Renarrative -ot

Reported Information: -ot

Level 5

Use -ot to pass on what others say: Viņš esot slims. (He is said to be ill.) Viņa strādājot Rīgā. (Reportedly she works in Riga.)

How It Works

1. Making the form. Start from the es form of the present tense and swap -u for -ot:

  • es strādāju → strādājot (reportedly works)
  • es lasu → lasot (reportedly reads)
  • es dzīvoju → dzīvojot (reportedly lives)
  • es eju → ejot, es nāku → nākot
  • būt → esot (reportedly is)

Reflexive verbs end in -oties: es mācos → mācoties (reportedly learns). The negative adds ne-: neesot, nestrādājot.

2. One form for everyone. The subject shows the person: es esot, tu esot, viņš esot, mēs esot, viņi esot. An adjective after esot still agrees: Viņi esot slimi.

3. What it means. The speaker passes on information from someone else, and can show that they are not sure it is true. English uses words like reportedly, apparently, they say or is said to. The form is also common in fairy tales and retold stories.

4. Other times. For a reported past event use esot + a past participle, and for the future use -šot.

Watch out: the same -ot form is also a participle meaning while or when: Ejot uz darbu, es satiku draugu (On the way to work, I met a friend). The renarrative is the main verb of its clause.

Examples (6)

  1. Viņš esot slims.

    He is said to be ill.

    Word by Word: He reportedly-is ill.

  2. Viņa strādājot Rīgā.

    Reportedly she works in Riga.

    Word by Word: She reportedly-works in-Riga.

  3. Anna neesot mājās.

    Apparently Anna is not at home.

    Word by Word: Anna reportedly-not-is at-home.

  4. Šis restorāns esot ļoti labs.

    This restaurant is supposed to be very good.

    Word by Word: This restaurant reportedly-is very good.

  5. Viņi dzīvojot pie jūras.

    They reportedly live by the sea.

    Word by Word: They reportedly-live by the-sea.

  6. Viņš mācoties latviešu valodu.

    He is said to be learning Latvian.

    Word by Word: He reportedly-learns Latvians' language.

    Mācīties is reflexive, so the form ends in -oties.

Common Mistakes

  • Keeping ir next to esot.

    Viņš ir esot slims.
    Viņš esot slims.

    Esot replaces ir. It already means is, as someone says.

  • Building the form from the infinitive.

    Viņa lasīot grāmatu.
    Viņa lasot grāmatu.

    The -ot form comes from the present stem. Es lasu gives lasot.

  • Leaving out the j that the present stem has.

    Viņa strādāot Rīgā.
    Viņa strādājot Rīgā.

    The present is es strādāju, with a j, so the renarrative is strādājot.

How It Connects

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Renarrative -otLevel 5Reported Information: -ot

Learn This First

The renarrative reports what others say.

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Words in This Pattern