Present Active Participle -ošs
Participles Like Lasošs
A participle in -ošs (feminine -oša) describes a person or thing that is doing something right now: strādājoša māte (a working mother), krītošas zvaigznes (falling stars).
How It Works
1. Forming it. Take the es form of the present, drop the ending, and add -ošs:
- lasīt → es lasu → lasošs (reading)
- strādāt → es strādāju → strādājošs (working)
- augt → es augu → augošs (growing)
- krist → es krītu → krītošs (falling)
Reflexive verbs end in -ošies (masculine) and -ošās (feminine): smieties → smejošies.
2. It declines like an adjective. strādājošs vīrietis, strādājoša sieviete, strādājoši cilvēki, strādājošām mātēm. With the definite ending it can also be a noun: strādājošie (working people); see definite participles.
3. Meaning. It describes an action going on at the same time as the rest of the sentence. For something already finished, use the past participle: nokritušas lapas (fallen leaves), not krītošas lapas (falling leaves).
4. Style. The -ošs form is common in writing, job adverts and fixed terms (vadošs speciālists, latviski runājošs). In everyday speech Latvians usually say it with relative kas: cilvēks, kas lasa (a person who is reading). Language advisers recommend not overusing -ošs.
Watch out: -ošs is not a way to say am reading. Latvian has no continuous tense: Es lasu means both I read and I am reading.
Examples (5)
- Viņa ir strādājoša māte ar trim bērniem.
She is a working mother with three children.
Word by Word: She is working mother with three children.
- Augustā var redzēt daudz krītošu zvaigžņu.
In August you can see many falling stars.
Word by Word: In-August can see many falling stars.
Daudz takes the genitive plural, so krītošas becomes krītošu.
- Augošam bērnam vajag daudz miega.
A growing child needs a lot of sleep.
Word by Word: To-growing child needs much sleep.
Vajag takes a dative, so the participle is dative too: augošam.
- Mēs meklējam latviski runājošu pārdevēju.
We are looking for a Latvian-speaking shop assistant.
Word by Word: We look-for in-Latvian speaking shop-assistant.
A typical job-advert phrase. The participle is accusative, like pārdevēju.
- Viņš ir vadošs speciālists šajā jomā.
He is a leading specialist in this field.
Word by Word: He is leading specialist in-this field.
Common Mistakes
Using -ošs to make an English-style continuous tense.
Es esmu lasošs grāmatu.Es lasu grāmatu.Latvian has no 'am reading' form. The plain present lasu already means 'I am reading'.
Not making the participle agree with its noun.
Viņa ir strādājošs māte.Viņa ir strādājoša māte.Māte is feminine, so the participle takes the feminine ending -oša, like any adjective.
Building the participle from the past or infinitive stem.
lasījošs cilvēkslasošs cilvēksThe -ošs participle is built on the present stem: es lasu → lasošs.
How It Connects
Learn This First
-ošs makes present active participles.
Related Patterns
- Adjective Agreement
The -ošs participle agrees with its noun exactly like an adjective.
Level 1 - Definite Participles
With definite endings, -ošs participles can stand as nouns: strādājošie.
Level 5 - Long Participial Phrases
An -ošs participle can take its own words before the noun: pie loga sēdošā meitene.
Level 5 - Present Passive Participle -ams / -āmsParticiples Like Lasāms
The -ams participle is its passive partner: lasošs (reading) and lasāms (readable).
Level 5 - -dams / -damaDoing Two Things at Once: -dams
The -dams form describes the subject's second action, not a feature of a noun.
Level 5
Words in This Pattern
Practice Present Active Participle -ošs in Bubblegum
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