par + Accusative (About)

About and for: Par

Level 2

Use par with the accusative for what you talk or think about and for what you give thanks or pay for: Paldies par dāvanu! (Thank you for the present!)

How It Works

1. About: the topic. After verbs of speaking, thinking and knowing, par names the topic:

  • runāt par filmu (to talk about a film)
  • domāt par tevi (to think about you)
  • stāstīt par ceļojumu (to tell about a trip)
  • Par ko jūs runājat? (What are you talking about?)

2. For: thanks and payment.

  • Paldies par palīdzību! (Thank you for the help!) (see Paldies)
  • maksāt par biļeti (to pay for a ticket)
  • Es nopirku grāmatu par desmit eiro. (I bought the book for ten euros.)

3. Plural: the dative. Like almost every preposition, par takes the dative with a plural noun (see plural nouns after prepositions): runāt par bērniem (to talk about the children), maksāt par biļetēm (to pay for the tickets). Plural pronouns do the same: par mums (about us).

4. Other jobs of par. The same word also names a role or a result, as in strādāt par skolotāju (to work as a teacher, see par for a role), and it can mean than in a comparison, as in lielāka par Jelgavu (bigger than Jelgava, see nekā and par). Before an adjective or adverb it means too: par vēlu (too late), par dārgu (too expensive), much like pārāk.

Tip: ask par ko? (about what? for what?) to find the noun that needs the accusative.

Examples (6)

  1. Par ko jūs runājat?

    What are you talking about?

    Ko is the accusative of kas, so par ko means about what.

  2. Es bieži domāju par tevi.

    I often think about you.

    A pronoun after par takes its object form: tevi.

  3. Paldies par dāvanu!

    Thank you for the present!

    Dāvana → par dāvanu, the accusative singular.

  4. Viņa man stāstīja par savu ceļojumu.

    She told me about her trip.

    Ceļojums → par ceļojumu, and savu takes the accusative too.

  5. Cik jūs samaksājāt par biļetēm?

    How much did you pay for the tickets?

    Biļetes is plural, so par takes the dative plural biļetēm.

  6. Es nopirku šo grāmatu par desmit eiro.

    I bought this book for ten euros.

    Par gives the price. Desmit and eiro never change their form.

Common Mistakes

  • Translating about with apmēram.

    Mēs runājām apmēram filmu.
    Mēs runājām par filmu.

    Apmēram means about only in the sense of approximately: apmēram desmit (about ten). For a topic, use par.

  • Using the accusative plural after par.

    Mēs runājām par bērnus.
    Mēs runājām par bērniem.

    With a plural noun, par takes the dative: bērni → par bērniem.

  • Using the genitive after par.

    Paldies par palīdzības!
    Paldies par palīdzību!

    Par takes the accusative, not the genitive: palīdzība → palīdzību.

How It Connects

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par + Accusative (About)Level 2About and for: Par

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Par takes the accusative in the singular.

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