Adjectives in Every Case

Level 2

An adjective copies its noun's case as well as its gender and number: labam draugam (to a good friend), lielā pilsētā (in a big city), no mazas pilsētas (from a small town).

How It Works

1. Singular. Masculine and feminine side by side:

  • nominative: liels galds / liela māja
  • genitive: liela galda / lielas mājas
  • dative: lielam galdam / lielai mājai
  • accusative: lielu galdu / lielu māju
  • instrumental: ar lielu galdu / ar lielu māju
  • locative: lielā galdā / lielā mājā

2. Plural.

  • nominative: lieli galdi / lielas mājas
  • genitive: lielu galdu / lielu māju
  • dative: lieliem galdiem / lielām mājām
  • accusative: lielus galdus / lielas mājas
  • instrumental: ar lieliem galdiem / ar lielām mājām
  • locative: lielos galdos / lielās mājās

3. The noun's declension does not matter. Only the gender does. The nouns below end differently, but the adjectives do not: labam draugam, labam brālim (masculine); labai mātei, ar labu sirdi (feminine). Ūdens is masculine, so it is aukstā ūdenī (in cold water). See dative endings and genitive singular endings.

4. Watch the locative. Lielā pilsētā (in a big city) has the same adjective form as lielā pilsēta (the big city), which uses the definite ending. The noun's ending tells you which one it is. The definite adjective has its own case forms: see definite adjectives in every case.

5. After prepositions. The adjective takes the same case as its noun: no mazas pilsētas (genitive), ar jaunu draugu (see ar), uz lielu veikalu (accusative). A plural takes the dative, as in plural nouns after prepositions: ar jauniem draugiem.

Examples (6)

  1. Es uzdāvināju grāmatu labam draugam.

    I gave a book to a good friend.

    Dative masculine: labam draugam.

  2. Viņa dzīvo lielā pilsētā.

    She lives in a big city.

    Locative feminine: lielā pilsētā.

  3. Vakar es runāju ar jaunu kolēģi.

    Yesterday I talked with a new colleague.

    After ar, a singular adjective and noun take the same form as the accusative: jauns kolēģis → jaunu kolēģi.

  4. Viņš ir no mazas pilsētas.

    He is from a small town.

    Genitive feminine after no: mazas pilsētas.

  5. Man nav jauna telefona.

    I don't have a new phone.

    After nav, the thing you lack takes the genitive: jauna telefona.

  6. Bērni peldas aukstā ūdenī.

    The children are swimming in cold water.

    Ūdens is masculine, so the adjective is aukstā.

Common Mistakes

  • Leaving the adjective and noun in the nominative after a preposition.

    Es runāju ar jauns kolēģis.
    Es runāju ar jaunu kolēģi.

    Both words change after ar: jauns kolēģis → ar jaunu kolēģi.

  • Giving the adjective a masculine ending with a feminine noun.

    Es zvanu labam draudzenei.
    Es zvanu labai draudzenei.

    Draudzene is feminine, so the dative adjective ends in -ai: labai draudzenei.

  • Forgetting the locative ending on the adjective.

    Viņa dzīvo liela pilsētā.
    Viņa dzīvo lielā pilsētā.

    In the locative, both words need the ending -ā: lielā pilsētā.

How It Connects

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Adjectives in Every CaseLevel 2

Learn This First

Adjectives agree with the noun in case, gender and number, while keeping their own adjective endings.

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Patterns that build on this one.