mėgti + accusative

Liking with Mėgti

Level 2

Mėgti means to like or to be fond of: Mėgstu kavą. (I like coffee.) Mėgstu skaityti. (I like to read.)

How It Works

The forms

The principal parts are mėgti, mėgsta, mėgo. The present adds -st-: mėgstu, mėgsti, mėgsta, mėgstame, mėgstate, mėgsta. The past is mėgau, mėgai, mėgo. See Present Stems With -n- and -st-.

What follows mėgti

  • A noun in the accusative: Mėgstu kavą. (I like coffee.) Vaikai mėgsta ledus. (Children like ice cream.)
  • An infinitive: Mėgstu skaityti. (I like reading.) Mes mėgstame keliauti. (We like to travel.)

Mėgti or patikti?

The two verbs build the sentence in opposite ways. With mėgti, you are the subject: Aš mėgstu kavą. With patinka, the thing is the subject and you are in the dative: Man patinka kava.

The meaning is close. Mėgti is a lasting habit or taste, the things you are fond of. Patinka is also used for a first impression: Man patinka šitas miestas. (I like this city.)

Negation

Negating mėgti changes its accusative object to the genitive: Mėgstu kavą becomes Nemėgstu kavos (I don't like coffee). See Genitive After Negation.

Examples (6)

  1. Mėgstu kavą su pienu.

    I like coffee with milk.

    Word by Word: (I) like coffee with milk.

    kava becomes kavą, the accusative object.

  2. Ar mėgsti krepšinį?

    Do you like basketball?

    Word by Word: Q (you) like basketball?

    krepšinis becomes krepšinį in the accusative.

  3. Mano sesuo mėgsta skaityti.

    My sister likes to read.

    Word by Word: My sister likes to-read.

    mėgti with an infinitive.

  4. Vaikai mėgsta ledus.

    Children like ice cream.

    Word by Word: Children like ice-creams.

    ledai is plural, so its accusative is ledus.

  5. Nemėgstu šalto oro.

    I don't like cold weather.

    Word by Word: Not-(I)-like of-cold of-weather.

    After ne-, the object moves to the genitive: šaltas oras becomes šalto oro.

  6. Vaikystėje mėgau piešti.

    As a child I liked to draw.

    Word by Word: In-childhood (I) liked to-draw.

    mėgau is the past: mėgti, mėgsta, mėgo.

Common Mistakes

  • Mixing mėgti with the patinka pattern.

    Man mėgsta kava.
    Aš mėgstu kavą.

    With mėgti, you are the subject and the thing is the object. The dative man belongs with patinka: Man patinka kava.

  • Leaving the object in the nominative.

    Mėgstu kava.
    Mėgstu kavą.

    The thing you like is the object of mėgti, so it takes the accusative: kavą.

  • Keeping the accusative after nemėgstu.

    Nemėgstu kavą.
    Nemėgstu kavos.

    A negated verb puts its object in the genitive: kavos.

How It Connects

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

mėgti + accusativeLevel 2Liking with Mėgti

Learn This First

Mėgti uses an ordinary subject and accusative object, unlike patikti.

Words in This Pattern

mėgtipatikti