Flexible Word Order
Endings show who does what, so Lithuanian can move words around: Jonas myli Rūtą and Rūtą myli Jonas both mean Jonas loves Rūta. The neutral order is subject, verb, object.
How It Works
Endings do the work
In English, John loves Rūta and Rūta loves John mean different things. In Lithuanian, the ending decides: the subject is in the nominative (Jonas) and the object is in the accusative (Rūtą). See Nominative Subject and Accusative Direct Object.
- Jonas myli Rūtą. (Jonas loves Rūta.)
- Rūtą myli Jonas. (It is Jonas who loves Rūta.)
- Rūta myli Joną. (Rūta loves Jonas.)
New information comes last
The neutral order is subject, verb, object: Tomas skaito knygą. (Tomas is reading a book.) If you want to say who is reading, put that last: Knygą skaito Tomas. (It is Tomas who is reading the book.) Something known comes first, and something new comes later: Automobilis atvažiuoja (the car is coming), but Atvažiuoja automobilis (a car is coming). This is one way Lithuanian does the job of English a and the. See No Words for A and The.
Pronouns before the verb
Short object pronouns usually come before the verb: Aš tave myliu. (I love you.) Ar tu mane girdi? (Can you hear me?) Aš myliu tave is also correct, but it puts extra weight on tave. See Personal Pronoun Case Forms.
Useful patterns
- In basic questions, ar or a question word commonly comes first: Ar tu nori kavos? Kur tu gyveni? See Yes-No Questions With Ar.
- ne- is joined to the verb: nežinau.
- Adjectives and owners in the genitive normally come before their noun: gražus miestas (a beautiful city), Jono namas (Jonas's house).
Songs and poems move words even more freely. See Poetic Word Order.
Examples (6)
- Tomas skaito knygą.
Tomas is reading a book.
Word by Word: Tomas reads book.
The neutral order: subject, verb, object.
- Knygą skaito Tomas.
It is Tomas who is reading the book.
Word by Word: Book reads Tomas.
Tomas comes last because he is the new information. The endings still show who reads.
- Aš tave myliu.
I love you.
Word by Word: I you love.
The short pronoun tave comes before the verb.
- Ar tu mane girdi?
Can you hear me?
Word by Word: Q you me hear?
ar opens the question, and mane comes before the verb.
- Atvažiuoja autobusas.
A bus is coming.
Word by Word: Is-coming bus.
The bus is new information, so it comes after the verb.
- Autobusas jau atvažiuoja.
The bus is already coming.
Word by Word: Bus already is-coming.
The bus is already known, so it comes first.
Common Mistakes
Relying on word order instead of endings.
Rūta myli Jonas.Rūta myli Joną.To say Rūta loves Jonas, Jonas must be in the accusative: Joną. With two nominatives, the sentence does not say who is loved.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Case endings allow the subject and object to remain recognizable when word order changes.
Related Patterns
- The Seven Cases
The seven cases whose endings make free word order possible.
Level 1 - Personal Pronoun Case Forms
The pronoun forms that usually come before the verb.
Level 2 - Questions With arYes-No Questions with Ar
Ar commonly opens a basic yes-no question.
Level 1 - Poetic Word Order
The freer order of songs and poems.
Level 6
Practice Flexible Word Order in Bubblegum
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