A2 · Section 1
The Seven Cases in Full
The five declensions completed: every case in singular and plural, including the third and fifth paradigms that A1 only gestured at, and a review of what each case is for.
The Five Declensions
146.Lithuanian nouns fall into five declensions, sorted by the nominative singular ending and by the genitive that goes with it. A1 taught endings case by case; A2 puts the whole word in one table. The first two declensions cover most of the vocabulary already met; the third (akis), the fourth (sūnus), and the fifth (vanduo, sesuo) complete what was only sampled.
- brolis, brolio — I
- brother (genitive -io)
- akis, akies — III
- eye (genitive -ies)
- vanduo, vandens — V
- water (genitive -ens)
| declension | nominative | genitive sg. | chiefly |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | -as, -is, -ys | -o, -io | masculine: namas, brolis, obuolys |
| II | -a, -ė | -os, -ės | feminine: knyga, katė (some masc. dėdė) |
| III | -is | -ies / -ers | mostly feminine: akis, moteris; some masc. dantis |
| IV | -us | -aus | masculine: sūnus, medus |
| V | -uo / duktė | -ens / -ers | vanduo, akmuo, sesuo, duktė |
The First Declension in Full
147.Masculines in -as, -is, -ys form one class. The soft stems (brolis, obuolys) insert i before most endings; the locative singular of -is/-ys is -yje, not -e. The vocative of a common noun in -as is -e; personal names take -ai (¶78).
- Gyvenu name.
- I live in a house.
- Kalbu su broliu.
- I am talking with my brother.
- Rašau broliams.
- I am writing to my brothers.
| case | namas sg. | namas pl. | brolis sg. | brolis pl. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| nom. | namas | namai | brolis | broliai |
| gen. | namo | namų | brolio | brolių |
| dat. | namui | namams | broliui | broliams |
| acc. | namą | namus | brolį | brolius |
| instr. | namu | namais | broliu | broliais |
| loc. | name | namuose | brolyje | broliuose |
| voc. | name | namai | broli | broliai |
The Second Declension in Full
148.Feminines in -a and -ė (and a few masculines like dėdė) make the second class. Watch the instrumental singular of -a: it is spelled like the nominative (knyga), and only the sentence chooses. Softening before the genitive plural is regular: katė → kačių.
- Skaitau knygoje.
- I am reading in the book.
- Žaidžiu su kate.
- I am playing with the cat.
- Dovanoju knygas seserims.
- I am giving books to the sisters.
| case | knyga sg. | knyga pl. | katė sg. | katė pl. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| nom. | knyga | knygos | katė | katės |
| gen. | knygos | knygų | katės | kačių |
| dat. | knygai | knygoms | katei | katėms |
| acc. | knygą | knygas | katę | kates |
| instr. | knyga | knygomis | kate | katėmis |
| loc. | knygoje | knygose | katėje | katėse |
| voc. | knyga | knygos | kate | katės |
The Third Declension: -is
149.Nouns in -is with genitive -ies (or the short -ers of moteris) are a class of their own. Most are feminine (akis, naktis, ausis); a few are masculine (dantis, debesis). The nominative plural is -ys, the accusative plural repeats the nominative singular (akis), and the instrumental singular takes the long -imi.
- Matau akimis.
- I see with my eyes.
- Naktį sninga.
- It snows at night. — accusative of time from naktis
- Man skauda dantį.
- My tooth hurts.
| case | akis sg. | akis pl. | dantis sg. | dantis pl. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| nom. | akis | akys | dantis | dantys |
| gen. | akies | akių | danties | dantų |
| dat. | akiai | akims | dančiui | dantims |
| acc. | akį | akis | dantį | dantis |
| instr. | akimi | akimis | dantimi | dantimis |
| loc. | akyje | akyse | dantyje | dantyse |
| voc. | akie | akys | dantie | dantys |
The Fourth Declension: -us
150.Masculines in -us are few but frequent (sūnus, medus, žmogus — the last irregular in the plural). The genitive is -aus, the instrumental the long -umi, the nominative plural the long -ūs. Do not confuse sūnus the nominative singular with sūnus the accusative plural: they are spelled alike.
- Kalbu su sūnumi.
- I am talking with my son.
- Duodu medaus.
- I am giving some honey. — partitive genitive
- Sūnau, ateik čia!
- Son, come here!
| case | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nom. | sūnus | sūnūs |
| gen. | sūnaus | sūnų |
| dat. | sūnui | sūnums |
| acc. | sūnų | sūnus |
| instr. | sūnumi | sūnumis |
| loc. | sūnuje | sūnuose |
| voc. | sūnau | sūnūs |
The Fifth Declension: -uo and Kin
151.The fifth class holds the -uo nouns (vanduo, akmuo, šuo) and the kinship pair sesuo, duktė. The stem lengthens by -en- or -er- outside the nominative singular: vanduo → vandens → vandenį. Learn the genitive with the word; from it the rest follows the soft pattern of III.
- Stiklinėje yra vandens.
- There is some water in the glass.
- Gyvenu su seserimi.
- I live with my sister.
- Rašau seserims.
- I am writing to my sisters.
| case | vanduo sg. | vanduo pl. | sesuo sg. | sesuo pl. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| nom. | vanduo | vandenys | sesuo | seserys |
| gen. | vandens | vandenų | sesers | seserų |
| dat. | vandeniui | vandenims | seseriai | seserims |
| acc. | vandenį | vandenis | seserį | seseris |
| instr. | vandeniu | vandenimis | seserimi | seserimis |
| loc. | vandenyje | vandenyse | seseryje | seseryse |
| voc. | vandenie | vandenys | seserie | seserys |
Forms That Coincide
152.Several slots share a spelling. The sentence must choose, and it always can, because two readings never do the same grammatical work. The coincidences worth knowing by heart are listed below; they are not exceptions but regular overlaps.
- Knyga yra nauja. / Rašau knyga.
- The book is new. / I write with a book (as means — rare, but grammatical).
- Matau akis. / Akis skauda.
- I see eyes. / An eye hurts. — acc. pl. against nom. sg.
| form | can be | and also |
|---|---|---|
| knyga | nom. sg. | instr. / voc. sg. |
| knygos | gen. sg. | nom. / voc. pl. |
| akis | nom. sg. | acc. pl. |
| sūnus | nom. sg. | acc. pl. |
| moteris | nom. sg. | acc. pl. |
What Each Case Is For
153.With the paradigms complete, the uses already taught can be stated as one map. The nominative names the subject and the predicate noun; the genitive shows possession, quantity, origin, and follows most prepositions and negation; the dative is the indirect object and the experiencer; the accusative is the direct object and the goal of motion; the instrumental is means, company (with su), and recurring time; the locative is place in/at/on without a preposition; the vocative only addresses.
- Brolis duoda seseriai knygą.
- The brother gives the sister a book. — nom. — dat. — acc.
- Rašau pieštuku name.
- I write with a pencil in the house. — instr. — loc.
| case | asks | chief work |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | kas? | subject; predicate noun |
| genitive | ko? | possession, partitive, after ne-, most prepositions |
| dative | kam? | indirect object; experiencer (patinka, reikia) |
| accusative | ką? | direct object; direction with į, pas; time when |
| instrumental | kuo? | means; su + company; recurring time |
| locative | kur? | place in/at, no preposition |
| vocative | — | address only |
Vocabulary
- akis
- eye · noun
- akies, akį, f., III
- naktis
- night · noun
- nakties, naktį, f., III
- ausis
- ear · noun
- ausies, ausį, f., III
- akmuo
- stone · noun
- akmens, akmenį, m., V
- duktė
- daughter · noun
- dukters, dukterį, f., V
- šuo
- dog · noun
- šuns, šunį, m., V
- Short genitive šuns.
- medus
- honey · noun
- medaus, medų, m., IV
- debesis
- cloud · noun
- debesies, debesį, m., III
- stiklinė
- glass (drinking) · noun
- stiklinės, stiklinę, f., II
- žaisti
- to play · verb
- žaidžia, žaidė, I
- dovanoti
- to give as a gift · verb
- dovanoja, dovanojo, I
- linksnis
- case (grammatical) · noun
- linksnio, linksnį, m., I
- linksniuotė
- declension class · noun
- linksniuotės, linksniuotę, f., II
- dėdė
- uncle · noun
- dėdės, dėdę, m., II
- Masculine of the second declension.