Accusative Plural -us, -as, -es, -is

Plural Objects

Level 1

In the plural, masculine objects end in -us: Es pērku ābolus (I am buying apples). Feminine objects keep their plural form: Viņa lasa grāmatas (She reads books).

How It Works

Masculine: -us

  • -s / -š: ābols → ābolus (apples), ceļš → ceļus (roads)
  • -is, with the plural consonant change: brālis → brāļus, kartupelis → kartupeļus (potatoes)
  • -us: tirgus → tirgus (markets), spelled like the singular subject
  • nouns like suns: suns → suņus (dogs)

Feminine: the same as the plural subject

  • -as: grāmata → grāmatas
  • -es: biļete → biļetes
  • -is: zivs → zivis

Masculine nouns in -a follow their declension here too: puika → puikas.

Agreement
Adjectives take the same case and number: sarkanus ābolus (red apples), jaunas grāmatas (new books). Numbers change too: divus ābolus, divas grāmatas.

After a preposition
In the plural, a noun after almost every preposition takes the dative instead, even where the singular is accusative: par grāmatu (about a book), but par grāmatām (about books). See Plural Nouns After Prepositions.

Examples (6)

  1. Es pērku ābolus.

    I am buying apples.

    Word by Word: I buy apples.

    Ābols → ābolus: masculine plural objects end in -us.

  2. Es ēdu kartupeļus.

    I am eating potatoes.

    Word by Word: I eat potatoes.

    Kartupelis → kartupeļus, with the l → ļ change of the plural.

  3. Es mīlu suņus un kaķus.

    I love dogs and cats.

    Word by Word: I love dogs and cats.

    Suns → suņus and kaķis → kaķus both end in -us.

  4. Viņa lasa grāmatas.

    She reads books.

    Word by Word: She reads books.

    Feminine: grāmatas is spelled the same as the plural subject.

  5. Vai tu pērc biļetes?

    Are you buying the tickets?

    Word by Word: [Question] you buy tickets?

    Biļete → biļetes: the plural object of a fifth-declension noun ends in -es.

  6. Tirgū es pērku zivis.

    I buy fish at the market.

    Word by Word: In-market I buy fish.

    Zivs → zivis: the sixth-declension plural stays the same as an object.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the plural subject form for a masculine object.

    Es pērku āboli.
    Es pērku ābolus.

    Āboli is the plural subject form. A masculine plural object takes -us: ābolus.

  • Giving a feminine plural the masculine -us.

    Viņa lasa grāmatus.
    Viņa lasa grāmatas.

    Feminine plural objects keep -as, -es or -is: grāmatas.

  • Leaving out the consonant change.

    Es ēdu kartupelus.
    Es ēdu kartupeļus.

    Nouns in -is soften the consonant in every plural form: kartupeļi, kartupeļus.

How It Connects

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Accusative Plural -us, -as, -es, -isLevel 1Plural Objects

Learn This First

Plural objects combine the accusative with plural nouns.