ir ..., ir ...

Both ... and ... with Ir

Level 3

Repeat ir before each item to mean both ... and ...: Kalbu ir lietuviškai, ir angliškai.

How It Works

1. The pattern. ir + first item, comma, ir + second item:

  • Kalbu ir lietuviškai, ir angliškai. (I speak both Lithuanian and English.)
  • Jis ir dainuoja, ir groja gitara. (He both sings and plays the guitar.)
  • Vakar buvo ir šalta, ir lietinga. (Yesterday it was both cold and rainy.)

2. The comma. No comma comes before the first ir. A comma always comes before the second one, and before each further one: ir duonos, ir pieno, ir sūrio.

3. Repeating ir. In this pattern, Lithuanian repeats ir to express English both ... and. The first ir does that job. The word abu means both and can stand on its own or modify a noun: Abu broliai kalba angliškai.

4. Verb agreement. When the two items are subjects, the verb agrees with both together. Ir aš, ir brolis means we, so the verb is first person plural: Ir aš, ir mano brolis mėgstame krepšinį.

5. Related pairs. Nei ..., nei ... is the negative version (neither ... nor). Ne tik ..., bet ir ... (not only ... but also) and the formal tiek ..., tiek ... are close in meaning.

Examples (6)

  1. Kalbu ir lietuviškai, ir angliškai.

    I speak both Lithuanian and English.

    Ir comes before each language, with a comma before the second one.

  2. Jis ir dainuoja, ir groja gitara.

    He both sings and plays the guitar.

    The pattern can join two verbs. Groti takes the instrumental: gitara.

  3. Ir aš, ir mano brolis mėgstame krepšinį.

    Both my brother and I like basketball.

    Aš and brolis together mean we, so the verb is mėgstame.

  4. Vakar buvo ir šalta, ir lietinga.

    Yesterday it was both cold and rainy.

  5. Šis kambarys ir didelis, ir šviesus.

    This room is both big and bright.

    The pattern can join two adjectives.

  6. Nupirkau ir duonos, ir pieno.

    I bought both bread and milk.

    Both items are in the genitive because they mean some bread and some milk.

Common Mistakes

  • Leaving out the comma before the second ir.

    Kalbu ir lietuviškai ir angliškai.
    Kalbu ir lietuviškai, ir angliškai.

    When ir is repeated, a comma comes before the second ir.

  • Translating English both with abu.

    Kalbu abu lietuviškai ir angliškai.
    Kalbu ir lietuviškai, ir angliškai.

    Abu means both of them and refers to two people or things. For both ... and ..., repeat ir.

How It Connects

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

ir ..., ir ...Level 3Both ... and ... with Ir

Learn This First

Repeating ir emphasizes both parallel items.

Words in This Pattern