ie- / iz-

In and Out: Ie- and Iz-

Level 4

Ie- = into: ieiet (to go in), ielikt (to put in). Iz- = out of: iziet (to go out), izņemt (to take out). Iz- can also mean "all the way through": izlasīt (to read to the end).

How It Works

1. Ie-: into.

  • ieiet / ienākt (to go in / to come in): Ienāc! (Come in!)
  • ielikt (to put in): ielikt grāmatu somā (to put the book in the bag)
  • iekāpt (to get in, to board): iekāpt autobusā (to get on the bus)
  • ieslēgt (to switch on): ieslēgt gaismu (to turn on the light)

The place you go into takes the locative, not uz: ieiet veikalā, iekāpt vilcienā.

2. Iz-: out of.

  • iziet / iznākt (to go out / to come out): iziet no mājas (to go out of the house)
  • izņemt (to take out): izņemt naudu no somas (to take money out of the bag)
  • izkāpt (to get out, to get off): izkāpt no autobusa (to get off the bus)
  • izslēgt (to switch off): izslēgt televizoru (to turn off the TV)

The place you leave takes no + genitive. People often add ārā (outside): iziet ārā (see direction words).

3. Iz-: all the way through. With many verbs, iz- means doing the whole thing until it is done or used up: izlasīt grāmatu (to read the book to the end), izdzert kafiju (to drink up the coffee), izstaigāt visu pilsētu (to walk all over the town) (see finished actions).

4. Opposite pairs. Many ie- and iz- verbs come in pairs: ieiet / iziet, iekāpt / izkāpt, ieslēgt / izslēgt, ielikt / izņemt.

Conjugation follows the base verb: ieiet → es ieeju, tu ieej, viņš ieiet; past iegāju.

Examples (6)

  1. Ienāc, lūdzu!

    Come in, please!

    The tu command of ienākt. Use Ienāciet! for several people or politely.

  2. Es ieliku atslēgas somā.

    I put the keys in the bag.

    ie- verb + locative for the place: soma → somā.

  3. Mēs iekāpām vilcienā.

    We got on the train.

    iekāpt + locative: vilciens → vilcienā.

  4. Kur jūs izkāpjat?

    Where are you getting off?

    izkāpt (to get off). Present: es izkāpju, jūs izkāpjat.

  5. Lūdzu, izslēdz gaismu!

    Please turn off the light!

    izslēgt is the opposite of ieslēgt. Command: izslēdz.

  6. Viņa izlasīja visu grāmatu vienā vakarā.

    She read the whole book in one evening.

    Here iz- means "all the way to the end".

Common Mistakes

  • Using uz + accusative after an ie- verb.

    Es ieeju uz veikalu.
    Es ieeju veikalā.

    An ie- verb already says "into". The place goes in the locative: veikals → veikalā.

  • Using the locative after an iz- verb.

    Mēs izkāpām autobusā.
    Mēs izkāpām no autobusa.

    The place you leave takes no + genitive: autobuss → no autobusa.

How It Connects

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ie- / iz-Level 4In and Out: Ie- and Iz-

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Ie- and iz- mean in and out.

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ie-iz-