pirms + Genitive
Before and Ago: Pirms
Pirms + genitive means before: pirms darba (before work). With a length of time it means ago: pirms gada (a year ago), pirms nedēļas (a week ago).
How It Works
Before an event. pirms darba (before work), pirms koncerta (before the concert), pirms brokastīm (before breakfast). Pirms tam means before that.
Ago. With a length of time, pirms counts back from now: pirms stundas (an hour ago), pirms nedēļas (a week ago), pirms gada (a year ago). Latvian has no separate word for ago: pirms goes in front of the time word.
Forms.
- Singular: genitive: gads → pirms gada, diena → pirms dienas
- Plural, which includes numbers such as two, five and ten: dative: pirms diviem gadiem (two years ago), pirms divām nedēļām (two weeks ago), pirms desmit minūtēm (ten minutes ago)
- Pronouns: pirms manis (before me), pirms mums (before us)
The numbers two to nine take a dative form too: diviem, divām, pieciem. See numbers in other cases.
Mirror image. Pēc counts forward: pirms gada (a year ago), pēc gada (in a year).
Before a clause. Pirms can also start a whole clause: Pirms es eju gulēt, es lasu grāmatu. (Before I go to bed, I read a book.) See clauses with pirms.
Not atpakaļ. You may hear divus gadus atpakaļ, copied from Russian or English. Careful standard Latvian prefers pirms diviem gadiem.
Examples (6)
- Pirms darba es dzeru kafiju.
Before work I drink coffee.
darbs → pirms darba: genitive singular.
- Viņš zvanīja pirms stundas.
He called an hour ago.
Pirms comes before the time word, while English ago comes after it.
- Mēs pārcēlāmies uz Liepāju pirms gada.
We moved to Liepāja a year ago.
gads → pirms gada.
- Pirms brokastīm es eju skriet.
Before breakfast I go for a run.
Brokastis exists only in the plural, so it is dative after pirms.
- Es biju Kuldīgā pirms diviem gadiem.
I was in Kuldīga two years ago.
A plural time phrase is dative, and the number agrees: diviem gadiem.
- Pirms nedēļas vēl sniga.
A week ago it was still snowing.
nedēļa → pirms nedēļas.
Common Mistakes
Putting the time word first, like English ago.
Viņš zvanīja stundu pirms.Viņš zvanīja pirms stundas.To say ago, put pirms first and the time word in the genitive: pirms stundas. Stundu pirms needs an event after it, as in stundu pirms koncerta (an hour before the concert).
Leaving a plural time phrase in the accusative.
Es biju tur pirms divas dienas.Es biju tur pirms divām dienām.A plural noun after pirms is dative, and the number agrees with it: divām dienām.
Using the accusative after pirms.
Pirms darbu es dzeru kafiju.Pirms darba es dzeru kafiju.Pirms takes the genitive in the singular: darbs → darba.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Pirms is the opposite of pēc.
Related Patterns
- Genitive Singular Endings
Pirms takes the genitive singular endings: pirms darba, pirms nedēļas.
Level 2 - Plural Nouns After Prepositions
In the plural, pirms takes the dative: pirms brokastīm, pirms diviem gadiem.
Level 2 - Numbers in Other Cases
Numbers after pirms take dative forms: pirms diviem gadiem, pirms trim dienām.
Level 3 - pirms / pēc tam, kadBefore and After a Clause
Pirms can also start a whole clause about a later action.
Level 3 - šodien / rīt / vakarToday, Tomorrow and Yesterday
Pirms nedēļas and pirms gada reach further back than vakar and aizvakar.
Level 1
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Words in This Pattern
Practice pirms + Genitive in Bubblegum
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