lyja / sninga
Weather Verbs Without a Subject
Lyja. It is raining. · Sninga. It is snowing. · Temsta. It is getting dark.
How It Works
No subject. English needs "it" in "it is raining". Lithuanian has nothing there: the verb is enough. The verb uses the third-person form of each tense.
Common weather verbs.
- lyti: lyja, lijo, lis – to rain
- snigti: sninga, snigo, snigs – to snow
- temti: temsta, temo, tems – to get dark
- švisti: švinta, švito, švis – to get light
- šalti: šąla, šalo, šals – to freeze
- griausti: griaudžia, griaudė, griaus – to thunder
Adding words. Place and time words go around the verb freely: Lauke sninga. (It is snowing outside.) Visą naktį lijo. (It rained all night.) To start or stop, use an infinitive: Pradėjo lyti. (It started to rain.)
Weather with a real subject. Some weather is said with a noun: Šviečia saulė. (The sun is shining.) Pučia vėjas. (The wind is blowing.) Temperature and feelings use neuter words, which also have no subject: Šalta. (It is cold.) See neuter words for states and Man šalta (I am cold).
Examples (6)
- Lyja.
It is raining.
Word by Word: Rains.
- Lauke sninga.
It is snowing outside.
- Vakar visą dieną lijo.
It rained all day yesterday.
Lijo is the past tense of lyti.
- Rytoj snigs.
It will snow tomorrow.
- Žiemą anksti temsta.
In winter it gets dark early.
- Ar dar lyja? – Ne, jau nelyja.
Is it still raining? – No, it has stopped.
Word by Word: Whether still rains? – No, already not-rains.
Common Mistakes
Using the present in a plain factual report of yesterday’s weather.
Vakar sninga.Vakar snigo.Weather verbs change for tense like other verbs. For a plain past report, use snigo; present tense can occur in vivid narration.
Adding yra to a weather verb.
Lauke yra lyja.Lauke lyja.Lyja is already a full verb. It does not need yra.
Related Patterns
- šalta / gražuNeuter Words for States
Neuter words like šalta describe weather without a subject.
Level 2 - Dative With State Words
Man šalta says how the weather feels to a person.
Level 2 - The Present Tense
Lyja and sninga are present-tense forms.
Level 1 - Past -oSimple Past in -o
Lijo and snigo are past forms in -o.
Level 2 - Future -s-The Future Tense
Lis and snigs are future forms.
Level 3 - ne- + verbNegation with Ne-
Nelyja uses the usual ne- joined to the verb.
Level 1
Words in This Pattern
Practice lyja / sninga in Bubblegum
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