patīk + Infinitive
Liking to Do Something
To say you like doing something, use man patīk + an infinitive: Man patīk peldēt (I like swimming). English uses the -ing form, but Latvian uses the infinitive.
How It Works
1. The pattern: dative person + patīk + infinitive.
- Man patīk lasīt. (I like reading.)
- Mums patīk ceļot. (We like travelling.)
- Viņai patīk dziedāt. (She likes singing.)
2. Negatives and questions. Viņam nepatīk agri celties. (He doesn't like getting up early.) Vai tev patīk dejot? (Do you like dancing?)
3. Thing or activity? A thing you like is the subject, in the nominative: Man patīk kafija. When it is the object of an activity, it belongs to that verb and takes the accusative: Man patīk dzert kafiju.
4. Other tenses. The past is patika: Bērnībā man patika zīmēt. (I liked drawing as a child.) The conditional patiktu makes a gentle wish: Man patiktu aizbraukt uz Liepāju. (I would like to go to Liepāja.) See polite wishes.
5. Feeling like it right now. Man gribas + infinitive means you feel like doing something at this moment: Man gribas gulēt. (I feel like sleeping.) See verbs with a dative person.
Examples (6)
- Man patīk peldēt.
I like swimming.
Word by Word: To me pleases to swim.
- Vai tev patīk dejot?
Do you like dancing?
- Viņam nepatīk agri celties.
He doesn't like getting up early.
Negative: nepatīk.
- Mums patīk ceļot ar vilcienu.
We like travelling by train.
- Man patīk dzert kafiju no rīta.
I like drinking coffee in the morning.
Kafiju is accusative because it is the object of dzert.
- Bērnībā man patika zīmēt.
I liked drawing when I was a child.
Past tense: patika.
Common Mistakes
Using the nominative pronoun for the person who likes something.
Es patīk peldēt.Man patīk peldēt.The person is in the dative with patīk: man, tev, viņam, viņai.
Using a present-tense verb after patīk.
Man patīk peldu.Man patīk peldēt.After patīk, the activity is an infinitive: peldēt, not peldu.
Leaving the object of the activity in the nominative.
Man patīk dzert kafija.Man patīk dzert kafiju.Kafija is the object of dzert here, so it takes the accusative kafiju. Without a verb, the nominative is right: Man patīk kafija.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Patīk can take an infinitive.
Related Patterns
- vajag + InfinitiveNeeding to: Vajag
The same dative + infinitive pattern for needs: Man vajag strādāt.
Level 3 - Verbs With a Dative Person
More feelings with a dative person, like Man gribas ēst.
Level 3 - es gribētuPolite Wishes: Es Gribētu
Polite wishes with the conditional, like Man patiktu or Es gribētu.
Level 3 - man / tev / viņam / viņaiPronouns for to and for
The dative pronouns used with patīk.
Level 1
Words in This Pattern
Practice patīk + Infinitive in Bubblegum
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