Basic Word Order
Start with the ordinary order: subject, verb, object, as in Anna lasa grāmatu (Anna is reading a book).
How It Works
The neutral order. Anna lasa grāmatu. (Anna is reading a book.) Es dzīvoju Rīgā. (I live in Riga.) Use this order when nothing needs special weight.
New information goes last. The end of the sentence carries the news (see putting new information last):
- Mans brālis dzīvo Rīgā. My brother lives in Riga. (It tells where he lives.)
- Rīgā dzīvo mans brālis. It is my brother who lives in Riga. (It tells who lives there.)
- Grāmatu lasa Anna. It is Anna who is reading the book.
Endings, not position, show the roles. Grāmatu lasa Anna still means that Anna reads the book, because grāmatu has the object ending. So always use the right ending. When two nouns happen to have the same form, as some plurals do, listeners take the first one as the subject.
Other habits of Latvian word order.
- Questions with vai keep the same order: Vai tu runā latviski?
- Time and place words often come first: Šodien es strādāju mājās. (Today I'm working at home.)
- In Man patīk kafija and Man ir brālis, the dative person usually comes first.
- Adjectives normally come before the noun: liela māja (a big house). See adjective agreement.
- Short object pronouns usually stand before the verb: Es tevi mīlu. (I love you.) See object pronouns before the verb.
- An owner in the genitive comes before the noun: Annas māja (Anna's house). See the genitive before the noun.
Examples (6)
- Anna lasa grāmatu.
Anna is reading a book.
Word by Word: Anna reads book.
The neutral order: subject, verb, object.
- Grāmatu lasa Anna.
It's Anna who is reading the book.
Word by Word: Book reads Anna.
The object comes first and Anna comes last, so Anna is the news. The endings still show who reads.
- Mans brālis dzīvo Rīgā.
My brother lives in Riga.
Word by Word: My brother lives in-Riga.
Rīgā is last, so the news is where he lives.
- Rīgā dzīvo mans brālis.
It's my brother who lives in Riga.
Word by Word: In-Riga lives my brother.
Now mans brālis is last, so the news is who lives there.
- Šodien es strādāju mājās.
Today I'm working at home.
Word by Word: Today I work at-home.
A time word at the start sets the scene.
- Es tevi mīlu.
I love you.
Word by Word: I you love.
A short object pronoun usually stands before the verb.
Common Mistakes
Relying on word order and forgetting the object ending.
Anna lasa grāmata.Anna lasa grāmatu.Latvian marks the object with its ending, not its position. Grāmata is the subject form; the object is grāmatu.
Putting the owner after the noun, as with English of.
Tā ir māja Annas.Tā ir Annas māja.In everyday Latvian, an owner in the genitive goes before the noun: Annas māja, tēva draugs.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Word order puts the subject, verb and object in a row.
Related Patterns
- The Nominative for Subjects
The subject form that shows who does the action.
Level 1 - Putting New Information Last
More on moving the news to the end.
Level 4 - vai QuestionsYes-No Questions with Vai
Yes-no questions keep the same order.
Level 1 - Where Object Pronouns Go
Why Es tevi mīlu puts tevi before the verb.
Level 3 - Possession With the Genitive
Owners come before the noun: Annas māja.
Level 2
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Practice Basic Word Order in Bubblegum
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