Past Habitual -davo
Past Habits with -davo
infinitive stem + -dav- + -au, -ai, -o, -ome, -ote: žais-ti → žaisdavau (I used to play).
How It Works
1. How to build it. Take away -ti from the infinitive, add -dav-, then add the endings of past verbs in -o.
- dirb-ti → dirbdavau, dirbdavai, dirbdavo, dirbdavome, dirbdavote
- būti → būdavau, eiti → eidavau, valgyti → valgydavau
2. Reflexive verbs. The reflexive ending comes at the end: mokytis → mokydavausi, mokydavaisi, mokydavosi. After a prefix, -si- moves forward as usual: susitikdavome (we used to meet).
3. What it means. Use it for habits and repeated events, often with words like dažnai (often), kasdien (every day), vasarą (in summer) or vaikystėje (as a child).
- Vasarą važiuodavome prie jūros. (In summer we used to go to the sea.)
- Anksčiau čia būdavo parduotuvė. (There used to be a shop here.)
4. Not for one event. A single event takes the simple past: Vakar ėjau į kiną. (Yesterday I went to the cinema.) Repeats that you count within a short, recent time also take the simple past: Šiandien jau tris kartus valgiau. (I have already eaten three times today.)
5. The simple past is also fine. You can describe habits with the simple past and a word like dažnai: Vaikystėje dažnai žaidžiau lauke. This is correct. The -davo form simply makes the habit clearer.
Examples (6)
- Vaikystėje dažnai žaisdavau lauke.
As a child I often played outside.
Word by Word: In-childhood often I-used-to-play outside.
- Vasarą važiuodavome prie jūros.
In summer we used to go to the sea.
Word by Word: In-summer we-used-to-go by sea.
- Senelis vakarais skaitydavo mums pasakas.
In the evenings Grandpa would read us fairy tales.
Word by Word: Grandfather in-evenings used-to-read to-us fairy-tales.
- Anksčiau čia būdavo parduotuvė.
There used to be a shop here.
Word by Word: Earlier here used-to-be shop.
- Studijų metais keldavausi šeštą valandą.
When I was a student, I used to get up at six.
Word by Word: In-years of-studies I-used-to-get-up at-sixth hour.
Keltis is reflexive, so the ending is -davausi.
- Kai lydavo, likdavome namie.
Whenever it rained, we stayed at home.
Word by Word: When it-used-to-rain, we-used-to-stay at-home.
Both verbs are in -davo: every time one thing happened, the other happened too.
Common Mistakes
Using -davo for one single event.
Vakar eidavau į kiną.Vakar ėjau į kiną.For one trip to the cinema yesterday, use ėjau. Eidavau describes a habitual or recurring event; a word such as vakar alone does not determine the tense.
Using -davo for a few counted times in a recent period.
Šiandien jau tris kartus valgydavau.Šiandien jau tris kartus valgiau.The -davo form describes a general past habit. For a number of times today, use the simple past.
Building -davo from the past tense instead of the infinitive.
Vasarą buvdavome kaime.Vasarą būdavome kaime.The stem comes from the infinitive būti, not from the past form buvo: bū-davome.
How It Connects
Learn This First
The frequentative past expresses repeated past action with an infinitive-based stem.
Related Patterns
- Infinitive -tiThe Infinitive in -ti
The -davo past is built on the infinitive stem.
Level 1 - The Three Principal Parts
Of the three principal parts, -davo uses the infinitive, not the past.
Level 2 - būnaHabitual Being with Būna
Būna is the present-tense way to say that something usually happens.
Level 4 - Repeated Movement: -inėti, -iotiGoing Around and Back and Forth
These verbs show moving around; they can also take -davo, as in važinėdavome.
Level 3 - Reflexive -siReflexive Verbs in -si
Reflexive verbs end in -davausi, -davosi in this tense.
Level 2
Practice Past Habitual -davo in Bubblegum
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