kā jau

As Expected: Kā Jau

Level 5

Kā jau tells the listener that what follows is no surprise: it was already said, it is usual, or it fits the person. Kā jau teicu, es rīt strādāju. (As I already said, I am working tomorrow.)

How It Works

1. Something already said. With a speech verb, kā jau reminds the listener of an earlier statement:

  • Kā jau teicu, es rīt strādāju. (As I already said, I am working tomorrow.)
  • Kā jau minēts iepriekš, projekts beigsies maijā. (As mentioned above, the project will end in May.) This form is common in written reports.

2. Something usual. With a time, a place or parasti, it means that this is what normally happens:

  • Kā jau rudenī, visu nedēļu lija. (As is usual in autumn, it rained all week.)
  • Kā jau parasti, viņš nokavēja. (As usual, he was late.)

3. Behaving as expected. With a noun, it says that someone acts the way a person of that kind should. The noun takes the same case as the word it describes, usually the nominative subject:

  • Kā jau īsts ārsts, viņš vispirms pajautāja par simptomiem. (Like a true doctor, he first asked about the symptoms.)

When a verb in the phrase needs a different case, the noun follows that verb: kā jau skolotājam pienākas (as befits a teacher) uses the dative because pienākties takes a dative.

4. Word order and commas. Kā comes first and jau follows it. A pronoun may stand between them: Kā es jau teicu is also correct. The phrase is separated by commas, and when it stands in the middle of a sentence it needs a comma on both sides: Laiks, kā jau jūlijā, bija karsts.

Related: on its own, jau means already (see jau and vēl). The reassuring gan jau (it will be fine) is a different phrase; see gan jau.

Examples (6)

  1. Kā jau teicu, es rīt strādāju.

    As I already said, I am working tomorrow.

    Word by Word: As already I-said, I tomorrow work.

  2. Kā jau rudenī, visu nedēļu lija.

    As is usual in autumn, it rained all week.

    Word by Word: As already in-autumn, all week it-rained.

  3. Kā jau parasti, viņš nokavēja.

    As usual, he was late.

    Word by Word: As already usually, he was-late.

  4. Kā jau īsts ārsts, viņš vispirms pajautāja par simptomiem.

    Like a true doctor, he first asked about the symptoms.

    Word by Word: As already true doctor, he first asked about symptoms.

    Īsts ārsts is nominative because it describes the subject viņš.

  5. Kā jau minēts iepriekš, projekts beigsies maijā.

    As mentioned above, the project will end in May.

    Word by Word: As already mentioned before, project will-end in-May.

    A common formula in written reports.

  6. Laiks, kā jau jūlijā, bija karsts.

    The weather, as is usual in July, was hot.

    Word by Word: Weather, as already in-July, was hot.

    In the middle of a sentence, the phrase has a comma on each side.

Common Mistakes

  • Putting jau before kā.

    Jau kā teicu, es rīt strādāju.
    Kā jau teicu, es rīt strādāju.

    The fixed order is kā first, then jau. A pronoun can come between them (Kā es jau teicu), but jau cannot start the phrase.

  • Putting the noun in the wrong case.

    Kā jau īstam ārstam, viņš vispirms pajautāja par simptomiem.
    Kā jau īsts ārsts, viņš vispirms pajautāja par simptomiem.

    The noun after kā jau matches the word it describes. Here it describes the subject viņš, so it is nominative. The dative is right only when a verb in the phrase needs it, as in kā jau skolotājam pienākas.

  • Leaving out the comma.

    Kā jau teicu es rīt strādāju.
    Kā jau teicu, es rīt strādāju.

    Kā jau teicu is a separate part of the sentence, so a comma divides it from the main statement.

How It Connects

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kā jauLevel 5As Expected: Kā Jau

Learn This First

Kā jau means as expected.

Words in This Pattern

kā