tarytum / tartum

Literary as if

Level 6

Jis kalbėjo, tartum viską žinotų. means He spoke as if he knew everything.

How It Works

Imagined situation. A conditional clause gives the comparison: tartum viską žinotų, as if he knew everything. A comma separates this clause from the main clause.

Other shapes. Ji tarytum sapnuoja means she seems to be dreaming. Sniegas žėrėjo tartum sidabras compares snow to silver without another finite verb. Do not add a conditional mechanically.

Reading. Tartum and tarytum are close to lyg and tarsi. They are common tools of vivid description. The comparison need not claim that the imagined situation is true.

Examples (4)

  1. Jis kalbėjo, tartum viską žinotų.

    He spoke as if he knew everything.

  2. Ji tarytum sapnuoja.

    She seems to be dreaming.

  3. Sniegas žėrėjo tartum sidabras.

    The snow shone like silver.

  4. Jis žiūrėjo, tartum nieko nematytų.

    He looked on as if he saw nothing.

Common Mistakes

  • Giving a conditional verb the wrong person for aš.

    Aš kalbu, tartum viską žinotų.
    Aš kalbu, tartum viską žinočiau.

    For the intended meaning as if I knew everything, the conditional is first-person žinočiau.

How It Connects

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

tarytum / tartumLevel 6Literary as if

Learn This First

Tarytum and tartum introduce literary comparisons, sometimes with a conditional clause.

Words in This Pattern

tarytum