Person Nouns: -tojas, -ininkas
People Named by What They Do
-tojas turns a verb into a person who does it: mokyti → mokytojas (teacher). -ininkas turns a noun into a person who works with it: darbas → darbininkas (worker).
How It Works
1. -tojas: from a verb. For the verbs below, drop -ti from the infinitive and add -tojas:
- mokyti → mokytojas, mokytoja (teacher)
- vairuoti → vairuotojas, vairuotoja (driver)
- rašyti → rašytojas, rašytoja (writer)
- skaityti → skaitytojas, skaitytoja (reader)
- gydyti → gydytojas, gydytoja (doctor)
2. -ininkas: from a noun. Replace the ending of the noun with -ininkas:
- darbas → darbininkas, darbininkė (worker)
- daina → dainininkas, dainininkė (singer)
- mokslas → mokslininkas, mokslininkė (scientist)
- ūkis → ūkininkas, ūkininkė (farmer)
- sodas → sodininkas, sodininkė (gardener)
3. A close relative: -ėjas. Some verbs use -ėjas, -ėja instead: pirkėjas (buyer), pardavėjas (seller), vertėjas (translator). Learn these as they come.
4. Men and women. Use the feminine form for a woman, and make the adjective agree: gera vairuotoja (a good driver, a woman). A mixed group uses the masculine plural: mokytojai. See Male and Female Person Nouns.
5. In sentences. For a simple identity statement, the job is nominative: Mama yra mokytoja. After dirbti, it goes into the instrumental: Mama dirba mokytoja. (Mom works as a teacher.) See Instrumental for Roles. To call out to someone, use the vocative: Mokytojau! for a man, Mokytoja! for a woman. See Vocative Address.
Examples (6)
- Mano mama dirba mokytoja.
My mom works as a teacher.
After dirbti, the job is in the instrumental. For -a nouns, it is spelled like the nominative.
- Ji yra labai atsargi vairuotoja.
She is a very careful driver.
A woman is vairuotoja, and the adjective agrees: atsargi.
- Ūkininkai turguje parduoda daržoves.
Farmers sell vegetables at the market.
Ūkis (farm) gives ūkininkas (farmer).
- Ta dainininkė dainuoja lietuviškai ir angliškai.
That singer sings in Lithuanian and English.
Daina (song) gives dainininkas, and for a woman dainininkė.
- Knyga labai patiko skaitytojams.
Readers really liked the book.
Skaitytojas changes like an -as noun: the dative plural is skaitytojams.
- Mokslininkai rado naują vaistą.
Scientists found a new medicine.
Mokslas (science) gives mokslininkas (scientist).
Common Mistakes
Using the masculine form for a woman.
Ji yra geras vairuotojas.Ji yra gera vairuotoja.For a woman, use the feminine form, and make the adjective agree with it.
Giving -tojas the wrong feminine ending.
Mano sesuo yra mokytojė.Mano sesuo yra mokytoja.-tojas becomes -toja for a woman, not -tojė.
Giving -ininkas the wrong feminine ending.
Ji garsi dainininka.Ji garsi dainininkė.-ininkas becomes -ininkė for a woman.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Activity and role suffixes form masculine/feminine person nouns; the -tojas derivation begins with the infinitive stem.
- Infinitive -tiThe Infinitive in -ti
Recognize the infinitive ending -ti before removing it to build a person noun in -tojas or -toja.
Level 1 - First Declension: -as, -is, -ysThe First Declension
Know the resulting masculine noun declension.
Level 2 - Second Declension: -a, -ėThe Second Declension
Know the resulting feminine noun declensions.
Level 2
Related Patterns
- Male and Female Person Nouns
The same male and female pairs, first met with studentas and studentė.
Level 1 - People From Places: -ietis, -ietėPeople from Places
Another person suffix: it names people by where they come from.
Level 3 - Instrumental for Roles
Jobs after dirbti go into the instrumental: dirba mokytoja.
Level 2 - Verbal Nouns: -imas, -ymasVerbal Nouns in -imas
Names the action itself, where -tojas names the person doing it.
Level 4 - Place Nouns: -ykla, -inė, -uvėNouns for Places
Names the place of an activity, such as mokykla (school).
Level 5 - Vocative Address
Shows how to call out to people: Mokytojau!
Level 2
Practice Person Nouns: -tojas, -ininkas in Bubblegum
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