Grammar 5.1:

5.1.1 THE FORMATION OF THE GENITIVE CASE for the nouns is scattered in four patterns, three for making the singular forms, and a common pattern for all plurals.

5.1.11 THE FEMININE a- and e-STEM NOUNS ADD THE SINGULAR ENDING -s TO THEIR STEM VOWEL:

māsa – sister
māsas - sister's
māte - mother
mātes - mother's

Here note two things:

a. This particular process is similar to that of making the genitives in English (except no apostrophe is used in the Latvian spelling)

b. The ending -as and -es are now being used for the third time. (What are the other two instances?)

5.1.12 THE MASCULINE a- and i-STEM NOUNS HAVE THE SINGULAR ENDING -a:

tē*vs –father
tē*va -- father's
brālis – brother
brāļa -- brother's

a. THE i-STEM NOUNS PALATALIZE OR IOTACIZE THEIR BASE ENDS BEFORE THE GENITIVE SINGULAR -a the same as they do in the whole plural:

brālis – brother
brāļa – plural — brāļi
vīrietis – man
vīrieša, vīrieši – plural
nazis – knife
naža, naži – plural
pulkstenis – clock
pulksteņa, pulksteņi – plural

THE BASE END LABIALS ADD -j-:

skapis – closet
skapja – plural—skapji
šķīvis –plate
šķīvja, šķīvji – plural

5.1.13 THE FEMININE i-STEM and MASCULINE u-STEM NOUNS REPEAT THEIR NOMINATIVE SINGULAR ENDINGS ALSO IN THE GENITIVE SINGULAR:

acs – eye
acs -- of the eye
plīts – stove
plīts -- of the stove
le*dus – ice
le*dus -- of the ice
lietus – rain
lietus -- of rain

a. Those few masculine i-stem nouns that have only -s (not -is) in the nominative singular repeat this -s also in the genitive singular: ūdens – water, ūdens -- of water.

5.1.14 IN THE PLURAL ALL NOUNS TAKE THE COMMON ENDING -u:

māsa – genitive plural
māsu -- sisters/of sisters
tē*vs -- tē*vu -- fathers/of fathers
le*dus -- le*du -- of ice pieces

THE i-STEM and e-STEM NOUNS HAVE BASE END PALATALIZATIONS / IOTIZATIONS before the genitive plural -u:

a. PALATALIZATIONS:

pudele -- bottle – genitive plural -- pudeļu
meitene -- girl -- meiteņu
glāze -- glass -- glāžu
bikses -- pants -- bikšu
sieviete -- woman -- sieviešu
atbilde -- answer -- atbilžu
skolniece -- schoolgirl -- skolnieču
kundze -- lady -- kundžu
plīts -- stove -- plīšu
uzacs -- eyebrow – uzaču

and, of course, the masculine i-stems:

brālis -- brother -- brāļu
pulkstenis -- clock -- pulksteņu
vīrietis -- male -- vīriešu
nazis -- knife -- nažu
brīdis -- moment -- brīžu

b. SOME FEMININE i-STEMS DO NOT PALATALIZE. Of these we already have:

acs -- eye -- acu
auss -- ear – ausu
brokastis -- breakfast – brokastu
balss -- voice -- balsu

c. IOTIZATIONS:

kurpe -- shoe – kurpju
drēbes -- clothes – drēbju
zīme – sign – zīmju
durvis -- door – durvju

and, of course:

skapis -- closet -- skapju
šķīvis -- plate --šķīvju.

As with the other declensional cases learned before, THE ADJECTIVES, REGULAR PRONOUNS AND REGULAR NUMERALS DO EXACTLY WHAT THE a-STEM NOUNS DO. For the nonregular formations, see again the bottom part of your declension chart—and learn those forms by heart.

5.1.2 GENITIVES MODIFYING NOUNS. Here belong the genitives of possession, description or origin, and measure or amount. In this lesson we will take up the possessive and descriptive genitives.

5.1.21 THE POSSESSIVE GENITIVE indicates the possession or ownership. This type of genitive is also common in English, where it is expressed by the ending 's (and no ending in plural):

meitenes grāmata -- girl's book
meiteņu grāmatas -- girls' books
zē*na zīmulis – boy's pencil
zē*nu zīmuļi -- boy's pencils

a. Besides the three possessive pronouns: mans/mana -- my, tavs/tava – your - singular, savs/sava -- one's own, which are adjectival in their forms, THE REST OF THE POSSESSIVE PRONOUN FORMS ARE GENITIVES:

viņa -- his (refers to PERSONS)
viņas – her (refers to PERSONS)
mūsu -- our
jūsu – your - plural
tās -- its - feminine (refers to THINGS)
tā – its - masculine (refers to THINGS)
viņu – their - masculine and feminine
to -- their - both genders

5.1.22 THE DESCRIPTIVE GENITIVE expresses a quality of one noun by means of another. In English this kind of modification is expressed in four different ways:

a. BY THE POSSESSIVE ENDING:

vīriešu kurpes -- men's shoes
meitenes dziesma -- girl's song
dienas darbs -- a day's work

b. BY THE PREPOSITION "OF":

nedēļas dienas -- the days of the week
krīta gabals -- a piece of chalk
koku lapas -- leaves of the trees

c. BY A NOUN WITH NO ENDING:

skolas grāmata -- school book
papīra krūzīte -- paper cup
lietus mētelis -- rain coat
matu krāsa -- hair color

d. BY AN ADJECTIVAL FORM:

koka krēsls -- wooden chair

Note that Latvian must express all these variations BY THE USE OF THE GENITIVE ENDINGS ONLY. Whatever the correct translations of such phrases may be in English, remember that in Latvian you are saying "week's days," "chalk's piece," "paper's cup," "rain's coat", "wood's chair", etc.

e. THE LATVIAN PHRASES FOR MR. AND MRS. use the surname as a descriptive genitive, which is followed by the words kungs -- Mr. or kundze -- Mrs. in whatever declination case they are needed:

Bērziņa kungs -- Mr. Bērziņš
Bērziņa kundzei -- for Mrs. Bērziņš

5.1.3 PARTICLES THAT TAKE GENITIVES

5.1.31 ADVERBS OF INDEFINITE QUANTITY take genitives:

daudz maizes -- much / a lot of bread
daudz meiteņu -- many / a lot of girls
maz sviesta -- a little butter
maz zē*nu -- a few boys
vairāk tējas -- more tea
vairāk zīmuļu -- more pencils
mazāk ūdens -- less water
mazāk grāmatu -- fewer books
drusku le*dus -- a (little) bit of ice
drusku ziepju -- a bit of soap

5.1.32 PREPOSITIONS THAT TAKE GENITIVE SINGULAR (and dative plural) are another set. The complete set will be given in the next lesson. In this lesson we have:

bez manis /(mums) -- without me (us)
pirms ēšanas (brokastīm) -- before eating (breakfast)
pēc stundas (stundām) -- after an hour (hours)
dēļ tevis (jums) -- for you / your sake - singular (plural)
pie mājas (mājām) -- at the house (houses)
no veikala (veikaliem) -- from the store (stores)
zem koka (kokiem) -- under a tree (trees)
uz letes (letēm) -- on the counter (counters)

Note that THE PREPOSITION uz SERVES IN BOTH SETS: The "directional uz" means 'to(ward)' and takes the accusative singular:

Es eju uz leti. -- I am walking toward the counter.
Viņa skatās uz galdu. -- She's looking at (= toward) the table.

The "stationary uz" means 'on' and takes the genitive singular:

Preces ir uz letes. -- The merchandise is on the counter.
Uz galda ir burtnīcas un zīmuļi. -- On the table (there) are the notebooks and pencils.

5.1.4 GENITIVES WITH VERBS that indicate or imply an absence or lack. These genitives serve as subjects or objects depending on the structures they enter.

5.1.41 ABSENCE / LACK GENITIVES AS SUBJECTS enter structures ruled by the verbs nebūt -- not be and trūkt -- lack, be absent' WHEN ANOTHER PART OF THE SENTENCE INCLUDES A PLACE OR TIME COMPLEMENT:

Šajā dārzā nav koku. -- In this yard (there) are no trees.
Virtuvē vēl nav / trūkst le*dusskapja. -- In the kitchen (there) is no refrigerator.
Bērnu nebija ne mājā, ne dārzā. -- (There) were no children either in the house or the yard.
Pirmdien nebūs dziedāšanas. -- On Monday (there) will be no singing.

However, when the sentence calls for the absence verb with a NOUN OR ADJECTIVE COMPLEMENT, THE SUBJECT STAYS IN THE NOMINATIVE:

Jānis nav skolotājs. -- Janis is not a teacher.
Māja nebija liela. -- The house was not large.

5.1.42 ABSENCE / LACK GENITIVES AS OBJECTS ENTER THE NEGATIVE POSSESSIVE STRUCTURES (whereas the positive possessive structures have the nominative objects).

Positive Possessessive Structures:

Man ir nauda. I have money.
Šai meitenei ir divi brāļi. This girl has two brothers.
Logiem bija aizkari. The windows had curtains.
Mums būs viss kas. We'll have all kinds of things.

Negative Possessive Structures:

Man nav naudas. I don't have money.
Tai meitenei nav brāļu. That girl has no brothers.
Logiem nebija aizkaru. The windows had no curtains.
Jums nebūs nekā. You will have nothing. / You will not have anything.

a. Since the verb trūkt implies not having someting needful, it can be used (instead of nebūt) wherever the lack and the need is stressed:

Man trūkst naudas. I lack money.
Logiem trūka aizkaru. The windows lack curtains.
Jums trūks visa kā. You'll lack everything.

b. The verb trūkt can be an ACTION VERB with a different meaning:

Diegs trūkst. -- The thread snaps apart.
(BUT: Diega trūkst. -- There is a lack of thread.')

5.1.43 VERBS IMPLYING LACK TAKE GENITIVE OBJECTS. In these structures, too, THE SUBJECTS ARE IN THE DATIVE:

Man vajag naudas, I need money.
Viņai vajadzēs palīga. She'll need help.
Kā tev gribas? What do you desire / want?
Man gribas vēsas sulas. I desire / want some cool juice.

5.1.5 QUESTIONS (AND ANSWERS) THAT INVOLVE GENITIVES. They relate to the genitive uses described above.

5.1.51 Kā 'WHOSE' INTRODUCES QUESTIONS WHOSE ANSWERS CONTAIN POSSESSIVE GENITIVES:

Q: Kā zīmulis tas ir? Whose pencil is it?
A: Tas ir Jāņa zīmulis. It is John's pencil.

Q: Kā mājai ir sarkans jumts? Whose house has a red roof?
A: Mūsu mājai ir sarkans jumts. Our house has a red roof.

5.1.52 Kā nav / trūkst? ELICITS ABSENCE / LACK GENITIVES IN THE ANSWERS:

Q: Kā tev nav / trūkst? What do you not have / lack?
A: Man nav / trūkst naudas. I do not have / lack money.

Q: Kā nebija mājā? Who was not in the house?
A: Bē*rnu nebija mājā. The children were not in the house.

Q: Kā viņiem nebūs / trūks rīt? What will they not have / lack tomorrow?
A: Rīt viņiem nekā netrūks. Tomorrow they will lack nothing.'

5.1.53 Kāds, kāda ELICITS DESCRIPTIVE GENITIVES IN THE ANSWERS:

Q: Kāda ir tā gulta? What kind of bed is that?
A: Tā ir koka gulta. That is a wooden bed.

Q: Kādu mēteli tu pirksi? What kind of coat will you buy?
A: Es pirkšu lietus mēteli. I will buy a rain coat.'

Q: Kādā veikalā pārdod sviestu? In what kind of store butter is sold.
A: Sviestu pārdod pārtikas veikalā. Butter is sold in the grocery store.

Remember that these are adjectival questions that can elicit adjectives in the answers; see 3.1.42.

5.1.54 Cik 'HOW MUCH / MANY' FOLLOWED BY A NOUN PUTS THAT NOUN IN THE GENITIVE:

Cik brāļu un māsu tev ir? How many brothers and sisters do you have?
Cik (daudz) sviesta un gaļas māte nopirka? How much butter and meat did mother buy?
Cik naudas tev ir kabatā? How much money do you have in your pocket?

5.1.6 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

5.1.61 Kāds, kāda CAN BE A NOUN MODIFIER meaning a/an, a certain, some:

Kāds zēns ir pie durvīm. A / Some boy is at the door.
Es gribu pirkt kādu kleitu. I want to buy some / a dress.

a. USED ALONE, kāds, -a MEANS -- SOMEONE, SOME:

Kāds ir pie durvīm. Someone is at the door.
Te ir grāmatas: paņem kādu un palasi. Here are books: take some and read.

b. Nekāds, nekāda IS AN EMPHATIC NEGATIVE meaning -- no (kind of), not a ___ (at all):

Viņa nav nekāda skolniece. She's no (kind of) student. / She's not a student (at all).

5.1.62 SECOND POINTERS are needed to pinpoint the meanings of the verbal prefixes. With the motion verbs the most basic pointers (# 1. or 2.) are used. They repeat not only the basic meanings of the prefixes but also their forms as free prepositions:

pieiet pie -- come near / at.