How Long and How Often

Level 2

For how long and how often, put the time word in the accusative with no preposition: Es gaidīju divas stundas (I waited for two hours), Katru rītu es skrienu (I run every morning).

How It Works

1. How long. The time phrase is in the accusative, like an object:

  • Es gaidīju divas stundas. (I waited for two hours.)
  • Viņi dzīvoja Rīgā trīs gadus. (They lived in Riga for three years.)
  • Lija visu dienu. (It rained all day.)

Masculine nouns show the accusative clearly: vienu mēnesi, divus gadus. Feminine plurals look the same as the nominative: divas nedēļas.

2. Still going on. With the present and jau, the accusative says how long something has been true: Es mācos latviešu valodu jau gadu. (I have been learning Latvian for a year.) See one present tense.

3. Every. katru dienu (every day), katru rītu (every morning), katru nedēļu (every week), katru pirmdienu (every Monday). Visu means the whole: visu nakti (all night). See all and each.

4. How many times in a period. Count the times with reize in the accusative, and put the period in the locative: reizi nedēļā (once a week), divas reizes dienā (twice a day), trīs reizes gadā (three times a year).

5. Other time questions use other forms.

  • When: the locative, janvārī, vakarā. See time with the locative.
  • How long ago: pirms + genitive, pirms gada. See pirms.
  • For how long you plan to stay: uz + accusative, uz nedēļu. See for how long you plan.
  • Within a time: divu stundu laikā (within two hours).

Examples (6)

  1. Es gaidīju tevi divas stundas.

    I waited for you for two hours.

    No preposition: divas stundas is the accusative.

  2. Viņš visu dienu strādāja dārzā.

    He worked in the garden all day.

    Visa diena → visu dienu.

  3. Katru rītu es dzeru kafiju.

    I drink coffee every morning.

    Katrs rīts → katru rītu.

  4. Mēs dzīvojām Liepājā trīs gadus.

    We lived in Liepāja for three years.

    Gadi → gadus: the masculine accusative plural.

  5. Es eju uz baseinu divas reizes nedēļā.

    I go to the pool twice a week.

    The times are in the accusative (divas reizes), the period in the locative (nedēļā).

  6. Es mācos latviešu valodu jau gadu.

    I have been learning Latvian for a year.

    With jau and the present, the accusative gadu says how long it has been going on.

Common Mistakes

  • Translating English "for" with par.

    Es gaidīju par divām stundām.
    Es gaidīju divas stundas.

    A length of time needs no preposition in Latvian. Put it in the accusative: divas stundas.

  • Leaving the length of time in the nominative.

    Mēs dzīvojām Liepājā trīs gadi.
    Mēs dzīvojām Liepājā trīs gadus.

    The length of time is in the accusative, so gadi becomes gadus.

  • Putting the period in the accusative when counting how often.

    Es eju uz baseinu divas reizes nedēļu.
    Es eju uz baseinu divas reizes nedēļā.

    In a phrase like twice a week, the period takes the locative: nedēļā, dienā, gadā.

How It Connects

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How Long and How OftenLevel 2

Learn This First

The accusative of time says how long and how often.

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Patterns that build on this one.