What Is to Be Done?

Level 5

Latvian can ask what to do with just a question word and an infinitive: Ko darīt? (What is to be done?) Add a dative for the person: Ko man darīt? (What should I do?)

How It Works

1. The shape. Question word + (dative person) + infinitive. The question asks what is the right or possible thing to do:

  • Ko darīt? (What is to be done?)
  • Kam zvanīt, ja kaut kas notiek? (Who should one call if something happens?)

2. The person is dative. Use the dative forms from man tev viņam viņai, as with other dative-person sentences:

  • Ko man darīt? (What should I do?)
  • Kur mums iet? (Where should we go?)
  • Vai man nākt līdzi? (Should I come along?)

3. Past time. Add bija for a question about the past: Ko man bija darīt? (What was I to do?)

4. Other ways to ask. The same question can be asked with lai (Ko lai es daru?), with vajag (Ko man vajag darīt?) or with the debitive (Kas man jādara?). The bare infinitive is the shortest and often sounds a little helpless or thoughtful.

5. A statement with the same shape. nav ko + infinitive uses an infinitive the same way to say there is nothing to do: Man nav ko darīt.

Examples (6)

  1. Ko darīt?

    What is to be done?

    Word by Word: What to-do?

  2. Ko man darīt?

    What should I do?

    Word by Word: What to-me to-do?

  3. Kur mums iet?

    Where should we go?

    Word by Word: Where to-us to-go?

  4. Vai man nākt līdzi?

    Should I come along?

    Word by Word: Whether to-me to-come along?

  5. Kam zvanīt, ja kaut kas notiek?

    Who should one call if something happens?

    Word by Word: Whom to-call, if something happens?

  6. Ko man bija darīt?

    What was I to do?

    Word by Word: What to-me was to-do?

    Bija moves the question into the past.

Common Mistakes

  • Putting the person in the nominative.

    Ko es darīt?
    Ko man darīt?

    With a bare infinitive, the person is in the dative: man, tev, mums.

  • Using a nominative pronoun with the infinitive in plural too.

    Kur mēs iet?
    Kur mums iet?

    Mēs needs a conjugated verb (Kur mēs ejam?). With the infinitive iet, use the dative mums.

  • Mixing a conjugated verb into the dative pattern.

    Ko man daru?
    Ko man darīt?

    With a dative person, the verb stays in the infinitive. Ko es daru? is a different question: What am I doing?

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

What Is to Be Done?Level 5

Learn This First

Infinitive questions ask what is to be done.