сумаваць па + Locative
Missing Someone with Сумаваць Па
Сумаваць па + locative means to miss: Я сумую па табе. (I miss you.)
How It Works
English miss takes a direct object, but Belarusian says who or what you miss with па and the locative, the same case that па takes for places (па вуліцы).
With pronouns (pronoun case forms): па мне, па табе, па ім, па ёй, па нас, па вас, па іх.
With nouns the usual locative endings apply (locative endings): мама → па маме, дом → па доме, мора → па моры, бабуля → па бабулі. The к of вёска changes to ц: па вёсцы. In the plural the ending is -ах or -ях (plural locative): па сябрах, па бацьках.
Forms. Сумаваць swaps -ава- for -у- in the present, like other -аваць verbs: сумую, сумуеш, сумуе, сумуем, сумуеце, сумуюць. Past: сумаваў, сумавала, сумавалі. Imperative: сумуй, сумуйце.
Without па, сумаваць means to be sad, gloomy or bored: Не сумуй! (Cheer up! Don't be sad!) The related word сумна works like холадна: Мне сумна (I feel sad), see dative of state.
Сумаваць never takes a direct object, so сумую цябе is a mistake. You may also hear сумую за табой, which matches Ukrainian and Polish usage. Dictionaries of standard Belarusian give only па with the locative, so use па.
Examples (6)
- Я сумую па табе.
I miss you.
Word by Word: I miss along you.
- Яна сумуе па доме.
She misses home.
Word by Word: She misses along home.
- Мы вельмі сумавалі па моры.
We really missed the sea.
Word by Word: We very missed along sea.
- Дзеці сумуюць па бабулі.
The children miss their grandma.
Word by Word: Children miss along grandma.
Бабуля has a soft stem, so its locative ends in -і.
- Ён сумуе па сябрах.
He misses his friends.
Word by Word: He misses along friends.
The plural locative ends in -ах.
- Не сумуй, мы хутка вернемся!
Don't be sad, we will be back soon!
Word by Word: Not be-sad, we soon will-return!
Without па, сумаваць means to feel sad.
Common Mistakes
Using a direct object, as in English "I miss you".
Я сумую цябе.Я сумую па табе.Сумаваць never takes a direct object. The person you miss goes after па in the locative: па табе.
Putting a plural noun after па in the dative.
Ён сумуе па сябрам.Ён сумуе па сябрах.With сумаваць, the noun after па takes the locative, so plural nouns end in -ах or -ях.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Missing someone needs па + locative.