Dative With State Words
Lithuanian says to me it is cold: Man šalta. The person is in the dative, and the feeling is a neuter word ending in -a or -u.
How It Works
1. The pattern. Dative person + neuter state word:
- Man šalta. (I am cold.)
- Jai liūdna. (She is sad.)
- Mums įdomu. (We find it interesting.)
- Vaikams linksma. (The children are having fun.)
2. Making the neuter word. Adjectives in -as give -a: šalta (cold), karšta (hot), liūdna (sad), linksma (cheerful), gera (good). Adjectives in -us give -u: įdomu (interesting), nuobodu (boring), baisu (scary), sunku (hard). A few other words work the same way, such as gaila (sorry, a pity) and the noun gėda (shame): Man gaila (I am sorry), Man gėda (I am ashamed).
3. The dative forms. For pronouns use man, tau, jam, jai, mums, jums, jiems, joms (see pronoun case forms). Common noun dative endings include -ui, -ai or -ei in the singular and -ams, -oms or -ėms in the plural: broliui, mamai, vaikams.
4. Past and future. The present needs no verb. For other times, add buvo or bus, which never change for the person: Vakar man buvo šalta (I was cold yesterday), Tau bus įdomu (You will find it interesting).
5. With an infinitive. Add an infinitive to say what is hard, nice or interesting to do: Man sunku kalbėti lietuviškai (Speaking Lithuanian is hard for me).
6. Feeling versus being. Aš esu nuobodus means I am a boring person. Man nuobodu means I am bored. In the same way, Aš šaltas describes a cold body or a cold personality, while Man šalta is how you feel. The same dative is used with patinka, reikia and skauda.
Examples (6)
- Man šalta. Uždaryk langą, prašau.
I'm cold. Please close the window.
Word by Word: To-me cold. Close window, please.
Man is the dative of aš, and šalta is the neuter of šaltas.
- Jai liūdna, nes draugė išvažiavo.
She is sad because her friend has left.
Jai is the dative of ji. The word liūdna does not change for a woman or a man.
- Mums labai įdomu.
We find it very interesting.
Word by Word: To-us very interesting.
Įdomus ends in -us, so its neuter form is įdomu.
- Ar tau nenuobodu?
Aren't you bored?
Ne- joins the state word just as it joins a verb.
- Vakar vaikams buvo labai linksma.
The children had a lot of fun yesterday.
Buvo moves the feeling into the past. Vaikams is a plural dative.
- Man sunku kalbėti lietuviškai.
Speaking Lithuanian is hard for me.
An infinitive after the state word says what is hard.
Common Mistakes
Using “I am a boring person” when you mean “I feel bored”.
Aš esu nuobodus.Man nuobodu.Aš esu nuobodus is a correct sentence, but it means I am boring. To say you feel bored, put yourself in the dative: Man nuobodu.
Making the state word agree with the person.
Man šaltas.Man šalta.There is no subject for šalta to agree with, so it always stays in the neuter form, for men and women alike.
Using the accusative for the person.
Mane šalta.Man šalta.The person who feels something is in the dative: man, tau, jam, jai.
How It Connects
Learn This First
A dative person identifies who experiences a subjectless state.
Related Patterns
- man patinkaLiking with Patikti
Another common pattern with the person in the dative.
Level 1 - man reikiaNeeding with Reikia
Reikia also puts the person who needs something in the dative.
Level 2 - man skaudaAches and Pains
Aches and pains use the same dative person.
Level 3 - Personal Pronoun Case Forms
Lists the dative pronouns man, tau, jam and jai.
Level 2 - Saying Your Age
Age is told with the same dative: Man dvidešimt metų.
Level 2
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Words in This Pattern
Practice Dative With State Words in Bubblegum
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