vajag + Infinitive

Needing to: Vajag

Level 3

To say I need to, use man vajag + an infinitive: Man vajag strādāt (I need to work). The person is in the dative, and vajag stays the same for everyone.

How It Works

1. Person + vajag + infinitive.

  • Man vajag strādāt. (I need to work.)
  • Tev vajag atpūsties. (You need to rest.)
  • Viņam vajag piezvanīt mammai. (He needs to call his mum.)

Without a person, vajag is general: Vajag iet. (We need to go.)

2. Past and future. Past: Vakar man vajadzēja strādāt. (Yesterday I had to work.) Future: Rīt mums vajadzēs agri celties. (Tomorrow we will need to get up early.) These forms are also the same for every person.

3. No need. Nevajag means there is no need: Tev nevajag nākt. (You don't need to come.) On its own, it can gently tell someone not to do something: Nevajag raudāt! (Don't cry!)

4. Needing a thing. With a noun, vajag usually takes the accusative: Man vajag jaunu telefonu. (I need a new phone.) The older genitive is also correct: Man vajag naudas. You can also use the adjective vajadzīgs: Man ir vajadzīgs jauns telefons.

5. Must and should. For something you have to do, Latvian often uses the debitive: Man jāstrādā (I have to work). For advice, use vajadzētu: Tev vajadzētu atpūsties (You should rest).

Examples (6)

  1. Man vajag strādāt.

    I need to work.

    Word by Word: To me is needed to work.

  2. Tev vajag atpūsties.

    You need to rest.

    A reflexive infinitive works the same way.

  3. Mums vajag nopirkt maizi.

    We need to buy bread.

    Maizi is the accusative object of nopirkt.

  4. Vakar man vajadzēja agri celties.

    Yesterday I had to get up early.

    Past tense: vajadzēja.

  5. Tev nevajag nākt, es tikšu galā.

    You don't need to come; I'll manage.

  6. Vai tev vajag palīdzību?

    Do you need help?

    With a noun, vajag usually takes the accusative.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the nominative pronoun for the person.

    Es vajag strādāt.
    Man vajag strādāt.

    The person who needs something is in the dative: man, tev, viņam, viņai.

  • Using a present-tense verb instead of the infinitive.

    Man vajag strādāju.
    Man vajag strādāt.

    After vajag, use the infinitive, the form ending in -t or -ties.

  • Adding a personal ending to vajadzēja.

    Vakar man vajadzēju strādāt.
    Vakar man vajadzēja strādāt.

    Vajadzēja is the same for everyone because the person is shown by the dative: man, tev, mums vajadzēja.

How It Connects

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vajag + InfinitiveLevel 3Needing to: Vajag

Learn This First

Vajag takes the dative and an infinitive.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

vajadzēt