Possession With the Genitive

Level 2

Put the owner in the genitive, right before the thing: Annas grāmata (Anna's book), Jāņa draugs (Jānis's friend).

How It Works

Owner first

Latvian puts the owner before the thing owned, and the owner goes in the genitive. It works like English 's: tēva māja (father's house), Annas grāmata (Anna's book), Jāņa draugs (Jānis's friend).

The same pattern covers many uses of English of: Latvijas galvaspilsēta (the capital of Latvia), Rīgas centrs (the centre of Riga), mājas jumts (the roof of the house).

Names in the genitive

  • Anna → Annas, Līga → Līgas
  • Jānis → Jāņa, Kārlis → Kārļa
  • Toms → Toma

Titles use the same pattern, with the surname first: Bērziņa kungs (Mr Bērziņš), Bērziņas kundze (Mrs Bērziņa). See Genitive Singular Endings.

More than one owner

A plural owner takes the genitive plural in -u: bērnu istaba (the children's room), draugu mašīna (the friends' car).

With my, your, his and her

mans and tavs agree with the word after them. In my brother's friend, that word is the genitive brāļa, so you say mana brāļa draugs. See My and Your. The words viņa (his), viņas (her), mūsu (our), jūsu (your) and viņu (their) are already genitives, so they never change: viņas brāļa draugs (her brother's friend). See His, Her, Our and Their.

Asking whose

To ask whose?, use kā, the genitive of kas. A short answer can be just the genitive: Kā soma tā ir? — Līgas. (Whose bag is that? — Līga's.) See Case Forms of Kas.

Keep the owner before the noun

In everyday Latvian, the owner does not come after the noun. An adjective that describes the thing owned goes between them, and it takes the definite ending you will learn later: tēva jaunā mašīna (father's new car). See Definite Adjectives After My and This.

Examples (6)

  1. Šī ir mana tēva māja.

    This is my father's house.

    tēvs becomes tēva, and mans agrees with it as mana.

  2. Annas grāmata ir uz galda.

    Anna's book is on the table.

    Anna becomes Annas.

  3. Rīga ir Latvijas galvaspilsēta.

    Riga is the capital of Latvia.

    Word by Word: Riga is of-Latvia capital.

    English "of Latvia" becomes the genitive Latvijas, placed before the noun.

  4. Jāņa draugs dzīvo Liepājā.

    Jānis's friend lives in Liepāja.

    Jānis becomes Jāņa, with n → ņ.

  5. Kā soma tā ir? — Līgas.

    Whose bag is that? — Līga's.

    kā asks "whose", and the answer is just the owner in the genitive.

  6. Bērziņa kungs strādā bankā.

    Mr Bērziņš works at a bank.

    The title kungs follows the surname in the genitive.

Common Mistakes

  • Leaving the owner in the nominative.

    Anna grāmata ir uz galda.
    Annas grāmata ir uz galda.

    The owner must be in the genitive: Anna → Annas, Jānis → Jāņa.

  • Using no for "of" when you mean the owner.

    Šī ir māja no mana tēva.
    Šī ir mana tēva māja.

    The intended meaning is "my father's house". no means "from", so the first sentence says the house came from him. For an owner, put the genitive before the noun.

  • Leaving mans in the nominative before a genitive owner.

    Tā ir mans brāļa mašīna.
    Tā ir mana brāļa mašīna.

    mans agrees with brāļa, which is genitive, so it must be genitive too: mana brāļa.

How It Connects

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Possession With the GenitiveLevel 2

Learn This First

Possession uses the genitive.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.