Grammar 5.2:

5.2.1 THE FUTURE TENSE. There are no irregular forms in the future tense conjugation. Two sets of conjugational endings are used, one for the active and one for the reflexive verbs. In both sets the actual ending is preceded by the future marker -s-, which gets palatalized to -š- in the 1st person singular.

As shown in the parentheses above, all the reflexive forms can be derived from the corresponding active forms by the use of two rules explained in 4.2.7.

In Latvia the 2nd plural forms act. -siet and reflexive -sieties are being used.

5.2.11 FUTURE TENSE SAMPLE OF THE I. CONJUGATION VERBS:

5.2.11-a The future marker -s- must be kept apart from the consonants with which it might fuse. For this reason the I. conjugation verbs whose bases end in s-, -z-, -t- or -d- insert an -ī- between the base end and the future marker. The resulting future tense conjugation takes the shapes shown below:

The future forms of these verbs look as if they belonged to the II-ī or III-ī conjugation. This shows once more how important it is to memorize the principal parts correctly.

Note that the original I. conjugation subtypes (I-reg., I-ž/z, I-bj/b, etc.) here and on the previous page have become unimportant in the future tense. They were needed only for the present tense formations.

5.2.12 FUTURE TENSE EXAMPLES OF THE II. CONJUGATION VERBS:

Because the future marker -s- separates the long stem vowel from the ending proper, there is no need for a -j- as there was in the present and past tenses.

5.2.13 FUTURE TENSE EXAMPLES OF THE III. CONJUGATION VERBS:

In the future tense the corresponding features of the II. and III. conjugation forms look identical.

5.2.14 THE EXHORTATIVE (INDIRECT IMPERATIVE) USE of the future first person plural form. When one is asking somebody to participate in some action, in Latvian he uses the 1st person plural form in the future tense.

In English such expressions are translated by Let's + basic verb form:

Dziedāsim! Let's sing!
Mācīsimies! Let's study!
Lasīsim stāstu! Let's read a story!
Sazināsimies! Let's keep in touch!
Iesim mājās! Let's go home!
Brauksim iepirkties! Let's go shopping!
Nekad neaizmirsīsim šo brīdi! Let's never forget this moment!

Note that in the expressions of this kind the 1st person plural pronoun is never used.

5.2.2 THE CARDINAL NUMBERS SYSTEM is easy to learn. First, there is a set of the primitive numbers (1-10); they must be learned by heart. Then, there are two sets of derived numbers, the -padsmit or -teen numbers, and the -desmit or -decade numbers; both made from the primitive numbers.

The suffix -padsmit means -- on ten, thus vienpadsmit -- one on ten = 11, divpadsmit -- two on ten = 12.

The decade numbers are built up by counting tens (decades) as units: divdesmit -- two tens = 20, trīsdesmit -- three tens = 30.

All numbers ending in -smit are indeclinable: they never change their form by adding any endings.

Note that the words simts, simtam -- 100 and tūkstotis, tūkstotim -- 1,000 grammatically are nouns although they have indeclinable forms simt and tūkstoš that can be used instead of the declined ones in the numbers phrases.

5.2.21 THE PHRASAL NUMBERS 21, 22, ... 99 are combined in a fashion similar to the English usage. The primitive numbers keep their gender and no hyphen is used between the words:

divdesmit viens / viena -- twenty-one
divdesmit divi / divas -- twenty-two
piecdesmit trīs -- fifty-three
septiņdesmit pieci / piecas -- seventy-five
deviņdesmit deviņi / deviņas -- ninety-nine

These phrasal numbers are used in all five declensional cases:

divdesmit divi koki -- 22 trees
divdesmit divas mājas -- 22 houses
četrdesmit triju zē*nu / meiteņu -- of 43 boys / girls
trīsdesmit četriem skolniekiem -- for 34 boy students
trīsdesmit četrām skolniecēm -- for 34 girl students
(es saskaitīju) sešdesmit piecas vistas un piecdesmit sešus tītarus --
(I counted) 65 chickens and 56 turkeys
astoņdesmit septiņās mājās -- in 87 houses
deviņdesmit deviņos kokos -- in 99 trees

a. When the last element of the phrasal number is viens / viena, IT IS THE NOUN THAT ASSUMES THE SINGULAR FORMS, not the numeral plural forms, for a complete grammatical agreement:

divdesmit viens koks -- 21 trees
trīsdesmit viena māja -- 31 houses
četrdesmit viena zē*na un divdesmit vienas meitenes skolotāja --
the teacher of 41 boys and 21 girls
piecdesmit vienai sievietei -- for 51 women
sešdesmit vienam vīrietim -- for 61 men
(es re*dzu) divdesmit vienu koku -- (I see) 21 trees
septiņdesmit vienā skapī -- in 71 closets

However, when the noun lacks the singular forms, the numeral viens / viena must be used in plural:

vienas durvis -- one door
divdesmit vienās biksēs -- in 31 trousers
trīsdesmit vieniem svārkiem -- to 31 coats

b. The numerals 2 to 9—alone or in phrasal numbers—STAY IN THE NOMINATIVE CASE when they are used in arithmetic functions, ratios or even expressing amounts:

Saskaiti divdesmit divi un trīsdesmit astoņi. -- Add 22 and 38.
divi pret pieci -- two to five
Ce*pure maksāja divdesmit seši dolāri. -- The hat cost $26.00.

BUT: Ce*pure maksāja divdesmit vienu dolāru—accusative of viens

c. When the numbers are expressed without nouns, THE MASCULINE FORMS of viens to deviņi are used (in counting, ratios, etc. -- see above).

5.2.22 NUMBERS WITH NOUNS IN GENITIVE. All indeclinable numbers with -padsmit and -desmit (all that end in -smit) make the nouns take the genitive plural instead of the nominative or accusative.

DECLINABLE NUMBER + NOUN in NOMINATIVE/ACCUSATIVE INDECLINABLE NUMBER + NOUN in GENITIVE (PLURAL)

The use of the genitive with indeclinable numbers is OVERRULED IN TWO INSTANCES:

a. IF A DECLINABLE MODIFIER PRECEDES the indeclinable number, the noun assumes its normal case ending:

Te ir VISI desmit zē*ni. -- Here are ALL ten boys.
Es redzu VISUS desmit zē*nus. -- I see ALL ten boys.
Viņa mazgāja ŠOS četrpadsmit cimdus un TĀS sešpadsmit zeķes. --
She washed THESE 14 gloves and THOSE 16 socks.

b. WHEN THE DATIVE OR LOCATIVE CASE IS CALLED FOR, it cannot be altered:

desmit zē*niem un divdesmit meitenēm -- for 10 boys and 20 girls
četrpadsmit cimdos un sešpadsmit zeķēs -- in 14 gloves and 16 socks

5.2.1 AMOUNT AND MEASURE GENITIVES structure themselves in the fashion described above: Nouns that designate amount or measure units take other nouns (in the genitive case) as their modifiers. These genitives, however, must be placed AFTER THE NOUNS THEY MODIFY. Thus, they are structural opposites to the descriptive (or even possessive) genitives, which precede their modified nouns:

DESCRIPTIVE GENITIVES (precede): AMOUNT/MEASURE GENITIVES (follow):

EXACT MEASURES are handled similarly:

mārciņa sviesta -- a pound of butter
divi galoni sulas -- two gallons of juice

a. THE AMOUNT / MEASURE GENITIVES NEVER CHANGE once they are placed in such phrases. The modified noun itself, however, may be in any declensional case:

Note the difference between the genitives here and in .22 above: Here the nouns in genitive are modifiers; in .22 they are being modified.

b. THE NUMBER NOUNS simts AND tūkstotis can be thought of as amounts and used in the manner shown above:

Also, they can be handled as numbers shown in .22, a. and b. above, especially when the indeclinable forms are used:

c. The indeclinable numbers themselves as well as the quantity adverbs discussed in 5.1.31 (daudz meiteņu -- many girls, vairāk tējas -- more tea, etc.) MAY BE TAKEN AS A KIND OF QUANTITY UNITS to explain why they must have genitives to go with them.

5.2.4 ADDITIONAL GENITIVE USES taken up in this lesson include descriptive geographic names and the full set of prepositions that take the genitive singular.

5.2.41 DESCRIPTIVE GENITIVES OF GEOGRAPHIC NAMES make proper noun (in genitive) + common noun (in any declination case) phrases that designate countries, cities, water bodies and (less often) mountains. Note the various English phrase structures that stand for the uniform Latvian structure (see also 5.1.22):

Of course, most of such place names can drop the common noun: Latvtja, Mičigana, Ņujorka, etc. The names of the seas and oceans must remain phrases.

a. In making foreign place names declinable In Latvian, THEIR GENDER IS DETERMINED BY THE GENERIC LATVIAN NAME OF THE GEOGRAPHIC FEATURE:

b. INDECLINABLE GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES, such as Ohaio -- (Ohio), Misisipi -- (Mississippi), etc., are mostly used in phrases for greater semantic and grammatical clarity: Ohaio štatam, Misisipi upi, Toronto pilsētā.

c. Following the Russians (who phoneticize the Western names in the letters of their own alphabet) THE LATVIANS HAVE ADOPTED THE CLUMSY METHOD OF PHONETICIZING ALL FOREIGN NAMES even from those languages that use the same Latin alphabet. This method tries to write the foreign words in Latvian as they sound, not as they are written. Of course, there are many inexactitudes and exceptions sanctioned by history and tradition. When you go beyond the range of the foreign names Supplement, consult a larger dictionary.

When a not too well known name (to the Latvians) appears in a piece of writing for the first time, its original spelling is given in parentheses after the Latvian spelling: Delavēra -- (Delaware).

5.2.42 THE GENITIVE SINGULAR (DATIVE PLURAL) PREPOSITION SET CONTAINS:

zem, aiz, bez, uz, pie, pēc, pirms, -pus, no, dēļ, kopš, virs

With the exception of no 'from', this set contains STATIC PREPOSITIONS THAT INDICATE LOCATIONS (rather than movements) in place and time. Also, the meaning of each preposition in this set shows less diversity.

See some illustrations of their use in the Additional Reading Exercises, Section D. In the plural these prepositions, too, go with the dative forms.

a. THE PREPOSITION pie + A PERSON'S NAME indicate this person's residence:

b. THE PREPOSITION kopš -- SINCE should be used in time phrases only:

kopš vakardienas -- since yesterday. It should never be used as a clause introducer meaning because.

c. THE SUBSET WITH -pus -- SIDE has also these members not used in our texts:

d. THE PREPOSITION uz FUNCTIONS IN BOTH SETS, but with different meanings:

In the plural, of course, only the contexts tell the differences in meaning:

Es eju uz akmeņiem. (dative plural)
Es sēžu uz akmeņiem. (dative plural)

5.2.5 ADDITIONAL PHRASE STRUCTURES

5.2.51 EXPRESSIONS OF DOING (FARING) WELL / BADLY. We already know them since the Lesson 1.2; now we can go into their grammatical composition.

THE QUESTION: Kā tev iet / klājas? -- How are you (doing)? HAS THE DATIVE SUBJECT AND AN IDIOMATIC USE OF BOTH VERBS. (Literally the question means: 'How does (it) go / fold for you?")

THE ANSWER: Man iet / klājas labi (slikti). -- I am (doing) well (badly). HAS (in addition to the dative subject and the idiomatic verb) THE ADVERBIAL COMPLEMENT labi / slikti.

5.2.52 EXPRESSIONS OF BEING / FEELING WELL, ILL; HOT, WARM, CHILLY OR COLD all use adverbial complements. Concerning the subject and verb, two versions are possible:

a. DATIVE SUBJECT + ir (bija, būs) + ADVERBIAL COMPLEMENT:

THE GENERAL QUESTION: Kā tev (viņai utt.) ir? -- How do you (does she, etc.) feel?

b. NOMINATIVE SUBJECT + PERSONAL FORMS OF justies + ADVERBIAL COMPLEMENT:

THE GENERAL QUESTION: Kā tu jūties (viņa jūtas)? -- How do you (does she) feel?

c. OTHER EXPRESSIONS WITH būt AND justies MUST USE AN ADJECTIVE COMPLEMENT:

5.2.53 THE VERB pietikt -- HAVE ENOUGH? makes up the core of another dative subject, genitive object structure:

Without the (dative) subject pietikt -- MEANS -- BE ENOUGH:

5.2.54 ADDITIONAL CLOCK TIME PHRASES to indicate some minutes to or past the hour or half hour. Four particles are used: bez -- less, to or pirms -- before'; pāri past-- or pēc -- after; the word ceturksnis, -nim means quarter (hour).

The phrases with bez are used more frequently than the phrases with pirms.

5.2.6 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

5.2.61 THE PARTICLE pāri -- over, past, although similar to the preposition pār, is an adverb, because it can stand alone without a noun / pronoun: lēkt pāri -- to jump across. In its prepositional function, it takes the dative case also in the singular: lēkt upei pāri / pāri upei -- to jump across the river.

5.2.62 SOME ADVERBS ARE FORMED (FROM ADJECTIVES) WITH -u. We have tālu -- far away and tuvu -- near-by, formed from the adjectives tāls tāla and tuvs/tāva.

5.2.63 ITERATIVE VERBS indicate a repeated action. In Latvian they are marked (often) by a base-vowel alteration and a change of conjugation:

5.2.64 TWO SPECIAL NUMERALS: THE IDIOMATIC NUMERAL pusotra/pusotras – 1 1/2 is a genitive and takes a genitive:

pusotra kukuļa -- 1 1/2 loaf, pusotras mārciņas -- 1 1/2 pound

THE NUMERAL arpus -- and a half, replaces the endings of small numbers:

divarpus -- 2 1/2, trīsarpus -- 3 1/2

With longer numbers it becomes a separate word or even a phrase:

septiņi arpus / septiņi ar pusi -- 7 ½