Language/Lithuanian/Grammar/Nouns
Hi Lithuanian learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will cover one of the most important aspects of the Lithuanian language: some of the peculiarities of the noun system.
Introduction
Nouns are a fundamental part of any sentence. They are words that describe a person, a place, a thing, or an idea. Lithuanian is a highly inflected language which means that nouns can take many different forms, depending on their grammatical case, number and gender. In this lesson, we will look at the different types of declension, gender, and pluralization of nouns in Lithuanian.
To improve your Lithuanian Grammar, you can also use the Polyglot Club website. Find native speakers and ask them any questions!
Gender in Lithuanian Nouns
Unlike many other modern Indo-European languages, Lithuanian has three genders - masculine, feminine and neuter. Assigning each noun to its corresponding gender may seem arbitrary to speakers of other languages, as there are no hard and fast rules.
Below are some examples of nouns in each gender. Pay attention to their gender endings. They will be important for declension.
| Lithuanian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| vyras | ['vʲiːrɐs] | man |
| moteris | [mo'teːrɪs] | woman |
| vaikas | ['vɐɪ̯kɐs] | child |
| miškas | ['miʃkɐs] | forest |
| namas | ['nɐmɐs] | house |
| akmuo | ['ɐkmʊɔ] | stone |
It's worth noting that identifying the gender of nouns is essential, as it affects the behavior of other words in the sentence, especially adjectives and pronouns.
Declension Of Nouns
As previously mentioned, Lithuanian is a highly inflected language, and nouns are no exception. Declension refers to the detailed changes that nouns undergo to convey their grammatical relationships with other words.
There are seven cases in Lithuanian: nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, instrumental, locative, and vocative.
Let's take the masculine noun vyras (man) as an example. It is a noun of the a-type declension.
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | vyras | vyrai |
| Genitive | vyro | vyrų |
| Dative | vyrui | vyrams |
| Accusative | vyrą | vyrus |
| Instrumental | vyru | vyrais |
| Locative | vyre | vyruose |
| Vocative | vyre | vyrai |
In general, Lithuanian nouns, depending on their gender and declension type, will take one of the following endings, which correspond to the grammatical case in question:
- a, e, ę, is, us, ys, i, u, y, ia, ie, uo, u, uose.
For instance, the feminine noun moteris (woman), which is also from the a-type declension, behaves quite differently:
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | moteris | moterys |
| Genitive | moters | moterų |
| Dative | moteriai | moterims |
| Accusative | moterį | moteris |
| Instrumental | moterimi | moterimis |
| Locative | moteryje | moterų |
| Vocative | moteri | moterys |
As you can see, the feminine nouns have different endings, depending on the grammatical case, and not all feminine nouns follow the same pattern.
It's essential to memorize these changes, as they are an essential part of learning Lithuanian. Don't worry, it takes time, but with practice and patience, you'll master the different declensions in no time!
Pluralization of Nouns
The Lithuanian language has four ways to form plurals, but the most common is the addition of the suffix -ai, -iai, -ės, and -os.
For example:
- vaikas (child) becomes vaikai (children).
- knyga (book) becomes knygos (books).
- mama (mother) becomes mamos (mothers).
- vanduo (water) becomes vandenys (waters).
There are some irregular forms, especially with masculine nouns. But the more nouns you memorize, the easier it will be to identify these patterns.
Let's see how the nouns above that we used as examples are formed in the plural form:
| Lithuanian | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| vyras | man | vyrai |
| moteris | woman | moterys |
| vaikas | child | vaikai |
| miškas | forest | miškai |
| namas | house | namai |
| akmuo | stone | akmenys |
Dialogue
Here is a dialogue with some Lithuanian noun phrases in context:
- Ona: Labas Danieli. Koks tavo mėgstamiausias miestas Lietuvoje?
- Danielis: Labas Ona. Mano mėgstamiausias miestas yra Kaunas. Jis yra šalia Nemuno upės ir turi gražių parkų ir senamiesčio.
- Ona: Suprantama. Mano mėgstamiausias miestas yra Vilnius. Vilnius yra daugiau kaip 1000 metų senumo ir turi ilgą istoriją.
- Danielis: Taip, Vilnius yra gražus miestas. Man patinka tos senos, istorinės statybos pastatai.
Translation:
- Ona: Hello, Daniel. What's your favorite city in Lithuania?
- Daniel: Hello, Ona. My favorite city is Kaunas. It is near the Nemunas river and has beautiful parks and an old town.
- Ona: I see. My favorite city is Vilnius. Vilnius is over 1000 years old and has a long history.
- Daniel: Yes, Vilnius is a beautiful city. I like those old, historic buildings.
Sources
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