Dative + -ams Participle
Clear to Me: Dative with -ams
Tas man nav saprotams. (I cannot understand that.) No šejienes mums bija redzama jūra. (From here we could see the sea.) The person is in the dative; the thing seen or understood is the subject.
How It Works
1. The pattern. dative person + būt + -ams participle + nominative thing:
- Tas man nav saprotams. (I cannot understand that. Literally: That is not understandable to me.)
- Mums bija redzama jūra. (We could see the sea.)
- Vai jums ir dzirdams? (Can you hear it?)
- Man ir zināms, ka ... (I am aware that ...) This is formal; everyday speech says es zinu.
2. Agreement. The participle agrees with the thing, not with the person: redzams kalns (masculine), redzama jūra (feminine), redzami kalni, redzamas zvaigznes. When the subject is a whole clause or nothing specific, use the masculine singular: Vai jums ir dzirdams?
3. Tense and negation come from būt: ir / bija / būs redzams, nav / nebija / nebūs redzams. This is close to ne- + -ams, but there the negation is part of the word: neredzams (invisible).
4. Something still to do. With other verbs the same pattern can mean what someone still has to do: Man vēl viena grāmata lasāma. (I still have one book to read.) This is a softer, more literary cousin of the debitive Man vēl jāizlasa viena grāmata.
5. Literary tapt. In older or literary style tapt replaces būt to mean become: Mums tapa zināms, ka ... (It became known to us that ...). See tapt passive.
Examples (6)
- Tas man nav saprotams.
I cannot understand that.
Word by Word: That to-me not-is understandable.
- No šejienes mums bija redzama jūra.
From here we could see the sea.
Word by Word: From here to-us was visible sea.
Redzama is feminine because jūra is feminine.
- Vai jums ir dzirdams?
Can you hear it?
Word by Word: Whether to-you is audible?
No subject is named, so dzirdams stays masculine singular.
- Man ir zināms, ka viņš ir atgriezies.
I am aware that he has come back.
Word by Word: To-me is known that he has returned.
Formal. In everyday speech: Es zinu, ka viņš ir atgriezies.
- Viņam šī problēma bija labi saprotama.
He understood this problem well.
Word by Word: To-him this problem was well understandable.
- Man vēl viena grāmata lasāma.
I still have one book to read.
Word by Word: To-me still one book to-be-read.
Here the pattern names something still to be done.
Common Mistakes
Making the participle agree with the person or with nothing.
No šejienes mums bija redzams jūra.No šejienes mums bija redzama jūra.The participle agrees with the thing that is seen. Jūra is feminine, so it is redzama.
Putting the person in the nominative.
Es tas nav saprotams.Man tas nav saprotams.The person who understands is in the dative (man). The nominative subject is the thing that is understandable (tas).
How It Connects
Learn This First
The dative names the person for whom something is visible, audible, understandable or still to be done.
Related Patterns
- Adjectives With the Dative
Man ir skaidrs works the same way with an adjective instead of a participle.
Level 3 - ne- + -amsUnbelievable and Inevitable
Neredzams and nesaprotams build the negation into the word: something that cannot be seen or understood.
Level 5 - Debitive jā-Having to: The Debitive
Man vēl viena grāmata lasāma is a literary cousin of the debitive Man jāizlasa.
Level 4 - Passive With taptThe Literary Passive with Tapt
In literary style tapt can replace būt here: mums tapa zināms.
Level 6
Words in This Pattern
Practice Dative + -ams Participle in Bubblegum
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