būtent

Namely and Exactly with Būtent

Level 5

Būtent means exactly or namely: Būtent tai ir norėjau pasakyti. (That is exactly what I wanted to say.)

How It Works

1. Singling something out

  • Būtent todėl ir atvažiavau. (That's exactly why I came.)
  • Būtent jis man padėjo. (He is the one who helped me.)

Būtent stresses the word right after it. Compare Būtent jis man padėjo (he, not someone else) with Jis padėjo būtent man (me, not someone else).

2. Namely
After a comma, būtent names the thing just mentioned: Mums trūksta vieno dalyko, būtent laiko. (We are missing one thing, namely time.) The named word keeps the same case as the word it explains: vieno dalyko and laiko are both genitive.

3. As a reply
– Vadinasi, reikia pradėti iš naujo? – Būtent! (So we have to start over? Exactly!)

Related words

  • Kaip tik also means exactly, and it is the word for good timing and a good fit.
  • Lygiai means exactly with numbers and clock times: lygiai septintą (at seven sharp).
  • Tik means only: it limits instead of singling out.

Examples (5)

  1. Būtent tai ir norėjau pasakyti.

    That is exactly what I wanted to say.

    Word by Word: Exactly that and I-wanted to-say.

  2. Būtent todėl ir atvažiavau.

    That's exactly why I came.

    Word by Word: Exactly therefore and I-came.

  3. Būtent jis man padėjo.

    He is the one who helped me.

    Word by Word: Exactly he to-me helped.

  4. Mums trūksta vieno dalyko, būtent laiko.

    We are missing one thing, namely time.

    Word by Word: To-us lacks of-one thing, namely of-time.

    Laiko is genitive, the same case as vieno dalyko, which it explains.

  5. – Vadinasi, reikia pradėti iš naujo? – Būtent!

    "So we have to start over?" "Exactly!"

    Word by Word: So, needed to-start anew? Exactly!

Common Mistakes

  • Using būtent for an exact clock time.

    Susitikime būtent septintą.
    Susitikime lygiai septintą.

    The speaker means at seven sharp. For exact times and amounts, use lygiai. Būtent septintą would single out seven as opposed to some other time.

  • Putting būtent before the wrong word.

    Jis man būtent padėjo.
    Būtent jis man padėjo.

    The speaker means he is the one who helped. Būtent stresses the word right after it, so it must stand before jis.

How It Connects

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

būtentLevel 5Namely and Exactly with Būtent

Learn This First

Būtent singles out or identifies an exact item.

Words in This Pattern

būtent