Neuter Past Tense -ла/-ло

Neuter Past Tense -ла and -ло

Level 2Sounds Like prošly čas níâkaga rodu -la/-lo

Было (it was) but сонца свяціла (the sun was shining): the neuter past is -ло under stress and -ла without it.

How It Works

When you need it. Use the neuter past with:

  • neuter nouns: акно, сонца, мора, дзіця (see neuter nouns)
  • the pronoun яно and the words усё (everything), гэта (this) and што (what)
  • indeclinable nouns such as радыё and кафэ (see indeclinable nouns)
  • sentences with no subject: Было холадна (It was cold).

Stress decides the spelling. In Belarusian, the letter о is written only in a stressed syllable. An unstressed о is pronounced and written а. This is akanye. So the neuter ending depends on where the stress falls:

  • stressed: было́, пайшло́, прыйшло́, магло́, расло́
  • unstressed: свяці́ла, працава́ла, зда́рылася, пла́кала

A dictionary shows the stress of each form. See word stress.

Same spelling as the feminine. When the ending is unstressed, the neuter and feminine forms look the same: Сонца свяціла (neuter) and Лямпа свяціла (feminine). The subject tells you which one it is. Russian writes о here (солнце светило), but Belarusian does not.

Examples (6)

  1. Сонца свяціла ўвесь дзень.

    The sun was shining all day.

    Word by Word: Sun shone whole day.

    The ending is unstressed, so it is written -ла.

  2. Гэта было даўно.

    That was a long time ago.

    Word by Word: This was long-ago.

    The ending of было is stressed, so it is written -ло.

  3. Усё пайшло добра.

    Everything went well.

    Word by Word: Everything went well.

  4. Што здарылася?

    What happened?

    Word by Word: What happened?

  5. Радыё працавала ўсю ноч.

    The radio was on all night.

    Word by Word: Radio worked whole night.

    Радыё is a neuter indeclinable noun, and the ending is unstressed.

  6. Было вельмі холадна.

    It was very cold.

    Word by Word: Was very cold.

    A sentence with no subject uses the neuter form.

Common Mistakes

  • Writing -ло when the ending is unstressed.

    Сонца свяціло.
    Сонца свяціла.

    The stress in свяціла falls on і, so the ending is unstressed and written -ла.

  • Writing -ла when the ending is stressed.

    Усё пайшла добра.
    Усё пайшло добра.

    Усё is neuter, and the stress falls on the ending, so it is written -ло.

How It Connects

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Neuter Past Tense -ла/-лоLevel 2Neuter Past Tense -ла and -ло

Learn This First

The neuter past needs the other endings and akanye.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.