Genitive of Purpose

Level 5

motion verb + genitive = go to get: Nuėjau duonos. (I went to get bread.)

How It Works

1. The genitive alone. When it is clear what you will do with the thing, just name it:

  • Nuėjau duonos. (I went to get bread.)
  • Eisime grybų. (We will go mushroom picking.)
  • Vaikai nubėgo vandens. (The children ran to get water.)
  • Užeik arbatos! (Come in for some tea!)

2. With an infinitive. Add an infinitive to say exactly what will be done. An object that would normally be accusative becomes genitive in this construction, and it often comes before the infinitive:

  • Atėjau knygos pasiimti. (I came to pick up the book.)
  • Susirinkome aptarti svarbaus klausimo. (We gathered to discuss an important question.)
The genitive here need not mean some. Knygos pasiimti can refer to a particular book. The case shows the goal of the trip.

3. Which verbs. Verbs of going and traveling, such as eiti, ateiti, nueiti, bėgti, važiuoti, vykti, skristi and plaukti. Verbs of sending and gathering, such as siųsti, rinktis and susirinkti.

4. Not the dative. The dative names what something is for, as in dovana gimtadieniui: see the dative of purpose. After a verb of going, use the genitive or an infinitive: Išėjo pietų. or Išėjo pietauti. (He went out for lunch.)

5. The infinitive alone. You can also use just an infinitive after a verb of going: Nuėjau pirkti duonos. See going somewhere to do something. Here duonos is genitive; with other verbs, check the case their object takes.

Examples (6)

  1. Nuėjau duonos.

    I went to get bread.

    Word by Word: I-went bread(GEN).

  2. Eisime grybų.

    We will go mushroom picking.

    Word by Word: We-will-go mushrooms(GEN).

  3. Užeik arbatos!

    Come in for some tea!

    Word by Word: Come-in tea(GEN)!

  4. Atėjau knygos pasiimti.

    I came to pick up the book.

    Word by Word: I-came book(GEN) to-pick-up.

  5. Mama išėjo į parduotuvę pieno.

    Mom went to the store to get milk.

    Word by Word: Mom went-out to store milk(GEN).

  6. Susirinkome aptarti svarbaus klausimo.

    We gathered to discuss an important question.

    Word by Word: We-gathered to-discuss important(GEN) question(GEN).

Common Mistakes

  • Using the dative after a verb of going.

    Direktorius išėjo pietums.
    Direktorius išėjo pietų.

    After a verb of going, the goal is in the genitive (or use an infinitive: išėjo pietauti). The dative here is a well-known error.

  • Putting the object of the purpose infinitive in the accusative.

    Atėjau pasiimti knygą.
    Atėjau pasiimti knygos.

    After a verb of going, the noun that goes with the purpose infinitive stays in the genitive.

How It Connects

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

Genitive of PurposeLevel 5

Learn This First

After motion verbs, a genitive noun can name the goal with an expressed or understood infinitive.

Words in This Pattern

eitibėgtivažiuoti