būtu jā-

Ought to: Būtu Jā-

Level 4

Put būtu before a jā- form to say what someone ought to do or would have to do: Tev būtu jāatpūšas (You ought to rest).

How It Works

1. How it is built. Take an ordinary debitive such as Man ir jāiet (I have to go) and put būtu in place of ir: Man būtu jāiet (I ought to go). The jā- form comes from the third-person present: atpūšas → jāatpūšas, paliek → jāpaliek, brauc → jābrauc. Būtu is the same for everyone, and the person who ought to act is in the dative: man, tev, viņam, viņai, mums, jums, viņiem.

2. Two meanings.

  • Advice or a duty you are not keeping yet: Tev būtu jāatpūšas. (You ought to rest.) Man šodien būtu jāiet uz veikalu, bet es iešu rīt. (I ought to go to the shop today, but I will go tomorrow.)
  • What would be necessary in an imagined situation, often with ja and the conditional: Ja mums nebūtu mašīnas, mums būtu jābrauc ar autobusu. (If we did not have a car, we would have to go by bus.)

3. Ought to have. For something that should have happened but did not, add bijis, as in the past conditional: Mums būtu bijis jāpaliek mājās. (We ought to have stayed at home.) With only a person, bijis keeps this form for everyone: Viņai būtu bijis jāpaliek.

4. The object stays in the nominative. As in every debitive (see the object of a debitive), the thing to be done is in the nominative: Šī vēstule būtu jāizlasa visiem. (Everyone ought to read this letter.) Only the pronouns mani, tevi, mūs, jūs, sevi keep their accusative form.

5. Negative and a close relative. Put ne- on būtu: Tev par to nebūtu jāmaksā. (You should not have to pay for that.) Vajadzētu with an infinitive gives almost the same advice: Tev vajadzētu atpūsties means much the same as Tev būtu jāatpūšas.

Examples (6)

  1. Tev būtu jāatpūšas.

    You ought to rest.

    Word by Word: To-you would-be must-rest.

    Tev is dative. Atpūsties has the present form atpūšas, so the debitive is jāatpūšas.

  2. Mums būtu bijis jāpaliek mājās.

    We ought to have stayed at home.

    Bijis moves the obligation into the past: it should have happened, but it did not.

  3. Man šodien būtu jāiet uz veikalu, bet es iešu rīt.

    I ought to go to the shop today, but I will go tomorrow.

    Būtu jā- often admits a duty that the speaker is putting off.

  4. Ja mums nebūtu mašīnas, mums būtu jābrauc ar autobusu.

    If we did not have a car, we would have to go by bus.

    In an imagined situation, būtu jā- means would have to.

  5. Šī vēstule būtu jāizlasa visiem.

    Everyone ought to read this letter.

    The letter (vēstule) stays in the nominative; the people who ought to read it (visiem) are in the dative.

  6. Tev par to nebūtu jāmaksā.

    You should not have to pay for that.

    Nebūtu jā- says that something should not be necessary.

Common Mistakes

  • Putting the person in the nominative.

    Tu būtu jāatpūšas.
    Tev būtu jāatpūšas.

    Like every debitive, būtu jā- has no nominative subject for the person. The person who ought to act is in the dative: tev, man, viņam.

  • Adding jā- to the infinitive.

    Tev būtu jāatpūsties.
    Tev būtu jāatpūšas.

    Jā- joins the third-person present form (atpūšas), not the infinitive (atpūsties). Only būt is an exception: jābūt.

  • Putting the jā- form itself into the past.

    Mums būtu jāpalika mājās.
    Mums būtu bijis jāpaliek mājās.

    The jā- form never changes. To say ought to have, add bijis: būtu bijis jāpaliek.

How It Connects

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

būtu jā-Level 4Ought to: Būtu Jā-

Learn This First

Būtu jā- joins the debitive and conditional.

Words in This Pattern

būtbijis