One Quick Action: -telėti

One Quick Action with -telėti

Level 5

Add -telėti to a verb root and the action becomes one quick event: šaukti (to shout) → šūktelėti (to give a shout), compare žiūrėti (to look) with žvilgtelėti (to glance). English often says give a ... or take a quick ....

How It Works

Common pairs

  • šaukti (shout) → šūktelėti (give a shout)
  • compare žiūrėti (look) with žvilgtelėti (glance, take a quick look)
  • the sound word stukt (knock) → stuktelėti (give a knock)
  • šypsotis (smile) → šyptelėti (give a quick smile)
  • kosėti (cough) → kostelėti (give a little cough)
  • traukti (pull) → truktelėti (give a tug)

A few verbs use -terėti instead, and some have both: žvilgtelėti and žvilgterėti mean the same.

Forms
The third-person past of the -telėti examples ends in -telėjo, with person endings in other forms: šūktelėjau, šūktelėjo. In today's speech the present is usually -teli (šūkteli), and the future is -telės (žvilgtelėsiu). The command form is common in everyday requests: Žvilgtelėk! (Take a look!) See The Three Principal Parts.

Once versus again and again
Each act is brief, but brief acts can repeat. To describe continuous shouting, use the plain verb (šaukė, he was shouting) or a verb of repeated motion; see Going Around and Back and Forth and Ongoing Versus Completed Actions.

A softer tone
Because the action is small, these verbs can make a request sound light: Palauk, aš tik žvilgtelėsiu. (Wait, I will just take a quick look.)

Examples (6)

  1. Kažkas šūktelėjo mano vardą.

    Someone called out my name.

    Word by Word: Someone gave-a-shout my name.

  2. Žvilgtelėk į laikrodį.

    Take a quick look at the clock.

    Word by Word: Glance into clock.

  3. Kažkas stuktelėjo į langą.

    Someone gave a knock on the window.

    Word by Word: Someone gave-a-knock into window.

  4. Ji man šyptelėjo.

    She gave me a quick smile.

    Word by Word: She to-me gave-a-quick-smile.

  5. Jis kostelėjo ir pradėjo kalbėti.

    He gave a little cough and began to speak.

    Word by Word: He gave-a-cough and began to-speak.

  6. Vaikas truktelėjo mamą už rankovės.

    The child tugged his mother by the sleeve.

    Word by Word: Child gave-a-tug mom by sleeve.

Common Mistakes

  • Using a -telėti verb for an action that went on for a long time.

    Jis visą vakarą šūktelėjo.
    Jis visą vakarą šaukė.

    The intended meaning is that he kept shouting all evening. Šūktelėti means one quick shout, so the plain verb šaukti fits.

  • Building the past tense with -o instead of -ėjo.

    Jis man šūktelo.
    Jis man šūktelėjo.

    The third-person past of these -telėti verbs ends in -telėjo: šūktelėjo, žvilgtelėjo, stuktelėjo.

How It Connects

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

One Quick Action: -telėtiLevel 5One Quick Action with -telėti

Learn This First

The suffix -telėti forms verbs for a brief, single action.