Locative Plural -os, -ās, -ēs, -īs
Locative Plural
To say in with a plural noun, use no preposition. Plurals in -i change to -os (meži → mežos, in the forests), and plurals in -as, -es or -is lengthen their vowel: pilsētas → pilsētās (in the cities).
How It Works
1. The endings.
- Masculine nouns in -s, -š, -is, -us → -os: kalns → kalni → kalnos (in the mountains), skapis → skapji → skapjos (in the wardrobes), tirgus → tirgi → tirgos (at the markets)
- Feminine nouns in -a → -ās: pilsēta → pilsētas → pilsētās (in the cities)
- Feminine nouns in -e → -ēs: upe → upes → upēs (in the rivers)
- Feminine nouns in -s → -īs: nakts → naktis → naktīs (at night)
The few masculine nouns in -a or -e, such as puika (boy), follow the -ās and -ēs pattern.
A consonant change in the plural stays: skapji → skapjos, mākoņi → mākoņos (in the clouds).
2. Watch the long vowel. For feminine nouns, only the macron separates the locative from the nominative plural: pilsētas (cities) and pilsētās (in the cities), upes (rivers) and upēs (in the rivers). The everyday word mājās (at home) is the locative plural of māja.
3. Describing words agree. An adjective takes the matching ending: lielās pilsētās (in big cities), augstos kalnos (in high mountains). See adjectives in every case.
4. Common uses.
- Places that come in the plural: laukos (in the countryside, from lauki), kalnos (in the mountains).
- Plural-only nouns and names: kāzās (at the wedding), Cēsīs (in Cēsis), Talsos (in Talsi). See town names in the locative.
- Times that repeat: brīvdienās (on days off), naktīs (at night).
Examples (6)
- Vasarā mēs dzīvojam laukos.
In summer we live in the countryside.
Lauki (the countryside) → laukos.
- Kalnos jau ir sniegs.
There is already snow in the mountains.
Kalni → kalnos: masculine plurals end in -os.
- Mežos aug daudz sēņu.
Lots of mushrooms grow in the forests.
Meži → mežos.
- Lielās pilsētās dzīve ir dārga.
Life is expensive in big cities.
Pilsētas → pilsētās, and the adjective agrees: lielās.
- Upēs un ezeros var peldēties.
You can swim in the rivers and lakes.
Feminine upes → upēs; masculine ezeri → ezeros.
- Naktīs jau ir auksti.
It is already cold at night.
Naktis → naktīs, from the sixth declension.
Common Mistakes
Leaving out the long vowel of a feminine locative.
Bērni peldas upes.Bērni peldas upēs.Upes means rivers; upēs means in the rivers. The long ē carries the meaning in.
Giving a masculine noun a feminine ending.
Kalnās jau ir sniegs.Kalnos jau ir sniegs.Kalns is a masculine noun with the plural kalni, and a plural in -i always ends in -os in the locative: kalnos.
Using the singular lauks for the countryside.
Vasarā mēs dzīvojam laukā.Vasarā mēs dzīvojam laukos.Laukā means in a field or outside. The countryside is the plural lauki, so in the countryside is laukos.
How It Connects
Learn This First
The locative plural follows the singular locative and plural nouns.
Related Patterns
- mājāsAt Home: Mājās
Mājās (at home) is itself a locative plural.
Level 1 - Being in a Town
Plural town names such as Cēsis and Talsi use these endings.
Level 2 - In January and in the Evening
The locative also places events in time: vakarā, brīvdienās.
Level 2 - Nouns Used Only in the Plural
Plural-only nouns such as kāzas take plural locative endings: kāzās.
Level 3
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Practice Locative Plural -os, -ās, -ēs, -īs in Bubblegum
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