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Latvian grammar#Noun modification by numeral

{{Short description|Grammar of the Latvian language}}

{{More footnotes needed|date=September 2012}}

The Latvian language is an extensively inflected language, with complex nominal and verbal morphology. Word order is relatively free, but the unmarked order is subject–verb–object. Latvian has pre-nominal adjectives and both prepositions and postpositions. There are no articles in Latvian, but definiteness can be indicated by the endings of adjectives.

Nouns and adjectives

{{Main|Latvian declension}}

Latvian has two grammatical genders (masculine and feminine) and seven cases; there are no articles. Adjectives generally precede the nouns they modify, and agree in case, number, and gender. In addition, adjectives take distinct endings to indicate definite and indefinite interpretation:

:Viņa nopirka [vecu māju]. "She bought [an old house]."

:Viņš nopirka [veco māju]. "He bought [the old house]."

For details about the nominal morphology of Latvian (inflection of nouns, pronouns, numerals, and adjectives), see Latvian declension.

Verbs

Latvian has three simple tenses (present, past and future), and three compound perfect constructions: present perfect, past perfect, future perfect.

Latvian verbs are used in five moods:

  • indicative;
  • imperative;
  • conditional;
  • conjunctive (Latvian literature, however, does not make a distinction between conditional and conjunctive. Even if such a distinction is made both of them are morphologically identical – ending in -u.);
  • quotative, also known as relative or inferential mood (some authors distinguish analytically derived jussive as a subset of quotative; others, however, insist that a simple addition of a conjunction (lai) is not sufficient basis for distinguishing this grammatical construction as a grammatical mood);{{Cite book |last=Krautmane |first=Ērika |url=http://www.lu.lv/materiali/apgads/raksti/708.pdf |title=Linguistics Finno-Ugristics / Valodniecība Somugristika |date=2006 |publisher=Latvijas Universitāte |series=Scientific Papers University of Latvia Volume 708 / Latvijas Universitātes Raksti 708. Sējums |pages=66–72 |language=lv |chapter=Evidenciālis latviešu, igauņu un lībiešu valodā (Ieskats problemātikā) |trans-chapter=The Evidential in the Latvian, Estonian and Livonian Languages (Introduction to the Topic) |quote=Mūsdienu latviešu literārajā gramatikā (..) tiek šķirts atstāstījuma izteiksmes pavēles paveids, uzskatot, ka atstāstījuma izteiksmes tagadnes forma saistījumā ar partikulu lai iegūst atstāstījuma izteiksmes pavēles paveida nozīmi. (..) Vairākās jaunākajās latviešu gramatikās šis viedoklis netiek atbalstīts (..) un palīgvārds lai tiek uzskatīts par pakārtojuma saikli, kas kopā ar verbu atstāstījuma izteiksmē nevar veidot gramatisku formu.}} and
  • debitive (for expressing obligation).

The relations between tenses and moods are shown in the following table. (The table does not include quotative.)

cellpadding="5" border="1px solid #000000" style="border-collapse:collapse; background:#F9F9F9; text-align:center; width:;100%" class="inflection-table"
style="background:#BCB2B0"

|  

| Indicative 

| Imperative 

| Conditional 

| Conjunctive 

| Debitive 

style="background:#DEDEDE" | Simple present 

| {{y&}}

| {{y&}}

| {{y&}}

| {{y&}}

| {{y&}}

style="background:#DEDEDE" | Simple past  

| {{y&}}

| {{n&}}

| {{n&}}

| {{n&}}

| {{y&}}

style="background:#DEDEDE" | Simple future 

| {{y&}}

| {{n&}}

| {{n&}}

| {{y&}}

| {{y&}}

style="background:#DEDEDE" | Present perfect 

| {{y&}}

| {{n&}}

| {{y&}}

| {{y&}}

| {{y&}}

style="background:#DEDEDE" | Past perfect 

| {{y&}}

| {{n&}}

| {{n&}}

| {{n&}}

| {{y&}}

style="background:#DEDEDE" | Future perfect 

| {{y&}}

| {{n&}}

| {{n&}}

| {{y&}}

| {{y&}}

Latvian verbs have two voices, active and passive. The passive voice is analytic, combining an auxiliary verb (tikt "become", būt "be", or more rarely, tapt "become") and the past passive participle form of the verb. Reflexive verbs are marked morphologically by the suffix -s.

=Conjugation classes=

Unlike, for example, Romance languages where conjugation classes are assigned based on thematic vowels{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XZAMHDbMtwIC&q=thematic+vowel+romance+conjugation&pg=PT158 |title=Romance Languages |date=2003 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=0-415-16417-6 |editor-last=Harris |editor-first=Martin |location=London |language=en |quote=Verbs [in Romance languages] are traditionally divided into three conjugation classes on the basis of which thematic vowels are maximally distinguished. |orig-year=first published 1988 |editor-last2=Vincent |editor-first2=Nigel}} (e.g., -are, -ere, -ire forming, respectively, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd conjugation in Italian) Latvian verbs are classified in conjugations regardless of whether they end in -āt, -ēt, -īt, -ot or -t. The classification depends on whether the verb stem has a thematic vowel, and if so, whether it is retained in present tense.{{Cite book |last=Hewson |first=John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3RNtlfnRfgEC&q=latvian+thematic+vowel&pg=PA144 |title=Tense and Aspect in Indo-European Languages: Theory, Typology, Diachrony |last2=Bubeník |first2=Vít |date=1997 |publisher=John Benjamins Publishing |isbn=9789027236494 |location=Amsterdam |pages=144–147 |language=en}}

  • The first conjugation class is characterized by an absence of the thematic vowel in infinitive, present as well as past. Furthermore 1st conjugation verbs are always monosyllabic and their stems undergo sound shifts. Based on these sound shifts they are further divided in 5 subcategories.{{Cite web |title=Darbības vārdu konjugācijas |trans-title=Verb Conjugation |url=http://www.liis.lv/latval/morfol/darbv-konj.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120413144808/http://www.liis.lv/latval/morfol/darbv-konj.htm |archive-date=2012-04-13 |website=liis.lv |language=lv}} Sound shifts bolded below

class="inflection-table wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

|+ Conjugation of celt

!

! colspan="4" | INDICATIVE (īstenības izteiksme)

! rowspan="2" | IMPERATIVE
(pavēles izteiksme)

!

! Present
(tagadne)

! Past
(pagātne)

! Future
(nākotne)

1st pers. sg.

! es

| ceļu

| cēlu

| celšu

| —

2nd pers. sg.

! tu

| cel

| cēli

| celsi

| cel

3rd pers. sg.

! viņš, viņa

| ceļ

| cēla

| cels

| lai ceļ

1st pers. pl.

! mēs

| ceļam

| cēlām

| celsim

| celsim

2nd pers. pl.

! jūs

| ceļat

| cēlāt

| celsiet,
celsit

| celiet

3rd pers. pl.

! viņi, viņas

| ceļ

| cēla

| cels

| lai ceļ

colspan="3" | RENARRATIVE (atstāstījuma izteiksme)

! colspan="3" | PARTICIPLES (divdabji)

Present

| colspan="2" | ceļot

! colspan="2" | Present Active 1 (Adj.)

| ceļošs

Past

| colspan="2" | esot cēlis

! colspan="2" | Present Active 2 (Adv.)

| celdams

Future

| colspan="2" | celšot

! colspan="2" | Present Active 3 (Adv.)

| ceļot

Imperative

| colspan="2" | lai ceļot

! colspan="2" | Present Active 4 (Obj.)

| ceļam

colspan="3" | CONDITIONAL (vēlējuma izteiksme)

! colspan="2" | Past Active

| cēlis

Present

| colspan="2" |

! colspan="2" | Present Passive

| ceļams

Past

| colspan="2" | būtu cēlis

! colspan="2" | Past Passive

| celts

colspan="3" | DEBITIVE (vajadzības izteiksme)

! colspan="3" | NOMINAL FORMS

Indicative

| colspan="2" | (būt) jāceļ

! colspan="2" | Infinitive (nenoteiksme)

|

Conjunctive 1

| colspan="2" | esot jāceļ

! colspan="2" | Negative Infinitive

|

Conjunctive 2

| colspan="2" | jāceļot

! colspan="2" | Verbal noun

| celšana

  • The second conjugation class is characterized by retaining the thematic vowel in infinitive, past as well as present. 1st person singular present and past tenses match.

class="inflection-table wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

|+ Conjugation of strādāt

!

! colspan="4" | INDICATIVE (īstenības izteiksme)

! rowspan="2" | IMPERATIVE
(pavēles izteiksme)

!

! Present
(tagadne)

! Past
(pagātne)

! Future
(nākotne)

1st pers. sg.

! es

| strādāju

| strādāju

| strādāšu

| —

2nd pers. sg.

! tu

| strādā

| strādāji

| strādāsi

| strādā

3rd pers. sg.

! viņš, viņa

| strādā

| strādāja

| strādās

| lai strādā

1st pers. pl.

! mēs

| strādājam

| strādājām

| strādāsim

| strādāsim

2nd pers. pl.

! jūs

| strādājat

| strādājāt

| strādāsiet,
strādāsit

| strādājiet

3rd pers. pl.

! viņi, viņas

| strādā

| strādāja

| strādās

| lai strādā

colspan="3" | RENARRATIVE (atstāstījuma izteiksme)

! colspan="3" | PARTICIPLES (divdabji)

Present

| colspan="2" | strādājot

! colspan="2" | Present Active 1 (Adj.)

| strādājošs

Past

| colspan="2" | esot strādājis

! colspan="2" | Present Active 2 (Adv.)

| strādādams

Future

| colspan="2" | strādāšot

! colspan="2" | Present Active 3 (Adv.)

| strādājot

Imperative

| colspan="2" | lai strādājot

! colspan="2" | Present Active 4 (Obj.)

| strādājam

colspan="3" | CONDITIONAL (vēlējuma izteiksme)

! colspan="2" | Past Active

| strādājis

Present

| colspan="2" | strādātu

! colspan="2" | Present Passive

| strādājams

Past

| colspan="2" | būtu strādājis

! colspan="2" | Past Passive

| strādāts

colspan="3" | DEBITIVE (vajadzības izteiksme)

! colspan="3" | NOMINAL FORMS

Indicative

| colspan="2" | (būt) jāstrādā

! colspan="2" | Infinitive (nenoteiksme)

|

Conjunctive 1

| colspan="2" | esot jāstrādā

! colspan="2" | Negative Infinitive

|

Conjunctive 2

| colspan="2" | jāstrādājot

! colspan="2" | Verbal noun

| strādāšana

  • Verbs of the third conjugation class retain the thematic vowel in infinitive and past, however, it is absent in present and the stem takes on the full set of endings unlike 1st and 2nd conjugation where 2nd person singular and 3rd person present endings -i and -a are either absent or have given way to the thematic vowel.

class="inflection-table wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

|+ Conjugation of lasīt

!

! colspan="4" | INDICATIVE (īstenības izteiksme)

! rowspan="2" | IMPERATIVE
(pavēles izteiksme)

!

! Present
(tagadne)

! Past
(pagātne)

! Future
(nākotne)

1st pers. sg.

! es

| lasu

| lasīju

| lasīšu

| —

2nd pers. sg.

! tu

| lasi

| lasīji

| lasīsi

| lasi

3rd pers. sg.

! viņš, viņa

| lasa

| lasīja

| lasīs

| lai lasa

1st pers. pl.

! mēs

| lasām

| lasījām

| lasīsim

| lasīsim

2nd pers. pl.

! jūs

| lasāt

| lasījāt

| lasīsiet,
lasīsit

| lasiet

3rd pers. pl.

! viņi, viņas

| lasa

| lasīja

| lasīs

| lai lasa

colspan="3" | RENARRATIVE (atstāstījuma izteiksme)

! colspan="3" | PARTICIPLES (divdabji)

Present

| colspan="2" | lasot

! colspan="2" | Present Active 1 (Adj.)

| lasošs

Past

| colspan="2" | esot lasījis

! colspan="2" | Present Active 2 (Adv.)

| lasīdams

Future

| colspan="2" | lasīšot

! colspan="2" | Present Active 3 (Adv.)

| lasot

Imperative

| colspan="2" | lai lasot

! colspan="2" | Present Active 4 (Obj.)

| lasām

colspan="3" | CONDITIONAL (vēlējuma izteiksme)

! colspan="2" | Past Active

| lasījis

Present

| colspan="2" | lasītu

! colspan="2" | Present Passive

| lasāms

Past

| colspan="2" | būtu lasījis

! colspan="2" | Past Passive

| lasīts

colspan="3" | DEBITIVE (vajadzības izteiksme)

! colspan="3" | NOMINAL FORMS

Indicative

| colspan="2" | (būt) jālasa

! colspan="2" | Infinitive (nenoteiksme)

|

Conjunctive 1

| colspan="2" | esot jālasa

! colspan="2" | Negative Infinitive

|

Conjunctive 2

| colspan="2" | jālasot

! colspan="2" | Verbal noun

| lasīšana

The 3rd conjugation is divided into 2 subgroups, the 1st one containing the thematic vowel ī, and the 2nd subgroup – all other vowels. The only difference between the two subgroups is that verbs belonging to the 2nd subgroup do not take on the 3rd person present tense ending -a. dziedāt, es dziedu, tu dziedi but viņš dzied unlike viņš lasa.

class="inflection-table wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

|+ Conjugation of dziedāt

!

! colspan="4" | INDICATIVE (īstenības izteiksme)

! rowspan="2" | IMPERATIVE
(pavēles izteiksme)

!

! Present
(tagadne)

! Past
(pagātne)

! Future
(nākotne)

1st pers. sg.

! es

| dziedu

| dziedāju

| dziedāšu

| —

2nd pers. sg.

! tu

| dziedi

| dziedāji

| dziedāsi

| dziedi

3rd pers. sg.

! viņš, viņa

| dzied

| dziedāja

| dziedās

| lai dzied

1st pers. pl.

! mēs

| dziedam

| dziedājām

| dziedāsim

| dziedāsim

2nd pers. pl.

! jūs

| dziedat

| dziedājāt

| dziedāsiet,
dziedāsit

| dziediet

3rd pers. pl.

! viņi, viņas

| dzied

| dziedāja

| dziedās

| lai dzied

colspan="3" | RENARRATIVE (atstāstījuma izteiksme)

! colspan="3" | PARTICIPLES (divdabji)

Present

| colspan="2" | dziedot

! colspan="2" | Present Active 1 (Adj.)

| dziedošs

Past

| colspan="2" | esot dziedājis

! colspan="2" | Present Active 2 (Adv.)

| dziedādams

Future

| colspan="2" | dziedāšot

! colspan="2" | Present Active 3 (Adv.)

| dziedot

Imperative

| colspan="2" | lai dziedot

! colspan="2" | Present Active 4 (Obj.)

| dziedam

colspan="3" | CONDITIONAL (vēlējuma izteiksme)

! colspan="2" | Past Active

| dziedājis

Present

| colspan="2" | dziedātu

! colspan="2" | Present Passive

| dziedams

Past

| colspan="2" | būtu dziedājis

! colspan="2" | Past Passive

| dziedāts

colspan="3" | DEBITIVE (vajadzības izteiksme)

! colspan="3" | NOMINAL FORMS

Indicative

| colspan="2" | (būt) jādzied

! colspan="2" | Infinitive (nenoteiksme)

|

Conjunctive 1

| colspan="2" | esot jādzied

! colspan="2" | Negative Infinitive

|

Conjunctive 2

| colspan="2" | jādziedot

! colspan="2" | Verbal noun

| dziedāšana

Beside the three conjugations, there are three verbs characterized by different stems in present, past as well as infinitive. These verbs are referred to as "irregular" (nekārtni or neregulāri.) Irregular verbs and their stem changes are:

  • būt (esmu, biju) – to be (I am, I was)
  • iet (eju, gāju) – to go (I go, I went)
  • dot (dodu, devu) – to give (I give, I gave)

A verb's conjugation pattern can be deduced from three base forms: the infinitive form, the present stem and the past stem. The following table shows the correspondence between the base stem and the tense/mood.

cellpadding="5" border="1px solid #000000" style="border-collapse:collapse; background:#F9F9F9; text-align:center; width:;100%" class="inflection-table"

! style="background:#BCB2B0"| stem

style="background:#BCB2B0" | moods and tenses derived from this stem
style="background:#DEDEDE" | present stempresent indicative, imperative mood, debitive mood, present participles (except participle present active 2)
style="background:#DEDEDE" | past stemimperfect, past active participle
style="background:#DEDEDE" | infinitive steminfinitive, future indicative, conditional mood, future conjunctive, participle present active 2, past passive participle

References

{{reflist}}

Literature

{{refbegin}}

  • {{Cite book |last=Ceplīte |first=B. |title=Latviešu valodas praktiskā gramatika |last2=Ceplītis |first2=L. |date=1991 |publisher=Zvaigzne ABC |location=Rīgā |language=lv |trans-title=Practical Grammar of the Latvian Language}}
  • {{Cite book |last=Dini |first=Pietro U. |title=Le Lingue Baltiche |date=1997 |publisher=La Nuova Italia Editrice |location=Scandicci (Florence) |language=it |trans-title=The Baltic Languages}}
  • {{Cite book |last=Endzelīns |first=J. |title=Latviešu valodas gramatika |date=1951 |publisher=Latvijas Valsts Izdevniečiba |location=Rīgā |language=lv |trans-title=Latvian Grammar}}
  • {{Cite book |last=Akademija Andreja Upisa Valodas un Literaturas |title=Mūsdienu latviešu literārās valodas gramatika |date=1959 |publisher=LPSR ZA izdevniecība |location=Riga |language=lv |trans-title=Modern Literary Latvian Language Grammar}}
  • {{Cite book |last=Fennell |first=T. G. |title=A Grammar of Modern Latvian (Vols. 1–3) |last2=H. Gelsen |date=1980 |publisher=Mouton}}
  • {{Cite book |last=Kalnača |first=Andra |url=https://dspace.lu.lv/dspace/handle/7/54312 |title=Latvian Grammar |last2=Lokmane |first2=Ilze |date=2021 |publisher=University of Latvia Press |isbn=978-9934-18-635-6 |location=Rīga |language=en |doi=10.22364/latgram.2021 |doi-access=free}}
  • {{Cite book |last=Karulis |first=K. |title=Latviešu etimoloģijas vārdnīca |date=2001 |publisher=Avots |location=Rīga |trans-title=Latvian Etymology Dictionary}}
  • {{Cite book |last=Mathiassen |first=Terje |title=A Short Grammar of Latvian |date=1996 |publisher=Slavica |isbn=0-89357-270-5 |location=Columbus, OH |language=en}}
  • {{Cite book |last=Petit |first=Justyna |title=Parlons letton |last2=Petit |first2=Daniel |date=2004 |publisher=L'Harmattan |isbn=2-7475-5910-6 |location=Paris |language=fr |trans-title=Let's Speak Latvian}}
  • {{Cite book |last=Prauliņš |first=Dace |title=Latvian: An Essential Grammar |date=2012 |publisher=Routeledge |isbn=9780415576925 |location=London |language=en}}

{{refend}}

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Category:Languages of Latvia

Category:Latvian language