man teko

Having to or Getting to with Tekti

Level 5

Man teko + infinitive = I had to or I got to, because of circumstances: Man teko laukti dvi valandas. Jam teko gyventi Paryžiuje.

How It Works

1. Forms. In these examples, the tense changes; the person is shown by the dative:

  • Man tenka dirbti savaitgaliais. (I have to work at weekends.)
  • Mums teko ilgai laukti. (We had to wait a long time.)
  • Teks palaukti. (We’ll have to wait.)
  • Vaikystėje man tekdavo anksti keltis. (As a child I often had to get up early.)

2. Had to or got to. Man teko laukti dvi valandas is a burden. Jam teko gyventi Paryžiuje can describe a chance. The verb itself is neutral: it says the situation fell to you.

3. Have you ever…? A very common question about experience: Ar jums kada nors teko būti Lietuvoje? (Have you ever been to Lithuania?)

4. With a noun. Without an infinitive, tekti means to fall to someone, to get as a share. The thing is in the nominative: Onutei teko mažiausias obuolys (Onutė got the smallest apple). Jam teko pirmoji vieta (He took first place).

5. Tenka, not teka. The present is tenka. Teka belongs to a different verb, tekėti (to flow, to rise): Saulė teka (The sun is rising).

Examples (6)

  1. Man teko laukti dvi valandas.

    I had to wait two hours.

    Word by Word: to-me fell-to-lot to-wait two hours

  2. Jam teko gyventi Paryžiuje.

    He got to live in Paris.

    Here we read tekti as an opportunity; context could instead make it an obligation.

  3. Ar jums kada nors teko būti Lietuvoje?

    Have you ever been to Lithuania?

  4. Kartais tenka dirbti ir savaitgaliais.

    Sometimes you have to work at weekends too.

    Without an expressed dative, this can refer to people generally or to someone understood from context.

  5. Teks palaukti.

    We’ll have to wait.

  6. Onutei teko mažiausias obuolys.

    Onutė got the smallest apple.

    With a noun, tekti means to get as one’s share.

Common Mistakes

  • Using a nominative pronoun with tekti.

    Aš teko laukti dvi valandas.
    Man teko laukti dvi valandas.

    The person who has to do something is in the dative: man, tau, jam, mums.

  • Confusing tenka with teka from tekėti.

    Man teka dirbti savaitgaliais.
    Man tenka dirbti savaitgaliais.

    The present of tekti is tenka. Teka means flows or rises and belongs to tekėti.

How It Connects

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

man tekoLevel 5Having to or Getting to with Tekti

Learn This First

Tekti expresses a circumstance-imposed obligation or opportunity with a dative person.

Words in This Pattern

tekti