būt + -ts
The Passive with Būt
Ir, bija or būs + a participle in -ts / -ta shows a finished action or its result: Veikals ir slēgts (The shop is closed), Grāmata ir uzrakstīta latviski (The book is written in Latvian).
How It Works
1. Building the participle. Take the infinitive, drop -t and add -ts:
- atvērt → atvērts (opened)
- uzrakstīt → uzrakstīts (written)
- pārdot → pārdots (sold)
- aizslēgt → aizslēgts (locked)
It agrees like an adjective: slēgts (masculine), slēgta (feminine), slēgti (masculine plural), slēgtas (feminine plural).
2. The tense is in būt.
- Veikals ir slēgts. (The shop is closed.)
- Durvis bija aizslēgtas. (The door was locked.) Durvis exists only in the plural, so the participle is plural too.
- Rīt veikals būs slēgts. (Tomorrow the shop will be closed.)
3. A result, not a process. This passive describes the state an action left behind: the tickets are sold, the letter is written. English often uses the simple past here: Šī māja ir uzcelta pirms kara (This house was built before the war). To describe an action while it is happening, Latvian uses tikt + -ts, taught at Level 5.
4. Leaving out the doer. Use the passive when the doer is unknown or unimportant. Do not add the doer with no the way English adds by. If the doer matters, make an active sentence: Šo vēstuli ir uzrakstījis mans vectēvs. (My grandfather wrote this letter.) In careful writing, a genitive before the participle can name the doer (see the genitive agent).
5. Everyday alternatives. For open and closed, speech also uses vaļā and ciet: Veikals ir ciet.
Examples (6)
- Veikals ir slēgts.
The shop is closed.
Slēgt → slēgts. Veikals is masculine, so the participle ends in -s.
- Grāmata ir uzrakstīta latviski.
The book is written in Latvian.
Grāmata is feminine, so the participle is uzrakstīta.
- Visas biļetes jau ir pārdotas.
All the tickets are already sold.
Feminine plural: pārdotas.
- Durvis bija aizslēgtas.
The door was locked.
Bija puts the state in the past. Durvis is a plural-only noun.
- Šī māja ir uzcelta pirms kara.
This house was built before the war.
Latvian uses ir because the house still stands as the result; English uses the past tense.
- Rīt veikals būs slēgts.
Tomorrow the shop will be closed.
Common Mistakes
Forgetting to make the participle agree.
Grāmata ir uzrakstīts latviski.Grāmata ir uzrakstīta latviski.Grāmata is feminine, so the participle takes the feminine ending -ta.
Adding the doer with no, like English by.
Šī vēstule ir uzrakstīta no mana vectēva.Šo vēstuli ir uzrakstījis mans vectēvs.Standard Latvian does not name the doer of a passive with no. When the doer matters, use an active sentence.
Using the active participle in -is / -usi.
Vēstule ir uzrakstījusi.Vēstule ir uzrakstīta.Uzrakstījusi means she has written. Something that was written uses the passive participle: uzrakstīta.
How It Connects
Learn This First
The passive uses būt with a participle.
Related Patterns
- tikt + -tsThe Passive with Tikt
The passive for an action in progress, taught at Level 5.
Level 5 - esmu + -isThe Present Perfect
The active counterpart with ir and an -is participle.
Level 4 - Adjective Agreement
The participle agrees in gender and number like an adjective.
Level 1 - By Whom: The Genitive Agent
How careful writing names the doer: mana tēva rakstīta.
Level 5 - vaļā / cietOpen and Closed: Vaļā and Ciet
Everyday words for open and closed.
Level 3
Words in This Pattern
Practice būt + -ts in Bubblegum
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