savs

One's Own: Savs

Level 2

Use savs (sava, savi, savas) for something that belongs to the subject of the sentence: Viņš mīl savu sievu (He loves his wife). It works with every person: Es lasu savu grāmatu, Mēs zvanām savai mātei.

How It Works

1. The forms. Savs changes its endings like mans and tavs:

  • masculine singular: savs, sava (genitive), savam (dative), savu (accusative), ar savu, savā (locative)
  • feminine singular: sava, savas, savai, savu, ar savu, savā
  • plural: savi/savas, savu, saviem/savām, savus/savas, ar saviem/savām, savos/savās

2. It points to the subject.

  • Es zvanu savai mātei. (I am calling my mother.)
  • Tu aizmirsi savu lietussargu. (You forgot your umbrella.)
  • Viņi dzīvo savā mājā. (They live in their own house.)

3. His own or someone else's. In the third person, savs and the genitive pronouns mean different things:

  • Jānis runā ar savu brāli. Jānis is talking to his own brother.
  • Jānis runā ar viņa brāli. Jānis is talking to another man's brother, for example Pēteris's.

So when the owner is the subject, use savs, not viņa, viņas or viņu.

4. With es, tu, mēs and jūs. Savs is the usual choice here too: Es lasu savu grāmatu. Mans is not wrong (Es lasu manu grāmatu), but savs sounds more natural in most sentences. When a sentence has two people and savs could point to either one, mans or tavs makes the owner clear.

5. Not in the subject. Savs needs a subject to point back to, so it cannot be part of the subject itself: say Mans brālis dzīvo Rīgā, not Savs brālis .... The exception is a sentence where the owner is in the dative, like man ir: Mums ir sava māja. (We have our own house.) Katram ir sava gaume. (Everyone has their own taste.)

6. In a longer sentence. Savs points to the subject of its own clause: Anna saka, ka Pēteris mazgā savu mašīnu. (Anna says that Pēteris is washing his car.) The car is Pēteris's. It also works with an infinitive: Ir svarīgi mīlēt savu darbu. (It is important to love your work.)

The pronoun sevi works the same way for "myself" and "himself".

Examples (6)

  1. Es lasu savu grāmatu.

    I am reading my book.

    The owner is the subject es, so Latvian uses savu.

  2. Viņš mīl savu sievu.

    He loves his wife.

    Savu sievu is his own wife. Viņa sievu would be another man's wife.

  3. Mēs braucam pie saviem vecākiem.

    We are going to visit our parents.

    After pie, the plural takes the dative: saviem vecākiem.

  4. Bērni spēlējas savā istabā.

    The children are playing in their room.

    Savā is the locative: in their own room.

  5. Mums ir sava māja.

    We have our own house.

    With man ir sentences, savs can stand in the nominative because the owner, mums, is in the dative.

  6. Tu aizmirsi savu lietussargu.

    You forgot your umbrella.

    Savs also points to tu.

Common Mistakes

  • Using viņa when you mean the subject's own wife.

    Viņš mīl viņa sievu.
    Viņš mīl savu sievu.

    Viņš mīl viņa sievu means he loves another man's wife. When the owner is the subject, use savs.

  • Putting savs in the subject of the sentence.

    Savs brālis dzīvo Rīgā.
    Mans brālis dzīvo Rīgā.

    Savs points back to the subject, so it cannot be the subject. Use mans, tavs, viņa or another possessive here.

  • Leaving savs in the dictionary form.

    Es zvanu savs mātei.
    Es zvanu savai mātei.

    Savs agrees with the noun like an adjective. Māte is feminine and in the dative after zvanīt, so the form is savai mātei.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

savsLevel 2One's Own: Savs

Learn This First

Savs follows the other possessives.

Words in This Pattern

savssavasavisavas