manim / tevim / sevim
Old Dative Forms Manim and Tevim
Manim, tevim and sevim are older forms of the dative man, tev, sev. You meet them in dainas and poems: Nāc pie manim, tautu meita (Come to me, girl from another family).
How It Works
1. Old and modern forms.
- manim = modern man (to me), see man tev viņam viņai
- tevim = modern tev (to you)
- sevim = modern sev (to oneself), see sevi sev sevis
2. After prepositions. In folk songs these forms appear after prepositions that in modern Latvian take other cases:
- Nāc pie manim, tautu meita (Come to me, girl from another family). The same daina is also recorded as Nāc pie manis. Modern: pie manis.
- Saule, saule, zeme, zeme / Ar manim ienaidā (Sun, sun, earth, earth, at odds with me). Modern: ar mani.
Poets still use them for rhythm and an old, warm tone: lēni nāk līdz manim / gaisma nomirusi (slowly the light comes to me, already dead), Knuts Skujenieks. Modern prose says līdz man.
3. Still a dative. Manim is never an object form. After a verb that needs the accusative, only mani works: Viņš redzēja mani.
4. When to use them. Read and sing them in dainas and poems. In everyday speech and writing, use man, tev, sev and the normal prepositional forms.
Examples (5)
- Nāc pie manim, tautu meita.
Come to me, girl from another family.
Word by Word: Come to me, of-peoples girl.
A daina line. Modern: Nāc pie manis.
- Dziedat, meitas, ar manim.
Sing with me, girls.
Word by Word: Sing, girls, with me.
A daina line. Modern: Dziediet, meitas, ar mani.
- Lēni nāk līdz manim gaisma nomirusi.
Slowly the light comes to me, already dead.
Word by Word: Slowly comes to me light having-died.
A line from a poem by Knuts Skujenieks about a star's light. Modern prose: līdz man.
- Atnāc līdz man vakarā.
Come over to my place this evening.
Word by Word: Come to me in-evening.
The modern dative man after līdz.
- Nāc pie manis rīt.
Come to my place tomorrow.
Word by Word: Come at me tomorrow.
Modern Latvian uses the genitive manis after pie.
Common Mistakes
Using manim as an object after a verb.
Viņš redzēja manim.Viņš redzēja mani.Manim is a dative form, even in old style. Redzēt needs the accusative mani.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Manim and tevim are old dative forms.
Related Patterns
- man / tev / viņam / viņaiPronouns for to and for
Man, tev and sev are the modern dative forms that manim, tevim and sevim correspond to.
Level 1 - Preposition + manis / tevis / viņaPronouns After Prepositions
This entry shows the modern forms that replace pie manim and ar manim.
Level 3 - sevi / sev / sevisThe Reflexive Pronoun Sevi
Sevim is the old form of the reflexive dative sev.
Level 3 - The Language of the Dainas
Folk songs are where these old forms are most common.
Level 6
Words in This Pattern
Practice manim / tevim / sevim in Bubblegum
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