jā- + -ot

Reported Obligation in One Word

Level 6

In speech you may hear the debitive with the renarrative ending: Viņam rīt jāstrādājot (He reportedly has to work tomorrow). Standard Latvian says the same thing as Viņam rīt esot jāstrādā.

How It Works

1. How it is built. Start from the renarrative form of the verb (renarrative -ot) and add the debitive prefix jā-:

  • strādāt → strādājot → jāstrādājot (reportedly has to work)
  • darīt → darot → jādarot (reportedly has to do)
  • braukt → braucot → jābraucot (reportedly has to go)
  • maksāt → maksājot → jāmaksājot (reportedly has to pay)

The person who must act is in the dative, just as with the ordinary debitive: Viņam jāstrādājot.

2. What it means. It says two things at once: somebody must do something, and you only know this from what someone else said. Viņam rīt jāstrādājot means about the same as Viņam rīt esot jāstrādā (He says he has to work tomorrow, or so I hear).

3. Double marking. Speakers also combine it with an auxiliary: ir jādarot or esot jādarot. In esot jādarot the report is marked twice, once on esot and once on -ot.

4. Where you will meet it. The Latvian Grammar of the University of Latvia (2021) lists ir jādarot and esot jādarot as variants that occur mostly in colloquial speech, and sometimes in the media and in fiction, and states that they are not accepted in Standard Latvian. So it is worth understanding when you hear it. In your own writing, use the standard form.

5. The standard form. Put the auxiliary in the renarrative and keep the debitive plain: esot jāstrādā. It also has a future, būšot jāstrādā, and a past, esot bijis jāstrādā. The one-word form exists only for the present.

6. The object. As with every debitive, the thing that must be done is in the nominative: Viņam jāpērkot jauna mašīna (He reportedly has to buy a new car). See debitive object nominative.

Examples (5)

  1. Viņam rīt jāstrādājot.

    He reportedly has to work tomorrow.

    Word by Word: To-him tomorrow must-work-reportedly.

    Everyday spoken form. Careful writing says Viņam rīt esot jāstrādā.

  2. Viņam rīt esot jāstrādā.

    He reportedly has to work tomorrow.

    Word by Word: To-him tomorrow being must-work.

    The standard way to say the same thing.

  3. Kaimiņi saka, ka mums jāmaksājot vairāk.

    The neighbours say we supposedly have to pay more.

    Word by Word: Neighbours say that to-us must-pay-reportedly more.

    Spoken form, not standard. The standard form follows.

  4. Kaimiņi saka, ka mums esot jāmaksā vairāk.

    The neighbours say we supposedly have to pay more.

    Word by Word: Neighbours say that to-us being must-pay more.

    Standard form of the sentence above.

  5. Viņa stāsta, ka viņai esot jābraucot uz Rīgu.

    She says she supposedly has to go to Riga.

    Word by Word: She tells that to-her being must-go-reportedly to Riga.

    The report is marked twice, on esot and on -ot. This is heard in speech but is not standard.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the one-word form in standard writing.

    Ministrija paziņoja, ka skolām jāstrādājot līdz jūnijam.
    Ministrija paziņoja, ka skolām esot jāstrādā līdz jūnijam.

    The University of Latvia grammar does not accept jā- + -ot in Standard Latvian. In a written report, put the renarrative on the auxiliary: esot jāstrādā.

  • Adding -ot to the infinitive instead of the present form.

    Viņam jāstrādātot.
    Viņam jāstrādājot.

    The ending -ot joins the present stem, as in strādājot. There is no form strādātot, so there is no jāstrādātot either.

How It Connects

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jā- + -otLevel 6Reported Obligation in One Word

Learn This First

Jā- + -ot is a one-word reported obligation.