-is / -usi / -uši / -ušas

Past Participle Agreement

Level 4

Match the participle to the subject: -is (he), -usi (she), -uši (they, men or mixed), -ušas (they, women). Viņš ir atnācis. Viņa ir atnākusi.

How It Works

1. The four endings.

  • One man: viņš ir atnācis (he has arrived)
  • One woman: viņa ir atnākusi
  • Men, or a mixed group: viņi ir atnākuši
  • Only women: viņas ir atnākušas

The speaker counts too: a woman says es esmu bijusi, and a group of women says mēs esam bijušas. With a noun, follow its grammatical gender: Vilciens ir aizgājis. (The train has left.) Grāmata ir pazudusi. (The book has gone missing.)

2. Building the stem. Take the first-person past (see the past tense) and drop -u:

  • biju → bijis, bijusi, bijuši, bijušas
  • lasīju → lasījis, lasījusi
  • gāju → gājis, gājusi; devu → devis, devusi; ēdu → ēdis, ēdusi

3. The k/c and g/dz switch. Some verbs have c or dz in the past: nācu (I came), teicu (I said), braucu (I went by car or bus), lūdzu (I asked). Only the masculine singular keeps that consonant. All the other forms use k or g, as in the infinitive:

  • nācis → nākusi, nākuši, nākušas
  • teicis → teikusi; braucis → braukusi; lūdzis → lūgusi

4. Reflexive verbs. The reflexive endings are -ies, -usies, -ušies, -ušās: viņš ir mācījies, viņa ir mācījusies (see reflexive verbs in the past).

5. Polite jūs. When you address one person politely with jūs, the verb is plural but the participle is singular: Vai jūs esat bijis Latvijā? (to a man), Vai jūs esat bijusi Latvijā? (to a woman).

6. As an adjective. The same forms can describe a state: Mēs esam ļoti noguruši. (We are very tired.) See participles used as adjectives.

Examples (6)

  1. Viņš ir atnācis.

    He has arrived.

    One man: -is. The past stem nāc- keeps its c here.

  2. Viņa ir atnākusi.

    She has arrived.

    One woman: -usi. The stem goes back to k: nāk-.

  3. Bērni jau ir paēduši.

    The children have already eaten.

    Bērni is a masculine plural noun, so the participle is -uši. This covers a mixed group too.

  4. Meitenes ir aizgājušas mājās.

    The girls have gone home.

    Only women or girls: -ušas.

  5. Vai jūs esat bijis Latvijā?

    Have you been to Latvia?

    Polite jūs to one man: plural esat, but singular bijis.

  6. Mēs esam ļoti noguruši.

    We are very tired.

    Nogurt → noguru → noguris. Used here to describe a state.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the masculine form for a woman.

    Viņa ir atnācis.
    Viņa ir atnākusi.

    The participle agrees with the subject. For a woman, use -usi.

  • Keeping c in the feminine form.

    Viņa ir atnācusi.
    Viņa ir atnākusi.

    Only the masculine singular keeps c (atnācis). The other forms return to k: atnākusi, atnākuši, atnākušas.

  • Using -uši for a group of women.

    Mēs (meitenes) esam bijuši Rīgā.
    Mēs (meitenes) esam bijušas Rīgā.

    For a group of only women, use -ušas. Use -uši for men or a mixed group.

How It Connects

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-is / -usi / -uši / -ušasLevel 4Past Participle Agreement

Learn This First

Past participles agree with the subject.

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Patterns that build on this one.