Second Declension: -is

Second Declension: Masculine -is

Level 1

Masculine nouns ending in -is, such as brālis (brother), skapis (wardrobe) and kaķis (cat), form the second declension. Learn the singular set brālis, brāļa, brālim, brāli, brālī.

How It Works

Singular

  • brālis — nominative: Mans brālis dzīvo Liepājā. (My brother lives in Liepāja.)
  • brāļa — genitive: brāļa dators (the brother's computer)
  • brālim — dative: to or for the brother
  • brāli — accusative: Es gaidu brāli. (I am waiting for my brother.)
  • brālī — locative: skapī (in the wardrobe)

After ar the noun looks like the accusative: ar brāli (with my brother).

Plural

  • brāļi — nominative (brothers)
  • brāļu — genitive
  • brāļiem — dative
  • brāļus — accusative
  • brāļos — locative

The consonant change
Before the genitive singular -a and before every plural ending, the last consonant of the stem softens. The dative, accusative and locative singular keep the plain consonant: brālim, brāli, brālī.

  • l → ļ: brālis → brāļa, brāļi
  • n → ņ: mākonis (cloud) → mākoņa
  • c → č: lācis (bear) → lāča
  • s → š: lasis (salmon) → laša
  • d → ž: briedis (deer) → brieža
  • z → ž: nazis (knife) → naža
  • p, b, m, v add j: skapis → skapja, skapji

Letters that are already soft do not change: kaķis (cat) → kaķa, kaķi. The letter r never changes: teātris (theatre) → teātra. A few common nouns skip the change: tētis (dad) → tēta and viesis (guest) → viesa. See Consonant Changes Before Endings for the full list.

Gender
These nouns are masculine, so adjectives take masculine endings: liels brālis (a big brother), mazs kaķis (a little cat). A few masculine nouns in -s, such as suns (dog) and ūdens (water), also follow this declension; see Nouns Like Akmens and Suns.

Examples (6)

  1. Mans brālis dzīvo Liepājā.

    My brother lives in Liepāja.

    Word by Word: My brother lives in-Liepāja.

    Brālis is the nominative subject.

  2. Es gaidu brāli.

    I am waiting for my brother.

    Word by Word: I wait brother.

    The object ends in -i: brāli. The singular object keeps the plain l.

  3. Kaķis ir skapī.

    The cat is in the wardrobe.

    Word by Word: Cat is in-wardrobe.

    Skapis → skapī: the locative of an -is noun ends in long -ī.

  4. Tas ir brāļa dators.

    That is my brother's computer.

    Word by Word: That is brother's computer.

    The genitive brāļa shows the l → ļ change.

  5. Man ir divi brāļi.

    I have two brothers.

    Word by Word: To-me is two brothers.

    The plural brāļi keeps the soft ļ.

  6. Tas ir tēta telefons.

    That is Dad's phone.

    Word by Word: That is dad's phone.

    Tētis is an exception: its genitive is tēta, with no consonant change.

Common Mistakes

  • Leaving out the consonant change in the plural.

    Man ir divi brāli.
    Man ir divi brāļi.

    In the plural, l softens to ļ: brāļi. Brāli, without the change, is the singular object form.

  • Giving an -is noun the locative -ā.

    Kaķis ir skapā.
    Kaķis ir skapī.

    Nouns in -is form the locative with -ī: skapis → skapī. The ending -ā belongs to nouns like parks → parkā and Rīga → Rīgā.

  • Softening the consonant in the singular object form.

    Es gaidu brāļi.
    Es gaidu brāli.

    The consonant changes only in the genitive singular and the plural. The singular object keeps the plain consonant: brāli.

How It Connects

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Second Declension: -isLevel 1Second Declension: Masculine -is

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