Things That Happen by Themselves
Pair an ordinary verb with its -ties form: Es atvēru durvis (I opened the door) → Durvis atvērās (The door opened).
How It Works
1. Pairs.
- atvērt → atvērties: Durvis atvērās. (The door opened.)
- aizvērt → aizvērties: Veikals aizveras astoņos. (The shop closes at eight.)
- sākt → sākties: Koncerts sākas septiņos. (The concert starts at seven.)
- beigt → beigties: Filma beidzās vēlu. (The film ended late.)
- vārīt → vārīties: Ūdens jau vārās. (The water is already boiling.)
2. Forms. These verbs keep the reflexive endings in every tense (see reflexive verbs in past and future): atveras (opens), atvērās (opened), atvērsies (will open).
3. By accident. With a dative person, such a verb says that something happened to you without meaning to: Man aizmirsās lietussargs. (I left my umbrella behind by accident.) This is the dative of verbs with a dative person.
4. Limits. Not every verb has a pair: some plain verbs already mean that something happened, such as Glāze saplīsa (The glass broke). Careful writing also avoids a reflexive for work that people clearly do; say Te ceļ jaunu skolu (A new school is being built here), with the generic third person.
Examples (6)
- Durvis atvērās.
The door opened.
Nobody is named. Compare Es atvēru durvis (I opened the door).
- Veikals aizveras astoņos.
The shop closes at eight.
A timetable fact: the shop is the subject.
- Koncerts sākas septiņos.
The concert starts at seven.
Sākt needs an object; sākties does not.
- Ūdens jau vārās.
The water is already boiling.
- Filma beidzās vēlu.
The film ended late.
- Man aizmirsās lietussargs.
I left my umbrella behind by accident.
Word by Word: To-me forgot-itself umbrella.
The umbrella is the subject and the person is in the dative, which makes it sound like an accident.
Common Mistakes
Using the ordinary verb without an object.
Logs atvēra.Logs atvērās.Atvērt needs an object: someone opens something. When the window opens by itself, use atvērties.
Leaving off -s when nobody starts the event.
Koncerts sāk septiņos.Koncerts sākas septiņos.Sākt means to start something. The concert itself starts: sākas.
Using the reflexive form with an object.
Es atvēros durvis.Es atvēru durvis.When you name what you open, use the ordinary verb. The reflexive is for things that happen by themselves.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Some reflexives describe things that happen.
Related Patterns
- Reflexive Verbs in -ties
The endings of reflexive verbs.
Level 2 - Verbs With a Dative Person
The dative person in Man aizmirsās lietussargs.
Level 3 - būt + -tsThe Passive with Būt
Another way to talk about a result without a doer: Durvis ir atvērtas.
Level 4 - Reciprocal sa- ... -tiesDoing Something Together
A different job of -ties: doing something with each other.
Level 4 - What People Do
The usual way to describe what people do without naming them.
Level 3
Words in This Pattern
Practice Things That Happen by Themselves in Bubblegum
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