Lithuanian grammar

Question 1

How is the Lithuanian vowel system divided?

Answer 1

It is divided into long vs. short vowels.

Question 2

Where does the short ‘o’ occur in Lithuanian?

Answer 2

The short ‘o’ occurs only in loanwords.

Question 3

How are long vowels marked in Lithuanian spelling?

Answer 3

Long vowels are marked with diacritics and/or nasals.

Question 4

What does tonal opposition mean in Lithuanian?

Answer 4

Tonal opposition on stressed vowels, which is only on long vowels and diphthongs.

Question 5

How are short vowels marked in Lithuanian spelling?

Answer 5

Short vowels are tone neutral and unmarked, such as a or e.

Question 6

How are diphthongs formed in Lithuanian?

Answer 6

Diphthongs are formed by combining vowels and/or resonants:
1. a/e + i/u (e.g., ai, eu), or
2. a/e/i/u + r/l/m/n (e.g., ar, im, el).

Question 7

What tones are indicated by accents in Lithuanian?

Answer 7

/ á = acute/fall tone (written on the first sound in a diphthong)
~ ã = circumflex/rising tone (written on the second sound in a diphthong)
\ à = short

Question 8

How is palatalization indicated in Lithuanian?

Answer 8

A consonant is usually pronounced palatal before a front vowel
(e,ę,ė,i,y,į), and otherwise non-palatal before other vowels. To indicate when a palatalized consonant occurs in front of a back vowel (ą,a,o,u,ų,ū), however, it needs to be indicated by writing -i- after the
affected consonant.

Question 9

How many genders does Lithuanian have?

Answer 9

two genders: masculine and feminine (neuter disappeared).

Question 10

How many grammatical numbers does Lithuanian have?

Answer 10

Singular and plural. In the present day standard, the dual has largely disappeared, but it is best preserved in western dialects.

Question 11

What noun cases exist in Lithuanian?

Answer 11

1. Nominative,
2. Accusative,
3. Dative,
4. Genitive,
5. instrumental,
6. Locative,
7. Vocative.

Question 12

What additional cases were present in Old Lithuanian?

Answer 12

Illative (into), allative (onto), and adessive (at/by).

Question 13

Which prepositions take an Accusative object in Lithuanian?

Answer 13

põ +A ‘across’

ùž +A ‘for’

į̃ +A ‘(in)to’

apiẽ +A ‘around, about’

per̃ +A ‘through’

pas +A ‘at, with; to’

Question 14

Which prepositions take a Genitive object in Lithuanian?

Answer 14

ìš +G ‘from, out of’

ùž +G ‘behind’

priẽ +G ‘near, at’

nuõ +G ‘from’

bè +G ‘without’

Question 15

Which prepositions take an Instrumental object in Lithuanian?

Answer 15

põ +I ‘under’
sù +I ‘with’

Question 16

What are the regular features of the nominative case?

Answer 16

Subjects; the subject of any sentence or clause will be in the nominative case.

Question 17

What are the regular features of the accusative case?

Answer 17

–Accusative is used for direcct objects (brólis mãto árklį ‘the brother sees the horse’);

–it’s also used to indicate time or duration (nãktį ‘at night’)

Question 18

What are the regular features of the dative case?

Answer 18

Dative is used for indirect objects/recipients (jìs dúoda tė́vui šùnį ‘he gives the father a dog’).

Question 19

What are the regular features of the genitive case?

Answer 19

–Genitive is used to combine two nouns (seser̃s nãmas ‘the sister’s house’),

–also for objects of certain verbs (‘wish, want’, ‘ask for’, ‘fear’, ‘wait for’, ‘look for’),

–and partitive use with amounts (daũg ‘much, many’, mažaĩ ‘little, few’),

–and used for negation for a subject that is absent or non-existent (father is not at home)

Question 20

What are the regular features of the locative case?

Answer 20

Locative is used for position (jì yrà Vìlniuje ‘she is in Vilnius’)

Question 21

What are the regular features of the instrumental case?

Answer 21

–Instrumental is used for thing or person with which you perform an act (rañkomis dìrbti ‘to work with your hands’)

–also for translating ‘like’ or ‘as’ when used with a predicate or in a comparison (like a bird),

–and ‘along’ or ‘through’ when talking about a movement (fly through the air)

Question 22

What are the regular features of the vocative case?

Answer 22

Vocative is used for direct addressing (O bróli, kur̃tù? ‘Oh brother, where art thou?’)

Question 23

How many declensions do Lithuanian nouns have and what are their features?

Answer 23

1. first declension: male o-, jo-, ijo- stems → in -as, -ias, -is, -ys (nom.sg.)
2. second declension: female -ā, -jā, -ē stems → in -a, -ì, -ė
3. third declension: female/male -i-stems → in -is
4. fourth declension: male u-, ju-stems → in -us, -ius
5. fifth declension: male n-, s-stems and female r-stems → in -uo, -ė

Question 24

What are some perceived regularities in the singular declension forms?

Answer 24

The acc.sg. always ends in a “nasal vowel” (ą,į,ę,ų).

The dat.sg. always ends in –Vi.

The loc.sg. always ends in –e or –j(e).

Question 25

What are some perceived regularities in the singular declension forms?

Answer 25

The acc.pl. always ends in –V̆s.

The dat.pl. always ends in –ms.

The loc.pl. always ends in –se.

The gen.pl. always ends in –ų.

Question 26

What are the personal pronouns in Lithuanian?

Answer 26

Singular‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎
I am - Aš esù‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎
You are - Tù esì‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎
S/he is - Jì/s yrà‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎

Plural
We are - Mes ẽsame
You are - Jūs ẽsate
They are jiẽ/jõs yrà

Question 27

What are the possessive pronouns in Lithuanian?

Answer 27

Singular‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎
Mine - Mano‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎
Your - Tavo‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎
His/Her - Jo(s)‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎

Plural
‎Our - Mes
Your - Mūsų
Their - Jų

Question 28

What are the verb forms in Lithuanian? (use dìrbti)

Answer 28

Singular: ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎
1SG -u, dìrbu‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎
2SG -i, dìrbi‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎
3SG -∅, dìrba‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎

Plural
1PL -me, dìrbame
2PL -te, dìrbate
3PL -∅(+si), dìrba

Question 29

Lithuanian’s present tense is divided into 4 classes. What are the characteristics of each class?

Answer 29

★ class I: -a,-ia → the most frequent and productive class. like dìrbti, dìrba are conjugated, e.g, augìnti, augìna ‘to raise’

★ class II: -i → verbs belonging to this class have an infinitive in -ėti, which is often stressed (-ė́ti), e.g. girdė́ti, giṙ̃di ‘to hear’

★ class III: -o → most verbs in this class have an infinitive in -yti, a few also in -oti, e.g. válgyti, válgo ‘to eat’

★ class IV: -ti → (OLith. only) few dozen athematic verbs [without suffix]; in modern Lithuanian they belong to the first conjugation.
e.g. dė́ti,dẽda ‘to lay, put’ OLith.demì,desì, 3SG/3PL dẽst(i), 1PL demè

Third person ẽsti is nowadays used as an existential verb: Žmonės esti skirtingi. There are all sorts of people.

Question 30

How does Lithuanian form reflexive verbs?

Answer 30

reflexives are formed by adding a suffix -s, in 1SG, 2SG, and 3SG/PL also -si to the ending of a verbal form.

prausia → prausia–s(i)
she washes → she washes herself

Verbs with a prefix (incl. negating ne-) form a reflexive form by inserting -si- between prefix and verbal stem:

sakýtis → ne-si-sakýti
‘to proclaim to be’ → ‘to not proclaim to be’

Question 31

How does Lithuanian conjugate its simple past / preterit form?

Answer 31

There are two types of simple preterits: o-preterits and ė-preterits. Both types occur next to class 1 and 3 presents.
Class 2 presents (verbs in -ėti) only form o-preterits:

o-preterits:
1SG dìrb-au
2SG dìrb-ai
3SG dìrb-o
1PL dìrb-ome
3PL dìrb-o

ė-preterits:
1SG jauč-iau
2SG jaut-ei
3SG jaut-ė
1PL jaut-ėme
2PL jaut-ėte
3PL jaut-ė

The reflexive preterit is formed exactly as the first column but with the suffix -s(i) The final -e becomes -ė.

Question 32

How is the frequentative preterit formed in Lithuanian?

Answer 32

Frequentative preterit means doing something repeatedly in the past, a kind of iterative.

→ infinitive [without -ti] + davo + preterit ending.

e.g. dìrbti → dìrbdavo ‘I always worked’

1SG dìrb-dava-u
2SG dìrbdava-i
3SG dìrb-davo
1PL dirb-davo-me
2PL dirb-davo-te
3PL dìrb-davo

Question 33

How is the future tense formed in Lithuanian?

Answer 33

infinitive [without -ti] + s(i)

→ e.g. 3SG dirb [-ti] +s = dirbs

You can recognize the future tense by a short form, with many consonants and the stem ending in -s. In stems ending in -š, -ž or -z, the third person is very difficult to recognize, which sometimes results in an alternation.

-š ending +s = -š-
-ž ending +s = -š-
-z ending +s = -s-

Conjugation of futurum dirbti:
1SG dìrb-si-u
2SG dìrb-s-i
3SG dìrb-s
1PL dirb-si-me
2PL dirb-si-te
3PL dìrb-s

Question 34

What does the imperative look like in Lithuanian?

Answer 34

→ infinitive [without -ti] + k

e.g. 3SG dìrbti → dìrb-k! ‘work!’

1PL dìrbkime! ‘let’s work!’
2PL dìrbkite! ‘work!’

Forms with -k are almost always imperative.

Question 35

Lithuanian’s adjectives have 3 declensions. What are the characteristics of each one?

Answer 35

❖ 1st class: o/ā-stems: masc. -as, fem. -a.

➢ The o/ā-stems have the same endings as the o-and ā-stem nouns, except the masculine dat.sg. (cf. výrui),loc.sg. (výre), nom.pl. (výrai) and dat.pl. (výrams).

➢ The feminine forms all have the same endings as the ā-stem nouns.

❖ 2nd class: u/iā-stems: masc. -us, fem. -i.

➢ Masculine forms combine endings of the u-stems (nom.gen.acc.sg., nom.pl.) and io-stems nouns (ins.sg., gen.acc.ins.loc.pl.) with adj. endings in dat.sg., loc.sg. and dat.pl.

➢ The feminine has the same endings as the iā-stems martìen patì (i.e. the same as the 1st decl. except in the nom.sg. -i)

❖ 3rd class: io/ē-stems: masc. -is, fem. -ė.

➢ endings like the io- and ē-stem nouns, except masc. dat.sg., loc.sg., dat.pl

➢ mainly derived adjectives with the suffixes
-inis (akmenìnis ‘of stone’),
-aĩnis (šeštaĩnis ‘sixfold’) and
-ìškis (kaunìškis ‘from Kaunas’).

Question 36

How does Lithuanian form the Comparative?

Answer 36

Comparative is formed by adding the suffix masc. -èsnis, fem. -èsnė:

gẽr-as, ger-à → ger-èsnis, ger-èsnė
‘good’ → ‘better’

The endings are identical to those of the third adjectival declension, except in the nom.pl.m. and dat.pl.m. (= first declension).

Used with the preposition ùž + acc. with nominal forms, otherwise with the adverb negù ‘than’ (also nekaĩp, neĩ):

Vìlnius didèsnis ùž Kaũną. ‘Vilnius is larger than Kaunas.’

The analytical comparative is formed from participles and other adjectives that do not form a synthetic comparative.

Analytical comparatives are formed with the help of the adverb labiaũ or daugiaũ ‘more’:

labiaũ auksìnis ‘more golden’
daugiaũ begė́dis ‘more shameless’

Question 37

How does Lithuanian form the Superlative?

Answer 37

The superlative is formed by adding the suffix -(i)áusi-as, -a to the root of the adjective. The suffix causes palatalization:

ger-iáusias ‘best,’
graž-iáusias ‘prettiest,’
didž-iáusias ‘biggest’

Question 38

Where is the neuter gender retained in Lithuanian?

Answer 38

The neuter almost completely disappeared in Lithuanian. The adjective (and some pronouns) preserves a distinct neuter nominative singular:

1st decl. -a, e.g., bálta ‘white’

2nd decl. -u, e.g., puikù ‘nice, fine’

3rd decl. in comparatives -i, e.g., gražèsni ‘more beautiful’

Question 39

What is the definite form of Lithuanian adjectives?

Answer 39

Many adjectives have a separate form that indicates definiteness,

e.g. mãžas nãmas ‘a small house’,

but mažàs-is nãmas ‘the small house’

These forms arose through univerbation of an adjective and a demonstrative pronoun. Because the univerbation occurred before some other linguistic changes, the definite form sometimes preserves a more archaic ending than the indefinite form.

Question 40

How does Lithuanian create adverbs?

Answer 40

Adverbs are formed by adding the ending -ai (1st decl.) or -iai (2nd decl.) to the stem of the adjective:

gẽras ‘good’ → geraĩ ‘well’

lãbas ‘good’→ labaĩ ‘very’

sunkùs ‘heavy, difficult’ → suñkiai ‘heavily’