Lithuanian Grammar

The Lithuanian grammar is the study of the Lithuanian Langue. Lithuanian grammar is old and extremely complex; the words can take many forms corresponding to subtle differences in use.

The Lithuanian contains following words of natural grammatical:

Name ( Daiktavardis )
Adjectival ( Būdvardis )
Verb ( Veiksmažodis )
Number ( Skaitvardis )
Pronoun ( Įvardis )
Adverb ( Prieveiksmis )
Particle ( Dalelytė )
Preposition ( Prielinksnis )
Conjunction ( Jungtukas )
Interjection ( Jaustukas )
Onomatopoeia ( Ištiktukas )

Name ( Daiktavardis )

Lithuanian grammar distinguishes Proper name ( tikrinis daiktavardis ) and common noun ( bendrinis daiktavardis ). The proper names start systematically with a capital letter. Certain names, such as for example the sun and the moon, can be clean and common.

The Lithuanian uses the kinds masculine and female. In a general way to personal the male names end in - S and words female by - (I) or has - ė . As for French, there does not exist rule making it possible to determine the kind of a name. For example, upė ( river ) is female but upelis ( brook ). The neutral kind does not exist, but there exist some words identically being able to apply to the two kinds. The majority of these words are used to describe people with a negative connotation and finish by - has, for example vėpla - denied , elgeta - tramp , naktibalda - night bird .

Number

The majority of the names have a singular and a plural. The Lithuanian has also the type of number duel but its use tends to disappear. Certain words have only one singular (for example pienas - milk , auksas - gold , seized up - influenza , laimė - chance ), of other that a plural (for example lubos - ceiling , miltai - flour , kelnės - pants ). Essentially these words indicate abstract concepts; for example the chance or the love (meilė) and not of the tangible objects such as for example table (stalas). They can name a matter or a disease. However in certain cases as in poetry, it is possible to use the plural form for singular names.

Modification of the names by the numeral adjective

In Lithuanian, unlike the Romance and Germanic languages, the form of a name associated with a Numeral adjective depends on the last figure of the number.

Variation (linksniavimas)

The names have five variations which are defined by the inflection in the singular of the Nominatif and of the Génitif.

Some names of foreign origin, such as for example taksi (taxi) and tabu (taboo), are not declined. The Locatif has four forms:

Inessif the regular form most current
Illatif for example, dvaran , dvaruosna , miškuosna ; little used
Allatif used only in some expressions idiomatic velniop , šuniop , gallop , vakarop
Adessif for example, dvariep , dvaruosemp , namiep ; history or used in the dialects Lithuanian; missing of the standard Lithuanian

Cases used in the variations

Instead of naming the name of the case in Lithuanian one often refers to the interrogative pronoun characterizing it.

Nominatif ( vardininkas ) answers interrogative the kas ( that , quoi')

used only in its original function (grammatical subject or Actant)

Genitive ( kilmininkas ), used also like Ablative. Answers interrogative the KB ( of which , of what )

expresses the possession: brolio kambarys (the room of the brother); the owner declined with the genitive is placed before had.

used with a negative verbal form: aš nemėgstu sporto (I do not like the sport)

used for a part or a referent which cannot be counted (bread, water, milk, snow…): Šaldytuve will yra pieno (There is milk with the refrigerator)

used for a noncountable quantity after adverb like much , a little …: Aš turiu daug vandens (I have much water).

expresses the goal: Jis iše.jo vandens (It left for (to bring back) water)

Datif ( naudininkas ) answers interrogative the kam ( with which , with quoi')

expresses the direction: duoti draugui duonos (to give bread to a friend)
expresses time: išvažuoti menesiui (To leave for one month)
expresses the goal: produktai vakarienei (produced for the dinner)
Expresses the possession: Man will yra 35 metiai (I am 35 years old - has me it is 35 years)

Accusatif ( galininkas ) answers interrogative the ką ( which , quoi')

expresses time: vasarą (in summer), šią savaitę (this week)

case of the direct object: Aš mačiau Juozapą (I saw Joseph)

Instrumental ( įnagininkas ) answers interrogative the kuo ( with what , with which , comment')

Exprime the means by which is made the action: važiuoti autobusu (to go by the bus)
used with verbs of movements it expresses the followed way: eiti gatve (to go while following/by the street)
expresses time: dienos metu (in day)
expresses the cause: sirgti gripu (to be sick because of the influenza)

Locatif ( vietininkas ) answers interrogative the kur ( où')

used only in its original function (localization in space)

Vocatif ( šauksmininkas )

It does not answer interrogative and is only used to be addressed to somebody: Justai! Ateik čia! (Justas! Come here!)

First Variation

- ace, - is, - ys (male)

(NB: the termination - E for the singular vocative applies only to the common noun; the proper names take the termination - have . For example Jonas = Jean and Jonai! = Jean! )

Second Variation

- has, - ė, - Ti (female)

( suffered is one of the two only Lithuanian names finishing by - Ti ; the other being marti , which means " beautiful-fille")

Third Variation

- is (male & female)

(There are only very few differences between the female and male variations, only with the dative and the instrumental singular)

Fourth Variation

- custom, - ius (male)

Fifth Variation

- uo (male)

This variation contains two female names: sesuo (sister) and duktė (girl).

Adjectives

In Lithuanian, the adjectives have 2 numbers - singular and plural. With the difference in the names, they have 3 kinds. The adjective agrees in kind, number and case with the name which it qualifies.

Variations

The adjectives have three variations determined by their personal singular and plural.

Agreement of the adjectives

For example, the words gatvė (street) and kelias (road) qualified by tiesus (right):

Ties' i' gatv' ė vs. ties ios' gatv' ės' (singular vs. plural)
Ties' i' gatv' ė vs. ties us' kel' ias' (female vs. male)
Ties' i' gatv' ė vs. ties ią gatv ę (personal vs. accusative box)

The agreement does not apply for the neutral kind because there does not exist neutral name. These adjectives are used to describe a characteristic which is not connected to a thing or a concept. For example, rūsyje buvo vėsu (it was well in the cellar); gera' tave matyti (They is good to see you); jis matė šilta ir šalta (He saw cold and hot - he had tops and bottoms). Adjectives finishing with - is does not have a neutral kind. Most of the time the neutral adjectives are written like the female ones. However their pronunciation is different and they have neither kind nor number.

Comparative

The Lithuanian allows five degrees of comparison. The 3 principal ones are the same ones as in French. There is no irregularity and all the adjectives take the same suffixes.

Possessive adjective

To supplement.

final adjective

To supplement.

Pronoun

Personal pronoun

The personal Pronouns aš (I), you (you) jis (it) and ji (it) are declined in the following way:

Possessive pronoun

In Lithuanian the possessive pronouns are not declined and are used like possessive adjectives.

savo is a reflexive possessive pronoun. It always refers about the sentence. Thus, if the subject is aš (I) it results in my , my or my . If the subject is jis (it) he translate by its , its or its .

Reflexive pronoun

To supplement.

Conclusive pronoun

To supplement.

Relative pronoun

To supplement.

The Verb

All the Lithuanian verbs are divided into three Conjugaison S:

the first conjugation is most current and includes the verbs whose infinitive ends in - ATI , - oti , - auti , - uoti or a consonant followed of - Ti ( dirbti ). It contains also the greatest number of exceptions.

the second conjugation includes the verbs whose infinitive ends in - ėti . It does not contain practically any exception.

the second conjugation includes the verbs whose infinitive ends in - yti .

Present

The present is used to describe an action present or in progress.

p.ex. dirbu = “I work”, (you) nori = “You want”, skaitome = “We read”

Past

The past is used to describe a last or finished action. According to the context it is translated into French in the past made up, the preterit or the imperfect one.

p.ex. dirbau = “I worked/I worked”, norėjai = “I wanted/I wanted”, skaitėme = “We read - We read” (past tense)

Iterative past

This time describes an action repeated in the past. It corresponds to the " used to" English. The Lithuanian is the only Indo-European language to use this time. Its construction is simple:

To remove the termination of infinitive - Ti .
To add the suffix - dav- .
To add the termination of the first conjugation.

To be translated into French the context should be specified: p.ex. dirbdavau = “I worked (regularly/the every day…)”

NB: for the verbs of the second conjugation, the ė with infinitive becomes E .

Future

This time describes an action in the future. Its construction is simple:

To remove the termination of infinitive - Ti .
To add the suffix - S .
To add the termination.

p.ex. dirbsiu = “I will work”, norėsi = “I will want”, skaitysime = “we will read”

Prefixes of the verbs

The prefixes are added to the verb so as to create new verb having a close direction. The two verbs are regarded as different words. The majority of the prefixes have a restrictive direction which restricts the direction of the original verb to a direction, an amount or a limit in time. The prefix often gives a direction perfective (or accomplished) to the action described by the verb.

ap- around (direction, perfective)
api alternative of ap- in front of B gold p
At of, some share (direction, place, perfective)
ATI alternative of At before D gold T
į- in (direction, perfective), being capable of (imperfectif)
iš- out (direction, sometimes perfective)
naked distance (direction), since a starting point (action with direction, perfective)
Pa a little, slightly, some time (time or amount, imperfectif), until the end (for action single, cf known , time or amount, perfective), under (direction, perfective)
per- through (place, perfective), entirely (perfective)
pra- by (direction, perfective), beginning (time, perfective rare)
pri- high, towards (direction or place, perfective), towards the place (of the action) (place, perfective), much (amount, sometimes perfective)
known of everywhere (direction), together (place, perfective), until the end (time, perfective), ezntièrement (long or complex, perfective action)
už- behind (direction, perfective), in (For a limited time, cf į- ) (direction in time, perfective), suddenly, unexpected (time, perfective)
už- on, in-top (direction or place), entirely (short action, cf known , perfective)

and Be are also prefixes of verb but they create various forms for the verb rather than a new verb. does not create a negative form of the verb, but Be specifies that the action of the verb can be stopped. and Be can be used in front of all the prefixes. cannot also prefix Be creating thus the prefix nebe- . Be is generally used in the participles, the semi-participles or the under-participles (see low) to mark than the action the main thing in the sentence is not synchrohne with the action of the participle.
Except for nebe- it there never more than one prefix in a verb
the indicator of the reflexivity of a verb - if is placed between the prefix and the root; p. e.g.:

nešasi (to carry) - nusineša , atsineša laikytis - susilaikyti , pasilaikyti teirautis - pasiteirauti

the same rule applies for , Be , or nebe- :

nešasi - nesineša , nebesineša , nenusineša , neatsineša laikytis - nesilaikyti , also nesusilaikyti , nepasilaikyti teirautis - nesiteirauti , also nepasiteirauti

Forms of the Verb

Time

the present
the past
iterative past
the future

Grammatical mode

the code (with all times)
mode relative (with all times, not-conjugable)
the imperative (without reference to time)
the Optative (without reference to time, only with the 3rd person of the singular, considered also as the 3rd person of the requirement)
the Conditional (without reference to time)
the Optative II (Périphrasique, based on the conditional one - to define !)
negative mode
potential mode (used for dubious actions)
the " mode; Périphrasique intense" ( to define !)

The three modes without reference to time have perfect périphrasique in addition to their principal form and the grammatical aspect of perfection can be expressed.

Voice

the voice activates
the reflexive form
the passive voice

Combined verbal forms

the Present
the past
iterative past
the future
the requirement
optative (only with the 3rd person of the singular, also regarded as the 3rd person of the requirement)
the Conditional

Not-combined verbal forms

The not combined verbal forms are close to the other not-combined grammatical categories. For example the Participe S are close to the adjectives.

the Infinitive
the relative mode
the Gerund, is a male name built starting from any verb, without reference to time and only in the singular.
Participle S:

the participles of the Voix activates: there are some for each time (present, past, iterative past and future).
the participles of the Passive voice, there exists about it for three of times (present, past and future).

the under-participles are Adverbe S, which are not declined. there are some for each time of active voice.
the semi-takes part is an adverb, without reference to time. The semi-takes part is not declined.
the verbal accentuator ( to define !) is used to mark the intense character of an action.
the verbal interjection is formed starting from verbs of certain categories.

Syntax

Word order

The Lithuanian is a Langue SVO (Suject-Verb-Object). The words are followed in the order:

Subect + Verb + Object (direct or indirect) + Adverb + Infinitive + other parts.

However following the example Latin, the Lithuanian is a language or the variations are very important, which authorizes a great freedom on the word order. Thus the sentence “Today I saw a splendid girl with the cinema” can be written:

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

Periphrastic verbal constructions

To supplement.

Prepositions

The prepositions indicate to us where are or which direction follow things or people. The genitive, the accusative and the instrumental one are used with prepositions, the personal one and the locative never. Certain prepositions are used only with one grammatical case. For others (example Po ) the case varies according to the direction; Below one will find the list of the principal prepositions used in lituanien.

Prepositions followed by the genitive

ant - on
Be - without
dėl - concerning
iki - until
iš - of, since
nuo - since
Po - after
requests - close, with
už - behind

Prepositions followed of the instrumental one

Po - under
known - with
sulig - until
ties - in front of, above

Prepositions followed by the accusative

apie - in connection with
į - in
not - with, towards
not - with, towards
Po - after
prieš - in front of, against
už - behind

Conjunctions

ir - and
Study Bureau - but
rear - at the beginning of an interrogative sentence, but can also mean " ou"
jei - if
kad - that
kol - until
arba - ou/mais
born - because
tačiau - however

interrogative Tools

Total interrogation

Direct

Marked by the word rear : " Ar you esi prancūzas? " (" Are you French? ")

Indirect

Marked by the word jiegu : " Nežinau jiegu you esi prancūzas? " (" I do not know if you are French? ")

Partial interrogation

Interrogative adjective

Which How much (To be supplemented)

interrogative Pronoun

KB, kas…. (To be supplemented)

Interrogative adverb

(To be supplemented)

Internal bonds

External bonds

Single Somme Features off Lithuanian on Lituanus.org
Nap Unsolved Riddles off Lithuanian Linguistics on Lituanus.org
historical and comparative Presentation of Lithuanian grammar (in)

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