Genitive Plural -u

Genitive Plural in -u

Level 2

The genitive plural always ends in -u: daudz cilvēku (many people), bērnu grāmata (a children's book), Cik tev ir brāļu? (How many brothers do you have?).

How It Works

One ending for every noun

The genitive plural is the easiest ending in Latvian: it is always -u.

  • galds → galdu (tables), draugs → draugu (friends)
  • brālis → brāļu (brothers)
  • tirgus → tirgu (markets)
  • māja → māju (houses)
  • upe → upju (rivers)
  • sirds → siržu (hearts)

Adjectives take -u too, for both genders: labu draugu (of good friends), lielu māju (of big houses).

The consonant change

Nouns in -is, in -e and feminine nouns in -s usually change the last consonant: brāļu, upju, zivju, siržu, nakšu. A few keep it: acu (of eyes), ausu (of ears), valstu (of countries), tētu (of dads). See Consonant Changes Before Endings.

When you need it

  • after amounts: daudz cilvēku (a lot of people), kilograms ābolu (a kilo of apples). See Amounts With the Genitive.
  • after cik (how many): Cik bērnu jums ir? See How Many: Cik + Genitive.
  • to describe a kind: bērnu grāmata (a children's book), ābolu kūka (apple cake)
  • after nav: Šeit nav veikalu. (There are no shops here.)

Two things to watch

For many nouns, the genitive plural looks like the accusative singular: galdu, māju. The rest of the sentence shows which one it is: Es redzu māju. (I see a house.) but Tur ir daudz māju. (There are many houses there.)

After a preposition, a plural noun takes the dative, not this genitive: no draugiem (from friends), pie draugiem (at friends' places). See Plural Nouns After Prepositions.

Examples (6)

  1. Parkā bija daudz bērnu.

    There were a lot of children in the park.

    After daudz, bērni becomes bērnu.

  2. Cik tev ir brāļu un māsu?

    How many brothers and sisters do you have?

    brāļu has the l → ļ change. māsu has no change.

  3. Šajā ielā nav veikalu.

    There are no shops on this street.

    nav turns veikali into the genitive plural veikalu.

  4. Latvijā ir daudz upju.

    There are many rivers in Latvia.

    upe becomes upju: p changes to pj.

  5. Eiropā ir daudz valstu.

    There are many countries in Europe.

    valsts keeps its consonant: valstu.

  6. Man patīk ābolu kūka.

    I like apple cake.

    ābolu (of apples) describes the kind of cake.

Common Mistakes

  • Forgetting the consonant change.

    Latvijā ir daudz upu.
    Latvijā ir daudz upju.

    Nouns in -e change their consonant in the genitive plural: upe → upju, zeme → zemju.

  • Using the genitive plural after a preposition.

    Mēs dzīvojam pie draugu.
    Mēs dzīvojam pie draugiem.

    After any preposition, a plural noun takes the dative: pie draugiem, no mājām, bez problēmām.

  • Using the nominative after daudz.

    Parkā bija daudz bērni.
    Parkā bija daudz bērnu.

    daudz takes the genitive: daudz bērnu, daudz cilvēku.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Genitive Plural -uLevel 2Genitive Plural in -u

Learn This First

The genitive plural follows the genitive singular.