Sixth Declension: -s
Sixth Declension: Feminine -s
Not every noun in -s is masculine. sirds (heart), nakts (night), pils (castle) and zivs (fish) are feminine: auksta nakts (a cold night), Ventspilī (in Ventspils).
How It Works
Feminine nouns in -s
Most nouns in -s are masculine, like galds (table). A smaller group of feminine nouns also ends in -s. They form the sixth declension. Common ones are sirds (heart), nakts (night), pils (castle), zivs (fish), acs (eye), auss (ear), valsts (country, state), govs (cow) and pirts (sauna). Town names ending in -pils belong here too: Ventspils, Daugavpils. See Masculine and Feminine Nouns.
How to recognize them
A dictionary lists the genitive next to the nominative. For these nouns the two are the same: sirds, sirds. Most masculine nouns show a different genitive: galds, galda. A few masculine nouns also keep the same form, such as akmens (stone) and tirgus (market), so the adjective is the surest sign: liela sirds (a big heart), auksta nakts (a cold night), but liels akmens (a big stone).
Singular forms
- nominative: sirds
- genitive: sirds, the same as the nominative
- dative: sirdij
- accusative: sirdi (also after ar: ar sirdi)
- locative: sirdī, Ventspilī (in Ventspils), pilī (in the castle)
Plural forms
The plural is sirdis (hearts), siržu (of hearts), sirdīm, sirdis (as an object) and sirdīs (in hearts). The genitive plural usually changes the last consonant: siržu, nakšu, zivju. A few nouns keep it: acu (of eyes), ausu (of ears), valstu (of countries), pirtu (of saunas). See Consonant Changes Before Endings.
Plural-only nouns
Some nouns of this type are used only in the plural: durvis (door), brokastis (breakfast), and the town Cēsis, which gives Cēsīs (in Cēsis). See Nouns Used Only in the Plural.
Examples (6)
- Nakts bija ļoti auksta.
The night was very cold.
nakts is feminine, so the adjective is auksta, not auksts.
- Mēs dzīvojam Ventspilī.
We live in Ventspils.
Town names in -pils take the locative -pilī.
- Vai tu redzi to pili?
Can you see that castle?
pils becomes pili as an object.
- Siguldā ir sena pils.
There is an old castle in Sigulda.
sena agrees with pils as a feminine noun.
- Viņai ir zilas acis.
She has blue eyes.
acis is the plural of acs. The adjective zilas is feminine plural.
- Latvija ir maza valsts.
Latvia is a small country.
valsts is feminine, so the adjective is maza.
Common Mistakes
Treating a feminine -s noun as masculine.
Nakts bija auksts.Nakts bija auksta.nakts ends in -s but is feminine. The adjective must be feminine: auksta nakts, liela sirds, sena pils.
Building the locative from the whole word.
Mēs dzīvojam Ventspilsā.Mēs dzīvojam Ventspilī.Sixth-declension nouns drop -s and add -ī in the locative: pils → pilī, Ventspils → Ventspilī.
Keeping -s in the object form.
Vai tu redzi pils?Vai tu redzi pili?As a direct object, the ending changes to -i: pili, sirdi, nakti. The form pils is the nominative or the genitive.
How It Connects
Learn This First
The sixth declension is feminine but ends in -s.
Related Patterns
- Masculine and Feminine Nouns
Why an -s noun can be masculine or feminine.
Level 1 - First Declension: -s, -šFirst Declension: Masculine -s and -š
The masculine -s nouns that these feminine nouns look like.
Level 1 - Consonant Changes Before Endings
The consonant change in genitive plurals such as siržu and nakšu.
Level 2 - Genitive Plural -uGenitive Plural in -u
The -u ending in siržu, zivju and acu.
Level 2 - Nouns Used Only in the Plural
Plural-only nouns such as durvis and brokastis use these endings.
Level 3 - Nouns Like akmens and suns
Masculine nouns in -s that also keep -s in the genitive, like akmens.
Level 3
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Practice Sixth Declension: -s in Bubblegum
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