pēc + Genitive
After: Pēc
Pēc + genitive means after: pēc darba (after work), pēc skolas (after school). With a length of time it means in or later: pēc stundas (in an hour), pēc gada (a year later).
How It Works
After an event. pēc darba (after work), pēc skolas (after school), pēc koncerta (after the concert). Pēc tam means afterwards: Pēc tam mēs gājām mājās. (Afterwards we went home.)
After a stretch of time. With a time word, pēc counts forward:
- from now, like English in: Autobuss atiet pēc stundas. (The bus leaves in an hour.)
- in a story about the past, like English later: Pēc gada mēs atkal satikāmies. (A year later we met again.)
Forms. A singular noun is genitive: darbs → pēc darba, nedēļa → pēc nedēļas. A plural noun is dative. This matters with numbers and plural-only nouns: pēc divām stundām (in two hours), pēc desmit minūtēm (in ten minutes), pēc brokastīm (after breakfast).
Mirror image. Pirms looks back: pirms gada (a year ago), pēc gada (in a year, a year later).
Other uses. After a verb of motion, pēc means to fetch: iet pēc maizes (to go for bread); see pēc to fetch. Before a whole clause, use pēc tam, kad.
Examples (6)
- Pēc darba es eju uz veikalu.
After work I am going to the shop.
darbs → pēc darba: genitive singular.
- Autobuss atiet pēc stundas.
The bus leaves in an hour.
Counted from now, pēc stundas means in an hour.
- Pēc gada mēs atkal satikāmies.
A year later we met again.
In a story about the past, pēc gada means a year later.
- Pēc brokastīm mēs gājām uz jūru.
After breakfast we went to the sea.
Brokastis exists only in the plural, so it is dative after pēc.
- Pēc desmit minūtēm esmu mājās.
I will be home in ten minutes.
The present tense can describe the near future. Minūtēm is dative plural.
- Pēc skolas bērni spēlē futbolu.
After school the children play football.
skola → pēc skolas.
Common Mistakes
Using the accusative after pēc.
Pēc darbu es eju mājās.Pēc darba es eju mājās.Pēc takes the genitive in the singular: darbs → darba.
Leaving a plural time phrase in the nominative or accusative.
Vilciens atiet pēc divas stundas.Vilciens atiet pēc divām stundām.A plural noun after pēc is dative, and the number agrees with it: divām stundām.
Using the locative stundā for "in an hour".
Autobuss atiet stundā.Autobuss atiet pēc stundas.Stundā means within an hour or per hour, as in divas reizes stundā (twice an hour). For a time counted from now, use pēc.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Pēc takes the genitive in the singular and the dative in the plural.
Related Patterns
- pirms + GenitiveBefore and Ago: Pirms
Pirms is the mirror image of pēc: pirms gada is a year ago.
Level 2 - Plural Nouns After Prepositions
In the plural, pēc takes the dative: pēc brokastīm, pēc divām stundām.
Level 2 - pēc: Going to FetchGoing to Get Something: Pēc
After verbs of motion, pēc means going to get something.
Level 4 - pirms / pēc tam, kadBefore and After a Clause
Pēc tam, kad joins a whole clause about an earlier action.
Level 3 - How Long and How Often
Pēc stundas says when something happens, while divas stundas in the accusative says how long it lasts.
Level 2
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Words in This Pattern
Practice pēc + Genitive in Bubblegum
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