Fourth Declension: -a
Fourth Declension: Nouns in -a
Nouns ending in -a, such as māja (house), grāmata (book) and kafija (coffee), belong to the fourth declension. Almost all of them are feminine.
How It Works
Singular
- māja — nominative: Mana māja ir liela. (My house is big.)
- mājas — genitive: no Rīgas (from Riga)
- mājai — dative: to or for the house
- māju — accusative: Līga lasa grāmatu. (Līga is reading a book.)
- mājā — locative: Rīgā (in Riga), skolā (at school)
Plural
- mājas — nominative (houses)
- māju — genitive
- mājām — dative
- mājas — accusative
- mājās — locative
One form, three jobs
Mājas can be the genitive singular (of the house), the nominative plural (houses) or the accusative plural. The rest of the sentence tells you which. The plural locative mājās also means at home; see At Home: Mājās.
Which nouns belong here
Everyday feminine nouns such as grāmata (book), skola (school), istaba (room), sieva (wife) and mamma (mum). Many loanwords in -ija decline the same way: kafija (coffee), stacija (station). So do place names in -a: Rīga → Rīgā, Latvija → Latvijā.
Masculine nouns in -a
A few nouns in -a are masculine because they name males, above all puika (boy). They use the same endings except in the dative, which is -am (puikam), and their adjectives are masculine: mazs puika (a little boy). See Masculine Nouns in -a and -e.
Examples (6)
- Mana māja ir liela.
My house is big.
Word by Word: My house is big.
Māja is the nominative subject, so mana and liela take feminine endings.
- Līga lasa grāmatu.
Līga is reading a book.
Word by Word: Līga reads book.
The object ends in -u: grāmata → grāmatu.
- Mamma strādā bankā.
Mum works at a bank.
Word by Word: Mum works in-bank.
Banka → bankā: the locative ends in long -ā.
- Viņa ir no Rīgas.
She is from Riga.
Word by Word: She is from Riga.
After no, Rīga takes the genitive -as: no Rīgas.
- Istabā ir divas lampas.
There are two lamps in the room.
Word by Word: In-room is two lamps.
Istaba → istabā (in the room), and lampa → lampas in the plural.
- Puika ir mazs.
The boy is small.
Word by Word: Boy is small.
Puika ends in -a but is masculine, so the adjective is mazs, not maza.
Common Mistakes
Treating puika as feminine.
Puika ir maza.Puika ir mazs.Puika means boy, so it is masculine even though it ends in -a. Its adjectives take masculine endings.
Keeping the subject ending -a on an object.
Es lasu grāmata.Es lasu grāmatu.The object form of a noun in -a ends in -u: grāmata → grāmatu.
Dropping the long -ā of the locative.
Es esmu skola.Es esmu skolā.Skola is the school itself. Skolā, with a long ā, means at school.
How It Connects
Learn This First
The fourth declension starts from the nominative.
Related Patterns
- Fifth Declension: -eFifth Declension: Nouns in -e
The other large feminine declension. It uses -i and -ē where this one uses -u and -ā.
Level 1 - Masculine and Feminine Nouns
Most nouns in -a are feminine.
Level 1 - Masculine Nouns in -a and -e
Covers puika and the other masculine nouns in -a.
Level 3 - The Accusative for Objects
Māju and grāmatu are accusative objects.
Level 1 - Locative -ā, -ī, -ē, -ūThe Locative for in and at
Mājā, skolā and Rīgā use the locative -ā.
Level 1 - mājāsAt Home: Mājās
The plural locative of māja means at home.
Level 1
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Practice Fourth Declension: -a in Bubblegum
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