Lithuanian grammar

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Lithuanian grammar retains many archaic features from Proto-Balto-Slavic that have been lost in other Balto-Slavic languages.

Properties and morphological categories[edit]

Grammatical terminology[edit]

Category Language
Lithuanian English
Parts of speech daiktavardis noun
būdvardis adjective
veiksmažodis verb
skaitvardis numeral
įvardis pronoun
prieveiksmis adverb
dalelytė particle
prielinksnis preposition
jungtukas conjunction
jaustukas interjection
ištiktukas verbal interjection
Main cases (liñksniai) vardininkas nominative
kilmininkas genitive
naudininkas dative
galininkas accusative
įnagininkas instrumental
vietininkas inessive
šauksmininkas vocative
Locative cases iliatyvas, kryptininkas illative
aliatyvas allative
adesyvas adessive
Number (skaĩčiai) vienaskaita singular
dviskaita dual
daugiskaita plural
Degrees of comparison (láipsniai) nelyginamasis positive
aukštesnysis comparative
aukščiausiasis superlative
Genders (gìminės) vyriškoji masculine
moteriškoji feminine
Tenses (laikaĩ) esamasis present
būtasis kartinis past
būtasis dažninis past iterative
būsimasis future
Moods (núosakos) tiesioginė indicative
netiesioginė indirect
tariamoji conditional (subjunctive)
liepiamoji imperative
Voices (rū́šys) veikiamoji active
neveikiamoji passive
Aspects (veikslaĩ) įvykio perfective
eigos continuous, progressive

Gender[edit]

Lithuanian nouns are classified into one of two genders:

Lithuanian adjectives, numerals, pronouns and participles are classified into one of three genders:

Since no noun can have a neutral gender, it is used with subjects of neutral or undefined gender:

  • Ji (fem.) yra graži (fem.) – She is beautiful.
  • Mokytojas (masc.) bus pasirengęs (masc.) – The teacher will be ready.
  • Skaityti buvo įdomu (neuter) – Reading was interesting.

The gender of a pronoun kas – 'who? what?', personal pronouns aš / mes – 'I' / 'we', tu / jūs – 'you (singular) / you (plural)' and a reflexive pronoun savęs is indefinite, it means any of the genders. The word kas uses masculine inflections, the other pronouns have their own specific paradigm. The nouns of the indefinite gender have feminine form inflections.

The masculine gender is also the indeterminate gender as in many other Indo-European languages. This means that for an entire mixed group of objects belonging to masculine and feminine genders, the masculine gender is used.[1] The masculine as the indeterminate gender differs from the indefinite gender, which allows treatment of the word in two ways.

Note that there are many nouns that use masculine or feminine genders without any reason of biological gender, for instance, words that denote inanimate objects. The masculine or feminine usage of these words is stable (with few exceptions) and doesn't depend on the will of a speaker.

Lithuanian grammatical genders are similar to, for instance, Latin:

nominative   

genitive		 vilkas
wolf
vilko		 kalba
language
kalbos		 prekė
commodity
prekės
 pilis
castle
pilies		 viršus
top
viršaus
 akmuo
stone
akmens		 girdė́tas, girdė́ta, girdė́ta
heard; gender sequence: m., f., n.
girdė́to, girdė́tos
from girdė́ti – to hear (continuing, imperfective action)		 ìšgirstas, išgirstà, ìšgirsta
heard
ìšgirsto, išgirstõs
from išgir̃sti – to hear (one-time, perfective action)
nominative   

genitive		 lupus
wolf
lupī		 lingua
language
linguae		 rēs
thing
reī		 turris
tower
turris		 frūctus
fruit
frūctūs		 acūmen n.
sharp point
acūminis
 audītus, audīta, audītum
heard, listened; from audīre [1] – to hear, listen
audītī, audītae, audīta

Grammatical number[edit]

The Lithuanian language has two main numbers, singular and plural. It has also a dual number, which is used in certain dialects, such as Samogitian. Some words in the standard language retain their dual forms (for example du ("two") and abu ("both"), an indefinite number and super-plural words (dauginiai žodžiai in Lithuanian). Dual forms of pronouns used in the standard language are also optional.

The singular number indicates that the denoted thing is one or indivisible (as in méilė – love, smė̃lis – sand, píenas – milk). The plural number, when it can be in contrast with the singular, indicates that there are many of the things denoted by the word. But sometimes, when a word doesn't have the singular number, being a plurale tantum noun, the plural form doesn't indicate real singularity or plurality of the denoted object(s).

Adjectives and numerals also have the singular-plural distinction. Their number depends on that of the noun they are attributed to.

The dual number indicates a pair of things. Historically, the dual number has been a full grammatical number, participating as the third element in singular-dual – plural distinction. During the last century,[clarification needed] the dual was used more or less sporadically in Lithuanian, sometimes reaching the status of a full number for agreement purposes, meaning the dual of noun required dual agreement in its adjectives or the dual of the subject required the dual of the verb. But in many more cases the dual was reduced to a nominal category explicitly indicating a pair of things, but not requiring dual agreement of adjectives or verbs. Presently, the dual is mostly used as a declension paradigm for numbers du – two, abu – both (and a variant abudu – idem) and with personal pronouns aš – I, mùdu du. – we two (mẽs pl. – we) and tu sg. – you, jùdu du. – you two (jū̃s pl. – you).

dual plural
present past future imperative present past future imperative
eĩnava – we two are going; we two go ė̃jova eĩsiva eĩkiva – let us two go eĩname ė̃jome eĩsime eĩkime – let us go
eĩnata – you two are going; you two go ė̃jota eĩsita eĩkita – you two go eĩnate ė̃jote eĩsite eĩkite
singular
einù ėjaũ eĩsiu
einì ėjaĩ eĩsi eĩk – go

The indefinite number indicates that the same form of the word can be understood singular or plural, depending both on situation and on other words in the sentence. There are only few words that demonstrate indefinite number, and the indefinite number doesn't have its own forms in Lithuanian. These words are pronouns kas – 'who? what?', kažkas – 'something, somebody' and reflexive pronoun savęs. All of them use inflections of the singular.

The super-plural words are a few numbers and pronouns that indicate a counting not of separate things, but of groups of things.

keleri – 'several (groups of)'
abeji – 'both (groups of)'
(vieneri – 'one (group of)')
dveji – 'two (groups of)'
treji – 'three (groups of)'
ketveri – 'four (groups of)'
penkeri – 'five (groups of)'
šešeri – 'six (groups of)'
septyneri – 'seven (groups of)'
aštuoneri – 'eight (groups of)'
devyneri – 'nine (groups of)'

These words are also used with plurale tantum nouns instead of plural words (keli, abu, du, trys and so on), in which case they indicate not the plural of groups, but just the semantic plural or singular (a word vieneri – 'one' only) of the noun.

Cases of declined words[edit]

Main article: Lithuanian declension
  • Locative (inessive) – vietininkas
  • Illative – (iliatyvas, sometimes referred as kryptininkas); dialectal, without clear status in the standard Lithuanian
  • Allative; obsolete, the singular is reduced to adverbs
  • Adessive; extinct

Examples of the locative cases:

  • inessive is fully used locative case (and the only one of Indo-European origin, the following three being borrowed to Uralic). An example: nãmas – a house, namè – in a house, vyruose – in men. It is also used for a temporal meaning in some words: vakarè [vɐkɐrʲˈɛ] – in the evening (vãkaras [ˈväːkɐrɐs̪] nom. 'an evening'). But more verbs are used in accusative for the latter meaning: vãsarą – in summer, rùdenį – in autumn, trẽčią vãlandą – in three o'clock. This accusative form also means duration: trečią dieną kepina [ˈtʲrʲæːt͡ʃʲæː ˈdʲiən̪äː ˈkʲæːpʲɪn̪ɐ] (kepina is idiomatic or slang in such meaning) – it is the third day when it (sun) sizzles (its heat). Plural forms for temporal "locatives" are expressed by instrumental: vakaraĩs – in / by evening, vãsaromis – in / by summer.
  • illative is used sparingly. Some terms are normal, for example, in law: patráukti baudžiamõjon atsakomýbėn – to prosecute; literally: to draw, pull, move to penal amenability (not į (to) baudžiamają atsakomybę acc., not (for) baudžiamajai atsakomybei dative). Other examples: singular káiman – to(wards) the village, miškañ – to(wards) a forest, and forms of the common language į káimą, į mìšką; plural káimuos-na, miškúos-na and common forms į káimus, į miškùs;
  • allative. Examples: namop – up to the home. Today it is used only in a few idiomic expressions like vakaróp – about nightfall, velnióp – to hell with smth.; šuniop – down the drain (about dog, to a dog); galóp – ultimately; nuteisti myriop – to send to the scaffold;
  • adessive. Examples: laukíe-p sg. – beside the field, at the field, namíe-p sg.. It is a historical or dialectal case, extinct in modern standard Lithuanian, but it is preserved in the adverbs: namie – at home, netoli(e) – not far, toli(e) – far, arti(e) – nearby, vienaip ar kitaip – anyway, savaip – in one's own fashion/way, tavaip – in your (sg.) fashion/way, visaip – diversely. etc.

The later three locatives are adverb-forming cases.

Nouns[edit]

See also: Lithuanian declension

Lithuanian grammar makes a distinction between proper and common nouns. Only proper nouns are capitalized. Some nouns, for example sun and moon, can be both proper and common. There are no articles in Lithuanian.

The genders of nouns are masculine and feminine. A rough rule of thumb is that almost all masculine nouns in nominative case end in -s and most feminine in -(i)a or -ė. There are no strict rules governing the gender. For example, upė – river, is feminine, but upelis – rivulet, is masculine. There is no neuter gender ("it gender"), but there are a few words that can be applied to both genders equally. They mostly describe people, have negative connotations, and end in -a, for example vė́pla – dummy, el̃geta – beggar, naktìbalda – night-lumberer, a person who does not sleep at night, but mėmė̃ – gawk.

There are no separate declension paradigms for animate and inanimate nouns in Lithuanian.

Number[edit]

Most nouns have singular and plural numbers. There are some words that have only singular (e.g., pienas – milk, auksas – gold, gripas – flu, laimė – happiness) or only plural (e.g., lubos – ceiling, miltai – flour, kelnės – trousers) forms. Most such words are abstract (i.e., represent concepts like luck or love and not tangible things such as table or house), describe material or name a disease. However, in some instances, for example poetic language, it is possible to use singular nouns in plural form.

Noun modification by numeral[edit]

In Lithuanian, unlike in Romance / Germanic languages, and like Slavic languages but in a different way, the form of a count noun depends on final digits of the number.

Number ends with Form Example
1 (excluding 11) Singular 31 litas
2–9 (excluding 12–19) Plural 25 litai
0 or 11–19 Special case:
Singular + noun
in plural genitive 		110 litų

111 litų

Note: Plural or singular without the case means that the word or words can be declined in any case in plural or singular respectively, but Plural genitive means that the second word remains undeclined.

Declension[edit]

Main article: Lithuanian declension

Nouns in Lithuanian language have 12 declension paradigms, in scholar grammar corresponding to five declensions which are defined by the inflection in singular nominative and genitive cases. Only few borrowed words, like taksì – taxi, kupė – compartment (in a train), coupe, are not subject to declension rules.

  Inflection in singular cases Examples Notes
Nominative Genitive Nominative Genitive Meaning
I -as, -is, -ys -o výras
mẽdis
traukinỹs
kẽlias		 výro
mẽdžio
tráukinio
kẽlio		 man, male; husband
tree
train
road		 Main pattern for masculine nouns.
II -a, -i1, -ė -os, -ės žmonà
šviesà
várna
pradžià
sáulė		 žmonõs
šviesõs
várnos
pradžiõs
sáulės		 wife
light
crow
beginning
sun		 Main pattern for feminine nouns; few masculine exceptions.
III -is2 -ies móteris3 f.
pilìs f.
avìs f.
dantìs m.		 móteries
piliẽs
aviẽs
dantiẽs		 woman, female
castle
sheep
tooth		 Rarer; feminine nouns; fewer masculine exceptions.
IV -us -aus žmogùs
sūnùs
medùs
skaĩčius		 žmogaũs
sūnaũs
medaũs
skaĩčiaus		 man (human being)
son
honey
number		 Rare; masculine nouns.
V -uo, -ė3 -en-s, -er-s f. vanduõ
akmuõ
skaitmuõ
sesuõ
duktė̃		 vandeñs
akmeñs
skaitmeñs
seser̃s
dukter̃s		 water
stone
digit
sister
daughter		 Very rare; masculine nouns; four3 feminine; all are suffixed by -en- m. and -er- f..
  1. There are only two nouns ending in -i: pati 'wife' and marti 'daughter-in-law'. Their declension is the same to the second adjective feminine declension and similar to a second feminine noun palatalized declension. The noun pati is the same to a pronoun pati 'herself; myself f.; itself (for feminine nouns)'
  2. Exception: petys m. – shoulder, peties, etc., after this declensional pattern. The third declension is very similar to the fifth declension.
  3. Duktė 'daughter' is the only word of the fifth declension, not having an ending uo. A word moteris 'woman, female' often has a genitive móters; the plural genitive of moteris is moterų (not palatalized -ių); it is the only normal form for the fifth declension and one of the two (the main is -ių) for the third. The more two words, obelis f. – apple tree and dieveris m. – (older) brother-in-law, are the same declensional case as moteris, but dieveris, being masculine possibly has a sg. inst. -iu. Dieveris is also the only -er- masculine case.

Typology[edit]

In the table below the numbers of nouns, received by the statistical analysis of the data in the Dictionary of contemporary Lithuanian language (Dabartinės Lietuvių kalbos žodynas; the fourth issue, 2000), are given grouped by the patterns of declension and accentuation.[2] The data does not include verbal abstracts ending in -imas, -ymas, -umas (for instance, metimas 'a throwing; a throw' from mesti 'to throw'), 18,700 in total (12,000 of the first accentuation paradigm, 6,000 of the second), because they can be made from any verb. There may be some inaccuracies due to some specific features, for instance, there are homonyms which differ only in an accent: síetas 1 – sieve (related to sijóti – to sieve), siẽtas 2 – tether, leash (related to siẽti – to tie, bond; saĩtas – bond; leash), and the possibility exists that in some of such cases the two words were taken as one.

Words with a suffix -men-, are attributed to the third declensional pattern in these tables, but they are of the fifth, the singular (can be used for all, but is not usual for all) nom. is -uo: for example, ãšmenys pl. 3b – blade, sė́dmenys pl. 3a – buttocks, nates, sėdmuõ sg., nẽšmenys pl. 3b – silts, sediments carried by a water stream. The singular instrumental is -imi, like in the third declension, while for masculine words of the fifth declension the proper ending is chosen to be -iu; but -imi can also be chosen for the words of the fifth declension.

In the left column the nominative singular endings of words, grouped by declensional paradigms, are given: -as, -is, -ys, -ias (masculine gender) – the first; -a (-ia), -ė (feminine gender; some other) – II; -is (feminine, some other) – III; -us (-ius) (masculine) – IV; -uo (masculine; two feminine) – V. The palatalized variants of -as, -a, -us types, that is, -ias, -ia, -ius, are counted together with those having -j- before the inflectional ending: -j-as, -j-a, -j-us.

The letters f., m., c. mean gender: f. – feminine, m. – masculine, c. – common (is understood as either of the genders). The column under the abbreviation alt. is for alternative forms, for instance, a word grobuonis 2, 3a c. – predator (of the third declension), can be accentuated in two types: (2) grobuõnis, grobuõnies, grobuõniui; (3a) grobuonìs, grobuoniẽs, gróbuoniui.

-as -j-as -is -ys -ias
1. výras – man, male, pienas – milk, skruostas – cheek vė́jas – wind, šilójas – heather, ling; veikė́jas – character, actor, vartótojas – consumer brólis – brother, sotis – satiety, gruodis – December, kūjis – hammer, dilbis – forearm, jautis – bull, ox, pojūtis – sense, sensation  – élnias – deer (also accented el̃nias 2)
2. sõdas – garden, metas – specific time (to do smth, for smth), padas – sole, metatarsus, ginklas – weapon, varžtas – screw, kuras – fuel galvijas – cow (cattle); yahoo, šalavijas – salvia, sage žõdis – word, skonis – taste, lygis – level, kelis – knee, medis – tree, valgis – dish, meal, karštis – heat  –
3. stógas – roof, óras – weather, žándas – face part down from cheekbone, kalnas – mountain, beržas – birch, aidas – echo, augalas – plant  –  – arklỹs – horse, pavyzdỹs – example, obuolỹs – apple (1) vélnias – devil
4. krãštas – region; edge, strazdas – trush, ledas – ice, penas – food, pabulum, sniegas – snow, vardas – name, kulnas – heel, laikas – time, dugnas – bottom (4) kraũjas – blood, pelėsiaĩ pl. – molds (fungi), kapojaĩ pl. – chaffed fodder, klijaĩ pl. – glue  – kepsnỹs – roast, fry, genỹs – woodpecker, vabzdỹs – insect (2) kẽlias – road, svẽčias – guest
-a (-ia) -ė
1. vė́tra – windstorm, scud, pė́da 3 – foot, lova – bed, lūpa – lip, líepa – linden, July; duona – bread, spurga – doughnut, kaina – price, koja – leg, pérėja – crosswalk, vartótoja – user dróbė – linen, dìldė – rasp, nail file, kárvė – cow, pagálvė – pillow, vaivórykštė – rainbow, daržóvė – vegetable
2. rankà – hand, arm, putà – froth, vietà – place, valià – will, galià – power brãškė – strawberry, žẽmė – earth, prẽkė – commodity, piẽnė – sowthistle, vìrvė – rope, raidė (3, 4) – letter, ùpė – river, bìtė – bee, pùsė – side, half, striùkė – jacket
3. galvà – head, burnà – mouth, pėdà 1 – foot, apačià – bottom, underpart versmė̃ – fount, spring, varškė̃ – curd, aikštė̃ – square, plaza
4. vėsà – chill, dienà – day, lentà – board, wood cut, dainà – song, pradžià – beginning srovė̃ – stream, kėdė̃ – chair, dėžė̃ – box, vertė̃ – value, erdvė̃ – space, eilė̃ – queue, row
-is -uo -us -ius -j-us
1. nósis – nose, krósnis; masculine: (1) gẽležuonys pl. – adenitis equorum, strangle rė́muo 1 (also rėmuo 3a) – waterbrash there is one proper word: Jė́zus – Jesus (2) ámžius – age, stálčius – drawer (furniture); there is also one proper word: Vìlnius rytójus – tomorrow, kritèrijus – criterion
2. dùrys pl. – door, gaĩštis – dallying; masculine: (1) pirmuõnys pl. (also deguõnis – oxygen; deguonis 3b is a rarer variant)  – (7) Tur̃gus – market place, cùkrus – sugar sõdžius – village, vaĩsius – fruit, bal̃džius – furniture maker pavõjus – danger
3. širdìs – heart, obelìs – apple tree, smegenys pl. – brain; masculine: (19) debesìs – cloud, žvėrìs – beast akmuõ – stone 3b, vanduõ – water 3a (2) sūnùs – son, lietùs – rain  –  –
4. naktìs – night, žuvìs – fish, sritìs – area, district, vinìs – nail, spike, pirtìs -, šalìs, griñdys – floor, flooring; masculine: (3) dantìs – tooth, petỹs – shoulder, ropuonìs – reptile (used word is roplỹs 4) (1) šuõ – dog (10) medùs, alùs, viršùs, vidùs, piẽtūs pl. – dinner; the south  –  –
The first declension, -as, -is, -ys, -ias.
  • Names of -as type have vocative -ai instead of -e of common nouns: Jõnas – Jõnai, Tòmas – Tòmai. Common nouns sometimes have this ending, it is usual for a word tė́vas: tė́vai and tė́ve.
  • Words having -j- before the ending -as (vė́jas – wind, naudótojas – user) have two differences of declensional cases from other -as words; -j- is soft sound and the locative for these words is like in soft -is / -ys / -ias type (mẽdyje, kepsnyjè, kelyjè), but with a vowel changed where needed for an easier pronunciation: vė́jyje, but naudótojuje. Vocative is also different: vėjau, naudótojau (naudotoje would sound the same as naudótoja, which is feminine (nominative and vocative) form of the same word. The vocative is similar for -as m. and -ė f. words: ą́žuolas – oak : ą́žuole and ẽglė – spruce : ẽgle). This form is sometimes present in other cases: nom. brólis : voc. bróli and brolaũ, vélnias : vélniau. Many of these -j- words are made with an actors (personal, not for things) suffix -ėjas m., -ėja f., -t-ojas m., -t-oja f.: veĩkti 'to act, affect; operate' – veikė́jas 'actor, character'; naudóti 'to use' – naudótojas 'user'.
  • There are only a few -ias words, they are declined like -ys words, except some cases: nominative for kẽlias, nominative and vocative for elnias – elni, and vélnias – vélniau.
  • -is and -ys words differ in that -is words (with the short i sound) are stressed on the stem (I, II accentuation patterns) and -ys words (with the same sound, but long) are stressed on the ending (III, IV accentuation patterns). In the -is type almost half of the nouns have consonants t, d in the stem ending. These consonants change when palatalized: mẽdis nom. – mẽdžio gen. etc. (in the -as paradigm, on the other hand, there are no cases with palatalization: vardas – vardo etc.). In the -ys type about 12% of nouns have t, d as stem ending.
The second, -a (-ia), -ė (gen. sg. -ės)
  • a type; twelve nouns are of masculine gender: viršilà 2 – warrant-officer, sergeant, barzdylà 2 – bearded one (person) (gen. barzdỹlos; it can also be heard barzdýla 1, barzdýlos; this is either a mistake and outcome of nivellation of accents or a type of word formation without changing an accent, compare adjectives, for example, ausýlas m., -a f. 'sharp-eard'), vaivadà – voivode (historical office) (it is attributed to be of the 2 accentuation type in vocabularies, but it is of 3 or 1 if used in language: vaivadà 3, dat. vaĩvadai or vaĩvada 1), maršálka 1 – historical office: mareschalus, marshal. 265 – of common gender: mušeikà 2 (1) – scrapper, bruiser, personà 2 – personage, nebrendilà 2 – immaturely behaving person (in language can also be heard nebrendýla 1, nebrendylà 2), nekláužada 1 – tinker (kid), namìsėda 1 – home-keeping, who sits at home. Two words have -i ending: martì 4 – daughter-in-law, patì 4 – wife (more like older).
  • ė type; four nouns are masculine: dė̃dė 2 – uncle, tė̃tė 2 (more used or equal variant is tė̃tis 2) – dad, dailìdė 2 – carpenter, woodworker and ciùcė 2 – doggy (in kid speech). 19 words are of common gender: garsenýbė 1 – renowned (person, thing), tauškalỹnė 2 – wind-bag, gasser, mėmė̃ 4 – gawk, spiegėlė̃ 3b – who shrieks too much (the latter word, for example, is not very likely to be heard, a word spieglỹs, -ė̃ 4 would probably occur). The t, d stems in -ė are present in the following percentage through the four accentuation paradigms: I – 15%, II – 35%, III – 23%, IV – 12%.
The third, -is
  • There were 245 feminine and 24 masculine nouns in this class. 6 nouns have common gender: (the first three can also be attributed to masculine gender[2]) palikuõnis 2, 34b 'progeny, offspring', grobuõnis 2, 3a 'predator', žiniuõnis 2, 4 'knower; witchdoctor', delsuonìs 3b 'who is dallying', giežuonìs 3b 'tiresome, sour (person)', vagìs 4 'thief'. Some other -uonis words are attributed to a masculine gender, for example, geluonìs 3b (2) – sting, deguõnis 2 (3b) (here in the table given as 3b, while 2 accentuation pattern is probably more used) – oxygen. A word vinìs f., c. 4 'nail, spike' is also sometimes understood as of common gender. The singular dative is -iui for the common gender, like in masculine nouns. The biggest part of these words have -t- stem. The second accentuation pattern is the rarest, among its examples are: durys pl. 2 'door', slistis 2 (4) 'simulation', gaištis 2, 4 'dallying' (the two latter can also be accentuated in the fourth paradigm), masculine: pirmuõnys pl. – protozoa, deguõnis (3b) – oxygen. Words with a suffix -men-, for example, ãšmenys pl. 3b – blade, sė́dmenys pl. 3a – buttocks, nates, nẽšmenys pl. 3b – silts, sediments carried by a water stream, are attributed to the third declensional pattern here, but they are of the fifth: the singular (can be used for all, but is not usual for all) nom. is -uo: sėdmuõ – buttock. The singular instrumental is -imi, like in the third declension, while for masculine words of the fifth declension the proper ending is given to be -iu; but -imi can also be and is chosen for the words of the fifth declension.
The fourth, -us, -ius
  • There are only 19 words with a non-palatalized ending, and more -j-us, and -ius words.
The fifth, -uo, -ė (gen. sg. -ers)
  • The number of words of this class is small. The words are of the third accentuation pattern; one word, šuõ – dog, is of the fourth and has sg. inst. -imì. One word, or maybe even some more, is of the first accentuation pattern, rė́muo – waterbrash (it can also be accentuated in the third pattern).

About 45% of all nouns are feminine, 55% – masculine.

Grouping by a syllable nucleus of a pre-desinential syllable[edit]

In the tables below the possibilities of syllable nucleus of the next-to-last syllable and their accent is shown. The different sound of a next-to-last syllable makes no grammatical distinction, for example, words nóras – wish and kū́nas – body, are of the same declensional and accentuation patterns. But there are a few certain differences in the accentuation features of the nucleus sounds of the next-to-last syllable. Most of the vocals and diphthongs can have either of the accents: a start-firm or an end-firm. Short a, e sounds, when they are in a stem of a word and stressed, lengthen and have always an end-firm accent; i, u are short and there is no accentual differentiation in their stress. Mixed diphthongs (a, e) + (l, m, n, r) have the first element lengthened when stressed in a start-firm accent, when in (i, u) + (l, m, n, r) and a diphthong ui the first element remains short in the same case. The words having ą, ę in a pre-desinential syllable are not included here because of the lack of declensional types. Some examples: rą̃stas 2 – balk, timber; žąsìs 4 – goose; ąsà 4 – handle; kę́sas 3 – hassock.

The four different accentuation patterns are distinguished by two different colors in the rows of the table, their sequence is from the top to the bottom – I, II, III, IV. The words of each accentuation type are given in the following sequence of the declensional types:

  • The first declension (masculine)
  • -as,
  • -is (I–II accentuational pattern) / -ys (III–IV accentuational patterns) and a few -ias words. Their genitive singular is -io.
  • The second declension (feminine)
  • -a (-ia)
  • -ė
  • The third declension (mostly feminine, few masculine): -is; genitive singular is -ies
  • The fourth declension (masculine): -us (-ius)

Some spaces of the tables are not filled, but this does not mean that there are no words which would fit. The sounds a, e (end-firm when stressed) and i, u (short) can not be start-firm and consequently the word having them in the next-to-last stressed syllable can not be of the first and the third accentuation pattern. Some of the declensional types include few words, for example there are only two words of the third accentuation pattern in the fifth declension: sūnùs and lietùs. The number of words (Dictionary of contemporary Lithuanian language / Dabartinės Lietuvių kalbos žodynas; the fourth issue, 2000) of the declensional patterns can be checked in the section above.

After some of the words in the tables, a number is added. It indicates an alternative existent accentuation pattern and is given only for some of the words that have an alternative accentuation in a language. Notice that the type of accentuation of a word is shown by the place in the table and the number added means only an alternative accentuation type, which is not necessarily the main one. Some of the alternative accentuation patterns of a word are used equally often (then they are given not in brackets here), some are known from dialects, not preferred (then they are given in brackets).

Here are some illustrations of the alternative accentuation: a word nykštỹs 3 is also commonly said nýkštis 1; zýlė 1 is also known as zylė̃ 3 in some dialects, but this form is used more narrowly and not shown here. Similarly, a word rýkštė 1 is also known as rykštė̃ 4; this is shown in the table. In the case of šálmas 3 – helmet, the variant šal̃mas 4 is also very common. The alternative forms are most usually present between the 1–3 and 2–4 accentuation patterns, same in the type of accent. But there are also different cases, for example, rýkštė 1 and rykštė̃ 4. The fourth accentuation paradigm can be the result of a shift of the third paradigm. The shift can happen following nivellation of the two accents, a loss of accentual contrast. In the case of nivellation of the start-firm and end-firm accents, the distinction between the 3–4 and 1–2 loses its ground, because in a place of the stress the 1 with the 2, the 3 with the 4 acentuation groups differ only in a few cases.

Among the words given in the table, some are older, for example, ver̃pstė 2 – distaff, sker̃džius 2 – chief cowherd, butcher, and some other. Some words are borrowings: bánkas 1 – bank, tánkas 1 – tank, dùrpės – peat, turf and some other. Old borrowings: vỹnas 2 (4) – wine, blỹnas 2 – pancake, rõžė 2 – rose, rūtà 2 (4) – rue, slyvà 2 (4) – plum, vyšnià 2 (1) – cherry, and some other.

o ė y ū i.e. uo
nóras – wish
plótas – area, stretch
sóstas – throne, stool		 vė́jas – wind výras – man, male
týrai pl. – large empty stretches
sývai pl. – liquid part of smth.		 kū́nas – body
liū́nas – bog		 píenas (pl. 1, 3) – milk
svíestas (3) – butter		 púodas – pot
šúoras – gust, air-blast
skrúostas – cheek
brólis – brother
sótis – satiety
klónis – dene, hollow
mólis – clay		 pavė́sis – cooler place
in a shade		 blýksnis – flash
nýkštis 3 – thumb		 sū́ris – cheese
kū́jis – hammer
kū́gis – cone (geometry)		 kíetis – artemisia (plants) šúolis – jump
slúoksnis – layer
súopis – buzzard
rúonis – seal (animal)
úošvis – father-in-law
kója – leg
lóva – bed		 vė́tra - windstorm, scud
lė́šos pl. – fund, means
pė́da 3 – foot		 gýsla – thread, vas
ýda – defect, vice		 lū́pa – lip
kū́dra – pond, mere		 líepa – linden
píeva – meadow
síena – wall		 úoga – berry
dúona – bread
kúosa – jackdaw
dróbė – linen, cloth
rópė – turnip		 zýlė – tit (birds)
rýkštė (4) – rod, switch
lýsvė – bed (agriculture)		 kíelė (3) – wagtail úošvė – mother-in-law
nósis – nose
krósnis – stove, furnace
tóšis – upper layer
of birch bark		 klė́tis – barn, granary nýtys pl. – harness for
warp		 lū́šis – lynx
rū́šis (3) – sort; species
kliū́tis (4) – obstacle; hurdle		 íetis – spear, javelin
sõdas – garden
skrõblas – hornbeam		 dė̃klas - encasement
kė̃nis – fir (abies)		 sklỹpas 4 – plot, parcel
vỹnas – wine
blỹnas – pancake		 bū̃das – mode; nature luõtas (1) – dugout, cockleshell
žõdis – word
skõnis – taste
lõbis – treasure		 vė̃sis – cool
bė̃giai – metal, railing
smė̃lis – sand		 lỹgis – level
skỹstis – liquid, fluid; liquidity		 bū̃vis – state, existence
dū̃ris – prick
smū̃gis - punch; thwack
rū̃gštis – sourness		 kiẽtis – hardness
viẽnis – oneness
miẽžis – barley
sriẽgis – screw thread		 guõlis – lying place;
bearing (mechanical)
kopà – dune vyšnià – cherry
slyvà – plum		 rūtà – rue (plant) vietà – place
rõžė – rose nė̃gė – lamprey (fish) lū̃gnė – nuphar piẽnė – sowthistle
(krū̃tis) 4 - breast (women's)
sõdžius – village
rõjus – paradise		 skỹrius – departament; chapter spiẽčius – close cluster, swarm
(often for insects)
stógas – roof
kótas – shaft, handle
óras – air; weather		 krė́slas 1 – easy chair
pė́das – sheaf		 rýtas – morning grū́das – grain stíebas – stipe
dríežas – lizzard		 lúobas – thick peel
úodas – mosquito
lokỹs – bear vėžỹs (4) – crayfish nykštỹs (1) – thumb
pėdà 1 – foot skiedrà (4) – sliver, shingle (kuopà) 1 – company (military)
brėkšmė̃ – dusk, break
(around sunset or before sunrise)
rūgštìs (1) – acid
(rūšìs) 1 – sort; species
sūnùs – son lietùs – rain
lõpas – patch rū̃kas – fog sniẽgas – snow
kiẽmas – yard
šiẽnas – hay		 kuõlas – stake, picket
lovỹs – trough, chamfer
korỹs – honeycomb		 vėžlỹs – turtle ryšỹs – link, bond
plyšỹs – interstice, opening		 būrỹs – squad; huddle
rūsỹs – cellar, vault		 kvietỹs 3 – wheat
žmonà – wife
tvorà – fence
vorà – queue, file		 vėsà – cool
bėdà – trouble, grief
mėsà – meat		 bylà – lawsuit, cause
tylà – silence		 pūgà – blizzard
stūmà – repulsion (physics)		 dienà – day
šviesà – light
liepsnà – flame		 puotà – feast; beanfeast
uolà – rock
srovė̃ – current, stream gėlė̃ – flower
kėdė̃ – chair
dėžė̃ – box		 skylė̃ – hole, slot žūklė̃ – fishing miẽlės pl. – yeast
rievė̃ – notch, groove		 duobė̃ (3) – pit, hollow
uoslė̃ – smell; scent
lytìs – sex, gender
vytìs – switch, rod		 krūtìs (2) – breast (womans')
griūtìs - avalanche, fall
žmogùs – man (human) piẽtūs pl. – dinner; south
au ai ei a e i u
šáukštas – spoon káimas – village, countryside véidas – face
jáutis – bull, ox stáibis 2 – dial. shin; forearm
for birds: tarsus
sáuja – palmfull káina – price
sáulė – sun
kriáušė – pear		 váišė – regale
láimė – luck, happines
báimė – fear		 méilė – love
gaũbtas – hood
skliaũtas 4 – vault (architecture)
aũlas 4 – bootleg; sheatheable thing		 saĩtas 4 – bond; leash
žaĩzdras 4 – forge, hearth		 pleĩštas 1 – wedge, shim
reĩdas – raid		 pãdas – sole, metatarsus
žãbas – switch, stick
lãbas – good, welfare		 mẽtas – specific time
(to do smth.; of smth.)		 sprìgtas – flip, flick bùtas – flat
kùras – fuel
paũkštis – bird
plaũtis – lung
kriaũšis (4m, 4f) – steep slope		 raĩštis – band, tie
kaĩštis – spile, plug		 peĩlis – knife vãris – copper kẽlis – knee
mẽdis – tree
sẽnis – old
balà – puddle girià – forest (large) putà – froth
raũdė – rudd
kiaũlė – pig
(kriaũšė) – steep slope		 raĩdė 4 – letter
skaĩdrė (4) – slide, transparency		 kreĩvė (4) – curve, graph brãškė – strawberry žẽmė – earth, ground
prẽkė – commodity, item
kẽkė – raceme, cluster		 bìtė – bee ùpė – river
pùsė – half, side
striùkė – jacket
gaĩštis 4 – dallying, waste of time slìstis (4) – simulation dùrys pl. – door
vaĩsius – fruit; growth
skaĩčius – number; digit		 cùkrus – sugar
šiáudas – straw
máuras – slime, algae		 dáiktas – thing (material)
láiškas – letter (message)
áidas – echo		 méistras – master (artist); craftsman
aikštė̃ – square, field
sraũtas – flow, torrent
laukas – field; outside
džiaugsmas – joy
kraũjas – blood		 maĩstas – food
žaĩbas – thunder
žaĩslas – toy
laĩkas – time
laĩdas – cable, lead		 veĩksmas – act, action krãštas – edge; country
smãkras – chin
kãras – war		 lẽdas – ice
pẽnas – pabulum
kẽras – plant sinuous
ramification		 klijaĩ pl. – glue dùgnas – floor, bottom
šaulỹs – rifleman, shooter
straublỹs – trunk, proboscis
(kriaušỹs 2m 4f) – steep slope		 gaidỹs – rooster dagỹs – thistle
vabzdỹs – insect		 kepsnỹs – roast, fry
krepšỹs – basket, bag
genỹs - woodpecker
kẽlias – road
svẽčias – guest		 drugỹs – butterfly, moth; shake, shiver
briaunà – edge, brow
klausà – hearing (sense)		 dainà – song
gaivà – fresh		 šeimà – family girà – kvass
šaulė̃ – shooter
raukšlė̃ – pucker		 raidė̃ 2 – slide, transparency eilė̃ – row katė̃ – cat skruzdė̃ – ant
ausìs – ear
šlaunìs – thigh
(kriaušìs 2m 4m) – steep slope		 gaištìs 2 – dallying, waste of time naktìs – night
šalìs – country		 sritìs – area
vinìs – nail, spike		 ugnìs – fire
pusnìs – snowdrift
žuvìs – fish
alùs – beer medùs – honey vidùs – inside
midùs – mead (drink)
al el am em an en
káltas – chisel, boaster kéltas – ferryboat
méldas – bulrush		 bánkas – bank
tánkas – tank		 lénkas – Pole
sámtis – ladle (spoon)
málka – firewood billet
dálba – pole, stick		 gélda – trough, tub bámba – navel
támsta – address to a person (formal)		 lémpa – lamp
kálvė – smithery, forge kélnės pl. – trousers
pélkė – swamp		 pémpė - lapwing néndrė – reed
ménkė – cod
váltis – boat pántis – tether
ántis – duck
ánkštis – pod, pulse		 péntis – thick side of a sharp implement
stálčius – drawer (furniture) ámžius – age
bal̃dai pl. – furniture gañdras 4 – stork beñdras – confederate,
companion; accomplice
val̃gis – meal, dish, food
al̃ksnis – alder
dal̃gis – scythe		 kam̃štis – plug, cork
sam̃tis – ladling (action)		 skrañdis – stomach
añtis – slash of garment at the bosom; place inside it to the girdle
añkštis – lack of space		 sleñkstis – threshold
valkà – draught (air) rankà – hand; arm
pal̃vė – flat place in terrene side behind shore dunes šveñtė – feast, celebration
skleñdė 4 – latch
beñdrė – see bendras
bal̃džius – furniture maker (person)
kálnas – mountain
šálmas 4 – helmet		 délnas – palm, flat of a hand
kélmas – stump, stool		 kémsas – hassock žándas – face side below a cheekbone
lángas – window
galvà – head
bal̃nas – saddle
val̃ksmas – haul of a fishing net;
track of lumber dragging		 pel̃nas – profit kam̃pas – angle; corner lañkas – bow (weapon)
gañdas – hearsay, rumour
krañtas (dial. 2, 1) – waterside, shore
žaltỹs (3) – grass snake; colubrid kamblỹs – stipe; squat ending
dramblys – elephant		 kremblỹs – gnarly tree
kalbà – language
spalvà – colour
algà – salary
valkà – puddle		 lankà – meadow, hollow
dangà – covering
bandà – herd; loaf (food)		 lentà – board; wood cut
kaltė̃ – guilt; fault templė̃ – elastic string (of a bow etc.) tankmė̃ – thicket sklendė̃ (2) – valve; latch
dantìs – tooth
dangùs – sky
ar er ir ur
tárpas – gap
tvártas – cattle-shed
žárdas (3 2) – rack from poles		 ìrklas – oar, paddle dùrklas – dagger
žvìrblis – sparrow
vìržis – heather, ling
žìrnis – pea		 gùrkšnis – swallow, gulp
kùrmis – mole (animal)
várna – crow
žárna 3 – bowel; hose		 stìrna – roe, hind
gìrna – millstone		 spùrga – doughnut
kárvė – cow šnérvė 4 – nostril
kérpė – lichen
šérpė – burr, tear off		 dùrpės – peat
kártis – long slender pole kìrkšnis 3 (4) – groin
svìrtis (4, 3, 2) – lever; shaduf
var̃žtas – screw
var̃tai pl. – gate
kar̃tas – time (instance
or occurrence)		 ner̃štas – spawning
sver̃tas – lever; fig. leverage		 skir̃pstas – field elm Tur̃tas – wealth, property
pur̃slas 4 (1) – spatter, spray
kar̃štis – heat
kar̃šis – bream		 ver̃šis – calf tvir̃tis – strength of material, toughness
virkščià – stem of some
gramineous plants (pea, potato)
pirkià (4) – dial. house, cottage (traditional)
gar̃dė – barrier wood cut
in a side of a horse carriage		 ver̃pstė – distaff vir̃vė – rope
der̃lius – yield, harvest
sker̃džius – chief cowherd; butcher		 Tur̃gus – market, mart
dárbas – work bérnas – boy, lad;
(older) hind, hired hand
béržas – birch
šérnas (4) – wild boar		 spìrgas – crackling (food)
žìrgas (4) – riding horse		 spùrgas – hop cone; bud; catkin
ùrvas – cave; burrow
arklỹs – horse
burnà – mouth
varškė̃ – curd versmė̃ – fount, spring
širdìs – heart
kirkšnìs 1 (4) – groin
var̃das – name
gar̃sas – sound
kar̃klas 2 – willow, osier
gar̃das – animal stall		 šer̃kšnas – hoarfrost, rime
ver̃slas – trade, enterprice, business
ver̃ksmas – cry		 vir̃bas – rod, switch
dir̃žas – belt (clothing); strap
pir̃štas – finger		 pur̃vas – mud, dirt
siurblỹs – pump; (dulkių siurblys) vacuum cleaner
čiurlỹs – swift
varžà – resistance; impedance (physics)
barzdà – beard		 skerlà – sliver, shiver purkšnà – mizzle, spraying
tarmė̃ – dialect
dermė̃ – tone, fitness
varlė̃ – frog		 vertė̃ – value
erdvė̃ – space
veržlė̃ – nut (hardware)
tartìs – pronunciation, utterance šerdìs (3 1) – core pirtìs – steambath
viršùs – top
il ul im um in un
tìltas – bridge
miltai pl. – flour		 tùntas 4 – swarm, flock
dìlbis – forearm
ìltis – fang		 mùlkis – ninny, gull, noodle
stùlgis – (older) dagger
kùlšis – haunch, thigh (mostly used for chicken meat)		 kùmštis – fist vìngis (2) – winding, curve
lìnkis – bend, curvature
smìlga – bentgrass
vìlna – wool		 tìmpa – elastic string
drìmba 2 – ponderous person (derisive)		 vìnkšna – elm (ulmus laevis)
spìnta – cabinet (furniture)
kìnka – rare side of a leg about a knee level		 plùnksna – feather
dìldė – rasp tùlpė – tulip
dùlkė – particle of dust, mote
bùlvė – potato		 dùmplės pl. – bellows pìnklės pl. (2) – trap, gin
skìltis (3) – segment
of a fruit, vegetable;
section in a recurring
print		 pìntis – amadou
dul̃ksmas 4 – dust rise stum̃bras – wisent
dum̃blas 4 – silt		 iñdas – dishware, utensil
tiñklas – net
giñklas – weapon
skil̃vis – gizzard kum̃pis – ham skliñdis – pancake
liñksnis – (case) inflection, case (grammar)		 suñkis – gravitation
rinkà – market sunkà – strained juice
gul̃bė – swan drum̃zlė 4 – sediment bliñdė (4) – great willow
vil̃nis 4 – wave
skiltìs 1 – (see 1)
vil̃kas – wolf
pil̃vas – belly		 stul̃pas – pole, shaft, pillar
kul̃nas – heel
pul̃kas – regiment; swarm		 rim̃bas – knout; whip gum̃bas – knag; lumb tuñtas 1 – swarm, flock
skilvỹs 2 – gizzard stulgỹs – great snipe krumplỹs (2) – knuckle; cog
dulksnà – drizzle sunkà 2 – strained juice
drumzlė̃ 2 - sediment
vilnìs 2 – wave kulkšnìs (1) – ankle

Adjectives[edit]

Declension[edit]

Main article: Lithuanian declension

In Lithuanian, adjectives have three declensions determined by the singular and plural nominative case inflections. Adjectives agree with nouns in number, gender, and case. Unlike nouns, which have two genders – masculine and feminine, adjectives have three (except -is, -ė adjectives), but the neuter adjectives (the third example in the table) have only one form and are not inflected. The neuter gender is formed simply by eliminating the last consonant -s from the masculine gender forms.

Declension Singular nom. inflection Plural nom. inflection Examples
Masculine Feminine Masculine Feminine
I -(i)as -(i)a -i -(i)os šáltas, šaltà, (šálta) – cold; šlápias, šlapià, (šlápia) – wet, soppy;
II -us -i -ūs -ios gražùs, gražì, (gražù) – pretty, beautiful; malonùs, malonì, (malonù) – pleasant;
III -is -ė -iai -ės varìnis, varìnė – copper; laukìnis, laukìnė – wild;
-is -ė -i -ės dìdelis, dìdelė – big; dešinỹs, dešinė̃ – right; kairỹs, kairė̃ – left.

All the adjectives (except most -inis type adjectives) can have pronominal (definite) forms that cannot acquire the neuter form:

Declension Singular nom. inflection Plural nom. inflection Examples
Masculine Feminine Masculine Feminine
I -(i)asis -(i)oji -ieji -(i)osios šaltàsis, šaltóji – the cold; šlapiàsis, šlapióji – the wet;
II -usis -ioji -ieji -iosios gražùsis, gražióji – the pretty, the beautiful; malonùsis, malonióji – the pleasant;
III -is -ė -iai -ės ―
-ysis -ioji -ieji -iosios didỹsis, didžióji – the big, the great; dešinỹsis, dešinióji – the right; kairỹsis, kairióji – the left.

The pronominal adjectives historically have developed from the combination of the simple adjectives and the respective pronominal forms jis, ji (he, she), that is, gẽras + jìs = geràsis; an example in locative case (feminine gender): gražiosè + josè = gražiósiose. They have their own separate declension paradigms.

Pronominal adjectives have a variety of purposes in modern Lithuanian. One of them is the definitiveness, that is, these adjectives can sometimes act like an equivalent of the definite article in English: Suvalgiau raudoną obuolį – I’ve eaten a red apple; Suvalgiau raudonąjį obuolį – I’ve eaten the red apple. But they are rarely used this way, as demonstrative pronouns serve better for this purpose. Pronominal adjectives often indicate something unique, thus they are usually used with proper names: Juodoji jūra, Vytautas Didysis, Naujoji Zelandija. Another use (and a very common) is scientific terminology: kvapusis mairūnas, dėmėtoji pelėda, standusis diskas etc. In almost all of these cases, a simple adjective can be used, but it will mean a completely different thing: juoda jūra (instead of Juodoji jūra) means any sea that is black (not necessarily the particular sea in Eastern Europe); dėmėta pelėda (instead of dėmėtoji pelėda) means any owl that has dots on its plumage (not necessarily an owl of the Strix occidentalis species) etc.

  • Most of the first type adjectives of the third declension are with the suffix -in-. These are easily made from other parts of speech by adding the suffix -in-. When made from verbs, they are mostly made from a past passive participle: vìrti – to boil, vìrtas – boiled, virtìnis – which is boiled, made by boiling. Consequently, the suffix is -t-in- for such adjectives. Such variants of verbal derivation easily become nouns (declined in noun declension paradigm), in this case it is a noun virtìnis – dumpling (with mushrooms; curd; etc.; but dumplings with meat are called koldūnai).
  • Two adjectives of the third declension have long -ys: dešinỹs – right, kairỹs – left; plural nominative is dešinì, kairì; plural dative: dešiníems, kairíems. A short form of dìdelis, dìdelė is dìdis, didì (similar to pats, pati). Dešinys, kairys, didis have neuter gender of the u pattern: dešinu, kairu, didu. Pronominal forms: didỹsis, didžióji, dešinỹsis, dešinióji. An adjective didelis, didelė hasn't pronominal forms. The word didis has more mingled forms: nominative is sometimes didus; genitive masc.: didžio / didaus; accusative: didį (/ didų); plural masc. nom. didūs; other forms are of the regular pattern.
  • Some other forms having variations in a standard language: pė́sčias, pėsčià, pė́sčia – pedestrian, afoot; pėsčiàsis, pėsčióji and pėstỹsis, pėsčióji (adjectival and substantival meanings).

In the following examples of noun and adjective matching, gatvė – street and kelias – road are matched with tiesus – straight:

  • Tiesi gatvė vs. tiesios gatvės (singular vs. plural)
  • Tiesi gatvė vs. tiesus kelias (feminine vs. masculine)
  • Tiesi gatvė vs. tiesią gatvę (nominative vs. accusative case)

This does not apply in case of the neuter gender adjectives because nouns do not have neuter gender. Such adjectives are used in combination with other parts of speech having no gender (infinitive, some pronouns) or in zero subject sentences and tend to describe a general environment. For example, rūsyje buvo vėsu (zero subject sentence) – it was cool in the cellar; gera tave matyti (the gender neutral infinitive (matyti) is the subject) – it's good to see you. Moreover, adjectives in neuter can be used as an object (and in some cases – as a subject) as well (a rough equivalent of English "that what is" + adjective): jis matė šilta ir šalta – he saw [that what is] cold and hot (he went through fire and water). Adjectives that end in -is do not have the neuter gender. Most of the time neuter gender adjectives are written just like feminine adjectives. However, vocally, neuter gender is distinct by different stressing. Also neuter gender does not have any numbers or cases, and it is mostly used for predicatives. Usage in the role of object (like in "jis matė šilta ir šalta") is rare.

Degrees of comparison[edit]

The Lithuanian language has five degrees of comparison. The three main degrees are the same as in English language. Note that there are no irregular adjectives and all adjectives have the same suffixes. All such adjectives still need to match the nouns in terms of case, number, and gender. Neuter gender comparative degree is the same as adjective comparative degree.

Language Gender positive comparative superlative
Lithuanian Masculine Gẽras Gerėlèsnis Gerèsnis Geriáusias Pàts/visų̃ geriáusias
Feminine Gerà Gerėlèsnė Gerèsnė Geriáusia Patì/visų̃ geriáusia
Neuter Gẽra Gerėliaũ Geriaũ Geriáusia Visų̃ geriáusia
English Good A tiny bit better Better Best The very best
Lithuanian Masculine Gražùs Gražėlèsnis Gražèsnis Gražiáusias Pats/visų gražiáusias
Feminine Gražì Gražėlèsnė Gražèsnė Gražiáusia Patì/visų̃ gražiáusia
Neuter Gražù Gražėliaũ Gražiaũ Gražiáusia Visų̃ gražiáusia
English Beautiful A tiny bit more beautiful More beautiful Most beautiful The most beautiful

Adjectives of different degrees can also have their pronominal forms:

Language Gender positive comparative superlative
Lithuanian Masculine Geràsis Geresnỹsis Geriáusiasis
Feminine Geróji Geresnióji Geriáusioji
Neuter – – –
English The good The better The very best
Lithuanian Masculine Gražùsis Gražesnỹsis Gražiáusiasis
Feminine Gražióji Gražesnióji Gražiáusioji
Neuter – – –
English The beautiful The more beautiful The most beautiful

Pronouns[edit]

See also: Lithuanian declension § Pronouns

Lithuanian has no grammatical category of animacy. Pronouns (including personal ones jis, ji, jie, jos (he, she, they)) replace any noun, regardless if it is not animate (people, animals, objects etc.). Whom did you see? and What did you see? both translate as Ką tu matei?; Something is there and Somebody is there both translate as Ten kažkas yra.

Personal pronouns[edit]

Personal pronouns aš (I), tu (you) jis (he, it), ji (she, it) are declined as follows:

Nominative Genitive Dative Accusative Instrumental Locative
Singular 1st person aš manęs man mane manimi manyje
2nd person tu tavęs tau tave tavimi tavyje
3rd person Masculine jis jo jam jį juo jame
Feminine ji jos jai ją ja joje
Reflexive pronoun – savęs sau save savimi savyje
Plural 1st person mes mūsų mums mus mumis mumyse
2nd person jūs jūsų jums jus jumis jumyse
3rd person Masculine jie jų jiems juos jais juose
Feminine jos jų joms jas jomis jose

Reflexive pronoun[edit]

The reflexive pronoun savęs is declined like tu (savęs – sau – save ...), but it does not have the singular nominative and plural cases.

Verbs[edit]

Every Lithuanian verb belongs to one of three different conjugations:

  • The first conjugation is the most commonly found in Lithuanian, encompassing those verbs whose infinite form ends in -ati, -oti, -auti, -uoti or a consonant followed by -ti (e.g. dirbti). This conjugation also has the highest occurrence of irregularity of all the Lithuanian verb cases.
  • The second conjugation refers to those verbs whose infinitive form ends in -ėti. There are hardly any instances of irregularity for this conjugation. An exception: verbs that have -ėja in the Present Tense (like didėti / didėja / didėjo 'to increase') belong to the first conjugation.
  • The third conjugation consists of those verbs whose infinitive form ends in -yti. An exception: verbs that have -ija in the Present Tense (like rūdyti / rūdija / rūdijo 'to rust') belong to the first conjugation.

In Lithuanian every single verbal form can be derived from three stems: infinitive, 3rd person present tense and 3rd person past tense.

Lithuanian verbs belong to one of the following stem types:

  • primary (verbs without suffixes: pykti, pyksta, pyko ʽto be angry’). This group encompasses most of the verbs with irregular or unpredictable forms;
  • mixed (verbs with suffixes in certain forms: mylėti, myli, mylėjo ʽto love’);
  • suffixal (verbs with suffixes in all forms: didėti, didėja, didėjo ʽto increase’).

The 3rd person of every conjugatable verbal form in Lithuanian has no distinction between numbers: all the singular, dual and plural forms have merged into one single form. Declinable forms (such as compound tenses and passive structures), however, must match according to gender and number. This is a shared feature with its closest relative, the Latvian language.

Modern Lithuanian grammarians no longer consider the 3rd person as having an ending, instead it is now called the "final stem vowel" to which a personal ending is attached in order to make the 1st and the 2nd persons:

  Simple Reflexive
  Singular Plural Singular Plural
1st u me uosi mės
2nd i te iesi tės
3rd ∅ ∅ + si

In reality, however, the attachment of the respective ending to the 3rd person stem is not straightforward and requires additional conversion, e. g. if the 3rd person stem ends in -a, the attachment of the ending -u to make the 1st person form produces -u instead of the expected -au. Moreover, certain notable forms have dropped the final vowel in the 3rd person (future tense, conditional mood), however, the forms for other persons are still composed having the stem vowel in mind (dirbti to work → dirbs he will work → dirbsime we will work). Each one of these conversions are being represented in the following conjugation tables.

Active voice[edit]

The active voice in Lithuanian has four moods:

  • Indicative
  • Indirect
  • Imperative
  • Conditional

Indicative mood[edit]

In the active voice, the indicative mood contains 4 simple and 7 compound tenses.

In each tense five examples are given: three belonging to each conjugation group (dirbti, norėti, skaityti), one reflexive (praustis) and būti – the only auxiliary verb in Lithuanian.

Present tense[edit]

This is the basic tense in Lithuanian which describes present or ongoing actions or, sometimes, actions without definite tense. Its forms and stress patterns are always derived from the 3rd person of the Present tense.

  dìrbti – to work norė́ti – to want skaitýti – to read praũstis – to wash oneself bū́ti – to be (es- stem) bū́ti – to be (būn- stem) bū́ti – to be (būv- stem)
I dìrbu nóriu skaitaũ prausiúosi esù būnù būvù
You (singular) dìrbi nóri skaitaĩ prausíesi esì būnì būvì
He/She/It dìrba nóri skaĩto praũsiasi yrà / ẽsti bū̃na bū̃va
We dìrbame nórime skaĩtome praũsiamės ẽsame bū̃name bū̃vame
You (plural) dìrbate nórite skaĩtote praũsiatės ẽsate bū̃nate bū̃vate
They dìrba nóri skaĩto praũsiasi yrà / ẽsti bū̃na bū̃va

E.g. dirbu = 'I work', (tu) nori = 'You want', skaitome = 'We read' (present tense).

The auxiliary verb bū́ti has two conjugations in the Present tense: an irregular one (based on es-/yr- stems) and a regular one (based on the būn- / būv- stem). The difference is that the stem bū̃n-/bū̃v- has an iterative meaning (to be frequently): Mokiniaĩ yrà pasiruõšę – The pupils are ready; Mokiniaĩ bū̃na pasiruõšę – The pupils are often ready. The 3rd person form ẽsti is semantically equivalent to bū̃na or bū̃va, but is rarely used in modern Lithuanian. The bū̃v- stem is very rare in modern Lithuanian.

In the -i conjugation type, the 1st person of singular loses the final stem vowel -i, but the last stem consonant becomes palatalized (the sound [ɪ] is absent in nóriu [n̪ôːrʲʊ], the letter i merely denotes palatalization). If the stem ends with a consonant -d, it becomes -dž: girdėti to hear → girdi he hears → girdžiu I hear.

The accentuation of all persons always corresponds to the accentuation of the 3rd person. The only exception is when its accented syllable is penultimate (excluding the reflexive formant -si) and has a short vowel (bìjo – he is afraid) or a rising tone (skaĩto – he reads, praũsiasi – he washes himself): in that case the 1st and the 2nd persons of singular move the stress to the ending: bijaũ, bijaĩ; skaitaũ, skaitaĩ; prausiúosi, prausíesi.

Past tense[edit]

This is the basic tense in Lithuanian which describes past actions (ongoing or complete). Its forms and stress patterns are always derived from the 3rd person of the Past tense.

  dìrbti – to work norė́ti – to want skaitýti – to read praũstis – to wash oneself bū́ti – to be
I dìrbau norė́jau skaičiaũ prausiaũsi buvaũ
You (singular) dìrbai norė́jai skaiteĩ prauseĩsi buvaĩ
He/She/It dìrbo norė́jo skaĩtė praũsėsi bùvo
We dìrbome norė́jome skaĩtėme praũsėmės bùvome
You (plural) dìrbote norė́jote skaĩtėte praũsėtės bùvote
They dìrbo norė́jo skaĩtė praũsėsi bùvo

E.g. dirbau = 'I worked', norėjai = 'You wanted', skaitėme = 'We read' (past tense)

In the -ė conjugation type, the last stem consonant becomes palatalized. If the stem ends with a consonant -t or -d, in the 1st person of singular it becomes -č or -dž respectively: kęsti to suffer → kentė he suffered → kenčiau I suffered; melsti to beg → meldė he begged → meldžiau I begged.

The accentuation of all persons always corresponds to the accentuation of the 3rd person. The only exception is when its accented syllable is penultimate (excluding the reflexive formant -si) and has a short vowel (bùvo – he was) or a rising tone (skaĩtė – he read, praũsėsi – he washed himself): in that case the 1st and the 2nd persons of singular move the stress to the ending: buvaũ, buvaĩ; skaičiaũ, skaiteĩ; prausiaũsi, prauseĩsi.

Past iterative tense[edit]

The basic meaning of this tense translates as "used to" in English. Its construction is simple:

  • Remove the infinitive ending -ti (the stress pattern is always the same as the infinitive).
  • Add the suffix -dav- to the stem.
  • Finally, add the corresponding ending of the past tense for the first conjugation.
  dìrbti – to work norė́ti – to want skaitýti – to read praũstis – to wash oneself bū́ti – to be
I dìrbdavau norė́davau skaitýdavau praũsdavausi bū́davau
You (singular) dìrbdavai norė́davai skaitýdavai praũsdavaisi bū́davai
He/She/It dìrbdavo norė́davo skaitýdavo praũsdavosi bū́davo
We dìrbdavome norė́davome skaitýdavome praũsdavomės bū́davome
You (plural) dìrbdavote norė́davote skaitýdavote praũsdavotės bū́davote
They dìrbdavo norė́davo skaitýdavo praũsdavosi bū́davo

E.g. dirbdavau = 'I used to work', norėdavai = 'You used to want', skaitydavome = 'We used to read'

Future tense[edit]

This tense basically describes what will happen in the future. It is relatively simple to form:

  • Remove the -ti ending from the infinitive form of the verb.
  • Add the -s- suffix which is used to form the Future Tense. Note, that ...š or ...ž + -s- assimilates to š without the final s (the infinitive vežti 'to transport' gives vešiu, veši, veš etc. in the Future Tense). In case the stem itself ends with a final ...s, it is eliminated as well: kąsti (to bite) → kąs.
  • Add the appropriate ending.
  • All the persons in this tense are completely regular (and retain the stress position and intonation of the infinitive), except for the 3rd one. The latter of this tense changes depending on several rules:
  • If the 3rd person's form is stressed in the final or the only syllable with a falling tone (without the inclusion of the reflexive formant -is), it is systematically replaced with a rising tone (kalbė́ti (to speak) → kalbė̃s, pramogáuti (to entertain oneself) → pramogaũs; aukótis (to sacrifice oneself) → aukõsis (the reflexive formant does not count)). This rule does not apply to cases when there the last syllable is not stressed (sáugoti (to protect) → sáugos).
  • Primary verbs acquire a short vowel i or u (instead of long y or ū) when the infinitive and the present tense has a long vowel, but the past tense has a short vowel: (lýti (to rain): lỹja, lìjo → lìs; pū́ti (to rot): pū̃va, pùvo → pùs, most importantly: bū́ti (to be): bū̃na, bùvo → bùs).
  dìrbti – to work norė́ti – to want skaitýti – to read praũstis – to wash oneself bū́ti – to be
I dìrbsiu norė́siu skaitýsiu praũsiuosi bū́siu
You (singular) dìrbsi norė́si skaitýsi praũsiesi bū́si
He/She/It dir̃bs norė̃s skaitỹs praũsis bùs
We dìrbsime norė́sime skaitýsime praũsimės bū́sime
You (plural) dìrbsite norė́site skaitýsite praũsitės bū́site
They dir̃bs norė̃s skaitỹs praũsis bùs

E.g. dirbsiu = 'I shall work', norėsi = 'You will want', skaitysime = 'We shall read'

Compound tenses[edit]

Compound tenses are periphrastic structures having temporal meanings usually relative to actions indicated by other verbs. Two groups of such tenses exist in modern Lithuanian: Perfect and Inchoative. All of them require an auxiliary verb būti (to be) in its respective form and an active voice participle.

Perfect tenses[edit]

There are four perfect tenses in Lithuanian (present, past, past iterative and future) which are all formed using the verb būti in its respective tense and person as well as the active past simple participle in its respective number and gender:

  Present perfect Past perfect Past iterative perfect Future perfect
I esu skaĩtęs / skaĩčiusi buvau skaitęs / skaičiusi būdavau skaitęs / skaičiusi būsiu skaitęs / skaičiusi
You (singular) esi skaitęs / skaičiusi buvai skaitęs / skaičiusi būdavai skaitęs / skaičiusi būsi skaitęs / skaičiusi
He/She/It yra skaitęs / skaičiusi buvo skaitęs / skaičiusi būdavo skaitęs / skaičiusi bus skaitęs / skaičiusi
We esame skaĩtę / skaĩčiusios buvome skaitę / skaičiusios būdavome skaitę / skaičiusios būsime skaitę / skaičiusios
You (plural) esate skaitę / skaičiusios buvote skaitę / skaičiusios būdavote skaitę / skaičiusios būsite skaitę / skaičiusios
They yra skaitę / skaičiusios buvo skaitę / skaičiusios būdavo skaitę / skaičiusios bus skaitę / skaičiusios

These tenses (except for present perfect) correspond roughly to equivalent English perfect tenses (I had read / I will have read). They are used in various contexts for very different meanings, but they usually indicate an action that happened before another action said with another verb, noun or similar: Tos knygos neėmiau, nes jau ją buvau skaitęs – I didn't take that book because I had already read it; Po kelionės vaikai bus labai pasiilgę tėvų – After the trip the children will have badly missed their parents.

They are also used for a generalized meaning not associated with a specific event (equivalent of English "Have you ever done it?"): Ar esi buvęs Paryžiuje? – Have you ever been to Paris [any time in your life]?; Esu skaitęs, kad vaistai nuo peršalimo nepadeda – I read [some time ago] that pharmaceuticals are useless against common cold.

Compare phrases: Ar buvai Paryžiuje? – Were you in Paris [that day]?; Skaičiau, kad vaistai nuo peršalimo nepadeda – I read [that day, at a specific moment in my life] that pharmaceuticals are useless against common cold.

The perfect tenses are a common feature of the Lithuanian language and are often used in all types of spoken and written speech.

Inchoative tenses[edit]

There are three inchoative tenses in Lithuanian (past, past iterative and future) which are all formed using the verb būti in its respective tense and person, as well as the active present simple participle in its respective number and gender, complemented with the prefix be-. Note the absence of the present inchoative tense.

  Past inchoative Past iterative inchoative Future inchoative
I buvau beskaitąs / beskaitanti būdavau beskaitąs / beskaitanti būsiu beskaitąs / beskaitanti
You (singular) buvai beskaitąs / beskaitanti būdavai beskaitąs / beskaitanti būsi beskaitąs / beskaitanti
He/She/It buvo beskaitąs / beskaitanti būdavo beskaitąs / beskaitanti bus beskaitąs / beskaitanti
We buvome beskaitą / beskaitančios būdavome beskaitą / beskaitančios būsime beskaitą / beskaitančios
You (plural) buvote beskaitą / beskaitančios būdavote beskaitą / beskaitančios būsite beskaitą / beskaitančios
They buvo beskaitą / beskaitančios būdavo beskaitą / beskaitančios bus beskaitą / beskaitančios

These tenses mostly indicate an action that was interrupted by another action said with another verb. They correspond roughly to English "...was about to do something, when": Tėvas buvo beskaitąs laikraštį, bet kažkas paskambino – The father was about to read a newspaper, but someone called.

They can also indicate an action that have started and is still going on during another action (equivalent of English continuous tenses), but they are almost never used in such a way: Kai grįši namo, motina bus bemieganti – When you will get back home, the mother will be sleeping.

Inchoative tenses are not a part of common Lithuanian speech, their use is limited to literary language and even there only past inchoative tense is ever used.

Indirect mood[edit]

The indirect mood in Lithuanian has all and the same tenses (including compound tenses) as the indicative mood, but is not conjugated. Instead of being composed of a conjugatable verb, they are made of pure active participle in nominative case, thus they must match the gender and number of the subject.

  Singular Plural
Present skaitą̃s, skaĩtanti skaitą̃, skaitančios
Past skaĩtęs, skaĩčiusi skaĩtę, skaĩčiusios
Past iterative skaitýdavęs, skaitýdavusi skaitýdavę, skaitýdavusios
Future skaitýsiąs, skaitýsianti skaitýsią, skaitýsiančios
Present perfect esą̃s skaĩtęs, ẽsanti skaĩčiusi esą̃ skaĩtę, ẽsančios skaĩčiusios
Past perfect bùvęs skaitęs, bùvusi skaĩčiusi bùvę skaitę, bùvusios skaĩčiusios
Past iterative perfect bū́davęs skaĩtęs, bū́davusi skaĩčiusi bū́davę skaĩtę, bū́davusios skaĩčiusios
Future perfect bū́siąs skaĩtęs, bū́sianti skaĩčiusi bū́sią skaĩtę, bū́siančios skaĩčiusios
Past inchoative bùvęs beskaitą̃s, bùvusi beskaĩtanti bùvę beskaitą̃, bùvusios beskaĩtančios
Past iterative inchoative bū́davęs beskaitą̃s, bū́davusi beskaĩtanti bū́davę beskaitą̃, bū́davusios beskaĩtančios
Future inchoative bū́siąs beskaitą̃s, bū́sianti beskaĩtanti bū́sią beskaitą̃, bū́siančios beskaĩtančios

The indirect mood of passive voice is also used. It is composed of an auxiliary active participle formed from the verb būti 'to be' and passive participle which is the main one. So, indirect mood of passive voice can only be compound. Both present and past passive participles are used. The indirect mood of passive voice has the following tenses: present (esąs skaitomas), present perfect (esąs skaitytas), past (buvęs skaitomas), past perfect (buvęs skaitytas), past iterative (būdavęs skaitomas), past iterative perfect (būdavęs skaitytas), future (būsiąs skaitomas), future perfect (būsiąs skaitytas).[3][4]

The indirect mood, sometimes called "participle speech", has multiple uses, but primarily denote actions not experienced directly by the speaker and bearing a high degree of uncertainty: Čia kažkada stovėjusi tvirtovė – [I'm not really sure, it seems like] some time ago there stood a fortress here.

Another widely known use of the indirect mood is describing actions in fictional literature (especially folklore) (could be considered as an equivalent of French Passé simple, except that in Lithuanian it is not limited to the past): Kartą gyvenęs kalvis, kuris turėjęs du sūnus – Once there lived a smith who had two sons.

In modern Lithuanian this mood is not very widely used, because other ways of expressing uncertainty and fictional events exist.

Imperative mood[edit]

The imperative mood has three forms or tenses (simple, perfect and inchoative). The simple form of the 2nd person of singular, the 1st and the 2nd persons of plural is very regular:

  • Remove the infinitive ending -ti (the stress pattern is always the same as the infinitive).
  • Add the suffix -k- to the stem.
  • Finally, add the corresponding ending.

The 3rd person imperative is sometimes called the "optative mood" and has numerous equivalent forms:

  • By adding a simple grammatical prefix te- to the 3rd person of the present tense (tedìrba – let him work). Used moderately often.
  • By adding a simple grammatical prefix te- to the 3rd person of the present tense and replacing the ending with -ie or -ai (tedirbiẽ – let him work, teskaĩtai – let him read). Obsolete / rare.
  • By adding one of the particles tè, tegùl, tegù, laĩ before the 3rd person of the present tense (or sometimes the future tense): tegùl dìrba – let him work, laĩ skaĩto – let him read. Used very often.
  dìrbti – to work norė́ti – to want skaitýti – to read praũstis – to wash oneself bū́ti – to be
I —
You (singular) dìrbk(i) norė́k(i) skaitýk(i) praũskis būk(i)
He/She/It tedirbiẽ / tedìrba tenoriẽ / tenóri teskaĩtai / teskaĩto tesiprausiẽ / tesipraũsia teesiẽ / tebūniẽ / tebùs
We dìrbkime norė́kime skaitýkime praũskimės bū́kime
You (plural) dìrbkite norė́kite skaitýkite praũskitės bū́kite
They tedirbiẽ / tedìrba tenoriẽ / tenóri teskaĩtai / teskaĩto tesiprausiẽ / tesipraũsia teesiẽ / tebūniẽ / tebùs

The imperative mood is used to describe an action that the speaker wants another person to do: Duok pinigų! – Give me some money! Iš pradžių įleiskime svečius. – Let us at first invite the guests in. This mood is actively used in modern Lithuanian.

The 2nd person of singular has its ending -i only in poetry / fictional literature. The usage of this ending is usually an indication of poetic style.

The perfect and inchoative forms are composed of the auxiliary verb būti in its simple imperative form and of an active participle of the main verb, matched according to gender and number of the person:

  Perfect Inchoative
I —
You (singular) būk skaitęs / skaičiusi būk beskaitąs / beskaitainti
He/She/It tebūnie skaitęs / skaičiusi tebūnie beskaitąs / beskaitainti
We būkime skaitę / skaičiusios būkime beskaitą / beskaitainčios
You (plural) būkite skaitę / skaičiusios būkite beskaitą / beskaitainčios
They tebūnie skaitę / skaičiusios tebūnie beskaitą / beskaitančios

Imperative perfect means an instruction of the speaker that has to be completed before some other event: Pirmadienį jau būkite apsisprendę – Please already have your decision made by Monday. This form is actively used in modern Lithuanian.

Imperative inchoative means an instruction of the speaker that has to be started before some other event and continued afterwards: Kai grįšiu, būkite bedirbą – When I'll come back, please be working. This form is obsolete.

Conditional mood[edit]

The conditional mood has three forms or tenses (simple, perfect and inchoative). It is very regular to form:

  • Remove the infinitive suffix -ti (the stress pattern is always the same as the infinitive).
  • Add the respective suffix and ending.
  dìrbti – to work norė́ti – to want skaitýti – to read praũstis – to wash oneself bū́ti – to be
I dìrbčiau norė́čiau skaitýčiau praũsčiausi bū́čiau
You (singular)1 dìrbtum(ei) norė́tum(ei) skaitýtum(ei) praũstumeisi bū́tum(ei)
He/She/It dìrbtų norė́tų skaitýtų praũstųsi bū́tų
We2 dìrbtu(mė)me norė́tu(mė)me skaitýtu(mė)me praũstu(mė)mės bū́tu(mė)me
You (plural)2,3 dìrbtu(mė)te norė́tu(mė)te skaitýtu(mė)te praũstu(mė)tės bū́tu(mė)te
They dìrbtų norė́tų skaitýtų praũstųsi bū́tų
  • 1The longer form with the ending -ei is used very rarely in modern Lithuanian.
  • 2In modern colloquial speech the shorter forms actually retain the -mė- syllable, but remove the final -e (except for reflexive verbs): dirbtumėm, skaitytumėt.
  • 3A shorter form without -mė- does exist, but is used very rarely.

This mood is actively used in modern Lithuanian and one of its functions corresponds to the English conditional mood. The conditional mood is used to describe a hypothetical action that could take place if certain conditions were met (hence the name) or a desired action in present or in future: Panaikinus muitus, sumažėtų prekių kainos – Having eliminated customs duties, prices would go down. Conditional mood is used in conditional (if) sentences; this usage requires conditional mood in subordinate and main clauses if both actions are perceived as hypothetical: Visi laimėtų, jeigu priimtumėte šį pasiūlymą. – There would be a win-win situation for everyone if you accepted this offer.

Another very important function of conditional mood is the expression of purpose in final clauses (corresponds to Subjunctive mood in English): Dirbu viršvalandžius, kad uždirbčiau daugiau. – I work extra hours so that I earn more.

The third function of conditional mood is the expression of politeness: Siūlyčiau panagrinėti šią temą kitu kampu. – I would like to suggest to examine this topic from a different angle.

The perfect and inchoative forms are composed of the auxiliary verb būti in its simple conditional form and of an active participle of the main verb, matched according to gender and number of the person:

  Perfect Inchoative
I būčiau skaitęs / skaičiusi būčiau beskaitąs / beskaitainti
You (singular) būtum skaitęs / skaičiusi būtum beskaitąs / beskaitainti
He/She/It būtų skaitęs / skaičiusi būtų beskaitąs / beskaitainti
We būtume skaitę / skaičiusios būtume beskaitą / beskaitainčios
You (plural) būtumėte skaitę / skaičiusios būtumėte beskaitą / beskaitainčios
They būtų skaitę / skaičiusios būtų beskaitą / beskaitančios

Conditional perfect is actively used in modern Lithuanian. It means a hypothetical action in the past that would have taken place if certain conditions had been met (corresponds to the semantically equivalent form in English): Vadovas būtų pritaręs renginiui, bet niekas nerodė iniciatyvos. – The leader would have approved the event, but nobody showed initiative.

Inchoative conditional means an action that could have started in the past and continued until present if certain conditions were met: Jei jis būtų paklaũsęs mano patarimo, šiandien būtų besimáudąs turtuose. – If he had listened to my advice, today he would be rolling in money. This form is obsolete.

Passive voice[edit]

In Lithuanian, passive voice is always analytical and structured differently from the active voice. Passive voice has no perfect tense and no inchoative aspect, because similar semantic relationships can be expressed by the present or past passive participle dichotomy.

Passive voice is always composed of the auxiliary verb būti in its respective tense or person and either a present passive participle or a past passive participle that must match the gender and number of the subject. Sometimes the necessity participle can be used as well. In order to avoid redundancy, the following table only includes the masculine third person, singular.

    Present passive Past passive
Indicative mood Present yra baigiamas yra baigtas
Past bùvo baĩgiamas buvo baigtas1
Past iterative bū́davo baigiamas būdavo baigtas
Future bùs baigiamas bus baigtas
Indirect mood Present esą̃s baigiamas esąs baigtas
Past bùvęs baigiamas buvęs baigtas1
Past iterative bū́davęs baigiamas būdavęs baigtas
Future bū́siąs baigiamas būsiąs baigtas
Imperative mood tebūnie baigiamas tebūnie baigtas
Conditional mood būtų baigiamas būtų baigtas
  • 1This form for all persons can expressed using the passive (invariable) neuter gender participle bū́ta instead of the active participle bùvęs, usually for intransitive verbs: Prieš tai mes buvome [buvę] apsilankę muziejuje → Prieš tai mūsų būta apsilankyta muziejuje. – Before that we had gone to a museum → Before that it had been gone by us to a museum. This structure is rarely used in modern Lithuanian.

The subject of the active voice is converted to the passive voice using its possessive genitive form (hence aš, tu (I, you) converts not into manęs, tavęs, but mano, tavo): Vaikus pagimdei tu, bet užauginau aš → Vaikai buvo tavo pagimdyti, bet mano užauginti. – You gave birth to the children, but I raised them → The children were given birth by you, but raised by me. The possessive adjectives are indeclinable.[5]

Passive voice structures with present participle are the passive equivalents of active voice simple tenses: Mokslininkai atranda tolimas planetas → Tolimos planetos yra mokslininkų atrandamos – Scientists discover distant planets → Distant planets are being discovered by scientists. Kaime bijodavo vilkų → Kaime būdavo bijoma vilkų – Village [people] used to fear wolves → Wolves used to be feared by village [people].

Passive voice structures with past participle are the passive equivalents of active voice perfect tenses: Siuntinį paštas bus pristatęs iki Kalėdų → Siuntys bus pašto pristatytas iki Kalėdų – The post office will have delivered the parcel until Christmas → The parcel will have been delivered by the post office until Christmas. Už tokį poelgį tave būtų pagerbę → Už tokį poelgį būtum pagerbtas – One would have praised you for such a behaviour → You would have been praised for such a behaviour.

Because of the flexibility offered by the neuter gender, in Lithuanian most active voice structures can be converted into passive voice, including intransitive, reflexive and even impersonal verbs. A transitive example (some or most of the English translations are literal, do not make sense in English and are shown only to give an idea):

  • Tinginys valgo duoną → Duona yra tinginio valgoma – A lazy one is eating bread → Bread is being eaten by a lazy one.
  • An intransitive example: Vaikai smagiai pažais ir nueis miegoti → Vaikų bus smagiai pažaista ir nueita miegoti – Children will play pleasantly and then go to sleep → It we be played pleasantly and then gone to sleep by children.
  • A reflexive example: Šeimos pykdavosi dėl menkniekių → Šeimose būdavo pykstamasi dėl menkniekių – The families used to quarrel for nothing → It used to be quarrelled in the families for nothing.
  • An impersonal example: Po vakarykštės audros daug prilijo → Po vakarykštės audros daug prilyta – There is a lot of rain water after yesterday's storm – It has been a lot of rain water after yesterday's storm.

Generally in modern Lithuanian absence of the subject has a very limited use (except for impersonal verbs). In cases where an active voice structure would have no subject or there is no need for it (except for impersonal verbs), a passive voice equivalent is used instead: Čia nerūko! → Čia nerūkoma! – [Nobody] smokes here! → No smoking here! (The subject would be too broad). Skubiai išnuomoja dviejų kambarių butą. → Skubiai išnuomojamas dviejų kambarių butas. [Someone] is urgently renting a two-room apartment. → A two-room apartment is urgently for rent. (The subject is not necessary).

The opposite case is true as well. If a passive voice structure has an agent expressed in the genitive case, an active voice structure is preferred: Pilietinė visuomenė turi būti skatinama vyriausybės. → (more common) Vyriausybė turi skatinti pilietinę visuomenę. – A civil society should be promoted by the government. → The government should promote a civil society.

Participles[edit]

Lithuanian retains a rich system of participles, fourteen in total. In contrast English contains just two: the present participle ("the eating cow") and the past participle ("the eaten cow").

Adjectival participles decline as adjectives, while adverbial participles are not declined.[2].

In Lithuanian participles are very important part of every type of speech. All of them have their own function, but not all are used equally often.

Adjectival participles[edit]

Adjectival participles have all the adjectival characteristics: three genders (masculine, feminine, neuter), pronominal forms, mostly identical declension and sometimes even degrees of comparison. Their primary function is to describe a nominal part of speech (usually a noun), like any adjective would in their position, hence they are matched by gender, case and number with the noun they are describing.

They can be active or passive. In the following tables only nominative case forms are given.

The verb used is baĩgti (to finish).

Active (non pronominal forms):

Simple Reflexive
Masculine Feminine Neuter Masculine Feminine Neuter
Present baigią̃s / baĩgiantis baĩgianti baigią̃ besibaigią̃s / besibaĩgiantis / baĩgiąsis besibaĩgianti / baĩgiantis besibaigią̃ / baigią̃si
Past baĩgęs baĩgusi baĩgę baĩgęsis baĩgusis baĩgęsi
Past iterative baĩgdavęs baĩgdavusi baĩgdavę baĩgdavęsis baĩgdavusis baĩgdavęsi
Future baigsią̃s / baĩgsiantis baĩgsianti baigsią̃ baĩgsiąsis baĩgsiantis baĩgsiąsi

Active (pronominal counterparts):

Simple Reflexive
Masculine Feminine Neuter Masculine Feminine Neuter
Present baigiantỹsis baigiančióji – besibaigiantỹsis besibaigiančióji –
Past baigusỹsis baigusióji – (pa)sibaigusỹsis1 (pa)sibaigusióji1 –
Past iterative – – – – – –
Future baigsiantỹsis baigsiančióji – (pa)sibaigsiantỹsis1 (pa)sibaigsiančióji1 –
  • 1This form only exists for verbs with prefixes (except for be-).
  • One of the main functions of active participles is to describe a characteristic of a noun related to some ongoing, past or future action in which the said noun is the agent: migruojantys paukščiai – migrating birds, nepatyręs vairuotojas – inexperienced driver, pablogėsiančios darbo sąlygos – working conditions that will worsen. Only present, past simple and future active participles can fulfill this function.
  • Another function of active participles is to describe a secondary action performed by the sentence subject before the main action: Atidariusi langą mergina grožėjosi tekančia saule. – Having opened the window, the girl admired the sunrise. This function is limited to the past simple participle and is one of its most common uses. If there is a need to describe a secondary action performed by the sentence subject at the same time as the main action, the pusdalyvis must be used instead (present active participle does not have this function): Atidarydama langą mergina grožėjosi tekančia saule. – While opening the window, the girl admired the sunrise. See "Adverbial participles" for further explanation.
  • The third, a somewhat rarer, function is to explain (precise) another verb by indicating a secondary action of which the subject is the agent: Kaltinamasis prisipažįsta padaręs nusikaltimą ir labai dėl to gailisi. – The defendant confesses having committed the crime and sincerely regrets it. If the subject is not the agent expressed in the nominative case of a noun or a pronoun, an adverbial participle must be used instead.

Passive (non pronominal forms):

Simple Reflexive
Masculine Feminine Neuter Masculine Feminine Neuter
Present baĩgiamas baigiamà baĩgiama (už)sibaĩgiamas2 (už)sibaigiamà2 baĩgiamasi
Past baĩgtas baigtà baĩgta (už)sìbaigtas2 (už)sibaigtà2 baĩgtasi
Past iterative —
Future baĩgsimas baigsimà baĩgsima (už)sibaĩgsimas2 (už)sibaigsimà2 baĩgsimasi
Necessity baĩgtinas baigtinà baĩgtina (už)sibaĩgtinas2 (už)sibaigtinà2 baĩgtinasi

Passive (pronominal counterparts):

Simple Reflexive
Masculine Feminine Neuter Masculine Feminine Neuter
Present baigiamàsis baigiamóji – (už)sibaigiamàsis2 (už)sibaigiamóji2 –
Past baigtàsis baigtóji – (už)sibaigtàsis2 (už)sibaigtóji2 –
Past iterative —
Future baigsimàsis baigsimóji – (už)sibaigsimàsis2 (už)sibaigsimóji2 –
Necessity baigtinàsis baigtinóji – (už)sibaigtinàsis2 (už)sibaigtinóji2 –
  • 2This form only exists for transitive verbs with prefixes (except for be-). In Lithuanian reflexive verbs can be transitive: susipinti plaukus – to plait one's hair [to oneself].

Passive voice present participles and the necessity participles can acquire degrees of comparison if their meaning allows it: mėgti (to like) → liked (favourite), mėgstamesnis (more liked), mėgstamiausias (most liked/favorite); būti (to be) → būtinas (necessary), būtinesnis (more necessary), būtiniausias (the most necessary).

The necessity participles are used to describe something that has to be done: Įsidėmėtinos rašybos atvejis – A spelling case one has to pay special attention to. Abejotina, ar mums pavyks – It is to be doubted if we succeed. Mostly limited to official styles, but certain participles are actively used in colloquial speech as well, some of them being considered more adjectives than verbs: Jis suimtas už pasibaisėtiną elgesį su gyvūnais – He was arrested for an appalling behaviour with animals. (Pasibaisėtinas = one that has to be detested).

Main passive participles mainly denote actions that have impact upon nouns they describe: statomas namas – a house that is being built, iškeltas klausimas – a question that has been raised, vykdysimas įsakymas – an order that will be obeyed. Future passive participles are rare in modern speech.

Present passive participles very often have an active meaning, especially if the verb is intransitive, and are one of the terminology building tools: kuliamoji mašina – a threshing machine, taupomasis bankas – a savings bank, grįžtamasis ryšys – a feedback. If the verb is transitive, it can be used in its intransitive meaning in form of a present passive participle: gydomasis vanduo – healing water. Compare: geriamasis vanduo – drinking water. The difference in those cases is only semantic (water cannot be healed, thus it is accepted that gydomasis vanduo denotes water having healing properties, but not water being healed).

Adverbial participles[edit]

As the name suggests, adverbial participles have the characteristics of an adverb and are used to describe the verb instead of the subject. There are three types of such participles: padalyvis ("sub-participle"), pusdalyvis ("half-participle") and būdinys ("descriptive participle"). These forms are not conjugatable, although the pusdalyvis has feminine and masculine genders for both singular and plural. These forms do not have equivalents in English or other languages (except Latvian), the given translations of these names are ad hoc.

Simple Reflexive
Present padalyvis baĩgiant baĩgiantis
Past padalyvis baĩgus baĩgusis
Past iterative padalyvis baĩgdavus baĩgdavusis
Future padalyvis baĩgsiant baĩgsiantis
Pusdalyvis baĩgdamas (m. sg.), baigdamà (f. sg.) baĩgdamasis (m. sg.), baĩgdamasi (f. sg.)
baigdamì (m. pl.), baĩgdamos (f. pl.) baĩgdamiesi (m. pl.), baĩgdomosi (f. pl.)
Būdinys (I) baigtè –
Būdinys (II) baigtinaĩ –
  • The primary function of the padalyvis is to indicate an action that is happening at the same time (present padalyvis) or before (past padalyvis) the event said with the main verb, of which the sentence subject is not the agent: Lauko darbus mes dirbome saulei šviečiant (present padalyvis) – We were doing the field works the sun shining; Skaniai pavalgius malonu pamiegoti (past padalyvis) – Having eaten a delicious meal, it is pleasant to take a nap.
  • The primary function of the pusdalyvis is to indicate a simultaneous, but secondary action done by the sentence subject in nominative case (it must be matched according to gender and number with the said subject): Lauko darbus mes dirbome dainuodami – We were doing the field works while singing. In this case the present padalyvis participle can be used as well: Lauko darbus mes dirbome dainuojant, but this time the sentence will mean: We were doing the field works while someone else was singing. A secondary action done previously by the sentence subject can be expressed with adjectival past simple participle: Lauko darbus mes dirbome padainavę – We were doing the field works having sung. When used with the preposition prieš (before), pusdalyvis and padalyvis denote a secondary action in future: Lauko darbus mes dirbome prieš dainuodami. – We were doing the field works before singing. Lauko darbus mes dirbome prieš dainuojant. – We were doing the field works before someone else started to sing.

This table shows the participle usage in temporal adverbial phrases:

Past action Simultaneous action Future action
Sentence subject is the agent Past simple adjectival participle Pusdalyvis Prieš + pusdalyvis
Sentence subject is not the agent Past padalyvis Present padalyvis Prieš + padalyvis
  • Another function of the padalyvis is to explain (precise) another verb by indicating a secondary action of which the subject is not the agent: Vartydamas seną albumą, prisiminiau mus šiame ežere maudydavusis – While seing an old photo album, I remembered us having used to swim in this lake. If the subject is the agent, an adjectival participle must be used instead.

This table shows the participle usage as an object.[clarification needed]:

Simultaneous action Past action Multiple actions in the past Future action
Sentence subject is the agent Present adjectival active participle Past simple adjectival active participle Past iterative adjectival active participle Future adjectival active participle
Sentence subject is not the agent Present padalyvis Past padalyvis Past iterative padalyvis Future padalyvis
  • The būdinys (the descriptive or intensifying participle) reinforces the meaning of the verb being described: Šaukte šaukiausi pagalbos, niekas neatsiliepė – I was shouting loudly for help, nobody answered. Type I būdinys is used relatively often in some written and colloquial speech. Type II būdinys is very rare and can only be found in literary language. Their primary function is the same. In some grammars they are not considered verbs, but adverbs derived from verbs.

Grammatical aspect[edit]

All Lithuanian verbs can be characterized by their aspect which can be either perfective or imperfective. Nevertheless, this important dichotomy is semantical, rather than expressed by purely grammatical means.[6] Formally distinguishing an imperfective verb from its perfective counterpart is not possible, since those forms are not mutually exclusive or interdependent. Moreover, certain grammatical categories (like past iterative tense) automatically negate any perfectiveness a certain verb might have in infinitive or in other tenses. The opposite is true as well: a different tense (like an inchoative or perfect tense) of an otherwise imperfective verb automatically grants a perfective meaning. Contrary to modern Slavonic languages, each and every Lithuanian verb, in spite of its aspect, has all tenses and forms described in previous chapters of this article.

Nevertheless, certain very general rules can be laid down to detect the aspect of a verb in Lithuanian.

The imperfective aspect of a verb means the continuity of an action or a repetitiveness of a completed action. The imperfective aspect can sometimes be implied by:

  • The absence of a prefix for certain verbs: dìrbti – to be working, šaũkti – to be shouting, krìsti – to be falling.
  • The presence of a suffix (except for -er(ė)ti, -el(ė)ti) combined with the absence of a prefix for certain verbs: maldáuti – to be begging, mė́tyti – to be throwing [multiple times], šokinė́ti – to be jumping [constantly, multiple times].
  • The impossibility for certain verbs to be used without a prefix: užgaulióti – to be bullying, pãsakoti – to be telling a story.
  • The complete or partial change of meaning for certain prefixed verbs: priklausýti – to be in possession (from klausýti – to listen), pakę̃sti – to tolerate (from kę̃sti – to suffer), atsidúoti – to be stinking (from dúoti – to give).
  • For some prefixed verbs that merely indicate the ability to do something: panèšti – to be able to carry, nusėdė́ti – to be able to sit.

The perfective aspect of a verb means the completeness of an action. The perfective aspect can sometimes be implied by:

  • The presence of a prefix for certain verbs: padìrbti – to work for a certain amount of time, pašaũkti – to call, nukrìsti – to fall. There are very few perfective prefixed verbs that would distinguish themselves from their imperfective unprefixed counterparts only by their perfective meaning, since any prefix almost always has a semantical nuance.
  • The presence of the suffix -er(ė)ti or -el(ė)ti: dìrsterėti – to take a glimpse, kúoktelėti – to become insane.

In other cases the aspect is contextual. This might sometimes be implied by:

  • The absence of a suffix and a prefix for certain verbs:
– mèsti – to throw:
Vakar mečiau darbą – I quit my job yesterday. (perfective)
Visas senas knygas jis metė į šiukšlių dėžę – He was throwing all the old books to the trash bin. (imperfective)
– grį̃žti – to come back:
Grįžęs namo, virtuvėje rasi sriubos. – Having come back home, you’ll find some soup in the kitchen. (perfective)
Grįžtu namo, kol saulė dar nenusileido – I’m going home as the sun is not yet down. (imperfective)
  • A specific tense in some other cases:
– laimė́ti – to win:
Kol kas mūsų komanda laimi – For the meantime our team is winning. (present tense, imperfective)
mūsų komanda laimėjo dideliu skirtumu – Our team [has] won by a big difference. (past simple tense, perfective)

Verb prefixes[edit]

General usage notes[edit]

Prefixes are added to verbs to make new verbs that have different color of the primary verb's meaning. The new verb and the primary verb are considered different words, taking different positions in vocabularies. However their meanings are related, often showing similarity to being forms of a single verb. In many instances a prefixed verb has no apparent semantical relationship with the primary verb. Prefixes have mostly restrictive sense, so they restrict the meaning of the primary not prefixed verb to certain direction, amount or limit of time.

  • ap- round (direction, perfective), about, around
  • api- is a variant of ap- before b or p
  • at- off; from, from somewhere (direction; place, perfective); at (with 'moving towards' verbs)
  • ati- is a variant of at- before d or t
  • į- in (direction, perfective), into, be able to (imperfective)
  • iš- out (direction, perfective), ex-
  • nu- down; away (direction), from the start place (action with some direction, perfective)
  • pa- sub-, under (direction, perfective); definite, terminating on continuous (< after), a bit, slightly, some time (time or amount, imperfective), till end (for single actions, cf su-, time or amount, perfective)
    • ima - 'it takes'
    • pa-ima - 'it takes and finishes it'
    • ėmė - 'it was taking', 'it has been taking', 'it had been taking'
    • pa-ėmė - 'it took'
  • par- back, similar to English (Latin) re- (with some differences; perfective)
  • per- through (place, perfective), over, across, thoroughly, completely (perfective)
  • pra- by (direction, perfective), through, between, starting (time, perfective rarely)
  • pri- up, to (direction or place, perfective), close to, to the place (of the action) (place, perfective), much, many (amount, sometimes perfective)
  • su- together (place, perfective), from everywhere (direction), till end (time, perfective), completely (long or complex action, perfective)
  • už- on (direction or place), completely (short action, cf. su-, perfective)
  • už- behind (direction, perfective), in (for limited time, cf į-) (direction and time, perfective), suddenly, unexpectedly (time, perfective)

There are also three special modifying prefixes that can be used with other prefixed or unprefixed (including reflexive) verbs. They define different forms of the same verb, rather than a new verb:

  • ne- is a prefix that makes negative form of a verb: turiù – I have, neturiù – I haven't.
  • be- says that an action of a verb:
– takes an undefined amount of time: Šitaip bedirbant galima susigadinti sveikatą – Working [for a long time] like that one can damage one’s health. This function allows be- to be used as a dummy prefix for reflexive present tense participles. In that case the reflexive formant moves right after the prefix, thus avoiding the formation of a complex reflexive ending: džiaũgtis – to rejoice → džiaũgiantisis – the one (masc., sg. nominative) who rejoices, but more commonly: besidžiaũgiantis. Other forms besides nominative (džiaũgiančiasis – the ones (fem., pl. accusative) who rejoice) are not used at all in favour of besidžiaũgiančias etc.
– may be interrupted (see "Inchoative tenses");
– is restrictive (a combination of English "only" and "still"): Ligoninėje jį motina beaplanko – Only his mother still visits him to the hospital.
  • te- indicates:
– that an action of a verb is restrictive (equivalent of English "only"): Ligoninėje jį motina teaplanko – Only his mother visits him to the hospital;
– the 3rd person of the imperative mood (see "Imperative mood").
  • tebe- indicates that an action of a verb is still ongoing (equivalent of English "still"): Ligoninėje jį motina tebeaplanko – His mother still visits him to the hospital.
  • nebe- indicates that an action of a verb is no longer ongoing (equivalent of English "no longer"): Ligoninėje jo motina nebeaplanko – His mother no longer visits him to the hospital.
  • A verb cannot acquire more than one prefix, except for ne-, te-, be-, nebe- or tebe-. Only very few words are exception from this.
  • The indicator of reflexion -si is used between the prefix and the root if the verb is prefixed, e. g.

 nẽšasi but nusìneša, atsìneša
 laikýtis but susilaikýti, pasilaikýti
 teiráutis but pasiteiráuti

  • The same rule is applied, when ne-, be-, nebe-, te- or tebe- is added:

 nẽšasi but nesìneša, nebesìneša, also nenusìneša, neatsìneša, tebeatsìneša
 laikýtis, but nesilaikýti, also nesusilaikýti, nepasilaikýti
 teiráutis but nesiteiráuti, also nepasiteiráuti

Stress retraction[edit]

Certain Lithuanian verbs have the ability to move their stress to the last prefixed element they acquire. General stress retraction principles are laid down below.

All prefixes (including ne- type, but not including the prefix per-) acquire the stress only in:

  • past simple tense forms of primary (monosyllabic stem) verbs. This always happens when the 3rd person has an -ė ending, its stress would normally fall on its penultimate syllable and this syllable has a short vowel or a rising tone:
baũsti (to punish, monosyllabic stem verb) → baũdė (stress on the penultimate, rising tone) → nùbaudė, nebenùbaudė etc.
vìrti (to boil, monosyllabic stem verb) → vìrė (stress on the penultimate, short vowel) → ìšvirė, nebeišsìvirė etc.
kláusti (to ask, monosyllabic stem verb) → kláusė (stress on the penultimate, falling tone, the rule does not apply) → pakláusė
darýti (to ask, suffixal verb, the rule does not apply) → dãrė (stress on the penultimate, rising tone) → padãrė
  • Some present tense forms (primary or mixed stem), but only if the stress of the 3rd person falls on its penultimate syllable, this syllable is not a suffix and has a short vowel or a rising tone:
kalbė́ti (to speak, suffixal verb) → kal̃ba (stress on the penultimate, no suffix, rising tone) → sùkalba, tebesìkalba etc.
sukti (to turn, primary verb) → sùka (stress on the penultimate, no suffix, short vowel) → pàsuka, nèsuka etc.
  • Past simple accent retraction is regular, present tense accent retraction is sporadic. If a particular verb retracts its accent in one tense, it does not mean that the other tense will follow suit.
  • The accent retraction does not depend on a particular prefix (except for per-) and will systematically happen with every other prefixed structure (a prefix, a ne- type prefix or a reflexive formant). It means that even if dictionaries never include ne- type prefixes, the stress retraction can be deduced from other prefixed forms that dictionaries do include:
plaũkti (to swim) → išplaũkti (to swim out) → išplaũkia (no retraction, hence: neišplaũkia, teišplaũkia etc.)
riñkti (to gather) → suriñkti (to gather them all) → sùrenka (retraction does happen, hence: nèrenka, tèrenka etc.)
  • The latter rule has two exceptions:
turė́ti (to have) → suturė́ti (to restrain) → sùturi (retraction does happen, but not for ne- type prefixes of the non-prefixed verbs: netùri, tetùri etc.)
galė́ti (to be able) → išgalė́ti (to afford) → ìšgali (retraction does happen, but not for ne- type prefixes of the non-prefixed verbs: negãli, begãli etc.)
  • The prefix pér- always has the falling tone and takes the stress in all parts of speech of that word, ignoring all the other accentuation rules: pérduoti – to transmit, nebepérsivalgymas – the inability to overeat.

Stem classes[edit]

The below given tables are not a full collection of types of conjugation, there can be types in language not included here.

Consonants d, t become s before t in any case in language. In verbs this occurs before a desinence -ti of the infinitive, desinence with -t- of the past passive participle.

Non-suffixed[edit]

infinitive present tense past tense meaning
1p. sg. 2p. sg. 3p. sg., pl. 1p. sg. 2p. sg. 3p. sg., pl.
Consonantal non-palatalized stems (it is palatalized in the 2p. form of the present, but not in the remaining forms). Sounds of a stem do not change in conjugation, except for a common pre-desinential alternation between historically nasal vowels (in the infinitive) and nasal diphthongs.
áugti áugu áugi áuga áugau áugai augo to grow
bė́gti bė́gu bė́gi bė́ga bė́gau bė́gai bė́go to run
šókti šóku šóki šóka šókau šókai šóko to jump, spring, leap; hop in, out; dance
dìrbti dìrbu dìrbi dìrba dìrbau dìrbai dìrbo to work
sė́sti sė́du sė́di sė́da sė́dau sė́dai sė́do to sit down, sit up; mount, get on (car, plain etc.)
grū́sti grū́du grū́di grū́da grū́dau grū́dai grū́do to thrust; hustle; pestle; tamp
žį́sti žìndu žìndi žìnda žìndau žìndai žìndo to suck, nurse (at)
ką́sti kándu kándi kánda kándau kándai kándo to bite
galą́sti galándu galandi galánda galándau galandai galándo to sharpen, hone
lìpti lipù lipì lìpa lipaũ lipaĩ lìpo to mount; tread (on); scale, climb
kìšti kišù kišì kìša kišaũ kišaĩ kìšo to put, slip, poke, stick in
rìsti ritù ritì rìta ritaũ ritaĩ rìto to roll, bowl
sukti suku suki suka sukau sukai suko to turn; bear (to); spin; wrap
supti supu supi supa supau supai supo to swing, sway, rock
lupti lupu lupi lupa lupau lupai lupo to peel; flay; swinge, thrash
skùsti skutù skutì skùta skutaũ skutaĩ skùto to shave; scale, peel, scrape; run fast
There is a frequent verb with its final stem consonant palatalized in the present tense.
léisti léidžiu leidi leidžia leidau leidai leido to let, allow; spend
Alternation between pre-desinential e of the present tense and i of the other forms. Possible only when the syllable contains a mixed diphthong (a, e, i, u + sonorant) and is stressed in the end-firm accent.
sir̃gti sergù sergì ser̃ga sirgaũ sirgaĩ sir̃go to be ill
kirsti kertu kerti kerta kirtau kirtai kirto to cut, fell (by axe); cross, traverse; strike, smite; pitch in (food)
vilkti velku velki velka vilkau vilkai vilko to pull, trail, drag
tilpti telpu telpi telpa tilpau tilpai tilpo to get / have enough of space for oneself: be contained, go into
rinkti renku renki renka rinkau rinkai rinko to pick; collect
lįsti lendu lendi lenda lindau lindai lindo to be getting into / through smth.; make a pass at, intrude, molest, cavil, meddle
A numerous part of the verbs having any short vowel – a, e, i, u – in a pre-desinential syllable in infinitive receive n, m (the latter when before p, b) after these vowels in the present.
tàpti tampù tampì tam̃pa tapaũ tapaĩ tãpo to become
rasti randu randi rañda radau radai rãdo to find
gesti gendu gendi genda gedau gedai gedo to deteriorate; decay; spoil; corrupt
tikti tinku tinki tinka tikau tikai tiko to fit
tekti tenku tenki tenka tekau tekai teko to go for (property)
apnikti apninku apninki apninka apnikau apnikai apniko to obsess, crowd in
migti mingu mingi minga migau migai migo to be / start falling asleep
lipti limpu limpi limpa lipau lipai lipo to stick, cling
plisti plintu plinti plinta plitau plitai plito to spread, proliferate, circulate
misti mintu minti minta mitau mitai mito to feed on, fare, live on
kisti kintu kinti kinta kitau kitai kito to mutate; vary
švisti švintu švinti švinta švitau švitai švito to begin to light, esp. to day-light
blukti blunku blunki blunka blukau blukai bluko to fade
klupti klumpu klumpi klumpa klupau klupai klupo to stumble
justi juntu junti junta jutau jutai juto to sense, feel
A small group of verbs has to be written with a nosinė in the present.
balti bąlu bąli bąla balau balai balo to become white, to whiten
šalti šąla šąli šąla šalau šalai šalo to freeze; to cool; to feel cold
karti kąra kąri kąra karau karai karo to incline, bow down (hung things, boughs)
For the verbs that have start-firm accented mixed diphthongs -il-, -ir- in the pre-desinential syllable in the infinitive, the vowel i lengthens and receives the end-firm accent in the present tense, if the syllable becomes open.
kìlti kylù kyli kỹla kilau kilai kilo to rise; emerge (e.g. question)
dilti dylu dyli dyla dilau dilai dilo to fray, decay, become dull
birti byru byri byra birau birai biro to pour (solid, no liquid matter), fall apart
irti yru / irstu yri yra irau irai iro to disintegrate, decay, crumble
Cases of alternation between a pre-desinential e of the present tense and i of the other forms in verbs which receive n, m in the present forms. The a-verb likti has ie / i alternation. The a-verb kristi can be conjugated with both -en- and -in- in the present tense.
skristi skrendù skrendi skrenda skridau skridai skrido to fly
bristi brendu brendi brenda bridau bridai brido to wade, go on foot through water, grass etc.
kristi krentu /krintu krenti krinta kritau kritai krito to fall
likti lieku lieki lieka likau likai liko to remain
Stems that are palatalized in the past tense.
ėsti ė́du ėdi ėda ė́džiau ėdei ėdė to eat (for animals); eat like an animal; erode
vesti vedù vedi veda vedžiaũ vedei vedė to lead, take smb. to somewhere; marry (for a man; for a woman the a-verb is tekėti, teka, tekėjo)
mèsti metù meti meta mečiau metei metė to throw
vežti vežu veži veža vežiau vežei vežė to carry by means of conveyance, by vehicle
nešti nešu neši neša nešiau nešei nešė to carry (going on foot)
kasti kasu kasi kasa kasiau kasei kasė to dig
lesti lesu lesi lesa lesiau lesei lesė to peck
sekti seku seki seka sekiau sekei sekė to follow; spy (on, upon); tell a tail
kepti kepu kepi kepa kepiau kepei kepė to bake
degti degu degi dega degiau degei degė to be on fire, burn; kiln
megzti mezgu mezgi mezga mezgiau mezgei mezgė to knit
zùiti zujù zuji zuja zujau zujai zujo to pop in and out
kálti kalù kali kala kaliau kalei kalė to hammer, smith, batter; mint; chisel; hit
málti malu Mali mala maliau malei malė to grind, mill
bár̃ti barù bari bara bariau barei barė to scold, trim
The a-verb pulti has alternation between u in the infinitive and uo in the present and past tenses. Verbs gimti, mirti have the suffix -st- in the present.
pùlti púolu puoli puola púoliau puolei puolė to attack; fling, throw oneself, make a dive
gìmti gìmstu gimsti gimsta gimiaũ gimei gimė to be born, arrive
mir̃ti mìrštu miršti miršta miriaũ mirei mirė to die, stop living
For the verbs of this group that have start-firm accented mixed diphthongs starting in i – im, in, il, ir – in a pre-desinential syllable in the infinitive, the syllable becomes open and a vowel i lengthens (the accent remains start-firm) in the past tense.
pìlti pilù pili pila pýliau pylei pylė to pour (any non solid material); tip
tirti tiriu tiri tiria tyriau tyrei tyrė to investigate; analyse; research
skinti skinu skini skina skyniau skynei skynė to pluck (fruits, flowers etc.)
pinti pinu pini pina pyniau pynei pynė to plait; weave; pleach
trinti trinu trini trina tryniau trynei trynė to rub
minti minu mini mina myniau mynei mynė to step, tread (on); trample; treadle
ginti ginu gini gina gyniau gynei gynė to defend
im̃ti imù imi ima ėmiaũ ėmeĩ ė̃mė to take
There are some verbs having mixed diphthongs in a pre-desinential syllable that have alternation between pre-desinential e of the present tense and i of the other forms. A sound i of a pre-desinential syllable is not lengthened in the past tense. The a-verb virti has d insterted after -er- in the present tense.
atsimiñti atsìmenu atsimeni atsimena atsìminiau atsiminei atsiminė to remember, recollect
miñti menù meni mena miniaũ minei minė to riddle, ask a riddle
giñti genù geni gena giniau ginei ginė to herd, goad, drive
vìrti vérdu verdi verda viriaũ vireĩ vìrė to boil (figur. as well); cook (by boiling)
Consonantal non-palatalized stems that have suffix -st- in the present. There are many verbs in this group. When the suffix is preceded by d, t of a stem, these consonants merge with s and s remains, when it is preceded by ž, š of a stem, the remaining are stem-ending consonants ž, š.
sprógti sprógstu sprogsti sprógsta sprógau sprogai sprogo to explode, burst; eat (get stomach filled)
plýšti plýštu plyšti plyšta plyšau plyšai plyšo to tear, rip, split; (coll.) get drunk
klysti klystu klysti klysta klydau klydai klydo to mistake, err, be under misapprehension
linkti linkstu linksti linksta linkau linkai linko to bend (itself)
rūgti rūgstu rūgsti rūgsta rūgau rūgai rūgo to sour, become turned
tolti tolstu tolsti tolsta tolau tolai tolo to become remote, distant, to recede
alkti alkstu alksti alksta alkau alkai alko to become, be hungry; to be short of food
pažìnti pažį́stu pažįsti pažįsta pažinaũ pažinai pažino to become familiar, to explore; recognize
pažinoti pažinojau pažinojai pažinojo to know smb., be acquaintance with smb.
pỹkti pykstù pyksti pỹksta pykaũ pykai pyko to be angry, annoyed
nykti nykstu nyksti nyksta nykau nykai nyko to dwindle, wither away, vanish, disappear
rausti raustu rausti rausta raudau raudai raudo to become red, to redden; to blush
brangti brangstu brangsti brangsta brangau brangai brango to become expensive
išsigąsti išsigąstu išsigąsti išsigąsta išsigando išsigandai išsigando to get a scare, fright; to lose courage
vargti vargstu vargsti vargsta vargau vargai vargo to have difficulties doing; be in hardship
širsti širstu širsti širsta širdau širdai širdo to be angry (širdis – heart)
dingti dingstu dingsti dingsta dingau dingai dingo to disappear
klimpti klimpstu klimpsti klimpsta klimpau klimpai klimpo to sink (to viscous material)
drįsti drįstu drįsti drįsta drįsau drįsai drįso to dare
grįžti grįžtu grįžti grįžta grįžau grįžai grįžo to come back, return
A small group of stems ending in ž, š, has to be written with an ogonek in the present.
gesti gęstu gęsti gęsta gesau gesai geso to be stopping (intransitive) shining, burning, working (for light, fire; life; motor)
težti tęžtu tęžti tęžta težau težai težo to become squidgy; wimp out
For a few stems that have a pre-desinential syllable ending in ž or š and with a short i or u in it, the vowels lengthen in the present. For tikšti the forms tykšta and tyška are used in the present tense.
dùžti dū̃žta dùžo to smash, chip
gižti gyžta gižo to sour, become turned (figur. as well)
tikšti tykšta tiško to splash on smth., smb.
tižti tyžta tižo to become squidgy; wimp out
ižti yžta ižo to crack (usual for ice)
nižti nyžta nižo to start itching, to itch
Vocalic stems. The consonant n (or j in dialects) is inserted before desinences after a pre-desinential au. The diphthong becomes ov in the past, when start-firm accented. Consonant v is palatalized.
eĩti einù eini eĩna ėjaũ ėjai ė̃jo to go
aũti aunù auni aũna aviaũ avei ãvė to boot, shoe
máuti máunu máuni máuna móviau movei movė to put on, glove, shoe
rauti raunu rauni rauna roviau rovei rovė to tear up
šauti šaunu šauni šauna šoviau šovei šovė to shoot
brautis braunuosi brauniesi braunasi broviausi broveisi brovėsi to intrude; thrust one's way; be breaking in
liautis liaujuosi liaujiesi liaujasi lioviausi lioveisi liovėsi to cease, desist
griauti griaunu griauni griauna grioviau griovei griovė to ruin, demolish; unsettle
Consonant v / n is inserted after ū.
griū̃ti griūvù /-nù griūni griū̃va griuvaũ griuvai griùvo to tumble down, fall down; collapse
žūti žūnu /-vu žūni žūva žuvau žuvai žuvo to perish
pūti pūvu /-nu pūni pūva puvau puvai puvo to rot
siūti siuvu /siūnu siuvi siuva siuvau siuvai siuvo to sew, stitch
gáuti gáunu gauni gauna gavaũ gavai gãvo to get
The consonant j is inserted before desinences after other pre-desinential vowels or diphthong 'ie'
móti móju moji moja mójau mojai mojo to motion, wave, sweep
ploti ploju ploji ploja plojau plojai plojo to clap, applaud; flatten; swat
joti joju joji joja jojau jojai jojo to ride on horse
goti goju goji goja gojau gojai gojo (dial.) to go in a hurry
kloti kloju kloji kloja klojau klojai klojo to lay, pave; to tell, report, retail; to make a bed (lovą);
groti groju groji groja grojau grojai grojo to play (musical instrument)
sėti sėju sėji sėja sėjau sėjai sėjo to sow, seed; disseminate
sieti sieju sieji sieja siejau siejai siejo to tie, associate, bond
lieti lieju lieji lieja liejau liejai liejo to pour (liquid); water (plants)
lýti lỹja lijo to rain
gýti gyjù gyji gỹja gijaũ gijai gijo to heal, recover
rýti ryjù ryji ryja rijau rijai rijo to swallow; guttle
výti vejù veji veja vijau vijai vijo to strand, twist; chase
Two verbs have d insterted before the desinences in the present forms.
dúoti dúodu duodi dúoda daviaũ davei davė to give
dė́ti dedù dedi dẽda dėjau dė́jai dėjo to put, lay, set; place
Palatalized consonantal stems. Maybe the most numerous group of non-suffixed verbs.
siẽkti siekiù sieki siẽkia siekiaũ siekei siekė to seek, aim (at, for)
griebti griebiu griebi griebia griebiau griebei griebė to grab; snatch
braukti braukiu brauki braukia braukiau braukei braukė to wipe, sweep across; line through
lenkti lenkiu lenki lenkia lenkiau lenkei lenkė to (make it) bend
rausti rausiu rausi rausia rausiau rausei rausė to trench, burrow
kaupti kaupiu kaupi kaupia kaupiau kaupei kaupė to save up, gather, amass
mer̃kti merkiù merkì mer̃kia merkiaũ merkeĩ mer̃kė to soak, dip
dengti dengiu dengi dengia dengiau dengei dengė to cover
tęsti tęsiu tęsi tęsia tęsiau tęsei tęsė to continue, proceed; drag, carry
čiulpti čiulpiu čiulpi čiulpia čiulpiau čiulpei čiulpė to suck
láužti láužiu lauži laužia láužiau laužei laužė to break (transitive)
grėbti grėbiu grėbi grėbia grėbiau grėbei grėbė to rake
grobti grobiu grobi grobia grobiau grobei grobė to plunder; kidnap; usurp, hog
mérkti mérkiu mérki mérkia mérkiau mérkei mérkė to give a wink; to close eyes
melžti melžiu melži melžia melžiau melžei melžė to milk
jùngti jùngiu jungi jungia jungiau jungei jungė to connect, join
keisti keičiu keiti keičia keičiau keitei keitė to change
švęsti švenčiu šventi švenčia švenčiau šventei šventė to celebrate
siųsti siunčiu siunti siunčia siunčiau siuntei siuntė to send
skleisti skleidžiu skleidi skleidžia skleidžiau skleidei skleidė to spread
skų́sti skùndžiu skundi skundžia skundžiau skundei skundė to tell on; tattle; appeal (against)
When a pre-desinential syllable having mixed diphthong becomes open in the past, its vowel receives a start-firm accent and lengthens (for a, e, besides lengthening, those vowels are of different quality, o, ė) if stressed.
gérti geriu geri geria gė́riau gėrei gėrė to drink
bérti beriu beri beria bė́riau bėrei bėrė to (make it) pour (solid, no liquid matter), (make it) fall apart
pér̃ti periu peri peria pė́riaũ pėrei pėrė to beat with a leafy, wet birch bunch (in sauna)
kélti keliu keli kelia kėliau kėlei kėlė to raise
rem̃ti remiu remi remia rėmiau rėmei rėmė to prop, bear up; support
kùlti kuliu kuli kulia kū́liau kūlei kūlė to flail
dùrti duriu duri duria dūriau dūrei dūrė to prick, stick
stùmti stumiu stumi stumia stūmiau stūmei stūmė to push, move; thrust, shove; (coll.) grudge
ìrti iriu iri iria ýriau yrei yrė to row, oar
spìrti spiriu spiri spiria spyriau spyrei spyrė to kick; spring back; press (for), push
kárti kariù kari kãria kóriau korei korė to hang over; execute
árti ariù ari ãria ariaũ areĩ ãrė to plough
tar̃ti tariù tari tãria tariaũ tarei tarė to pronounce; assume
Alternation between u, e, a in the present and respectively ū, ė, o (long vowels, historically: ū, ē, ā) in the past. A vowel u is short both in stressed and unstressed position, e, a lengthen and are end-firm accented in stressed position in stem (not in desinence).
pū̃sti pučiù puti pùčia pūčiau pūtei pū̃tė to blow; toot
tū̃pti tupiu tupi tupia tūpiau tūpei tūpė to squat; hunker
drė̃bti drebiu drebi drẽbia drėbiau drėbei drė̃bė to make fall on (for viscous, thick material); sleet; plonk
krė̃sti krečiu kreti krečia krėčiau krėtei krėtė to shake down
plė̃sti plečiu pleti plečia plėčiau plėtei plėtė to expand, widen, amplify
lė̃kti lekiu leki lekia lėkiau lėkei lėkė to scurry, rip along, fly; fly; fall out, fly away
skė̃sti skečiu sketi skečia skėčiau skėtei skėtė to spread, open out (e.g. arms, legs, umbrella)
tė̃kšti teškiu teški teškia tėškiau tėškei tėškė to splash onto; slap; slam
võgti vagiu vagi vãgia vogiau vogei vogė to steal

Suffixed[edit]

-o- suffixed stems. Shorter present tense. The consonant j is inserted between the vocalic stem and the desinence to make pronunciation easier. Historically it is most probably the same type as the full one, there are verbs that are conjugated in both types, for example, saugoti, saugau / saugoju (< saugā(j)u). The a-verb pažinoti – to know (a person), has the same to pažinti – to know, become familiar, -st- suffixed present forms.
žinóti žinaũ žinai žino žinójau žinojai žinojo to know, be aware (of; that)
šypsótis šỹpsaũsi šypsaisi šỹpsosi šypsójausi šypsojaisi šypsojosi to smile
sáugoti sáugau saugai saugo sáugojau saugojai saugojo to protect; keep, save
Full type of -o- suffixed stems (the suffix is kept the same in conjugation)
naudóti naudóju naudoji naudoja naudójau naudojai naudojo to use
putóti putoju putoji putoja putojau putojai putojo to foam
býlóti byloju byloji byloja bylojau bylojai byloja to speak, purport
sáugoti sáugoju saugoji saugoja saugojau saugojai saugojo to protect; keep, save
šakótis šakojuosi šakojiesi šakojasi šakojausi šakojaisi šakojosi to spread boughs: ramify; (coll.) conflict, put one's own condition over smb.; fork, divaricate
vilióti vilioju vilioji vilioja viliojau viliojai viliojo to attract, seduce, bait
galióti galioja galiojo to stand, hold good, be valid
Stems that do not have -o- suffix in the present tense.
miegóti miegù miegi miẽga miegójau miegojai miegojo to sleep
raudóti ráudu raudi ráuda raudójau raudojai raudojo to weep, mourn
giedóti gíedu giedi gieda giedójau giedojai giedojo to chant (religious); warble, crow
-y- suffixed stems. The present is of the -o- suffixed type. The past forms are historically possibly the same to the full -y- suffixed type, there are verbs that are conjugated in both types, for example, pelnyti, (past) pelniau / pelnijau, pelnė (< pelnē < (possibly) pelni(j)ā) / pelnijo (< pelnijā) (an after a soft consonant is e).
sakýti sakaũ sakai sãko sakiaũ sakei sãkė to say
klausýti klausau klausai klauso klausiau klausė klausei to listen
darýti darau darai daro dariau darei darė to do
matýti matau matai mato mačiau matei matė to see
mė́tyti mė́tau mėtai mė́to mė́čiau mėtei mė́tė to throw (one-time: mesti, metu, mečiau)
ródyti rodau rodai rodo rodžiau rodei rodė to show
pelnýti pelnaũ pelnai pel̃no pelniau pelnei pelnė to earn
gáudyti gaudau gaudai gaudo gaudžiau gaudei gaudė to catch (one-time: su/pagauti, -gaunu, -gavau)
barstýti barstau barstai barsto barsčiau barstei barstė to pour (multiple times) (iterative)
lankstýti lankstau lankstai lanksto lanksčiau lankstei lankstė to bend (multiple times) (iterative)
Full type of -y- suffixed stems. The suffix is shortened in conjugation if not stressed and is long or short (both variants are used) in the present if stressed.
pel̃nyti pel̃niju pelniji pelnija pelnijau pelnijai pelnijo (obsolete) to earn
mū́ryti mū́riju mūriji mūrija mūrijau mūrijai mūrijo to lay bricks, set
nuõdyti nuõdiju nuodiji nuodija nuodijau nuodijai nuodijo to poison
trūnýti trūnỹja trūnijo to rot, putrefy
-ė- suffixed stems. Shorter present tense, palatalized ending consonant of a stem. It is possible that historically it would be the same type as the full one, there are words that are conjugated in both types, for example, ryšė́ti – to wear something tied on oneself (rišti – to tie), ryšiù / ryšė́ju. For the a-verb vertėti the mainly used form is subjunctive, 3p. (present) vertė́tų – it would be worth, for the present tense it is mostly said in a neuter adjective: ver̃ta – it is worth (doing), for the past tense it is said either buvo verta or vertėjo – it was worth (doing).
mylė́ti mýliu mýli mýli mylė́jau mylė́jai mylė́jo to love
norė́ti nóriu nori nori norėjau norėjai norėjo to want
blyksė́ti blýksiu blyksi blyksi blyksėjau blyksėjai blyksėjo to twinkle, blink
švytė́ti švyčiù švyti švyti švytė́jau švytėjai švytėjo to light brightly
galė́ti galiù galì gãli galė́jau galėjai galėjo to be able
girdė́ti girdžiù girdi girdi girdėjau girdėjai girdėjo to hear
rūpė́ti rūpiù rūpi rūpi rūpėjau rūpėjai rūpėjo to concern, be interesting to smb.
nyrė́ti nyriù nyri nyri nyrėjau nyrėjai nyrėjo to be submerged and still
tikė́ti tikiù tiki tiki tikėjau tikėjai tikėjo to believe
vertė́ti (verti) vertėjo to be worth for being done / to be done
Full type of -ė- suffixed stems (the suffix is kept the same in conjugation)
ryškė́ti ryškė́ju ryškėji ryškėja ryškė́jau ryškėjai ryškėjo to grow clear, bold, bright, glowing
šviesė́ti šviesė́ju šviesėji šviesėja šviesė́jau šviesėjai šviesėjo to grow light
tvirtė́ti tvirtėju tvirtėji tvirtėji tvirtėjau tvirtėjai tvirtėjo to stiffen, strengthen, firm up
raudonė́ti raudonėju raudonėji raudonėja raudonėjau raudonėjai raudonėjo to grow red, to redden
púoselėti púoselėju puoselėji puoselėja púoselėjau puoselėjai puoselėjo to foster; cherish
The stems having the suffix -in-ė-, which is used to make iterative or progressive meaning, are of this type. Varaũ į darbą – I am driving / going to work (or "I am going to drive / go to work", if said before the action happens). Varinėju po miestą – I am driving / going in the town / city here and there. Varau per miestą – I am driving / going through a town / city. Atidarinėju tą dėžutę – I am opening / I am trying to open that can (at the moment) ("atidarau" is also possible as "I am opening"). Lengvai atidarau – I open it easily.
varinė́ti varinė́ju varinėji varinėja varinė́jau varinėjai varinėjo to drive, direct; drive, go (on foot, by train, etc.); propel, power (not repeated: varyti, varau, variau)
pardavinėti pardavinėju pardavinėji pardavinėja pardavinėjau pardavinėjai pardavinėjo to sell, market (one-time: parduoti, -duodu, -daviau)
klausinėti klausinėju klausinėji klausinėja klausinėjau klausinėji klausinėjo to ask (not repeated: klausti, klausiu, klausiau)
Stems that have neither -ė- suffix nor palatalization in the present tense.
kalbė́ti kalbù kalbi kal̃ba kalbė́jau kalbėjai kalbėjo to speak; talk
judė́ti judu judi juda judėjau judėjai judėjo to move, be in motion
žibė́ti žibu žibi žiba žibėjau žibėjai žibėjo to glitter, glint, star
bambė́ti bámbì bám̃ba bambėjai bambėjo to grouse, be on smb's case
skambė́ti skamba skambėjo to tune; sound
skaudė́ti skauda skaudėjo to hurt, ache
byrė́ti byra byrėjo to crumble; fall (small particles, petals)
-au-, -uo- suffixed stems, the suffix is -av- in the past. Verbs of this group are made from nouns, adjectives, etc. Verbs made from borrowings from other languages receive the suffix -uo-, for example, sportuoti – to go in for sports.
bendráuti bendráuju bendrauji bendrauja bendravaũ bendravai bendravo to associate (with), communicate (with)
kariáuti kariauju kariauji kariauja kariavau kariavai kariavo to be at war, wage war
matúoti matúoju matuoji matuoja matavaũ matavai matavo to measure
dainúoti dainuoju dainuoji dainuoja dainavau dainavai dainavo to sing
sapnúoti sapnuoju sapnuoji sapnuoja sapnavau sapnavai sapnavo to dream (sleeping); (coll.) to speak about smth. lacking orientation in it
vėlúoti vėluoju vėluoji vėluoja vėlavau vėlavai vėlavo to be late, to fall behind schedule
raudonúoti raudonuoju raudonuoji raudonuoja raudonavau raudonavai raudonavo to blush; to attract attention by being red
sūpúoti sūpuoju sūpuoji sūpuoja sūpavau sūpavai sūpavo to swing, sway, rock
kopijúoti kopijuoju kopijuoji kopijuoja kopijavau kopijavai kopijavo to copy
Some other suffixes, for example, transitivity-forming suffix -in-. The suffix -en- can have a meaning of moderate intensity of action. The suffix -in- is usual for making verbs from foreign words, e.g., (coll.) kòpinti – to copy, which is used besides longer standard kopijuoti.
rū́pintis rū́pinuosi rūpiniesi rūpinasi rū́pinausi rūpinasi rūpinosi to take care
grãžinti grãžinu gražini gražina grãžinau gražinai gražino to beautify
grąžìnti grąžinù grąžini grąžìna grąžinaũ gražinai grąžino to give back, return
jùdinti jùdinu judini judina jùdinau judinai judino to move, make smth. move
lýginti lýginu lygini lygina lýginau lyginai lygino to compare; to level, make level; make smooth; to iron (clothes); to equate
srovénti srovẽna srovẽno to stream tranquilly, in small ripples
kuténti kutenù kuteni kutẽna kutenaũ kutenai kutẽno to tickle, titillate
gabenti gabenu gabeni gabena gabenau gabenai gabeno to convey, carry
kūrenti kūrenu kūreni kūrena kūrenau kūrenai kūreno to fire a furnace, heater
ridenti ridenu rideni ridena ridenau ridenai rideno to trundle, wheel, roll, make roll; bowl

Syntax[edit]

Word order[edit]

Lithuanian has an SVO (subject–verb–object) as the main word order:

Adjunct(s)(temporal, locative, causal) + Subject + Adjunct(s)(other) + Verb + Object(s) + Infinitive + other parts.

At the same time Lithuanian as a highly declined language is often considered to have the free word order. This idea is partially true, and a sentence such as "Today I saw a beautiful girl at the movies" could be said or written in many ways:

Šiandien

Today

kine

at the movies

aš

I

mačiau

saw

gražią

beautiful

mergaitę.

girl

(the main order)

 

Šiandien kine aš mačiau gražią mergaitę.

Today {at the movies} I saw beautiful girl

Aš mačiau gražią mergaitę kine šiandien.
Šiandien aš mačiau gražią mergaitę kine.
Gražią mergaitę mačiau aš kine šiandien.
Gražią mergaitę aš šiandien mačiau kine.
Kine šiandien aš mačiau gražią mergaitę.
Kine gražią mergaitę aš mačiau šiandien.

However, word order isn't a subject of intonation only. Different word orders often have different meanings in Lithuanian. There are also some strict rules and some tendencies in using different word placing. For example, a word that provides new information (rheme, or comment) has a tendency to be postponed after other words, but not always to the end of the sentence. Adjectives precede nouns like they do in English, but order of adjectives in an adjective group is different from English. If the main word order is followed, a temporal, locative or causal adjunct is put at the beginning of the sentence, while adjuncts of other types go directly before the verb and its objects (see the SVO rule above).

The word order in Lithuanian can also be described using concepts of theme and rheme. Looking from this point of view, the structure of a sentence is following:

Initial complementary words or clauses + theme + middle words or clauses + rheme + final complementary words or clauses

The middle words or clauses are more significant words or word groups other than the theme or the rheme, but complementary words or clauses (both the initial and the final) are less significant or secondary. Local, causal or temporal adjuncts are typical parts of the initial complementary words group, while other complementary words are put in the final group. If an adjunct is more significant in a sentence, it should be put in the middle group or even used as theme or as rheme. The same is true considering any other part of sentence, but the Subject and the Verb aren't complementary words typically, and they often serve as the theme and as the rheme respectively. Note that a sentence can lack any part of the structure, except the rheme.

Prepositions[edit]

Prepositions tell us where an object is or what direction it is going. Some cases of nouns, such as the genitive, accusative and instrumental, take prepositions. Some cases never take prepositions (such as locative and nominative). Certain prepositions are used with certain cases. Below is a list of some common prepositions used in Lithuanian.

Used with genitive form of noun[edit]

  • iš – from, out of
  • ant – on
  • iki – until
  • po – after, past, succeeding
  • prie – near, at
  • už – behind

Used with instrumental form of noun[edit]

  • po – under
  • su – with
  • sulig – up to
  • ties – by, over

Used with accusative form of noun[edit]

  • į – in
  • pas – to, at
  • per – across, by, over, through, during, via
  • pro – through, past, by
  • apie – about

Conjunctions[edit]

Conjunctions are used to link together clauses in a sentence, for example "I thought it would be a nice day but it was raining." Some common conjunctions in Lithuanian are:

  • ir – and
  • bet – but
  • ar – used to start a question, but can also mean "or"
  • jei – if
  • kad – that (not the demonstrative pronoun)
  • kol – until/till
  • arba – or/but
  • nes – because
  • tačiau – however

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ In some languages like Icelandic neuter is used in such cases.
  2. ^ a b "Naujas požiūris į lietuvių kalbos linksniavimo tipus […]", Acta Linguistica Lithuanica (in Lithuanian): 3, 6–7, 10–16, 17–18, 16, 2004
  3. ^ "Lietuvių kalbos žinynas. 9.3 Veiksmažodžio formų sistema" (PDF). Retrieved 2023-10-13.
  4. ^ Vytautas Ambrazas. "Netiesioginė nuosaka". Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija. Retrieved 2023-10-13.
  5. ^ Dambriūnas, Leonardas, 1906–1976. (1999) [1966]. "2.3". Beginner's Lithuanian. Klimas, Antanas, 1924–, Schmalstieg, William R. New York, N.Y.: Hippocrene Books. p. 27. ISBN 0-7818-0678-X. OCLC 40553239.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ Dabartinės lietuvių kalbos gramatika. Vilnius, 1997, page 288–289

External links[edit]

Wikibooks has a book on the topic of: Lithuanian

Bibliography[edit]

  • Dambriūnas, Leonardas, 1906–1976. (1999) [1966]. "2.3". Beginner's Lithuanian. Klimas, Antanas, 1924–, Schmalstieg, William R. New York, N.Y.: Hippocrene Books. p. 27. ISBN 0-7818-0678-X. OCLC 40553239.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  • Lithuanian Grammar, edited by Vytautas Ambrazas. Institute of the Lithuanian Language, 1997. [3]
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