būti: esu, esi, yra
The Verb Būti in the Present
aš esu · tu esi · jis, ji yra · mes esame · jūs esate · jie, jos yra
How It Works
The forms. Būti is irregular in the present:
- aš esu · tu esi · jis, ji yra
- mes esame · jūs esate · jie, jos yra
The pronoun can be dropped as with other verbs: Esu mokytoja. (I am a teacher, said by a woman.)
What follows. A noun or adjective describing the subject stays in the nominative: Jie yra studentai. See the predicate nominative. A place uses the locative: Aš esu Vilniuje. See the locative of place.
Leaving out yra. In the present, yra is often omitted in "X is Y" sentences, especially in speech: Jis studentas. (He is a student.) In writing, a dash can mark the gap: Mano brolis – gydytojas. The forms esu, esi, esame and esate are dropped less often.
Other jobs of yra. Yra also means "there is": Čia yra kavinė. See there is with yra. The negative forms are nesu and nėra; see negative forms of būti.
Other tenses. The past is buvau, buvo and the future is būsiu, bus. For "is usually", Lithuanian uses būna; see habitual being with būna. In speech, esame and esate are often shortened to esam and esat.
Examples (6)
- Aš esu namie.
I am at home.
- Kur tu esi?
Where are you?
- Jie yra studentai.
They are students.
Yra serves they as well as he and she.
- Mes esame iš Lietuvos.
We are from Lithuania.
- Ar jūs esate iš Kauno?
Are you from Kaunas?
- Mano brolis – gydytojas.
My brother is a doctor.
Word by Word: My brother – doctor.
Yra is left out, and the dash marks the gap.
Common Mistakes
Using yra for "I am".
Aš yra studentas.Aš esu studentas.Yra is only for the third person. With aš, use esu.
Using yra for "we are".
Mes yra namie.Mes esame namie.The we-form of būti is esame. Yra covers only he, she, it and they.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Būti has its own present-tense forms.
Related Patterns
- nesu / nėraNegative Forms of Būti
The negative forms of būti.
Level 1 - čia yraThere Is with Yra
Yra also means "there is" and "there are".
Level 1 - Predicate Nominative
Basic present-tense identification uses a nominative noun after esu, esi or yra.
Level 1 - tai + nominativeIdentifying with Tai
Tai yra and plain tai identify people and things.
Level 1 - Locative of Place
Says where someone is with the locative case.
Level 1 - būnaHabitual Being with Būna
Būna describes what usually is.
Level 4
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Words in This Pattern
Practice būti: esu, esi, yra in Bubblegum
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