šeit / te / tur
Here and There
šeit = te = here · tur = there. Te ir veikals. (There is a shop here.)
How It Works
Here and there. Šeit and te both mean "here": Es dzīvoju šeit. = Es dzīvoju te. (I live here.) Tur means "there": Kur ir stacija? — Tur. (Where is the station? — Over there.) None of these words changes its form.
Where they go. They often start a sentence to set the scene, and then ir says what is there: Te ir laba kafejnīca. (There is a good café here.) This is the pattern in there is and there are. They can also come after the verb: Viņa strādā tur. (She works there.)
English "there is" is not tur. In There is a shop on our street, the English there does not point anywhere. Latvian leaves it out and names the place: Mūsu ielā ir veikals. Use tur only for a real place over there.
Also useful. Tepat means "right here". For movement, Latvian also has šurp (to here) and turp (to there), as in šurp un turp (back and forth). The question word for all of these is kur. A noun can also say "in" a place by itself, with the locative: Rīgā (in Riga).
Examples (5)
- Es dzīvoju šeit.
I live here.
Word by Word: I live here.
- Te ir laba kafejnīca.
There is a good café here.
Word by Word: Here is good café.
The place word comes first, then ir.
- Kur ir stacija? — Tur.
Where is the station? — Over there.
Word by Word: Where is station? — There.
- Vai šeit ir tualete?
Is there a toilet here?
Word by Word: Q here is toilet?
- Mans draugs nav šeit. Viņš ir tur.
My friend is not here. He is over there.
Word by Word: My friend is-not here. He is there.
Common Mistakes
Leaving the mark off the š in šeit.
Mana ģimene nav seit.Mana ģimene nav šeit.The word is šeit, with š. Without the mark it is not a Latvian word.
Translating the empty English "there" in "there is" with tur.
Tur ir veikals mūsu ielā.Mūsu ielā ir veikals.The intended meaning is: there is a shop on our street. Tur would point to a place over there. Latvian puts the real place first and uses ir alone.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Šeit and tur say where things are.
Related Patterns
- ir (There Is)There Is and There Are
A place word or place noun plus ir says what is there.
Level 1 - šis / šī, tas / tāThis and That
This and that go with here and there.
Level 1 - kas / kur / kad / kā / kāpēc / cikQuestion Words
Kur (where) is the question these words answer.
Level 1 - Locative -ā, -ī, -ē, -ūThe Locative for in and at
A noun in the locative names the place: Rīgā, skolā.
Level 1 - ārā / iekšā / augšā / promDirection Words After Verbs
More place and direction words that often follow a verb.
Level 3 - tas, kas / tur, kurPairs Like Tas, Kas
Tur can pair with kur: tur, kur ... (there, where ...).
Level 4
Words in This Pattern
Practice šeit / te / tur in Bubblegum
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