LATVIAN GRAMMAR
1- LATVIAN ALPHABET
A a -> ā a in father (short)
Ā ā -> garais ā longer a as in "father"
B b -> bē b in book
C c -> cē ts in cats
Č č -> čē ch in chair
D d -> dē d in dog
E e -> ē e in bed (can vary slightly)
Ē ē -> garais ē long e
F f -> ef f in fish
G g -> gē g in go
Ģ ģ -> ģē soft gy (similar to "dy" in "duke" for many English speakers)
H h -> hā h in house
I i -> ī i in sit
Ī ī -> garais ī ee in see
J j -> jots y in yes
K k -> kā k in kite
Ķ ķ -> ķē soft ky
L l -> el l in lamp
Ļ ļ -> ļe soft ly
M m -> em m in man
N n -> en n in no
Ņ ņ -> ņe soft ny (like Spanish ñ)
O o -> o usually like o in or (varies by word)
P p -> pē p in pen
R r -> er rolled/trilled r
S s -> es s in sun
Š š -> še sh in ship
T t -> tē t in top
U u -> ū u in put
Ū ū -> garais ū oo in food
V v -> vē v in very
Z z -> zē z in zoo
Ž ž -> žē s in measure
2- WORD ORDER
1 Basic S + V Es guļu. I sleep.
2 Direct object S + V + DO Es lasu to grāmatu. I read that book.
3 Indirect object S + V + IO + DO Es dodu viņam grāmatu. I give him the book.
4 Beneficiary S + V + DO + par labu / priekš + beneficiary Es pērku grāmatu viņam. I buy a book for him.
5 IO pronoun S + V + IO pronoun + DO Es dodu viņam grāmatu. I give him the book.
6 Adjective S + būt + Adj Grāmata ir liela. The book is big.
7 Adverb S + V + Adv Viņš lasa ātri. He reads quickly.
8 Direct object + adverb S + V + DO + Adv Es ātri lasu to grāmatu. I read that book quickly.
9 Time adverb S + V + Adv(time) Es šodien strādāju. I work today.
10 Place adverb S + V + Adv(place) Viņš dzīvo tur. He lives there.
11 Prepositional phrase S + būt + Prep + N Grāmata ir uz galda. The book is on the table.
12 DO + preposition S + V + DO + Prep + N Es nolieku grāmatu uz galda. I put the book on the table.
13 Determiner + noun Det + N Šī grāmata ir jauna. This book is new.
14 Determiner + adjective + noun Det + Adj + N Šī lielā grāmata ir jauna. This big book is new.
15 Numeral + noun Num + N + Adj Tur ir divas jaunas grāmatas. There are two new books.
16 Conjunction Clause + Conj + Clause Es lasu, un viņš raksta. I read and he writes.
17 Conjunction + objects S + V + DO + Conj + S + V + DO Es lasu grāmatu, un viņš raksta vēstuli. I read the book and he writes a letter.
18 Present passive S + tikt + PP Grāmata tiek lasīta. The book is being read / is read.
19 Passive + agent S + tikt + PP + no + Agent Grāmata tiek lasīta no skolotāja puses. The book is being read by the teacher.
20 Passive + IO S + tikt + PP + IO Grāmata viņam tiek dota. The book is given to him.
21 Passive + IO + agent S + tikt + PP + IO + no + Agent Grāmata viņam tiek dota no skolotāja puses. The book is given to him by the teacher.
22 Passive + adverb S + tikt + PP + Adv Grāmata tiek lasīta šodien. The book is being read today.
23 Passive + preposition S + tikt + PP + Prep + N Grāmata tiek nolikta uz galda. The book is put on the table.
24 Passive + agent + adverb S + tikt + PP + Adv + agent Grāmata šodien tiek lasīta no Marka puses. The book is being read today by Mark.
25 Passive + agent + IO + adverb S + tikt + PP + IO + Adv + agent Grāmata šodien tiek dota studentam no skolotāja puses. The book is given to the student today by the teacher.
26 Perfect passive S + būt + PP + bijis/bijusi Grāmata ir izlasīta. The book has been read.
27 Perfect passive + agent S + būt + PP + agent Grāmata ir izlasīta no Marka puses. The book has been read by Mark.
28 Future passive S + future tikt + PP Grāmata tiks izlasīta. The book will be read.
29 Future passive + agent S + future tikt + PP + agent Grāmata tiks izlasīta no Marka puses. The book will be read by Mark.
30 Modal passive S + modal + infinitive + PP Grāmata ir jāizlasa. The book must be read.
31 Negative S + ne + V + DO Es nelasu to grāmatu. I do not read that book.
32 Negative passive S + ne + tikt + PP Grāmata netiek lasīta no Marka puses. The book is not being read by Mark.
33 Yes/no question V + S + DO? Vai tu lasi to grāmatu? Do you read that book?
34 Passive question S + tikt + PP? Vai grāmata tiek lasīta? Is the book being read?
35 Agent question Kas + V + DO? Kas lasa grāmatu? Who reads the book?
36 IO question Kam + S + V + DO? Kam tu dod grāmatu? To whom do you give the book?
37 Imperative Imperative + DO Lasi grāmatu! Read the book!
38 Imperative + IO Imperative + IO + DO Dod viņam grāmatu! Give him the book!
39 Passive imperative Lai + tikt + PP Lai grāmata tiek izlasīta! Let the book be read!
40 Infinitive / gerund Infinitive / -ot form lasīt / lasot to read / reading
41 Infinitive + DO Infinitive + DO lasīt grāmatu to read the book
42 Passive infinitive tikt + PP tikt izlasītam to be read
43 Purpose S + V + lai + verb Es ēdu, lai spēlētu. I eat to play / in order to play.
44 Relative clause N + kas/kurš + clause Grāmata, ko es lasu, ir interesanta. The book that I read is interesting.
45 Passive relative N + kas/kurš + passive clause Grāmata, ko lasa Marks, ir interesanta. The book that is read by Mark is interesting.
46 Conditional / if Ja + present, present/future Ja man ir laiks, es lasu. If I have time, I read.
47 Conditional + passive Ja + passive, clause Ja grāmata tiek lasīta, daudz ko var iemācīties. If the book is read, one can learn a lot.
48 Reported speech S + speech verb + ka + clause Viņš teica, ka viņš lasa. He said that he was reading / reads.
49 Reported question S + jautāt + vai + clause Viņš jautāja, vai es lasu. He asked if I was reading / read.
50 Reported command/request S + lūgt + person + lai + clause Viņš lūdza man, lai es izlasu grāmatu. He asked me to read the book.
INDIRECT OBJECT:
1 Basic indirect object S + V + IO (Dative) Es palīdzu draugam. I help my friend.
2 IO + direct object S + V + IO + DO Es dodu draugam grāmatu. I give my friend a book.
3 IO pronoun S + V + IO pronoun + DO Es dodu viņam grāmatu. I give him the book.
4 IO after DO S + V + DO + IO Es dodu grāmatu draugam. I give the book to my friend.
5 IO question Kam + S + V + DO? Kam tu dod grāmatu? To whom do you give the book?
6 Recipient Dative Es sūtu viņai vēstuli. I send her a letter.
7 Beneficiary Dative Es pērku viņam dāvanu. I buy him a gift.
8 "Like" construction Dative + patikt + Nominative Man patīk šī grāmata. I like this book.
9 Help someone S + V + Dative Es palīdzu mātei. I help my mother.
10 Write to someone S + V + Dative Es rakstu draugam. I write to my friend.
GENITIVE:
1 Possession Possessor (GEN) + N Drauga grāmata ir jauna. The friend's book is new.
2 Relationship N + N (GEN) Mājas durvis ir lielas. The house's door is big.
3 "Of" relationship N + GEN Grāmatas vāks ir sarkans. The cover of the book is red.
4 Quantity Quantity + GEN Daudz ūdens. A lot of water.
5 Amount/number Number/amount + GEN Divas grāmatas. Two books.
6 After certain prepositions Prep + GEN Bez drauga. Without a friend.
7 "From" / source No + GEN Es nāku no skolas. I come from school.
8 Partitive meaning GEN Es gribu ūdens. I want some water.
9 Negative possession/existence nav + GEN Man nav naudas. I don't have money.
10 After some expressions Expression + GEN Pirms stundas. Before the lesson/hour.
INDEPENDENT:
mine mans / mana / mani / manas Šī grāmata ir mana. This book is mine.
yours (sg.) tavs / tava / tavi / tavas Šī grāmata ir tava. This book is yours.
his viņa Šī grāmata ir viņa. This book is his.
hers viņas Šī grāmata ir viņas. This book is hers.
ours mūsu Šī māja ir mūsu. This house is ours.
yours (pl./formal) jūsu Šī māja ir jūsu. This house is yours.
theirs viņu Šī māja ir viņu. This house is theirs.
masculine singular mans tavs
feminine singular mana tava
masculine plural mani tavi
feminine plural manas tavas
WAS GOING TO:
1. “Was going to” = intended/planned to do something
The most natural construction is:
bija + infinitive
English Latvian
I was going to read Es grasījos lasīt.
You were going to read Tu grasījies lasīt.
He was going to read Viņš grasījās lasīt.
We were going to read Mēs grasījāmies lasīt.
You were going to read Jūs grasījāties lasīt.
They were going to read Viņi grasījās lasīt.
However, grasīties + infinitive is often more natural for “intend/plan to.”
Examples
Es grasījos ēst.
I was going to eat.
Viņa grasījās zvanīt viņam.
She was going to call him.
Mēs grasījāmies doties mājās.
We were going to go home.
2. “Was going to” = was about to
For something that was just about to happen, Latvian commonly uses:
gatavojās + infinitive
or
tūlīt + verb
Examples:
Es gatavojos iet prom.
I was about to leave / I was getting ready to leave.
Viņš gatavojās sākt darbu.
He was about to start work.
Es tūlīt gāju prom.
I was just about to leave.
3. “Was going to” = future in the past
Sometimes English “was going to” describes something that was expected to happen later from a past viewpoint.
Latvian often simply uses the conditional or a future construction in a past context, depending on the meaning.
English:
He said that he was going to come.
Latvian:
Viņš teica, ka viņš nāks.
He said that he would come / was going to come.
Here nāks is the future tense.
4. Negative “wasn't going to”
For intention, use negrasīties:
Es negrasījos to darīt.
I wasn't going to do that.
Viņš negrasījās nākt.
He wasn't going to come.
Mēs negrasījāmies palikt.
We weren't going to stay.
2- NOUNS
1st Declension (Masculine -s, -š)
Example: galds (table)
Case Singular Plural
Nominative galds galdi
Genitive galda galdu
Dative galdam galdiem
Accusative galdu galdus
Locative galdā galdos
Vocative gald! / galds! galdi!
Another example:
zēns (boy)
Singular Plural
zēns zēni
zēna zēnu
zēnam zēniem
zēnu zēnus
zēnā zēnos
2nd Declension (Masculine -is)
Example: skapis (cupboard)
Case Singular Plural
Nominative skapis skapji
Genitive skapja skapju
Dative skapim skapjiem
Accusative skapi skapjus
Locative skapī skapjos
Vocative skapi! skapji!
Another example:
brālis (brother)
brālis
brāļa
brālim
brāli
brālī
3rd Declension (Masculine -us)
Example: tirgus (market)
Case Singular Plural
Nominative tirgus tirgi
Genitive tirgus tirgu
Dative tirgum tirgiem
Accusative tirgu tirgus
Locative tirgū tirgos
Vocative tirgu! tirgi!
Another example:
medus (honey)
medus
medus
medum
medu
medū
Example: māja (house)
Case Singular Plural
Nominative māja mājas
Genitive mājas māju
Dative mājai mājām
Accusative māju mājas
Locative mājā mājās
Vocative māja! mājas!
Another example:
meitene ("girl") actually belongs to the 5th declension, not the 4th.
A true 4th-declension example:
sieva (wife)
sieva
sievas
sievai
sievu
sievā
5th Declension (Feminine -e)
Example: upe (river)
Case Singular Plural
Nominative upe upes
Genitive upes upju
Dative upei upēm
Accusative upi upes
Locative upē upēs
Vocative upe! upes!
Another example:
klase (class)
klase
klases
klasei
klasi
klasē
6th Declension (Feminine -s)
Example: nakts (night)
Case Singular Plural
Nominative nakts naktis
Genitive nakts nakšu
Dative naktij naktīm
Accusative nakti naktis
Locative naktī naktīs
Vocative nakts! naktis!
Another example:
pils (castle)
pils
pils
pilij
pili
pilī
Common Irregular Nouns
Some nouns have irregular forms.
cilvēks (person)
Case Singular Plural
Nominative cilvēks cilvēki
Genitive cilvēka cilvēku
Dative cilvēkam cilvēkiem
Accusative cilvēku cilvēkus
Locative cilvēkā cilvēkos
ūdens (water)
Case Singular
Nominative ūdens
Genitive ūdens
Dative ūdenim
Accusative ūdeni
Locative ūdenī
1. Indirect Object (Dative)
The indirect object usually comes before the direct object.
Pattern 1: Subject + Verb + Indirect Object + Direct Object
Subject + Verb + Dative + Accusative
Example:
Es dodu draugam grāmatu.
Word Meaning Case
Es I Nominative
dodu give —
draugam to the friend Dative
grāmatu book Accusative
I give the friend a book.
Another example:
Viņa sūta mātei vēstuli.
Word Meaning
Viņa she
sūta sends
mātei to the mother
vēstuli a letter
She sends her mother a letter.
Pattern 2: Subject + Verb + Direct Object + Indirect Object
This is also possible because Latvian word order is flexible, though it often emphasizes the direct object.
Es dodu grāmatu draugam.
I give the book to the friend.
Pattern 3: Indirect Object as a Pronoun
Subject + Verb + Dative Pronoun + Object
Example:
Es dodu viņam grāmatu.
Word Meaning
Es I
dodu give
viņam to him
grāmatu book
I give him a book.
3. Possession (Genitive)
Pattern:
Genitive + Noun
Example:
Zēna grāmata
Word Meaning
zēna boy's
grāmata book
The boy's book.
More examples:
Meitenes soma
The girl's bag.
Skolotāja automašīna
The teacher's car.
4. Genitive After "nav"
Pattern:
Dative Person + nav + Genitive Noun
Example:
Man nav laika.
Word Meaning
Man to me
nav is not
laika time (genitive)
I don't have time.
More examples:
Viņam nav naudas.
He doesn't have money.
Mums nav piena.
We don't have milk.
5. Genitive After Prepositions
Some prepositions require the genitive.
Pattern
Preposition + Genitive
Examples:
bez drauga
without a friend
no mājas
from the house
pie skolotāja
at the teacher's house / to the teacher
6. "Of" Relationships
Pattern:
Genitive + Noun
Examples:
Latvijas karogs
Latvia's flag / the flag of Latvia
grāmatas vāks
the book's cover
mājas jumts
the house's roof
7. "Have"
Pattern:
Dative Person + ir + Nominative Noun
Example:
Man ir suns.
Word Meaning
Man to me
ir is
suns dog
I have a dog.
Notice that suns stays in the nominative because the sentence is positive.
Negative:
Man nav suņa.
Now suns → suņa (genitive).
I don't have a dog.
8. Combining Dative and Genitive
Example:
Es dodu draugam sava brāļa grāmatu.
Word Meaning Case
Es I Nominative
dodu give —
draugam to the friend Dative
sava of my own Genitive modifier
brāļa brother's Genitive
grāmatu book Accusative
3- ADJECTIVES:
liels suns masculine singular a big dog
liela māja feminine singular a big house
lieli suņi masculine plural big dogs
lielas mājas feminine plural big houses
Before noun Adjective + Noun liela māja a big house
After "to be" Subject + ir + Adjective Māja ir liela. The house is big.
Definite Definite adjective + noun lielais suns the big dog
Indefinite Definite English
jauns jaunais the new (masc. sg.)
jauna jaunā the new (fem. sg.)
jauni jaunie the new (masc. pl.)
jaunas jaunās the new (fem. pl.)
TO BE VERB:
Infinitive:
būt = to be
Present tense:
Person Form
es esmu
tu esi
viņš ir
mēs esam
jūs esat
viņi ir
Examples:
Es esmu students. I am a student.
Viņa ir skolotāja. She is a teacher.
Past Tense
Person Latvian English
es biju I was
tu biji you were
viņš/viņa bija he/she was
mēs bijām we were
jūs bijāt you were
viņi/viņas bija they were
Examples:
Es biju skolā.
I was at school.
Viņa bija laimīga.
She was happy.
Viņi bija noguruši.
They were tired.
Negative Past
Simply add ne-.
Positive Negative
biju nebiju
biji nebiji
bija nebija
bijām nebijām
bijāt nebijāt
bija nebija
Example:
Es nebiju mājās.
I wasn't at home.
Future Tense
Person Latvian English
es būšu I will be
tu būsi you will be
viņš/viņa būs he/she will be
mēs būsim we will be
jūs būsiet you will be
viņi/viņas būs they will be
Examples:
Es būšu gatavs.
I will be ready.
Viņa būs skolotāja.
She will be a teacher.
Viņi būs šeit.
They will be here.
Negative Future
Add ne-.
Positive Negative
būšu nebūšu
būsi nebūsi
būs nebūs
būsim nebūsim
būsiet nebūsiet
būs nebūs
Example:
Mēs nebūsim mājās.
We won't be at home.
Imperative
Person Latvian English
tu esi! be!
jūs esiet! be! (plural/formal)
mēs būsim! / esam! (context-dependent) let's be!
viņš/viņa lai ir let him/her be
viņi lai ir let them be
Examples:
Esi uzmanīgs!
Be careful!
Esiet klusi!
Be quiet!
Lai viņš ir laimīgs.
Let him be happy.
Conditional ("Would Be")
Person Latvian English
es būtu I would be
tu būtu you would be
viņš būtu he would be
mēs būtu we would be
jūs būtu you would be
viņi būtu they would be
Unlike English, būtu is the same for every person.
Examples:
Es būtu priecīgs.
I would be happy.
Viņa būtu šeit.
She would be here.
Present Perfect
Formation:
present of būt + past active participle
Examples:
Es esmu bijis. (masculine speaker)
I have been.
Es esmu bijusi. (feminine speaker)
I have been.
Viņš ir bijis skolā.
He has been at school.
Viņa ir bijusi Rīgā.
She has been in Riga.
Past Perfect
Formation:
past of būt + past active participle
Examples:
Es biju bijis. (masculine)
I had been.
Viņa bija bijusi. (feminine)
She had been.
Future Perfect
Formation:
future of būt + past active participle
Examples:
Es būšu bijis. (masculine)
I will have been.
Viņa būs bijusi. (feminine)
She will have been.
4- PRONOUNS:
1. Personal Pronouns
Singular
English Nominative Genitive Dative Accusative Locative
I es manis man mani manī
You (sg.) tu tevis tev tevi tevī
He viņš viņa viņam viņu viņā
She viņa viņas viņai viņu viņā
Plural
English Nominative Genitive Dative Accusative Locative
We mēs mūsu mums mūs mūsos
You (pl./formal) jūs jūsu jums jūs jūsos
They (masc./mixed) viņi viņu viņiem viņus viņos
They (fem.) viņas viņu viņām viņas viņās
Reflexive Pronoun Table
Case Latvian English
Nominative — — (does not exist)
Genitive sevis of oneself
Dative sev to oneself
Accusative sevi oneself
Locative sevī in oneself
There is no nominative form because the reflexive pronoun cannot be the subject.
1. Accusative (Direct Object)
Used for:
myself
yourself
himself
herself
ourselves
yourselves
themselves
Examples:
Es redzu sevi spogulī.
Word Meaning
Es I
redzu see
sevi myself
spogulī in the mirror
I see myself in the mirror.
Viņš mazgā sevi.
He washes himself.
Viņa slavē sevi.
She praises herself.
2. Dative
Used for:
to oneself
Example:
Es nopirku sev grāmatu.
Word Meaning
Es I
nopirku bought
sev for myself
grāmatu a book
I bought myself a book.
More examples:
Viņa pagatavoja sev kafiju.
She made herself coffee.
Mēs uzcēlām sev māju.
We built ourselves a house.
3. Genitive
Usually after prepositions.
Example:
Viņš domā par sevi.
He thinks about himself.
Bez sevis viņš neko neņem.
He takes nothing without himself. (rare, mostly illustrative)
4. Locative
Used rarely.
Example:
Viņš tic sevī.
He believes in himself.
More commonly, Latvian says:
Viņš tic sev.
Reflexive Verb Examples
Many Latvian verbs are inherently reflexive and end in -ties.
Infinitive English
mazgāties to wash oneself
ģērbties to get dressed
atpūsties to rest
sēsties to sit down
mācīties to study
Examples:
Es mazgājos.
I wash myself.
Viņa ģērbjas.
She gets dressed.
In these verbs, no separate reflexive pronoun is needed because the reflexive ending is already part of the verb.
Demonstrative Pronouns
"This"
Gender Singular Plural
Masculine šis šie
Feminine šī šīs
"That"
Gender Singular Plural
Masculine tas tie
Feminine tā tās
5- VERB TENSES:
es lasu
tu lasi
viņš/viņa lasa
mēs lasām
jūs lasāt
viņi/viņas lasa
es lasīju
tu lasīji
viņš lasīja
mēs lasījām
jūs lasījāt
viņi lasīja
es lasīšu
tu lasīsi
viņš lasīs
mēs lasīsim
jūs lasīsiet
viņi lasīs
Present of būt + past active participle
Past of būt + past active participle
Future of būt + past active participle
6- PASSIVE TENSES:
es tieku lasīts / lasīta I am being read*
tu tiec lasīts / lasīta You are being read
viņš / viņa tiek lasīts / lasīta He/She is being read
mēs tiekam lasīti / lasītas We are being read
jūs tiekat lasīti / lasītas You are being read
viņi / viņas tiek lasīti / lasītas They are being read
es tieku lasīta I am being read
tu tiec lasīta You are being read
viņa tiek lasīta She is being read
mēs tiekam lasītas We are being read
jūs tiekat lasītas You are being read
viņas tiek lasītas They are being read
es tiku lasīts / lasīta I was being read
tu tiki lasīts / lasīta You were being read
viņš / viņa tika lasīts / lasīta He/She was being read
mēs tikām lasīti / lasītas We were being read
jūs tikāt lasīti / lasītas You were being read
viņi / viņas tika lasīti / lasītas They were being read
es tiku lasīta I was being read
tu tiki lasīta You were being read
viņa tika lasīta She was being read
mēs tikām lasītas We were being read
jūs tikāt lasītas You were being read
viņas tika lasītas They were being read
es tikšu lasīts / lasīta I will be read
tu tiksi lasīts / lasīta You will be read
viņš / viņa tiks lasīts / lasīta He/She will be read
mēs tiksim lasīti / lasītas We will be read
jūs tiksiet lasīti / lasītas You will be read
viņi / viņas tiks lasīti / lasītas They will be read
es tikšu lasīta I will be read
tu tiksi lasīta You will be read
viņa tiks lasīta She will be read
mēs tiksim lasītas We will be read
jūs tiksiet lasītas You will be read
viņas tiks lasītas They will be read
es esmu lasīts I have been read / I am read
tu esi lasīts You have been read
viņš ir lasīts He has been read
mēs esam lasīti We have been read
jūs esat lasīti You have been read
viņi ir lasīti They have been read
es esmu lasīta I have been read
tu esi lasīta You have been read
viņa ir lasīta She has been read
mēs esam lasītas We have been read
jūs esat lasītas You have been read
viņas ir lasītas They have been read
es biju lasīts I had been read
tu biji lasīts You had been read
viņš bija lasīts He had been read
mēs bijām lasīti We had been read
jūs bijāt lasīti You had been read
viņi bija lasīti They had been read
es biju lasīta I had been read
tu biji lasīta You had been read
viņa bija lasīta She had been read
mēs bijām lasītas We had been read
jūs bijāt lasītas You had been read
viņas bija lasītas They had been read
es būšu lasīts I will have been read
tu būsi lasīts You will have been read
viņš būs lasīts He will have been read
mēs būsim lasīti We will have been read
jūs būsiet lasīti You will have been read
viņi būs lasīti They will have been read
es būšu lasīta I will have been read
tu būsi lasīta You will have been read
viņa būs lasīta She will have been read
mēs būsim lasītas We will have been read
jūs būsiet lasītas You will have been read
viņas būs lasītas They will have been read
7- NEGATION:
es lasu es nelasu I do not read
tu lasi tu nelasi You do not read
viņš lasa viņš nelasa He does not read
mēs lasām mēs nelasām We do not read
jūs lasāt jūs nelasāt You do not read
viņi lasa viņi nelasa They do not read
nekad never
nekur nowhere
nekā no more / no longer (in some contexts)
nemaz not at all
8- QUESTIONS:
YES/NO QUESTIONS:
Simply use the sentence with rising intonation (or a question mark in writing).
QUESTION WORDS:
kas who? / what?
ko what? (object)
kur where?
no kurienes where from?
uz kurieni where to?
kad when?
kā how?
kāpēc why?
cik how much / how many?
kurš which?
kāds what kind of?
kam to whom?
kura whose?
9- ADVERBS:
# Latvian Transliteration English
1 labi la-bi well
2 slikti slik-ti badly
3 ātri aa-tri quickly
4 lēni lay-ni slowly
5 pareizi pa-rei-zi correctly
6 nepareizi ne-pa-rei-zi incorrectly
7 skaisti skai-sti beautifully
8 skaidri skai-dri clearly
9 viegli vie-gli easily
10 grūti groo-ti with difficulty
11 klusām klu-saam quietly
12 skaļi skaal-yi loudly
13 mierīgi mie-rii-gi calmly
14 uzmanīgi uz-ma-nii-gi carefully
15 droši dro-shi safely; confidently
16 brīvi brii-vi freely
17 slepeni sle-pe-ni secretly
18 atklāti at-klaa-ti openly
19 tieši tie-shi directly
20 netieši ne-tie-shi indirectly
21 kopā ko-paa together
22 atsevišķi at-se-vish-chi separately
23 vienādi vie-naa-di equally
24 citādi chi-taa-di differently; otherwise
25 īpaši ii-pa-shi especially
26 parasti pa-ras-ti usually; normally
27 pēkšņi payk-shnyi suddenly
28 nejauši ne-yau-shi accidentally
29 tīšām tii-shaam deliberately; intentionally
30 apzināti ap-zi-naa-ti consciously; deliberately
31 rūpīgi roo-pii-gi carefully
32 godīgi go-dii-gi honestly
33 nopietni no-piet-ni seriously
34 jautri yau-tri cheerfully
35 brīnumaini brii-nu-mai-ni wonderfully
36 vienkārši vie-nkaar-shi simply
37 sarežģīti sa-re-zhgii-ti complicatedly
38 atkal at-kal again
39 kopīgi ko-pii-gi jointly
40 personīgi per-so-nii-gi personally
2. Time adverbs — When?
# Latvian Transliteration English
1 tagad ta-gad now
2 šodien sho-dien today
3 vakar va-kar yesterday
4 rīt riit tomorrow
5 aizvakar aiz-va-kar the day before yesterday
6 parīt pa-riit the day after tomorrow
7 tagad ta-gad now
8 patlaban pat-la-ban at present
9 šobrīd sho-briid at the moment
10 drīz driiz soon
11 vēlāk vay-laak later
12 agrāk ag-raak earlier; formerly
13 vēl vayl still; yet
14 jau yau already
15 nekavējoties ne-ka-vay-yo-ties immediately
16 nekavējoties ne-ka-vay-yo-ties without delay
17 beidzot bai-dzot finally
18 sākumā saa-ku-maa at first; initially
19 beigās bai-gaas finally; at the end
20 iepriekš iep-rieksh previously; beforehand
21 pēc tam paik tam afterwards
22 tūlīt too-liit immediately
23 drīzumā drii-zu-maa soon
24 sen sen long ago
25 nesen ne-sen recently
26 agrīni ag-rii-ni early
27 vēlu vay-lu late
28 dienā die-naa during the day
29 naktī nak-tii at night
30 no rīta no rii-ta in the morning
31 vakarā va-ka-raa in the evening
32 dienu die-nu by day; during the day
3. Frequency adverbs — How often?
# Latvian Transliteration English
1 vienmēr vien-mair always
2 nekad ne-kad never
3 bieži bie-zhi often
4 reti re-ti rarely
5 dažreiz da-zh-reiz sometimes
6 reizēm rei-zem sometimes
7 ikreiz ik-reiz every time
8 ikdienas ik-die-nas daily
9 ikdien ik-dien every day
10 katru dienu kat-ru die-nu every day
11 regulāri re-gu-laa-ri regularly
12 pastāvīgi pas-taavii-gi constantly
13 nepārtraukti ne-paar-trauk-ti continuously
14 biežāk bie-zhaak more often
15 retāk re-taak less often
16 atkal at-kal again
17 atkārtoti at-kaar-to-ti repeatedly
18 vienreiz vien-reiz once
19 divreiz div-reiz twice
20 vairākkārt vai-raak-kaart repeatedly; several times
21 daudzkārt daudz-kaart many times
22 reizumis rei-zu-mis occasionally
4. Degree / intensity adverbs
These answer “to what degree?”
# Latvian Transliteration English
1 ļoti lyo-ti very
2 diezgan diez-gan quite; rather
3 pārāk paa-raak too
4 tik tik so; that
5 tā taa so; thus
6 tik ļoti tik lyo-ti so very
7 ārkārtīgi aar-kaartii-gi extremely
8 ļoti ļoti lyo-ti lyo-ti very very
9 gandrīz gan-driiz almost
10 pilnīgi pil-nii-gi completely
11 pilnībā pil-nii-baa completely
12 daļēji daal-yee partially
13 gandrīz gan-driiz nearly
14 aptuveni ap-tu-ve-ni approximately
15 tikpat tik-pat equally; just as
16 vairāk vai-raak more
17 mazāk ma-zaak less
18 visvairāk vis-vai-raak most
19 vismazāk vis-ma-zaak least
20 pietiekami pie-tie-ka-mi sufficiently; enough
21 nepietiekami ne-pie-tie-ka-mi insufficiently
22 īpaši ii-pa-shi especially
23 ārkārtīgi aar-kaartii-gi extraordinarily
24 bezgalīgi bez-gal-ii-gi infinitely
25 nedaudz ne-daudz somewhat; a little
26 mazliet maz-liet a little
27 drusku drus-ku a little
28 gandrīz nemaz gan-driiz ne-maz hardly at all
5. Place / location adverbs
# Latvian Transliteration English
1 šeit sheit here
2 te te here
3 tur tur there
4 turpat tur-pat right there
5 šurp shurp hereward; this way
6 turp turp thereward; that way
7 augšā aug-shaa up; upstairs
8 lejā le-yaa down; downstairs
9 iekšā iek-shaa inside; inward
10 ārā aa-raa outside; outward
11 priekšā priek-shaa in front; ahead
12 aizmugurē aiz-mu-gu-ray behind; at the back
13 apkārt ap-kaart around
14 tuvumā tu-vu-maa nearby
15 tālumā taa-lu-maa far away
16 visur vi-sur everywhere
17 nekur ne-kur nowhere
18 kaut kur kaut kur somewhere
19 jebkur yeb-kur anywhere
20 katrur kat-rur everywhere
21 citviet chit-viet elsewhere
22 šeitpat sheit-pat right here
23 turienes tu-rie-nes from there
24 šejienes she-yee-nes from here
25 augšup aug-shup upwards
26 lejup le-yup downwards
27 iekšup iek-shup inward
28 ārpus aar-pus outside; beyond
6. Direction adverbs
Latvian Transliteration English
šurp shurp this way
turp turp that way
augšup aug-shup upwards
lejup le-yup downwards
uz priekšu uz priek-shu forward
atpakaļ at-pa-kaly back; backwards
apkārt ap-kaart around
projām pro-yaam away
prom prom away
tuvāk tu-vaak closer
tālāk taa-laak farther; further
iekšā iek-shaa inward
ārā aa-raa outward
Ej uz priekšu.
Ey uz priek-shu.
Go forward.
Nāc šurp!
Naach shurp!
Come here!
Ej turp!
Ey turp!
Go there!
7. Question adverbs
# Latvian Transliteration English
1 kad? kad? when?
2 kur? kur? where?
3 kurp? kurp? where to?
4 no kurienes? no ku-rie-nes? from where?
5 kā? kaa? how?
6 kāpēc? kaa-paich? why?
7 kādēļ? kaadely? why?; for what reason?
8 cik? tsik? how much?; how many?
9 cik ļoti? tsik lyo-ti? how much?; how very?
10 cik bieži? tsik bie-zhi? how often?
11 cik ilgi? tsik il-gi? how long?
12 cik tālu? tsik taa-lu? how far?
8. Negative adverbs
Latvian Transliteration English
ne ne not
nekad ne-kad never
nekur ne-kur nowhere
nekā ne-kaa in no way; than nothing
nekādi ne-kaa-di in no way
nemaz ne-maz not at all
nekādā ziņā ne-kaa-daa zinya in no way
nekurienē ne-ku-rie-nay nowhere
nekavējoties ne-ka-vay-yo-ties immediately
Es nekad tur neeju.
Es ne-kad tur ne-eyu.
I never go there.
Viņš nemaz nezina.
Vinysh ne-maz ne-zi-na.
He doesn't know at all.
9. Affirmation / confirmation adverbs
Latvian Transliteration English
jā yaa yes
tiešām tie-shaam really; indeed
patiesi pa-tie-si truly
tieši tie-shi exactly
noteikti no-teik-ti definitely
protams pro-tams of course
patiešām pa-tie-shaam really; indeed
tiešām tie-shaam really
droši vien dro-shi vien probably
noteikti no-teik-ti certainly
10. Probability / uncertainty adverbs
Latvian Transliteration English
varbūt var-boot maybe; perhaps
droši vien dro-shi vien probably
iespējams ies-pay-yams possibly
acīmredzot a-tseem-re-dzot apparently; evidently
laikam lai-kam probably; apparently
šķiet shkiet apparently; it seems
šķietami shkie-ta-mi seemingly
visticamāk vis-ti-tsa-maak most likely
varbūtēji var-boo-te-yi perhaps; possibly
iespējams, ka ies-pay-yams ka possibly that
Varbūt viņš atnāks.
Var-boot vinysh at-naaks.
Maybe he will come.
Viņš droši vien ir mājās.
Vinysh dro-shi vien ir maa-yaas.
He is probably at home.
11. Restriction / limitation
Latvian Transliteration English
tikai ti-kai only
vienīgi vie-nii-gi only; solely
vien vien only; merely
pavisam pa-vi-sam quite; completely
tikai tad ti-kai tad only then
tikai šeit ti-kai sheit only here
tikai tagad ti-kai ta-gad only now
vismaz vis-maz at least
visvairāk vis-vai-raak mostly; most
vismazāk vis-ma-zaak least
Es tikai gribu palīdzēt.
Es ti-kai gri-bu pa-lii-dzet.
I only want to help.
12. Addition adverbs
Latvian Transliteration English
arī a-rii also; too
turklāt tur-klaat moreover; besides
papildus pa-pil-dus additionally
vēl vayl still; additionally
turpmāk turp-maak henceforth; from now on
atkal at-kal again
turpretī tur-pre-tii on the contrary; whereas
Es arī gribu nākt.
Es a-rii gri-bu naakt.
I also want to come.
13. Contrast / concession adverbs
Latvian Transliteration English
tomēr to-mair however; nevertheless
taču ta-choo however; nevertheless
turpretī tur-pre-tii on the contrary; whereas
toties to-ties whereas; on the other hand
gluži pretēji glu-zhi pre-tay-yi quite the opposite
vienalga vie-nal-ga anyway; regardless
jebkurā gadījumā yeb-ku-raa ga-dii-yu-maa in any case
Viņš ir noguris, tomēr strādā.
Vinysh ir no-gur-is, to-mair straa-daa.
He is tired, nevertheless he works.
14. Result / consequence adverbs
Latvian Transliteration English
tāpēc taa-paich therefore; because of that
tādēļ taa-dely therefore
tādējādi taa-day-yaa-di thus; thereby
līdz ar to liidz ar to therefore; as a result
rezultātā re-zul-taa-taa as a result
beigu beigās bai-gu bai-gaas in the end; eventually
15. Purpose-related adverbial expressions
Strictly speaking, these are often adverbial phrases rather than individual adverbs.
Latvian Transliteration English
tāpēc taa-paich therefore; for that reason
tādēļ taa-dely for that reason
speciāli spe-tsiaa-li specially; deliberately
nolūkā no-loo-kaa for the purpose
apzināti ap-zi-naa-ti intentionally
16. Comparison adverbs
Latvian Transliteration English
vairāk vai-raak more
mazāk ma-zaak less
labāk la-baak better
sliktāk slik-taak worse
ātrāk aa-traak faster; sooner
lēnāk lay-naak more slowly
biežāk bie-zhaak more often
retāk re-taak less often
vairāk vai-raak more
visvairāk vis-vai-raak most
vismazāk vis-ma-zaak least
tikpat tik-pat equally; just as
vienādi vie-naa-di equally
vislabāk vis-la-baak best
vissliktāk vis-slik-taak worst
Viņš skrien ātrāk nekā es.
Vinysh skrien aa-traak ne-kaa es.
He runs faster than I do.
17. Approximation
Latvian Transliteration English
apmēram ap-may-ram approximately
aptuveni ap-tu-ve-ni approximately
gandrīz gan-driiz almost
aptuveni tā ap-tu-ve-ni taa approximately so
kaut kur kaut kur somewhere; approximately
ap ap around; approximately
Apmēram piecos.
Ap-may-ram pie-tsos.
At around five.
18. Sequence / order adverbs
Latvian Transliteration English
vispirms vis-pirms first; firstly
pirmkārt pirm-kaart firstly
otrkārt ot-rkaart secondly
treškārt tresh-kaart thirdly
pēc tam paik tam afterwards
tad tad then
pēcāk pa-tsaak afterwards; later
beidzot bai-dzot finally
visbeidzot vis-bai-dzot finally; lastly
sākumā saa-ku-maa initially
beigās bai-gaas in the end
19. Repetition adverbs
Latvian Transliteration English
atkal at-kal again
vēlreiz vayl-reiz again; once more
atkārtoti at-kaar-to-ti repeatedly
no jauna no yau-na anew; again
otrreiz ot-reiz a second time
vairākkārt vai-raak-kaart repeatedly
Pasaki vēlreiz.
Pa-sa-ki vayl-reiz.
Say it again.
20. Continuation adverbs
Latvian Transliteration English
vēl vayl still; yet
joprojām yop-ro-yaam still
arvien ar-vien still; increasingly
arvien vēl ar-vien vayl still
līdz šim liidz shim until now; so far
pagaidām pa-gai-daam for now; so far
turpmāk turp-maak henceforth
Viņš joprojām strādā.
Vinysh yop-ro-yaam straa-daa.
He is still working.
21. “Already / yet”
Latvian Transliteration English
jau yau already
vēl vayl still; yet
jau sen yau sen long ago; already long ago
jau tagad yau ta-gad already now
vēl nav vayl nav not yet
Viņš jau ir atnācis.
Vinysh yau ir at-naa-tsis.
He has already arrived.
Viņš vēl nav atnācis.
Vinysh vayl nav at-naa-tsis.
He has not arrived yet.
22. “Especially / particularly”
Latvian Transliteration English
īpaši ii-pa-shi especially
sevišķi se-vish-chi especially; particularly
it īpaši it ii-pa-shi especially
jo īpaši yo ii-pa-shi particularly; especially
galvenokārt gal-ve-no-kaart mainly; chiefly
pārsvarā paar-sva-raa mostly; predominantly
23. Generalization / “generally”
Latvian Transliteration English
parasti pa-ras-ti usually
vispār vis-paar generally; at all
kopumā ko-pu-maa generally; overall
galvenokārt gal-ve-no-kaart mainly
pārsvarā paar-sva-raa mostly
visbiežāk vis-bie-zhaak most often
lielākoties lie-laa-ko-ties mostly; for the most part
24. “Anyway / anyhow”
Latvian Transliteration English
vienalga vie-nal-ga anyway; regardless
jebkurā gadījumā yeb-ku-raa ga-dii-yu-maa in any case
katrā ziņā kat-raa zinya in any case
tāpat taa-pat anyway; likewise
kaut kā kaut kaa somehow
25. “Somehow / in some way”
Latvian Transliteration English
kaut kā kaut kaa somehow
kā nebūt kaa ne-boot somehow; in some way
kaut kādā veidā kaut kaa-daa vei-daa somehow; in some way
tā vai citādi taa vai chi-taa-di one way or another
26. “At least / at most”
Latvian Transliteration English
vismaz vis-maz at least
visvairāk vis-vai-raak at most / most
ne vairāk kā ne vai-raak kaa no more than
ne mazāk kā ne ma-zaak kaa no less than
vismazāk vis-ma-zaak least
27. Distribution
Latvian Transliteration English
atsevišķi at-se-vish-chi separately
kopā ko-paa together
pa vienam pa vie-nam one at a time
pa diviem pa di-vim two at a time
katram kat-ram each
atsevišķi at-se-vish-chi individually
28. Direct / indirect
Latvian Transliteration English
tieši tie-shi directly
netieši ne-tie-shi indirectly
tiešām tie-shaam really; directly
netiešā veidā ne-tie-shaa vei-daa indirectly
29. Carefully / carelessly
Latvian Transliteration English
uzmanīgi uz-ma-nii-gi carefully
rūpīgi roo-pii-gi carefully
piesardzīgi pie-sar-dzii-gi cautiously
neuzmanīgi ne-uz-ma-nii-gi carelessly
nevērīgi ne-vair-ii-gi negligently; carelessly
30. Secretly / openly
Latvian Transliteration English
slepeni sle-pe-ni secretly
slepus sle-pus secretly; stealthily
atklāti at-klaa-ti openly
publiski pub-lis-ki publicly
privāti pri-vaa-ti privately
31. Intentionally / accidentally
Latvian Transliteration English
tīšām tii-shaam intentionally
apzināti ap-zi-naa-ti deliberately
nejauši ne-yau-shi accidentally
netīšām ne-tii-shaam unintentionally
speciāli spe-tsiaa-li specially; deliberately
32. Fortunately / unfortunately
Latvian Transliteration English
par laimi par lai-mi fortunately
diemžēl diem-zheel unfortunately
par nelaimi par ne-lai-mi unfortunately
Par laimi, viss ir kārtībā.
Par lai-mi, vis ir kaar-tii-baa.
Fortunately, everything is fine.
Diemžēl viņš nevar nākt.
Diem-zheel vinysh nevar naakt.
Unfortunately, he cannot come.
33. Adverbs formed from adjectives
Latvian very commonly forms adverbs from adjectives, typically with -i.
Adjective Adverb Transliteration English
labs labi la-bi good → well
ātrs ātri aa-tri fast → quickly
lēns lēni lay-ni slow → slowly
skaists skaisti skai-sti beautiful → beautifully
pareizs pareizi pa-rei-zi correct → correctly
mierīgs mierīgi mie-rii-gi calm → calmly
uzmanīgs uzmanīgi uz-ma-nii-gi careful → carefully
brīvs brīvi brii-vi free → freely
drošs droši dro-shi safe → safely
skaidrs skaidri skai-dri clear → clearly
So Latvian has a very productive adverb-forming mechanism, meaning an absolutely exhaustive dictionary of adverbs would be enormous.
34. Adverbial comparative and superlative
Latvian adverbs can have comparative and superlative forms.
Comparative
Base Comparative Transliteration English
ātri ātrāk aa-traak faster
lēni lēnāk lay-naak more slowly
labi labāk la-baak better
slikti sliktāk slik-taak worse
bieži biežāk bie-zhaak more often
reti retāk re-taak less often
daudz vairāk vai-raak more
maz mazāk ma-zaak less
Superlative
Latvian Transliteration English
visātrāk vis-aa-traak fastest
vislēnāk vis-lay-naak most slowly
vislabāk vis-la-baak best
vissliktāk vis-slik-taak worst
visbiežāk vis-bie-zhaak most often
visretāk vis-re-taak least often
visvairāk vis-vai-raak most
vismazāk vis-ma-zaak least
10- CONJUNCTIONS:
Latvian Transliteration English
un un and
arī arī also / and also
ne tikai … bet arī ne tikai … bet arī not only … but also
gan … gan gan … gan both … and
te … te te … te now … now / sometimes … sometimes
ne … ne ne … ne neither … nor
nedz … nedz nedz … nedz neither … nor
vai vai or
jeb jeb or / or rather
vai nu … vai vai nu … vai either … or
vai nu … vai nu vai nu … vai nu either … or
bet bet but
taču taču but / however
tomēr tomēr however / nevertheless
toties toties whereas / but instead
turpretī turpretī whereas / on the other hand
Examples
Latvian Transliteration English
Es lasu un rakstu. Es lasu un rakstu. I read and write.
Viņš atnāca, bet viņa aizgāja. Viņš atnāca, bet viņa aizgāja. He came, but she left.
Tu vari ņemt tēju vai kafiju. Tu vari ņemt tēju vai kafiju. You can have tea or coffee.
Gan Anna, gan Jānis mācās. Gan Anna, gan Jānis mācās. Both Anna and Jānis are studying.
Ne Anna, ne Jānis neatnāca. Ne Anna, ne Jānis neatnāca. Neither Anna nor Jānis came.
Ne tikai viņš lasa, bet arī raksta. Ne tikai viņš lasa, bet arī raksta. Not only does he read, but he also writes.
2. Subordinating conjunctions — Pakārtojuma saikļi
These introduce subordinate clauses.
Latvian Transliteration English
ka ka that
lai lai so that / in order that
jo jo because
tāpēc ka tāpēc ka because
tādēļ ka tādēļ ka because
tādēļ, ka tādēļ ka because
tāpēc, ka tāpēc ka because
ja ja if
ja vien ja vien if / provided that
ja tikai ja tikai if only / provided that
kaut kaut although / even though
kaut arī kaut arī although / even though
kaut gan kaut gan although / even though
lai gan lai gan although / even though
lai arī lai arī although / even though
lai kā lai kā however / no matter how
lai cik lai cik however much / no matter how much
lai kas lai kas whatever / whoever
lai kur lai kur wherever
lai kad lai kad whenever
tiklīdz tiklīdz as soon as
kolīdz kolīdz as soon as
līdzko līdzko as soon as
kamēr kamēr while / until
iekams iekams before
pirms pirms before
pirms nekā pirms nekā before
kopš kopš since
kopš tā laika, kad kopš tā laika, kad since the time when
nekā nekā than
it kā it kā as if / as though
it kā … būtu it kā … būtu as if … were
tā kā tā kā since / because / as
ciktāl ciktāl insofar as / as far as
kamēr kamēr while / whereas / until
turpretī turpretī whereas
tā ka tā ka so that / so … that
tā, ka tā ka so that / such that
tiktāl, ka tiktāl ka to such an extent that
jo … jo jo … jo the … the …
3. "That" — ka
ka is one of the most important Latvian subordinate conjunctions.
Formation Latvian Transliteration English
S + V + ka + clause Es zinu, ka viņš nāks. Es zinu, ka viņš nāks. I know that he will come.
S + V + ka + clause Viņa teica, ka ir nogurusi. Viņa teica, ka ir nogurusi. She said that she was tired.
4. Cause — "because"
Latvian Transliteration English
jo jo because
tāpēc ka tāpēc ka because
tādēļ ka tādēļ ka because
tā kā tā kā because / since
tāpēc, ka tāpēc ka because
tādēļ, ka tādēļ ka because
Examples
Es paliku mājās, jo lija.
Es paliku mājās, jo lija.
= I stayed home because it was raining.
Es paliku mājās tāpēc, ka lija.
Es paliku mājās tāpēc ka lija.
= I stayed home because it was raining.
5. Result — "so / so that"
Latvian Transliteration English
tā ka tā ka so / so that
tā, ka tā ka so that / such that
tādējādi ka tādējādi ka thereby / so that
tiktāl, ka tiktāl ka to such an extent that
Example:
Viņš runāja skaļi, tā ka visi viņu dzirdēja.
Viņš runāja skaļi, tā ka visi viņu dzirdēja.
= He spoke loudly, so that everyone heard him.
6. Condition — "if"
Latvian Transliteration English
ja ja if
ja vien ja vien if / provided that
ja tikai ja tikai if only / provided that
ja nu ja nu what if / if it happens that
ja gadījumā ja gadījumā if / in case
Example
Ja līs, mēs paliksim mājās.
Ja līs, mēs paliksim mājās.
= If it rains, we will stay home.
7. Concession — "although / even though"
Latvian Transliteration English
kaut kaut although / even though
kaut arī kaut arī although / even though
kaut gan kaut gan although / even though
lai gan lai gan although / even though
lai arī lai arī although / even though
pat ja pat ja even if
kaut arī kaut arī even though
lai kā lai kā no matter how
lai cik lai cik no matter how much/how many
lai kas lai kas whatever / whoever
lai kur lai kur wherever
lai kad lai kad whenever
Example:
Lai gan bija auksts, mēs izgājām ārā.
Lai gan bija auksts, mēs izgājām ārā.
= Although it was cold, we went outside.
8. Purpose — "so that / in order that"
Latvian Transliteration English
lai lai so that / in order that
lai arī lai arī although / even though
lai … lai … so that …
tā, lai tā lai so that
tā, ka tā ka so that
Example:
Es mācos, lai nokārtotu eksāmenu.
Es mācos, lai nokārtotu eksāmenu.
= I study in order to pass the exam.
9. Time conjunctions
Latvian Transliteration English
kad kad when
kamēr kamēr while
kamēr kamēr until
tiklīdz tiklīdz as soon as
kolīdz kolīdz as soon as
līdzko līdzko as soon as
pirms pirms before
iekams iekams before
kopš kopš since
kad vien kad vien whenever
tiklīdz kā tiklīdz kā as soon as
kopš tā laika, kad kopš tā laika, kad since the time when
Examples:
Kad viņš atnāks, mēs sāksim.
= When he comes, we will start.
Kamēr viņš strādā, es lasu.
= While he works, I read.
Tiklīdz viņš atnāca, mēs sākām.
= As soon as he arrived, we started.
10. Comparison conjunctions
Latvian Transliteration English
nekā nekā than
it kā it kā as if / as though
it kā būtu it kā būtu as if it were
tāpat kā tāpat kā just as / like
tā kā tā kā as / just as
jo … jo jo … jo the … the …
cik … tik cik … tik as … as
jo vairāk … jo vairāk jo vairāk … jo vairāk the more … the more
jo mazāk … jo mazāk jo mazāk … jo mazāk the less … the less
Example:
Jo vairāk tu mācies, jo vairāk tu zini.
= The more you study, the more you know.
11. "Whether … or"
Latvian Transliteration English
vai … vai vai … vai whether … or
vai … vai arī vai … vai arī whether … or
vai nu … vai vai nu … vai either … or
vai … vai ne vai … vai ne whether … or not
vai … vai arī ne vai … vai arī ne whether … or not
Example:
Es nezinu, vai viņš nāks vai ne.
= I don't know whether he will come or not.
12. "Neither … nor"
Latvian Transliteration English
ne … ne ne … ne neither … nor
nedz … nedz nedz … nedz neither … nor
ne … nedz ne … nedz neither … nor
Example:
Viņš ne lasa, ne raksta.
= He neither reads nor writes.
13. "Both … and"
Latvian Transliteration English
gan … gan gan … gan both … and
kā … tā kā … tā both … and / as … so
ne tikai … bet arī ne tikai … bet arī not only … but also
Example:
Gan Anna, gan Jānis ieradās.
= Both Anna and Jānis arrived.
14. "Not only … but also"
ne tikai … bet arī
Latvian Transliteration English
ne tikai … bet arī ne tikai … bet arī not only … but also
ne vien … bet arī ne vien … bet arī not only … but also
nevis tikai … bet arī nevis tikai … bet arī not merely … but also
Example:
Viņš ne tikai lasa, bet arī raksta.
Viņš ne tikai lasa, bet arī raksta.
= He not only reads but also writes.
15. "As if / as though"
Latvian Transliteration English
it kā it kā as if
it kā būtu it kā būtu as if … were
it kā nebūtu it kā nebūtu as if … were not
it kā … it kā as though
Example:
Viņš runā, it kā visu zinātu.
= He speaks as if he knew everything.
16. "No matter / whatever" constructions
Latvian Transliteration English
lai kas lai kas whatever / whoever
lai ko lai ko whatever
lai kāds lai kāds whatever kind / whoever
lai kāda lai kāda whatever kind
lai kā lai kā however
lai cik lai cik however much/how many
lai kur lai kur wherever
lai kad lai kad whenever
Example:
Lai kas notiktu, es palīdzēšu.
= Whatever happens, I will help.
17. "As long as / provided that"
Latvian Transliteration English
ja vien ja vien as long as / provided that
ja tikai ja tikai provided that
kamēr kamēr as long as / while
ar nosacījumu, ka ar nosacījumu ka on condition that
ar noteikumu, ka ar noteikumu ka provided that / on condition that
Example:
Tu vari palikt, ja vien tu klusēsi.
= You can stay as long as you remain quiet.
18. "Unless"
Latvian normally expresses unless with a conditional construction rather than one single dedicated conjunction.
Latvian Transliteration English
ja … ne- ja … ne- unless / if … not
ja vien … ne- ja vien … ne- unless
ja … nebūs ja … nebūs unless there is / if there isn't
ja … nenotiks ja … nenotiks unless … happens
Example:
Es neiešu, ja vien viņš nenāks.
= I won't go unless he comes.
19. "Even if"
Latvian Transliteration English
pat ja pat ja even if
kaut arī kaut arī even though
lai arī lai arī even though
lai cik lai cik however much
lai kā lai kā however
Example:
Es iešu, pat ja līs.
= I will go even if it rains.
20. Correlative conjunctions — paired conjunctions
Latvian Transliteration English
gan … gan gan … gan both … and
ne … ne ne … ne neither … nor
nedz … nedz nedz … nedz neither … nor
vai … vai vai … vai either … or
vai nu … vai vai nu … vai either … or
ne tikai … bet arī ne tikai … bet arī not only … but also
ne vien … bet arī ne vien … bet arī not only … but also
te … te te … te now … now
jo … jo jo … jo the … the …
cik … tik cik … tik as … as
jo vairāk … jo vairāk jo vairāk … jo vairāk the more … the more
jo mazāk … jo mazāk jo mazāk … jo mazāk the less … the less
21. Important conjunction-like words
Latvian grammar also uses several connective adverbs, particles and fixed expressions that function similarly to conjunctions but are not always classified as conjunctions.
Latvian Transliteration English
tāpēc tāpēc therefore / that's why
tādēļ tādēļ therefore
tādējādi tādējādi thus / thereby
tomēr tomēr nevertheless / however
taču taču however / but
turpretī turpretī whereas / on the other hand
toties toties whereas / instead
turklāt turklāt moreover / besides
arī arī also
turklāt arī turklāt arī furthermore / also
beigu beigās beigu beigās in the end
līdz ar to līdz ar to therefore / consequently
rezultātā rezultātā as a result
tāpat tāpat likewise / also
pretēji pretēji contrary to
gluži pretēji gluži pretēji on the contrary
11- PREPOSITIONS:
# Latvian Transliteration English
1 aiz aiz behind; beyond; after
2 ap ap around; about
3 apakš apakš under; below
4 bez bez without
5 caur caur through; via
6 gar gar along; past; beside
7 iekš iekš inside; within
8 iz iz out of; from
9 kopš kopš since
10 līdz līdz until; up to; as far as
11 no no from; of
12 pa pa along; through; by; per
13 par par about; concerning; for; than
14 pār pār over; across; above
15 pie pie at; by; near; to
16 pirms pirms before
17 pēc pēc after; according to
18 pret pret against; toward
19 priekš priekš for; in front of
20 starp starp between; among
21 uz uz on; onto; to; toward
22 zem zem under; below
23 virs virs above; over
24 zemāk par zemāk par below; lower than
Note: Some grammars treat a few forms such as apakš, iekš, priekš differently depending on whether they are analyzed as independent prepositions, fossilized forms, or parts of compound constructions. For practical learning, they are useful to learn as prepositional words.
2. aiz — behind / beyond / after
Formation Latvian Transliteration English
aiz + Genitive aiz mājas aiz mājas behind the house
aiz + Genitive aiz durvīm aiz durvīm behind the door
aiz + Genitive aiz pilsētas aiz pilsētas beyond the city
Viņš stāv aiz mājas.
Viņš stāv aiz mājas.
= He is standing behind the house.
3. ap — around / about
Latvian Transliteration English
ap māju ap māju around the house
ap galdu ap galdu around the table
ap pieciem ap pieciem around five o'clock
ap šo jautājumu ap šo jautājumu about this issue
Mēs sēdējām ap galdu.
= We sat around the table.
4. apakš — under / below
Usually used in compound constructions.
Latvian Transliteration English
apakš galda apakš galda under the table
apakš koka apakš koka under the tree
A very common modern construction is:
zem galda — zem galda — under the table.
5. bez — without
bez + Genitive
Latvian Transliteration English
bez manis bez manis without me
bez tevis bez tevis without you
bez ūdens bez ūdens without water
bez problēmām bez problēmām without problems
Es nevaru dzīvot bez tevis.
= I cannot live without you.
6. caur — through / via
caur + Accusative
Latvian Transliteration English
caur mežu caur mežu through the forest
caur logu caur logu through the window
caur internetu caur internetu via the internet
Mēs gājām caur mežu.
= We walked through the forest.
7. gar — along / past / beside
gar + Accusative
Latvian Transliteration English
gar upi gar upi along the river
gar māju gar māju past the house
gar ceļu gar ceļu along the road
Mēs staigājām gar upi.
= We walked along the river.
8. iekš — inside / within
iekš + Genitive
Latvian Transliteration English
iekš mājas iekš mājas inside the house
iekš kastes iekš kastes inside the box
More commonly, modern Latvian uses:
mājas iekšpusē — mājas iekšpusē — inside the house.
9. iz — out of / from
iz + Genitive
Latvian Transliteration English
iz mājas iz mājas out of the house
iz pilsētas iz pilsētas from/out of the city
iz kastes iz kastes out of the box
Viņš iznāca no mājas.
= He came out of the house.
Important: no is also extremely common for "from," while iz emphasizes movement out of an interior/contained place.
10. kopš — since
kopš + Genitive
Latvian Transliteration English
kopš vakardienas kopš vakardienas since yesterday
kopš bērnības kopš bērnības since childhood
kopš pirmdienas kopš pirmdienas since Monday
Es šeit dzīvoju kopš bērnības.
= I have lived here since childhood.
11. līdz — until / up to / as far as
Latvian Transliteration English
līdz vakaram līdz vakaram until evening
līdz Rīgai līdz Rīgai as far as Riga
līdz mājai līdz mājai up to the house
līdz pieciem līdz pieciem until five
Es strādāšu līdz vakaram.
= I will work until evening.
12. no — from / of
no + Genitive
Latvian Transliteration English
no mājas no mājas from the house
no drauga no drauga from a friend
no rīta no rīta in the morning
no galda no galda from the table
Es nāku no Latvijas.
= I come from Latvia.
13. pa — along / through / per / by
pa is particularly versatile.
Latvian Transliteration English
pa ielu pa ielu along the street
pa ceļu pa ceļu along the road
pa dienu pa dienu during the day
pa vienam pa vienam one at a time
pa trim pa trim three at a time
pa pastu pa pastu by mail
Mēs gājām pa ielu.
= We walked along the street.
14. par — about / concerning / for / than
par + Accusative
Latvian Transliteration English
par mani par mani about me
par Latviju par Latviju about Latvia
par šo jautājumu par šo jautājumu about this issue
labāks par mani labāks par mani better than me
Mēs runājām par filmu.
= We talked about the film.
15. pār — over / across / above
pār + Accusative
Latvian Transliteration English
pār upi pār upi across the river
pār galdu pār galdu over the table
pār kalnu pār kalnu over the mountain
Putns lidoja pār māju.
= The bird flew over the house.
16. pie — at / by / near / to
pie + Genitive
Latvian Transliteration English
pie mājas pie mājas by/near the house
pie galda pie galda at the table
pie ārsta pie ārsta at the doctor's
pie drauga pie drauga at a friend's place
Es esmu pie drauga.
= I am at my friend's place.
17. pirms — before
pirms + Genitive
Latvian Transliteration English
pirms darba pirms darba before work
pirms pusdienām pirms pusdienām before lunch
pirms gada pirms gada a year ago / before a year
Nomazgā rokas pirms ēšanas.
= Wash your hands before eating.
18. pēc — after / according to
pēc + Genitive
Latvian Transliteration English
pēc darba pēc darba after work
pēc stundas pēc stundas after an hour
pēc noteikumiem pēc noteikumiem according to the rules
pēc manām domām pēc manām domām in my opinion
Pēc darba es iešu mājās.
= After work, I will go home.
19. pret — against / toward
pret + Accusative
Latvian Transliteration English
pret sienu pret sienu against the wall
pret mani pret mani against me / toward me
pret vēju pret vēju against the wind
Viņš atspiedās pret sienu.
= He leaned against the wall.
20. priekš — for / in front of
priekš + Genitive
Latvian Transliteration English
priekš manis priekš manis for me
priekš bērniem priekš bērniem for children
priekš mājas priekš mājas in front of the house
However, for standard "for", kam / dēļ / other constructions may be preferred depending on meaning, and priekš is often considered colloquial or less standard in some uses.
21. starp — between / among
starp + Accusative
Latvian Transliteration English
starp mājām starp mājām between the houses
starp draugiem starp draugiem among friends
starp mani un tevi starp mani un tevi between you and me
Māja atrodas starp divām ēkām.
= The house is between two buildings.
22. uz — on / onto / to / toward
uz + Accusative
Latvian Transliteration English
uz galda uz galda on the table
uz galdu uz galdu onto the table
uz skolu uz skolu to school
uz Latviju uz Latviju to Latvia
uz mani uz mani at me / toward me
Es eju uz skolu.
= I am going to school.
23. zem — under / below
zem + Genitive
Latvian Transliteration English
zem galda zem galda under the table
zem koka zem koka under the tree
zem tilta zem tilta under the bridge
Kaķis sēž zem galda.
= The cat is sitting under the table.
24. virs — above / over
virs + Genitive
Latvian Transliteration English
virs galda virs galda above the table
virs mājas virs mājas above the house
virs zemes virs zemes above the ground
Lampa karājas virs galda.
= The lamp hangs above the table.
25. Compound / fixed prepositional expressions
Latvian also has many multi-word expressions functioning as prepositions or prepositional phrases.
Latvian Transliteration English
blakus blakus beside / next to
blakus + Dat. blakus next to
apkārt apkārt around
iekšpus iekšpus inside / within
ārpus ārpus outside / beyond
vidū vidū in the middle of
dēļ dēļ because of / for the sake of
labad labad for the sake of
vietā vietā instead of
vietā, lai vietā lai instead of
sakara ar sakara ar in connection with
sakarā ar sakarā ar in connection with / due to
saistībā ar saistībā ar in connection with
attiecībā uz attiecībā uz regarding / with regard to
salīdzinājumā ar salīdzinājumā ar compared with
atbilstoši atbilstoši according to / in accordance with
pretēji pretēji contrary to
neatkarīgi no neatkarīgi no regardless of / independent of
atkarībā no atkarībā no depending on
saskaņā ar saskaņā ar according to / in accordance with
par spīti par spīti despite / in spite of
neskatoties uz neskatoties uz despite / in spite of
pateicoties pateicoties thanks to
izņemot izņemot except
ieskaitot ieskaitot including
ņemot vērā ņemot vērā considering / taking into account
salīdzinot ar salīdzinot ar compared with
pretstatā pretstatā in contrast to
Some of these are not simple lexical prepositions; they are participles, adverbs, nouns, or fixed prepositional phrases that govern a noun.
26. Important spatial prepositional expressions
Latvian Transliteration English
blakus mājai blakus mājai next to the house
iekšpus mājas iekšpus mājas inside the house
ārpus pilsētas ārpus pilsētas outside the city
vidū vidū in the middle
vidū starp vidū starp in the middle between
apkārt mājai apkārt mājai around the house
garām mājai garām mājai past the house
pretī mājai pretī mājai opposite the house
tuvumā tuvumā near
tālāk no tālāk no farther from
netālu no netālu no not far from
tuvu pie tuvu pie close to
27. Cause / reason prepositional expressions
Latvian Transliteration English
dēļ dēļ because of
tāpēc, ka tāpēc ka because
sakarā ar sakarā ar because of / due to
saistībā ar saistībā ar in connection with
atkarībā no atkarībā no depending on
pateicoties pateicoties thanks to
par spīti par spīti despite
neskatoties uz neskatoties uz despite
neatkarīgi no neatkarīgi no regardless of
Example:
Sakarā ar lietu mēs palikām mājās.
= Because of the rain, we stayed home.
28. Purpose / "for" expressions
Latvian Transliteration English
priekš priekš for
labad labad for the sake of
dēļ dēļ for the sake of / because of
par par for / in exchange for
uz uz for / toward, in certain expressions
Example:
Viņš to darīja bērnu labad.
= He did it for the sake of the children.
29. Comparison prepositions
Latvian Transliteration English
par par than
nekā nekā than
salīdzinājumā ar salīdzinājumā ar compared with
salīdzinot ar salīdzinot ar compared with
pretstatā pretstatā in contrast to
Viņš ir garāks par mani.
= He is taller than me.
30. "According to"
Latvian Transliteration English
pēc pēc according to
saskaņā ar saskaņā ar according to
atbilstoši atbilstoši according to / in accordance with
atbilstoši + Dat. atbilstoši according to
Examples:
Pēc manām domām…
= In my opinion…
Saskaņā ar likumu…
= According to the law…
31. "Instead of"
Latvian Transliteration English
vietā vietā instead of
tā vietā tā vietā instead of that
viņa vietā viņa vietā instead of him/her
tā vietā, lai tā vietā lai instead of
32. "Except"
Latvian Transliteration English
izņemot izņemot except
bez bez except for / without
atņemot atņemot excluding / deducting
Visi atnāca, izņemot Jāni.
= Everyone came except Jānis.
33. "With / without"
Latvian normally expresses with through the instrumental case rather than a dedicated equivalent of English with.
Meaning Latvian Transliteration
with a friend ar draugu ar draugu
with me ar mani ar mani
with a car ar automašīnu ar automašīnu
without a friend bez drauga bez drauga
without me bez manis bez manis
So ar is an extremely important Latvian preposition:
ar — with
Latvian Transliteration English
ar mani ar mani with me
ar tevi ar tevi with you
ar viņu ar viņu with him/her
ar draugu ar draugu with a friend
ar automašīnu ar automašīnu by/with a car
12- DETERMINERS
Latvian Transliteration English
šis shis this
šī shī this
šie shīe these
šīs shīs these
tas tas that
tā tā that
tie tīe those
tās tās those
šāds shāds such / this kind of
šāda shāda such / this kind of
šādi shādi such / these kinds of
šādas shādas such / these kinds of
tāds tāds such / that kind of
tāda tāda such / that kind of
tādi tādi such / those kinds of
tādas tādas such / those kinds of
šis pats shis pats this very / this same
tas pats tas pats that very / the same
Examples
šī māja
shī māja
= this house
tas cilvēks
tas cilvēks
= that person
šie bērni
shīe bērni
= these children
tās grāmatas
tās grāmatas
= those books
2. Possessive determiners
Latvian possessives correspond to my, your, his, her, our, your, their.
Latvian Transliteration English
mans mans my
mana mana my
mani mani my
manas manas my
tavs tavs your
tava tava your
tavi tavi your
tavas tavas your
savs savs one's own
sava sava one's own
savi savi one's own
savas savas one's own
viņa viņa his / her
viņas viņas his / her
mūsu mūsu our
jūsu jūsu your
viņu viņu their
Because Latvian words agree with the noun, mans/mana/mani/manas are different forms of the same possessive.
Examples
mana māja
mana māja
= my house
mans draugs
mans draugs
= my friend
mūsu bērni
mūsu bērni
= our children
viņu automašīna
viņu automašīna
= their car
3. Interrogative determiners
These ask which, what, whose, how many/how much.
Latvian Transliteration English
kurš kursh which / who
kura kura which / who
kuri kuri which
kuras kuras which
kāds kāds what kind of / what
kāda kāda what kind of
kādi kādi what kind of
kādas kādas what kind of
kā kā what kind of / how
cik cik how many / how much
kura kura whose? / which? depending on context
kam kam whose / to whom, depending on construction
kā kā whose / of what, in genitive contexts
The most important noun-determining forms are kurš/kura/kuri/kuras, kāds/kāda/kādi/kādas, and cik.
Examples
Kura grāmata ir tava?
Kura grāmata ir tava?
= Which book is yours?
Kāds cilvēks viņš ir?
Kāds cilvēks viņš ir?
= What kind of person is he?
Cik bērnu ir klasē?
Cik bērnu ir klasē?
= How many children are in the class?
4. Indefinite determiners
These correspond to some, any, somebody's, some kind of, a certain.
Latvian Transliteration English
kāds kāds some / a certain
kāda kāda some / a certain
kādi kādi some
kādas kādas some
kaut kāds kaut kāds some kind of / some
kaut kāda kaut kāda some kind of
kaut kādi kaut kādi some
kaut kādas kaut kādas some
kāds cits kāds cits some other / another
kāda cita kāda cita some other
kādi citi kādi citi some other
kādas citas kādas citas some other
kāds noteikts kāds noteikts a certain
kāda noteikta kāda noteikta a certain
Examples
Es nopirku kādu grāmatu.
Es nopirku kādu grāmatu.
= I bought some book / a certain book.
Viņš meklē kaut kādu darbu.
Viņš meklē kaut kādu darbu.
= He is looking for some kind of job.
5. Negative determiners
These correspond to no, no/any, no one, nobody's, etc.
Latvian Transliteration English
nekāds nekāds no / no kind of
nekāda nekāda no
nekādi nekādi no
nekādas nekādas no
neviens neviens no one / not a single
neviena neviena no / not a single
neviens cits neviens cits no one else
nekas nekas nothing
neviens no neviens no none of
Examples
Man nav nekādas naudas.
Man nav nekādas naudas.
= I have no money.
Neviena grāmata nav jauna.
Neviena grāmata nav jauna.
= None of the books is new.
6. Universal / distributive determiners
These express every, each, all, both.
Latvian Transliteration English
katrs katrs each / every
katra katra each / every
katri katri each / every
katras katras each / every
ikviens ikviens everyone / every single
ikviena ikviena every single
ikviens no ikviens no every one of
visi visi all
visas visas all
viss viss all / everything
visa visa all / the whole
abi abi both
abas abas both
Examples
Katrs students saņēma grāmatu.
Katrs students saņēma grāmatu.
= Every student received a book.
Visi bērni spēlējas.
Visi bērni spēlējas.
= All the children are playing.
Abi brāļi ieradās.
Abi brāļi ieradās.
= Both brothers arrived.
7. Quantifying determiners
These specify an amount or quantity.
Latvian Transliteration English
daudz daudz many / much / a lot of
maz maz few / little
vairāk vairāk more
mazāk mazāk less / fewer
daži daži some / several
dažas dažas some / several
daudzs daudzs many — rare/nonstandard compared with daudz
vairāki vairāki several
vairākas vairākas several
pietiekami daudz pietiekami daudz enough
pārāk daudz pārāk daudz too much/many
tik daudz tik daudz so much/many
tik maz tik maz so little/few
cik daudz cik daudz how much/many
tikpat daudz tikpat daudz as much/many
vismaz vismaz at least
ne vairāk kā ne vairāk kā no more than
ne mazāk kā ne mazāk kā no less than
Examples
Daudzi cilvēki dzīvo pilsētā.
Daudzi cilvēki dzīvo pilsētā.
= Many people live in the city.
Dažas grāmatas ir vecas.
Dažas grāmatas ir vecas.
= Some books are old.
Vairāki studenti ieradās.
Vairāki studenti ieradās.
= Several students arrived.
8. "Some / several / various"
Latvian Transliteration English
dažs dažs some / certain
daža daža some
daži daži some / several
dažas dažas some / several
vairāks vairāks more — comparative/rare as determiner
vairāki vairāki several
vairākas vairākas several
visādi visādi all sorts of
visādas visādas all sorts of
dažādi dažādi various
dažādas dažādas various
Dažādi cilvēki domā atšķirīgi.
Dažādi cilvēki domā atšķirīgi.
= Various people think differently.
9. "Another / other / the other"
Latvian Transliteration English
cits cits other / another
cita cita other / another
citi citi other / others
citas citas other / others
otrs otrs the other / second
otra otra the other / second
otri otri the other / second
otras otras the other / second
kāds cits kāds cits another / some other
visi pārējie visi pārējie all the others
pārējais pārējais the rest / remaining
Examples:
Es gribu citu grāmatu.
Es gribu citu grāmatu.
= I want another book.
Otrs students atbildēja.
Otrs students atbildēja.
= The other student answered.
10. "Whole / entire"
Latvian Transliteration English
viss viss all / whole
visa visa whole / all
visi visi all
visas visas all
viss … viss the whole …
pilns pilns full / filled with
pilna pilna full
vesels vesels whole / entire
vesela vesela whole / entire
Visa diena
visa diena
= the whole day
Viss gads
viss gads
= the whole year
11. Numeral determiners
Cardinal numbers can determine nouns.
Latvian Transliteration English
viens viens one
divi divi two
trīs trīs three
četri četri four
pieci pieci five
seši seši six
septiņi septiņi seven
astoņi astoņi eight
deviņi deviņi nine
desmit desmit ten
vienpadsmit vienpadsmit eleven
divpadsmit divpadsmit twelve
simts simts hundred
tūkstotis tūkstotis thousand
miljons miljons million
miljards miljards billion
Examples:
trīs grāmatas
trīs grāmatas
= three books
pieci studenti
pieci studenti
= five students
12. Ordinal determiners
Ordinal numbers can also determine nouns.
Latvian Transliteration English
pirmais pirmais first
pirma pirma first
otrais otrais second
otrā otrā second
trešais trešais third
trešā trešā third
ceturtais ceturtais fourth
piektais piektais fifth
sestais sestais sixth
septītais septītais seventh
astotais astotais eighth
devītais devītais ninth
desmitais desmitais tenth
pēdējais pēdējais last
pirmā diena
pirmā diena
= the first day
otrais jautājums
otrais jautājums
= the second question
13. Possessive/reflexive determiner — savs
This deserves special attention.
Latvian Transliteration English
savs savs one's own
sava sava one's own
savi savi one's own
savas savas one's own
Example:
Viņš paņēma savu grāmatu.
Viņš paņēma savu grāmatu.
= He took his own book.
14. Definite and indefinite meaning
Latvian does not have equivalent articles for English "a/an" and "the."
So:
grāmata
grāmata
= a book / the book / book
The exact interpretation comes from context.
Latvian can nevertheless make definiteness more explicit with demonstratives:
šī grāmata
shī grāmata
= this book
tā grāmata
tā grāmata
= that book
Latvian adjectives also have definite and indefinite forms, which are very important for expressing definiteness.
Example
Latvian Transliteration Meaning
labs cilvēks labs cilvēks a good person / good person
labais cilvēks labais cilvēks the good person / that known good person
laba grāmata laba grāmata a good book
labā grāmata labā grāmata the good book
So definite adjective forms are an important part of Latvian definiteness, even though they are not technically determiners.
15. Determiner-like pronouns: broad inventory
These pronouns can occur before nouns and therefore have determiner-like functions.
Latvian Transliteration English
šis shis this
tas tas that
tāds tāds such
kurš kursh which
kāds kāds what kind of / some
mans mans my
tavs tavs your
savs savs one's own
mūsu mūsu our
jūsu jūsu your
viņa viņa his/her
viņu viņu their
katrs katrs each/every
ikviens ikviens every single
visi visi all
abi abi both
daži daži some/several
vairāki vairāki several
cits cits other/another
otrs otrs second/the other
jebkurš jebkursh any/anyone/whichever
jebkāds jebkāds any kind of
kaut kāds kaut kāds some kind of
nekāds nekāds no kind of
neviens neviens no one/not a single
kāds kāds some/a certain
dažāds dažāds various/different
visāds visāds all sorts of
16. Free-choice / "any" determiners
Latvian Transliteration English
jebkurš jebkursh any / whichever
jebkura jebkura any
jebkuri jebkuri any
jebkuras jebkuras any
jebkāds jebkāds any kind of
jebkāda jebkāda any kind of
jebkādi jebkādi any kind of
jebkādas jebkādas any kind of
ikviens ikviens every single one
ikviena ikviena every single one
Example:
Izvēlies jebkuru grāmatu.
Izvēlies jebkuru grāmatu.
= Choose any book.
13- IF CONDITIONAL
Zero ja + present, present Ja līst, ielas kļūst slapjas.
First ja + present, future Ja nāksi, es būšu priecīgs.
Second ja + būtu/past, conditional Ja man būtu laiks, es lasītu.
Third ja + past perfect, būtu + participle Ja būtu mācījies, būtu nokārtojis.
Mixed (past → present) ja + past perfect, conditional Ja būtu mācījies, tagad runātu.
Mixed (present → past) ja + conditional state, būtu + participle Ja būtu uzmanīgāks, nebūtu kļūdījies.
es lasītu I would read
tu lasītu You would read
viņš lasītu He would read
viņa lasītu She would read
mēs lasītu We would read
jūs lasītu You would read
viņi lasītu They would read
viņas lasītu They would read
es būtu lasījis I would have read
tu būtu lasījis You would have read
viņš būtu lasījis He would have read
mēs būtu lasījuši We would have read
jūs būtu lasījuši You would have read
viņi būtu lasījuši They would have read
es būtu lasījusi I would have read
female speaker:
tu būtu lasījusi You would have read
viņa būtu lasījusi She would have read
mēs būtu lasījušas We would have read (all-female group)
jūs būtu lasījušas You would have read (all-female group)
viņas būtu lasījušas They would have read
es nelasītu I would not read
tu nelasītu You would not read
viņš nelasītu He would not read
viņa nelasītu She would not read
mēs nelasītu We would not read
jūs nelasītu You would not read
viņi nelasītu They would not read
viņas nelasītu They would not read
es nebūtu lasījis I would not have read
tu nebūtu lasījis You would not have read
viņš nebūtu lasījis He would not have read
mēs nebūtu lasījuši We would not have read
jūs nebūtu lasījuši You would not have read
viņi nebūtu lasījuši They would not have read
female:
es nebūtu lasījusi I would not have read
tu nebūtu lasījusi You would not have read
viņa nebūtu lasījusi She would not have read
mēs nebūtu lasījušas We would not have read (all-female group)
jūs nebūtu lasījušas You would not have read (all-female group)
viņas nebūtu lasījušas They would not have read
es tiktu lasīts I would be read
tu tiktu lasīts You would be read
viņš tiktu lasīts He would be read
mēs tiktu lasīti We would be read
jūs tiktu lasīti You would be read
viņi tiktu lasīti They would be read
female:
es tiktu lasīta I would be read
tu tiktu lasīta You would be read
viņa tiktu lasīta She would be read
mēs tiktu lasītas We would be read (all-female group)
jūs tiktu lasītas You would be read (all-female group)
viņas tiktu lasītas They would be read
es būtu lasīts I would have been read*
tu būtu lasīts You would have been read
viņš būtu lasīts He would have been read
mēs būtu lasīti We would have been read
jūs būtu lasīti You would have been read
viņi būtu lasīti They would have been read
female:
es būtu lasīta I would have been read
tu būtu lasīta You would have been read
viņa būtu lasīta She would have been read
mēs būtu lasītas We would have been read (all-female group)
jūs būtu lasītas You would have been read (all-female group)
viņas būtu lasītas They would have been read
es netiktu lasīts I would not be read
tu netiktu lasīts You would not be read
viņš netiktu lasīts He would not be read
mēs netiktu lasīti We would not be read
jūs netiktu lasīti You would not be read
viņi netiktu lasīti They would not be read
female:
es netiktu lasīta I would not be read
tu netiktu lasīta You would not be read
viņa netiktu lasīta She would not be read
mēs netiktu lasītas We would not be read (all-female group)
jūs netiktu lasītas You would not be read (all-female group)
viņas netiktu lasītas They would not be read
es nebūtu lasīts I would not have been read
tu nebūtu lasīts You would not have been read
viņš nebūtu lasīts He would not have been read
mēs nebūtu lasīti We would not have been read
jūs nebūtu lasīti You would not have been read
viņi nebūtu lasīti They would not have been read
female:
es nebūtu lasīta I would not have been read
tu nebūtu lasīta You would not have been read
viņa nebūtu lasīta She would not have been read
mēs nebūtu lasītas We would not have been read (all-female group)
jūs nebūtu lasītas You would not have been read (all-female group)
viņas nebūtu lasītas They would not have been read
ja if
ja vien provided that / if only
ja nu what if
ja ne if not / unless
pat ja even if
tikai ja only if
it kā as if / as though
kaut arī although / even though
lai so that / in order that
kad when
ikreiz, kad whenever
tiklīdz as soon as
līdz until
kamēr while / until
pirms (tam, kad) before
pēc tam, kad after
kā as / like
nekā than
jo because
tāpēc ka because
tāpēc therefore / so
un and
vai or
vai nu... vai... either... or...
gan... gan... both... and...
bet but
taču however / but
tomēr nevertheless
ne... ne... neither... nor...
jo... jo... the... the...
14- COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE
Comparative Adjective: -āk-
Superlative Adjective: vis-...-āk-
Comparative Adverb: -āk
Superlative Adverb: vis-...-āk
Comparative Verb: vairāk / mazāk
Superlative Verb: visvairāk / vismazāk
Comparative Noun: vairāk / mazāk
Superlative Noun: visvairāk / vismazāk
Positive adjective Šī māja ir liela. This house is big.
Comparative adjective Šī māja ir lielāka nekā tā māja. This house is bigger than that house.
Superlative adjective Šī ir vislielākā māja. This is the biggest house.
Positive adverb Viņš skrien ātri. He runs quickly.
Comparative adverb Viņš skrien ātrāk nekā es. He runs faster than I do.
Superlative adverb Viņš skrien visātrāk. He runs the fastest.
Verb comparison Es strādāju vairāk nekā mans brālis. I work more than my brother.
Noun comparison Man ir vairāk grāmatu nekā tev. I have more books than you.
Equality Viņš ir tik garš kā es. He is as tall as I am.
Equality (noun) Man ir tikpat daudz grāmatu kā tev. I have as many books as you.
Irregular adjective Šī grāmata ir labāka nekā tā. This book is better than that one.
Irregular superlative Šī ir vislabākā grāmata. This is the best book.
Correlative Jo vairāk mācies, jo vairāk iemācies. The more you study, the more you learn.
Increasing change Viņš kļūst arvien gudrāks. He is becoming more and more intelligent.
less money mazāk naudas
less work mazāk darba
work less strādāt mazāk
less quickly mazāk ātri
less interesting mazāk interesants
less experienced mazāk pieredzējis
less big mazāks
less good sliktāks
less fast lēnāks
less beautiful mazāk skaists
15- RELATIVE CLAUSES
kas who, which, that General relative pronoun
kurš, kura who, which More specific; declines for gender, number, and case
ko whom, which, that (object) Object form, often of kas
kura whose Possession (genitive)
kur where Places
kad when Time
kāpēc why Reason (less common in relative clauses)
Nominative kurš
kura who/which (subject)
Genitive kura
kuras (female) whose / of whom
Dative kuram
kurai (female) to whom
Accusative kuru
kuru (female) whom / which (object)
Locative kurā
kurā (female) in which
Cilvēks, kurš smaida... — The person who is smiling...
Cilvēks, kuru es redzu... — The person whom I see...
Cilvēks, kuram es palīdzēju... — The person to whom I gave help...
Māja, kurā es dzīvoju... — The house in which I live...
relative clauses can be without relative pronoun, however this is optional:
Verb + Noun
If describing the noun that does the action:
Verb stem + -ošs / -oša / -oši / -ošas + Noun
the man working strādājošs vīrietis
the girl singing dziedoša meitene
the book I read izlasīta grāmata
the built house uzcelta māja
the people living here dzīvojoši cilvēki
16- REPORTED SPEECH AND DIRECT SPEECH
Direct Speech: Speaker + speech verb + "quote"
Reported Speech:
Viņš teica, ka viņš ir laimīgs. He said that he was happy.
Viņš teica, ka viņš strādā. He said that he worked. / He said that he was working.
Viņš teica, ka viņš strādāja vakar. He said that he worked yesterday.
Viņš teica, ka viņš strādās nākamajā dienā. He said that he would work the next day.
Viņš teica, ka viņš būtu palīdzējis. He said that he would have helped.
Viņš jautāja, vai es nākšu. He asked if I would come.
Viņš jautāja, kur es esmu. He asked where I was.
Viņš teica, lai es nāku tur. He told me to come there.
Present ka + present
Past ka + past
Future ka + future
Perfect ka + ir + participle
Past perfect ka + bija + participle
Future perfect ka + būs + participle
Conditional ka + conditional
Conditional perfect ka + būtu + participle
Yes/no question vai + normal sentence
WH-question question word + normal sentence
Command lai + subject + present
Negative ne + verb
Passive ka + passive verb
17- INFINITIVES AND VERBAL NOUNS
to read lasīt
reading (activity) lasīšana
I like reading Man patīk lasīt
after reading pēc lasīšanas
before writing pirms rakstīšanas
I see him run Es redzu viņu skriet
I see him running Es redzu viņu skrienam
I am happy seeing you Es priecājos, redzot tevi verb + -ot
FORMATION:
Es I
priecājos am happy / rejoice
redzot seeing / while seeing
tevi you (object form)
I am happy to see you Es priecājos tevi redzēt verb + infinitive
FORMATION:
Es I
priecājos am happy / rejoice
tevi you
redzēt to see
I plan to eat Es plānoju ēst verb + infinitive
FORMATION:
Es I
plānoju plan
ēst to eat
I plan eating Es plānoju ēšanu verb + verbal noun (-šana)
FORMATION:
Es I
plānoju plan
ēšanu eating (the activity/act of eating)
I see him run Es redzu viņu skriet perception verb + infinitive
FORMATION:
Es I
redzu see
viņu him/her (object form)
skriet to run
I see him running Es redzu viņu skrienam perception verb + -am participle
FORMATION:
Es I
redzu see
viņu him/her
skrienam running
I eat to play Es ēdu, lai spēlētu lai + conditional
FORMATION:
Es I
ēdu eat
lai so that / in order to
spēlētu would play / could play
18- SUBJUNCTIVE
Would verb + -tu Es ietu
Would not ne + verb + -tu Es neietu
Would have būtu + participle Es būtu gājis
Wish kaut + -tu Kaut es būtu bagāts
If conditional ja + būtu/-tu Ja es varētu...
Purpose lai + -tu lai mācītos
Polite request varētu/gribētu Es gribētu
19- TAG QUESTIONS
isn't it? vai ne?
aren't you? vai ne?
don't you? vai ne?
didn't he? vai ne?
won't they? vai ne?
right? vai ne? / ja?
okay? labi?
surely? taču?
Tu esi gatavs, vai ne? You are ready, aren't you?
Tu mācies latviešu valodu, vai ne? You are learning Latvian, aren't you?
Viņš strādāja vakar, vai ne? He worked yesterday, didn't he?
Viņa atnāks rīt, vai ne? She will come tomorrow, won't she?
Tu esi redzējis šo filmu, vai ne? You have seen this film, haven't you?
Tu būtu palīdzējis, vai ne? You would have helped, wouldn't you?
20- MODAL WORDS
Latvian Transliteration English
vajag vajag need to / must
vajadzīgs vajadzīgs necessary / needed
vajadzīga vajadzīga necessary
nepieciešams nepieciešams necessary / essential
nepieciešama nepieciešama necessary
jā- jā- must / have to
ir jā- ir jā- must / have to
būtu jā- būtu jā- should / ought to
bija jā- bija jā- had to
būs jā- būs jā- will have to
The most important construction: jā-
Latvian commonly expresses personal obligation with:
man jāiet
man jāiet
= I must go / I have to go
Person Latvian Transliteration English
I man jāiet man jāiet I must go
you tev jāiet tev jāiet you must go
he/she viņam/viņai jāiet viņam/viņai jāiet he/she must go
we mums jāiet mums jāiet we must go
you plural jums jāiet jums jāiet you must go
they viņiem/viņām jāiet viņiem/viņām jāiet they must go
Man jāstrādā.
Man jāstrādā.
= I must work / have to work.
2. Necessity / obligation
Latvian Transliteration English
obligāti obligāti necessarily / obligatorily
noteikti noteikti definitely / necessarily
vajag vajag need to
vajadzētu vajadzētu should / ought to
nepieciešams nepieciešams necessary
ir nepieciešams ir nepieciešams it is necessary
būtiski būtiski essentially / importantly
jā + verb jā + verb must / have to
būtu jā + verb būtu jā + verb should
3. Ability — can / be able to
Latvian primarily uses varēt.
Latvian Transliteration English
varēt varēt can / be able to
varu varu I can
vari vari you can
var var he/she can
varam varam we can
varat varat you can
var var they can
spēt spēt be able to / manage to
spēju spēju I am able to
spēj spēj is able to
spējams spējams possible / able to be done
Examples
Es varu palīdzēt.
Es varu palīdzēt.
= I can help.
Viņš spēj to izdarīt.
Viņš spēj to izdarīt.
= He is able to do it.
Difference
varēt = can / be allowed to / be possible
spēt = be capable of / manage to
4. Permission — may / be allowed to
Latvian Transliteration English
drīkst drīkst may / be allowed to
drīkstu drīkstu I may / am allowed to
drīksti drīksti you may
drīkst drīkst he/she may
atļauts atļauts allowed
atļauta atļauta allowed
atļauts + infinitive atļauts + infinitive it is permitted to
Examples:
Vai es drīkstu ieiet?
Vai es drīkstu ieiet?
= May I come in?
Šeit drīkst smēķēt.
Šeit drīkst smēķēt.
= You may / are allowed to smoke here.
Šeit smēķēt nav atļauts.
Šeit smēķēt nav atļauts.
= Smoking is not allowed here.
5. Prohibition — must not / may not
Latvian Transliteration English
nedrīkst nedrīkst must not / may not
nedrīkstu nedrīkstu I must not / may not
nedrīksti nedrīksti you must not
nav atļauts nav atļauts is not allowed
aizliegts aizliegts forbidden / prohibited
aizliegta aizliegta forbidden
aizliegts + infinitive aizliegts + infinitive it is forbidden to
Te nedrīkst smēķēt.
Te nedrīkst smēķēt.
= You must not / may not smoke here.
6. Possibility — may / might / could
Latvian Transliteration English
var var may / might / can
varbūt varbūt maybe / perhaps
iespējams iespējams possibly / possible
iespējams, ka iespējams, ka possibly / it is possible that
iespējams, ka iespējams, ka may / might
var gadīties var gadīties it may happen / it could happen
varētu varētu could / might
varētu būt varētu būt might be / could be
iespējams, ka varētu iespējams, ka varētu it might be possible that
Examples:
Varbūt viņš atnāks.
Varbūt viņš atnāks.
= Maybe he will come.
Viņš varētu atnākt.
Viņš varētu atnākt.
= He might/could come.
Iespējams, ka viņš atnāks.
Iespējams, ka viņš atnāks.
= It is possible that he will come.
7. Probability — probably / likely
Latvian Transliteration English
droši vien droši vien probably
visticamāk visticamāk most likely
iespējams iespējams possibly
varbūt varbūt perhaps
laikam laikam probably / apparently
acīmredzot acīmredzot apparently / evidently
šķiet šķiet it seems
šķietami šķietami seemingly
ticams ticams probable / plausible
ticami ticami probably / plausibly
var gadīties var gadīties it may happen
domājams domājams presumably / presumably so
Examples:
Viņš droši vien nāks.
Viņš droši vien nāks.
= He will probably come.
Viņš laikam ir mājās.
Viņš laikam ir mājās.
= He is probably at home.
Visticamāk, viņš nāks.
Visticamāk, viņš nāks.
= Most likely, he will come.
8. Certainty — certainly / definitely
Latvian Transliteration English
noteikti noteikti definitely / certainly
droši droši certainly / surely
protams protams of course
tiešām tiešām really / indeed
patiešām patiešām indeed / really
nenoliedzami nenoliedzami undeniably
neapšaubāmi neapšaubāmi undoubtedly
katrā ziņā katrā ziņā certainly / in any case
bez šaubām bez šaubām without a doubt
viennozīmīgi viennozīmīgi unequivocally
Viņš noteikti atnāks.
Viņš noteikti atnāks.
= He will definitely come.
9. Uncertainty — perhaps / maybe / apparently
Latvian Transliteration English
varbūt varbūt maybe
iespējams iespējams possibly
laikam laikam probably / apparently
šķiet šķiet it seems
šķietami šķietami seemingly
droši vien droši vien probably
acīmredzot acīmredzot apparently
it kā it kā supposedly / seemingly / as if
gan jau gan jau surely / presumably / it'll probably be
kas zina kas zina who knows / perhaps
10. Recommendation — should / ought to
Latvian commonly uses vajadzēt.
Latvian Transliteration English
vajadzētu vajadzētu should / ought to
vajadzētu + infinitive vajadzētu + infinitive should
būtu jā- būtu jā- should / ought to
ieteicams ieteicams recommended
ieteicams + infinitive ieteicams + infinitive it is recommended to
labāk labāk better / it would be better
būtu labāk būtu labāk it would be better
ieteiktu ieteiktu would recommend
Examples:
Tev vajadzētu atpūsties.
Tev vajadzētu atpūsties.
= You should rest.
Tev būtu jāiet pie ārsta.
Tev būtu jāiet pie ārsta.
= You should go to the doctor.
11. Advice
Latvian Transliteration English
vajadzētu vajadzētu should
būtu jā- būtu jā- should
ieteiktu ieteiktu I would recommend
ieteicams ieteicams recommended
labāk labāk better
būtu labāk būtu labāk it would be better
ieteiktu labāk ieteiktu labāk would recommend rather
Es ieteiktu pagaidīt.
Es ieteiktu pagaidīt.
= I would recommend waiting.
12. Willingness / volition
Latvian generally uses ordinary verbs rather than a dedicated modal verb corresponding exactly to English will/would.
Latvian Transliteration English
gribēt gribēt want
gribu gribu I want
vēlēties vēlēties wish / want
vēlos vēlos I wish / want
būt ar mieru būt ar mieru be willing
būt gatavs būt gatavs be ready/willing
būtu ar mieru būtu ar mieru would be willing
būtu gatavs būtu gatavs would be ready/willing
Es gribu iet.
Es gribu iet.
= I want to go.
Es būtu ar mieru palīdzēt.
Es būtu ar mieru palīdzēt.
= I would be willing to help.
13. Intention
Latvian Transliteration English
plānot plānot plan to
iecerēt iecerēt intend / plan
grasīties grasīties be about to / intend to
grasās grasās is going to / intends to
gatavoties gatavoties prepare to
būt gatavs būt gatavs be ready to
Es grasos doties mājās.
Es grasos doties mājās.
= I am going to go home / I intend to go home.
14. "Have to" — different constructions
Latvian Transliteration English
man jā- man jā- I have to
tev jā- tev jā- you have to
viņam jā- viņam jā- he has to
mums jā- mums jā- we have to
jums jā- jums jā- you have to
viņiem jā- viņiem jā- they have to
vajag + infinitive vajag + infinitive need to
vajadzēt + infinitive vajadzēt + infinitive need/should
15. Need — need to / need not
Latvian Transliteration English
vajag vajag need to
vajadzēt vajadzēt need / should
vajadzīgs vajadzīgs needed / necessary
nav vajadzīgs nav vajadzīgs is not needed
nevajag nevajag don't need to
nevajadzētu nevajadzētu shouldn't / shouldn't need to
Tev vajag mācīties.
Tev vajag mācīties.
= You need to study.
Tev nevajag steigties.
Tev nevajag steigties.
= You don't need to hurry.
16. "Could / would" — conditional modality
The Latvian conditional is extremely important for modal meanings.
varētu — could / might
Es varētu palīdzēt.
Es varētu palīdzēt.
= I could help.
vajadzētu — should
Tev vajadzētu mācīties.
Tev vajadzētu mācīties.
= You should study.
gribētu — would like
Es gribētu kafiju.
Es gribētu kafiju.
= I would like coffee.
būtu — would be
Tas būtu labi.
Tas būtu labi.
= That would be good.
17. Desire — would like / wish
Latvian Transliteration English
gribēt gribēt want
gribētu gribētu would like
vēlēties vēlēties wish / want
vēlētos vēlētos would like
labprāt labprāt gladly / willingly
būtu priecīgs būtu priecīgs would be happy
būtu priecīga būtu priecīga would be happy
Es gribētu tēju.
Es gribētu tēju.
= I would like tea.
18. Permission and possibility together
var has several modal meanings depending on context:
Latvian English
Es varu peldēt. I can swim.
Es varu iet. I can / may go.
Te var ieiet. You can / may enter here.
Tas var notikt. That can / may happen.
Viņš varētu nākt. He could / might come.
So varēt is one of the most important Latvian modal verbs.
19. Necessity vs recommendation
This distinction is important:
Latvian Transliteration English
man jāiet man jāiet I must/have to go
man vajag iet man vajag iet I need to go
man vajadzētu iet man vajadzētu iet I should go
man būtu jāiet man būtu jāiet I should / ought to go
man nav jāiet man nav jāiet I don't have to go
man nevajag iet man nevajag iet I don't need to go
man nevajadzētu iet man nevajadzētu iet I shouldn't go
20. "Must not" vs "don't have to"
These are different:
Latvian English
Tev nav jāiet. You don't have to go.
Tev nevajag iet. You don't need to go.
Tev nedrīkst iet. You must not / may not go.
Tev aizliegts iet. You are forbidden to go.
21. Evidential / inferential modality
These express conclusions such as apparently, supposedly, presumably.
Latvian Transliteration English
acīmredzot acīmredzot apparently
šķiet šķiet it seems
šķietami šķietami seemingly
laikam laikam apparently / probably
droši vien droši vien probably
domājams domājams presumably
it kā it kā supposedly / allegedly / as if
izrādās izrādās it turns out
redzams redzams evidently / visibly
spriežot pēc spriežot pēc judging by
Acīmredzot viņš nezina.
Acīmredzot viņš nezina.
= Apparently, he doesn't know.
22. Speaker attitude / modal particles
These are not all strict "modal words," but they are important for Latvian modality.
Latvian Transliteration English
taču taču surely / after all / however
gan gan indeed / certainly / though
nu nu well / now
jel jel please / just
tak tak surely / after all
vien vien merely / just
pat pat even
tiešām tiešām really
patiešām patiešām really / indeed
protams protams of course
noteikti noteikti definitely
droši droši surely
tiešām tiešām truly
varbūt varbūt maybe
23. "Of course"
Latvian Transliteration English
protams protams of course
protams, ka protams, ka of course
noteikti noteikti definitely
bez šaubām bez šaubām without doubt
nenoliedzami nenoliedzami undeniably
Protams, ka es palīdzēšu.
Protams, ka es palīdzēšu.
= Of course I will help.
24. "Surely"
Latvian Transliteration English
taču taču surely / after all
gan jau gan jau surely / presumably
droši vien droši vien surely/probably
noteikti noteikti certainly
droši droši surely
25. "Apparently"
Latvian Transliteration English
acīmredzot acīmredzot apparently
laikam laikam apparently / probably
šķiet šķiet it seems
domājams domājams presumably
izrādās izrādās it turns out
it kā it kā supposedly / allegedly
26. "Probably"
Latvian Transliteration English
droši vien droši vien probably
laikam laikam probably
visticamāk visticamāk most likely
domājams domājams presumably
gan jau gan jau presumably / probably
27. "Maybe / perhaps"
Latvian Transliteration English
varbūt varbūt maybe
iespējams iespējams possibly
iespējams, ka iespējams, ka possibly
kas zina kas zina who knows / perhaps
var gadīties var gadīties it may happen
28. Main Latvian modal verbs
If you want the core modal verbs/constructions rather than every modal adverb:
Modal Transliteration Main meaning
varēt varēt can / may / be able to
spēt spēt be able to
drīkstēt drīkstēt may / be allowed to
vajadzēt vajadzēt need / should
jā- jā- must / have to
gribēt gribēt want
vēlēties vēlēties wish / want
grasīties grasīties intend / be about to
būt gatavam būt gatavam be willing/ready
mēģināt mēģināt try to
censties censties try / endeavor to
The most important Latvian modal constructions
Meaning Formation Example English
can varēt + infinitive Es varu iet. I can go.
be able to spēt + infinitive Es spēju to izdarīt. I am able to do it.
may / allowed drīkstēt + infinitive Es drīkstu iet. I may go.
must dative + jā-verb Man jāiet. I must go.
have to dative + jā-verb Tev jāstrādā. You have to work.
need to dative + vajag + infinitive Man vajag mācīties. I need to study.
should dative + vajadzētu + infinitive Tev vajadzētu atpūsties. You should rest.
should dative + būtu jā-verb Tev būtu jāiet. You should go.
might/could varētu + infinitive Viņš varētu nākt. He might/could come.
would like gribētu + noun/infinitive Es gribētu tēju. I would like tea.
maybe varbūt + clause Varbūt viņš nāks. Maybe he will come.
probably droši vien + clause Viņš droši vien nāks. He will probably come.
definitely noteikti + clause Viņš noteikti nāks. He will definitely come.
apparently acīmredzot + clause Acīmredzot viņš zina. Apparently he knows.
21- THERE IS / HAVE / BE
There is a book Ir grāmata
There are books Ir grāmatas
There is no book Nav grāmatas
There are no books Nav grāmatu
Is there a book? Vai ir grāmata?
There was a book Bija grāmata
There were books Bija grāmatas
There will be a book Būs grāmata
There will be books Būs grāmatas
There is my house (over there) Tur ir mana māja
Here is my book Te ir mana grāmata
I have a book Man ir grāmata
I don't have a book Man nav grāmatas
Do you have a book? Vai tev ir grāmata?
I had a book Man bija grāmata
I didn't have a book Man nebija grāmatas
I will have a book Man būs grāmata
I won't have a book Man nebūs grāmatas
IMPERATIVES:
Tu command verb stem Dari!
Jūs command plural present form Dariet!
Let's present / lai Ejam!
Don't ne + imperative Nedarī!
Let him/her lai + 3rd person Lai viņš dara!
Passive command lai + passive Lai tas tiek darīts!
Positive passive command lai + tiek + participle Lai darbs tiek izdarīts Let the work be done
Negative passive command lai + netiek + participle Lai darbs netiek izdarīts Let the work not be done
Formal instruction ir jā + passive verb Darbs ir jāpabeidz The work must be finished
Wish-like passive lai + participle Lai durvis aizvērtas Let the doors be closed