Sen senos laikos
Once Upon a Time
Sen senos laikos means long, long ago. With Reiz dzīvoja ... (Once there lived ...) it is how Latvian fairy tales begin.
How It Works
1. Fixed openings.
- Sen senos laikos ... (Long, long ago ...)
- Reiz dzīvoja ... (Once there lived ...)
- Reiz sen senos laikos ... (Once, long, long ago ...)
Senos laikos is the locative plural of seni laiki (old times). Sen is an adverb, so it does not change.
2. Verb first. When a tale introduces someone or something new, the verb comes before it: Reiz dzīvoja saimnieks ... (Once there lived a farmer ...), Nāca rudens. (Autumn came.) The subject is new information, so it goes to the end.
3. Reported past. Retold folk tales often use the past participle without esot, the reported past: Sen senos laikos pie saviem vecākiem dzīvojis viens dēls. (Long, long ago a son lived with his parents.) This signals a story handed down, not something the teller saw. Here viens works like a.
4. Tale style. Tales, like dainas, are full of diminutives and repetition: ļoti, ļoti trūcīgi (very, very poor).
Examples (5)
- Sen senos laikos dzīvoja kāds ķēniņš.
Long, long ago there lived a king.
Word by Word: Long-ago old-in times-in lived some king.
- Reiz dzīvoja vīrs un sieva, kas bija ļoti, ļoti trūcīgi.
Once there lived a man and his wife who were very, very poor.
Word by Word: Once lived man and wife, who were very, very poor.
- Reiz dzīvoja saimnieks, kura rijā spokojās.
Once there lived a farmer whose threshing barn was haunted.
Word by Word: Once lived farmer, whose in-barn haunted.
A folk-tale opening.
- Sen senos laikos pie saviem vecākiem dzīvojis viens dēls.
Long, long ago a son lived with his parents.
Word by Word: Long-ago old-in times-in at own parents lived-reportedly one son.
Dzīvojis without esot marks a handed-down story.
- Nāca rudens, un lapas sāka krist.
Autumn came, and the leaves began to fall.
Word by Word: Came autumn, and leaves began to-fall.
Verb first to bring in a new event.
Common Mistakes
Using the nominative instead of the locative.
Sen seni laiki dzīvoja ķēniņš.Sen senos laikos dzīvoja ķēniņš.The phrase says when, so it is in the locative: senos laikos (in old times).
How It Connects
Learn This First
Sen senos laikos opens folk tales.
Related Patterns
- Putting New Information Last
Reiz dzīvoja ķēniņš puts the new character last, after the verb.
Level 4 - The Language of the Dainas
Folk songs share the tales' love of repetition and diminutives.
Level 6 - Diminutives -iņš / -iņaLittle Words: -iņš and -iņa
Tales are full of diminutives such as kumeliņš and meitiņa.
Level 3
Words in This Pattern
Practice Sen senos laikos in Bubblegum
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