Language/Lithuanian/Grammar/Describing-People-and-Things
As a Lithuanian language teacher for 20 years, I have seen firsthand how the use of adjectives and adverbs can enhance a learner's understanding and appreciation of the language. In this lesson on "Describing People and Things," we will explore how adjectives are used in Lithuanian to describe people, places, and things. We will also cover important topics such as adjective agreement and declension.
Adjectives in Lithuanian
An adjective is a word that describes or modifies a noun or pronoun. In Lithuanian, adjectives are typically placed before the noun being described. For example, in the sentence "the green car," the adjective "green" would come before the noun "car" in Lithuanian: "žalia mašina."
Most adjectives in Lithuanian have three forms: masculine, feminine, and neuter. These different forms are used to describe nouns of different genders. For example, if you want to describe a masculine noun such as "vyras" (man), you would use the masculine form of an adjective, such as "aukštas" (tall): "aukštas vyras." If you were describing a feminine noun like "motina" (mother), you would use the feminine form, "aukšta motina." And for a neuter noun like "vaikas" (child), you would use the neuter form, "aukštas vaikas."
It is important to note that not all adjectives in Lithuanian have all three forms. Some only have two, such as "geras" (good), which has a masculine and feminine form, but not a neuter form ("geras vyras," "gera moteris," but "geras vaikas" rather than "geras vaikas").
To make things more complex, the form of an adjective can change depending on the case of the noun it is describing. This is called declension. We will cover declension of adjectives in more detail later in this lesson.
Adjective Agreement
In Lithuanian, adjectives must agree in gender, number, and case with the noun being described. This means that if the noun is masculine, the adjective must be masculine as well. If the noun is plural, the adjective must be plural as well. And if the noun is in a particular case, the adjective must be in that same case.
Let's take the example of "the tall man" in Lithuanian. If we want to say "the tall man" in the nominative case (subject of the sentence), we would say "aukštas vyras." But if we want to say "the tall man" in the accusative case (direct object of the sentence), we would say "aukštą vyrą." In this case, the adjective has changed from "aukštas" to "aukštą," to match the accusative case of the noun "vyras."
It's important to remember that even though adjectives may change form depending on the gender, number, and case of the noun they are modifying, they always come before the noun in Lithuanian.
Adjective Declension
As mentioned earlier, adjectives in Lithuanian must be declined based on the gender, number, and case of the noun being modified. Declension is the way in which a word's form changes to show its grammatical role in a sentence. Here are the different cases and how adjectives change in each of them:
Nominative
The nominative case is used for the subject of the sentence, the one doing the action. In Lithuanian, adjectives in both masculine and feminine genders typically end in -as in the nominative case. For example:
| Lithuanian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| aukštas vyras | ['aukʃtʌs 'vʲɪrɐs] | tall man |
Neuter adjectives in the nominative case typically end in -a, like "maža" (small):
| Lithuanian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| maža knyga | ['mʌʒʌ 'kŋʲɪgʌ] | small book |
Genitive
The genitive case is used to show possession, to describe what belongs to someone/something. In Lithuanian, masculine adjectives in the genitive case typically end in -o, while feminine adjectives end in -os. For example:
| Lithuanian | Pronunciation | English | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| aukšto vyr0 | ['aukʃtʌ 'vʲɪrɐs] | tall man's | aukštos moters | ['aukʃtɔs 'mɔtʲærɪs] | tall woman's |
Neuter adjectives in the genitive case typically end in -o, like "mažo" (small):
| Lithuanian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| mažos knygos | ['mʌʒʌs 'kŋʲɪgʌs] | small books' |
Dative
The dative case is used to show the indirect object of the sentence, the person or thing indirectly affected by the action. In Lithuanian, masculine adjectives in the dative case typically end in -am, while feminine adjectives end in -ai. For example:
| Lithuanian | Pronunciation | English | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| aukštam vyrui | ['aukʃtʌm 'vʲɪrʊɪ] | to the tall man | aukštai moteriai | ['aukʃtɐɪ mɔtʲærjʌɪ] | to the tall woman |
Neuter adjectives in the dative case typically end in -am, like "mažam" (small):
| Lithuanian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| mažam vaikui | ['mʌʒʌm 'vɐɪkʊɪ] | to the small child |
Accusative
The accusative case is used for the direct object of the sentence, the one being acted upon. In Lithuanian, masculine and neuter adjectives in the accusative case typically end in -ą, while feminine adjectives end in -ą. For example:
| Lithuanian | Pronunciation | English | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| aukštą vyrą | ['aukʃtʌ 'vʲɪrɐ] | the tall man | aukštą moterį | ['aukʃtɐ 'mɔtʲærɪ] | the tall woman | mažą knygą | ['mʌʒʌ 'kŋʲɪgɐ] | the small book |
Ablative
The ablative case is used to show movement away from something. In Lithuanian, masculine and neuter adjectives in the ablative case typically end in -u, while feminine adjectives end in -ia. For example:
| Lithuanian | Pronunciation | English | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| nuo aukšto vyro | ['nʊɔ 'aukʃtʌ 'vʲɪrɔ] | from the tall man | nuo aukštos moters | ['nʊɔ 'aukʃtɔs 'mɔtʲærɪs] | from the tall woman |
Locative
The locative case is used to show location or to describe where something is. In Lithuanian, masculine and neuter adjectives in the locative case typically end in -e, while feminine adjectives end in -ėje. For example:
| Lithuanian | Pronunciation | English | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| aukšte vyre | ['aukʃtɛ 'vʲɪrɛ] | up (in) the tall man | aukštoje moteryje | ['aukʃtɔjɛ 'mɔtʲærɪjɛ] | in the tall woman |
Instrumental
The instrumental case is used to show the means by which something is done or the tool used to do something. In Lithuanian, masculine and neuter adjectives in the instrumental case typically end in -u, while feminine adjectives end in -a. For example:
| Lithuanian | Pronunciation | English | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| aukštu vyr'u | ['aukʃtʊ 'vʲɪrṷʊ] | with the tall man | aukšta moterimi | ['aukʃtɐ mɔtʲærɪmɪ] | with the tall woman |
Examples
To see adjective agreement and declension in action, here are some examples:
- Didelis namas. (Big house.)
- Didelis medis. (Big tree.)
- Dideli langai. (Big windows.)
- Didelė knyga. (Big book.)
- Didelės durys. (Big doors.)
- Didelę kepurę. (Big hat.)
In all of these examples, the adjective "didelis" (big) is modified to match the gender, number, and case of the noun it is describing.
Comparatives and Superlatives
To compare and contrast people, places, and things in Lithuanian, we use comparatives and superlatives. The comparative form of an adjective is used to compare two things, while the superlative form is used to compare more than two things. In Lithuanian, comparatives and superlatives are formed by using prefixes and suffixes.
To form the comparative of an adjective, add the prefix "dėl-" to the beginning of the word, followed by the ending that agrees with the noun being modified. For example:
- Auks'tas vyras. (Tall man.)
- Dėlauks'tes vyras. (Taller man.)
To form the superlative of an adjective, add the prefix