Grammar 3.3:

3.3.1 ADDITIONAL LOCATIVE USES

3.3.11 TIME LOCATIVES answer the question kad? -- 'when' and indicate a point in or a period of time:

rītā -- 'in the morning',

naktī -- 'at night'

pulksten divos -- 'at two o'clock'.

a. In this lesson we are learning two types of clock time phrases.

Note that in the locative all clock numerals acquire the ending -os.

b. The word pulksten -- 'o clock' is an adverb and is used with all the clock phrases that are not in the nominative case.c. The question: Cik ir pulkstenis? -- 'What time is it?' must be learned as an idiom, because its literal translation in English would not make much sense.

3.3.13 LOCATIVES OF THE BODY PARTS WITH PIECES OF CLOTHING. In Latvian the expressions of having on pieces of clothing must be followed by the locatives of the body parts to indicate exactly where a particular piece of clothing is on:

3.3.2 Tas, tā SERVES AS A THIRD PERSON PRONOUN FOR NON-PERSON NOUNS AND MEANS 'IT', PLURAL 'THEY'. Note, however, that the two-gender references are kept intact:

3.3.4 THE REFLEXIVE VERBS are called "reflexive" because, in their basic use, their action returns ("bends back") to its doer. In other words, THE SUBJECT AND THE OBJECT IS THE SAME with such verbs:

uzvesties -- to behave oneself

apsēsties -- to-sit (oneself) down

apgulties -- to lie (lay oneself) down

3.3.41 OTHER USES OF THE REFLEXIVE VERBS. Only a small percentage of the verbs showing the reflexive forms have clearly reflexive uses. In Modern Latvian the reflexive verbs have developed several other uses, of which our sample shows the following:

a. RECIPROCAL (MUTUAL ACTION) USE:

b. INTRANSITIVE USE. When the verb with the active forms has a transitive meaning, the same verb with reflexive forms may be used intransitively:

c. INTENSIVE USE. Often, to intensify the action, the verb is given the reflexive forms

d. DESCRIPTIVE (LINKING VERB) USE (rather rare):

e. COINING NEW MEANINGS by the use of the reflexive forms (rare occurrences):

3.3.51 EXAMPLES OF THE REFLEXIVE VERB PRESENT TENSE CONJUGATION

I. Like skrienas, the verbs smejas, jūtas (and atrodas) are conjugated.

II. Like mazgājas, the verbs (sa)runājas and spēlējas are conjugated.

III. Like mācās, the verbs klausās, skatās and izskatās are conjugated.

The verb atrodas is seldom conjugated, and the verbs sākās un beidzās, practically never.

3.3.52 VERBS WITH CHANGES IN THE 2ND SINGULAR BASE ENDS

The first three verbs RESTORE THE ORIGINAL CONSONANT at the base end of the second person singular form.

In the last verb, the 2nd singular form drops the -j- at the base end after the labial consonant b.

Note that the classifications of these verbs refer to the base end changes mentioned and shown above. About similar occurences in III-e verbs see 3.2.42.

3.3.6 NEW IDIOMATIC STRUCTURES TO LEARN:

3.6.61 TO LIKE / DISLIKE: patikt / nepatikt. These expressions are structured with the logical subject in the dative and the object in the nominative case. The verb remains in the 3rd person.

3.3.62 TO SUIT: piestāvēt:

3.3.7 NEW SENTENCES

3.3.71 TIME QUESTIONS. General questions are introduced by Kad -- 'When':

3.3.72 TIME CLAUSES INTRODUCED BY Kad structurally are exactly like the Kad-questions (whereas in English note the word order differences):

QUESTION: Kad beidzās stundas? When did the lessons end?

CLAUSE: Kad beidzās stundas, bērni gāja mājās. When the lessons ended, the children went home.

Also, it can follow the main clause: Bērni gāja mājās, kad beidzās stundas.

3.3.73 ADVERB OF MANNER QUESTIONS are introduced by Kā -- 'How':

This adverbial particle kā is pronounced with the broken pitch: [ka*], but is spelled the same as the possessive genitive form kā 'whose', which has the even pitch.

3.3.74 REASON QUESTIONS are introduced by Kāpēc / Kādēļ -- 'Why'. They can be answered only by a whole clause (or a simple sentence). The reason clause is often introduced by the particle jo -- 'for, because'. Like the for-clause in English, the jo-clause can only follow the main clause:

3.3.8 ADDITIONAL POINTS

a. In Latvian all dependent clauses get separated from the main clauses by a comma regardless of their types or positions. Especially see the last sentences in 3.3.72 and 3.3.74, where you would not use commas in English.

b. The noun brīdis (and starpbrīdis) has a base-end -ž- in the plural forms:

brīži, brīzīem, brīžos. Similarly, the noun pulkstenis changes the base -n- to -ņ- in plural: pulksteņi, pulksteņiem, pulksteņos.

c. Borrowed nouns that end in -o, like radio, are indeclinable - they keep the same -o in all declensional cases. Their modifiers, however, must have their regular masculine gender suffixes:

jauns radio -- new radio (set)

jaunam radio -- for a new radio

jaunā radio -- in a new radio

jauni radio -- new radio sets