Third Declension: -us
Third Declension: Masculine -us
Nouns like tirgus (market), alus (beer) and medus (honey) have their own endings: uz tirgu (to the market), tirgū (at the market), tēja ar medu (tea with honey).
How It Works
Masculine nouns in -us
A small group of masculine nouns ends in -us. They form the third declension. The most useful ones are tirgus (market), alus (beer), medus (honey), ledus (ice), vidus (middle) and klepus (cough).
Singular forms
- nominative: tirgus (Tirgus ir liels. The market is big.)
- genitive: tirgus, the same as the nominative (tirgus laukums, the market square)
- dative: tirgum
- accusative: tirgu (Es eju uz tirgu. I am going to the market.)
- after ar: ar medu (with honey), the same as the accusative. See With: Ar.
- locative: tirgū (at the market), vidū (in the middle). See The Locative for In and At.
Plural forms
In the plural, these nouns use the same endings as galds: tirgi (markets), tirgu (of markets), tirgiem, tirgus (markets, as an object), tirgos (in markets). See First Declension: Masculine -s and -š. Words for things you do not count, such as alus, medus and ledus, are almost always singular.
-us is not -uss
Words that end in a double -ss, such as autobuss (bus), belong to the first declension, because the s is part of the stem: autobuss, autobusa, autobusā.
Phrases worth knowing
- Man ir klepus. (I have a cough.)
- istabas vidū (in the middle of the room)
- medus kūka (honey cake), alus pudele (a beer bottle)
Examples (6)
- Sestdien es eju uz tirgu.
On Saturday I go to the market.
uz with the accusative tirgu means "to the market".
- Tirgū ir daudz cilvēku.
There are a lot of people at the market.
tirgū is the locative: at the market.
- Viņš dzer tēju ar medu.
He drinks tea with honey.
After ar, medus becomes medu.
- Vai tev patīk Latvijas alus?
Do you like Latvian beer?
alus stays in the nominative after patīk.
- Uz ezera vēl ir ledus.
There is still ice on the lake.
- Galds ir istabas vidū.
The table is in the middle of the room.
Word by Word: Table is of-room in-middle.
vidū is the locative of vidus (middle).
Common Mistakes
Using the -ā locative of galds nouns.
Es nopirku ogas tirgā.Es nopirku ogas tirgū.Nouns in -us have their own locative in -ū: tirgū, vidū. The ending -ā belongs to nouns like galds (galdā) and māja (mājā).
Changing -us to -a in the genitive.
Mēs satikāmies pie tirga.Mēs satikāmies pie tirgus.For these nouns the genitive keeps -us, so it looks like the nominative: tirgus, alus, medus.
Keeping -us after ar.
Viņš dzer tēju ar medus.Viņš dzer tēju ar medu.After ar, a singular noun takes the same form as the accusative. For nouns in -us that form ends in -u.
How It Connects
Learn This First
The third declension is a small group of masculine nouns.
Related Patterns
- Masculine and Feminine Nouns
Nouns in -us are masculine, so their adjectives are masculine: liels tirgus.
Level 1 - Locative -ā, -ī, -ē, -ūThe Locative for in and at
The -ū locative, as in tirgū, belongs to this declension.
Level 1 - Genitive Singular Endings
The genitive of -us nouns stays -us.
Level 2 - ar + InstrumentalWith: Ar
After ar, these nouns end in -u: ar medu.
Level 2 - The Seven Cases
The seven cases that these endings mark.
Level 1
Practice Third Declension: -us in Bubblegum
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