man ir

Having: Man Ir

Level 1

To say what someone has, use the dative and ir: Man ir brālis (I have a brother), Viņai ir suns (She has a dog), Vai tev ir laiks? (Do you have time?).

How It Works

The owner in the dative

  • man ir — I have
  • tev ir — you have (one friend)
  • viņam ir / viņai ir — he has / she has
  • mums ir — we have
  • jums ir — you have (several people, or polite)
  • viņiem ir / viņām ir — they have

A name or noun takes the dative too: Annai ir suns (Anna has a dog), Jānim ir kaķis (Jānis has a cat). See Pronouns for To and For and Dative Endings.

The thing stays nominative
The thing you have is the subject of ir, so it keeps its dictionary form: Man ir grāmata, not grāmatu. Ir stays the same for one thing or many: Man ir divi bērni. (I have two children.)

Questions and short answers
Vai tev ir laiks? — Ir. (Do you have time? — I do.) In shops and hotels, use polite jums: Vai jums ir brīva istaba? (Do you have a free room?)

Not having
With nav, the missing thing takes the genitive: Man nav laika. (I have no time.) See There Is No and I Have No.

The same frame elsewhere
A dative person with ir also gives your age, Man ir divdesmit gadi (I am twenty), and how you feel, Man ir auksti (I am cold). Man patīk (I like) puts the person in the dative in the same way.

Examples (6)

  1. Man ir brālis.

    I have a brother.

    Word by Word: To-me is brother.

  2. Viņai ir suns.

    She has a dog.

    Word by Word: To-her is dog.

  3. Vai tev ir laiks? — Ir.

    Do you have time? — I do.

    Word by Word: [Question] to-you is time? — Is.

    The short answer repeats ir.

  4. Man ir divi bērni.

    I have two children.

    Word by Word: To-me is two children.

    Ir stays the same when the thing is plural.

  5. Vai jums ir brīva istaba?

    Do you have a free room?

    Word by Word: [Question] to-you is free room?

    Polite jums, as you would say to hotel staff.

  6. Man ir jautājums.

    I have a question.

    Word by Word: To-me is question.

Common Mistakes

  • Putting the thing in the accusative.

    Man ir grāmatu.
    Man ir grāmata.

    The thing you have is the subject of ir, so it stays nominative: grāmata.

  • Using the accusative pronoun for the owner.

    Mani ir māsa.
    Man ir māsa.

    The owner takes the dative man. Mani is the object form, as in Mani sauc Anna.

  • Using the nominative after nav.

    Man nav laiks.
    Man nav laika.

    When you do not have something, standard Latvian puts it in the genitive: laiks → laika. You may hear laiks in casual speech, but laika is the standard form.

How It Connects

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

man irLevel 1Having: Man Ir

Learn This First

Man ir combines the dative pronoun with ir.

Words in This Pattern

viņamviņai