acc.f
‘He reads me like an open book…’ (C)
The object can also be a semantically independent word; such sequences are most
often found in the mass media:
(3.4.6) Lielākā daļa deputātu iecerei
largest.nom.f part.nom.f MP.gen.pl.m idea.dat.f
atbalstu neizteica.
support.acc.m not_express.pst.3
‘Most of the MPs didn’t support the idea.’ (Neatkarīgā Rīta Avīze)

479
In OSV sentences, the  object mainly has the  function of an interrogative word or
a conjunction in subclauses:
(3.4.7) Ko es tev samācīju?
what.acc I.nom you.dat.sg teach.pst.1sg
‘What did I teach you?’ (C)
(3.4.8) Tu klausies, ko es tev
you.nom.sg listen.prs.2sg what.acc I.nom you.dat.sg
saku?
say.prs.1sg
‘Are you listening to what I am saying to you?’ (C)
In OSV sentences, the object can be an emphasized pronoun (3.4.9), sometimes also
a contextually-bound semantically independent word or phrase (3.4.10):
(3.4.9) To viņi mums nekad nepiedeva.
that.acc they.nom.m we.dat never not_forgive.pst.3
‘They never forgave us that.’ (C)

(3.4.10) Visus šos gadalaikus

all.acc.pl.m this.acc.pl.m season.acc.pl.m
bērni atainoja savos
child.nom.pl.m portray.pst.3 own.loc.pl.m
zīmējumos.
drawing.loc.pl.m
‘The children portrayed all these seasons in their drawings.’ (C)
VSO (3.4.11 and 3.4.12) and VOS (3.4.13) types are very expressive and are mostly
found in subclauses and in fiction or poetry when colloquial speech is portrayed
(Valkovska 2016a: 42–44):
(3.4.11) Bet pēkšņi Stefans saka: -
but suddenly Stefans.nom.m say.prs.3
Pērc tu to sev.
buy.imp.2sg you.nom.sg that.acc self.dat
‘But suddenly Stefans says: - Buy it for yourself.’ (C)
(3.4.12) Vārdsakot, pārdeva viņi čigānam
in_short sell.pst.3 they.nom gypsy.dat.m
vilku par teļu.
wolf.acc.m for calf.acc.m
‘In short, they sold the gypsy the wolf as a calf.’ (C)
(3.4.13) Pie galda sēž un dzer tēju
at table.gen.m sit.prs.3 and drink.prs.3 tea.acc.f
divas sievietes – Elīza un Sabīne.
two.nom.f woman.nom.pl.f Elīza.nom.f and Sabīne.nom.f
‘Two women sit and drink tea at the table, Elīza and Sabīne.’ (C)

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If we only look at the sequence of two components – the subject and the predicate –
the SV order appears neutral in Latvian. However, in a number of cases with a neutral
word order, the subject occurs after the predicate. For example, in sentences with
sentence-initial adverbial adjuncts, the neutral order is one where the predicate is first
and is followed by the subject, if the subject is the rheme:
(3.4.14) Kādā dienā priekšā pavērās
some.loc.f day.loc.f ahead.loc.f open_up.pst.3
plašs klajums.
vast.nom.m field.nom.m
‘One day a vast field opened up.’ (C)
(3.4.15) Dārzā labi jūtas skujeņi,
garden.loc.m well feel.prs.3 conifer.nom.pl.m
hortenzijas.
hortensia.nom.pl.f
‘Conifers and hortensias fit well in the garden.’ (C)
(3.4.16) Šodien lija jauks lietutiņš.
today rain.pst.3 nice.nom.m drizzling_rain.nom.m
‘Today there was a nice, drizzling rain.’ (C)
The VS order is neutral also in sentences which contain only the rheme and describe
a state:
(3.4.17) Iezvanījās mobilais telefons.
ring.pst.3 mobile.nom.m phone.nom.m
‘The mobile phone rang.’ (C)
(3.4.18) Bija silta augusta nakts.
be.pst.3 warm.nom.f August.gen.m night.nom.f
‘It was a warm August night.’ (C)
Sentences with an SV order usually are bipartite from the point of view of information
structure, and changing the word order makes it possible to avoid this. This is also
important in sentences with an adjunct functioning as the theme. In addition, the SV
order is more often used in dynamic narration, while the VS order is more common
in descriptions of states. This is because the verb is more important in narration and
therefore is placed at the end of the sentence, but in descriptions of states the noun
carries more weight.
Also, in Latvian, the relative word order in phrases tends to be fixed, especially
in noun phrases. Attributes normally precede the  noun. Those that follow it are
numerical attributes expressing an approximate amount:
(3.4.19) Vāzē liktas tās [dālijas]
vase.loc.f put.ptcp.nom.pl.f that.nom.pl.f [dahlia]
nostāv dienas trīs.
stand.prs.3 day.nom.pl.f three.nom.f
‘Dahlias, when put in a vase, stay fresh for about three days.’ (C)

481
(3.4.20) Mēs nebijām redzējušās
we.nom not_be.aux.pst.1pl see.ptcp.nom.pl.f
gadus piecus.
year.acc.pl.m five.acc.m
‘We hadn’t seen each other for about five years.’ (C)
The noun is followed by an object:
(3.4.21) Vīratēvs uzdod jautājumu par
father-in-law.nom.m ask.prs.3 question.acc.m about
Šekspīru.
Shakespeare.acc.m
‘Father-in-law asks questions about Shakespeare.’ (C)
(3.4.22) Tā ir Lieldienu dāvana
it.nom.f be.cop.prs.3 Easter.gen.pl.f gift.nom.f
draugiem.
friend.dat.pl.m
‘It is an Easter gift for friends.’ (C)
The placement of parallel subordinated attributes in the phrase depends on the formal
type of subordination. The governed component (a noun in the  genitive) in most
cases is located closer to the noun than the adjective agreeing with the noun:
(3.4.23) Darbnīcā sagādātas
workshop.loc.f procure.ptcp.nom.pl.f
aromātiskas vaska plāksnes.
aromatic.nom.pl.f wax.gen.pl.m plate.nom.pl.f
‘In the workshops there are aromatic wax plates.’ (C)
However, the adjective may be placed closer to the noun than the governed component,
especially if the adjective is definite:
(3.4.24) Šāda siena būs tavas
such.nom.f wall.nom.f be.cop.fut.3 your.gen.f
istabas skaistais akcents.
room.gen.f beautiful.nom.m highlight.nom.m
‘Such a wall will be the beautiful highlight of your room.’ (C)
If there are several governed components in parallel, the sequence depends on which
of them is semantically more related to the noun:
(3.4.25) Meistars kopš laika gala dedzināja
master.nom.m since time.gen.m end.gen.m burn.pst.3
tikai baznīcas vaska sveces.
only church.gen.f wax.gen.m candle.acc.pl.f
‘The master has always burned only wax candles from the church.’ [wax
candles is a more semantically related phrase than church candles] (C)

482
If several agreeing components are subordinated in parallel, the  word order is
determined both by the closeness of the semantic relations and the part of speech
of the components (Valkovska 2016a: 110–111), for example, pronouns (3.4.26) and
numerals (3.4.27) are usually placed further away from the noun:
(3.4.26) Tu esi mans labākais
you.nom.sg be.cop.prs.2sg my.nom.m best.nom.m
draugs.
friend.nom.m
‘You are my best friend.’ (C)
(3.4.27) Tas ir pirmais nopietnais
it.nom.m be.cop.prs.3 first.nom.m serious.nom.m
solis tavā karjerā.
step.nom.m your.loc.sg.f career.loc.f
‘This is the first serious step in your career.’ (C)
In modern Latvian (especially in the  mass media), the  relative order of words in
strings of attributes is unstable and results in deviations from literary language
norms. First of all, such deviations can be found in phrases containing viens no:
(3.4.28) Šis ir mūsu partijas vēlēšanu
this.nom.m be.cop.prs.3 we.gen party.gen.f election.gen.pl.f
kampaņas viens no elementiem.
campaign.gen.f one.nom.m of element.dat.pl.m
[according to the norm –
viens no mūsu partijas vēlēšanu
one.nom.m of we.gen party.gen.f election.gen.pl.f
kampaņas elementiem
campaign.gen.f element.dat.pl.m]
‘This is one of the elements of our party election campaign.’ (Diena)
The reason for this tendency could be an attempt to avoid the preposition no being
too distant from its specifier, the noun.
Secondly, there are deviations with regard to the  placement of indefinite
agreeing attributes, they are placed between the  phrase head and the  governed
dependent component:
(3.4.29) Dziesmas izpildīs šībrīža
song.nom.pl.f perform.fut.3 present_moment.gen.m
populāri dziedātāji.
popular.nom.pl.m singer.nom.pl.m
[according to the norm –
populāri šībrīža dziedātāji
popular.nom.pl.m present_moment.gen.m singer.nom.pl.m]
‘The songs will be performed by currently popular singers.’ (www.delfi.lv)

483
Such a  tendency could be explained by the  desire to avoid homoforms that could
give rise to misunderstandings, for example, in the  string pozitīva uzņēmuma tēla
veidošana ‘creation of a positive image for a company’ one can see the phrase pozitīvs
uzņēmums ‘a positive company’ and also pozitīvs tēls ‘a positive image’, thus, to
avoid a misunderstanding, the order uzņēmuma pozitīva tēla veidošana was chosen.
The word order can also be influenced by the speaker’s opinion on the closeness of
the semantic relations between words:
(3.4.30) Zāļu nepamatota lietošana
drug.gen.pl.f unfounded.nom.f use.nom.f
ir kaitīga veselībai.
be.cop.prs.3 harmful.nom.f health.dat.f
‘Misuse of drugs is harmful to your health.’ (www.vi.gov.lv) 
In an adjectival phrase, the dependent component is usually placed before the adjective
(ļoti labs ‘very good’, gaiši zils ‘light blue’, pavisam auksts ‘very cold’). Also, in an
adverbial phrase the  dependent component is usually placed before the  adverb
(samērā bīstami ‘somewhat dangerously’, diezgan droši ‘fairly safely’).
In a verbal phrase, the positioning of the components is looser. In phrases with
a neutral word order, objects are most often placed after the verb:
(3.4.31) Uzvara dos bērniem
victory.nom.f give.fut.3 child.dat.pl.m
iespēju par brīvu apmeklēt
opportunity.acc.f for free.acc visit.inf
radošo studiju.
creative.acc.f studio.acc.f
‘The victory will give children the opportunity to visit the creative studio
for free.’ (C)
However, the placement of objects can be influenced by various factors, the sentence
structure type, the  presence of other sentence components, context as  well
as  the  object lexeme (Valkovska 2016a: 118). Complements of type and measure
as well as those creating conditions that modify the verb may be found in different
places in the sentence; their placement mainly depends on the information structure
(see Section 3.4.2):
(3.4.31) Tas iet pavisam ātri.
it.nom.m go.prs.3 very fast
‘It goes very fast.’ (C)
(3.4.32) Kur tik ātri ņems jaunu
where so quickly find.fut.3 new.acc.f
kleitu?
dress.acc.f
‘Where will a new dress be found so quickly?’ (C)

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3.4.1 The grammatical function of word order
Since syntactic relations between word forms in Latvian are usually expressed by
means of inflections, word order in a sentence is relatively free. However, there are
situations where word order determines the syntactic function of word forms.
In sentences with homoforms, the subject precedes the object:
(3.4.33) a. Līdakas sāk ēst
pike.nom.pl.f begin.prs.3 eat.inf
citas zivis.
other.acc.pl.f fish.acc.pl.f
‘The pikes begin eating other fish.’ (www.copeslietas.lv)
b. Citas zivis sāk ēst
other.nom.pl.f fish.nom.pl.f begin.prs.3 eat.inf
līdakas.
pike.acc.pl.f
‘Other fish start eating the pikes.’
The subject of (3.4.33a) is līdakas, but that of (3.4.33b) is zivis.
If a word form can perform different syntactic functions, the sequence of words
is crucial in distinguishing between these functions. A noun in the nominative may
be the subject or part of the predicate:
(3.4.34) a. Māksla ir radīšana.
art.nom.f be.cop.prs.3 creation.nom.f
‘Art is creation.’ (C)
b. Radīšana ir māksla.
creation.nom.f be.cop.prs.3 art.nom.f
‘Creation is art.’
In example (3.4.34a), the subject is māksla, but in (3.4.34b), the subject is radīšana;
the sentences have different semantics. Changing word order and the semantics of
the sentence are used as artistic devices in example (3.4.35):
(3.4.35) Spēlfilmā režisors ir dievs.
film.loc.f director.nom.m be.cop.prs.3 God.nom.m
Dokumentālajā kino dievs
documentary.loc.def.m cinema.m God.nom.m
ir režisors.
be.cop.prs.3 director.nom.m
‘In a film, the director is God. In documentary cinema, God is the director.’
(National Film Awards ceremony “Lielais Kristaps”)
However, it should be noted that in many cases it is not the placement of the nominative
that matters, but lexical semantics. In example (3.4.36b), semantics do not allow
the interpretation of the word prece as the subject, because the subject is usually used
to identify the topic of speech, while the predicate has an attributive role (see also
Lokmane 2009):

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(3.4.36) a. Māksla ir prece.
art.nom.f be.cop.prs.3 commodity.nom.f
‘Art is a commodity.’ (C)
b. Prece ir māksla.
commodity.nom.f be.cop.prs.3 art.nom.f
‘Art is commodity.’
Therefore, sentence (3.4.36b) is either completely semantically unacceptable or
is only conceivable in a  very expressive context. If the  semantics of the  sentence
preclude the relevant interpretation, the word order is not decisive.
An adjective in the  nominative, depending on its placement in the  sentence,
may be an attribute (3.4.37b, 3.4.38b, 3.4.39a), a  predicate (3.4.37a, 3.4.39b), or
a secondary predicate (3.4.38a):
(3.4.37) a. Vakars ir tīri jauks.
evening.nom.m be.cop.prs.3 rather nice.nom.m
‘The evening is rather nice.’ (C)
b. Ir tīri jauks vakars.
be.prs.3 rather nice.nom.m evening.nom.m
‘It is a rather nice evening.’
(3.4.38) a. Saule rietēja iesarkana.
sun.nom.f set.pst.3 fairly_red.nom.f
‘The sun was fairly red as it was setting. [lit. The sun was setting fairly
red.]’ (C)
b. Rietēja iesarkana saule.
set.pst.3 fairly_red.nom.f sun.nom.f
‘A fairly red sun was setting.’
(3.4.39) a. Tradīcijām ir liela
tradition.dat.pl.f be.prs.3 great.nom.f
vērtība.
value.nom.f
‘Traditions are of great value.’ (C)
b. Vērtība tradīcijām ir
value.nom.f tradition.dat.pl.f be.cop.prs.3
liela.
great.nom.f
‘The value of traditions is great.’
A noun (in examples (3.4.40) the noun is substituted by a pronoun) in the dative can
be either the subject or the object depending on the placement:
(3.4.40) a. Man jums kas
I.dat you.dat.pl something.nom
vēstāms.
tell.ptcp.nom.m
‘I have something to tell you.’ (C)

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 b. Jums man kas
you.dat.pl I.dat something.nom
vēstāms.
tell.ptcp.nom.m
‘You have something to tell me.’
In example (3.4.40a), the subject is man, but in example (3.4.40b), the subject is jums,
and the sentences have different semantics. However, in some cases, when the object
is contextually bound, it may precede the subject (Valkovska 2016b):
(3.4.41) Par Grieķiju tu sāki runāt.
Manuprāt, viņiem mums tiešām
in_my_opinion they.dat.m we.dat really
nav jāpalīdz.
not_be.aux.prs.3 deb.help
‘You started talking about Greece. I do not think we really need to help
them.’ (twitter.com)
The dative that follows the predicate is the object (3.4.42a), but the dative placed at
the beginning of the sentence is an adjunct (3.4.42b):
(3.4.42) a. Svētki ir jums.
celebration.nom.pl.m be.prs.3 you.dat.pl
‘The celebration is for you.’ (C)
b. Jums ir svētki.
you.dat.pl be.prs.3 celebration.nom.pl.m
‘You have a celebration.’
The verb in the  infinitive, depending on its placement in the  sentence, may be
the subject or the predicate:
(3.4.43) a. Mīlēt ir dot.
love.inf be.cop.prs.3 give.inf
‘To love is to give.’ (C)
b. Dot ir mīlēt.
give.inf be.cop.prs.3 love.inf
‘To give is to love.’
(3.4.44) a. Mīlēt nozīmē saprast.
love.inf mean.prs.3 understand.inf
‘To love means to understand.’ (C)
b. Saprast nozīmē mīlēt.
understand.inf mean.prs.3 love.inf
‘To understand means to love.’
In examples (3.4.43a, 3.4.44a), the subject is mīlēt, but in examples (3.4.43b, 3.4.44b),
it is part of the predicate.
The placement in the sentence may testify to the closeness of the bond and thus
also to the type of syntactic relations between the components. If the phrase-dependent

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component is placed at the absolute beginning of the sentence, it is more independent
and able to relate to the whole sentence, becoming an adjunct:
(3.4.45) Patiesībā viņiem bija dota
in_fact they.dat.m be.aux.pst.3 give.ptcp.nom.f
komanda tikai identificēt lidaparātu un
command.nom.f only identify.inf aircraft.acc.m and
sekot tam.
follow.inf it.dat.m
‘In fact, they were only given the command to identify the aircraft and
follow it.’ (C)
(3.4.46) Profesorei spēku dod
professor.dat.f strength.acc.m give.prs.3
darbs ar studentiem.
work.nom.m with student.ins.pl.m
‘Work with students gives the professor strength.’ (www.rsu.lv)
In sentence (3.4.45), the dative can be considered an adjunct because of its placement,
although the phrase dot viņiem komandu ‘to give them a command’ is also possible.
Similarly, in sentence (3.4.46), the phrase dot profesorei spēku ‘to give the professor
strength’ is also possible, but the  placement of the  dative at the  beginning of
the  sentence gives it the  meaning of the  experiencer, and it can be considered an
adjunct.
An adverbial adjunct, placed at the  beginning of the  sentence, relates to
the whole sentence (3.4.47a), but the same adjunct, placed after the noun, is related
only to this word (3.4.47b):
(3.4.47) a. Mežā viņus pārsteidz
forest.loc.m they.acc.m surprise.prs.3
nakts.
night.nom.f
‘In the forest, they are surprised by the night.’ (C)
b. Viņus pārsteidz nakts mežā.
they.acc.m surprise.prs.3 night.nom.f forest.loc. m
‘They are surprised by the night in the forest.’

3.4.2 The communicative function of word order

The communicative function of word order in Latvian is related to information
structure, namely, the division of the utterance into the theme and the rheme. The
topical division is binary in nature and consists of dividing a sentence into topical
and less topical information (Skujiņa 2007: 388). It should also be noted that there
are communicatively indivisible sentences in Latvian where it is not possible to
distinguish between the units of information structure.

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 The theme and the  rheme have been extensively examined in linguistics;
in reviewing all approaches, the  following features of the  relevant division of
components can be mentioned:
1) the theme is information known to the receiver, or the given; in contrast,
the rheme is new, unknown (in which case the theme is usually contextually
bound);
2) the theme is less important information that can be new to the receiver, but
the rheme is important information, the main content of the statement (in
this case, an important feature of the rheme in the oral text is the sentence
emphasis);
3) the theme is the topic of the speech or the outset of the message, the rheme
is the content of the message, or what is said about the object (in which case
it is always placed at the beginning of the utterance).
These three aspects can be correlated (the given is also less important information
and the topic of the speech), therefore, we can talk about a canonical or unmarked
theme. However, quite often these aspects do not coincide, so there are problems
with distinguishing between the theme and the rheme. For instance, an item known
to the addressee can also be topicalized, emphasizing its importance:
(3.4.48) Vēlāk tieši Jānis izvirzīja savu
later exactly Jānis.nom.m put.pst.3 own.acc.f
komandu vadībā.
team.acc.f lead.loc.f
‘Later it was exactly Jānis who put his team in the lead.’ (C)
And conversely, new information can also be the topic of the speech:
(3.4.49) Kāda meitene iznāca no
some.nom.f girl.nom.f come_out.pst.3 from
uzgaidāmās telpas.
waiting.gen.f room.gen.f
‘A girl came out of the waiting room.’ (C)
If the  theme possesses less characteristic features, one should speak of a  non-
canonical or marked theme. A marked theme may be contextually unbound, it may
carry a characteristic intonational emphasis, often there is an accompanying particle:
(3.4.50) Pat lāci var iemācīt dejot.
even bear.acc.m can.prs.3 teach.inf dance.inf
‘Even a bear can be taught to dance.’ (C)
Information structure is closely related to the prosody of the sentence. Usually, in
a speech, there is a pause between the theme and the rheme, so each of these units
forms its own intonational phrase. Each intonational phrase is also characterized
by emphasis highlighting a word in the intonation unit. In a sentence with several
intonational phrases, the  rheme is most often marked by more intense stress,
which should be considered sentence stress (Valkovska 2016b). As the stress can be

489
clearly identified only in speech and, in Latvian, it bears no direct relation to word
order  – namely, the  same word order may have a  different sentence stress  – this
work considers the theme to be the outset of the message, which always occurs at
the beginning of the sentence (see also Valkovska 2016b). So, the theme is the first
component of the  sentence and the  rest of the  sentence is considered the  rheme
(Thompson 2004: 143).
Information structure is related to the syntactic structure of the sentence. For
example, the theme is most often expressed by a noun or by a noun phrase, especially
when functioning as the subject of the sentence. The predicate, in turn, along with its
attributes typically functions as the rheme. The role played by information structure
can vary across types of syntactic relations. Therefore, different types of syntactic
relations and sentence components along with their relationship with information
structure will be discussed below.
The least significant role with regard to information structure is played by
the noun phrase. As was previously stated, the word order in a phrase is determined
by the closeness of the semantic relations among components.
Generally, a syntactic unit – a phrase – forms one component in a topical division.
When the  components of a  noun phrase are placed at a  distance from each other,
one may belong to the  theme, the  other to the  rheme (Valkovska 2016b: 28–29).
Examples (3.4.51–3.4.53) stress the attribute, but the head of the phrase functions
as the theme:
(3.4.51) Birojus uzņēmēji gribēja
office.acc.pl.m businessman.nom.pl.m want.pst.3
ekskluzīvus.
exclusive.acc.pl.m
‘As for the offices, the businessmen wanted them to be exclusive.’ (Ir)
(3.4.52) Runātāja es esmu diža.
speaker.nom.f I.nom be.cop.prs.1sg great.nom.f
‘As a speaker, I am great.’ (twitter.com)
(3.4.53) Troksnis sacelts liels.
fuss.nom.m kick_up.ptcp.nom.m huge.nom.m
‘The fuss that is kicked up, is huge.’ (Latvijas Avīze)
Although the  attributes (3.4.51–3.4.53) are placed in a  position that is typical of
a secondary predicate site, they do not bear any relation to the real predicate and do
not have the temporal or modal meanings characteristic of a secondary predicate or
a predicative adjunct.
In a  verb phrase, the  role played by information structure is greater. Objects
(both direct and indirect) are usually placed after the  predicate, and the  indirect
object in the dative is usually closer to the verb:
(3.4.54) Aktieris nemitīgi sūta aktrisei SMS.
actor.nom.m constantly send.prs.3 actress.dat.f SMS
‘The actor constantly texts the actress.’ (C)

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However, for the purpose of topicalization, this word order can be easily changed:
(3.4.55) Prezidents sūta sveicienus
president.nom.m send.prs.3 greeting.acc.pl.m
visām Latvijas mātēm.
all.dat.pl.f Latvia.gen.f mother.dat.pl.f
‘The president sends greetings to all mothers in Latvia.’ (C)
Pronominal objects are usually to the left of the predicate:
(3.4.56) Es viņam visu godprātīgi
I.nom he.dat everything.acc.m in_good_faith
izklāstīju.
tell.pst.1sg
‘I told him everything in good faith.’ (C)
(3.4.57) Mums sūtīja apsveikumus un
we.dat send.pst.3 greeting.acc.pl.m and
ziedus.
flower.acc.pl.m
‘We were sent greetings and flowers.’ (C)
An indirect object, if it is a  semantically independent word, functions relatively
infrequently as the theme, mainly in media language:
(3.4.58) Nacionālās apvienības izvirzītajai
national.gen.def.f union.gen.f move_forward.ptcp.dat.f
kandidatūrai šodien atbalstu izteica
candidacy.dat.f today support.acc.m express.pst.3
koalīcijas partijas.
coalition.gen.f party.nom.pl.f
‘The coalition parties today supported the candidate nominated by
the “Nacionālā apvienība”.’ (Neatkarīgā Rīta Avīze)
It is more common for the direct object to function as the theme:
(3.4.59) Tāpēc profesionālos politiķus
therefore professional.acc.pl.m politician.acc.pl.m
aicinu pieņemt profesionāli
call.prs.1sg take.inf professionally
politiskus lēmumus.
political.acc.pl.m decision.acc.pl.m
‘Therefore, I call on professional politicians to make professional political
decisions.’ (C)
(3.4.60) Bet Kaliforniju zinājām visi.
but California.acc.f know.pst.1pl all.nom.pl.m
‘But we all knew of California.’ (A. Eglītis)

491
The object often plays the role of the theme in subjectless sentences with a generalized
or indeterminate agent; in such cases this order can be considered neutral:
(3.4.61) Ziemeļu skujkoku mežus
north.gen.pl.m conifer.gen.pl.m forest.acc.pl.m
sauc arī par boreālajiem
call.prs.3 also prep boreal.dat.pl.m
mežiem.
forest.dat.pl.m
‘Northern coniferous forests are also called boreal forests.’ (C)
(3.4.62) Mežus atjauno vai nu mākslīgi,
forest.acc.pl.m restore.prs.3 conj part artificially
tos stādot un sējot, vai
it.acc.pl.m plant.ptcp and sow.ptcp conj
arī izcirstajām teritorijām ļauj
part cut.ptcp.dat.pl.f area.dat.pl.f let.prs.3
atjaunoties dabiski.
renew.inf naturally
‘The forests are restored either artificially by planting and sowing, or
the cut areas are left to grow naturally.’ (C)
The object constitutes the theme with the subject in the infinitive:
(3.4.63) Brīvību regulēt no augšas
freedom.acc.f regulate.inf from above.gen.f
nav iespējams.
not_be.cop.prs.3 possible.ptcp.nom.m
‘It is not possible to regulate freedom from above.’ (Ir)
(3.4.64) Bērnu audzināt nav grūti.
child.acc.m raise.inf not_be.cop.prs.3 difficult
‘It is not difficult to raise a child.’ (C)
An object functioning as the theme in a bipartite sentence often results in a VS order
in both verbal (3.4.65), nominal (3.4.66), and adverbial (3.4.67) sentences:
(3.4.65) Šo parādību veicina
this.acc.f phenomenon.acc.f encourage.prs.3
legālo medikamentu tirgotāji.
legal.gen.pl.f drug.gen.pl.m trader.nom.pl.m
‘This phenomenon is encouraged by sellers of legal drugs.’ (C)
(3.4.66) Režisora izdarīto ir
director.gen.m do.ptcp.acc.m be.cop.prs.3
pamats apbrīnot.
reason.nom.m admire.inf
‘There is a reason to admire the director’s achievement.’ (Ir)

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(3.4.67) Čennini receptes nebija viegli lietot.
Cennini.gen.m recipe.nom.pl.f not_be.cop.pst.3 easy use.inf
‘Cennini’s recipes were not easy to use.’ (A. Eglītis)
The position of adverbial modifiers is not strictly determined. They can occur both
before and after the predicate, and their position is mainly determined by information
structure.
Alternatively, adverbials of manner, measure, and cause  – when functioning
as the theme – usually occur as a marked theme:
(3.4.68) Lēni, bet nenovēršami izrobotais gabals
slowly but inevitably dent.ptcp.nom.m chunk.nom.m
dodas uz jūru.
travel.prs.3 toward sea.acc.f
‘Slowly but inevitably, the dented chunk travels toward the sea.’ (C)
(3.4.69) Tik daudz jau tas saldējums nemaksāja.
so much ptcl that.nom.m ice_cream.nom.m not_cost.pst.3
‘The ice cream didn’t cost that much.’ (C)
(3.4.70) Aiz bēdām Lielā līgava
prep sadness.dat.pl.f great.nom.f bride.nom.f
saēdās driģenes.
eat.pst.3 henbane.acc.pl.f
‘In her sadness, the Great Bride ate a lot of black henbane.’ (C)
The secondary predicate, as  stated above, may be found in different places in
the sentence. The secondary predicate functioning as the theme should be considered
a marked theme:
(3.4.71) Baismīgi sarkans un melns aiz
fearfully red.nom.m and black.nom.m behind
mežiem ārdījās saulriets.
forest.dat.pl.m rage.pst.3 sunset.nom.m
‘Fearfully red and black, the sunset blazed behind the forests.’ (C)
(3.4.72) Priecīgs sasveicinos ar pārējiem biedriem.
glad.nom.m greet.prs.1sg with other.ins.pl.m member.ins.pl.m
‘I greet the other members gladly.’ (C)
A secondary predicate can only precede the  subject if the  subject is a  pronoun or
proper noun because they do not bind attributes:
(3.4.73) Vārīti tie parasti ir
boil.ptcp.nom.pl.m it.nom.pl.m usually be.cop.prs.3
sausi un gaisīgi.
dry.nom.pl.m and airy.nom.pl.m
‘When boiled, they usually are dry and airy.’ (www.cetrassezonas.lv)

493
(3.4.74) Pārsteigts Radziņš piecēlās gultā
surprise.ptcp.nom.m Radziņš.nom.m get_up.pst.3 bed.loc.f
sēdus.
seated
‘Surprised, Radziņš sat up in his bed.’ (C)
The subject is the most typical means for expressing an unmarked theme. If occurring
with a particle, a subject can be a marked theme:
(3.4.75) Arī vārds daudz ko nozīmē.
also word.nom.m a_lot what.acc mean.prs.3
‘A word, too, means a lot.’ (A. Eglītis)
A verbal predicate rarely functions as the theme, because most sentences beginning
with a  predicate are communicatively indivisible (see 3.4.102, 3.4.103). A verbal
predicate functions as a marked theme in the following examples:
(3.4.76) Pat ēdam mēs istabā.
even eat.prs.1pl we.nom room.loc.f
‘We even eat in the room.’ (delfi.lv)
(3.4.77) Arī ēd viņi citādi.
also eat.prs.3 they.nom.m differently
‘They eat differently, too.’ (C)
The semantics of these sentences could be rephrased as follows: ‘with regard to eating,
we do it in the room (just like many other things)’ (3.4.76), or ‘with regard to eating,
they do it differently (like many other things)’ (3.4.77) therefore the  predicates
should be considered the theme.
Nominal predicates functioning as the theme are more common. In nominal
(noun) sentences, where the subject of the sentence is also a noun, the word order
usually performs a grammatical function (see Section 3.4.1). However, in cases where
the semantics of the word forms or the context precludes interpreting them as SV,
the predicate is the theme:
(3.4.78) Mīkla nav diktators –
puzzle.nom.f not_be.cop.prs.3 dictator.nom.m
mīkla ir cilvēki.
puzzle.nom.f be.cop.prs.3 person.nom.pl.m
‘The puzzle is not dictator, the puzzle is people.’ (C)
(3.4.79) Ļoti iejūtīgi audzinātāji bija
very sensitive.nom.pl.m teacher.nom.pl.m be.cop.pst.3
arī Valdis Kiršteins, Valdis
also Valdis.nom.m Kiršteins.nom.m Valdis.nom.m
Užāns un daudzi citi.
Užāns.nom.m and many.nom.m other.nom.pl.m
‘Very sensitive teachers also included Valdis Kiršteins, Valdis Užāns, and
many others.’ (A. Dripe)

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If the subject and the predicate belong to different parts of speech, the predicate is
advanced to the function of the theme to topicalize the subject of the sentence. The
predicate can be both nominal (noun) (3.4.80) and adjectival (3.4.81):
(3.4.80) Viņa mūža sapnis un
he.gen life.gen.m dream.nom.m and
apsēstība bija vadīt cilvēkus.
obsession.nom.f be.cop.pst.3 lead.inf person.acc.pl.m
‘His lifelong dream and obsession was to lead people.’ (A. Tīfentāle)
(3.4.81) Svarīgs ir arī draugu
important.nom.m be.cop.prs.3 also friend.gen.pl.m
atbalsts.
support.nom.m
‘Support from friends is also important.’ (C)
The subject in an adjectival sentence with a marked theme may be placed between
the parts of the predicate:
(3.4.82) Politkorekta Zālīte ir
politically_correct.nom.f Zālīte.nom.f be.aux.prs.3
bijusi tikai pret savu
be.cop.ptcp.nom.f only against own.acc.f
mammu.
mother.acc.f
‘Zālīte was politically correct only with her mom.’ (Diena)
(3.4.83) Tik pilns, tik brīvs un piepeši
so full.nom.m so free.nom.m and suddenly
arī tik priecīgs viņš savu mūžu
also so happy.nom.m he.nom own.acc.m life.acc.m
nebija juties.
not_be.aux.pst.3 feel.ptcp.nom.m
‘Never in his life had he felt so full, so free, and suddenly also so happy.’ (C)
An adverbial predicate often plays the role of an unmarked theme if the subject is
an infinitive, especially when it comes to a particular person or area:
(3.4.84) Tik grūti ir būt vienai.
so hard be.cop.prs.3 be.inf alone.dat.f
‘It’s so hard to be alone.’ (C)
(3.4.85) Vispareizāk šai gadījumā būtu runāt
best this.loc.m case.loc.m be.cop.cond speak.inf
par praktisku materiālismu.
about practical.acc.m materialism.acc.m
‘In this case, it would be best to speak about practical materialism.’
(R. Mūks)

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If an adverbial sentence expresses a  general statement, the  word order is usually
direct, namely, SV (Valkovska 2016b: 41):
(3.4.86) Ar roku to darīt ir sarežģīti.
with hand.ins.f it.acc.m do.inf be.cop.prs.3 difficult
‘It is difficult to do it by hand.’ (C)
(3.4.87) Skolā strādāt ir ērti.
school.loc.f work.inf be.cop.prs.3 convenient
‘It is convenient to work at school.’ (C)
Place and time adjuncts are among the most typical unmarked themes in Latvian.
They bind the sentence to the context or to a particular speech situation, and tend to
be at the beginning of the utterance:
(3.4.88) Pie griestiem dega spoža
at ceiling.dat.pl.m burn.pst.3 bright.nom.f
divsimtvatu spuldze.
two-hundred_watt.gen.pl.m light_bulb.nom.f
‘A bright two-hundred-watt light bulb was shining on the ceiling.’ (A. Puriņš)
(3.4.89) Vakaros parasti sanākuši kopā
evening.loc.pl.m usually come.ptcp.nom.pl.m together
dažādu tautību jaunieši.
different.gen.pl.f nationality.gen.pl.f young_person.nom.pl.m
‘In the evenings, young people of different nationalities used to come
together.’ (E. Veidemane)
Particularly frequent are adverbial adjuncts functioning as the theme in subjectless
sentences (3.4.90) and potentially verbal sentences (3.4.91). The fewer actants
(arguments) there are in the semantic structure of the verb, the more likely it is that
adjuncts will play a major role in the communicative structure (Valkovska 2016b: 13).
(3.4.90) Trīs nedēļas nebija lijis.
three.acc.f week.acc.pl.f not_be.aux.pst.3 rain.ptcp.nom.m
‘It hadn’t rained for three weeks.’ (C)
(3.4.91) Aiz loga tikai mežs.
beyond window.gen.m only forest.nom.m
‘Outside the window, only forest.’ (C)
Often several adjuncts are used in parallel as the theme:
(3.4.92) Vidzemē jau līst.
Vidzeme.loc.f already rain.prs.3
‘It is already raining in Vidzeme.’ (C)
(3.4.93) Atceļā pāri mums snieg.
way_back.loc.m over we.dat snow.prs.3
‘On the way back it snowed on us.’ (C)

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An adjunct in the dative is a typical unmarked theme:
(3.4.94) Maizei bija rudzu ziedu un
bread.dat.f be.pst.3 rye.gen.pl.m flower.gen.pl.m and
rudens kļavlapu smarža.
autumn.gen.m maple_leaf.gen.pl.f smell.nom.f
‘The bread had the smell of rye flowers and autumn maple leaves.’
(S. Kaldupe)
(3.4.95) Mums pat nebija pazīstama
we.dat even not_be.cop.pst.3 know.ptcp.nom.f
šī izjūta: “piegriezies”…
this.nom.f feeling.nom.f dead_bored
‘We didn’t even know the feeling: “dead bored”…’ (E. Veidemane)
As was mentioned earlier, VS order is common in bipartite sentences where an
adjunct is functioning as the theme:
(3.4.96) Vispirms gruva tuvāko mājeļu
first collapse.pst.3 closest.gen.f house.gen.pl.f
jumti un žogi.
roof.nom.pl.m and fence.nom.pl.m
‘The roofs and fences of the closest houses collapsed first.’ (L. Ķuzāne)
(3.4.97) Un tam laikam piemīt
and that.dat.m time.dat.m characterize_by.prs.3
alkas pēc kaut kā tāla,
craving.nom.pl.f for something.gen distant.gen.m
skaista, īpaša.
beautiful.gen.m special.gen.m
‘And that time was characterized by a craving for something distant,
beautiful, special.’ (E. Veidemane)
(3.4.98) Bērniem patīk mājiņas,
child.dat.pl.m like.prs.3 toy_house.nom.pl.f
klucīši, tornīši.
block.nom.pl.m tower.nom.pl.m
‘Children love toy houses, blocks, towers.’ (C)
The SV order is found mainly in cases where the subject is contextually bound:
(3.4.99) Vakaros viņi sēdēja virtuvē pie
evening.loc.pl.m they.nom.m sit.pst.3 kitchen.loc.f at
lielā galda.
large.gen.m table.gen.m
‘In the evenings, they were sitting in the kitchen at the large table.’ (C)

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Communicatively indivisible sentences
Communicatively indivisible sentences are utterances that announce an event,
without noting the  starting point of that event (Beloshapkova 1999: 798). What
matters most here is the  basic structural type of the  sentence, the  valency, and
the semantic type of the predicate; for example, sentences using predicates with zero
valency, or impersonal sentences, are often communicatively indivisible (Valkovska
2016b: 13). Generally, such sentences are made up of verbs that describe different
processes in nature.
(3.4.100) Smaržo pēc piparmētru konfektēm un
smell.prs.3 like peppermint.gen.pl.f candy.dat.pl.f and
jūras.
sea.gen.f
‘It smells like peppermint candy and the sea.’ (C)
(3.4.101) Sniga jau trešo dienu no
snow.pst.3 already third.acc.f day.acc.f prep
vietas.
place.gen.f
‘It was snowing for the third day in a row.’ (C)
The majority of predicate-initial bipartite sentences are considered to be indivisible.
These sentences describe a situation or an event as a whole, and all the information
is usually new:
(3.4.102) Sākās mans ģimenei un jaunatnes
begin.pst.3 my.nom.m family.dat.f and youth.gen.f
audzināšanai veltītās publicistikas
education.dat.f dedicate.ptcp.gen.f journalism.gen.f
laiks.
time.nom.m
‘Thus began the period of journalism I dedicated to the family and to
youth education.’ (A. Dripe)
(3.4.103) Piebrauca kāds vīrs ar
drive_up.pst.3 some.nom.m man.nom.m with
čīkstošu velosipēdu.
creak.ptcp.ins.m bicycle.ins.m
‘A man with a creaking bicycle pedalled up.’ (C)
(3.4.104) Nebūs vairs mūsu Liepājas.
not_be.fut.3 no_more we.gen Liepāja.gen.f
‘Our Liepāja will be no more.’ (L. Ķuzāne)
Sentences with only a rheme and in which the implicit theme has to be determined
from context, can border on contextually bound utterances.

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3.4.3 The stylistic function of word order
One can speak of the stylistic function of word order when a particular word order
type is used only in a certain style. For example, in colloquial language, the adverbial
of measure tends to be placed after an adjective (Valkovska 2016a: 107):
(3.4.105) Esi jau liels diezgan.
be.cop.prs.2sg already big.nom.m enough
‘You are big enough already.’ (C)
(3.4.106) Mazs pavisam biju.
small.nom.m so be.cop.pst.1sg
‘I was so small (young).’ (C)
The placement of the  attribute after the  noun is typical of both poetic language
((3.4.107, 3.4.108) and colloquial language (3.4.109):
(3.4.107) Mākoņi melni pa istabu
cloud.nom.pl.m black.nom.pl.m around room.acc.f
šaudās.
swirl.prs.3
‘Black clouds are swirling around the room.’ (C)
(3.4.108) Oga saldā, oga sūrā,
berry.nom.f sweet.nom.f berry.nom.f sour.nom.f
kuru roku izvēlies?
which.acc.f hand.acc.f choose.prs.2sg
‘Berry sweet, berry sour, which hand do you choose?’ (www.dziesmas.lv)
(3.4.109) Pat ne sapnis, murgs
even not dream.nom.m nightmare.nom.m
gatavais.
ready.nom.m
‘Not even a dream, a real nightmare.’ (C)
The stylistic function often combines with the communicative one, because the change
in the placement of the components not only expresses added stylistic information,
but also adds topicalization, for instance, in the following sentences in the colloquial
register:
(3.4.110) Paldies liels!
thank_you big.nom.m
‘Thank you so much!’ (C)
(3.4.111) Nu necieš viņš to puiku ne
well hate.prs.3 he.nom that.acc.m boy.acc.m ptcl
acu galā!
eye.gen.pl.f end.loc.m
‘Well, he can’t stand that boy at all!’ (A. Puriņš)

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3.5 Composite sentences
3.5.0 Introductory remarks
Composite sentences are a combination of several predicative units based on certain
syntactic relations. They are formed following a generalized pattern or scheme and
function as  a  communicative whole (Skujiņa 2007: 341). The parts of composite
sentences are modeled on simple sentences, but this pattern does not always appear
in full:
(3.5.1) Daļa kristiešu Ziemassvētkus atzīmē 24. un 25. decembrī, bet daļa – janvārī.
‘Some Christians celebrate Christmas on December 24 and 25, but some – in
January.’ (C)
(3.5.2) Es vismaz jutos to [viesmīlību] pelnījis, bet viņi!?
‘I at least felt I deserved it [hospitality], but them!?’ (C)
In examples (3.5.1) and (3.5.2), the second part of the sentence shows clause reduction.
Thus, the  parts of a  composite sentence have the  formal and conceptual
structure of a simple sentence, but do not have communicative autonomy. The parts
of a composite sentence may also have other structural features which are determined
by their inclusion in a  larger communicative unit, for example, they may include
linking words and may have a specific word order:
(3.5.3) Redzēsiet, ko cilvēki var izdarīt ar domas spēku.
‘You will see what people can achieve with the power of thought.’ (C)
In the  sentence (3.5.3), the  pronoun kas ‘what’ (in the  accusative, ko) is both
the linking word and the object, therefore, it is located at the beginning of this part
of the sentence.
The number of parts in a composite sentence can vary, thus, the most important
feature that makes a composite sentence a communicative whole is its intonational
unity. The sentence intonation in oral text denotes the  boundaries of a  composite
sentence; in written texts this role is played by sentence-final punctuation marks.
A composite sentence is usually polypropositive, that is, it announces a number
of events, but it can also be monopropositive, for example, when a composite sentence
structure includes the means of expressing information structure:
(3.5.4) Atmiņas .. bija tās, kuras uzvedināja mani rakstīt šo dziesmu. (C)
‘Memories... were the ones that led me to write this song.’
It is also possible that a part of the sentence (usually the main clause) expresses an
epistemic modal meaning without propositional content:
(3.5.5) Liekas, ka ir iestājies pārvērtību brīdis.
‘It seems that a moment of transformation has come.’ (C)
In a  composite sentence, predicative units are joined on the  basis of the  syntactic
relations of coordination and subordination. According to these syntactic relations,

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the parts of compound sentences are coordinated (3.5.6), while the parts of complex
sentences are subordinated (3.5.7):
(3.5.6) Skārdi būkšķēja un stikli šķindēja gandrīz katru dienu.
‘Tin plates clanged and glasses clinked almost every day.’ (A. Eglītis)
(3.5.7) Dari, kā pašam ienāk prātā.
‘Do as you think.’ (Ē. Hānbergs)
In Latvian syntax, a third type of sentence is traditionally distinguished – the mixed
composite sentence, in which coordination is the  dominant relation, but where at
least one main clause has a subclause bound by the relation of subordination:
(3.5.8) Tas bija ļoti labi audzināts kaķis, viņš visu laiku izlikās, ka ziņkārīgi seko manai
nodarbībai.
‘It was a very well-behaved cat, it always pretended to be curious about
my actions.’ (A. Eglītis)
However, since mixed composite sentences are, in fact, a  combination of complex
and compound sentences, they do not differ from complex and compound sentences
in terms of their syntactic relations and will not be further examined in this work.
The parts of a composite sentence can be joined with or without linking words.
Various parts of speech can function as  linking words: conjunctions, pronouns,
adverbs, particles. At times it can be difficult to determine the syntactic relation, if
the parts of a sentence are joined without a linking word (i.e., asyndetically). Such
cases can be described as syncretic realization of coordination or subordination, or
as a non-differentiated syntactic relation:
(3.5.9) Mīlestība ir kā brīvība – tā vienmēr no jauna jāatrod un vienmēr jāatdod.
‘Love is like freedom – it must always be rediscovered and always returned.’
(I. Šķipsna)
The relationship between the parts of a sentence (3.5.9) can be understood as unitive –
which is characteristic of coordination – as well as motivational – which pertains to
subordination.
However, in most cases, the  syntactic relationship between the  parts of
a sentence in an asyndetic situation can be determined on the basis of their semantic
relationship to be either coordination (3.5.10) or subordination (3.5.11):
(3.5.10) Tiem blakām drīz vien paceļas lieli, moderni veikali, jauns, pārdrošo projektēts
kino izslej savu naktīs mirdzošo torni.
‘Modern shops soon rise next to them, a new, daringly designed cinema
raises its tower, luminous at night.’ (A. Eglītis)

(3.5.11) Tagad es zinu: es nemeklēju īstajā virzienā. (C)

‘Now I know: I’m not looking in the right direction.’

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A single sentence can combine both asyndetic and syndetic means for joining its parts.
This is possible in both compound (3.5.12), complex (3.5.13), and mixed composite
sentences (3.5.14):
(3.5.12) Varbūt viņš nav iekrājis ne centa, varbūt viņam ir tikai brangi parādi, bet katrā
ziņā viņam ir spēkrati.
‘Maybe he hasn’t saved a penny, maybe he only has huge debts, but in any
case he has a car.’ (A. Eglītis)
(3.5.13) Viņš nosmaidījis sacīja, ka sabiedriskajā transportā pieradis dot vietu
padzīvojušām sievietēm, tā esot audzināts.
‘He smiled and said that he was used to giving his seat to elderly ladies, he
had been brought up that way.’ (Ē. Kūlis)
(3.5.14) Losandželosa ir liela; daži saka: trīsdesmit jūdzes caurmērā, citi apgalvo,
ka septiņdesmit, bet tā, saprotams, nav nekāda nelaime.
‘Los Angeles is huge; some say thirty miles on average, others say seventy,
but that, of course, is no big deal.’ (A. Eglītis)
The order of the parts in a composite sentence can be fixed or varied. For example,
the causal subclause, introduced by tā kā ‘since, as’, always precedes the main clause:
(3.5.15) Tā kā tā bija izeja, durvis varēja atvērt tikai no iekšpuses.
‘As it was the exit, the door could only be opened from inside.’ (C)
If the order of the parts is free, their placement is usually related to the information
structure of the the contextual and communicative situation in which the sentence
is used, for example, the placement of an object subclause before the main clause:
(3.5.16) Vai tas ir pieņemami, es nezinu.
‘Whether it is acceptable, I don’t know.’ (C)

3.5.1 Compound sentences

A compound sentence consists of two or more parts joined by coordination (Skujiņa
2007: 340). The semantic relations between the parts of a compound sentence are
closely related to the linking words which join the parts. The parts can be joined by
the conjunctions un ‘and’, bet ‘but’, turpretī (turpretim) ‘on the other hand’, ne – ne
‘neither – nor’, vai arī ‘or’, vai nu – vai (arī) ‘either – or’, te – te ‘here – here’, the particles
taču ‘however, yet’, tomēr ‘still, yet’, arī ‘also, as well’, toties ‘but, in return’, tikai ‘only,
but’, pat ‘even’, the  adverbs tādēļ ‘therefore, hence’, tāpēc ‘therefore, hence’, tālab
‘therefore, hence’, citādi ‘otherwise’, tādējādi ‘thus, thereby’. The introductory words
piemēram ‘for example’, proti ‘namely’, tas ir ‘that is, namely’, respektīvi ‘or rather,
namely’ can also function as linking words.
The unitive relation is most often expressed by the conjunction un ‘and’ or, less
often, by the particles arī ‘also’ or pat ‘even’ functioning as conjunctions:
(3.5.17) Nepaiet ne nedēļa, un esmu atpakaļ.
‘Not even a week goes by, and I am back.’ (C)

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(3.5.18) Aizturētajam .. nebija .. neviena dokumenta, arī nevienu viņa radinieku pilsētā
neizdevās atrast.
‘The detainee ... didn’t have ... a single document, nor did anyone manage
to find a relative of his in the city.’ (C)
(3.5.19) Visi nu apjukuši un tādi kā nelaimīgi skatījās uz Billi, pat Olgai apaļās mutes
kaktiņi uz leju.
‘Everyone was confused now and looked at Bille in a sort of unhappy way,
even the corners of Olga’s round mouth drooped.’ (C)
As the  particles used in this way also retain their particle-specific semantics,
sentences whose parts are joined using the particles arī ‘also’ and pat ‘even’ border
on being asyndetic. This is also shown by the frequent use of a combination of two
linking words:
(3.5.20) Mēs, Marit, dzīvojam nenormālā laikā, un arī mūsu dzīves nav īsti normālas.
‘We, Marita, live in abnormal times, and our lives are not really normal
either.’ (C)
(3.5.21) Kājas viņam bija basas, un pat nagi kāju pirkstiem bija apgriezti.
His feet were bare, and even his toes had their nails clipped.’ (C)
(3.5.22) Nakts ir silta, un pat nenojaušam, ka tūlīt sāksies īsta ziema.
‘The night is warm and [we] don’t even sense that a real winter is about to
begin.’ (C)
The negation of the unitive relation is expressed with the reduplicative conjunction
ne – ne ‘neither - nor’:
(3.5.23) Vienā rakstā M bija salīdzinājis cilvēkus ar putniem – ne tie sēj, ne tie pļauj,
ne kaut ko krāj, un pati daba tos baro.
‘In an article, M had compared people with birds – they neither sow, nor
plough, nor save anything, and nature itself feeds them.’ (C)
(3.5.24) Viņa var iet ieskrieties; ne tu viņai esi vajadzīgs, ne viņa tev.
‘She can take a hike; she neither needs you, nor do you need her.’ (C)
In an asyndetic compound sentence, the unitive relation is the most common:
(3.5.25) Bet laiks gāja, es tā arī neko nespēju izdomāt ..
‘But time went by, and so I never was able to figure out anything ...’ (C)
The cause and effect relations are expressed by the adverbs tādēļ ‘therefore, hence’,
tāpēc ‘therefore, hence’, tālab ‘therefore, hence’, tādējādi ‘thus, thereby’ (the  latter
mainly in business texts and scientific discourse) functioning as conjunctions:
(3.5.26) Pavisam 2. klasē bija ap četrdesmit skolnieku, tāpēc tika izveidotas divas
paralēlklases.
‘In total, there were approximately forty students in grade 2, therefore two
parallel classes were created.’ (C)
(3.5.27) Bet tās [domas] bija brīvas, tādēļ mana interese par viņas tekstiem neviltota.
‘But those [thoughts] were free, so my interest in her texts was genuine.’ (C)

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(3.5.28) Bija pilnmēness, tālab varēja viegli izvairīties no svaigi uzraktajām
puķu dobēm.
‘There was a full moon, so it was easy to avoid the freshly dug flower
beds.’ (C)
(3.5.29) Turklāt praksē nereti auditorijas vēlmes ir īstermiņa, tādējādi šāda nekritiska
sekošana auditorijas vēlmēm varētu nākotnē radīt negatīvas sekas.
‘Besides, in practice, the audience’s wishes are often short-term, therefore,
a non-critical bending to the audience’s wishes could have negative effects
in the future.’ (C)
These relations can be combined with the unitive relation and, therefore, tend to be
considered a subtype of the unitive relation:
(3.5.30) Latvijai jūrā nav salu, un tāpēc Sāmsala šķiet brīnumaina, noslēpumaina un
droša miera osta.
‘Latvia doesn’t have any sea islands, and, therefore, Saaremaa seems
a wondrous, mysterious, and safe peaceful harbor.’ (C)
(3.5.31) Nekas tāds vēl nav redzēts, un tādēļ man tas jāizdara.
‘Nothing like that has been seen before, and so I have to do it.’ (C)
(3.5.32) Attīstītākās valstis izmanto abas pieejas vienlaicīgi, un tādējādi tās pārklājas.
‘The most advanced countries use both approaches simultaneously and,
therefore, they overlap.’ (C)
The contrastive relation is expressed using the  conjunctions bet ‘but’, turpretī
(turpretim) ‘on the other hand’. The content of the second part of such sentences is
the opposite of what could be expected based on the content of their first part:
(3.5.33) Kaut kas manī iekšā tiecās uz debesīm, bet ķermenis bija tik ļoti smags.
‘Something inside me longed for heaven, but my body was so heavy.’ (C)
(3.5.34) Viņš lielo lomu guva sacensību pirmajā dienā, turpretim otrās dienas sacensības
nebija vairs tik veiksmīgas ..
‘He got the big catch on the first day of the competition; however,
the second day of the competition was not quite as successful.’ (C)
Rhetorical or difficult-to-answer questions are more common in compound sentences
whose parts are joined using the  conjunction bet ‘but’, than in other composite
sentence types:
(3.5.35) To jau mēs visu laiku esam zinājuši, bet vai jūs mūs klausījāt?
‘We have known this all along, but did you listen to us?’ (C)
(3.5.36) Bagātību vēlas iegūt ikviens, bet kāpēc visiem neizdodas?
‘Everyone wants to be wealthy but why doesn’t everyone succeed?’(C)
(3.5.37) Skumji, bet ko darīt?
‘Sad, but what can one do?’ (C)

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As contrastive conjunctions, the  contrastive particles tomēr ‘still, yet’ and taču
‘however, yet’ are semantically close to the conjunction bet ‘but’:
(3.5.38) Romānists ir nodevējs, tomēr neviens viņu netiesā.
‘The novelist is a traitor, but no one judges him.’ (C)
(3.5.39) Tumsā nebija viegli atrast savus zirgus, taču bez tiem nekāds tālākais ceļš nebija
iedomājams.
‘It was not easy to find one’s horses in the dark, but without them there
was no way forward.’ (C)
Functioning as a coordinating conjunction, the particle toties ‘but, in return’ indicates
that the content of the second part of the sentence compensates somewhat for what
is mentioned in the first part:
(3.5.40) Mājās augu dienu valda krietna krēsla, toties tās [ādas] lieliski pasargā no
nežēlīgi kveldējošiem saules stariem.
‘At home, all day long twilight reigns, but those [skins] perfectly protect
against the sunlight relentlessly beating down.’ (C)
Functioning as a conjunction, the meaning of the particle tikai ‘only’ retains a quality
of restriction and indicates that, in the given situation, only what is mentioned in
the second part of the sentence matters:
(3.5.41) Es samaksāšu, brālīt, tikai tu piestādi rēķinu.
‘I’ll pay, bro, you just bring the bill.’ (C)
The particle tikai ‘only’ can also indicate that the  content of the  second part of
the sentence is to some extent an exception to what is mentioned in the first part:
(3.5.42) Dievs mūs visus ir līdzīgi apdāvinājis, tikai daži no mums šīs dāvanas prot
izmantot labāk nekā pārējie.
‘God has gifted us all alike, only a few of us can use these gifts better than
others.’ (C)
The adverb citādi ‘otherwise’ can also be used as a conjunction. In such sentences,
there is a conditional and consequential relation between parts, namely, the second
part of the  sentence refers to the  consequences that would be possible, unless
the condition referred to in the first part was satisfied:
(3.5.43) Mammucis izskrēja pretī, citādi pa to tumsu neatradīs īstās durvis.
‘Mommy ran to meet [us], otherwise there’s no way of finding the right
door in the dark.’ (C)
One also finds the  combination of two synonymous or semantically close linking
words bet tomēr and bet toties that reinforces the contrastive relation:
(3.5.44) Maz tas līdz, bet tomēr kaut kas darīts.
‘It is of little use, but still something has been done.’ (C)
(3.5.45) Par viņu es nezinu neko, bet toties par tevi visu.
‘I don’t know anything about him, but about you I know everything.’ (C)

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In contrast, the  particles tikai ‘only’ and taču ‘however, yet’ co-occur with
the  contrastive conjunction bet ‘but’, but retain their characteristic semantics of
restriction or reinforcement:
(3.5.46) Viņus ieraugot, cilvēks piecēlās, bet tikai pāris soļu atstatumā Agra beidzot
atpazina Kārli.
‘When he saw them, the man got up, but only a few steps away did Agra
finally recognize Kārlis.’ (C)
(3.5.47) .. pa starpu – dažādi iespraudumi un piebildumi, bet taču neraisās stāsts.
‘... in between – several insertions and comments, but the story does not
unfold.’ (C)
However, the  contrastive linking word tomēr ‘still, yet’ can be combined with
the  coordinating conjunction un ‘and’, and even in this case, the  particle retains
the semantics of ‘contrary to the expectations’ or ‘in spite of the obstacles’:
(3.5.48) Anglijā jums gāja labi, un tomēr jūs riskējāt ar dzīvību, atgriezdamies Padomju
Savienībā.
‘In England you fared well, and yet you risked your life by returning to
the Soviet Union.’ (C)
Disjunctive relations in a compound sentence are expressed by vai arī ‘or’, vai nu – vai
(arī) ‘either – or’:
(3.5.49) Tagad laikam tik briesmīgi nebija, vai arī Olga pieradusi, viņa vairs neģība,
Billi redzēdama ..
‘Now apparently it was not so terrible, or Olga had grown accustomed, she
no longer fainted, seeing Bille.’ (C)
(3.5.50) Abas nozīmes var īstenoties sinkrētiski, vai arī atkarībā no izteikuma
semantikas kāda no nozīmēm var dominēt.
‘Both meanings can be realized in a syncretic fashion, or, depending on
the semantics of the utterance, one of the meanings can prevail.’ (C)
(3.5.51) Vai nu viņai sala, vai arī tas nāca no spēcīgās nervu spriedzes.
‘Either she was freezing, or it came from strong nervous tension.’ (C)
(3.5.52) Vai nu jumtiņš sašķiebies, vai dīkdienība prātā.
‘Either they were going nuts, or their minds were idle.’ (C)
Cases where coordination was made using the coordinated (combined) conjunctions
vai – vai ‘either – or’ or vai – vai arī ‘either – or’ were not found, because in such cases,
the first vai in each combination corresponds either to a subordinating conjunction
(3.5.53, 3.5.54) or to the interrogative particle (3.5.55):
(3.5.53) Vienalga, vai rīts vai vakars, vai līst vai zibeņo.
‘It’s all the same, whether it’s morning or evening, whether it’s raining or
thundering.’ (C)

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(3.5.54) Protams, nevar jau uzminēt, vai viņi tur patiesi strādā līdz agram rītam, vai arī
pie iedegtām lampām viņiem labāk nāk miegs.
‘Of course, you can’t guess whether they really work there until dawn, or
whether by leaving the lights on they get a better night’s sleep.’ (C)
(3.5.55) Nez vai Šmits savai ārstēšanas metodei tādus izmanto, vai arī Edžus
vecumdienās pārāk daudz greznumlietu sācis valkāt.
‘I wonder if Šmits uses them as a method of treatment, or Edžus has started
to wear too much jewelry in his old age.’ (C)
The conjunction jeb vai ‘or’ can function as a coordinating conjunction in cases where
the first part of the sentence is introduced by the interrogative particle vai:
(3.5.56) Vai tu darīsi brīnumus mirušo vidū, jeb vai palikušie celsies tevi godāt?
‘Will you perform miracles among the dead, or will the living rise up to
honor you?’ (C)
Less common is the disjunctive relation in a compound sentence, which is expressed
using te – te ‘here – here’:
(3.5.57) Te vilku piemin, te vilks klāt.
‘Once you mention the wolf, it comes.’ (www.garamantas.lv)
(3.5.58) Te viens nosists, te cits nodurts, te nošauts beigts, te vēl kāds izvarots ..
‘Here one is beaten to death, here another is stabbed, here another is shot,
here someone else is raped ..’ (C)
The relations of clarification or interpretation between parts of a compound sentence
are expressed by the  words piemēram ‘for example’, proti ‘namely’, tas ir ‘that is,
namely’, respektīvi ‘or rather, namely’:
(3.5.59) Pasaulē izpletņlēcēju nav daudz, un vēl mazāk ir pilotu – piemēram, Amerikā
ir mazāk nekā pusmiljons licencētu pilotu.
‘There are not many parachutists in the world, and even fewer pilots – for
example, there are less than half a million licensed pilots in America.’ (C)
(3.5.60) A. Hermaņa izrādes ir atvērtas, tas ir, tajās milzīga nozīme ir skatītāju
aktivitātei.
‘Alvis Hermanis’ performances are open, that is, audience activity is of
great importance in them.’ (C)
(3.5.61) Un atkal man prātā nāk Kurta Fridrihsona teiktais par mākslu, proti –
mākslā galvenais ir – maigums un distance.
‘And again, Kurts Fridrihsons’ words about art come to my mind, namely,
the main thing in art is tenderness and distance.’ (C)
(3.5.62) Trasē jauniešus sagaidīja seši uzdevumi, respektīvi, katrs komandas dalībnieks
bija sagatavots tikai vienam no šiem pārbaudījumiem.
‘Six tasks were prepared for the youths on the track, that is to say, each
team member was prepared for only one of these tests.’ (C)

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The parts of a compound sentence can have shared components – most often adverbial
adjuncts (3.5.63) or dative adjuncts (3.5.64), rarely other sentence components, for
instance, objects (3.5.65):
(3.5.63) Pēc brīža viņš atkal parādījās lūkā un viņam pakaļ uzvijās smalka dūmu
strūkliņa.
‘After a while, he reappeared in the hatch, and he was followed by a fine
trail of smoke.’ (C)
(3.5.64) Man vienā rokā ir vesels pīrāgs un otrā ir pīrāga gals.
‘I had a whole pie in one hand, and in the other – the tip of a pie.’
(V. Jākobsons)
(3.5.65) Par vēršu cīņām iznāk grāmata pēc grāmatas, romāns pēc romāna un,
saprotams, parādās arī daudzas filmas.
‘Book after book, novel after novel are published about bullfighting and,
of course, it appears in many films, too.’ (A. Eglītis)
Interestingly, the adverbial adjuncts shared by the parts of a compound sentence may
even be raised before the first part of the double conjunction, which unmistakably
indicates that they belong to both parts of the sentence:
(3.5.66) Tāpat bieži pēdējos gados veiktos eksperimentos vai nu tiek pētīti paši
fotojonizācijas procesi vai arī šie procesi tiek izmantoti atomu detektēšanai.
‘Similarly, in the experiments frequently conducted in recent years,
photoionization processes are either studied or these processes are used to
detect atoms.’ (C)
The parts of a compound sentence can be reduced. Reduced parts are those in which
a structurally significant component, such as a predicate (3.5.67) or a predicate along
with the  subject (3.5.68, 3.5.69), is not realized or is omitted due to the  context,
namely, the first part of the sentence:
(3.5.67) Viņa Lejasruļos jau bijusi, toties Rodrigo pat laukos nekad [nav bijis].
‘She has already been to Lejasruļi, but Rodrigo [has not] even [been] to
the countryside.’ (C)
(3.5.68) Gar Sanfrancisko plūst okeāna aukstā straume, gar Losandželosu – [plūst
okeāna] siltā [straume].
‘The cold ocean current flows along San Francisco, along Los Angeles –
[flows] the warm [ocean current].’ (A. Eglītis)
(3.5.69) Nekādu Anniņu neviens neesot ne acīs redzējis, toties direktora kundzi pašu
pirkumus no tirgus stiepjam [kāds ir redzējis] vai ik mīļu dienu.
‘No one had ever seen any Anniņa; however, [someone had seen]
the director’s lady dragging their own purchases back from the market
each and every day.’ (C)
The order of the parts in a compound sentence is usually fixed and cannot be changed
because it implies a logical progression of thought.

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 A compound sentence can have a  closed or open structure. Closed structure
sentences contain only two parts and in this sense they are similar to complex
sentences (3.5.70), but in open structure sentences the number of parts is unlimited
and can be increased (3.5.71, 3.5.72):
(3.5.70) Vajadzētu aiziet, tomēr nevairos, neaizeju.
‘I should leave, still, I don’t shy away, I don’t leave.’ (C)
(3.5.71) Krūtis sažņaudzās sāpēs, priekšā izplēnēja kāpnes, pasaule sagriezās kamolā.
‘[His] chest clenched in pain, the stairs evaporated ahead [of him],
the world started spinning around.’ (A. Heniņš)
(3.5.72) Ne viņai kas ir, ne viņa pēc kā izskatās.
‘She neither has anything, nor does she look any good.’ (C)
In open structure sentences, one can have conjunctive or disjunctive relations. It is
not important by which means the parts are conjoined, the mere fact that parts of
the same type are joined produces notional relations. Conjunctions only emphasize
the  notional identity of the  parts and perform expressive function rather than
function as mere conjunctions:
(3.5.73) Un deviņas dienas šos maisus ārdīju, un deviņas naktis pavedienus šķetināju.
‘And for nine days I tore up these sacks, and for nine nights I untangled
the threads.’ (C)
However, in open structure sentences with disjunctive relations the lexical items that
join the parts are important because it is by means of these items that the particular
modal meaning of possibility is expressed:
(3.5.74) Atbilde ir vienkārša – vai kāds to līdz šim nav vēlējies darīt, vai kādam ir kas
slēpjams no sabiedrības.
‘The answer is simple – either someone did not wish to do it up until now
or someone has something to hide from society.’ (C)
In compound sentences with an open structure, the modal and temporal meanings
of the parts are identical, the communicative types of these parts, too, are identical:
(3.5.75) Te nogurums pēc garas darba dienas, te prieks par sasniegumiem.
‘At times, fatigue after a long day of work, at times, joy about
achievements.’ (C)
(3.5.76) Vai nu zivju toreiz bijis vairāk, vai līvu vīri bijuši stiprāki.
‘Either there were more fish back then, or the Livonian men were
stronger.’ (C)
In closed structure sentences, there may be differences in the modal and temporal
meanings of the  parts (3.5.77, 3.5.78), also the  parts themselves may belong to
various communicative types (3.5.79):
(3.5.77) Mēs neko daudz nerunājām arī agrāk, bet tagad tas ir citādi.
‘Even before we didn’t talk much, but now it’s different.’ (C)

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(3.5.78) Visi grib būt loģiski un sakarīgi, bet arī tas viņiem neizdodas!
‘Everyone wants to be logical and coherent, but they don’t manage even
that!’ (C)
(3.5.79) Tūdaļ vajadzēja piesteigties pārējiem rūķiem, bet kāpēc tos nemanīja?
‘The other dwarves should have rushed up right away, but why were they
nowhere to be seen?’ (C)
In compound sentences with more than two parts, there might be a  combination
of open and closed structures. In example (3.5.80), the  first two parts constitute
a shared open structure, while the third part relates to the former one as a closed
structure.
(3.5.80) Man palika kauns, es jutos vainīgs, tomēr man vajadzēja pierādīt savu
patiesību.
‘I was ashamed, I felt guilty, but I needed to prove that I was right.’ (C)

3.5.2 Complex sentences

A complex sentence is a main clause (or an independent part) which, by means of
the relation of subordination, connects a subclause (or a dependent part) to it (Skujiņa
2007: 340). The minimal structure of a complex sentence can be expanded so as to
include several subclauses that might be connected to the main clause both by direct
(3.5.81) and gradual (3.5.82) subordination:
(3.5.81) Kad cena nolaidās līdz pieciem latiem, Klāvs iedomājās, ka jaunos zābakus
nepieciešami apslacīt, un kaulējās vēl, lai atlicinātu kortelītim.
‘When the price dropped to five lats, Klāvs imagined that the new boots
needed to be celebrated and negotiated to save some cash for a small bottle
of vodka.’ (A. Eglītis)
(3.5.82) Izrādījās, ka biju apbruņota tālākajiem pārbaudījumiem, ko slēpa nezināmā
nākotne.
‘It turned out that I was well armed for the subsequent tests hidden in
the unknown future.’ (V. Freimane)
It is also possible to combine direct and gradual subordination in a single complex
clause:
(3.5.83) Ja bijāt bikls, nekas jūs netraucēja viņai sekot un noskaidrot dzīvesvietu,
lai tad pavisam lēnā garā izlemtu, ko darīt tālāk.
‘If you were shy, you could very well follow her and find out where she
lived and then, undisturbed, decide on how to proceed.’ (A. Eglītis)
The parts of a complex sentence are called predicative units; however, these can also
be formed according to specific patterns that are not typical of simple sentences, e.g.,
a subjectless subordinate clause with a predicate in the conditional mood:

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(3.5.84) Valdībām nekad nav īstais laiks,
lai izdarītu kaut ko konkrētu.
conj do.cond something.acc.m concrete.acc.m
‘It is never the right time for governments, to do something concrete.’ (C)
The subordinate relationship between the  parts of a  complex sentence is either
similar to the subordinate relationship in a phrase or specific. However, the means
of expressing subordination in a  complex sentence are always different from
the  means of expressing subordination in a  phrase. In the  latter, they are word
forms or prepositions, but in the former they are subordinators. Unlike coordinators,
subordinators belong to a  subclause and form a  structural element of that clause.
Subordinators are movable together with the subclause to which they belong, while
coordinators are not as movable, their place in the clause is fixed.
Subordinators in a complex sentence can be simple subordinating conjunctions:
ka ‘that’, lai ‘let, may’, vai ‘whether’, ja ‘if’, jo ‘because, for’, kaut ‘if only’, līdz ‘till,
until’, pirms ‘before’, kamēr ‘while, till’, etc., or complex subordinating conjunctions:
līdzko ‘as soon as’, tiklīdz ‘as soon as’, tā ka ‘so that’, tā kā ‘as, since, because’, tāpēc
ka ‘because, for’, tādēļ ka ‘because, for’, kaut gan ‘although’, kaut arī ‘although’, lai gan
‘although’, lai arī ‘although’, tiklīdz kā ‘as soon as’, līdz kamēr ‘until’, it kā ‘as if’, etc.,
relative pronouns (kas ‘what, who’, kurš ‘who, which’, kāds ‘what’), or adverbs (kad
‘when’, kur ‘where’, kurp ‘where (to)’, kāpēc ‘why’, kādēļ ‘why’, kālab ‘why, for what
reason’, cik ’how many, how much’, kā ‘how’).
Some of the subordinators are autosemantic, that is, they themselves express
the semantic relationships between the main clause and the subclause and determine
its semantic type (for example, ja, jo, tā ka, tā kā, tāpēc ka, kaut gan, it kā). Synsemantic
subordinators can introduce different types of subclauses (such as ka, lai).
In a complex sentence, just as in a compound sentence, parts might be connected
without a conjunction, most often in sentences with complement clauses:
(3.5.85) Anete teica, tev jābūt stipram.
‘Anete said you have to be strong.’ (Ē. Kūlis)
(3.5.86) Stāvu un, dziļi ievelkot elpu, jūtu – rudens arī manā dzīves dārzā.
‘I stand and, taking a deep breath, I feel autumn in my garden of life, too.’
(Ē. Kūlis)

Principles of classification of complex sentences

Complex sentences can be grouped by analogy with the models of syntactic relations in
a simple sentence. Subordination in a complex sentence may, first of all, be analogous
to subordination in a  phrase, second of all, it may be analogous to a  predicative
relationship between the subject of the sentence and its predicate, and, third of all, it
may be analogous to an adjunctive syntactic relation in a simple sentence.
Subclauses can also be grouped depending on the  semantic relationships
between the support word in the sentence or the whole main clause, on the one hand,
and the  subclause, on the  other (for example, an attributive, object, or adverbial
clause).

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 Subordination that is analogous to the  relationship between a  word and its
dependent word form in a complex sentence is determined by the valency of the word
(in the example (3.5.87), the verb gaidīt ‘to wait’):
(3.5.87) Viņš jau bija iedarbinājis mašīnu un
gaidīja, līdz tā iesilst.
wait.pst.3 until it.nom.f warm_up.prs.3
‘He had started the car and waited for it to warm up.’ (C)
The subclauses of this type like the  dependent components of the  phrases are
subordinated to a  word in the  main clause that would be referred to as  a  support
word. Such a support word could also be a particular grammatical form, for instance,
a comparative:
(3.5.88) ... vīriešos es orientējos pat
labāk, nekā varētu vēlēties …
better than be_able.cond wish.inf
‘... I understand men even better than I would like to…’ (C)
The possibilities of binding a subclause, similarly to the head of a phrase, can depend
on both the  part of speech of the  support word (for instance, any noun is able to
bind an attributive clause) and the semantic group to which it belongs. In (3.5.89),
the possibility of binding a subclause is determined by the fact that the support word
is the noun prieks ‘happiness’, while in (3.5.90), the semantic group of the support
word is what matters: nouns of intellectual or emotional evaluation, and similar
words belonging to other parts of speech (for instance, the  verb priecāties ‘to be
happy’ or the adjective priecīgs ‘happy’) are able to bind the same subclause:
(3.5.89) Vai ir kāds prieks, kuru neietekmē visi šie ārējie apstākļi?
‘Is there such joy that is not affected by all these external circumstances?’
(www.vilande.lv)
(3.5.90) Patiess prieks, ka esat ar mums!
‘It’s a real pleasure that you are with us!’ (www.facebook.com)
Subclauses that are subordinated to one word are always introduced by synsemantic
subordinators. Their role is to show the dependence of the subclause on the support
word, but they do not in themselves express the  semantic relationship between
the subclause and the main clause. These are conjunctions (in (3.5.91) and (3.5.92)),
relative pronouns (3.5.93), and adverbs (3.5.94):
(3.5.91) Un iegaumēju, ka nav spēcīgāka ieroča par savaldību, mieru un tiešu, runātīgu
skatienu.
‘And I noticed that there was no stronger weapon than restraint, peace,
and a direct, eloquent gaze.’ (V. Freimane)
(3.5.92) Viņš nespēja izšķirt, vai tā veļas augšup vai lejup.
‘He could not tell whether it was tumbling up or down.’ (A. Heniņš)

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(3.5.93) Es nezināju, ko viņam atbildēt.
‘I didn’t know what to answer him.’ (C)
(3.5.94) Brīdī, kad nolaidāmies, kaut kā uzreiz pašķīrāmies.
‘At the moment (when) we landed, we somehow immediately parted.’
(P. Bankovskis)
Pronouns and adverbs as  subordinators have generalized meanings: they express
the  subject (kas ‘what, who’), attribute (kāds ‘what’, kā ‘how’), quantity (cik ’how
many, how much’, kurš ‘who, which’), place (kur ‘where’), time (kad ‘when’), cause
or purpose (kāpēc, kādēļ, kālab ‘why, for what reason’). However, if the subclause is
subordinated to one word, these meanings are not essential in shaping the semantic
relation. The main function of these subordinators is to indicate a  grammatical
dependence on the support word in the main clause.
Subordination that is analogous to a predicative relation in a simple sentence
arises when the  function of the  subject (3.5.95) or, more seldom, the  predicate
(3.5.96), is performed by a subclause rather than a separate word form:
(3.5.95) Labi vien ir,
good ptcl be.cop.prs.3
ka to neizdarīju.
conj that.acc.m not_do.pst.1
‘It is just as good that I did not do that.’ (C)
(3.5.96) Sākotnējā informācija bija,
initial.nom.f information.nom.f be.cop.pst.3
ka avarējusi lidmašīna.
conj crash.ptcp.nom.f plane.nom.f
‘The initial information was that a plane has crashed.’ (C)
Subordination that is analogous to an adjunctive relation arises when the subclause is
subordinated to the whole main clause rather than a single support word in the main
clause. Such subclauses do not depend on the valency of the word and are introduced
by autosemantic subordinators (jo, ja, lai, tā ka, tā kā, lai gan, etc.) – their function is
to express the semantic relations between the main clause and the subclause:
(3.5.97) Pirms turpinu stāstījumu, man jūs jāiepazīstina ar šo interesanto cilvēku.
‘Before I continue, I should introduce this interesting person to you.’ (C)
Correlative elements are sometimes involved in shaping the relation of subordination,
namely, the main clause has an anaphoric element (an antecedent) which is a deictic
word signaling a following subclause:
(3.5.98) Runā tikai to,
speak.imp.2sg only that.acc.m
ko vajag!
what.acc need.prs.3
‘Say only what is required!’ (A. Heniņš)

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Such an anaphoric element may be optional and might reinforce the relation between
the main clause and the subclause:
(3.5.99) Dari [tā], kā pašam ienāk prātā.
‘Do as you see fit.’ (Ē. Hānbergs)
(3.5.100) Taču tā ir veicinājusi arī dažas [tādas] īpašības, ko atzīstu par zināmu
trūkumu, par savām vājībām.
‘However, it has also contributed to [certain] qualities which I consider
as a certain drawback, as my shortcomings.’ (V. Freimane)
(3.5.101) Kad telpas izkūpināja, [tad] kadiķi sāka smaržot pēc cilvēka klātbūtnes.
‘When the rooms were fumigated, [then] the junipers began to smell of
the presence of man.’ (Ē. Hānbergs)
It may also be the case that it is not possible to add a subclause without a correlative
element. In this case, a syntactic relation is formed between a deictic word in the main
clause and the subclause:
(3.5.102) Es nevaru izlabot to, kas bijis.
‘I can’t correct what has been.’ (C)
(3.5.103) Visam, kas bijis līdz iestāšanās brīdim klosterī, vairs nav nozīmes.
‘Anything that existed before joining the monastery does not matter
anymore.’ (C)
(3.5.104) Tā nav, ka es uz teātri neaizeju.
‘It’s not that I don’t go to the theater.’
(L. Brīdaka)
Both pronouns and deictic adverbs that are associated with semantically relevant
subordinators may function as anaphoric elements: tas – kas, tur – kur, tad – kad, and
so on. Some anaphoric elements may also associate themselves with conjunctions,
especially the conjunction ka:
(3.5.105) Pat Pontontilts bijis tik augstu pacelts, ka uzbraukt un uzkāpt bijis
bīstami.
‘Even the Pontoon Bridge had been lifted up so high that it was
dangerous to drive or climb onto it.’ (A. Heniņš)
(3.5.106) Nelaime ir tāda, ka no tās nolādētās bedres tu vienkārši vairs nespēj
aizlaisties.
‘The problem is [such] that you just can’t get out of that damn pit
anymore.’ (P. Bankovskis)
In the following, the types of subclauses will be examined in more detail, looking at
both the peculiarities of the subordination relationship and the semantic relations
between the parts of the sentence.

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Semantic types of subordinate clauses
Attributive or relative clauses are subordinated to the noun and usually immediately
follow that noun (Skujiņa 2007: 41–42):
(3.5.107) Joprojām jūtos lepna par uzvaru, kas nenāca viegli.
‘I still feel proud of the victory, which did not come easily.’ (Ē. Kūlis)
(3.5.108) Diemžēl maz lugu, kuras gribētos noskatīties.
‘Unfortunately, there are few plays [which] I would like to watch.’
(L. Brīdaka)
In attributive clauses, the  subordinators most often are relative pronouns kas,
kurš, kāds. These are anaphoric elements because they are semantically related to
the support word in the sentence. At the same time, they are also parts of the sentence
in the subclause, therefore they must be used in different case forms:
(3.5.109) Pietrūka uzticības, ko vīrs reiz viņai zvērēja.
‘She missed the faithfulness that her husband once swore to her.’
(L. Brīdaka)
(3.5.110) Viņa nometa jaunās kurpes, ar kurām tik apgrūtinoši staigāt.
‘She kicked off the new shoes, which were so difficult to walk with.’
(L. Brīdaka)
The above attributive clauses can specify a  noun of any semantics, but the  use of
other subordinators in such clauses depends on the lexical semantics of the support
word.
Adverbs of place can be used as subordinators in attributive clauses, if the support
word has a lexical meaning of place:
(3.5.111) Ir rajoni, kur klusuma greznība pieaug līdz fantastiskam krāšņumam.
‘There are neighborhoods where the luxury of silence rises to fantastic
splendor.’ (A. Eglītis)
(3.5.112) Ir savādi būt vietā, kur daba, parādot savu spēku, izdzēš cilvēka radītos
nospiedumus.
‘It is strange to be in a place where nature, showing its power, erases
the imprints left by man.’ (C)
If the support word in the main clause functions as an adverb of place, the meaning
of the subclause nears that of an adverbial clause of place:
(3.5.113) Vietā, kur sākas melnais kultūrslānis, ir tādas kā guļbūves atliekas.
‘There is something like the remains of a log building [in the place]
where the black cultural layer begins.’ (C)
(3.5.114) Viesiem patikusi nakts ekskursija mežā, kur bija jāpārvar dažādi šķēršļi.
‘Guests enjoyed the night excursion in the woods, where they had to
overcome various obstacles.’ (C)

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Adverbs of manner can be used as subordinators in attributive clauses, if the subclause
is subordinated to a  noun that has a  lexical meaning of manner. In the  following
subclauses, the  predicate is the  infinitive and the  subclause has an irrealis modal
meaning:
(3.5.115) Grāmatu lasīšana ir izcils
book.gen.pl.f reading.nom.f be.cop.prs.3 great.nom
veids, kā relaksēties.
way.nom.m how relax.inf
‘Reading books is a great way to relax.’ (C)
(3.5.116) Izlasi par paņēmieniem,
read.imp.2sg about technique.dat.pl
kā tērēt mazāk!
how spend.inf less.cmp
‘Read about techniques on how to spend less!’ (C)
Adverbs of time can be used as subordinators in attributive clauses, if the subclause
is subordinated to a noun that has a lexical meaning of time:
(3.5.117) Jā, bija reiz laiks, kad es biju krietni aktīvāks un apsviedīgāks nekā
šodien.
‘Yes, there was a time when I was much more active and skilled than
today.’ (C)
(3.5.118) Ļoti iespējams, ka nu ir tas rīts, kad viņa domā.
‘It is quite possible that this is the morning when she thinks.’ (C)
If the support word in the main clause functions as an adverb of time, the meaning
of the subclause nears that of an adverbial clause of time:
(3.5.119) Jau pirmajā rītā, kad visi sēdējām pie kafijas galda, ģimenes vecmāmiņa man
kaut ko jautāja.
‘Already on the first morning, when we were all sitting at the coffee
table, the grandmother of the family asked me something.’ (C)
The conjunction ka may introduce an attributive clause, if the support word is a noun
with the meaning of cognition or speaking (for instance, doma ‘thought’, ideja ‘idea’,
ilūzija ‘illusion’, iespaids ‘impression’, cerība ‘hope’, vārdi ‘words’, draudi ‘threats’, etc.)
(3.5.120) Es loloju sevī domu, ka šī dziesma izskanēs tikai viņam.
‘I cherish the idea that this song will play only for him.’ (C)
(3.5.121) Atmiņā pavīdēja kāda sacītais, ka jebkurš cilvēks ticot savai nemirstībai.
‘I vaguely remembered that someone said that everyone believes in their
own immortality.’ (C)
(3.5.122) Ļaudis spārnoja cerība, ka brīvība tiem tūlīt atnesīs labāku dzīvi.
‘People were lifted by the hope that freedom would immediately bring
them a better life.’ (C)

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Because the  support word refers to a  process or condition, the  attributive clauses
(3.5.120–3.5.122) are semantically close to the complement clauses. If the support
word has a  different semantics, the  conjunction ka in the  subclause requires an
anaphoric element tāds ‘such’ in the main clause:
(3.5.123) Par tik zinīgiem viesiem man bija tāds prieks, ka lūdzu tos pienākt ne tikai
svētkos vien.
‘I was so glad about such knowledgeable guests that I asked them to
come not just on holidays.’ (C)
An attributive clause can be placed both after the  main clause (see, for example,
3.5.107–3.5.110) or in the middle of it:
(3.5.124) Kabatas naudu, ko būtu varējusi tēvam izvilināt daudz lielāku .. ,
tērēju tikai grāmatām, kino apmeklējumiem un saldiem niekiem.
‘My pocket money, [of which] I could have gotten much more from my
father, I only spent on books, movies, and candy.’ (V. Freimane)
(3.5.125) Oregonā, kur lietus nepārtraukti līst gandrīz pilnus sešus mēnešus, daudziem
vietējiem lietusmēteļu nemaz nebija.
‘In Oregon, where it rains continuously for almost six whole months,
many locals did not have raincoats at all.’ (A. Eglītis)

Object or complement clauses are subordinated to a verb that can bind an object
(Skujiņa 2007: 277–278):
(3.5.126) Cilvēks plašā mītnē nezina, ko iesākt.
‘A person in a large residence does not know what to do.’
(Ē. Hānbergs)
Complement clauses can be introduced by relative pronouns (3.5.127), conjunctions
(3.5.128, 3.5.129), and adverbs of various semantic classes (3.5.130, 3.5.131):
(3.5.127) Kādu laiciņu neviens nevarēja saprast, kas nu būs.
‘For a while no one could understand what was going to happen.’
(A. Heniņš)
(3.5.128) Pat dzimuši losandželosieši apgalvo, ka nereti uzduroties pilnīgi nepazīstamiem
apvidiem.
‘Even natives of Los Angeles claim that they often encounter completely
unfamiliar areas.’ (A. Eglītis)
(3.5.129) Viņš domā, vai viņa prāts un jūtas ir spējīgi radīt kaut ko lielu.
‘He wonders if his mind and feelings are capable of creating something
great.’ (C)
(3.5.130) Eiropietim dažkārt jāpabrīnās, cik ļoti civilizējušies Amerikas suņi.
‘Europeans sometimes are amazed how civilized American dogs are.’
(A. Eglītis)

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(3.5.131) Visi mēs redzēsim, kā tas notiek tālāk.
‘We’ll all see how it goes next.’ (C)
Support verbs can be not only in a finite form but also appear in a non-finite form,
e.g., a participle:
(3.5.132) Nemaldiniet tautu, teikdams, ka nevarat nosaukt savu cenu.
‘Do not mislead the people by saying that you cannot name your price.’ (C)
(3.5.133) Viņa skatījās uz to pusi, gaidot, kad bālā parādība atkārtosies.
‘She looked to that side, waiting for the pale apparition to reappear.’
(L. Stumbre)
Usually, the complement clause is placed immediately after its subordinating word
but there may be other words between the subclause and the support word:
(3.5.134) Pasaki, Sem, ko mums tagad darīt?
‘Tell me, Sems, what do we do now?’ (C)
The position of the  complement clause is free. It is usually placed after the  main
clause (3.5.127–3.5.131), but it can also be in the middle of the main clause (3.5.135)
or be preposed to it (3.5.136, 3.5.137):
(3.5.135) Par to, ka Kristaps Porziņģis kļuvis par populārāko Latvijas basketbolistu,
vairs nešaubās neviens.
‘No one has any doubt [about the fact] that Kristaps Porziņģis has
become the most popular Latvian basketball player.’ (jauns.lv)
(3.5.136) Vai Rīgas zaudētāji kļūs par jaunajiem uzvarētājiem – to mēs vēl redzēsim.
‘Will the losers of Rīga become the new winners – it remains to be seen.’ (C)
(3.5.137) Kā būs turpmāk – nezinu.
‘What will happen next – I do not know.’ (C)
A complement clause can also have an anaphoric element in the  main clause,
especially when the subclause is placed in the middle of the main clause (3.5.135) or
in front of it (3.5.136).

Subject clauses perform the function of the subject in the main clause (Skujiņa 2007:

390). A number of different subordinators are possible: most often it is the subordinate
conjunction ka (3.5.138), but conjunctions vai, lai (3.5.139), the pronoun kas (3.5.140),
the adverbs kur, kad, kā, cik, etc. are also possible.
(3.5.138) Skaidrs, ka par izvēli nav daudz ko prātot.
‘It is clear that with this choice there is not much to think about.’
(A. Eglītis)
(3.5.139) Galvenais, lai mums ir labi.
‘The main thing is that we are fine.’ (C)
(3.5.140) Kas bijis, pagājis.
‘Let bygones be bygones.’ (C)

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In sentences with subject clauses, the main clause is characterized by a certain formal
composition and a certain semantics. Very often the predicate of the main clause is
a  verb of appearance likties ‘to seem’, šķist ‘to seem’, izrādīties ‘to prove, to turn
out’, izskatīties ‘to appear, to resemble’, etc. in its third-person form. Such sentences
require a mandatory subclause:
(3.5.141) Bet man likās,
but I.dat seem.pst.3
ka ar to nepietiek.
that with that.ins not_suffice.prs.3
‘But it seemed to me that that was not enough.’ (C)
The predicate of the main clause can have the meaning of probability or chance:
(3.5.142) Nereti gadās, ka vientuļi bagātnieki novēl savus miljonus suņu hospitāļiem.
‘It is not uncommon for lonely rich people to leave their millions to dog
hospitals.’ (A. Eglītis)
(3.5.143) Var būt, ka es sāku saredzēt lietas no vēsturiskās perspektīvas.
‘It may be that I’m beginning to see things from a historical perspective.’
(C)
Quite often the  predicate of the  main clause can have, regardless of the  part of
speech, evaluative meaning:
(3.5.144) .. žēl tikai, ka mēs visi nevaram būt arī miljonāri…
‘… it’s just a pity that we can’t all be millionaires too…’ (A. Eglītis)
(3.5.145) Labi vien ir, ka viss sanācis, kā sanācis.
‘It’s just as good that everything happened the way it did.’ (C)
(3.5.146) Nav nekāds brīnums, ka viņš vēl ir tik jauns un jau tik slavens.
‘It’s no wonder that he is still so young and already so famous.’ (C)
A subject clause can be added if the verbal predicate is a transitive verb in the passive:
(3.5.147) Tādējādi uzreiz redzams, vai paliks vieta vēl kādam skapītim.
‘Thus, it can be seen right away if there is room for another locker.’ (C)
(3.5.148) Sākumā bija domāts, ka darbosies tikai puikas.
‘Initially, it was thought that only the boys would participate.’ (C)
The placement of the  subject clause is free, it can be placed in front of the  main
clause (3.5.140), after it (3.5.141–3.5.143), or in the middle of it (3.5.149):
(3.5.149) Tas, kam bija jānotiek, jau bija noticis.
‘What had to happen had already happened.’ (C)

Predicate clauses are only possible in Latvian when there is a copula in the main
clause and when the subclause functions as part of the nominal predicate (Skujiņa
2007: 172). The predicate clause typically has an anaphoric element – the pronouns
tas ‘that’, tāds ‘such’ – as part of the nominal predicate in the main clause:

519
(3.5.150) Sajūta ir tāda,
feeling.nom.f be.cop.prs.3 such.nom.f
ka vai nu uzceļam šo namiņu tagad vai nekad.
‘My feeling is that either we build this house now or we never do it.’ (C)
(3.5.151) Tikai nelaime [ir] tā,
ptcl misfortune.nom.f [be] that.nom.f
ka pie labā pierod daudz ātrāk un ātrāk aizmirst.
‘The problem just is that we get used to good things sooner and forget
about them sooner.’ (C)
If there is no anaphoric element, the  subject in the  main clause has a  particular
form and semantics  – typically, it is a  noun that refers to cognitive activity or
communication: noteikums ‘condition’, pārmetums ‘reproach’, arguments ‘argument’,
atbilde ‘answer’, secinājums ‘conclusion’, informācija ‘information’, uzskats ‘opinion’,
viedoklis ‘stance, position’, ziņa ‘message’, vēstījums ‘message’, fakts ‘fact’, and so forth:
(3.5.152) Noteikums bija,
condition.nom.m be.cop.pst.3
ka mašīna tiks reģistrēta uz mammas vārda.
‘The agreement was that the car will be registered in mother’s name.’ (C)
(3.5.153) Atbilde bija,
answer.nom.f be.cop.pst.3
ka par tik zemu cenu labu zupu uzvārīt nevar.
‘The answer was that it is impossible to make a good soup at such a low
cost.’ (C)
(3.5.154) Mednieku viedoklis ir,
hunter.gen.pl opinion.nom.m be.cop.prs.3
ka viņi skatīsies pēc reālās situācijas.
‘The hunters’ opinion is that they will decide according to the actual
situation.’ (C)
The copula is usually present in the main clause (3.5.152–3.5.154) but in rare cases
it can be absent:
(3.5.155) Viena lieta,
one.nom.f thing.nom.f
ka esam saraduši kā cimds ar roku.
‘The thing is, we have become as used to each other as a hand and glove.’
(Ē. Kūlis)
The predicate clause always follows the main clause.
It should be noted that in nominal simple sentences, where both the  subject
and predicate of the sentence contain nouns, it is sometimes difficult to distinguish
between the  syntactic functions of these two categories, so the  predicate clause
actually borders on the subject clause:

520
(3.5.156) a. Problēma ir, ka maz gūstam vārtus.
‘The problem is that we score too few goals.’ (C)
If an anaphoric element were added to the  main clause, two different structures
could be obtained:
b. Problēma ir tāda, ka maz gūstam vārtus.
‘The problem is that we score too few goals.’ (predicate clause)
c. Tas, ka maz gūstam vārtus, ir problēma.
‘The small number of goals we score is a problem.’ (subject clause)

Adverbial clauses express various adverbial meanings  – those of time, place,

manner, measure, cause, purpose, etc. These subclauses can be subordinated to one
word or to the whole main clause. It should be emphasized that it is not always easy
to determine whether a  subclause is bound to a  single support word or the  whole
main clause, just as, in a simple sentence, it is sometimes hard to distinguish between
arguments and adjuncts (see 3.2.10).
The following criteria can be used to determine the specificity of the syntactic
relationship. First of all, the valency of the support word – if the subclause of a certain
semantics follows from the valency of the verb, then it is subordinated to one word.
Second of all, position in the sentence – if the adverbial clause is placed immediately
after the  support word, it is subordinated to that word. Third of all, if there is
a semantic or contextual subordinator – given that, in most cases, adverbial clauses
are introduced by semantic subordinators, they are likely to relate to the  whole
subclause.

Adverbial clauses of time or temporal clauses express the  time of the  process
named in the main clause (Skujiņa 2007: 202) and are introduced by the semantic
conjunctions kamēr, līdz, līdzko, kolīdz, līdz kamēr, tiklīdz, tiklīdz kā, tikko, tikko kā,
iekams, kopš, pirms and the adverb of time kad, as well as the word group pēc tam
kad.
(3.5.157) Mana mamma ir laba, kad es viņu nekaitinu.
‘My mom is good when I don’t get her angry.’ (C)
(3.5.158) Paiet labs laiks, iekams tu sadūšojies kustēt.
‘It takes quite some time before you pluck up courage to start moving.’ (C)
(3.5.159) Bet, līdzko iekoptajā krastā sākuši pacelties pirmie bagātnieku savrupnami,
pamatus rokot, atrasta nafta!
‘But, as soon as the first villas of the rich appeared along the developed
coast, they struck oil while digging the foundations!’ (A. Eglītis)
Similarly to the  adverbials of time, i.e., adjuncts (see 3.2.10), the  adverbial clause
of time mostly relates to the whole subclause. Such subclauses, the support word of
which obligatorily or optionally requires a description of time, could be considered
subordinated to one word:

521
(3.5.160) Reizēm viņa .. nogulēja, līdz no skolas pārradās brālis un māsa.
‘Sometimes she slept in until her siblings came back from school.’ (C)
(3.5.161) Tagad mums ir jāpaspēj, kamēr vēl ir mazs ūdens, ar smago mašīnu pārvest
granti pāri.
‘We have to manage, while the water is still low, to transport the gravel
across with the lorry.’ (C)
The need to describe time can result from the semantics of the complex predicate in
general:
(3.5.162) Vajag paspēt iekārtoties darbā, kamēr ir tāda iespēja, paspēt pastrādāt,
kamēr nav izdzinuši.
‘You need to manage to find a job, while that’s a possibility, manage to
work a bit, before they throw you out.’ (C)
However, in most cases, time describes the whole event, not just a specific verb, so
adverbial clauses of time can typically be considered to be bound to the entire main
clause:
(3.5.162) Kad telpas izkūpināja, kadiķi sāka smaržot pēc cilvēka klātbūtnes.
‘When the rooms were fumigated, the junipers began smelling of human
presence.’ (Ē. Hānbergs)
Adverbial clauses of time can have various anaphoric elements in the main clause –
deictic adverbs mainly with a temporal meaning (3.5.163–3.5.165), less often – with
a meaning of manner (3.5.166):
(3.5.163) Arī tad, kad acīs spīdēja prieks, smaids palika skumjš.
‘Even [then] when (their) eyes shone with joy, (their) smile remained
sad.’ (C)
(3.5.164) Tagad, kopš daudzus gadus esmu pensijā, man pat avīzes vairs nav
nepieciešamas.
‘Now that I’ve been retired for many years, I don’t even need newspapers
anymore.’ (C)
(3.5.165) .. es bravūrīgi saucu un nerimu tikmēr, līdz kamēr man nebija piebiedrojies
viss mūsu šķībais kāsis.
‘I shouted with bravado and didn’t stop [so long] until our whole weird
bunch had joined in.’ (P. Bankovskis)
(3.5.166) Tiklīdz es nolieku ēdamos uz galda, tā Baiba mani raušus aizrauj uz vannas
istabu.
‘As soon as I put food on the table [so] Baiba literally dragged me to
the bathroom.’ (V. Jākobsons)
Adverbial clauses of time can be placed in all three positions – after the main clause
(3.5.157, 3.5.158), in front of it (3.5.162), and in the middle of it (3.5.163, 3.5.164).

522
Adverbial clauses of place indicate the place of the event mentioned in the main
clause (Skujiņa 2007: 451) and are introduced by the  adverbs of place kur, kurp.
Subclauses subordinated to one word are related to a  verb of direction (3.5.167,
3.5.168) or location (3.5.169, 3.5.170), the valency of which requires the description
of the place: doties ‘to go’, ceļot ‘to travel’, iet ‘to go’, stāvēt ‘to stand’, atrasties ‘to be
located’, etc.
(3.5.167) Viņš iet, kur viņam liek.
‘He goes where he is told to go.’ (C)
(3.5.168) [Zemes] gars šos cilvēkus stingri netur un laiž vaļā doties, kurp tie vēlas.
‘The spirit [of the Earth] doesn’t hold these people back and lets them go
wherever they wish.’ (C)
(3.5.169) .. saiņi ar dārglietām atrodas, kur paslēpti.
‘The packages with the valuables are located where they were hidden.’
(C)
(3.5.170) Viņi palika stāvam, kur stāvējuši.
‘They remained standing where they were.’ (C)
Subclauses subordinated to a  noun with the  semantics of place are similar to
attributive clauses:
(3.5.171) Bet ko lai saka nabaga cilvēki pilsētā, kur mašīnu vairāk nekā saprašanas?
‘But what should those poor people in the city say where there are more
cars than the mind can grasp?’ (Ē. Kūlis)
(3.5.172) Cik savādāk bija vecajā, atpalikušajā Eiropā, kur visi staigājām kājām.
‘How very different it all was in old, backward Europe where everybody
was still going around on foot.’ (A. Eglītis)
In most cases, the adverbial clause of place is related to the whole sentence:
(3.5.173) Kur vien skaties – visi apklusuši.
‘Wherever you look, everybody has fallen silent.’ (C)
The adverbial clause of place can have anaphoric elements in the main clause – deictic
adverbs of place tur ‘there’, turp ‘(to) there’, visur ‘everywhere’, citur ‘elsewhere’, šeit
‘here’, etc.:
(3.5.174) Mums jādodas turp, kur mūs gaida vismazāk.
‘We must go [there] where we are least expected.’ (C)
(3.5.175) Kopumā visur, kur esam bijuši, latviešus uzņem kā savējos.
‘In general, wherever we have been, Latvians are always welcomed
as locals.’ (C)
The prepositional phrases no kurienes ‘from where’, uz kurieni ‘(to) where’ can
introduce an adverbial clause of place only if the main clause contains an anaphoric
element:

523
(3.5.176) Un jums jāatgriežas tur, no kurienes esat nākuši, – pīšļos.
‘And you must return [there] where you came from – to dust.’ (C)
The adverbial clause of place can follow the main clause (3.5.167–3.5.170), be in front
of it (3.5.173), or in the middle of it (3.5.175).

Adverbial clauses of manner refer to the  manner of the  process described by

the  main clause (Skujiņa 2007: 439) and are usually introduced by the  adverb of
manner kā:
(3.5.177) Var regulēt [sēdekļus], kā vien ienāk prātā.
‘You can adjust [the seats] however you like.’ (C)
An adverbial clause of manner in most cases has an anaphoric element tā in the main
clause, but it can be introduced also by other subordinators:
(3.5.178) Nevar jau aiziet uz televīziju intervēties, mierīgi atsēsties un pļāpāt tā,
ka ne silts, ne auksts.
‘One cannot go to the TV (station) for an interview, sit there relaxed and
chat as if nothing has happened.’ (C)
An adverbial clause of manner introduced by the conjunction lai will have a purpose
meaning:
(3.5.179) Apsēdos tā, lai varētu redzēt viesnīcas ieeju.
‘I sat down so that I could see the hotel entrance.’ (C)
An adverbial clause of manner introduced by the  conjunction it kā will have
a comparative meaning:
(3.5.180) Tu runā tā, it kā tas nebūtu iespējams.
‘You are speaking [so] as if it were not possible.’ (C)
The adverbial clause of manner is usually placed after the  main clause (3.5.177–
3.5.180), but it can also be in front of it (3.5.181), or in the middle of it (3.5.182):
(3.5.181) Kā mežā sauc, tā atskan!
‘What goes around, comes around.’ (lit: ‘As you shout into the woods, so
it echoes.’) (www.la.lv)
(3.5.182) Bet tā, kā Agra gribēja, šo dziesmu varēja nodziedāt tikai viņš.
‘Only he was able to sing the song the way Agra liked.’ (C)
The adverbial clauses of manner are semantically close to the adverbial clauses of
degree.

Adverbial clauses of degree indicate the  measure of process or action expressed

in the main clause (Skujiņa 2007: 229) and are usually introduced by the adverb of
measure cik:
(3.5.183) Cik vien varam, darām paši.
‘As much as we can, we do ourselves.’ (C)

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(3.5.184) Kādēļ nepelni tik, cik gribētu?
‘Why don’t you earn as much as you would like?’ (C)
An adverbial clause of degree usually also has anaphoric elements in the  main
clause – deictic adverbs with the meaning of degree tik ‘so’, tā ‘to such an extent’, in
which case the subclause can also be introduced by other subordinators:
(3.5.185) Un neviens nekad mūžā nav sevi ienīdis tik ļoti, kā es sevi tagad.
‘Nobody has ever hated himself as much as I do now.’ (P. Bankovskis)
(3.5.186) Lai viņi stāv tik ilgi, kamēr brūni un sausi paliek.
‘Let them remain here [so long] until they turn brown and dry.’ (C)
(3.5.187) Losandželosietis ir tā saradis ar spēkratiem, ka bez tiem jūtas kā bez kājām.
‘An Angeleno is so used to a car that without one he feels as if he’d lost
his legs.’ (A. Eglītis)
The adverbial clause of degree typically follows the main clause (3.5.184–3.5.187),
but it can also be in front of it (3.5.183).

Adverbial clauses of purpose express the purpose of the process or action expressed

in the  main clause and are introduced by the  semantic conjunction of purpose lai
(Skujiņa 2007: 256):
(3.5.188) Varbūt Askolds tā runāja, lai sevi mierinātu.
‘Maybe Askolds spoke like this to comfort himself.’ (Ē. Kūlis)
(3.5.189) Tiek jau nu gan darīts viss, lai mazbērnus iemidzinātu.
‘Everything possible is being done to lull the grandchildren to sleep.’
(A. Eglītis)
An adverbial clause of purpose can have an anaphoric element in the main clause –
the adverbs tāpēc, tādēļ:
(3.5.190) Mums nav jātaisa projekti tāpēc,
lai izdzīvotu.
conj survive.cond
‘We do not need to write project applications to survive.’ (C)
In the adverbial clause of purpose, the predicate is usually in the conditional mood
(3.5.188–3.5.190) but it can also be in the indicative (3.5.191).
(3.5.191) Reiz, dusmu brīdī, virtuvē paņēmu olas un laidu tās pret sienu,
lai šķīst.
conj fall_to_pieces.prs.3
‘Once in a fit of anger I took eggs and smashed them against the kitchen
wall.’ (V. Freimane)
The adverbial clause of purpose typically follows the main clause (3.5.188–3.5.191),
but it can also be in front of it (3.5.192).

525
(3.5.192) Lai dzīvotu, nepieciešams mājoklis un darbs.
‘In order to live, one needs shelter and a job.’ (A. Eglītis)

Adverbial clauses of cause relate to the cause of the content expressed in the main

clause and are introduced by the  complex conjunctions tāpēc ka, tādēļ ka, tā kā
(Skujiņa 2007: 69):
(3.5.193) Bet es ar tevi runāšu, tāpēc ka man nav vienalga.
‘But I will talk to you, because I care.’ (C)
(3.5.194) Tā kā tas viss man ir svešs, es lieliski atpūtos.
‘Since all of this is unknown to me, I relaxed really well.’ (C)
The adverbs tāpēc, tādēļ can perform the function of an anaphoric element in the main
clause, in this case the subclause is introduced by the conjunction ka:
(3.5.195) Brīvs cilvēks ir brīvs tāpēc, ka ir tāds.
‘A free person is free because he is so.’ (V. Freimane)
A subclause introduced by tā kā can have an anaphoric element in the main clause,
the adverb tad ‘then’:
(3.5.196) Tā kā manas ciešanas bija neizmērojamas, tad neatlika nekas cits kā kļūt par
ģēniju.
‘As my suffering was so immense, I had no choice but to become
a genius.’ (C)
An adverbial clause of cause introduced by tāpēc ka, tādēļ ka always follows the main
clause (3.5.193), but a  subclause introduced by tā kā (3.5.194) always precedes
the main clause.

Adverbial clauses of reason are introduced by the conjunction jo (Skujiņa 2007: 277).

They are semantically very close to the adverbial clauses of cause, and in many cases
jo is synonymous to tāpēc ka, tādēļ ka:
(3.5.197) Nolēmām pusdienas neēst, jo vakarā bijām ielūgti uz restorānu.
‘We decided to skip lunch, because in the evening we were invited to
a restaurant.’ (C)
However, the  reason is not always the  cause of a  phenomenon but rather an
explanation of the content of the main clause:
(3.5.198) Mīļie vienmēr ir ap mums, jo ģimene ir viena no galvenajām vērtībām.
‘We are always surrounded by loved ones, because family is one of
the most important values.’ (C)
(3.5.199) Rīts, kā parasti, izskatās vienreizējs, jo saule lec no okeāna.
‘As usual, the morning looks amazing, because the sun rises from
the ocean.’ (C)
An adverbial clause of reason always follows the main clause.

526
Adverbial clauses of result or consequence express the consequences of the content
expressed in the main clause and are introduced by the complex conjunction tā ka
(Skujiņa 2007: 345):
(3.5.200) Mūs krastā nelaida, tā ka no Islandes es redzēju tikai kalnus tālumā.
‘We were not allowed ashore, therefore, all I saw of Iceland were distant
hills.’ (C)
An adverbial clause of result always follows the main clause.

Adverbial clauses of condition or conditional clauses express the  conditions

under which something may or may not occur and are introduced by the conjunction
ja (Skujiņa 2007: 259–260):
(3.5.201) Ja padomā, cilvēka mūžs tāds sezonas laiks vien ir – paskrien tik ātri kā
vasara.
‘If you think about it, a human life is like a season, [it] rushes past as fast
as summer.’ (Ē. Kūlis)
(3.5.202) Neviens filmu aktieris Savienotajās valstīs nespēj pastāvēt, ja neprot boksēt un
slaidi zvelt partnerim pa žokli.
‘No film actor can survive in the States if he can’t box and skilfully hit his
partner’s jaw.’ (A. Eglītis)
Conditional clauses can have an anaphoric element, the adverb of time tad ‘then’:
(3.5.203) Bet, ja ar viņiem kas gadās, tad lielu lielais troksnis.
‘But if something happens to them, [then] the fuss is incredible.’ (Ē. Kūlis)
(3.5.204) Ja tās lietas ir tādas, tad eju pats pirmais.
‘If things are like that, then I am the first to go.’ (V. Jākobsons)
Both the  subclause and the  main clause can have an irrealis modal meaning if
the conditional is used:
(3.5.205) Tomēr, ja varētu pagriezt atpakaļ laika
still if be_able.cond turn.inf back time.gen.m
ratu, varbūt mums būtu vērts
wheel.acc.m perhaps we.dat be.cop.cond worth
satikties.
meet.inf
‘Still, if it were possible to turn back the wheel of time perhaps it would
be worth it for us to meet.’ (C)
The adverbial clauses of condition can be placed freely  – after the  main clause
(3.5.202), in front of it (3.5.204), or, less often, in the middle of it (3.5.206).
(3.5.206) Šis kuteris, ja vien nodrošinātu attiecīgu gaisa un pārtikas daudzumu, mierīgi
varēja doties ceļojumā uz Mēnesi.
‘If there was enough air and food on this motorboat, we could easily take
a trip to the Moon.’ (C)

527
Adverbial clauses of concession or consecutive clauses indicate something that
may affect the process or the action of the main clause but does not. Such subclauses
are introduced by complex conjunctions kaut gan, kaut arī, lai gan, lai arī, jebšu
(Skujiņa 2007: 299):
(3.5.207) Soļi bija klusi, lai gan rudens lapas varētu sacelt iespaidīgāku troksni.
‘The steps were quiet, although the autumn leaves could have made
them quite a bit louder.’ (L. Stumbre)
(3.5.208) Kāds īpatnējs, lēts un pretīgs glumums piemīt šīm sīkumtirgus mantām,
kaut gan tās nākušas tieši no drēbnieka.
‘These flea market things have a weird, cheap, sticky feel to them,
even though they have come straight from the tailor’s.’ (A. Eglītis)
The predicate of consecutive clauses most often is in the conditional mood (3.5.207,
3.5.209, 3.5.210), but the indicative is possible, too (3.5.208). If the predicate is in
the subjunctive mood, the subclause can also be introduced by the conjunction lai:
(3.5.209) Lai kurp mēs dotos,
conj where we.nom go.cond
nebija iespējams izvairīties no cigarešu dūmiem.
‘Wherever we went, it was impossible to avoid the cigarette smoke.’ (C)
(3.5.210) Lai ko es teiktu,
conj what.acc I.nom say.cond
vārdi būs par sīkiem.
‘Whatever I say, the words will be too small.’ (C)
Consecutive clauses can have an anaphoric element in the main clause, for instance,
the particle tomēr:
(3.5.211) Kaut gan matos sarma, tomēr acīs – jaunības dzirksts…
‘Although there is silver in the hair, the eyes still have a youthful
sparkle.’ (www.ezerzeme.lv)
A consecutive clause can be placed behind the main clause (3.5.207, 3.5.208) or in
front of it (3.5.209–3.5.211). Less frequently, a consecutive clause, usually reduced,
can be found in the middle of the main clause (3.5.212).
(3.5.212) Bez tam, jēdzieni stereotips un aizspriedums, lai gan līdzās esoši, tomēr ir divi
dažādi lielumi.
‘Besides, notions such as stereotype and prejudice, although close, are
still two different notions.’ (C)

Adverbial clauses of comparison or comparative clauses compare the  process

or action expressed in the main clause with some other process or action, and are
introduced by the conjunctions tāpat kā, it kā, itin kā (Skujiņa 2007: 335–336):
(3.5.213) Tomēr katrai sievietītei vajag bišķīt mīļumu, tāpat kā istabas puķei ūdeni.
‘Still, just like a house plant needs some water, every woman needs a bit
of affection.’ (Ē. Kūlis)

528
(3.5.214) Vecāmāte, it kā nekas nebūtu bijis, salika rokas apaļiski klēpī un smaidīja.
‘As if nothing had happened, grandmother positioned her hands on her
lap in a circle and smiled.’ (C)
(3.5.215) Sals palīdz pašam sevi apmānīt, itin kā varētu staigāt pa ūdens virsmu.
‘Frost helps one fool oneself [into thinking], it is possible to walk on
water.’ (C)
Adverbial clauses of comparison usually follow the main clause (3.5.213, 3.5.215),
less often they are placed in the middle of it (3.5.214), only subclauses introduced by
tāpat kā can be placed in front of the main clause (3.5.216).
(3.5.216) Tāpat kā pilsētnieks pārzina savu pilsētu .., tāpat Jāzeps pārzina mežu.
‘Just like a city dweller knows one’s city, Jāzeps knows the forest.’ (C)
A special sub-type of the comparative clause is a clause subordinated to the comparative
(adjective (3.5.217) or adverb (3.5.218)) and introduced by the conjunction nekā:
(3.5.217) Mans noziegums ir lielāks,
my.nom.m crime.nom.m be.cop.prs.3 large.cmp.nom.m
nekā to varētu piedot.
than that.acc be_able.cond forgive.inf
‘My crime is greater than can be forgiven.’ (C)
(3.5.218) Tālab agrāk, nekā būtu vajadzējis,
therefore early.cmp than be.aux.cond need.ptcp.nom.m
Sīzifs sāka gausties par spēka izsīkumu.
‘Therefore, earlier than he should have, Sisyphus started complaining of
exhaustion.’ (A. Heniņš)
These clauses always follow the word form to which they are subordinated.

Comparative correlative clauses indicate a  proportional increase of two values

and a correlation between them. A subclause can have the meaning of a condition
or causativity. A comparative correlative clause is introduced by the  first part of
the  reduplicative conjunction jo  – jo, the  second part introduces the  main clause.
Both parts of the  complex sentence have the  forms of an adverb or adjective in
the comparative:
(3.5.219) Jo ilgāk ļaudis dzīvo šinī
conj long.cmp people.nom.pl.m live.prs.3 this.loc.f
pilsētā, jo vairāk brīnās
city.loc.f conj much.cmp wonder.prs.3
par tās neizsmeļamo dažādību.
‘The longer people live in this city, the more they are amazed by its
endless diversity.’ (A. Eglītis)

529
Often there are more than two parts in a complex sentence, which are introduced
by the reduplicative conjunction jo – jo. In this case, the number of subclauses and
the  number of main clauses can only be determined by the  content. In example
(3.5.220), there is one subclause and two main clauses, whereas in (3.5.221) – two
subclauses and one main clause:
(3.5.220) Jo vairāk par to domāju, jo lielāka ziņkāre pārņēma, jo nevaldāmāk rosījās
fantāzija…
‘The more I thought of it, the more curious I grew, the wilder my
imagination became.’ (C)
(3.5.221) Jo vairāk lēmumu atkal un atkal tiek pieņemts, jo vairāk kļūdu pieļauts un no
tām mācību gūts, jo veiksmīgākas izvēles cilvēks izdarīs.
‘The more decisions are made again and again, the more mistakes are
made and lessons learned from them, the better the choices a person will
make.’ (C)
Sentences with a comparative correlative subclause are characterized by a reduction
in one or both parts:
(3.5.222) Jo tālāk, jo trakāk.
‘The deeper into the wood you go, the more timber seems to grow’
(lit. ‘The further, the crazier.’) (C)
Comparative correlative constructions can also be realized in a simple sentence:
(3.5.223) Un Volža šķībais deguns jo tuvāk tēva mājai, jo spītīgāks.
‘The closer [it was] to his father’s house, the more spiteful Voldis’s
crooked nose [became].’ (C)

Additive clauses are considered a special case in Latvian syntax. In terms of semantic
relations, they could also be main clauses but need to be qualified as  subclauses,
because they are introduced by subordinators, which anaphorically include the entire
content of the main clause (Skujiņa 2007: 325):
(3.5.224) Prieks gan iznāk diezgan padārgs, kā to pagājušajos Jāņos pārliecinājās
latviešu makšķernieki.
‘This bit of fun turns out to be pretty expensive, as Latvian anglers
learned on Midsummer’s last year.’ (A. Eglītis)
(3.5.225) Jaunais vīrs piemetina, ka nu jau viņi atgriezušies ierastajā dzīvē, atsākuši
filmēties, kas bijis ļoti grūti pēc medusmēneša.
‘The newlywed husband adds that they have gotten back to their routine
and resumed shooting the film, which had been very difficult after
the honeymoon.’ (C)
Additive clauses always follow the main clause.

530
The modality of subclauses
Subclauses can have either a realis or irrealis modal meaning. Most often, the modality
of a subclause depends on the same factors that determine the modality in a simple
sentence. However, there are cases when the  use of the  irrealis mood depends on
the structural features of a complex sentence.
For instance, the  use of the  conditional with subclauses of various semantic
types is triggered by negation in the main clause:
(3.5.226) Nav neviena,
not_be.prs.3 nobody.gen.m
kas uzrakstītu spēcīgu dziesmu.
who.nom write.cond powerful.acc.f song.acc.f
‘There is nobody (around) who could compose a powerful song.’ (C)
(3.5.227) Pasaulē nav tāda likuma, kas kaut ko neaizliegtu.
‘There is no law in the world that would not forbid something.’ (C)
(3.5.228) .. pašlaik neredz nevienu citu kandidātu, kurš šim amatam būtu vairāk
piemērots.
‘At the moment I see nobody who would suit this post better.’ (C)
The use of the  conditional is common in subclauses of various semantic types
introduced by the conjunction lai:
(3.5.229) Lai kas tas nebūtu,
conj what.nom that.nom.m not_be.cop.cond
labāk neienesiet to savā mājā. (C)
‘Whatever it is, better not to bring it home.’ (C)
(3.5.230) Pats svarīgākais ir, lai bērni varētu atgriezties skolās un turpināt mācības.
‘The most important thing is that children should be able to return to
school and resume their education.’ (C)
In complement clauses involving a  verbum dicendi in the  main clause and which
are introduced by the conjunction lai, a special oblique is possible – the so-called
reported imperative (see also Section 2.5.4):
(3.5.231) [Veikalnieks] Piesacīja,
[shopkeeper.nom] declare.pst.3
lai nu nākot mamma vai paps,
conj now come.obl.prs mom.nom.f or dad.nom.m
Billei viņš vairs nedošot.
‘[The shopkeeper] declared that next time mom or dad should come, he
would no longer be serving Bille.’ (C)
In Latvian, subclauses  – more often than simple sentences  – have the  infinitive
as their predicate. Special mention should be made of infinitival relative clauses
which express finality or suitability for something, so that they have an irrealis modal
meaning. Such subclauses can be subordinated to a noun:

531
(3.5.232) Vispirms vajadzēja aizsūtīt Viktoram
first need.pst.3 send.inf Viktors.dat.m
ģīmetnes, ko ielīmēt kādā
photo.acc.pl.f what.acc attach.inf some.loc.f
ārzemju pasē.
foreign_country.gen.pl.f passport.loc.f
‘First, Viktors needed to be sent photos that he could attach to a foreign
passport.’ (A. Heniņš)
The word which binds the subclause refers to circumstances, a thing, means, and so
on which are a necessary condition for the condition mentioned in the subclause to
arise or for the the action mentioned in the subclause to take place (Holvoet 2000,
100).
Infinitival relative clauses can be subordinated to a  pronoun, most often if
the main clause contains a negation:
(3.5.233) Dārzā nav nekā,
garden.loc.m not_be.prs.3 nothing.gen
ko redzēt.
what.acc see.inf
‘There is nothing to see in the garden.’ (C)
It is possible that there is no word in the  main clause to which the  subclause is
subordinated. Such sentences are somewhere in between simple and complex
sentences. If they are interpreted as  complex sentences, then the  main clause has
an incomplete grammatical center and the function of the subject of the sentence is
performed by the whole subclause:
(3.5.234) Ir, par ko padomāt.
be.prs.3 prep what.acc think.inf
‘There is something to think about.’ (C)
If such sentences are interpreted as  simple sentences, they are considered to be
lexicalized idiomatic structures expressing either necessity (3.5.235) or lack of
necessity (3.5.236) (see also Holvoet 2000, 100).
(3.5.235) Cik daudz man vēl
how much I.dat still
bija ko mācīties.
be.pst.3 what.acc learn.inf
‘How much there was still for me to learn.’ (C)
(3.5.236) Skaidrs, ka par izvēli
clear.nom.m that prep choice.acc.f
nav daudz ko prātot.
not_be.prs.3 much what.acc ponder.inf
‘No doubt, there is no need to mull over the choice.’ (A. Eglītis)

532
Sentences can also take on a meaning, which describes something that is worth or
not worth doing:
(3.5.237) Tur bija ko padomāt.
there be.pst.3 what.acc think.inf
‘There were things to think about.’ (C)
(3.5.238) Bet uz to mūsu valstī laikam nav ko cerēt.
‘Apparently, it is not worth hoping for that in our country.’ (C)
There are other types of infinitival subclauses in Latvian, but they do not differ
formally or semantically from simple sentences with an infinitival predicate:
(3.5.239) Tas ir lēts veids,
that.nom.m be.cop.prs.3 cheap.nom.m way.nom.m
kā paplašināt redzesloku.
how broaden.inf horizon.acc.m
‘That is a cheap way for broadening one’s horizons.’ (C)
(3.5.240) Diemžēl iemesls nav tāds, par kuru priecāties.
‘Unfortunately, the reason is nothing to be happy about.’ (C)
(3.5.241) .. skolnieku vislabāk var iedrošināt, sakot, ko viņam darīt, nevis ko nedarīt.
‘…a student is best encouraged by saying what he should do rather than
what he shouldn’t.’ (C)
Still, it should be noted, that an infinitival predicate is found more often in a subclause
than in a main clause or simple sentence.

533
Final thoughts

The description of Latvian grammar given in this book is one possible way to
view a  language’s grammatical system. The process of writing this grammar gave
the authors valuable experience and if this project were to be undertaken now, it is
possible that the interpretation of certain language phenomena or the arrangement
of certain systems would be different. While fully aware that the  contents of this
book could be further clarified or expanded, as  well as  contradicted, the  authors
feel content in the  knowledge that another step has been taken in understanding
the  systems of the  Latvian language. Each such step is the  foundation for future
studies while also a testament to the boundless nature of research into language, for
just as an old Latvian legend states that Rīga can be built but never finished, the same
is true for this work.

534
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Subject Index
(the corresponding term in Latvian is given in parentheses)

ablaut (ablauts, mantotā patskaņu mija) 50

accusative (akuzatīvs) 115–116, 124, 150–151, 247–248, 260, 269–270, 274, 396, 398, 410, 436, 454–
456, 475
adaptation of morphemes (morfēmu pielāgošanās) 30–31
additive clause (relatīvais palīgteikums) 530
address (uzruna) 116, 121, 150–151, 439, 469
addressee (adresāts) 182, 183, 254, 256, 399, 439, 454, 465, 468, 470–472, 476
adjective (adjektīvs, īpašības vārds) 62, 73, 150–151, 156, 161, 163, 165, 169, 289, 325, 382, 413–414,
418, 422, 433, 436, 457, 482, 486, 499
definite (noteiktais) 149–150, 160, 164, 482
indefinite (nenoteiktais) 149–150, 163
qualitative (kādības) 153–154, 156, 160, 322, 325
relational (attieksmes) 153–155, 323
adjunct (determinants vai situants) 398–390, 430, 448, 478
adverbial adjunct (situants) 451–454, 461, 481, 488, 496, 508, 521
dative-marked adjunct (determinants) 400, 448–452, 487, 488, 497, 508
adnominal (adnomināls) 114, 116, 119, 121, 124
adposition (apozīcija) 330
adverb (adverbs, apstākļa vārds) 73, 142, 287–288, 301, 316, 322, 400, 406, 418, 422, 453, 472, 484,
515, 521, 524, 526
adverbial clause (apstākļa palīgteikums) 419, 511, 515, 516, 521, 523–527
adverbial modifier (apstāklis) 80, 283, 284, 287, 316, 398, 438
adverbial (adverbiāls) 124, 270, 322, 324, 325, 329, 396, 399, 406, 407, 418–419, 422, 427, 432,
451–452, 454, 459, 461, 481, 488, 492, 495, 499
affix (afikss) 26, 32, 47, 59, 60–61, 63, 67, 77, 78
agent (agenss, darītājs) 105, 181, 189, 194, 204, 240, 260, 261, 273–276, 278–281, 297, 393, 400–406,
413, 421–423, 436–437, 441–445, 451, 454, 457–458, 492
agreement (saskaņojums) 150, 176, 388–399, 435, 462, 482–483,
allomorph (alomorfs) 25–30, 35, 37, 42, 43–44, 48, 50, 54–55
allomorphism (alomorfisms) 31, 42
alternation (alternācija) 26, 28, 32–36, 44, 50, 66, 122, 124, 219, 222
analogy (analoģija) 47, 303, 387, 511
anaphora (anafora) 182, 197
animacy (dzīvums) 96, 97, 102, 125, 183, 185, 194, 229
apophony (apofonija, mantotā patskaņu mija) 26, 30, 48, 50–51, 63, 64, 66, 219, 223, 231, 302
qualitative (kvalitatīva) 50, 51, 53
quantitative (kvantitatīva) 50, 51, 53
apposition (pielikums) 83, 437–439, 454, 462–463
argument (arguments) 388, 398, 409, 412, 421, 454, 496, 521
aspect (aspekts, veids) 281–285, 288, 431
imperfective (imperfektīvs, nepabeigts) 283, 285
iterative (iteratīvs, daudzkārtējs) 282, 285

546
 perfective (perfektīvs, pabeigts) 282, 284, 285, 288
semelfactive (semelfaktīvs, vienkārtējs) 282, 285
aspectual verb / aspectual auxiliary (fāzes verbs, fāzes darbības vārds) 217, 409–410, 418–420, 431, 447
assimilation (asimilācija) 30, 32, 35, 37, 50, 54
progressive (progresīva) 32, 37, 54
regressive (regresīva) 32, 33, 37, 50, 54
attribute (atribūts, apzīmētājs) 73, 83, 93, 179, 283, 289, 298, 430, 432–433, 437–439, 445, 454,
458–461, 482–483, 486, 490, 492, 499
autocausative (autokauzatīvs) 275, 278
auxiliary (palīgverbs, palīgdarbības vārds) 78, 219, 227, 234, 246, 260, 263, 268, 409–411, 431, 434, 458
back-formation (reversā vārddarināšana) 67
base (vārddarināšanas / formveidošanas celms) 66, 67, 74, 79, 219
base word (motivētājvārds) 54–55, 64, 74, 75
basic sentence type (teikuma pamattips) 402
beneficiary (beneficienss, ieguvējs) 273, 276, 399, 449, 454
biaspectual verb (divveidu darbības vārds) 283, 285
bipartite sentence (divkomponentu / divkopu teikums) 388, 402–403, 405–409, 412–414, 423, 429,
492, 497–498
blending (teleskopēšana, apvienošana) 72
case (locījums) 80, 83, 84, 104–105, 122–124, 148, 174, 176, 182, 185, 237, 265, 289, 330, 332, 338,
386, 388, 412, 420, 436–437
case alternation (locījumu sinonīmija / paralēlisms) 122–124
cataphora (katafora) 182, 197
causative verb (kauzatīvs verbs / kauzatīvs darbības vārds) 47, 52
circumfix (cirkumfikss) 62, 281
clause (klauza, teikuma daļa) 83, 205, 218, 244–246, 259–261, 283–285, 287, 291, 294, 297–298, 366,
386, 447–448, 453, 500
main clause (virsteikums) 371, 467, 477, 500–502, 510–532
subordinate clause / subclause (palīgteikums) 80, 205–206, 318, 371, 374–375, 480, 501–502,
510–519, 521–523, 525–533
participial clause (divdabja teiciens) 300, 440–441
clause of cause (cēloņa palīgteikums) 526
clause of comparison / comparative clause (salīdzinājuma palīgteikums / salīdzinātājdaļa) 447, 528–529
clause of condition / conditional clause (nosacījuma palīgteikums) 527
clause of concession / consecutive clause (pieļāvuma palīgteikums) 528
clause of consequence / clause of result (seku palīgteikums) 527
clause of degree (mēra palīgteikums) 524–525
clause of manner (veida palīgteikums) 524
clause of place (vietas palīgteikums) 523–524
clause of purpose (nolūka palīgteikums) 525
clause of reason (pamatojuma palīgteikums) 526
clause of time (laika palīgteikums) 375, 521–522
clipping (strupināšana) 64, 67, 383
cluster (sablīvējums) 31, 46
vowel (patskaņu) 46
consonant (līdzskaņu) 33, 49
comparative correlative clause (korelatīvais salīdzinājuma palīgteikums) 529–530
comparative degree (komparatīvs, pārākā pakāpe) 62, 79, 156, 322, 457
comparison (salīdzinājums) 148, 153, 154, 156, 322, 353, 374, 528, 529
complement clause / object clause (papildinātāja palīgteikums) 270, 374, 467, 477, 511, 517–518, 531
complex sentence (salikts pakārtots teikums) 205, 285–286, 439, 447, 501, 509, 510–512, 529–532
composite sentence (salikts teikums) 385, 390, 453, 500–502, 504
compound (saliktenis) 60, 61, 67, 68–72, 94–96, 137, 141–143, 170, 177–178, 183, 319, 328
copulative (kopulatīvs) 69, 70, 142, 170
determinative (determinatīvs) 69, 70
endocentric (endocentrisks) 71, 72, 142
exocentric (eksocentrisks) 71, 72, 142, 170
compound sentence (salikts sakārtots teikums) 501, 502–504, 506–511
conjugation (konjugācija) 221–232

547
conjunction (konjunkcija, saiklis) 80, 318, 365–367, 371–376, 386, 477, 480, 502–508, 511, 514,
516–518, 524–531
coordinating (sakārtojuma) 366, 367, 371, 507
subordinating (pakārtojuma) 80, 318, 366, 371, 372, 374–376, 466, 506, 511
conjunctive word (saikļa vārds) 386
consonant (konsonants, līdzskanis) 26–38, 42–50, 66, 77, 219, 222–224, 232, 254
obstruent (troksnenis) 48, 49
sonorant (skanenis) 48
context (konteksts) 82, 91, 93, 100, 103, 104, 181, 209, 234, 244, 254, 257, 276, 281, 283, 285, 307,
321, 330, 355, 384, 391, 395, 400, 441, 464, 486, 494, 508
conversion (konversija) 64, 68, 73, 324, 327
coordination (sakārtojums) 70, 390, 395, 500–502, 506
coordinator (sakārtojuma vārds) 511
copula (saitiņa) 253, 407–409, 413–422, 434, 445–446, 519, 520
dative (datīvs) 113–114, 124, 237, 246, 251, 256, 261, 265, 273–274, 278–281, 300, 339, 354, 386, 399,
400, 406, 412, 420–423, 431, 443, 446–456, 476, 486–490, 497
declarative sentence (apgalvojuma teikums) 464–465, 470–472, 474
declension (deklinācija) 56, 84–91, 98, 121, 149–152, 176–177
degree of comparison (salīdzināmā pakāpe) 148
deictic (deiktisks) 182, 513, 514, 522, 523, 525
deletion of consonants (līdzskaņu zudums) 45
derivation (derivācija, atvasināšana) 60, 62, 66, 90, 125, 140, 154, 281, 324–325, 382
derivational (vārddarināšanas) 46, 61, 63, 66, 67, 73–76, 125, 141, 154, 272, 274, 281, 302
family (ligzda) 74, 75
sequence (ķēde) 74, 75, 77, 141
stem (celms) 48, 67, 74
derivative (derivāts, atvasinājums) 42, 44, 45, 47, 48, 66–67, 74–76, 91, 125, 142, 155, 196, 272, 283,
302, 313
detached attribute (savrupināts apzīmētājs) 161, 437–439
diathesis (diatēze) 302
diminutive (deminutīvs) 26, 87, 94, 99, 165
diphthong (diftongs, divskanis) 32, 46, 48, 49, 54, 55
discourse (diskurss) 364, 378, 503
dissimilation (disimilācija) 30
distinctive feature (marķētājpazīme, šķīrējpazīme) 38, 56
distribution (distribūcija) 272, 302, 332, 414, 449, 451
ending (galotne) 26, 46, 61–63, 66, 67, 77, 78, 84, 94, 96–100, 104, 125, 137, 143, 141–143, 165, 182,
219, 225, 227, 289, 302, 327, 328
definite (noteiktā) 41, 73, 157, 158, 161, 162, 172, 196
indefinite (nenoteiktā) 41, 158, 160, 161, 193, 196, 212, 215, 217
reflexive (refleksīvā, atgriezeniskā) 62, 90, 221, 227, 272, 289, 302
evidentiality (evidencialitāte) 256, 258
exclamative sentence (izsaukuma teikums) 474–475
exhortative sentence (pamudinājuma teikums) 465–466, 469
extender of simple sentence (vienkārša teikuma paplašinātājs) 385, 389–390, 396–397, 399–402, 412,
432, 438, 439, 445, 448, 449, 452, 454, 457, 458, 461
experiencer (eksperienss, izjutējs) 105, 114, 229, 273, 278–281, 393, 397, 400, 412, 422–423, 448–451,
455, 488
finite forms (finītās formas) 227, 392–394, 403, 407, 409, 413, 414, 431, 440, 441, 469, 477, 518
form (forma) 59, 61–63, 73, 76–79, 176, 219, 261, 282, 386, 388, 405, 407, 449, 454, 461, 512
synthetic (sintētiska) 78, 117, 219, 227
analytical (analītiska) 78, 414
suppletive (supletīva) 78, 182
fronting (priekšējās rindas patskaņu noteiktā mija) 26, 28, 29, 32–33, 40, 219, 231
fusion (fūzija) 26–28, 36, 42, 43, 47
future (nākotne) 219, 221, 225, 232, 234, 244, 285, 392, 408–409, 465, 472
indefinite (vienkāršā) 219, 221, 227, 230, 232, 236–237, 244, 254, 255–256
perfect (saliktā) 230, 234, 239, 244, 261

548
gender (dzimte) 84, 87, 93, 95–102, 125, 193, 293, 296,
feminine (sieviešu) 84–87, 90, 91, 96–101, 125, 149, 165, 176, 293–297
masculine (vīriešu) 84–87, 91, 96–100, 125, 149, 165, 176, 292–296
common (kopdzimte) 86, 97, 100–101
genitive (ģenitīvs) 94–96, 106–110, 112, 122, 124, 137, 141, 174–175, 193, 194, 261, 270, 338, 389,
410, 416, 417, 420, 451, 456–458
imperative sentence (pavēles teikums) 257, 408, 430
impersonal (vienpersonas / bezpersonas) 263, 273, 280, 388, 411, 449, 450, 498
indeclinable (nelokāms) 73, 80, 82, 93–94, 99–100, 123, 152, 176, 221, 289, 316, 328, 441–443, 446
non-finite (infinīts) 218, 289, 518
infinitive (infinitīvs, nenoteiksme) 218–225, 231, 232, 245, 246, 256, 257, 295, 297, 387, 388, 394,
406–413, 419, 421–423, 443–446, 468, 469, 477, 487, 492, 495, 516, 531
infix (infikss) 31, 43, 50
inflection (formveidošana) 25, 28, 30, 31, 50, 53, 59, 60, 76–79, 194, 219, 297
inflectional (formveidošanas) 27, 44, 48, 61–63, 77, 80, 85, 176, 177, 219, 272, 281, 282, 289
base (celms) 79
sequence (ķēde) 79
information structure (aktuālais dalījums) 449, 463, 478, 481, 484, 489–490, 493, 500, 502
instrumental (instrumentālis) 77, 78, 91, 117–119, 143, 151, 185, 416, 417, 436, 437, 455, 461
interference of morphs (morfu interference) 31, 36, 42–44, 50
interfixation (interfiksācija) 31, 45, 47, 50, 52, 78
interfix (interfikss) 31, 45, 47–49, 60, 78, 232, 302–303
interjection (interjekcija, izsauksmes vārds) 72, 73, 80–82, 302, 377–384, 463, 474
invariant (invariants) 25–27, 43
invariant morpheme (morfēmas invariants) 26, 27
interrogative sentence (jautājuma teikums) 203, 317, 407, 408, 470–472, 475, 478
lexeme (leksēma, vārds) 63, 103, 172, 272, 324, 400, 423, 431, 449, 484
locative (lokatīvs) 91, 120, 121, 151, 182, 412, 416, 430, 437, 452, 461
metaphony (metafonija) 26, 50, 54, 57
metatony (metatonija) 51
method (vārddarināšanas / formveidošanas paņēmiens) 63, 64, 75, 76, 78
morphological (morfoloģiskais) 64, 75, 78
syntactic (sintaktiskais) 64, 68, 78
semantic (semantiskais) 64, 78, 79
modal verb / modal auxiliary (modāls darbības vārds) 217, 393, 409–411, 413, 418–420, 431, 447
modality (modalitāte) 240, 241, 256, 276, 313, 381, 388–393, 403, 430–433, 444, 531
deontic (deontiskā) 256, 257
epistemic (epistēmiskā) 256, 257
realis (reāla) 240, 392, 531
irrealis (ireāla) 240, 392, 393, 407, 516, 527, 531
model (vārddarināšanas modelis, vārddarināšanas tips) 59, 63, 67, 76, 272, 302
monomorphemic (monomorfēmisks) 59
mood (izteiksme) 218, 227, 234, 239–259, 263–266, 392–394, 410, 431, 463
conditional (kondicionālis, vēlējuma izteiksme) 244, 472, 476, 510, 525, 528
imperative (imperatīvs, pavēles izteiksme) 240, 253, 256, 266, 430, 465, 469
indicative (indikatīvs, īstenības izteiksme) 232, 240, 256, 392, 393, 421, 430
oblique (atstāstījuma izteiksme) 240–244, 249–251, 258, 259, 263, 421, 531
debitive (debitīvs, vajadzības izteiksme) 114, 122, 124, 239, 246–251, 256, 259, 265, 268, 410,
420, 421, 455, 456
morph (morfs) 27, 28, 31, 36, 37, 40–45, 50
morpheme (morfēma) 25–28, 30–32, 36, 37, 43, 47, 54, 59
morpheme boundary (morfēmas robeža) 36, 43, 44, 50
morpheme junction (morfēmas sadura) 31, 32, 44, 47
morphophoneme (morfofonēma, morfonēma) 28–30, 54
morphophonology (morfofonoloģija, morfonoloģija) 25, 28
morphophonological (morfonoloģisks) 25, 28–31, 35, 36, 38, 48–50, 54, 219, 230
motivation (motivācija) 141
nominal (nomens, nomināls) 72, 79, 83, 137, 148, 176, 261, 327, 401, 406, 407, 413, 422, 424, 428,
433, 436, 440, 445, 446, 492, 495, 520

549
nominative (nominatīvs) 105, 121, 124, 150, 151, 175, 247, 260, 278, 279, 382, 386, 388, 409–412,
418, 420, 430, 431, 436, 448–451, 455, 456, 485, 486
noun (lietvārds) 70–73, 83–86, 90, 96–100, 105, 106, 109, 141, 142, 150, 151, 174, 176, 300, 330, 386,
413, 416, 420, 436, 445, 447, 454, 456–463, 481, 482, 483, 490, 512, 515, 516
number (skaitlis) 84, 102, 103, 148, 172, 176, 182, 217, 265, 386
numeral (numerālis, skaitļa vārds) 59, 77, 80, 109, 123, 160, 172–179, 182, 413, 420, 436, 483
cardinal (pamata) 172, 176
ordinal (kārtas) 160, 172, 176, 177
object (objekts, papildinātājs) 80, 83, 108, 124, 172, 179, 247, 248, 259–261, 269, 270, 273–275, 277,
278, 283, 284, 351, 354, 386, 396, 399, 408–410, 432, 435, 442, 443, 445, 446, 448, 451, 454–457, 459,
460, 479, 480, 482, 484–487, 489, 491, 492, 500, 508, 517
direct (tiešs) 113, 115, 123, 270, 398, 399, 454, 455, 477, 479, 490, 491
indirect (netiešs) 113, 399, 454, 455, 490, 491
optative sentence (vēlējuma teikums) 476–477
palatalization (palatalizācija, mīkstināšana) 26–29, 35, 36–42, 66, 84, 89, 219, 223–227
paradigm (paradigma) 43, 54, 59, 62, 73, 78, 84, 91, 93, 96, 102, 151, 181, 182, 225, 228, 285, 394,
416, 423, 429–431, 454
part of a sentence (teikuma loceklis) 80, 355, 366
participle (particips, divdabis) 73, 217, 218–221, 240, 253, 289–301, 325, 413, 414, 420, 436, 440–443,
446, 451, 458, 459, 518
active (aktīvs, darāmās kārtas) 289–296, 325
declinable (lokāms) 73, 160, 217, 219, 240, 289–291, 413, 414, 420
indeclinable (nelokāms) 73, 221, 240, 298–301, 441–443, 446, 458
passive (pasīvs, ciešamās kārtas) 220, 253, 260, 261, 265, 290, 292–297, 325, 451, 458, 459
past (pagātnes) 240, 294, 295, 440
present (tagadnes) 240, 291, 440
semi-declinable (daļēji lokāmais) 220, 289, 297, 298, 301, 440
particle (partikula) 71, 72, 79, 80–82, 183, 254, 355–365, 376, 381, 393, 463, 466, 468, 470, 471,
474–477, 489, 494, 501–507, 528
past (pagātne) 219–221, 230–240, 285, 392, 408, 409
indefinite (vienkāršā) 230, 235, 236
perfect (saliktā) 230, 233, 234, 236, 238
patient (pacienss, cietējs) 91, 105, 265, 273–279, 281, 398, 441, 442, 454
person (persona) 62, 148, 181–194, 217–222, 224–233, 242, 245–247, 254–255, 263, 272, 386, 388,
393, 394, 400, 405, 411, 429, 456, 465, 466, 468, 476, 495, 519
personification (personifikācija) 121, 185, 186, 226, 275, 278
phoneme (fonēma) 26, 28, 30–32, 36, 44, 45, 50
phonological (fonoloģisks) 30
phrase (vārdkopa) 366, 385, 386, 389, 417, 421, 422, 432, 433, 437, 438, 445, 448, 449, 453, 454–463,
469, 473, 475, 479–484, 488–490, 511, 512, 523
polyfunctionality (polifunkcionalitāte) 122, 124
polymorphemic (polimorfēmisks) 59
polysemy (polisēmija) 64
positive degree (pamata pakāpe) 79
possessor (posesors, īpašnieks) 114, 448, 451, 455
postfix (postfikss) 60, 301, 313
postposition (postpozīcija) 331, 338
predicate (predikāts, izteicējs) 80, 161, 188, 216, 218, 253, 270, 298, 365, 387, 388–390, 392, 395–397,
399, 402–414, 416–424, 429–431, 433, 434, 441, 442, 448–455, 458, 460, 461, 466, 468, 474, 478, 481,
485–487, 490, 491, 493, 494–495, 498, 508, 511, 513, 516, 519–522, 525, 528, 531
adjectival (adjektīvisks) 414, 495
adverbial (adverbiāls) 407, 418–420, 495
complex (salikts) 409, 418, 419, 420, 423, 522
compound (sastata) 218, 408, 413, 418, 421, 434
nominal (nomināls) 83, 93, 95, 105, 165, 172, 179, 413–421, 494, 519
simple (vienkāršs) 407, 421
verbal (verbāls) 407–409, 411, 413, 494, 519
predicate clause (izteicēja palīgteikums) 519–520

550
predicative (predikatīvs adj.) 257, 385, 386, 388–391, 393, 395, 403, 416, 418, 432, 436, 438, 444, 445,
449, 453, 460, 462, 490, 500, 510, 511, 513
predicativity / predication (predikativitāte / predikācija) 388, 391, 394, 402, 403, 413, 430, 432, 438,
449, 453, 463, 470
primary (primārā) 432, 433
secondary (sekundārā) 389, 432, 433, 439, 447
prefix (prefikss, priedēklis) 32, 44, 60–63, 67, 74, 77, 78, 140–142, 156, 169, 221, 234, 240, 246, 276,
281–283, 285–289, 301, 302, 307, 313, 322
preposition (prepozīcija, prievārds) 71, 78–81, 117, 118, 141, 142, 330–354, 436, 455, 483, 511
present (tagadne) 219–226, 228, 230, 234–240, 254, 285, 291, 292, 298, 392, 408, 409, 429, 430, 466,
468, 476
indefinite (vienkāršā) 220, 224, 230, 234, 244, 246, 247, 250, 255, 256, 288
perfect (saliktā) 77, 230, 234–239, 243–246, 261
principal parts of the sentence (virslocekļi) 395
pronoun (pronomens, vietniekvārds) 77–80, 159, 165, 179–217, 227, 256, 300, 316, 328, 330, 413, 420,
438, 456, 473–476, 479, 480, 493, 500, 501, 513, 514, 519, 532
definite (noteiktais) 159, 181, 189, 212–215
demonstrative (norādāmais) 180, 181–182, 197–199, 201–203
indefinite (nenoteiktais) 180, 181, 202, 207, 211, 212, 413, 419
interrogative (jautājamais) 180, 183, 203, 207, 212
negative (noliegtais) 181, 182, 215–217, 410
personal (personas) 179, 181–185, 193–195, 201, 227, 254, 183, 237, 254, 394
possessive (piederības) 180, 183, 189, 191–196
reflexive (atgriezeniskais) 180–182, 189–192, 214, 247, 274
relative (attieksmes) 180, 205–207, 376, 511, 512, 515, 517
proposition (propozīcija) 431, 434, 453, 454
recipient (saņēmējs, recipienss) 113
reciprocal verb (reciproks darbības vārds) 275
reduced (reducēts) 45, 46, 327, 508, 528
reduction (redukcija) 27, 31, 44–47, 50, 224, 500, 530
reference (reference) 183, 257, 433
reflexive (refleksīvs, atgriezenisks) 44, 62, 180, 181, 183, 189, 192–196, 213, 221, 227–229, 289, 298,
302, 313
noun (lietvārds) 90–93
participle (divdabis) 289, 293, 296
verb (darbības vārds) 90, 91, 227, 229, 260, 262, 271–280, 302, 443, 446
reflexivity (atgriezeniskums) 214, 281, 302
relative clause / attributive clause (apzīmētāja palīgteikums) 515, 531, 532
rheme (rēma) 481, 488, 489–490, 498
root (sakne) 25–51, 54–63, 67, 74, 75, 78, 79, 97, 177, 182, 183, 219, 221–224, 231, 232, 303, 323
secondary predicate (sekundārais predikāts) 148, 161, 218, 289, 297, 298, 389–390, 416, 422, 432–447,
454, 486, 490, 493
semantic relations / relationship (jēdzieniskās / semantiskās attieksmes) 71, 483, 484, 490, 501, 502,
511–513, 514, 530
sentence pattern (teikuma modelis) 393, 394, 402, 421, 423, 431, 432
minimal (minimālais) 395
expanded (paplašinātais) 395, 397
sequence (secība) 172, 353, 423, 481, 482, 485
simple sentence (vienkāršs teikums) 385, 386, 388–391, 394–395, 397, 402, 415, 420, 423, 429, 432,
447, 454, 463, 478, 500, 510, 511, 513, 520, 521, 530–533
unexpanded (nepaplašināts) 395, 396
expanded (paplašināts) 386, 396, 398, 432, 461
sound change / sound alternation (fonēmu pārmaiņa) 25, 66, 78, 219, 222, 230
source phrase (motivētājvārdkopa) 69, 70
source structure (motivētājstruktūra) 142, 143
speech act (runas akts) 433, 463–465, 468, 470, 472, 474–477
stem (celms) 42, 44–46, 48, 49, 57, 61, 63, 67, 68, 74, 219–221, 224, 313

551
stress (uzsvars) 25, 68, 142
sentence (teikuma uzsvars) 489, 490
word (vārda uzsvars) 25, 142
subject (subjekts, teikuma priekšmets) 83, 105–110, 114, 123, 172, 179, 189, 192, 214, 218, 242–251,
259, 273–280, 290, 297, 302, 375, 386–389, 393, 395, 402–409, 414–423, 429–435, 441–443, 447–453,
456, 466, 479, 481, 485–487, 492–497, 511, 513, 518–521, 532
subject clause (teikuma priekšmeta palīgteikums) 375, 518–520
subjectless sentence (vienkopas / vienkomponenta teikums) 400, 402–403, 405, 406, 410, 411, 413, 418,
420, 428, 492, 496
subordination (pakārtojums) 390, 432, 449, 454, 462, 482, 500–501, 510–514
subordinator (pakārtojuma vārds) 511–518, 521, 524, 525, 530
suffix (sufikss, piedēklis) 26, 31–49, 51, 54–56, 60–63, 66, 67, 74–78, 90, 94, 97, 125, 141, 151, 165,
219, 222, 224, 230, 240, 281, 282, 302, 303
suppletive (supletīvs) 78, 79, 182, 221, 225
suprasegmental (suprasegmentāls) 25, 26
syncope (sinkope) 27
syncretism (sinkrētisms) 122, 228
synonymy (sinonīmija) 76, 122
syntactic center / predicative nucleus (gramatiskais centrs) 388, 390, 395, 398, 403, 432, 435, 444,
448, 449
syntactic relations / relationship (sintaktiskie sakari) 64, 68, 142, 269, 270, 330, 366, 386-389, 432, 449,
462, 485, 487, 490, 500–501, 511, 521
tense (laiks) 78–80, 218–269, 285–292, 388–392, 403, 408, 409, 430–432, 440, 468, 472
theme (tēma) 481, 488, 489–498
umlaut (umlauts, pārskaņa) 50, 54
utterance (izteikums) 240, 257, 258, 355, 364, 365, 381, 385, 391, 429, 431, 451, 463–465, 468, 470,
488, 489, 496, 498, 506
valency (valence) 302, 448, 449, 453, 461, 498, 512, 513, 521, 523
verb (verbs, darbības vārds) 77–80, 125, 140–143, 156, 217–303, 307, 313, 388, 389, 392–400, 406–416,
419–420, 430, 434–436, 440–440, 446, 447–451, 453–469, 476–479, 484, 487, 490, 496, 517–520
intransitive (intransitīvs, nepārejošs) 51, 263, 269, 290, 302, 396, 451
irregular (neregulārs, nekārtns) 221, 225, 227, 230
transitive (transitīvs, pārejošs) 51, 269–271, 290, 302, 396, 398, 451, 519
vocative (vokatīvs) 62, 87, 88, 104, 105, 116, 121, 124, 150, 151, 182, 382, 468
voice (kārta) 78, 80, 217–219, 240, 256–269, 272, 289, 290
active (darāmā) 77, 248, 259, 260, 269, 272, 290, 297, 429
middle (vidējā) 272, 273
passive (ciešamā) 240, 248, 259–263, 269, 272, 279, 290, 404, 405, 409
vowel (vokālis, patskanis) 26–31, 46–50, 54–57, 77, 222
word class / part of speech (vārdšķira) 59, 64–68, 73, 75, 79–83, 95, 125, 196, 302, 324, 406, 425, 431,
493, 512, 519
word form (vārdforma) 36, 42, 59, 68, 73, 78, 324, 385–394, 403, 407, 454, 478, 485
word formation (vārddarināšana) 25–32, 35, 42–54, 59, 63–68, 72–76, 79, 125, 140, 165, 196, 272,
281, 301–303, 324, 327
word-formation type (vārddarināšanas tips) 72, 74–76, 125, 141, 165, 302
word order (vārdu secība) 386, 391, 408, 449, 461, 463, 470, 478–479, 481, 483–486, 488, 490, 491,
494, 496, 499, 500
direct (tieša) 423, 478
indirect (netieša) 478
zero-ending (nulles galotne) 62
zero form (nullforma) 273, 416, 418, 419, 429, 430, 445, 450
zero-morph (nulles morfs/ morfēma) 62, 63
zero-suffix (nulles piedēklis) 62

552
Latviešu valodas gramatika
Kopsavilkums

“Latvian grammar”, resp., “Latviešu valodas gramatikas” mērķis ir ziņas par latviešu
valodu, tās gramatisko sistēmu padarīt pieejamas plašākai auditorijai ne tikai Latvi-
jā, bet arī ārpus tās. Valoda, kā zināms, ir viena no svarīgākajām kultūras, vēstures
un arī ikdienas dzīves sastāvdaļām – valodu lieto visi, tādēļ ļoti daudzus tā arī no-
pietni interesē. Tas ir svarīgi gan cilvēkiem, kam latviešu valoda ir dzimtā vai kas
prot latviešu valodu, gan arī tiem, kas interesējas par Latvijas kultūru, vēsturi un,
protams, latviešu valodu.
Zinātniskas angļu valodā rakstītas latviešu gramatikas aktualitāti nosaka arī
plašā latviešu diaspora ārzemēs, īpaši angliski runājošās valstīs, kur bērni un jau-
nieši izglītību apgūst savas mītnes zemes valodā, bet ne vairs latviešu valodā. Tādēļ
dažāda informācija par Latviju, latviešu valodu, literatūru un kultūru visbiežāk tiek
meklēta angļu vai kādā citā mītnes zemes valodā.
Latviešu gramatika angļu valodā būs noderīga arī tiem, kas apgūst latviešu
valodu kā svešvalodu un, kad iepazīts valodas minimums, vēlas uzzināt vairāk par
valodas gramatisko sistēmu un tās īpatnībām, lai būtu iespējams valodu lietot arvien
prasmīgāk un arī pareizāk. Tāpat “Latviešu valodas gramatika” būs labs izziņas un
materiālu avots tiem, kas māca latviešu valodu – gan kā dzimto vai mantoto, gan kā
svešvalodu.
Nozīmīgs ir arī fakts, ka ārzemju valodnieku vidū vērojams liels pieprasījums
pēc sistēmiskiem un uzticamiem dzimtās valodas runātāju sagatavotiem latviešu va-
lodas datiem, jo latviešu valodā ir ārkārtīgi interesants ļoti senisku un relatīvi jaunu
valodas attīstības faktu savijums, kas interesē ārzemju pētniekus un ir vitāli svarīgs
valodu tipoloģiskā, kognitīvā, pragmatiskā, funkcionālā un kontrastīvā analīzē. Te
var pieminēt, piem., vajadzības izteiksmi un izteiksmju sistēmu vispār, verba veida
nozīmju izteikšanu, dažādas konstrukcijas ar datīvu, ģenitīvu un nominatīvu, skaņu
mijas vārddarināšanā un fomveidošanā.
Latviešu valoda pieder pie indoeiropiešu valodu saimes baltu valodu grupas; šai
grupā ietilpst arī lietuviešu valoda un jau mirusī senprūšu valoda. Rudzīte (1993: 4)
norāda: “Tagadējā latviešu valoda .. ir radusies, saplūstot kopā valodām, kādās runā-
jušas no vēstures avotiem zināmās baltu ciltis – latgaļi jeb latvieši, sēļi, zemgaļi, kā

553
arī kurši, kam sava valoda bijusi vēl 16. gadsimtā.” Līdzīgi kā lietuviešu valoda, arī
latviešu valoda saglabājusi dažādas seniskas, uz indoeiropiešu vai baltu pirmvalodas
laiku atvedināmas leksiskas, fonētiskas un gramatiskas parādības. No valodas tipo-
loģijas viedokļa latviešu valoda pārstāv klasisku indoeiropiešu valodu (baltu valodu)
sistēmu ar daudzveidīgu gramatisko formu veidošanu un plašu vārdu darināšanu.
Taču latviešu valodā atrodamas arī iezīmes, kas līdzinās Baltijas jūras somu valodu,
piem., lībiešu vai igauņu valodas, parādībām. Tas galvenokārt skaidrojams ar seniem
valodu kontaktiem un Baltijas jūras areāla valodu līdzīgām pazīmēm.
Latviešu valoda ir Latvijas Republikas valsts valoda. 2004. gadā, Latvijai
­iestājoties Eiropas Savienībā, latviešu valoda ir ieguvusi Eiropas Savienības ofi-
ciālās valodas statusu. Latviešu valodas kā dzimtās valodas runātāju skaits ir ap-
mēram 1,5  ­miljoni. No tiem 1,38 miljoni dzīvo Latvijā, pārējie  –  Amerikas Savie-
notajās ­Valstīs, Austrālijā, Kanādā, Apvienotajā Karalistē, Vācijā, Lietuvā, Igaunijā,
Zviedrijā, Krievijā, Brazīlijā u.c. Latviešu valodu kā otro valodu izmanto apmēram
500 000 citu tautību Latvijas iedzīvotāju (Latviešu valodas aģentūras dati, pieejami:
https://valoda.lv/valsts-valoda/).
Latviešu valodā tiek šķirti trīs dialekti – vidus dialekts, lībiskais dialekts un
augšzemnieku dialekts (Vanags 2018: 27). Vidus dialekts tiek runāts Vidzemes vi-
dienē (Vidzemes vidus izloksnes), Zemgalē (zemgaliskās izloksnes) un Kurzemes
dienviddaļā (kursiskās izloksnes). Latviešu literārā valoda veidojusies galvenokārt uz
Vidzemes vidus un zemgalisko izlokšņu bāzes. Lībisko dialektu runā Vidzemes zie-
meļrietumu daļā (Vidzemes lībiskās izloksnes) un Kurzemes ziemeļdaļā (Kurzemes
lībiskās jeb tāmnieku izloksnes). Daļa šo novadu latviešu ir Baltijas jūras somu tautas
lībiešu pēcteči, kuru runātajā latviešu valodā saglabājusies arī daļa lībiešu valodas
iezīmju. Tas noteicis īpaša latviešu valodas paveida – lībiskā dialekta – izveidošanos.
Savukārt augšzemnieku dialektā runā Vidzemes austrumdaļā, Sēlijā (jeb Augšzemē)
un Latgalē, tiek šķirtas sēliskās (Sēlijā un Vidzemē ap Ērgļiem, Koknesi, Pļaviņām
un Madonu) un latgaliskās izloksnes (Latgalē un Vidzemes austrumdaļā) (Vanags
op. cit.). Kopš 18. gs. pazīstama arī latgaliešu rakstu valoda – vēsturisks latviešu
valodas paveids, kā pamats ir Dienvidlatgales izloksnes (Leikuma, Andronovs 2018:
28–30).
Rakstīti teksti (galvenokārt kristīgi reliģiska satura – gan luterāņu, gan katoļu)
latviešu valodā saglabājušies no 16. gs., to pamatā ir Rīgā runātā latviešu valoda,
rakstībai izmantota viduslejasvācu rakstu tradīcija; tekstu autori – vācu tautības ga-
rīdznieki (Vanags 2018: 27). Vēlākajos gadsimtos tekstu rakstība ir uzlabota, bals-
toties uz vidus dialekta izlokšņu valodu, pakāpeniski reliģiskiem tekstiem pievieno-
jušies arī laicīgi teksti – vārdnīcas, gramatikas, literāri un populārzinātniski darbi,
lietišķi teksti u.c. (Vanags op. cit.). Rakstu valodas attīstībā un normēšanā būtiska
loma bijusi Johana Ernsta Glika (Johann Ernst Glück) veiktajam Bībeles tulkojumam
latviešu valodā (pirmoreiz publicēts 1685–1694, atkārtots un precizēts izdevums
1739). Kopš 19. gs. vidus strauji pieauguši latviešu tautības autoru rakstīti visdažā-
dākā satura teksti, īpaši dinamiska bijusi visu žanru latviešu daiļliteratūras attīstība.
Jāuzsver, ka šai laikā visi latviešu tautības autori neatkarīgi no tekstu satura īpašu

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 uzmanību pievērš latviešu valodas izkopšanas, normēšanas un ortogrāfijas jautāju-
miem. Šī tradīcija lielākajā daļā teksta žanru saglabājusies līdz mūsu dienām.
Šobrīd lietotā latviešu ortogrāfija – latīņu alfabēts, kurš papildināts ar diakritis-
kām zīmēm patskaņu garuma, palatālo līdzskaņu un šņāceņu apzīmēšanai – balstās
rakstības principos, kas 1908. gadā pieņemti Rīgas Latviešu biedrības Zinību komisi-
jas Ortogrāfijas komisijā.
Latviešu gramatiku vēsture sākas 17. gs., pirmā gramatika ir Johana Georga
Rēhehūzena (Johann Georg Rehehusen) “Manuductio ad linguam Lettonicam facilis &
certa... Riga 1644”, tai gadsimta beigās un 18. gs. seko vēl virkne gramatiku, no
kurām nozīmīgākā un apjomīgākā ir Gotharda Frīdriha Stendera (Gothard Friedrich
Stender) “Lettische Grammatik” (1783). Vācu autoru rakstīto gramatiku posms no-
slēdzas 19. gs. 60. gados ar pirmo zinātnisko sava laika modernākajās valodniecības
atziņās balstīto Augusta Bīlenšteina (August Bielenstein) latviešu valodas gramatiku
“Die Lettische Sprache nach ihren Lauten und Formen erklärend und vergleichend
dargestellt” (divos sējumos, 1863–1864), kura joprojām tiek uzskatīta par vienu no
nozīmīgākajiem latviešu valodas gramatiskās sistēmas aprakstiem (plašāk sk. Kļavi-
ņa 2008). Kopš 19. gs. otrās puses un 20. gs. sākuma tiek publicētas arī dažādas lat-
viešu autoru rakstītas gramatikas un gramatiskās sistēmas apraksti. Kā nozīmīgākie
minami Andreja Stērstes “Latviešu valodas mācība”, pirmā latviešu valodā sarakstī-
tā zinātniskā gramatika trīs daļās (1879–1880), Kārļa Mīlenbaha “Teikums” (1898),
Jāņa Endzelīna un Kārļa Mīlenbaha “Latviešu gramatika” un “Latviešu valodas mā-
cība” (abas 1907).
Savukārt citās valodās pieejamais 20.–21. gs. rakstīto latviešu valodas gramati-
ku materiāls ir vai nu ļoti sen gatavots (piem., Jāņa Endzelīna “Lettische ­Grammatik”
(1922)), vai arī šādu materiālu autoriem latviešu valoda nav dzimtā un latviešu va-
lodas fakti objektīvu iemeslu dēļ aprakstīti selektīvi (piem., Terje Matiasens (Terje
­Mathiassen) “A Short Grammar of Latvian” (1997), Nikole Naua (Nicole Nau) “­Latvian”
(1998), Jans Henriks Holsts (Jan Henrik Holst) “Lettische Grammatik” (2001)). Virk-
ne latviešu gramatiku ir paredzētas kā latviešu valodas mācību līdzekļi cittautie-
šiem, kam nav īpašu latviešu valodas un kultūras priekšzināšanu (piem., Trevora
Fennella un Henrija Gelsena (Trevor Fennell, Henry Gelsen) “A Grammar of Modern
­Latvian” (1980), Terēzes Svilānes Bartolomjū (Terēze Svilane Bartholomew) “Complete
­Latvian” (2011), Daces Prauliņas “Latvian. An Essential Grammar” (2012)). Dažādi
pētījumi tapuši arī par atsevišķiem latviešu gramatikas jautājumiem baltu, teorētis-
kās, tipoloģiskās vai areālās valodniecības kontekstā (piem., Holvoet 2001, 2007, kā
arī rakstu krājumi Nau, Ostrowski 2010; Holvoet, Nau 2014, 2015, 2016; Arkadiev,
Holvoet, Wiemer 2015).
2013. gadā (atk. izd. 2015. g.) latviešu valodā ir iznākusi jaunākā akadēmiskas
ievirzes “Latviešu valodas gramatika” (Rīga: LU Akadēmiskais apgāds) Dainas Nīti-
ņas un Jura Grigorjeva redakcijā, kas pārstāv dažādu paaudžu teorētiskas ievirzes
autoru zinātnisku pētījumu kopumu (gramatikas autori – Ilze Auziņa, Dace Markus,
Juris Grigorjevs, Inese Indričāne, Anna Vulāne, Daina Nītiņa, Gunta Smiltniece, Ieva
Breņķe, Baiba Saulīte, Linda Lauze, Andra Kalnača un Ilze Lokmane). Šī gramatika

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apkopo 20. gs. beigu / 21. gs. sākuma izpētes pieredzi un kalpo par labu pamatu
turpmākiem pētījumiem latviešu gramatikā un fonētikā. Morfonoloģijas un verba no-
daļas (izņemot divdabju aprakstu) šai gramatikā rakstījusi Andra Kalnača, vienkārša
teikuma sintakses nodaļas – Ilze Lokmane.
Nākamais uzdevums ir bijis zinātniskas latviešu valodas gramatikas izstrāde
angļu valodā. Andras Kalnačas un Ilzes Lokmanes sagatavotā “Latviešu valodas gra-
matika” ir abu autoru īpašs pētniecisks darbs 2014–2018. gadā. Turklāt šai gramati-
kai ir būtiskas atšķirības no 2013. gadā izdotās “Latviešu valodas gramatikas”:
1) latviešu gramatikai angļu valodā ir atšķirīga mērķauditorija, kas nosaka arī
atšķirīgu valodas parādību aprakstu un akcentējumu, kā arī piemēru atlasi
(piemēri vairāk orientēti uz aprakstāmo faktu precīzu ilustrēšanu);
2) risināta arī latviešu valodas gramatiskās sistēmas apraksta tradīciju saska-
ņošana ar Rietumeiropas un Amerikas lingvistisko skolu atziņām un mūsdie-
nīgu gramatikas terminoloģiju (sk. “Subject index”, kurā aiz angļu valodas
termina iekavās norādīts arī atbilstošais latviešu gramatikas jēdziens).
Ja par kādu latviešu valodas gramatikas parādību lingvistiskajā literatūrā paus-
ti atšķirīgi viedokļi, atsevišķos gadījumos uzskatu dažādība “Latviešu valodas gra-
matikā” gan ir pieminēta, bet grāmatas ierobežotā apjoma un – jo īpaši – izvirzītā
mērķa dēļ nav detalizēti aplūkota. Tomēr autores centušās norādīt, kurš no viedok-
ļiem un kādu iemeslu dēļ pieņemts šajā darbā. Valodas gramatiskās sistēmas normē-
šanas jautājumi gramatikā nav aplūkoti, taču atsevišķos gadījumos var būt norādīts
uz kādu formu vai konstrukciju sarunvalodas vai neliterāru lietojumu un šāda lieto-
juma iemesliem.
Abas gramatikas autores ir Latvijas Universitātes Humanitāro zinātņu fakultā-
tes profesores, dažādu valodniecības, t. sk. gramatikas, kursu docētājas, kā arī pē-
tījumu autores par latviešu valodas morfoloģiju, morfonoloģiju, sintaksi, morfosin-
taksi, stilistiku u.c. sinhroniskās un vispārīgās valodniecības tematiem. Gan Andras
Kalnačas un Ilzes Lokmanes zinātniskie pētījumi, gan darbs ar studentiem auditorijā
un viņu bakalaura, maģistra un doktora darbu vadīšanā ļāvis uzkrāt zināšanas par
valodas gramatisko sistēmu un tās būtību, kā arī pieredzi gramatikas jautājumu in-
terpretācijā.
“Latviešu valodas gramatika” ir deskriptīvs un sinhronisks latviešu literārās va-
lodas apraksts (ar dažiem izņēmumiem morfonoloģijas nodaļā, aprakstot skaņu mijas
latviešu valodā). Tas galvenokārt balstīts uz latviešu valodniecībā 20. gs. un 21. gs.
izstrādātām gramatiskās sistēmas apraksta tradīcijām (sk., piem., Endzelīns 1922,
1951; Ahero et al. 1959, 1962; Kārkliņš 1974, 1976; Freimane 1985, 2008; Ceplītis,
Rozenbergs, Valdmanis 1989; Gāters 1993; Kalme, Smiltniece 2001; Nītiņa 2001;
Paegle 2003; Beitiņa 2009; Soida 2009; Nītiņa, Grigorjevs 2013).
Gramatiku veido trīs nodaļas – “Morfonoloģija”, “Morfoloģija”, “Sintakse”. Mor-
fonoloģijas nodaļā, lai būtu iespējams izskaidrot dažādas ar vārdu darināšanu un
formu veidošanu saistītas skaņu mijas, norādīti arī šo miju vēsturiskie cēloņi. Vārdu
darināšana atšķirībā no latviešu gramatikas tradīcijām (sk., piem., Ahero et al. 1959;
Nītiņa, Grigorjevs 2013) neveido īpašu gramatikas nodaļu, tā atrodama morfoloģijas

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nodaļā lietvārdu, adjektīvu, verbu u.c. vārdšķiru apraksta noslēgumā īpašā apakšno-
daļā. Morfoloģijas nodaļas ievaddaļā blakus morfēmikas, formveidošans principu un
vārdšķiru iedalījuma aprakstam sniegti arī vispārīgi komentāri par latviešu valodas
vārdu darināšanas paņēmieniem, līdzekļiem un tipiem. Sintaksē galvenā uzmanība
pievērsta strukturālam un daļēji arī funkcionālam vienkārša teikuma aprakstam, sa-
likts teikums skatīts galvenokārt kā vairāku predikatīvu vienību apvienojums vienā
komunikatīvā veselumā, tāpēc uzmanība pievērsta gan šo vienību jeb teikuma daļu
strukturālajām īpatnībām, gan semantiskajām attieksmēm.
Arī gramatikas piemēru materiāls kopumā ir sinhronisks – izmantoti “Līdz-
svarotā mūsdienu latviešu valodas tekstu korpusa 2018” dati (pieejams: http://
www.korpuss.lv/id/LVK2018; piemēri apzīmēti ar C), kā arī dažādi plašsaziņas lī-
dzekļu (gan iespiestu, gan internetā pieejamu), interešu portālu, latviešu daiļlitera-
tūras un atsevišķi folkloras u. c. piemēri. Atsevišķos gadījumos izmantots arī tīmekļa
meklētājs google.lv, kā arī dati no “Latvian Web Corpus (lvTenTen) (Ten Ten Corpus
Family)”, pieejams: https://www.sketchengine.eu/lvtenten-latvian-corpus/, šie pie-
mēri apzīmēti ar CW. Gramatikas ierobežotā apjoma dēļ, kā arī lai izvairītos no in-
formācijas, kas neattiecas uz aprakstāmiem valodas faktiem, piemēri var būt īsināti
vai adaptēti (tas tekstā nav īpaši atzīmēts, izņemot nodaļu par saliktu teikumu, kur
teikuma daļu izlaidums norādīts ar divpunkti). Piemēru analīze nav balstīta uz va-
lodas faktu biežuma analīzi. Piemēros ar trekninājumu parasti izcelts aplūkojamais
valodas fakts; ja nepieciešams papildus izcēlums, izmantots arī pasvītrojums.
Piemēru glosēšana veikta saskaņā ar “Leipcigas glosēšanas principiem”
(“The Leipzig Glossing Rules”, pieejams: https://www.eva.mpg.de/lingua/resources/
glossing-rules.php). Taču pilnībā respektēt šos principus nav bijis iespējams gramati-
kas apjoma ierobežojuma dēļ. Morfoloģijas nodaļās, ja piemērā minēti salikti teikumi
vai vairāki vienkārši teikumi, glosēta tikai tā teikuma daļa (vai tas teikums), kurā
ir aprakstāmais valodas fakts. Salikta teikuma sintakses nodaļā nepieciešamības ga-
dījumā glosētas atsevišķas gramatiskas formas, leksēmas vai predikatīvas vienības.
Lietvārdiem, īpašības vārdiem, skaitļa vārdiem, vietniekvārdiem, lokāmajiem div-
dabjiem glosā norādīts tikai daudzskaitlis, vienskaitlis nav īpaši marķēts – izņemot
personas vietniekvārdus tu un jūs. Minētajām vārdšķirām glosēta arī dzimšu atšķirī-
ba, jo tā latviešu valodā saistīta ar teikuma locekļu savstarpējo saskaņojumu. Glosē-
jot prievārdus, partikulas, saikļus un izsauksmes vārdus, ne vienmēr bijis iespējams
atrast precīzu tādas pašas vārdšķiras vārda tulkojumu angļu valodā, tāpēc glosās var
būt norādīts tikai vispārīgs minēto vārdšķiru apzīmējums (piem., PREP – prievārds,
PTCL – partikula, Q – jautājuma partikula, CONJ – saiklis, INT – izsauksmes vārds;
sk. arī “Abbreviations”).
Morfonoloģijas nodaļā, galvenokārt 1.2.2. apakšnodaļā, aprakstot patskaņu e,
ē izrunas saikni ar vārddarināšanu un formveidošanu, izmantots “Starptautiskais
fonētiskais alfabēts” (“The International Phonetic Alphabet”, pieejams: https://
www.internationalphoneticassociation.org/content/full-ipa-chart). Piemēros nav ap-
zīmētas latviešu valodas garo zilbju intonācijas (stieptā, krītošā un lauztā), jo tām
nav tieša sakara ar patskaņu e, ē izrunu.

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Pateicība

“Latviešu valodas gramatika” tapusi, pateicoties divu projektu finansējumam.

Latvijas Universitātes Humanitāro zinātņu fakultātes Latvistikas un baltistikas
nodaļā 2014.–2018. gadā tika īstenots Valsts pētījumu programmas “Letonika –
Latvijas vēsture, valodas, kultūra, vērtības” projekta Nr. 3 “Latviešu valodas pētījumi
21. gadsimta zinātnes kontekstā” apakšprojekts “Latviešu gramatika”, savukārt 2014.,
2016., 2017. gadā – Latvijas Universitātes pētniecības projekts “Mūsdienu latviešu
gramatika (angļu valodā)” (abu projektu vadītāja – Andra Kalnača). Projektos bez
gramatikas teksta autorēm Andras Kalnačas un Ilzes Lokmanes piedalījušies arī
tulkotāji Tatjana Pakalne (gramatikas ievads un morfoloģija), Zigrīda Vinčela (mor­
fonoloģija, izņemot “The morphophonological functions of vowel alternations”), Vita
Kalnbērziņa (vienkārša teikuma sintakse, izņemot “Communicative structure of
a simple sentence” un “Word order in a simple sentence”), Dens Dimiņš (“Communicative
structure of a simple sentence” un “Word order in a simple sentence”, kā arī salikta
teikuma un teksta sintakse) un Uldis Balodis (ievads un morfonoloģijas apakšnodaļa
“The morphophonological functions of vowel alternations”). Piemēru atlasē Andrai
Kalnačai un Ilzei Lokmanei palīdzējušas Anita Butāne (morfoloģija) un Agita
Kazakeviča (sintakse), savukārt Lauma Šime, Karīna Avakjanca un Zane Mūrniece
glosējušas piemērus morfoloģijas un sintakses nodaļās. Dažādas vērtīgas konsultācijas
par gramatikas jautājumiem, to saikni ar latīņu un grieķu gramatiku apraksta
tradīcijām abu projektu izstrādes gaitā, kā arī gramatikas tapšanas noslēguma fāzē
sniegusi projektu dalībniece Ilze Rūmniece. Visu tekstu kopumā atkārtoti rediģējis
un pārskatījis, kā arī dažādus ļoti noderīgus padomus devis Uldis Balodis. Vislielākā
pateicība visiem gramatikas tapšanā iesaistītajiem projektu dalībniekiem! Ar prieku
arī atceramies gramatikas projektu dalībnieku regulārās tikšanās 2014.–2017. gadā,
kad tika diskutēts gan par gramatikā lietojamiem terminiem un jēdzieniem, gan par
jau uzrakstītām gramatikas daļām, to struktūru, aprakstāmo latviešu valodas faktu
un piemēru atlasi, glosēšanas principiem.
Morfonoloģijas nodaļas piemēru fonētiskās transkripcijas sakarā vērtīgus
ieteikumus sniedzis Juris Grigorjevs, Ilze Auziņa sagatavojusi gramatikas sākumā
atrodamo latviešu valodas burtu un skaņu atbilsmes tabulu, savukārt Edmunds
Trumpa – latviešu valodas dialektu karti, par ko viņiem visiem trim īpašs paldies.

558
 Pateicība izsakāma arī Hellei Metslangai (Helle Metslang), Bonifacam Stundžam
(Bonifacas Stundžia) un Daiki Horiguči (Daiki Horiguchi), kuru lietpratīgie ieteikumi
un precizējumi bijuši īpaši nozīmīgi grāmatas sagatavošanas beigu posmā. Paldies
arī visiem Latvijas Universitātes kolēģiem, kuri atbalstījuši gramatikas publicēšanu!
Par rūpēm, sagatavojot publicēšanai “Latviešu valodas gramatikas” manuskriptu,
paldies arī LU Akadēmiskajam apgādam un tā direktorei Aijai Rozenšteinei.
Tomēr visvairāk pateicības vārdu pienākas abu autoru ģimenēm, jo sevišķi
dzīvesbiedriem, par atbalstu, izpratni un pacietību gramatikas pētniecībā un
grāmatas rakstīšanas laikā.

Rīga – Garciems – Lubāna

2020. gada jūlijā

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Andra Kalnača, Ilze Lokmane
Latvian Grammar
2021

University of Latvia Press

Rīga