Colloquial Latvian: The Complete Course for Beginners [Book] [second edition] 9780415454803, 9780415458078, 9780415458061, 9780415550413, 9780203873410, 9781315741284, 9781138949898, 9781138371828, 9781315650166, 9781317306184

Citation preview

Colloquial

Latvian

THE COLLOQUIAL SERIES Series Adviser: Gary King The following languages are available in the Colloquial series: Afrikaans Albanian Amharic Arabic (Levantine) Arabic of Egypt Arabic of the Gulf Basque Bengali Breton Bulgarian Cambodian Cantonese Catalan Chinese Croatian Czech Danish Dutch English Estonian Finnish French

German Greek Gujarati Hausa (forthcoming) Hebrew Hindi Hungarian Icelandic Indonesian Irish Italian Japanese Korean Latvian Lithuanian Malay Mongolian Norwegian Panjabi Persian Polish Portuguese

Portuguese of Brazil Romanian Russian Scottish Gaelic Serbian Slovak Slovene Somali Spanish Spanish of Latin America Swahili Swedish Tamil Thai Turkish Ukrainian Urdu Vietnamese Welsh Yoruba Zulu (forthcoming)

COLLOQUIAL 2s series: The Next Step in Language Learning Chinese Dutch French

German (forthcoming) Italian Portuguese of Brazil

Russian Spanish Spanish of Latin America

All these Colloquials are available in book & CD packs, or separately. You can order them through your bookseller or via our website www.routledge.com.

Colloquial

Latvian The Complete Course for Beginners Dace Prauli.v and Christopher Moseley

First published 1996 by Routledge

This second edition published 2010 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 1996 Christopher Moseley © 2010 Dace Prauli.v and Christopher Moseley Typeset in 9.5/13pt Helvetica by Graphicraft Limited, Hong Kong

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Prauli.v, Dace, 1951– Colloquial Latvian : the complete course for beginners / Dace Prauli8v and Christopher Moseley. — 2nd ed. p. cm. — (The colloquial series) Includes bibliographical references. 1. Latvian language—Textbooks for foreign speakers—English. 2. Latvian language—Spoken Latvian. I. Moseley, Christopher. II. Title. PG8839.5.E5P73 2009 491′.9382421—dc22 2009004073 ISBN13: ISBN13: ISBN13: ISBN13: ISBN13: ISBN13:

978-0-415-45480-3 978-0-415-45807-8 978-0-415-45806-1 978-0-415-55041-3 978-0-203-87341-0 978-1-315-74128-4

(pbk) (audio CDs) (pack) (MP3) (ebk) (eBook Pack)

Contents

Acknowledgements Introduction How to use this book The sounds of Latvian Abbreviations

1

Sveiki! Hello! 2 Ledzu brauciet uz . . . ! Please drive to . . . ! 3 Man ir rezervbts numurs I have a reservation 4 Brauciens ar vilcienu Travelling by train 5 Restorana At the restaurant 6 9imene Family 7 Ko tu dari brcvaja laika? What do you do in your free time? 8 Iesim iepirkties! Let’s go shopping! 9 Iesim uz tirgu! Let’s go to the market! 10 Ka tu pavadi dienas? How do you spend your days? 11 Kur tu biji atva7inajuma? Where did you go on holiday? 12 Kas jums kaiv? What’s wrong with you?

vii x xii xv xxi

1 16 29 42 54 67 78 91 105 119 131 146

vi

Contents

13 Jaunais dzcvoklis The new flat 14 Kads vodien bes laiks? What will the weather be like today? 15 Sakari un masu informacijas lcdzek7i Communications and mass media

Grammar summary Key to exercises Latvian–English glossary English–Latvian glossary Bibliography Index

160 173 187

199 217 237 252 263 265

Please email [email protected] with proof of purchase to obtain access to the supplementary content for this eBook. An access code and instructions will be provided.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Ingrida Bude and the late Margons Bude without whose love and support my Latvian would not have survived, and U[is Prauli.v without whom I would not have started to teach Latvian. Dace Prauli.v My thanks go to the late Reinis Mertens. In a way, you could say that he taught me everything I know. He was a great friend to me and a most unusual man. Christopher Moseley Both authors would like to thank Gary King for his helpful comments at the draft stage of this edition, as well as Ligita Grigule whose detailed comments on current usage and methodology have been invaluable. In addition, we would like to thank Annamarie Kino, Sonja van Leeuwen and Anna Callander at Routledge who have nursed this new edition through from start to finish. Claire Trocmé has done an excellent job of going over the manuscript and finding inconsistencies so we are very grateful to her for that. We would also like to thank the following for permission to use photographs and other material: Ce&u Satiksmes DroVCbas Direkcija (Road Traffic Safety Directorate) – www.csdd.lv (road signs, Unit 11) Artem Prokur – www.riga.in (photographs of numbers, Unit 1; tram, Unit 2; station, Unit 4; Laima clock, Unit 7; market, Unit 9; Riga street, Unit 14) Latvijas Banka (the Bank of Latvia) – www.bank.lv (reproductions of bank notes and new euro design, Unit 3) Hotel Naktsmajas – www.nakstmajas.lv (price list, Unit 3) Latvijas TelevCzija (Latvian Television) – www.ltv.lv (logo and TV programme, Unit 15) Latvijas Dzelzce&V (Latvian Railway) – www.ldz.lv (timetable and prices, Unit 4)

viii

Acknowledgements

Latvia Tourism – www.latviatourism.lv (photographs of Turaidas Pils, Unit 10; Andrupene, Unit 11) Latvian Hotel and Restaurant Association – www.hotel.lv (history of Latvia, Unit 14) NeatkarCgA RCta AvCze (Independent Morning Newspaper) – www.nra.lv (logo, Unit 15) Fortuna Travel – www.fortunatravel.lv (itinerary, Unit 11) The magazine Saimniece – www.saimniece.lv (jokes, Unit 12) Dace Prauli.v and Christopher Moseley

Latvija

Introduction

This course aims to provide a working knowledge of the contemporary Latvian language. Latvian is one of the two surviving members of the Baltic branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Its closest relative is Lithuanian, the language of Latvia’s southern neighbour. The Baltic languages are of great antiquity and therefore of much interest to historians of Indo-European linguistics. At one time there may have been up to ten members of the Baltic branch, but little is known of them; the most recent language in this group to die out was Old Prussian, which was defunct by the end of the seventeenth century. The Republic of Latvia re-emerged as a sovereign nation in 1991; the three Baltic republics of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were the first to declare their independence from the Soviet Union. Like its northern and southern neighbours, Latvia had enjoyed a period of independence earlier in the last century, from 1918 to 1940, between the two world wars, a period which saw a rapid growth in the country’s prosperity to a position to which it is only now returning. In previous centuries, Latvia was, with its northern neighbour Estonia, subsumed under the name of the Duchy of Livonia as part of the Russian empire, and before that under Swedish and Polish rule. In medieval times its territory was conquered and Christianized by the Teutonic Knights from Germany, and their descendants remained until the last century as the educated nobility of ‘Livonia’. All these tides of history are reflected in the present-day Latvian language. Embedded in the Baltic bedrock of the language one can find traces of German, Russian and even Swedish, which serve to give a more cosmopolitan character to this old-established tongue of peasants and seafarers. Even in the twenty-first century, the language is still undergoing considerable changes: as it shakes off the jargon of fifty years of ‘Sovietese’, it eagerly embraces the international terminology of commerce and information technology, much of it recognizable to English speakers.

Introduction

During the Soviet period, the Latvians almost became a minority in their own country, and in the capital, Riga, they were in fact so. Russian came to predominate in most areas of life, and for native Latvians bilingualism became an everyday fact of life. It is for this reason that, since independence, stringent laws have been passed and implemented in Latvia to ensure the primary position of Latvian as the state language of the country. In the last years of the Soviet era, real fears had been expressed that, if existing trends were to continue, the Latvian language would soon die out. Now the language is in a much healthier position. Owing to certain similarities between the structures of the Latvian and Russian languages, and a certain amount of common vocabulary, Latvian linguistic ‘purism’ has perhaps taken on a more vigilant edge than in, say, Estonia, whose language has no genetic affiliation with Russian. Incidentally, the only other language native to Latvia, Livonian, which is now on the point of extinction, is most closely related to Estonian. After the collapse of Latvia’s independence following the Molotov– Ribbentrop Pact of 1939 and the Soviet occupation of 1940, large numbers of Latvians were deported from or fled the country. Consequently, in the post-war years sizeable Latvian communities established themselves abroad, notably in Germany, Sweden, Canada, the United States, Australia and Britain. Throughout the subsequent decades these communities have proudly maintained their country’s ancient language and traditions. Many of them are now enjoying the opportunity to revisit their ancestral homeland and re-establish ties with the approximately 1.4 million Latvians who remained there. Altogether, then, there are perhaps upwards of 2 million speakers of Latvian in the world today. In recent years, since Latvia joined the European Union in 2004, there has been a much greater movement of people coming from Latvia to work in other European countries, as well as people going to Latvia to live and work there. In addition, there are also far greater business contacts, and Latvia has also become a popular tourist destination as people discover the architectural gems and wonderful nature that Latvia has to offer. It is with this in mind that the new edition of Colloquial Latvian has come into being. Its aim is to give learners who might need Latvian for everyday purposes a basic grounding in the vocabulary and structures they will need to get around and communicate with Latvians.

xi

How to use this book

The course comprises the book and two CDs. Although the book can be used on its own without the CDs, we do recommend that you purchase the audio material if you have not already done so as this will greatly enhance your learning experience. The CDs are recorded by native Latvian speakers so you will be able to hear exactly how Latvian is pronounced.

The book The book is divided into 15 units each of which focuses on a communicative function, e.g. eating out at a restaurant. There is a pronunciation guide at the front of the book, while at the back you will find a grammar summary, the key to the exercises, Latvian–English and English–Latvian glossaries, as well as an index of functions and grammar points.

Structure of units Each unit follows a similar structure with two or more dialogues which introduce the functional, communicative language for the topic, as well as the grammar to be covered within that unit. The dialogues are followed by a vocabulary throughout the book, and for the first five units there are also translations of the dialogues. Language points are introduced in a user-friendly way with simplified explanations and tables to help you learn. The language points are followed by exercises, some of which are also recorded. At the end of each unit there is a selection of exercises entitled ‘What can you remember?’ These bring together the grammar and language of that unit. In Units 5, 10 and 15

How to use this book

this section brings together the language from the previous five units as revision. We have introduced something of the culture of Latvia throughout the book, e.g. Latvian cuisine. These sections are written in English but include extra vocabulary in Latvian. We hope you find these interesting and useful in learning more about the people whose language you are studying.

Audio recordings Using the recordings will help you in a number of ways: it will help you to understand spoken Latvian; it will help you to memorize the structures and vocabulary; it will improve your pronunciation and intonation. We suggest that in the first instance you listen to the recording without looking at the transcript of the dialogue in the book. Although each new dialogue includes new vocabulary which you will not know, listen and try to understand as much as you can at least a couple of times before moving on to the transcript. This is very much like listening to Latvian for real when there will always be words that you don’t understand but you will need to be able to understand the gist of what is said. When you have understood as much as you can, move on to the transcript and vocabulary for the dialogue, work through the dialogue and learn the vocabulary. Now listen to the recordings again and you will find that you will be able to understand them in much more detail. At this stage play the recordings several times – you can do this while you’re doing something else such as driving or ironing. In this way, you will be able memorize the vocabulary and expressions much more easily. Some of the exercises are also recorded. Where an exercise shows that it is recorded, listen to the recorded key first before you look at the key in the back of the book. There are also extra exercises on the recording which are not in the book. These are for extra practice. In addition, use the recordings for pronunciation practice by repeating the dialogues out loud in the first instance and later by reading the dialogue in sections and then playing the recording and comparing your pronunciation with that of the native speaker.

xiii

xiv

How to use this book

Learning a language The important thing in learning a new language is to take one step at a time and not to overdo it. You shouldn’t leave your language learning for the weekend when you might have a couple of hours’ time to devote to it. Instead, divide these two hours up over the week, spending 30–40 minutes on your language learning every couple of days. Don’t try to cram too many grammar activities into these sessions – it’s much more beneficial to do one grammar point and the exercise that goes with it per 30-minute session together with other activities such as listening and learning new vocabulary. In this way, you can digest what you have learnt much more easily. Although the vocabulary is written out in a very clear way in the book, it is a great help if you write out the words yourself in a vocabulary book. Small cards are also very useful in learning new words – you can make small flashcards with the Latvian on one side and the English on the other. These can be put into your pocket or handbag and are there ready to be used whenever you have a spare moment. You can also record the lists of vocabulary and play them as you’re driving or doing something else. Do use the Internet as a learning resource. There are links to various websites in the last unit, but you can search for any topics, e.g. after you have learnt the vocabulary for houses and flats, search for dzcvok7i Rcga ‘flats in Riga’ and you will find many websites selling or renting flats. These will give you plenty of reading practice. Similarly you can look for hotels after you have done Unit 3. Most hotel websites do have pages in English but you can usually click to change to Latvian. Try to find somebody to speak to, particularly if you are learning on your own. You may be able to find a Latvian who would like to improve their English conversation skills in exchange for practice in Latvian conversation. Lai Jums veicas!

Wishing you success!

The sounds of Latvian

The alphabet The Latvian alphabet consists of thirty-five letters: A f B C x D Dz Dw E g F G 9

a a b c u d dz dw e b f g [

H I h J K 0 L M N = O

h i c j k 6 l 7 m n . o

P R S y T U j V Z z

p r s v t u e v z w

The digraphs Dz, dz and Dw, dw are treated as single letters in Latvian books. The letters q, w, x and y are not used, even in writing foreign names, although they can now be seen in www, for example, or in the lesson about hotels we will see lux, short for luxury, although you will also see it written as lukss.

Pronunciation Latvian is pronounced as it is written, and once you learn the alphabet you will have a reliable idea of how each word is pronounced.

xvi

The sounds of Latvian

Vowels (CD1; 2) There are five vowels in Latvian, and, apart from o, they can occur in both short and long forms. The long forms are indicated in writing by placing a macron ( ¯ ) above the letter. a is pronounced like the ‘u’ in English ‘but’ (like a in most European languages), for example, ala ‘cave’. a is pronounced as in English ‘art’, for example, atri ‘quickly’. e is pronounced in two different ways, like the ‘e’ in ‘bed’ or like the ‘a’ in ‘cat’, depending on the word in question. These are referred to as ‘narrow’ (vaurais) e and ‘broad’ (platais) e, respectively. In the vocabulary lists, narrow e will be left unmarked, and broad e will be indicated by a small hook underneath: î, for example, es îsmu ‘I am’, tu esi ‘you are’. Remember that this is only a pronunciation guide; it is not used in writing. b the same applies to the longer version of e, and will be indicated as such in the vocabulary lists, for example, redzbt (narrow) ‘to see’, kr\sls (broad) ‘chair’. i is pronounced as in English ‘bit’, but a little further forward in the mouth with tenser lips: for example, sirds ‘heart’. c sounds like the vowel in English ‘beat’, for example, sirdc ‘in the heart’. o is also pronounced in two different ways. In words of older Latvian origin, this vowel is pronounced as a diphthong [uo], almost like the ‘wa’ in English ‘wasp’; in more recent borrowings, it is a monophthong [o], pronounced as in English ‘got’, for example, ozols (two diphthongs) ‘oak’, kino (monophthong) ‘cinema’. u is pronounced as in English ‘pull’, for example, pulkstenis ‘clock’. e the longer version of u, is pronounced rather like the vowel in the English ‘pool’, for example, peles ‘efforts’.

Diphthongs (CD1; 3) Apart from the sound [uo] written as o, Latvian has a range of other diphthongs. Each one is written as it is pronounced, a combination of two vowels as follows:

The sounds of Latvian

ai

is pronounced as in the English ‘like’, for example, skaists ‘beautiful’. au is pronounced as in the English ‘sound’, for example, tauta ‘nation’. ei is pronounced as in the English ‘make’, for example, meita ‘daughter’. ie is pronounced rather like the English ‘fear’, for example, iela ‘street’. oi is pronounced as in the English ‘boy’, for example, boikots ‘boycott’. ui is pronounced rather like the French ‘oui’, for example, puika ‘boy’.

There are no other true diphthongs in native words; other vowel combinations are the result of adding a prefix to a root, such as pabst ‘eat (one’s fill)’, saiet ‘go together’, Saeima ‘Latvian Parliament’.

Consonants (CD1; 4–6) b, d, f, l, m, n, s, v and z are pronounced as in English. Here are some examples: balts diena filma labs meita nakts salds viss zeme c

white day film good daughter night sweet all earth

is pronounced like ‘ts’ in ‘cats’. Thus, for example, cits ‘other’ begins and ends with the same sound. u is like the ‘ch’ in English ‘church’, for example, uetri ‘four’. dz is pronounced as the ‘ds’ in the English ‘buds’, for example, dzied ‘sings’. dw is like the ‘j’ in English ‘job’, for example, dwezs ‘jazz’. h is pronounced like the ‘h’ in English ‘hair’, for example, hokejs ‘hockey’.

xvii

xviii

The sounds of Latvian

j r v w

is pronounced like ‘y’ in ‘yes’, for example, jo ‘because’. is pronounced with a moderate trill (two or three flaps of the tongue), for example, redz ‘sees’. is like the ‘sh’ in English ‘ship’, for example, vis ‘this’. is like the ‘s’ in ‘pleasure’, for example, wurka ‘rat’.

k, p and t are pronounced without the initial puff of air (aspiration) so often heard at the beginning of English words, for example, koks ‘tree’, putns ‘bird’, tas ‘it’. When they occur between two short vowels, unvoiced consonants such as k, p and t tend to be lengthened to almost double length: hence aka ‘well’ sounds like [akka], upe ‘river’ sounds like [uppe], bite ‘bee’ sounds like [bitte]. The consonants [, 6, 7 and . are all what we call ‘palatalized’ sounds, the result of adding a [j] sound to a consonant. They are pronounced with the tongue arched further towards the palate (hence the name ‘palatalized’) to make a single sound. [ 6 7 .

is a bit like the [dj] sound in ‘due’, for example, [imene ‘family’. is not like any sound in English, but most closely resembles the [tj] sound in ‘Tuesday’ or ‘cut you’, for example, 6er! ‘catch!’. is like the ‘lli’ in ‘million’, for example, 7oti ‘very’. is like the ‘ni’ in English ‘onion’, for example, .em! ‘take!’.

Stress (CD1; 7) Stress nearly always occurs on the first syllable of a word (except in a few words which are actually contractions of longer phrases), even if this syllable is a prefix. Remember that stress and length in Latvian are quite independent of each other. Any syllable can be long, but only the first syllable can be stressed, as indicated by the syllable written in capital letters, for example, KfPT ‘climb’, IZkapt ‘climb out’, Upe ‘river’, Upb ‘in a/the river’, MAvcna ‘car’, MAvcna ‘in a/the car’. Here are some common words which do not follow this rule – the stressed syllable is written in capital letters: labRhT labVAkar

good morning good evening

The sounds of Latvian

visLIElakais neKAS neVIENS labDIEN palDIES neKAD

xix

the biggest (this is true of all words prefixed with visin the superlative) nothing nobody (most other words prefixed with ne- ‘not’ have the stress on the first syllable) good day thank you never

Pronunciation exercise (CD1; 8) Using the guidelines above, try pronouncing the following words. If you have the CDs, try pronouncing the words first before you listen to the recording. zirgs lacis ka6is bullis govs ceka putns troksnis roka ola pirksts akmens pasaule diena ku[is slbdzis ce7v rota7a dziesma aka upe bite b7oda

horse bear cat bull cow pig bird noise hand egg finger stone world day ship switch road game song well river bee dish

zirgi laui ka6i bu77i govis cekas putni trokv.i rokas olas pirksti akme.i pasaules dienas ku[i slbdwi ce7i rota7as dziesmas akas upes bites b7odas

horses bears cats bulls cows pigs birds noises hands eggs fingers stones worlds days ships switches roads games songs wells rivers bees dishes

xx

The sounds of Latvian

nazis svece zvbrs tornis mirklis

knife candle beast tower moment

nawi sveces zvbri tor.i mirk7i

knives candles beasts towers moments

Abbreviations

acc. adj. adv. conj. dat. dim. fam. fem. gen. intr. irreg. lit. loc.

accusative adjective adverb conjunction dative diminutive familiar feminine genitive intransitive irregular literally locative

masc. n. nom. pl. pol. prep. reg. s.b. sing. sthg tr. v. voc.

masculine noun nominative plural polite preposition regular somebody singular something transitive verb vocative

Unit One Sveiki! Hello!

In this unit you will learn how to: • • • • •

say hello and goodbye introduce yourself and others give and ask for personal information ask questions count to 10

Dialogue 1 Prieks iepazcties A pleasure to meet you (CD1; 9) Peteris Prieditis is at a reception with his wife Anda when they meet a colleague of Peteris. JfNIS PgTERIS JfNIS PgTERIS ANDA JfNIS ANDA

JANIS PETERIS

Sveiks, Pbter, ka iet? Sveiks, Jani! Paldies, labi, un tev? Arc labi, paldies. Te ir mana sieva Anda. Labdien! Labdien! Prieks iepazcties. Man arc. Hello, Peter, how are you? Hello, Janis, [I’m] well, and you?

2

Unit 1: Sveiki!

JANIS PETERIS ANDA JANIS ANDA

[I’m] well too, thanks. This is my wife Anda. Good day! Good day! A pleasure to meet you. Me too.

Vocabulary sveiks

hello, hi

te

here, this

ka

how

ir

is

iet

to go; goes

mana (fem.) my

paldies thanks

sieva

wife

labi

well

labdien

good day

un

and

prieks

pleasure

tev

to/for you

iepazcties

to get to know

arc

also, too

Language point Gender All nouns, names and adjectives in Latvian are declined according to gender. They may be masculine (masc.) or feminine (fem.). You can usually tell easily whether a Latvian noun is masculine or feminine. The masculine ending for nouns is nearly always -s or -is, and the feminine is mostly -a or -e in the basic form, as given in the vocabulary lists and the glossary. (Gender will not be shown in these lists unless the word is an exception to this rule.) Note that gender endings apply to names as well. Pbteris Priedctis is masculine, and his wife is Anda Priedcte: even the ending of her surname is feminine. As a cultural point, Latvian women born outside Latvia often use the masculine ending of their surname, partly following the conventions of their parents and grandparents as the use of the feminine ending was not universal in the interwar years, and partly because this was the name registered on their birth certificates.

Unit 1: Hello!

3

Greetings and goodbyes (CD1; 10) sveiks! (masc. sing.) sveika! (fem. sing.) sveiki! (masc. pl.) sveikas! (fem. pl.)

greetings! hello! – the form must agree with the gender and number of people you are speaking to

labdien!

good day! – used at any time in the daytime – at more specific times of the day you can use: good morning! – usually used only when you get up good evening!

labrct! labvakar!

(In the words labdien, labrct and labvakar the stress falls on the second syllable.)

Visu labu! Ata! Arlabunakti!

ciao – from the Italian – used by young people both as a greeting and for saying goodbye Goodbye! lit. ‘Until we see each other again’, like the French ‘au revoir’. All the best! Bye! (With a) good night!

Prieks iepazcties! -oti patckami!

A pleasure to meet you! Very pleased (to meet you)!

xau!

Uz redzbvanos!

Ka (tev/jums) iet? How are you? Tev is used when Ka (tev/jums) klajas? addressing one person you are familiar with, while jums is used with a person you are not familiar with or when addressing more than one person. Labi, paldies. Fine thanks. And you? Un tev/jums? Nekas, normali. OK. lit. ‘nothing’, i.e. nothing bad, (everything’s) normal. Nu, ta./ya ta. So so.

4

Unit 1: Sveiki!

Language points Addressing people When you use a person’s first name to address them, short feminine names and nouns stay the same, e.g. Anita!, but masculine words drop the final -s: Gunars is addressed as Gunar!, Janis as Jani!, and so on. Longer feminine names also drop the final ending, e.g. Elizabet! and a longer masculine name will drop the -is ending, e.g. Pbter! This is called the vocative case.

Exercise 1 (CD1; 11) What would you say in answer to these phrases? The first one is done for you as an example. Example: Answer: 1 2 3 4 5

Labdien! Labdien!

Ka iet? Arlabunakti! Sveiks, Jani! Visu labu! xau, Pbter!

6 7 8 9

Ka jums klajas? Ata! Uz redzbvanos! Labvakar!

Personal pronouns (CD1; 12) es tu vi.v vi.a mbs jes vi.i vi.as

I you (sing. fam.) he she we you (sing. pol. and pl.) they (masc.) they (fem.)

Like many other European nationalities, Latvians distinguish between familiar and polite ways of addressing each other. Tu is used for family members, children and close friends; jes is used for more formal relations with adults who are less familiar, as well as being the plural form.

Unit 1: Hello!

5

If it refers to a single person in the polite form, it is written with a capital J: Jes, for example, in letter writing. Young people start using tu to address each other very quickly. If you are not sure which to use, start with jes and follow the lead of the person you are talking to.

Present tense of the verb bet ‘to be’, positive and negative (CD1; 13) es îsmu tu esi vi.v/vi.a ir mbs îsam jes îsat vi.i/vi.as ir es nîîsmu tu neesi vi.v/vi.a nav mbs nîîsam jes nîîsat vi.i/vi.as nav

I am you (sing.) are he/she is we are you (pl.) are they (masc./fem.) are I am not you (sing.) are not he/she is not we are not you (pl.) are not they (masc./fem.) are not

Exercise 2 Match the words in the box on the left with the appropriate form of the verb using a positive and a negative form for each item, e.g. es esmu. es vi8v

Anda tu mbs

nav esmu neesi ir

vi8a Daniels un Lija jes

esam esi nav neesat

Pbteris vi8as vi8i Inga

neesmu neesam esat

Dialogue 2 Kur jes dzcvojat? Where do you live? (CD1; 14) At the reception Anda meets Stuart Anderson and introduces herself.

6

Unit 1: Sveiki!

ANDA STUART ANDA STUART ANDA STUART

ANDA STUART ANDA STUART

ANDA STUART

ANDA STUART ANDA STUART

ANDA STUART ANDA STUART

Labdien. Mani sauc Anda Priedcte. Labdien. Mans vards ir Stjuarts Andersons. -oti patckami. Vai jes esat anglis? Nb, es esmu skots. Kur jes dzcvojat? Es dzcvoju Edinburga. Es esmu students. Par ko jes stradajat? Es esmu skolotaja. Kur jes dzcvojat? Es dzcvoju Rcga. Jes labi runajat latviski. Paldies. Hello. My name is Anda Priedite. Hello. My name is Stuart Anderson. Very pleased [to meet you]. Are you an Englishman? No, I’m a Scot. Where do you live? I live in Edinburgh. I am a student. What work do you do? [lit. ‘As what do you work?’] I’m a teacher. Where do you live? I live in Riga. You speak Latvian well. Thank you.

Vocabulary mani

me

kur

where

mani sauc

I am called

dzcvot

to live

vards

name

Edinburga

in Edinburgh

vai

question word, at the beginning of a yes/no question

students (masc.) student

anglis

Englishman

nb

no

skots (masc.) Scot

par

as

ko

what (object)

stradat

to work

skolotaja (fem.)

teacher

Unit 1: Hello!

Language points Writing foreign names All foreign names are written in Latvian according to their pronunciation, with the addition of an appropriate masc./fem. ending, e.g. Stjuarts Andersons for ‘Stuart Anderson’ or ycla Andersone for ‘Sheila Anderson’. The same applies to place names which mostly add the feminine -a ending or sometimes the -e ending, e.g. Edinburga, Vavingtona, Bristole. Places names ending in -o generally do not change, e.g. Toronto.

How to say ‘in/at’ a place To say ‘in’ or ‘at’ a place, we make the final vowel long: a → a, e → b, e.g. Rcga ‘in Riga’, Bristolb ‘in Bristol’. We will meet more examples of this later.

Cases Relations between words in a Latvian sentence are largely governed by a series of cases, the distinctive endings of which are placed on nouns and adjectives. We can give the example in English of saying ‘the boy’s ball’ where ‘boy’s’ is possessive. However, in English we mainly show the relationship between words by word order. In Latvian, word order is much more fluid so, if the words of a sentence in Latvian, literally translated, are ‘man bite dog’, we need the endings of the nouns to indicate who bit whom. Pronouns also change according to case. The basic dictionary form of nouns and pronouns is known as the nominative case so the personal pronouns we learnt above are in the nominative, e.g. es ‘I’. The next paragraph deals with the accusative case, which is used for the object of a sentence, e.g. ‘me’ in English.

Personal pronouns in the accusative case Note the expression Mani sauc ‘I am called’, lit. ‘Me call’. The usual English translation of one of Verdi’s arias is ‘They call me Mimi’ and

7

8

Unit 1: Sveiki!

this is a good way to remember the Latvian expression – the word ‘they’ is understood. This expression uses the accusative form of the pronoun. The accusative personal pronouns are: mani sauc tevi sauc vi.u sauc mes sauc jes sauc vi.us/vi.as sauc

I am called you (sing.) are called he/she is called we are called you (pol./pl.) they (masc./fem.) are called

We will learn more about the accusative case in the next unit.

Possessive adjectives You now know how to say ‘I am called’ . . . Another way of introducing yourself is using Mans vards ir . . . Vards ‘name’ is a masculine noun and the possessive adjective ‘my’ agrees with it. This is true for mans and tavs, but the other possessive adjectives in Latvian listed below don’t change. mans/mana tavs/tava vi.a vi.as

my your (sing.) his her

mesu jesu vi.u savs/sava

our your (pol./pl.) their my/your/his, etc. own

Exercise 3 (CD1; 15) Fill in the gaps with the appropriate pronoun or possessive adjective and then check your answer on the CD.

1

Example:

– Ka tevi sauc? – ______ sauc Baiba. Un ka ______ sauc? – ______ vards ir Juris.

Answer:

– Ka tevi sauc? – Mani sauc Baiba. Un ka tevi sauc? – Mans vards ir Juris.

– Ka ______ sauc? – Vi.as vards ir Ieva.

Unit 1: Hello!

9

2

– Ka ______ sauc? – Vi.as ir Baiba un Inita.

3

– Ka vi.u sauc? – ______ vards ir Andrejs.

4

– Ka ______ sauc? – Vi.i ir Baiba un Andrejs.

5

– Ka jes sauc? – ______ sauc Imants.

6

– Ka vi.u sauc? – ______ vards ir Anita.

7

Vi.as ______ ir Anda.

8

Vi.u ______ Andrejs.

9

– Ka jes sauc? – Mes ______ O7[erts un Anna.

Latvian verbs The form of the verb shown in the word lists is the infinitive: ‘to speak, to shine’, and so on. Many of the verbs in Latvian follow a pattern where the infinitive ends in -at, -bt, -ct or -ot. Quite a few others end in a consonant + -t. They behave in different ways and we will look at these in much more detail later, but for the moment just learn the verbs as they come up. The ‘he/she’ forms are always the same as the ‘they’ form, i.e. third person sing. and pl., so there are only five forms to learn.

Present tense of the verb dzcvot ‘to live’ es dzcvoju tu dzcvo vi.v/vi.a/vi.i/vi.as dzcvo mbs dzcvojam jes dzcvojat

I live you (sing.) live he/she lives, they (masc./fem.) live we live you (pol./pl.) live

10

Unit 1: Sveiki!

Present tense of the verb stradat ‘to work’ es stradaju tu strada vi.v etc. strada mbs stradajam jes stradajat

I work you (sing.) work he/she works, they work we work you (pol./pl.) work

Present tense of runat ‘to speak’ es runaju tu runa vi.v etc. runa mbs runajam jes runajat

I speak you (sing.) speak he/she speaks, they speak we speak you (pol./pl.) speak

Negatives To make a verb negative, we simply add ne- to the beginning of the verb so we get es nerunaju

I don’t speak

mbs nestradajam

we don’t work

Asking a question; ‘yes’ and ‘no’ If we place vai before a statement, we turn it into a question: Jes esat anglis. Vai jes esat anglis? Tu esi amerikaniete. Vai tu esi amerikaniete?

You (pol.) are an Englishman. Are you an Englishman? You (fam.) are an American (woman). Are you an American (woman)?

Vai ne is added as a tag question after a statement to ask for agreement: isn’t it?, don’t you?, and so on: Jes esat amerikanis, vai ne? You’re an American (man), aren’t you? (pol.)

Unit 1: Hello!

11

Jes esat anglietes, vai ne? You are English (women), aren’t you? (pl.) The short answers to these questions are: Ja, es esmu. Nb, es neesmu.

Yes, I am. No, I’m not.

Other question words are: kur kad kas ko kapbc

where when who/what – as a subject who/what – as an object why

Languages Names of languages in Latvian are usually followed by the word valoda ‘language’: for example, ang7u valoda ‘the English language’, latvievu valoda ‘the Latvian language’. In a language is expressed by the ending -ski: latviski ‘in Latvian’, angliski ‘in English’.

Exercise 4 Fill in the gap with the correct form of the verbs dzcvot, stradat and runat: Example: Answer: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Mbs ______ Toronto. Mbs dzcvojam Toronto.

Par ko vi.a ______? Kur tu ______? Vai Andrejs ______ Rcga? Vai tu ______ latviski? Vi.v ______ Londona. Vi.a ______ angliski, vai ne? Par ko vi.v ______? Es ______ par skolotaju. Jes ______ Latvija, vai ne?

12

Unit 1: Sveiki!

Nationalities In Latvian you say ‘I am an Englishman/woman’, rather than using the adjective ‘English’ as we do in English. Here are some nationalities in their masculine and feminine forms: anglis skots amerikanis latvietis australietis kanadietis crs velsietis

angliete skotiete amerikaniete latviete australiete kanadiete criete velsiete

We will meet several more nationalities in future units.

Jobs And here are some common jobs and occupations, again with their masculine and feminine forms: skolotajs wurnalists oficiants arsts students inwenieris makslinieks pardevbjs jurists sekretars arhitekts

skolotaja wurnaliste oficiante arste studente inweniere maksliniece pardevbja juriste sekretare arhitekte

(school)teacher journalist waiter/waitress doctor student engineer artist sales assistant lawyer secretary architect

Exercise 5 Fill in the gaps with the appropriate masculine or feminine form. Memorize the nationalities and jobs first before you do the exercise and then cover them up.

Unit 1: Hello!

13

Masculine

Feminine

latvietis _________ kanadietis _________ crs _________ arsts _________ skolotajs _________

latviete angliete _________ australiete _________ wurnaliste _________ studente _________ oficiante

House numbers in Riga

Cardinal numbers to 10 (CD1; 16) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

nulle viens divi trcs uetri pieci sevi septi.i asto.i devi.i desmit

14

Unit 1: Sveiki!

Exercise 6 Do the following calculations as in the example: Example: Answer: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

4 8 3 6 7 5 2 9 1 3

+ + + + + + + + + +

1 2 5 4 2 5 4 1 5 2

2+2= 2 + 2 = divi plus (and) divi ir uetri.

= = = = = = = = = =

What can you remember? A How do you say the following in Latvian? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

He lives in Riga. Is he an architect? She is a waitress. I work in Liepaja. They (fem.) are in London. Is she called Marija? Are you (sing. pol.) American? Do you live in Washington? He is called Andris. She is a teacher, isn’t she?

B What are the questions that match the following replies? Check your answers on the CD. (CD1; 17) 1 2 3 4 5

Mani sauc Aija. Vi.v dzcvo Berlcnb. Vi.us sauc Marti.v un Aina. Vi.a ir arste. Mbs dzcvojam Jermala.

Unit 1: Hello!

6 7 8 9 10

15

Vi.u sauc Rolands. Nb, es nerunaju latviski. Ja, es dzcvoju Rcga. Es esmu skolotaja. Nb, vi.v nav arsts.

C Rearrange the letters to find the numbers, and then match the words to the numbers. svine cepii sa.oti 4 8 10 5 riuet stemid 6 9 2 1 .ivedi eivs vidi D Answer the following questions about yourself, in complete sentences: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Ka jes sauc? Kur jes dzcvojat? Par ko jes stradajat? Vai jes dzcvojat Londona? Vai jes esat anglis/angliete? Vai jes runajat latviski? Kur jes dzcvojat? Jes esat Pbteris, vai ne? Vai jes runajat angliski? Jes esat ambrikanis/ambrikaniete, vai ne?

Unit Two Ledzu brauciet uz . . . ! Please drive to . . . !

In this unit you will learn how to: • • • • •

ask where places are tell a taxi driver where to go buy things in a kiosk count to 100 use the nominative and accusative cases

Dialogue 1 Kur ir pasts? Where’s the post office? (CD1; 20) Here are Peteris and Anda in Valmiera (a town in the north of Latvia) asking where various places are. Valmierniece is a woman from Valmiera, Valmiernieks is a man from Valmiera. PgTERIS VALMIERNIECE ANDA VALMIERNIEKS PgTERIS VALMIERNIECE PgTERIS ANDA VALMIERNIEKS

Atvainojiet, ledzu, kur ir pasts? Pasts ir pa labi. Atvainojiet, kur ir banka? Banka ir pa kreisi. Atvainojiet, kur ir viesncca? Viesncca ir taisni uz priekvu. Paldies. Atvainojiet, kur ir teatris? Teatris ir te.

Unit 2: Please drive to . . . !

PgTERIS VALMIERNIECE

PETERIS VALMIERNIECE ANDA VALMIERNIEKS PETERIS VALMIERNIECE PETERIS ANDA VALMIERNIEKS PETERIS VALMIERNIECE

17

Atvainojiet, kur ir tirgus? Ejiet pa labi, tad pa kreisi, pbc tam atkal pa kreisi. Tur ir tirgus. Excuse me, please, where is the post office? The post office is on the right. Excuse me, where is the bank? The bank is on the left. Excuse me, where is the hotel? The hotel is straight ahead. Thank you. Excuse me, where is the theatre? The theatre is here. Excuse me, where is the market? Go to the right, then to the left, then to the left again. The theatre is there.

Vocabulary atvainojiet (polite) excuse me

uz priekvu

ahead

kur

where

teatris

theatre

pasts

post office

tirgus

market

banka

bank on the right

viesncca

hotel

ejiet (polite imperative/ command form)

go

pa labi

taisni

straight

tur

there

Language point Nouns in the nominative case As we know, Latvian nouns can be either masculine or feminine, and each gender has characteristic endings. Each gender is then further divided into three groups depending on the ending. The nominative case is the basic form of the noun, i.e. the one you find

18

Unit 2: Ledzu brauciet uz . . . !

in the dictionary, and it is the subject of the verb, i.e. the ‘doer’ of the action of the verb, e.g. ‘The museum is big, The car hit the dog’. Look at these examples and note the different endings. We have already seen that the -s ending is normally masculine. However, there is a small group of feminine nouns which also have an -s ending. NB: Muzejs and ce7v belong to the same group of nouns even though their endings are slightly different. Masculine muzejs, ce7v museum, road

Feminine teatris theatre

tirgus market

banka bank

universitate university

pils castle

The plural forms are more regular than the singular; look at their endings below. Masculine muzeji, ce7i museums, roads

Feminine teatri theatres

tirgi markets

bankas banks

universitates universities

pilis castles

Places around town aptieka stacija kafejncca veikals lielveikals universalveikals restorans kino skola stadions

chemist station café shop supermarket department store restaurant cinema school stadium

baseins kiosks katedrale bazncca birojs slimncca opera bibliotbka parks

swimming pool kiosk cathedral church office hospital opera house library park

Exercise 1 (CD1; 21) Imagine you are standing on the spot indicated in the illustration. How would you tell a stranger how to get by the shortest route to any of these places?

Unit 2: Please drive to . . . !

katedra¯ le

19

restora¯ ns

bibliote¯ ka

parks

stadions opera

kino lielveikals baznı¯ca stacija

Example: Answer: 1 2 3 4 5

the the the the the

the cathedral Ejiet taisni uz priekvu, un tad pa kreisi. Go straight ahead, and then left.

park opera house ‘Daugava’ restaurant ‘Zvaigzne’ cinema church

6 7 8 9

the the the the

library stadium station supermarket

Exercise 2 Put the following words into the plural: aptieka aptiekas stacija kafejncca veikals slimncca kino

skola stadions tirgus kiosks restorans katedrale

opera bibliotbka parks bazncca birojs ce7v

20

Unit 2: Ledzu brauciet uz . . . !

Dialogue 2 Ledzu, uz staciju

Please (drive) to the station

(CD1; 22) Peteris and Anda take a taxi to a couple of places. Listen to the dialogues in the taxi. TAKSOMETRA yOFERIS PgTERIS TAKSOMETRA yOFERIS ANDA

TAKSOMETRA yOFERIS ANDA

Labdien. Uz kurieni? Labdien. Ledzu, uz staciju. Labdien. Uz kurieni? Labdien. Brauciet, ledzu, uz Rcgas pili . . . Cik ledzu? Asto.us latus, ledzu. Paldies. Uz redzbvanos. Good day. Where to? Good day. To the station, please.

TAXI DRIVER PETERIS

Good day. Where to? Good day. Please drive to Riga Castle . . . How much does it cost? Eight lats, please. Thank you. Goodbye.

TAXI DRIVER ANDA

TAXI DRIVER ANDA

Vocabulary uz kurieni?

where to?

cik

how much

stacija

station

maksat

to cost, pay

brauciet

drive (pol. imperative/ command form)

lats

major unit of currency

Rcgas pils

Riga Castle

santcms minor unit of currency

Language point Agreement of numbers The taxi driver asked for asto.us latus (which is the accusative form of asto.i lati – we’ll deal with the accusative in full later in

Unit 2: Please drive to . . . !

21

this unit) as the fare. Note that the numbers 1 to 9 have masculine and feminine forms that agree with the noun (and adjective). Here are the nominative, i.e. dictionary, forms of the numbers in both their masculine and feminine forms. Masculine

Feminine

viens divi trcs uetri pieci sevi septi.i asto.i devi.i

viena divas trcs (this one doesn’t change) uetras piecas sevas septi.as asto.as devi.as

Examples: uetras baznccas divas aptiekas pieci veikali asto.i lati

four churches two chemists’ shops four shops eight lats

Exercise 3 How do you say the following in Latvian? two restaurants nine cinemas

five libraries one hospital

three stadiums eight schools

Dialogue 3 Ledzu? (May I help you) please? (CD1; 23) Anda needs a few things from the kiosk. PfRDEVgJS ANDA PfRDEVgJS ANDA

Ledzu? Ledzu, avczi Diena un wurnalu Santa. Ko vbl? Un mineraledeni. Cik ledzu?

22

Unit 2: Ledzu brauciet uz . . . !

Divus latus un piecdesmit piecus santcmus. Ledzu.

PfRDEVgJS ANDA

SALES ASSISTANT ANDA

SALES ASSISTANT ANDA SALES ASSISTANT ANDA

(May I help you) please? The newspaper Diena and the magazine Santa please. What else? And mineral water. How much is that? Two lats and fifty-five santims. Here you are.

Vocabulary avcze

newspaper

vbl

still, else

wurnals

magazine

mineraledens

mineral water

ko (acc.) what

Language point Direct object – accusative case In the dialogue above, all the items asked for are in the accusative case, the object form of the noun, i.e. if we say in English ‘The dog caught the stick’, ‘the dog’ is the subject of the sentence and goes into the nominative case, ‘the stick’ is the object and goes into the accusative. Usually this case would be governed by a verb, but in a dialogue like this one, the verb is understood: ‘to buy’, ‘to want’. Ko is the accusative form of kas ‘what’ so ko vbl means ‘what else (do you want)?’ Look at the accusative forms below and compare them with the nominative. They are easy to remember because in the singular the ending is either -u or -i, all the masculine plural endings are the same and the feminine plural endings are the same as the nominative plural.

Unit 2: Please drive to . . . !

23

Masculine Nominative – sing. Accusative – sing. Accusative – pl. Examples – nom. acc. sing. acc. pl.

-s, -v -u -us wurnals wurnalu wurnalus

Feminine -is -i -us voferis voferi voferus

-us -u -us tirgus tirgu tirgus

-a -u -as stacija staciju stacijas

-e -i -es inweniere inwenieri inwenieres

-s -i -is pils pili pilis

The word for ‘water’ edens is slightly irregular: acc. sing. edeni, pl. ede.us. Words of foreign origin ending in -o, e.g. kino ‘cinema’, don’t change for either case or number, e.g. divi kino ‘two cinemas’. If you think back to Dialogue 2, the taxi driver asked for asto.us latus. Numbers need to agree with the case so in the accusative we get: Masculine

Feminine

vienu divus trcs uetrus

vienu divas trcs uetras, etc.

Apart from ‘one’, the feminine numbers don’t change from the nominative.

Things you might buy at the kiosk avcze wurnals konfektes saldbjums vokolade mineraledens

newspaper magazine sweets ice cream chocolate mineral water

24

Unit 2: Ledzu brauciet uz . . . !

Exercise 4 How would you ask for the above things in a kiosk? For example: Ledzu, avczi Diena un divus saldbjumus. A Diena newspaper and two ice creams, please. Ko vbl? What else would you buy?

Language point Verbs iet ‘to go’ and braukt ‘to travel’ Latvian has two distinct verbs with the approximate meaning ‘to go’: iet is ‘to go’ on foot or proceed generally, while braukt is ‘to travel’ using some means of transport. Look at the way they are conjugated, i.e. take different endings. es eju tu ej vi.v, etc. iet mbs ejam jes ejat

es braucu tu brauc vi.v, etc. brauc mbs braucam jes braucat

Means of transport around town trolejbuss tramvajs autobuss vilciens taksometrs lidosta autoosta tramvaja/trolejbusa pietura taksometra stavvieta

trolleybus tram bus train taxi airport bus station tram/trolleybus stop taxi rank

Unit 2: Please drive to . . . !

25

A restored tram which does city tours around Riga

Language point Prepositions uz ‘to’ and ar ‘by, with’ The prepositions uz ‘to’ and ar ‘with/by’ both govern the accusative case in the singular, i.e. the noun following them must be in the accusative case. These are the prepositions we use to describe going ‘to’ a place or ‘by’ a means of transport, e.g. uz staciju ‘to the station’, ar tramvaju ‘by tram’.

Exercise 5 Fill in the gaps with the correct forms of the verb and the noun. Example: Answer: 1 2 3 4

Vi.i ______ ar ______. Vi.i brauc ar trolejbusu.

Mbs ______ uz ______. Vi.a ______ ar ______. Jes ______ uz ______. Tu ______ ar ______.

(braukt – trolejbuss) (iet – restorans) (braukt – vilciens) (iet – tirgus) (braukt – tramvajs)

26

Unit 2: Ledzu brauciet uz . . . !

5 6 7 8 9

Vi.as ______ uz ______. Vi.v ______ uz ______. Es ______ uz ______. Mbs ______ uz ______. Vi.v ______ uz ______.

(iet – kino) (braukt – stadions) (iet – banka) (braukt – Rcgas pils) (iet – stadions)

Numbers up to 100 (CD1; 24) To form the numbers 11–19 in Latvian, we add the ending -padsmit to the base of the numbers 1–9, i.e. we take off the final -s on viens or -i on the other numbers and then add -padsmit, thus: vienpadsmit divpadsmit trcspadsmit

11 12 13, and so on

Then, for the multiples of 10, we simply add -desmit 10 to the same bases: divdesmit trcsdesmit uetrdesmit

20 30 40, and so on

These numbers do not have distinctive masculine and feminine forms, e.g. uetras bankas, uetrpadsmit bankas. Compound numbers are formed by simply adding the number as a separate word: trcsdesmit pieci uetrdesmit septi.i asto.desmit sevi

35 47 86

The number 100 is simts. It is a masculine noun in itself when used on its own; that is, it doesn’t agree for gender with other nouns and adjectives.

Exercise 6 (CD1; 25) Listen to the CD and write down all the numbers you hear. If you don’t have the CD, go to the key for this exercise and practise reading.

Unit 2: Please drive to . . . !

What can you remember? A

1 2 3

How do you ask where the tram stop is? How do you ask where the taxi stand is? How do you tell somebody that the taxi stand is on the left? 4 How do you tell somebody to go straight ahead and then right? 5 How do you ask for chocolate? 6 How do you ask for ice cream? 7 How do you ask for sweets? 8 How do you ask for a newspaper? 9 How do you say ‘Thank you’? 10 How do you say ‘Here you are’?

B 1 2 3

How would you ask a taxi driver to take you to the stadium? How would you ask a taxi driver to take you to the station? How would you ask a taxi driver to take you to the airport?

C Do the following calculations as in the example. Example: Answer:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

42 31 50 70 12 11 66 40 15 24

+ + + + + + + + + +

20 + 20 = 20 + 20 = 40 divdesmit plus divdesmit ir uetrdesmit

38 = 62 = 42 = 18 = 80 = 14 = 33 = 14 = 3= 6=

27

28

Unit 2: Ledzu brauciet uz . . . !

D Find 12 places around town hidden horizontally and vertically in this word square. The first one has been done for you. E H J K L M N B V C Z A S D F A

R R y O D j x I = D f P S f P

T E D B A Z N h C A f O L A T

U S ] I h 0 S U j F S ] L I y I

I T S R P F = h O g z I h M E E

O O 0 O P E R A ] G A g K N h K

P R A J x h A T P j h U 0 h R A

A f = S L G z y f H E K J C x G

U N I V E R S f L V E I K A L S

S S E I j T R L 0 y O j D T H

D h j f K P A R K S R S H z j J

F G R U ] H C f J j K I N O K

G y T z J f I E K h T S = F U L

H F K A F E J N h C A x G g ] P

J K L Z C V A B N M E R T U I O

Unit Three Man ir rezervbts numurs I have a reservation

In this unit you will learn how to: • • • • •

check into a hotel and order breakfast count using numbers above 100 say first, second, etc. say the names of the months spell words out

Dialogue 1 Man ir rezervbts numurs

I have a reservation

(CD1; 29) Peteris and Anda are checking into a hotel during their trip to Valmiera. Listen to the dialogue between Peteris and the receptionist (reñistratore). RE]ISTRATORE PgTERIS RE]ISTRATORE PgTERIS RE]ISTRATORE

PgTERIS RE]ISTRATORE

RE]ISTRATORE

Labdien! Labdien! Man ir rezervbts numurs. Ka jes sauc? Mans uzvards ir Priedctis. Labi. Jums ir divvietcgs numurs ar duvu – numurs 218. Ledzu aizpildiet vo veidlapu. (PBteris aizpilda veidlapu) Kads vodien ir datums? yodien ir 12. jenijs. (PBteris nodod veidlapu) Paldies. Te ir jesu atslbga. Lifts ir pa kreisi.

30

Unit 3: Man ir rezervbts numurs

RECEPTIONIST PETERIS RECEPTIONIST PETERIS RECEPTIONIST

PETERIS RECEPTIONIST

RECEPTIONIST

Hello. Hello. I’ve got a reservation. What’s your name? My surname is Prieditis. Fine. You have a double room with a shower – number 218. Please fill in this form. (Filling in form) What’s the date today? Today is the 12 June. (Peteris hands over the form) Thank you. Here is your key. The lift is on the left.

Vocabulary man

for me to reserve, book

vis, vc (masc./fem.) (acc. vo)

this

rezervbt numurs

(hotel) room; number

veidlapa

form

uzvards

surname

kads/kada

what (kind of )

labi

good, well

vodien

today

jums

for you

datums

date

divvietcgs double

atsl\ga

key

duva

shower

lifts

lift

ledzu

please

pa kreisi

on the left

aizpildct

to fill in

nodot

hand over

Numbers above 100 The number 100 on its own is simts. Used in compound numbers, the form is simt. Simt is added to the base of the numbers 2–9 in exactly the same way as for the teens and multiples of 10 as we saw in the last unit: divsimt piecsimt

two hundred five hundred

And to form compound numbers we just put the different elements together:

Unit 3: I have a reservation

31

simt trcsdesmit uetri uetrsimt piecdesmit septi.i

134 457, and so on

Exercise 1 (CD1; 30) Listen to the CD and write down all the numbers you hear. If you don’t have the CD, go to the key for this exercise and practise reading.

Language point Ordinal numbers The ordinal numbers ‘first, second, third’, and so on, take different endings depending on whether they are followed by a masculine or a feminine noun. In other words, they are adjectives and they always have to agree with the noun in gender, case and number. Masculine

Feminine

pirmais otrais trevais cîturtais piektais sîstais septctais astotais devctais desmitais vienpadsmitais divdesmitais divdesmit pirmais

pirma otra treva cîturta piekta sîsta septcta astota devcta desmita vienpadsmita divdesmita divdesmit pirma

first second third fourth fifth sixth seventh eighth ninth tenth eleventh twentieth twenty-first

Look at these examples to see how the cardinal and ordinal numbers behave with nouns: sevi veikali sestais veikals piecpadsmit baznccas piecpadsmita bazncca

six shops the sixth shop fifteen churches the fifteenth church

32

Unit 3: Man ir rezervbts numurs

Months and dates – Mbnevi un datumi (CD1; 31) The names of the months are all masculine. Capitals are not used. janvaris februaris marts

aprclis maijs jenijs

jelijs augusts septembris

oktobris novembris decembris

So this is how to say a date: divpadsmitais jenijs ‘12 June’. To write it in figures, we put a full stop after the 12 to show that it is an ordinal number: 12. jenijs.

Exercise 2 (CD1; 32) Write out the following dates and then listen to the CD to check your answers. Example: Answer:

10 Nov. desmitais novembris

25 Dec. 1 May 30 Sept. 3 Mar. 21 June 1 Jan. 15 Apr. 24 Feb. 15 July

Spelling (CD1; 33) Listen to the pronunciation of the alphabet in Latvian, then repeat each letter. The long vowels don’t have a separate name, you just say ‘long a’. A f B C x D E g F G 9

a garais a bb cb ub db e garais b ef ga [b

H I h J K 0 L M N =

ha i garais c jb ka 6b el e7 em en e.

O P R S y T U j V Z z

o pb er es ev tb u garais e vb zb wb

Unit 3: I have a reservation

33

It’s useful to be able to say the letters of the alphabet in Latvian so that you can spell out your name or give an e-mail address, etc. However, sometimes it might be easier to offer to write it down for the other person. Don’t worry about the verb forms for the moment, just learn the expressions. Es to uzrakstcvu. Vai lai es to uzrakstu?

I’ll write it down. Shall I write it down?

Exercise 3 (CD1; 34) Now practise spelling out these place names and then listen to the CD to check your answers. Rcga Londona Latvija Jermala Valmiera Tokija Limbawi Majori Vavingtona Australija

Exercise 4 Now answer these questions: 1 2 3 4

Ka raksta jesu uzvardu? (‘How is your surname written?’, i.e. ‘How do you spell your surname?’) Ka raksta jesu vardu? Kur jes dzcvojat? (Give the name of the town where you live) Ka to raksta? (‘How is that written?’)

Language points Indirect object – the dative case When in English we say ‘I gave my friend a present’, what was given was ‘a present’. This is the direct object and goes into the accusative case, which we looked at in the last unit. ‘My friend’ was the receiver; this is the indirect object and goes into the dative case. So the dative case expresses the idea of ‘to’ or ‘for’ a person or thing. Here are the endings you need; the masculine plural is quite easy to remember as the endings are the same for all three groups.

34

Unit 3: Man ir rezervbts numurs

Masculine Nominative Dative – sing. Dative – pl. Examples – nom. dat. sing. dat. pl.

-s, -v -am -iem skolotajs skolotajam skolotajiem

-is -im -iem inwenieris inwenierim inwenieriem

-us -um -iem tirgus tirgum tirgiem

-e -ei -bm inweniere inwenierei inwenierbm

-s -ij -cm pils pilij pilcm

Feminine Nominative Dative – sing. Dative – pl. Examples – nom. dat. sing. dat. pl.

-a -ai -am skolotaja skolotajai skolotajam

The dative forms of the personal pronouns are: man tev vi.am vi.ai mums jums vi.iem vi.am

to/for to/for to/for to/for to/for to/for to/for to/for

me you him her us you them (masc.) them (fem.)

Here are some examples; dodiet is the pol./pl. imperative/command form of the verb dot ‘to give’: Ledzu, dodiet man mineraledeni. Please give me some mineral water. Dodiet skolotajam mineraledeni. Give the teacher (masc.) some mineral water. Dodiet skolotajam mineraledeni. Give the teachers (fem. pl.) some mineral water. Dodiet Andai mineraledeni. Give Anda some mineral water.

Unit 3: I have a reservation

To have Man ir rezervbts numurs. I have a reservation. (lit. ‘to me is reserved room’) There is no verb in Latvian equivalent to the English verb ‘to have’. Instead we use the dative case of the possessor with the appropriate form of the verb ‘to be’ in the present tense, i.e. ir in the positive. We will look at the negative later. With the pronouns it will be: man ir tev ir vi.am ir vi.ai ir mums ir jums ir vi.iem ir vi.am ir

I have you (sing. fam.) have he has she has we have you (pl./pol.) have they (masc. pl.) have they (fem. pl.) have

What is possessed appears in the nominative case. Thus, if we want to say ‘Gunars has a key’, we say Gunaram ir atslbga, lit. ‘To Gunars is a key’. And ‘He has a key’ will therefore be: Vi.am ir atslbga ‘To him is a key’. This construction translates both ‘He has’ and ‘He has got’.

Exercise 5 How do you say the following in Latvian? Example: Answer: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

I have a newspaper. Man ir avcze.

Janis has a magazine. Ieva’s got a single room. (vienvietcgs) Do they (fem. pl.) have a key? We’ve got a restaurant. Have they (masc. pl.) got ice cream? Have you (fam.) got 5 lats? Do you (pol.) have a double room? I’ve got a key. He’s got three magazines.

35

36

Unit 3: Man ir rezervbts numurs

Dialogue 2 Atnesiet man, ledzu . . .

Please bring me . . .

(CD1; 35) Anda is having breakfast on her own in the hotel as Peteris is having a lie-in. ANDA OFICIANTS ANDA

OFICIANTS

ANDA WAITER ANDA

WAITER

Labrct. Labrct. Ko jums, ledzu? Atnesiet man, ledzu, saldskabmaizi, sieru, apelscnu sulu un kafiju. Labi. Good morning. Good morning. What will you have, please? Please bring me some sourdough bread, cheese, orange juice and coffee. OK.

Vocabulary atnest

to bring

siers

cheese

maize

bread

apelscns orange

saldskabmaize

sourdough bread (lit. sweet-sour bread)

sula

juice

kafija

coffee

Things you might have for breakfast tostermaize baltmaize rupjmaize saldskabmaize siers v6i.6is sviests

toast white bread dark rye bread sourdough bread cheese ham butter

Unit 3: I have a reservation

ievarcjums jogurts musli ar pienu ola apelscnu/abolu sula kafija tbja

37

jam yoghurt muesli with milk egg orange/apple juice coffee tea

Exercise 6 (CD1; 36) Ask for the following for breakfast. Don’t forget that everything you ask the waiter to bring you must be in the accusative case. Then listen to the CD to check your answers. Please bring me . . . 1 2 3

toast, butter, jam and tea with milk dark rye bread, butter, cheese, yoghurt and coffee white bread, butter, ham, apple juice and tea

Reading Read the following and then answer the questions in English. CENRfDIS Numura veids

Istabas Apraksts

Cenas

Vienvietcgs numurs 1

Duva, tualete, TV, ledusskapis

18 Ls

Vienvietcgs numurs 1

Liela gulta, duva, tualete, TV, ledusskapis, telefons

28 Ls

Divvietcgs numurs

1

Atseviv6as gultas, duva, tualete, TV, ledusskapis

28 Ls

Divvietcgs numurs

1

Liela gulta, duva, tualete, TV, ledusskapis, telefons

34 Ls

Lux numurs

2

Liela gulta, atpetas telpa, duva, tualete, TV, ledusskapis, telefons, iespbjama papildvieta

40 Ls 1 pers.: 34 Ls

38

Unit 3: Man ir rezervbts numurs

Numura veids

Istabas Apraksts

Cenas

Lux numurs

2

Atseviv6as gultas, atpetas telpa, duva, tualete, TV, ledusskapis, telefons, iespbjama papildvieta

40 Ls 1 pers.: 34 Ls

9imenes numurs

2

4 atseviv6as gultas, duva, tualete, TV, ledusskapis

56 Ls

9imenes numurs

2

3 atseviv6as gultas, atpetas telpa, duva, tualete, TV, ledusskapis, telefons, iespbjama papildvieta

46 Ls 2 pers.: 40 Ls

9imenes numurs ar 2 gu7amistabam

3

4 atseviv6as gultas, atpetas telpa, duva, tualete, TV, ledusskapis, telefons, iespbjama papildvieta

66 Ls 3 pers.: 46 Ls

Visas cenas iek7autas brokastis un PVN. Papildvieta uz dcvana, cena 10 Ls. 1 suns/ka6is – 3.00 LVL/nakts 2 un vairak su.i/ka6i – 5.00 LVL/nakts par visiem dzcvniekiem numura Iebraukvana no 15:00. Izbraukvana lcdz 11:00, brcvdienas un svbtku dienas lcdz 12:00.

Vocabulary cînradis

price list

lîdusskapis

refrigerator

veids

kind, type, form

istaba

room

(lîdus skapis

ice cupboard)

apraksts

description

tîlpa

space, room

uz

here: on

vairak

more

suns (pl. su.i)

dog

PVN = pievienotas vbrtcbas nodoklis

value added tax

cîna vienvietcgs

price single

divvietcgs

double

duva

shower

lux*

luxury

Unit 3: I have a reservation

nakts (fem.)

night

39

papildvieta

additional space (bed)

iebraukvana arrival brcvdiena

free day, holiday

gu7amistaba

bedroom

(brcvs diena

free day)

viss

all

tualete

toilet

iek7auts

included

liels

big, large

dcvans

sofa, divan

gulta

bed

ka6is (pl. ka6i) cat

telefons

telephone

dzcvnieks

animal

atpeta

rest, relaxation

izbraukvana

departure

atseviv6s

separate

lcdz

until, by

iespbjams

possible

sv\tku diena

[imene

family

festival, public holiday

* (also written as lukss since Latvian doesn’t have the letter x)

1

2 3

4 5

You are a family of four, mum, dad and two teenage children who do not want to share a room with their parents. Which is the best option and how much will it cost? How much extra do you have to pay if you have your two dogs with you? You’re travelling with your friend – you want to share a room to reduce the cost but you want twin beds. Which is the best option and how much will it cost? It’s Easter Monday – when must you vacate the room? You are a couple travelling with a young child. What’s the cheapest option for you?

Cultural point Currency

Latvian banknotes

40

Unit 3: Man ir rezervbts numurs

As we saw earlier, the main unit of Latvian currency is the lats, divided into 100 santcmi. Prices are indicated with the abbreviation Ls, Ls., or sometimes the international currency code LVL is used. A comma is used instead of a decimal point, thus: Ls 1,60, Ls. 1,60, LVL 1,60. It had been the currency of the first independent Latvian republic (1918–40) and was reintroduced in 1993 after the country regained its independence in 1991. Since Latvia joined the European Union in 2004, it has been preparing to convert to the euro. At the time of writing, it is thought the conversion may take place in 2012 or 2013. All the current lats notes show the cultural heritage and environment of Latvia. The backgrounds to the pictures are illustrations of the woven textiles for which Latvia is famous. These are either of linen or of wool. The denominations on the notes are also designed to depict woven textiles. Another shared feature on the notes is the small stylized oak leaf in the bottom left-hand corner of the main picture. The oak is a national symbol of Latvia depicting strength. All the notes also share a vertical band on the right-hand side which features segments from the Lielvarde belt. This is part of the regional costume of Lielvarde in the centre of Latvia and, of all the belts woven in Latvia, this is the most intricate, with the design divided into sections and incorporating many elements of Latvian mythology. The 5-lats note shows an oak tree ozols. The 10-lats note has a view of the River Daugava, Daugavas upe, which is the longest and most loved river in Latvia. The 20-lats note shows ancient farm buildings, lauku majas ‘country buildings’. These were built from wood and had thatched roofs. The 50-lats note has an ancient sailing ship, ku[is. Latvians have always been great sailors, even back to the time of the Vikings when sailors from the west of Latvia, the Kurs, went on raids across the Baltic Sea. Legend has it that the Danes prayed to God to be spared from the Kurs. The 100-lats note is the only one to show a person. This is the folklorist Krivjanis Barons (1835–1923) who devoted most of his life to collecting and publishing folk songs, dainas, from around Latvia. The 500-lats Design of new Latvian euro

Unit 3: I have a reservation

note shows the archetypal Latvian girl, nicknamed Milda. This image was first used on the 5-lats coins issued during the first period of independence. It is also planned to use this image for the new euro.

What can you remember? A Fill in the following form for yourself. Tautcba ‘nationality’; paraksts ‘signature’. Iebraukvana: Izbraukvana: Vards: Uzvards: Tautcba: Kompanija: Adrese: Telefons: Fakss: E-pasts: Paraksts: B How do you say the following in Latvian? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Please bring me toast, jam and coffee. We’ve got a double room with a shower. They have a family room with a shower and a toilet. Andris has two dogs. Dace has three cats. Do you have a single room? Have you (fam.) got any animals? (you don’t need to translate the word ‘any’) 8 Today is 4 July. 9 Today is 21 January. 10 Today is 25 October.

41

Unit Four Brauciens ar vilcienu Travelling by train

In this unit you will learn how to: • • • • •

tell the time ask for train tickets get timetable information read a train timetable and price information use the present tense of the verbs nakt ‘to come’ and pienakt ‘to arrive’

Dialogue 1 Cikos atiet vilciens? train leave? (CD1; 39)

What time does the

Peteris is walking in town. He meets his friends Andris and Irena who are on their way to get a train to Liepaja, a town in the west of Latvia. PgTERIS ANDRIS PgTERIS ANDRIS

IRgNA ANDRIS PgTERIS IRgNA

Sveiks, Andri! Sveika, Irbna! Kur jes ejat? Uz staciju. Mbs braucam uz Liepaju, jo man rct ir sanaksme. Cikos atiet vilciens? Es domaju, asto.padsmitos trcsdesmit. Cik tagad ir pulkstenis? Pussevi. Tad mums vbl ir laiks aiziet uz kafejnccu. Labi. Vai te tuvuma ir kada kafejncca? Ja, tepat ir viena pa kreisi.

Unit 4: Travelling by train

PETERIS ANDRIS

PETERIS ANDRIS IRENA ANDRIS PETERIS IRENA

43

Hello, Andris! Hello, Irena! Where are you going? To the station. We’re travelling to Liepaja because I have a meeting tomorrow. What time does the train leave? At 18.30, I think. What’s the time now? Half past five. Then we’ve still got time to go to a café. Good. Is there a café near here? Yes, there’s one just here on the left.

Vocabulary stacija

station

atiet

leave, depart

braukt

go, travel

vilciens

train

jo

because

domat

to think

rct

tomorrow

aiziet

go off

sanaksme

meeting, conference

kafejncca café

cikos

at what time

tuvuma

near by

cik ir

what time is it?

(tuvums

nearness)

tagad

now

pulkstenis? tad

then

laiks

time; also weather

labi

good

te

here

kads, kada

here: any

tepat

just here

The square outside Riga station with its famous clock tower, which is a popular meeting place

44

Unit 4: Brauciens ar vilcienu

Language point Telling the time (CD1; 40) To say ‘the time is . . .’ in Latvian we use the phrase Pulkstenis ir . . . ‘What is the time?’ is Cik (ir) pulkstenis? – Cik pulkstenis? – Divi.

– What is the time? – Two o’clock.

For exact half-hours we add pus- ‘half’ to the number. Note that in Latvian ‘half past’ is expressed as half of the next hour. The pus- prefix is not stressed so the stress goes on the second syllable as indicated by the capital letters. Pulkstenis ir pusDEvi.i. The time is half past eight. (half of nine) Note the use of the preposition pari (+ dat. pl.) for ‘past’. Knowing this, we can now form other clock times past the hour: divdesmit trcs minetes pari diviem twenty-three minutes past two ir sevpadsmit minetes pari uetriem it’s sixteen minutes past four Note also: pari vieniem ‘past one’, pari trijiem ‘past three’. Lastly, minutes to the hour are expressed as the next hour minus (bez + dat. pl. ‘without’) the number of minutes in this way: bez divdesmit uetram minetbm pieci twenty-four minutes to five bez vienpadsmit minetbm divpadsmit eleven minutes to twelve Remember that the numbers ‘one’ to ‘nine’ agree with the noun and, for time ‘three’ also agrees but it is irregular so we get: bez trijam minetbm uetri

three minutes to four

With singular words, however, bez takes the genitive: bez vienas minetes ‘one minute to’; bez ceturkv.a viens ‘a quarter to one’. We’ll look at the genitive in detail later in this unit.

Unit 4: Travelling by train

45

‘Quarter of an hour’ is ceturksnis, and this is how we express quarter hours: Ir ceturksnis pari seviem.

It is a quarter past six.

But more commonly people simply say piecpadsmit ‘fifteen’ for ‘quarter’.

Exercise 1 (CD1; 41) Write the times shown on the clock faces. Example: Answer:

Pulkstenis ir divdesmit pari trijiem.

Dialogue 2 Cikos atiet vilciens? train leave? (CD1; 42)

What time does the

Peteris is asking about the time various forms of transport depart. Ierbdne ‘clerk’ (fem.)

46

Unit 4: Brauciens ar vilcienu

PgTERIS IERgDNE PgTERIS IERgDNE PgTERIS IERgDNE

PETERIS CLERK PETERIS CLERK PETERIS CLERK

Cikos atiet vilciens uz Jermalu? Pulksten divpadsmitos. Cikos atiet trolejbuss uz centru? Asto.os un piecas minetbs. Cikos atiet autobuss uz Valmieru? Devi.padsmitos un trcsdesmit piecas minetbs. At what time does the train leave for Jurmala? At twelve o’clock. At what time does the trolleybus leave for the centre? At five past eight. At what time does the bus leave for Valmiera? At nineteen thirty-five

Language point How to say at what time something happens At a precise hour is expressed with pulksten + the number in the locative plural which ends in -os. (Don’t worry about the locative at this point, it will be dealt with later.) At what time is cikos: – Cikos atiet vilciens uz Jermalu? – At what time does the train to Jurmala leave? – (Pulksten) divpadsmitos. – At twelve o’clock. To add minutes to this, they also have to go in the locative which in practical terms just means that the final vowel in minetes becomes long: minetbs, and the numbers which change also become long: uetros un divas minetbs

at two minutes past four

Note that we are now using the word un to join the hour and minutes.

Unit 4: Travelling by train

47

vienos un trcsdesmit trijas minetbs trijos un uetrpadsmit minetbs asto.padsmitos un desmit minetbs

at thirty-three minutes past one at fourteen minutes past three at 18.10

The number three again behaves irregularly as you can see in the first two examples.

Exercise 2 (CD1; 43) Write out the times shown on the clock faces in Exercise 1 in Latvian so that they mean at the time given. Example: Answer:

At 3.20 Trijos divdesmit

Dialogue 3 Divas bi7etes lcdz . . .

Two tickets to . . .

(CD1; 44) Peteris’ friend Andris is now buying tickets to Liepaja. ANDRIS KASIERE ANDRIS KASIERE

ANDRIS KASIERE ANDRIS KASIERE ANDRIS KASIERE ANDRIS KASIERE ANDRIS KASIERE

Labdien. Ledzu, divas bi7etes lcdz Liepajai. Vienvirziena bi7etes vai bi7etes turp un atpaka7? Turp un atpaka7. Cik tas maksa? Viena bi7ete maksa uetrus latus sevdesmit piecus santcmus. Tatad kopa devi.us latus trcsdesmit santcmus. Paldies. Cikos atiet vilciens uz Liepaju? Asto.padsmitos un trcsdesmit minetbs. Un cikos tas pienak Liepaja? Divdesmit vienos un trcsdesmit septi.as minetbs. No kura perona tas atiet? No ceturta. Liels paldies. Nav par ko. Laimcgu ce7u! Paldies. Uz redzbvanos. Uz redzbvanos.

48

Unit 4: Brauciens ar vilcienu

ANDRIS CASHIER ANDRIS CASHIER

ANDRIS CASHIER ANDRIS CASHIER ANDRIS CASHIER ANDRIS CASHIER ANDRIS CASHIER

Hello. Two tickets to Liepaja, please. One-way tickets or return [lit., ‘there and back’]? Return. How much does it cost? One ticket costs four lats sixty-five santims. So that’s nine lats thirty altogether. Thanks. At what time does the train leave for Liepaja? At eighteen-thirty. And when does it arrive in Liepaja? At twenty-one thirty-seven. From which platform does it leave? From number four. Thanks very much. Don’t mention it. Have a nice trip! Thanks. Goodbye. Goodbye.

Vocabulary kasiere

cashier (here: fem.)

pienakt

arrive

bi7ete

ticket

kurv, kura

which

l cdz

here: to, lit. as far as

perons

platform

vienvirziena

one-way

no

from

(virziens

direction)

liels paldies

turp un atpaka7

there and back

thank you very much, lit. big thanks

(turp atpaka7

thither, to there back)

tas

that, it

tatad

so

laimcgs

happy

kopa

altogether

ce7v

atiet

depart

journey, road, way

nav par ko

don’t mention it (lit. not for anything) (par prep. + acc. for)

Unit 4: Travelling by train

49

Language points ‘It’ In Latvian the word tas is used as the word for ‘it’ for inanimate objects so we had the question: Cikos tas pienak Liepaja?

What time does it arrive in Liepaja?

It is followed by the same verb endings as vi.v.

The verb nakt ‘to come’ es naku tu nac vi.v, etc. nak mbs nakam jes nakat

Verb prefixes In this lesson we find two verbs that are clearly related: nakt ‘to come’ and pienakt ‘to arrive’. Many verbs in Latvian can have their meanings altered by the addition of a prefix. Some of these prefixes are identical to prepositions (such as pie- ‘at’), and in a general sense the prefixes carry the same meanings as the prepositions do. Basically, all the prefixes contain a sense of ‘direction’, but the meaning of the verb can only sometimes be guessed from the prefix. Another example of a prefixed verb occurred in the exchanges above: Cikos atiet vilciens uz Liepaju? At what time does the train depart for Liepaja? (iet ‘to go’, atiet ‘to depart’; at- has the meaning of ‘away’) In the first dialogue we had: Mums vbl ir laiks aiziet uz kafejnccu. We still have time to go to the café.

50

Unit 4: Brauciens ar vilcienu

Aiz- has the meaning of ‘away’ so aiziet can mean ‘leave, go away’, but it can also mean ‘go, go off’ as here. As you learn more prepositions, you will also get a sense of what verbs with prefixes mean. A list of the most common prefixes can be found in the grammar summary at the back of the book. Remember that in Latvian the stress is generally on the first syllable of a word. This is also true of verbs with prefixes so here is how to pronounce the words introduced above: PIEnakt, ATiet, AIZiet.

Exercise 3 A Use the correct form of the verbs nakt or pienakt to fill in the gaps. Example: Answer: 1 2 3 4

Vi.v ______ uz restoranu. Vi.v nak uz restoranu.

Autobuss ______ desmitos. Aina ______ uz lidostu. Vi.as ______ uz viesnccu. Vilciens ______ sevpadsmitos un trcsdesmit minetbs.

B Now fill in the gaps with atiet or iet. Example: Answer: 1 2 3 4

Vi.v ______ uz restoranu. Vi.v iet uz restoranu.

Autobuss ______ sevos. Mbs ______ uz kino. Vilciens ______ no ceturta perona. Vi.as ______ uz restoranu.

Exercise 4 Look at this train timetable and prices for trains from Riga to Valmiera and back, and then answer the questions. Write out the times and prices in words.

Unit 4: Travelling by train

51

Vocabulary

1 2

dzelzce7v

railway

(pasawieris

passenger)

(dzelzs

iron)

pilna bi7ete

saraksts

timetable

adult (lit. full) ticket

tips

type

b\rns

child

marvruts

route

bagawa

baggage

dcze7vilciens diesel train

scks

small

pasawieru (stacija)

majdzcvnieks pet

passenger station

Cikos atiet vakara vilciens no Rcgas uz Valmieru? Cikos tas pienak Valmiera?

52

Unit 4: Brauciens ar vilcienu

3 4 5 6

Cikos atiet pirmais vilciens no Valmieras uz Rcgu? Cik maksa vienvirziena bi7ete? Cik maksa su.u bi7ete turp un atpaka7? You are a family of four – two adults and two children – mum and dad have a suitcase each. You want return tickets to Valmiera. How much is it going to cost you?

Language point Genitive case To say that something belongs to somebody or something in English, we use ’s or ‘of’, e.g. ‘the boy’s football’ or ‘the roof of the house’. In Latvian we use the genitive case for this and also in expressions such as ‘train timetable’. We can see several examples in the train information extract above: Latvijas dzelzce7v, vilcienu saraksts, bi7evu cenas, transporta tips, vilciena marvruts, bi7evu veids, vagonu tipi, bbrnu bi7ete, majdzcvnieku bi7ete; and we saw other examples earlier: Rcgas pils, [imenes numurs. Also in Rcga pasawieru, pasawieru is short for pasawieru stacija. So here are the endings you need: Masculine Nominative Genitive sing. Genitive pl. Examples – nom. gen. sing. gen. pl.

-s, -v -a -u vilciens vilciena vilcienu

-is -a -u inwenieris inweniera inwenieru

-us -us -u tirgus tirgus tirgu

-e -es -u inweniere inwenieres inwenieru

-s -s -u valsts valsts valstu

Feminine Nominative Genitive sing. Genitive pl. Examples – nom. gen. sing. gen. pl.

-a -as -u bagawa bagawas bagawu

The endings are quite easy to learn and remember – all the plural ones are -u. An interesting parallel between Latvian and English is

Unit 4: Travelling by train

53

that Latvian feminine nouns form their plurals by adding -s, and the genitive singular in the same way: skolotaja skolotajas skolotajas wurnals

teacher (fem.) teachers (fem.) the/a teacher’s magazine

Note that in Latvian the possessor (in the genitive case) always precedes the possessed object: skolotajas wurnals

the/a teacher’s magazine

Since place names are feminine in Latvian, we get the following: Latvijas dzelzce7v, Rcgas pils. Note that in vilciena marvruts ‘train’ is singular (the route of one train) but in vilcienu saraksts it is plural (the timetable of many trains). Another thing to note is in bi7evu cenas the t in the singular (bi7ete) has changed to an v in the genitive plural. We will look at this in more detail at a later stage.

Exercise 5 How do you say the following in Latvian? For example, ‘taxi stand’ taksometra stavvieta. train station bus stop tram ticket ticket prices the student’s newspaper a family room the restaurants of Riga the castles of Latvia orange juice taxi driver

What can you remember? How do you say the following in Latvian? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

What time is it? It’s two o’clock. It’s half past six. It’s ten past nine. It’s twenty to ten. When does the train leave for Jurmala? The train leaves at 18.35. Have a pleasant journey! Thank you!

10 The taxi driver is going to Riga castle. 11 The train is going to Liepaja. 12 The tram is going to the centre. 13 I’m going to the supermarket. (on foot) 14 The bus arrives at 16.22. 15 The train departs from platform 6.

Unit Five Restorana At the restaurant

In this unit you will learn how to: • • • • •

ask for things in a restaurant understand a menu say what will or is going to happen say ‘there isn’t any, we don’t have’ say you like something

Dialogue 1 Mums vodien arc ir . . .

Today we also have . . .

(CD1; 47) Peteris and Anda are out for dinner with their friend Imants. PgTERIS

OFICIANTE PgTERIS OFICIANTE

ANDA

Labdien. Mums ir rezervbtas vietas. Mans uzvards ir Priedctis. Ja. Ledzu, naciet man lcdzi . . . Te ir jesu galds pie loga. Paldies. Te ir bdienkarte. Mums vodien arc ir garvcgs cekas cepetis ar skabiem kapostiem. Mmm, man 7oti garvo skabi kaposti.

... OFICIANTE PgTERIS OFICIANTE

...

Ledzu. Mbs neesam vbl gatavi pasetct. Vbl piecas minetes. Labi.

Unit 5: At the restaurant

OFICIANTE PgTERIS

ANDA OFICIANTE ANDA OFICIANTE IMANTS OFICIANTE IMANTS OFICIANTE PgTERIS

PETERIS

WAITRESS

PETERIS WAITRESS

ANDA

Ledzu, vai tagad esat gatavi pasetct? Ja, man ledzu cekas cepeti ar skabiem kapostiem un varctiem kartupe7iem. Vai jums ir arc ve[etarie bdieni? Ja, protams. Mums ir grilbti darze.i ar tomatu mbrci. Labi, es .emvu tos, ledzu, ar rcsiem. Un jums? Ledzu, man vistas stroganovu. Diemwbl mums stroganova vairs nav. Vai cik wbl! Tad man arc grilbtus darze.us ar rcsiem. Labi. Un ko jes dzersit? Divus alus un vienu mineraledeni bez gazes. Hello. We’ve made a reservation [lit. ‘We have reserved places’]. My surname is Prieditis. Yes. Please come with me . . . Here’s your table by the window. Thanks. Here’s the menu. Today we have tasty roast pork with sauerkraut. Mmm, I really like sauerkraut.

... WAITRESS PETERIS WAITRESS

Yes, please? We’re not ready to order yet. Another five minutes. Fine.

... WAITRESS PETERIS

ANDA WAITRESS

ANDA WAITRESS IMANTS WAITRESS IMANTS

WAITRESS PETERIS

Are you ready to order now, please? Yes, I’ll have the roast pork with sauerkraut and boiled potatoes. Do you also have vegetarian dishes? Yes, of course. We have grilled vegetables with tomato sauce. Good, I’ll have those please, with rice. And for you? Chicken stroganoff for me, please. Unfortunately we have no more stroganoff. What a shame! Then I’ll have the grilled vegetables with rice too. Fine. And what will you drink? Two beers and one still mineral water [‘without gas’].

55

56

Unit 5: Restorana

Vocabulary rezervbtas vietas

reserved places

dzert

to drink

gaze

gas

naciet

command form of nakt come

(ar gazi

sparkling)

7oti

very (much)

garvot

taste, be tasty to

vodien

today

gatavs

ready

pasetct

to order

varct

to boil

varcts

boiled (adj.)

ve[etars

vegetarian (adj.)

bdiens

dish, meal

protams

of course

lcdzi (postposition + dat.)

with

galds

table

pie (+ gen.)

at, by

logs

window

bdienkarte

menu

garvcgs

tasty, delicious

ceka

pig

(cekas – gen.

pork)

cepetis

roast

grilbt

grill

skabs

sour; pickled

darzenis

vegetable

kaposti (pl.)

cabbage

tos (acc.)

those

skabi kaposti

sauerkraut

diemwbl

unfortunately

tomats

tomato

stroganovs

stroganoff

vista

hen, chicken

vai cik w\l!

what a pity!

mbrce

sauce

alus

beer

rcsi (pl.)

rice

bez (+ gen.) without

Unit 5: At the restaurant

Things you could expect to see on a menu Like restaurants in many other countries, Latvian restaurants generally divide their menus into sections such as zupas ‘soups’, salati un aukstas uzkodas ‘salads and cold snacks’, karstie ga7as un zivju bdieni ‘hot meat and fish dishes’, piedevas ‘side dishes’, saldie bdieni ‘desserts’, dzbrieni ‘drinks’ (maybe on a separate wine list at the more expensive places). Note that the definite form of the adjective (saldie, karstie, and so on) is used in menus – this will be explained later. Take a look at the menu above and see how much you understand.

57

58

Unit 5: Restorana

Vocabulary frikadele

meat ball

sarkanvcns

red wine

burkans

carrot

gur6is

cucumber

kotlete

rissole

majas

house ( here: chef’s special)

vampinjons button mushroom steiks

steak

cîpts

fried

krbms

cream dessert

lasis

salmon

6cselis

stewed fruit thickened with potato flour

frc kartupe7i

chips, French fries

oga

berry

vani7a

vanilla

zemene

strawberry

krbjums

cream

putukrbjums

whipped cream

citrons

lemon

auglis

fruit

mîlns

black

pudele

bottle

vcns

wine

baltvcns

white wine

Language point The future tense – nakotne We had two examples of the future tense in the dialogue: Labi, es .emvu tos, ledzu, ar rcsiem. Un ko jes dzersit?

OK, I’ll have those with rice, please. And what are you going to drink?

To form the future tense of any verb, we remove the final -t of the infinitive and add these endings:

es tu vi.v, vi.a, vi.i, vi.as mbs jes

-vu -si -s -sim -sit

Unit 5: At the restaurant

59

The examples show the verb dzcvot and the three irregular verbs bet, iet and dot: bet to be

iet to go

dot to give

dzcvot to live

es bevu tu besi vi.v, etc. bes mbs besim jes besit

es ievu tu iesi vi.v, etc. ies mbs iesim jes iesit

es dovu to dosi vi.v, etc. dos mbs dosim jes dosit

es dzc vovu tu dzc vosi vi.v, etc. dzcvos mbs dzc vosim jes dzc vosit

The only exceptions to this rule are some verbs ending in -st – these can be found in the grammar summary at the back of the book.

Exercise 1 Fill in the gaps with the future tense of the verb given. Example: Answer: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Es ______ uz Latviju. (braukt) Es braukvu uz Latviju.

Vi.i ______ uz restoranu. (iet) Mbs tev ______ atslbgu. (dot) Vi.v ______ Rcga. (dzcvot) Es ______ cekas cepeti. (.emt) Ko jes ______? (dzert) Vilciens ______ 18.33. (atiet) Autobuss ______ 20.34. (pienakt) Vai jes ______ uz Rcgu? (braukt) Vai tu ______ uz kino? (iet)

Language point ‘There isn’t any’; ‘we don’t have’ Remember that to say ‘to have’ in Latvian we use the dative plus ir (Unit 3). To negate the idea of the verb ‘to have’, we use a similar construction: the dative (Unit 3) of the possessor with the negative

60

Unit 5: Restorana

of the verb ‘to be’, i.e. nav. So when the waitress said they didn’t have any stroganoff, she used this construction: Diemwbl mums . . . nav.

Unfortunately, we don’t have . . .

The thing that is lacking appears in the genitive case (Unit 4) so stroganovs changes to stroganova and we get: Diemwbl mums stroganova nav. Unfortunately, we don’t have any stroganoff. You can also miss out the pronoun and say: Diemwbl stroganova nav. Unfortunately, there isn’t any stroganoff.

Exercise 2 How do you say the following in Latvian: Example: Answer: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

He doesn’t have any chips. Vi.am nav frc kartupe7u.

I don’t have any tea. We haven’t got a cat. They (fem.) don’t have the keys. Don’t you (sing.) have a ticket? There aren’t any trains today. There isn’t any coffee. Isn’t there any apple juice? There isn’t any red wine. Don’t you (pol.) have any beer?

Language point Saying you like something In general, in Latvian when we wish to say ‘I like something’, we use the construction man patck – lit. ‘it pleases to me’. With food, however, we use a different Latvian verb, man garvo, which literally means ‘to me is tasty’. Notice that the dative case of the person doing

Unit 5: At the restaurant

61

the liking is used with both verbs and the thing that is liked is in the nominative case. Thus in the dialogue we read: Man 7oti garvo skabi kaposti.

I like sauerkraut very much.

Here are some more examples: Dacei patck ka6i. Pbterim patck latvievu valoda. Bbrniem garvo vokolade.

Dace likes cats. Peter likes the Latvian language. Children like chocolate.

Exercise 3 How do you say the following in Latvian? Example: Answer: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

He likes roast pork. Vi.am garvo cekas cepetis.

They like chips. I like coffee. Do you (pol.) like coffee? Do you (fam.) like red wine? We like tea with lemon. They (fem.) like strawberries and cream. I like Latvia. They like cats. We like Riga.

Language point Prepositions with nouns Latvian, like English, has quite a number of prepositions which we will meet in the course of the next few lessons. In the singular, each preposition takes a particular case of the noun (and adjective, if there is one), e.g. we have already seen that ar ‘with’ takes the accusative so we get mineraledens ar gazi, but bez ‘without’ takes the genitive so we get mineraledens bez gazes. Pie ‘at’ takes the genitive: pie loga. In the plural, they all take the dative case so we get ar vampinjoniem ‘with mushrooms’.

62

Unit 5: Restorana

Exercise 4 (CD1; 48) How would you ask for the following things in a restaurant? Remember that the things you are asking for go into the accusative case and then watch your prepositions! Example: Answer: 1 2

You want a coffee without whipped cream but with milk. Kafiju bez putukrbjuma bet ar pienu.

You want the chicken stroganoff with rice. You want the lemon cream dessert without the yogurt but with whipped cream. You want a salmon steak without vegetables but with French fries. You want the sauerkraut soup with dark rye bread and butter. You want strawberries with ice cream. You want the vanilla cream dessert with strawberries. You want toast with jam. You want sourdough bread with ham. You want muesli with milk.

3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Dialogue 2 Labu apetcti

‘Good appetite’, enjoy your meal

(CD1; 49) The waitress brings the food to the table and then Peteris pays. OFICIANTE PgTERIS OFICIANTE ANDA IMANTS PgTERIS ANDA, IMANTS

Cekas cepetis? Tas ir man . . . Paldies. Un grilbti darze.i? Paldies. Paldies. Labu apetcti Paldies, tev tapat.

... PgTERIS OFICIANTE

...

Atvainojiet. Man vbl vienu alu, ledzu. Labi, telct.

Unit 5: At the restaurant

63

PgTERIS

Rb6inu, ledzu.

WAITRESS

The roast pork? That’s for me . . . Thanks. And the grilled vegetables? Thanks. Thanks. Enjoy your meal. Thanks, the same to you.

PETERIS WAITRESS ANDA IMANTS PETERIS ANDA, IMANTS

... PETERIS WAITER

Excuse me. Another beer for me, please. Fine, right away.

... PETERIS

The bill, please.

Vocabulary apetcte

appetite

(labu apetcti! good appetite!) tapat

telct

immediately

rb6ins

bill

also, likewise

Note that the reply to labu apetcti! uses the dative case.

Language point The locative case As its name suggests, the locative case is used to show location – the title of this unit is Restorana which means ‘at’ or ‘in the restaurant’. We also saw this being used when we were talking about where we live: es dzcvoju Rcga ‘I live in Riga’. And we also saw it being used in time expressions to say ‘at’ a certain time. We have already said that the locative ends in a long vowel. Now here is the complete table for this case.

64

Unit 5: Restorana

Masculine Nominative Locative sing. Locative pl. Examples – nom. sing. loc. sing. loc. pl.

-s, -v -a -os vilciens vilciena vilcienos

-is -c -os teatris teatrc teatros

-us -e -os tirgus tirge tirgos

-e -b -bs universitate universitatb universitatbs

-s -c -cs valsts valstc valstcs

Feminine Nominative Locative sing. Locative pl. Examples – nom. sing. loc. sing. loc. pl.

-a -a -as stacija stacija stacijas

Exercise 5 How do you say the following in Latvian? Example: Answer: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

At the airport Lidosta

In the taxi In the office At the swimming pool At the department store In London At 6 o’clock In Riga In the restaurant At 18.30 (write out in full)

What can you remember? It’s time to do some revision of what you have learnt so far. Here are some exercises to help you.

Unit 5: At the restaurant

65

A 1

2

3 4 5

6

7 8

9

10

11 12 14

13

15

16

17

18

19

20

21 22

23 24

25 ACROSS 2 A mode of transport 5 Something you can buy at the kiosk 6 Shower 8 How do you greet a male friend? 9 Something you can eat for breakfast 11 To go 12 On the left 16 Newspaper 17 Shop 20 Bread 21 10 23 A pet 24 Road 25 Soup 26 How are you?

26 DOWN 1 Thank you 2 He 3 At what time? 4 Platform 7 Something you might drink at breakfast 10 With 13 What else? 14 Negative of ‘is’ 15 Here 18 Cheese 19 Leave/depart 20 How much does it cost? Cik ______? 22 Without

66

Unit 5: Restorana

(CD1; 50) B Answer these questions in Latvian – use complete sentences: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Kur jes dzcvojat? Vai tu brauksi uz Latviju? (Say yes!) Cik ir divdesmit divi plus uetrpadsmit? Vai tu esi students/studente? Vai jes runajat angliski? Kads vodien ir datums? Vai tev ir kafija? Vai jums ir ka6is? Vai tev garvo kafija? Vai tev patck futbols?

Unit Six 9imene Family

In this unit you will learn how to: • • • • •

talk about family members make adjectives agree with nouns say ‘much/many/a lot of/little/a few’ say how old somebody is use all verbs in the present tense

Dialogue 1 Vai tev ir [imenes fotografijas lcdzi? Do you have any family photos with you? (CD1; 52) Peteris is having dinner with a colleague from Daugavpils, a town in the south-east of Latvia, and they start talking about their families. INITA PgTERIS

INITA PgTERIS

INITA

Vai tev ir [imenes fotografijas lcdzi? Ja, es paradcvu. Te mbs esam abi ar bbrniem. Imantam ir uetri gadi un Ainai ir divi. Vai, cik skaisti bbrni! Paldies! Un te ir mani vecaki, Annas tbvs un mate, un mana vecamate. Cik vi.ai ir gadu?

Unit 6: 9imene

68

PgTERIS INITA PgTERIS

Vi.ai ir jau devi.desmit. Vai tavi vecaki vbl strada? Ja, mans tbvs ir arhitekts un mana mate ir skolotaja. Annas vecaki gan ir jau pensija. Vi.iem ir liels darzs un vi.i tagad pavada daudz laika darza. Mana sievasmate audzb 7oti garvcgus darze.us. Un manai masai darza ir gan darze.i gan aug7i.

Vocabulary [imene

family

vîcaki

parents

fotografija

photograph

t\vs

father

lcdzi

with (you)

mate

mother

paradct

show

vîcamate

grandmother

abi, abas

both

arhitekts

architect

b\rns

child

skolotajs, skolotaja

teacher

cik

how (much)

pensija

pension

vai

here: oh!

jau

already

skaists

beautiful

darzs

garden

pavadct

spend (time)

darzenis

vegetable

sieva

wife

masa

sister

audzbt

grow, cultivate

auglis

fruit

Language point Gan Gan is a very common word in Latvian. It generally means something like ‘really, certainly, indeed, I do, he was, however’, and so on: Annas vecaki gan ir jau pensija. However, Anna’s parents are retired. And when it is repeated: gan . . . gan . . . , it means ‘both . . . and . . .’:

Unit 6: Family

69

Un manai masai darza ir gan darze.i gan aug7i. And my sister has both vegetables and fruit in her garden.

Family relationships – 5imene In Dialogue 1, we came across a number of words for family members. Here they are listed together with a few more: vîcamate grandmother

vîct\vs grandfather

(Notice that vecamate has the long a of the definite form of veca ‘old’ but vectbvs does not. This means that the first part of the word will follow the rules for definite adjectives which we will look at in the next unit.) mate vcrs masa meita mazmeita sievasmate svaine vîdîkla tante bra7ameita, masasmeita mascca

mother husband sister daughter granddaughter mother-in-law sister-in-law daughter-in-law aunt niece cousin (fem.)

t\vs sieva bralis d\ls mazd\ls sievast\vs svainis znots t\vocis, onkulis bra7ad\ls, masasdbls bral\ns

father wife brother son grandson father-in-law brother-in-law son-in-law uncle nephew cousin (masc.)

Language point Adjective endings In Latvian adjectives, such as ‘big’, come before the noun and they must agree with the noun, as we saw in the dialogue: liels darzs ‘a big garden’ (nominative case) and garvcgus darze.us ‘delicious vegetables’ (accusative case). Here are all the endings you need:

Unit 6: 9imene

70

Nominative Genitive Dative Accusative Locative

Masculine singular

Feminine singular

Masculine plural

Feminine plural

liels liela lielam lielu liela

liela lielas lielai lielu liela

lieli lielu lieliem lielus lielos

lielas lielu lielam lielas lielas

If you want to say, for example, ‘the soup is delicious’, you use the nominative singular masculine or feminine ending as appropriate, e.g. zupa ir garvcga; darzs ir liels ‘the garden is big’. The possessive adjectives mans and tavs take the same endings, e.g. mans darzs ‘my garden’, tavi darzi ‘your gardens’. The numbers one to nine (but not three) also take the same endings, e.g. viens liels darzs, divi lieli darzi. This is how three works:

Nominative Genitive Dative Accusative Locative

Masculine plural

Feminine plural

trcs triju trijiem trcs trijos

trcs triju trijam trcs trijas

Exercise 1 How do you say the following in Latvian? Example: Answer: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

He works in a big hotel. Vi.v strada liela viesncca.

She works in two restaurants. He’s going to a big museum. We live in a big town. The roast pork is delicious. The ham salad is delicious. Two beers, please. Three teas, please.

Unit 6: Family

8 9

71

My mother’s garden is beautiful. His father has a big garden.

Language point Much/many/a lot of/little/a few We saw in Dialogue 1: vi.i tagad pavada daudz laika darza ‘they now spend a lot of time in the garden’. Notice how daudz ‘much/ many’ is followed by the genitive case of what is being quantified: daudz laika. The same happens after the word cik ‘how (many)’ where the daudz is not used but is understood: Cik (daudz) masu tev ir? How many sisters do you have? Cik gadu tev ir? How old are you? (Lit. How many years do you have?) The same applies to maz ‘little/few’: Man ir maz naudas. Tur ir maz cilvbku.

I have little money. There are few people there.

Exercise 2 Fill in the gaps with the correct ending – watch out for singular and plural nouns: Example: Answer: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Man nav daudz laik__. Man nav daudz laika.

Manai matei darza ir daudz darze.__. Mums nav daudz pien__. Viesncca ir daudz istab__. Vi.am ir maz naud__. Vilciena bija maz cilvbk__. Mums ir maz pien__. Mana ñimenb ir daudz bbrn__. Mums nav daudz kartupe7__. Rcga ir daudz taksometr__.

Unit 6: 9imene

72

Language point Saying how old somebody is and nouns following numbers Notice the way Latvian expresses people’s ages: we use the construction we learnt for ‘to have’ (unit 3): Cik gadu tev ir? or Cik tev gadu? How old are you? (lit. How many years do you have?) And, in giving the answer, we have to make the number agree with the noun, in this case ‘year’: vi.ai ir viens gads, vi.ai ir divi gadi, vi.ai ir trcs gadi, etc. up to vi.ai ir devi.i gadi. ‘Round’ numbers (ending in 0) as well as the -padsmit numbers (11–19) take the genitive plural: Man ir piecdesmit gadu, un manam dblam ir devi.padsmit gadu. I am fifty years old, and my son is nineteen years old. Numbers that end in ‘one’ (apart from 11) take the singular: Man ir divdesmit viens gads, bet manai meitai ir tikai viens gads. I am 21 years old, but my daughter is only one year old. This rule applies to any nouns, not just years, e.g. Vi.iem ir desmit bbrnu.

They have ten children.

Exercise 3 How do you say these sentences in Latvian? Write the number out in full. Example: Answer: 1 2 3 4

He is 14 years old. Vi.am ir uetrpadsmit gadu.

She is three years old. I am 31 years old. My grandfather is 80 years old. My sister is 20 years old.

Unit 6: Family

5 6 7 8 9

73

He has three taxis. There are ten restaurants near us. Mums tuvuma ir ______ ______. I have 100 lats. He has 99 lats. I have three sisters.

Dialogue 2 Mana masa un mans bralis my brother (CD1; 53)

My sister and

Peteris and Inita continue their conversation. INITA PgTERIS INITA PgTERIS INITA PgTERIS

INITA PgTERIS

Ka sauc tavu masu? Vi.u sauc Alise. Cik vi.ai gadu? Vi.ai ir trcsdesmit. Kada vi.a ir? Vi.a ir 7oti skaista ar gariem tumviem matiem. Vi.a ir vienmbr prieccga un 7oti izpalcdzcga. Vai tev arc ir bralis? Ja, vi.u sauc Imants un vi.am ir divdesmit trcs gadi. Vi.v vbl studb un tapbc vi.am nekad nav naudas!

Vocabulary kada vi.a ir?

what’s she like?

arc

skaists

beautiful

vienm\r

always

garv

long, tall

prieccgs

happy

tumvs

dark

izpalcdzcgs

helpful

mati (always pl.) hair

studbt

study

mats

tapbc

therefore, that is why

nekad

never

nauda

one individual hair money

also

Unit 6: 9imene

74

Some adjectives to describe people Apart from skaists, garv and tumvs, which we learned in this dialogue, there are other words we can use to describe people: slaids bals nabags slinks vîcs

slim pale poor lazy old

rîsns bagats jauns nopietns mazs

stout, fat rich young (also means ‘new’) serious small

Language point Verbs – present – tagadne We have now encountered a number of verbs so it’s time to deal with how to conjugate them, i.e. how to put on the different endings. Latvian verbs are traditionally divided into three main types. Group 1 consists of verbs which have one-syllable stems and which usually end in a consonant and -t, e.g. nakt ‘to come’, pienakt ‘to arrive’. Group 2 verbs end in -at, -ot, -bt and the es ‘I’ form is the same in the present and the past. We have already encountered dzcvot ‘to live’, runat ‘to speak’ and audzbt ‘to grow/cultivate’ from this group. Group 3 verbs end in -ct, -inat, -at and -bt. We have seen pavadct ‘to spend’ (i.e. spend time, also ‘to accompany’) from this group. Here are the endings you need for each group:

es tu vi.v, vi.a, vi.i, vi.as mbs jes

Group 1

Group 2

Group 3

-u -/i -am -at

(aj, bj, oj)-u (a, b, o)(a, b, o)(aj, bj, oj)-am (aj, bj, oj)-at

-u -i -a/-am/-am -at/-at

To form these conjugations, you first need to take the final -t ending off Group 1 verbs, or the final vowel and -t endings off the other verbs and then add the endings given. Group 1 verbs often also have stem changes and you will find full conjugations in the grammar summary

Unit 6: Family

75

at the back of the book. You can see which group a verb belongs to in the glossaries at the back of the book and there are also more details in the grammar summary. You can see that Group 3 verbs have two possibilities in the he, we and you plural forms. All the verbs ending in -bt in this group follow the pattern of no ending in the he form and short vowels in the mbs and jes forms. Verbs ending in -ct have the -a in the he form and the long vowels in mbs and jes forms. Verbs ending in -at can take either, depending on the verb. You will find details in the grammar summary. Here are some examples: Group 1

Group 2

nakt to come

dzcvot to live

runat to speak

es naku tu nac vi.v, etc. nak mbs nakam jes nakat

es dzcvoju tu dzcvo vi.v, etc. dzcvo mbs dzcvojam jes dzcvojat

es runaju tu runa vi.v, etc. runa mbs runajam jes runajat

Group 3 pavadct to spend time

dziedat to sing

es pavadu tu pavadi vi.v, etc. pavada mbs pavadam jes pavadat

es dziedu tu dziedi vi.v, etc. dzied mbs dziedam jes dziedat

There are only three irregular verbs in Latvian. We have already seen bet ‘to be’ and iet ‘to go’. The third one is dot ‘to give’: es dodu tu dod vi.v etc. dod mbs dodam jes dodat

Unit 6: 9imene

76

Just as a final point on verb endings, they are important to know as Latvian quite often omits the subject, particularly in the spoken language, so, for example, you might find a sentence like: Eju uz banku.

(I’m) going to the bank.

Exercise 4 (CD1; 54) Fill in the gaps with the correct form of the verb given. Example: Answer: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Mbs ______ uz Rcgu. (braukt) Mbs braucam uz Rcgu.

Vi.i ______ latviski. (runat) Vai jes ______ Liepaja? (dzcvot) Mans bralis ______ angliski. (nerunat) Mana masa ______ aug7us un darze.us. (audzbt) Vi.i ______ daudz laika darza. (pavadct) Vecamate ______ mazbbrniem konfektes. (dot) Cikos ______ vilciens? (atiet) Ko tu ______? (studbt) Vi.v ______ veidlapu. (aizpildct)

What can you remember? A How do you say these sentences in Latvian? Example: Answer: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

He never has much money. Vi.am nekad nav daudz naudas.

My husband never has much time. I’ve got a lot of potatoes in my garden. There are a lot of museums in Riga. There are few people in the museum. He is 41 years old. My grandfather is 70 years old. They have five children. My husband doesn’t speak Latvian. My sister studies English.

Unit 6: Family

B Choose the correct form of the verb. Example: Answer: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Mans tbvs runa / runA / runo angliski. runa

Vi.v strAdA / strAda / strAdo ka arhitekts. Oficiants nAkam / nAku / nAk ar bdienu. Vilciens atej / atiet / atejam asto.os. Tbvs dot / dod /dodu manam bralim naudu. Es dzCvo / dzCvot / dzCvoju Rcga. Mbs ejam / ejat / iet uz restoranu. Mums esam / ir / esi jauns skolotajs. yoferis brauk / braukt / brauc uz Rcgu. Mani vecaki audzB / audz / audzBju aug7us.

C Fill in the gaps with the correct ending: Example: Answer: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Man__ masa ir 7oti skaist__. Mana masa ir 7oti skaista.

Vistas stroganovs ir 7oti garvcg__. Man__ bralim nav daudz naudas. Vi.ai ir cs__ mati. Man__ masa man dod garvcg__ aug7us. Vi.iem ir div__ bbrni. Vi.ai ir uetr__ gadi. Darza ir liel__ suns. Man__ bralim ir tumv__ mati. Vai tav__ matei ir ka6is?

77

Unit Seven Ko tu dari brcvaja laika? What do you do in your free time?

In this unit you will learn how to: • • • • •

talk about leisure activities talk about Latvian festivals and national holidays use reflexive verbs distinguish between indefinite and definite adjective endings use adverbs

Dialogue 1 Ko tu dari brcvaja laika? What do you do in your free time? (CD2; 1) Peteris and Inita are continuing their conversation while out for a meal. INITA PgTERIS

INITA PgTERIS

INITA

Ko tu dari brcvaja laika? Nu, man parak daudz brcva laika nav, bet es majas biewi klausos meziku un lasu. Vakaros es parasti skatos televizoru. Kada mezika tev patck? Es biewi klausos klasisko meziku, bet man arc patck dwezs un popmezika. Kadu meziku tu klausies? Es arc 7oti mclu klasisko meziku, bet biewi arc klausos tautas meziku, jo es dejoju tautas deju grupa.

Unit 7: What do you do in your free time?

PgTERIS INITA

PgTERIS

79

Tas ir interesanti! Cik ilgi tu to dari? Jau vairakus gadus. Mums ir 7oti aktcva grupa, un mbs vad un tad braucam arc uz arzembm. Vai tu nodarbojies ar sportu? Es mb[inu iet divreiz nedb7a uz fitnesa klubu, kaut gan man tas ne vienmbr sanak. Atva7inajuma gan es labprat eju pastaigaties. Es 7oti mclu dabu, un man patck fotografbt un zcmbt dabas skatus.

Vocabulary brcvs

free

pastaigaties

(go for a) walk

parak

too

fotografbt

parak daudz

too much

photograph, take pictures

majas (note plural form!)

at home

dwezs

jazz

mclbt

love

biewi

often

klasisks

classical

klauscties

listen to

tautas deja

folk dance

mezika

music

dejot

dance (v.)

lasct

read

vairaki

several

vakaros

in the evenings

grupa

group

skatcties

watch

parasti

usually

televizors

television

interesants

interesting

patikt

please

aktcvs

active

(man patck

I like)

vad un tad

now and then

arzemes

foreign countries, abroad

divreiz

twice

fitnesa klubs

sports club

nodarboties (ar + acc.)

be involved (in)

kaut gan

although

sports

sport

nedb7a

week

mb[inat

try

labprat

willingly, gladly

zcmbt

draw

daba

nature

skats

view, scene

sanakt (+ dat.) succeed, manage

atva7inajums holidays, free time

80

Unit 7: Ko tu dari brcvaja laika?

Some leisure activities In the dialogue we encountered quite a range of free-time activities: klauscties meziku, skatcties televizoru, dejot, zcmbt, fotografbt, pastaigaties, lasct, for example. Here are a few more to consider: peldbties burat spblbt basketbolu futbolu, tenisu, meziku

to swim to sail play basketball, football, tennis, music

Latvian names of sports are often adapted from English: futbols, badmintons, teniss for example. This is true even of Latvia’s most popular national sports: basketbols and hokejs ‘ice hockey’ in winter.

Language point Reflexive verbs Reflexive verbs are those which generally, but in Latvian not always, refer the action back to the subject of the verb, e.g. se laver in French or sich waschen in German. Most reflexive verbs in Latvian are derived from a non-reflexive counterpart. The infinitive ending is extended from -t to -ties: for example, mazgat means ‘to wash’, but mazgaties means ‘to wash oneself’; likewise, macct means ‘to teach’, whereas maccties means ‘to learn/study’ (= teach oneself). Some verbs, like peldbties in the dialogue above, have no obvious reflexive meaning. Peldbt means ‘to swim’, i.e. the action of swimming: Vi.v peld uz krastu. He’s swimming to the shore (or the bank of a lake or river). Peldbties (Group 3 – short -a in the he/she/it/they/we/you pl. forms) means ‘to swim’ as in the activity of swimming or bathing: Es eju peldbties. I’m going swimming or I’m going for a swim. Some reflexive verbs can even take other objects. For example, klauscties means ‘to listen’ and it can be used either with an object

Unit 7: What do you do in your free time?

81

(i.e. as a transitive verb) or without an object (i.e. an intransitive verb). Es klausos meziku. Es klausos.

I listen to music. I’m listening. (Incidentally, klausos is the equivalent of the English ‘speaking’ on the telephone when you confirm that you are the person asked for.)

Sometimes the meaning of a reflexive verb is reciprocal, such as satikties ‘meet’ (each other). Here are the endings you need for each of the groups in the present and future tenses. Present tense

es tu vi.v, vi.a, vi.i, vi.as mbs jes

Group 1

Group 2

Group 3

-os -ies -as -amies -aties

(aj, bj, oj)-os (a, b, o)-jies (a, b, o)-jas (aj, bj, oj)-amies (aj, bj, oj)-aties

-os -ies -as/-as -amies/-amies -aties/-aties

Future tense Groups 1,2,3 es tu vi.v, vi.a, vi.i, vi.as mbs jes

(v)-os (s)-ies (s)-ies (s)-imies (s)-ities

And here are examples with some of the verbs we have looked at above. As we saw with non-reflexive verbs in the last unit, you take off the final -ties and then add the appropriate endings. Also in the last unit we mentioned that Group 1 verbs often have vowel and/or consonant changes in the stem – you can see this happening in the

82

Unit 7: Ko tu dari brcvaja laika?

verb satikties. As with non-reflexive verbs, Group 3 verbs can have two forms – with a long or short a in the vi.v/mbs/jes forms. Group 1

Group 2

Group 3

satikties

pastaigaties

klauscties

peldbties

to meet (people)

to go for a walk

to listen

to swim, bathe

PRESENT TENSE es satiekos

es pastaigajos

es klausos

es peldos

tu satiecies

tu pastaigajies

tu klausies

tu peldies

vi.v, etc. satiekas

vi.v, etc. pastaigajas

vi.v, etc. klausas

vi.v, etc. peldas

mbs satiekamies

mbs pastaigajamies

mbs klausamies

mbs peldamies

jes satiekaties

jes pastaigajaties

jes klausaties

jes peldaties

es satikvos

es pastaigavos

es klauscvos

es peldbvos

tu satiksies

tu pastaigasies

tu klauscsies

tu peldbsies

FUTURE TENSE

vi.v, etc. satiksies vi.v, etc. pastaigasies vi.v, etc. klauscsies

vi.v, etc. peldbsies

mbs satiksimies

mbs pastaigasimies

mbs klauscsimies

mbs peldbsimies

jes satiksities

jes pastaigasities

jes klauscsities

jes peldbsities

Exercise 1 (CD2; 2) Fill in the gap with the correct form of the verb in the present tense as in the example. Learn the endings first before doing the exercise and then cover them up while you do the exercise. Example: Answer: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Mbs ______ skaistu meziku. (klauscties) Mbs klausamies skaistu meziku.

Vi.i ______ parka. (pastaigaties) Es ______ ar draugiem. (satikties) Vi.v ______ klasisko meziku. (klauscties) Bbrni ______ jera. (peldbties) Imants ______ televizoru. (skatcties) Ka6is ______. (mazgaties) Vai tu ______ latvievu valodu? (maccties) Vai jes ______ ang7u valodu? (maccties) Es ievu ______. (pastaigaties)

Unit 7: What do you do in your free time?

Exercise 2 (CD2; 3) Now do the exercise again, but this time put the verbs into the future tense as in the example. Example: Answer:

Mbs ______ skaistu meziku. (klauscties) Mbs klauscsimies skaistu meziku.

Language point The definite form of the adjective We have already noted that Latvian has no definite article, i.e. no word for ‘the’, and no indefinite article ‘a/an’ either. But it does have ways of expressing definiteness and indefiniteness, just like most languages. The Latvian way of showing definiteness is unusual and is shared with its sister language Lithuanian: it applies only to adjectives (and other qualifying words such as ordinal numerals which we looked at in Unit 3, e.g. pirmais/pirma ‘the first’). The form of the adjective will change according to whether we want to say ‘a beautiful child’ or ‘the beautiful child’. ‘A beautiful child’ is, in the nominative, skaists bbrns. But the ending of the adjective changes if we make it definite: skaistais bbrns means ‘the beautiful child’. We saw definite adjective endings when we talked about food on a menu, e.g. aukstas uzkodas ‘cold snacks’, karstie ga7as un zivju bdieni ‘hot meat and fish dishes’, saldie bdieni ‘sweet dishes/desserts’. In this case we are naming the type of snacks or dishes. The same thing happens in the dialogue above when we talked about classical music: Es klausos klasisko meziku – what you listen to goes into the accusative and mezika is feminine so, if you look at the table, the feminine singular accusative ending is -o. To say ‘Classical music is beautiful’ you will use the nominative: Klasiska mezika ir skaista. Skaista is the indefinite adjective ending. The definite adjective endings also follow possessive adjectives, e.g. Mans lielais suns.

My big dog.

83

84

Unit 7: Ko tu dari brcvaja laika?

Nominative Genitive Dative Accusative Locative

Masculine singular

Feminine singular

Masculine plural

Feminine plural

lielais liela lielajam lielo lielaja

liela lielas lielajai lielo lielaja

lielie lielo lielajiem lielos lielajos

lielas lielo lielajam lielas lielajas

Exercise 3 Fill in the correct ending of the definite or indefinite adjectives – think if in English we would use ‘a’ or ‘the’ before the noun, or whether the adjective follows a possessive adjective: Example: Answer: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Man ir ______ suns. (liels) Man ir liels suns.

______ bdiens ir 7oti ______. (salds, garvcgs) Man, ledzu, ______ pienu. (karsts) ______ bbrni peldas jera. (mazs) Vi.as ______ ______ mati ir 7oti ______. (tumvs, garv, skaists) Mbs braucam ar ______ tramvaju. ( jauns) Ko jes darat ______ laika? (brcvs) ______ restorans Rcgas centra ir 7oti ______. ( jauns, populars) Vi.v iet uz ______ kiosku. (mazs) Es ievu uz ______ fitnesa klubu. ( jauns)

Language point Adverbs of frequency vienm\r gandrcz vienm\r biewi kadreiz

always nearly always often sometimes

vad un tad r\ti gandrcz nekad nekad

occasionally rarely almost never never

Unit 7: What do you do in your free time?

The table below shows the word order when using these words – they come between the subject and the verb, just as in English. When you say ‘almost never’ or ‘never’, you must use the verb in the negative. We will look at this again later. Es

vienmbr

klausos meziku.

gandrcz vienmbr biewi kadreiz vad un tad reti Es

gandrcz nekad

neklausos meziku.

nekad

Exercise 4 (CD2; 4) How do you say the following in Latvian? Example: Answer: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

I sometimes go to the park. Es kadreiz eju uz parku.

He never goes to the cinema. We often go to the restaurant. The children occasionally swim in the sea. My grandmother always watches TV. My father rarely listens to music. They often go to the opera. They never go to the theatre. She never goes by taxi. Do you sometimes listen to jazz?

85

86

Unit 7: Ko tu dari brcvaja laika?

Dialogue 2 Vai tu vovakar kaut ko dari? anything this evening? (CD2; 5)

Are you doing

Anda is phoning her friend Maija to arrange to go to the cinema. ANDA MAIJA ANDA MAIJA ANDA

MAIJA ANDA MAIJA

ANDA

Vai tu vovakar kaut ko dari? Nb, pavlaik vbl neko. Vai gribi iet uz kino? Ja, labprat. Kuru filmu tu gribi redzbt? Pavlaik rada Tumvo Bru.inieku. Es domaju, ka ta ir 7oti laba filma. Labi, tad iesim uz to. Cikos ta sakas? Pusdevi.os. Mbs varam vispirms kaut ko iebst. Labi. Tad satiksimies pussepti.os pie Laimas pulkste.a. Mbs varam turpat blakus dabet picu. Lieliski! Tad lcdz vakaram.

The Laima clock tower was built in 1924 and has been the most popular meeting place in Riga since then

Unit 7: What do you do in your free time?

87

Vocabulary vovakar

this evening

redzbt

to see

pavlaik

at the moment

filma

film

gribbt

to want

sakties

start, begin

kino

cinema

vispirms

first (of all)

radct

show

iebst

have (something) to eat

tumvs

dark

turpat

right there

bru.inieks

knight

dabet

get

pulkstenis

clock

lieliski!

great!

blakus (adv. & prep.)

beside

Laima

pica

pizza

lcdz (prep. + dat.)

until

brand of chocolate in Latvia, advertised prominently on a clock tower in Freedom Square in central Riga; named after a figure in Latvian mythology

kaut ko (acc.) something (object) neko (acc.)

nothing (object)

Language points Kaut ko, neko Note how kaut kas ‘something’ and nekas ‘nothing’ are used in questions and answers – in both cases we are using the accusative form: Vai tu vovakar kaut ko dari? Are you doing anything this evening? Nb, pavlaik vbl neko. No, nothing yet (at the moment).

Adverbs Adverbs are formed by changing the gender-based ending of the adjective to -i:

88

Unit 7: Ko tu dari brcvaja laika?

latvisks skaists labs

Latvian beautiful good

latviski in Latvian (note the lower case I) skaisti beautifully labi well

Some have the ending -u: v\lu ‘late’, talu ‘far’. We have seen three adverbs in this unit: interesanti in Dialogue 1, and labi and lieliski in Dialogue 2. The use of the adverb is different from English here: in English we would say ‘That is interesting’ or ‘That’s good/great’ using an adjective but Latvian uses an adverb.

Cultural point Festivals and national holidays The most important festivals are associated with the changing of the seasons, i.e. spring equinox Lieldienas (the ‘great’ days when the days become longer than the nights), summer solstice or midsummer Ja.i (‘John’s day’), autumn equinox Mi6e7i (‘Michael’s day’) and winter solstice Ziemassvbtki (‘winter festival’). Nowadays spring equinox is celebrated as Easter and winter solstice as Christmas but many of the old pagan traditions remain as part of the celebrations to this day. Mi6e7i is the equivalent of a harvest festival which is not celebrated very much today. However, one tradition which is being revived is that of having a market, tirgus, on the third day of the celebrations. At Easter, eggs are painted or dyed, olu krasovana, using natural dyes such as onion skins or plants. Another tradition is swinging, vepovanas, on swings made for two to four people. This tradition is connected with fertility to ensure that the livestock and crops do well over the summer. At Christmas, one tradition is to dress up in costumes and masks depicting animals. These masked people, 6ekatnieki, then go from house to house to frighten away evil spirits and to bring blessings. Dragging the Yule log, blu6a velvana, is another tradition – a burning log was dragged from house to house and this symbolizes the burning of last year’s problems. Today this is done symbolically in town squares. The traditional food was a boiled pig’s head with pearl barley, but today the most popular dish is boiled grey peas (a type of dried pea) with

Unit 7: What do you do in your free time?

pieces of fried bacon, pelbkie zir.i ar spe6i; the peas symbolize the sun because of their round shape. Ja.i is the time when Latvians really enjoy their pagan roots. It is held in the night from 23 to 24 June, with the 23rd called Lcgo diena and the 24th Ja.u diena, both of which are public holidays in Latvia. Lcgot means ‘to sing lcgo songs’ which are the folk songs associated with the festival – the refrain is lcgo, lcgo. Women wear wreaths, vainagi, of flowers and grasses, ja.u zales, on their heads, while those of the men are made of oak leaves, ozolu lapas, to symbolize strength. An essential part of the celebrations is a fire, ja.uguns, to drive away evil and to promote health and fertility. Very often these fires are lit in a barrel which is placed at the top of a pole. Nakat vurpu, Ja.u bbrni, lcgo, lcgo. Nakat lieli, nakat mazi, lcgo. Lieliem dovu alu dzerti, lcgo, lcgo. Maziem siera gabali.u, lcgo. nakat vurpu Ja.u b\rni dzerti siera gabali.v

irregular imperative form from nakt ‘to come’ this way; usually vurp all the revellers, not just the children irregular form of dzert ‘to drink’ refers to the traditional food of ja.u siers – a cheese made with caraway seeds

Another very important day is 18 November, 18. novembris, which is the anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic of Latvia in 1918.

What can you remember? A How do you say the following in Latvian? Example: Answer: 1 2 3 4 5

I listen to classical music. Es klausos klasisko meziku.

We’ll meet in the evening. He listens to jazz. The cat is washing itself. (the verb is group 2) We’ll swim in the sea. I’m learning Latvian. (the verb is group 3)

89

90

Unit 7: Ko tu dari brcvaja laika?

6 7 8 9

We’re learning Latvian. They’ll go for a walk. Do they listen to pop music? Is she watching TV?

B And how do you say the following? 1 2 3 4

That’s interesting! Great! That’s not interesting! That’s not good!

C Say what you do in your free time and how often you do these activities. Example:

Es biewi klausos klasisko meziku. Es kadreiz eju uz kino.

Unit Eight Iesim iepirkties! Let’s go shopping!

In this unit you will learn how to: • • • • •

buy clothes and souvenirs name clothes, colours and materials name different types of shops use ‘this’ and ‘that’ say you ‘would’ like to do something using the conditional

Dialogue 1 Ka varu jums palcdzbt?

How can I help you?

(CD2; 7) Anda goes shopping for a new jumper. PfRDEVgJA ANDA PfRDEVgJA

ANDA

ANDA

PfRDEVgJA

ANDA

Labdien. Ka varu jums palcdzbt? Labdien. Es meklbju za7u dwemperi. Dwemperi ir pa kreisi. Mums ir dawadi za7i dwemperi. Jes varat apskatcties. Paldies. ... Es gribbtu vo uzlaikot. Kur ir uzlaikovanas kabcne? Tepat pa labi. ... Tas man ir par mazu. Vai jums ir lielaks?

92

Unit 8: Iesim iepirkties!

PfRDEVgJA

ANDA PfRDEVgJA ANDA

Ja, es atnescvu. ... Es to pirkvu. Es vblbtos maksat ar kredctkarti. Ja, protams. . . . Te ir jesu kvcts. Uz redzbvanos. Paldies. Uz redzbvanos.

Vocabulary varbt

can, to be able to

palcdzbt (+ dat.) help

dawads

various

vis, vc

this

meklbt

seek, look for

uzlaikovanas fitting room kabcne

za7v

green

atnest

fetch, bring

dwemperis

sweater, jumper

pirkt

buy

uzlaikot

try on

kvcts (fem.)

receipt

protams

of course

vblbties

wish

apskatcties

have a look

kredctkarte

credit card

Language point This and that ‘This’ is translated with the word vis and ‘that’ is tas. Here they are in their different cases:

Nominative Genitive Dative Accusative Locative

Masculine singular

Feminine singular

Masculine plural

Feminine plural

vis va vim vo vaja

vc vas vai vo vaja

vie vo viem vos vajos

vcs vo vcm vcs vajas

Unit 8: Let’s go shopping!

Nominative Genitive Dative Accusative Locative

93

Masculine singular

Feminine singular

Masculine plural

Feminine plural

tas ta tam to taja

ta tas tai to taja

tie to tiem tos tajos

tas to tam tas tajas

We have already seen that we use tas to mean ‘it’ for inanimate objects so in Dialogue 1 we had: Es to pirkvu ‘I’ll buy it’. Here we are using the masculine singular in the accusative case since ‘it’ refers to ‘sweater’. In an earlier sentence Anda said: Es gribbtu vo uzlaikot, meaning that she wants to try on this particular sweater. Note that the pronoun comes before the verb. Both of these words are followed by definite adjective endings, e.g. vis baltais dwbmperis ‘this white sweater’; tas za7ais dwemperis ‘that green sweater’.

Clothes – ap[brbs josta/siksna bleze zabaki mbtelis lietusmbtelis kleita cimdi cîpure jaka dwinsi kaklasaite apakvve7a

belt (for women/men) blouse boots coat raincoat dress gloves hat (wind-)jacket, cardigan jeans tie underwear

bikses ze6bikses valle kurpes svarki ze6es kostcms uzvalks wakete dwemperis krîkls vbjjaka

trousers tights, pantyhose scarf, shawl shoes skirt (pl. in Latvian!) socks, stockings woman’s suit man’s suit jacket jumper, sweater shirt windcheater, anorak

94

Unit 8: Iesim iepirkties!

Colours and materials – krasas un vielas za7v zils balts mîlns brens dzîltîns

green blue white black brown yellow

sarkans pîl\ks lilla oranws roza

red grey purple orange pink

All of these colours except lilla and roza take the normal definite or indefinite adjective endings, e.g. za7v dwemperis ‘a green jumper’; brenas kurpes ‘the brown shoes’. Lilla and roza don’t change, e.g. lilla dwemperis ‘a/the purple jumper’. They also don’t change in the different cases, e.g. es gribu lilla dwemperi ‘I want a purple jumper’. Here are some materials: vilna kokvilna zcds lini (pl.) ada

wool cotton silk linen leather

sudrabs zîlts koks keramika metals

silver gold wood ceramic metal

If you want to say ‘a green woollen jumper’, you use the genitive case (Unit 4) of the word for the material: za7v vilnas dwemperis. ‘A linen dress’ will be linu kleita. Similarly, if you want to say ‘a summer coat’ or ‘a winter coat’, you use the genitive of vasara ‘summer’ or ziema ‘winter’: vasaras mbtelis, ziemas mbtelis.

Exercise 1 Put these adjectives and nouns into the nominative case, using both the indefinite and definite forms of the adjectives. Example: Answer: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Black leather boots/the black leather boots Melni adas zabaki/melnie adas zabaki

Brown trousers/the brown trousers A blue raincoat/the blue raincoat A pink cotton blouse/the pink cotton blouse A white shirt/the white shirt Blue jeans/the blue jeans A red woollen jumper/the red woollen jumper Black shoes/the black shoes

Unit 8: Let’s go shopping!

8 9

95

A yellow silk tie/the yellow silk tie A purple skirt/the purple skirt

Exercise 2 (CD2; 8) Now use the items from the last exercise to say ‘I am looking for . . .’ Don’t forget that this time the adjective and noun will need to go into the accusative. Again, use both indefinite and definite adjective endings. The CD has only the indefinite endings, as though you are going into a shop looking for these things. Example: Answer:

Black boots/the black boots Es meklbju melnus adas zabakus. Es meklbju melnos adas zabakus.

Various shops – veikali gramatveikals universalveikals suvencru veikals partikas veikals ga7as veikals pasts lielveikals friz\tava rota7lietu veikals maizes veikals konditoreja aptieka kiosks banka ap[\rbu veikals iepirkvanas/tirgovanas centrs

bookshop department store souvenir shop grocer’s butcher’s post office supermarket hairdresser’s toyshop baker’s patisserie chemist’s, drugstore kiosk bank clothes shop shopping centre, mall

Language point The conditional: ‘would’, ‘if’ sentences The conditional in English is when we use the word ‘would’, e.g. ‘I would like a coffee’. In Latvian this is expressed by simply adding

96

Unit 8: Iesim iepirkties!

-u to the infinitive (i.e. the dictionary form) of the verb. This rule applies to all verbs ending in -t without exception, and to all persons of the verb: the conjugation is invariable. Es gribbtu kafiju, vi.v gribbtu kafiju, mbs gribbtu kafiju, etc. Another example is: Vai es varbtu maksat ar kredctkarti? Here the verb translates as ‘could’ which is the conditional form of ‘can’ in English. For reflexive verbs, i.e. verbs ending in -ties, you change this ending to -tos. Again, the conjugation is invariable. We saw the example in the dialogue: Es vblbtos maksat ar kredctkarti. I would like to pay by credit card. The infinitive of the verb is vblbties; so the conditional form has become vblbtos: es vblbtos kafiju, vi.v vblbtos kafiju, mbs vblbtos kafiju, etc. One difference with English is that in Latvian the conditional form is used in both parts of a conditional sentence, i.e. an ‘if’ sentence. This means that it applies to both the condition (ja ‘if’) and the result. Here are some examples: Es bEtu prieccgs, ja jes nAktu kopa ar mums. I would be pleased if you came together with us. Ja mums bEtu laiks, mbs varBtu iet uz kino. If we had time, we could go to the cinema. To express the idea of ‘I wish’, we use the word kaut together with the verb in the conditional, e.g.: Kaut man betu nauda!

I wish I had some money!

Exercise 3 Fill in the gaps with the conditional form of the verb given. Example: Answer:

Vi.v ______ cekas cepeti, ja mums ______. (.emt, bet) Vi.v .emtu ______ cekas cepeti, ja mums betu. _____

Unit 8: Let’s go shopping!

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Es ______ jaunu dwemperi. (gribbt) Vi.a ______ iet uz teatri, ja vi.ai ______ laiks. (varbt, bet) Es ______ dwezu, ja man ______. (klauscties, patikt) Mbs ______ uz Latviju, ja mums ______ atva7inajums. (braukt, bet) Kaut vi.i ______ mums lcdz! (nakt) Vai tu ______, ja edens ______ auksts? (peldbties, nebet) Es labprat ______ uz koncertu. (iet) Es ______ parka, ja tu ______ man lcdzi. (pastaigaties, nakt) Kaut vi.a ______ latvievu valodu! (maccties)

Language point Comparative adjectives and adverbs The usual way to form the comparative of adjectives (e.g. ‘bigger’ or ‘more interesting’) and adverbs (e.g. ‘more beautifully’) is to add -ak to the stem. This applies to both adjectives and adverbs. The adverb adds nothing to this -ak, e.g.: skaists ‘beautiful’ – adjective → skaisti ‘beautifully’ – adverb → skaistak ‘more beautifully’ The adjective takes the normal indefinite adjective endings, e.g. skaistaks suns skaistaka pilsbta

a more beautiful dog a more beautiful town

In comparisons, ‘than’ is expressed by the word neka. Here are some examples: Pbteris ir jaunaks neka Imants. Peteris is younger than Imants. Vi.v runa latviski labak neka es. He speaks Latvian better than I do. Daudz ‘much’, ‘many’ is irregular: the comparative is vairak ‘more’. If you remember, daudz is followed by a genitive (Unit 6); this also applies to vairak, e.g.: Rcga ir vairak muzeju neka Valmiera. There are more museums in Riga than in Valmiera.

97

98

Unit 8: Iesim iepirkties!

Maz ‘few’, ‘little’, is regular so it becomes mazak and it is also followed by a genitive, e.g.: Valmiera ir mazak muzeju neka Rcga. There are fewer museums in Valmiera than in Riga.

Exercise 4 Use the following information to compare two hotels. Viesncca

Gads Istabas

Pakalpojumi

Cena

Zvaigznes

Lcva

1900

30

Apsargajama autostavvieta WiFi kartes, bezvadu interneta tckls Brokastis numura

31 LVL

**

Jermala

2001

180

Apsargajama autostavvieta WiFi kartes, bezvadu interneta tckls Brokastis numura Gidu pakalpojumi Auto noma

61 LVL

****

Vocabulary zvaigzne (gen. star pl. zvaigw.u)

bezvadu wireless (vads wire) tckls

net(work)

viesncca

hotel

numurs

(hotel) room

pakalpojums

service

gids

guide

apsargajams

secure, guarded

noma

hire, rent (noun)

(apsargat

to guard)

autostavvieta

car park, parking place

Example: Answer:

Lcva ir ______ viesncca ______ Jermala. (lbts – ‘cheap’) Lcva ir lbtaka viesncca neka Jermala.

Unit 8: Let’s go shopping!

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Jermala ir ______ viesncca ______ Lcva. (dargs – ‘expensive’) Jermala ir ______ _______ ______ Lcva. (daudz, istabas) Lcva ir ______ ______ ______ Jermala. (maz, istabas) Jermala ir ______ _______ ______ Lcva. (daudz, pakalpojumi) Lcva ir ______ ______ ______ Jermala. (maz, pakalpojumi) Jermala ir ______ viesncca ______ Lcva. (jauns) Lcva ir ______ viesncca ______ Jermala. (vecs) Lcvai ir ______ ______ ______ Jermalai. (maz, zvaigznes) Jermalai ir ______ ______ ______ Lcvai. (daudz, zvaigznes)

Dialogue 2 Es gribbtu nopirkt suvencrus I would like to buy some souvenirs (CD2; 9) Peteris is talking to Anita, a visitor from Canada who has come to Latvia to find her Latvian roots. ANITA PgTERIS

ANITA PgTERIS

ANITA PgTERIS ANITA PgTERIS

ANITA

Es gribbtu nopirkt suvencrus. Ko tu varbtu ieteikt? Rcga var atrast 7oti daudz dzintara izstradajumu. Tu varbtu nopirkt kaklarotas un krelles, auskarus, vai aproces. Ta ir 7oti laba ideja. Bez tam, tu redzbsi koka izstradajumus, ka piembram karotes vai v6cvjus, un arc dawadus rokdarbus, piembram galdautus vai dvie7us. -oti skaisti arc ir latvievu cimdi. Tiem ir sena vbsture, un ziema ir 7oti praktiski. Tad man bes liela izvble! Ja. Bet vbl arc varu ieteikt Rcgas melno balzamu. Kas tas ir? Tas ir za7u ekstrakts. To var pieliet pie kafijas, jeb ar to var arc taisct dawadus koktei7us. Tas ir mesu nacionalais dzbriens, kuru mbs davinam arzemju viesiem. Labi, to es tad noteikti pirkvu.

99

100

Unit 8: Iesim iepirkties!

Vocabulary nopirkt

buy (finished transaction)

viesis

guest

bez tam

apart from that

suvencrs

souvenir

atrast

to find

ieteikt dzintars

recommend amber

koks

tree, wood

piem\ram

for example

galdauts

tablecloth

galds

table

izstradajums product, article (particularly hand-made) dvielis

towel

vai

here: or

kaklarota

necklace

ziema

winter

(kakls

neck

karote

spoon

rota

ornament)

plate

krelles

(string of) beads

v6cvis (pl. v6cvji)

auskari

earrings

dawads

various

(auss (fem.)

ear)

rokdarbi

handicrafts

aproce

bracelet

skaists

beautiful

ideja

idea

praktisks

practical

balzams

balsam

ekstrakts

extract

sîna v\sture long (lit. ancient) history izvble

choice

taisct

make

zale

herb

dzbriens

drink (n.)

pieliet

add (by pouring)

nacionals

national

jeb

or

arzemju

foreign

kokteilis

cocktail

(emt – fem.)

Dialogue 2 Es nevaru atrast atslbgas

I can’t find my keys

(CD2; 39) Peteris has lost his keys and Anda helps him to find them. PgTERIS ANDA PgTERIS ANDA PgTERIS ANDA PgTERIS ANDA PgTERIS ANDA PgTERIS

Es nekur nevaru atrast atslbgas. Kur tu tas beidzamo reizi noliki? Es domaju, priekvtelpa uz galdi.a, bet tagad nav. Vai tu esi paskatcjies zem galdi.a? Vai nav nokrituvas? Nb, nav. Kur tu vispirms gaji, kad ienaci dzcvoklc? Viesistaba. Es lasiju pastu. Vai tad tu neesi tas nolicis uz dcvana? Es neredzu. Paskaties aiz spilvena. Paldies! Atradu! Tas bija starp spilveniem.

166

Unit 13: Jaunais dzcvoklis

Vocabulary atsl\ga

key

ienakt

enter

atrast

find

pasts

post, mail

beidzamais

last

spilvîns

cushion

nolikt

put down

priekvtîlpa

hallway, entrance

tagad

now

tad

here: well then

zem (+ gen.)

under

nokrist

fall down

starp (+ acc.) between

Language point Prepositions indicating location We had a few new prepositions in the dialogue: uz ‘on’, zem ‘under’, aiz ‘behind’, starp ‘between’. The first three take the genitive in the singular and, like all prepositions, the dative in the plural. Starp takes the accusative in the singular and dative in the plural. Other prepositions which indicate location are pie ‘by, at, near’ + genitive, and virs ‘above’ + genitive. ‘In front of’ is translated by priekva – this comes after the noun or pronoun (and is thus a postposition) and it takes the dative, e.g. galdam priekva. Pretc ‘opposite’ follows the same principle: veikalam pretc ‘opposite the shop’. Another postposition is blakus ‘next to’ and this also takes the dative, e.g. man blakus ‘next to me’. The preposition uz can have two meanings depending on which case it is followed by. As just mentioned, it means ‘on’ when it is followed by a genitive. We have already come across uz meaning ‘to’ when it is followed by an accusative, e.g. uz Rcgu. It will be obvious from the context if it is followed in the plural by a dative, e.g. es braucu uz Cbscm ‘I’m going to Cesis’; gramatas ir uz galdiem ‘the books are on the tables’.

Exercise 3 Fill in the gaps with the nouns or pronouns given in brackets in the correct form.

Unit 13: The new flat

Example 1: Es eju pie ______. (Ingrida) Answer: Es eju pie Ingridas. Example 2: Tu stavi ______ priekva. (es) Answer: Tu stavi man priekva. (stavbt to stand ) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Gramatas ir uz ______. (galds) Vi.a sbw starp ______ un ______. (Ieva, Imants; sbdbt to sit) Vi.i aizbrauca uz ______. (pilsBta) Suns ir zem ______. (galds) Mbs dzcvojam ______ blakus. (the family BBrzi>V) Aiz ______ ir skaists darzs. (mAja) Vi.v stav pie ______. (logs) Vi.a gulbja zem ______. (koks – tree)

Furniture and other things in a house Exercise 4 Look at the floor plan. Using all the prepositions and ways of expressing spatial relations that you know, write complete sentences in Latvian to answer the question Kur atrodas . . . ? ‘Where is . . . ?’ (lit. ‘Where does . . . find itself?’) Example: Answer:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

spogulis Spogulis atrodas vannas istaba; spogulis atrodas virs izlietnes; spogulis atrodas pie vannas istabas sienas; spogulis atrodas vannai blakus; spogulis atrodas vannas istabas labaja pusb.

skapji (visi ‘all’) plcts gultas (abas ‘both’) lampa dcvans gramatas pu6es krbsli dators glazes, karotes, nawi un dakvi.as (‘glasses, spoons, knives’ (sing. nazis) and ‘forks’) 11 b7odas un v6cvji (‘bowls and plates’)

167

168

Unit 13: Jaunais dzcvoklis

19

17

15

18

1

7 VIRTUVE

6

4

15

2

20 13 10

S

OR

VIESISTABA

IZ EV

L

TE

1

12

12

16 GUL˛ AMISTABA 11

GUL˛ AMISTABA 4 18

2

8

4 8

9

3

VANNAS ISTABA

3

7 TUALETE 14 5

Additional vocabulary (the furniture has been numbered to help you): gu7amistaba galds virtuve krbsls gulta skapis vanna

bedroom table (1) kitchen chair (2) bed (3) cupboard, wardrobe (4) bathtub (5)

plcts (fem.) izlietne paklajs lampa gramatu plaukti datorgalds

oven (6) sink (7) carpet, rug (8) lamp (9) bookshelves (10) computer desk (11)

Unit 13: The new flat

viesistaba vannas istaba atpetas krbsls dcvans spogulis glezna

living room, lounge bathroom armchair (12) sofa (13) mirror (14) painting (15)

169

vaze grcda siena durvis (pl. only) griesti (pl. only) logs istabas augi

vase (16) floor wall (17) door (18) ceiling window (19) plant (20)

Language point Consonant changes in nouns There are a couple of examples of consonant changes in the plurals of words in the above exercise, e.g. skapis → skapji, spogulis → spogu7i. This is something that happens in masculine nouns ending in -is in the genitive singular and all the cases in the plural. It also happens in feminine nouns ending in -e and -is but only in the genitive plural. It is called palatalization because, in pronouncing these sounds, the tongue touches the palate. The most common changes are shown in the following table. The genitive plural is given as the example of the change. This is followed by examples written out in the full declension. Consonant change

Nominative

Genitive plural

Translation

b → bj c→u d→w dz → dw l→7 m → mj n→. p → pj s→v sn → v. t→v v → vj z→w zn → w.

krabis saimniece sirds palodze bralis zeme suns skapis lasis aploksne latvietis zivs nazis zvaigzne

krabju saimnieuu sirwu palodwu bra7u zemju su.u skapju lavu aplokv.u latvievu zivju nawu zvaigw.u

crab mistress of the house heart (fem.) window sill brother land, country dog cupboard salmon envelope a Latvian (masc.) fish (fem.) knife star

170

Unit 13: Jaunais dzcvoklis

Masculine -is

Nominative Genitive Dative Accusative Locative

Feminine -e

Feminine -s

Singular Plural

Singular

Plural

Singular

Plural

skapis skapja skapim skapi skapc

aploksne aploksnes aploksnei aploksni aploksnb

aploksnes aplokv.u aploksnbm aploksnes aploksnbs

zivs zivs zivij zivi zivc

zivis zivju zivcm zivis zivcs

skapji skapju skapjiem skapjus skapjos

Exercise 5 Fill in the gaps with the noun given in the correct case. Example: Answer: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Es ______ aizvedu uz staciju. (brAlis – pl.) Es bra7us aizvedu uz staciju.

Man garvo ______ zupa. (biete ‘beetroot’) Es braukvu uz Latviju ______ beigas. (aprClis) Es .emvu ______ zupu. (dArzenis) Veikala bija daudz ______. ( pulkstenis) ______ wurnalos biewi ir labas receptes. (sieviete; recepte ‘recipe’) Latvija ir daudz skaistu ______. ( pils) ______ salati ir 7oti garvcgi. (sBne ‘mushroom’) ______ ir jauni velosipbdi. ( brAlis – pl.) ______ valoda ir 7oti skaista. (itAlis)

Unit 13: The new flat

171

Reading Read this text advertising a flat and answer the questions. RENOVgTA MfJA ar skaistu kap.u telpu un jaunu liftu, klusa pagalma nama. -oti laba stavoklc. Metala ardurvis, jauni radiatori. Dzcvoklis mbbelbts. Trcs izolbtas istabas, viena iekartota ka gu7amistaba ar iebevbtiem skapjiem, otra ka bbrnu istaba, treva ka viesistaba, ir neliela priekvtelpa ar garderobi. Atseviv6a virtuve ar iebevbtu virtuves iekartu, trauku mazgajama mavcna, elektriska plcts,

ledusskapis, mikrovi7.u krasns.Vannas istaba ar jaunu santehniku – vanna ar duvu, bidb, WC, ve7as mazgajama mavcna. Internets, kabe7televczija, talrunis. Centrala gazes apkure. Balkons. Iespbjama a/m novietovana pagalma. Blakus ir arc trolejbusa, autobusa un mikroautobusa pieturvietas. Divu kvartalu attaluma atrodas skola un bbrnu darzs.

Vocabulary kluss

quiet

atseviv6s

separate

pagalms

courtyard condition

trauku mazgajama

dishwasher

stavoklis metals

metal

mavcna

ardurvis

outer/street door

elektriska plcts (fem.)

electric cooker

radiators

radiator

mikrovi7.u krasns

izolbts

separate

microwave oven

garderobe

cloakroom

bidb

bidet

santehnika

plumbing

ve7as mazgajama

washing machine

WC = tualete talrunis

telephone

iespbjams

possible

a/m = automavcna

mavcna apkure

heating

balkons

balcony

a/m novietovana

parking

gaze

gas

atrasties

be located

kvartals

block

b\rnu darzs

kindergarten, day-care

skola

school

172

Unit 13: Jaunais dzcvoklis

1 2 3 4 5

Where is the washing machine? You have no furniture, is that a problem? Is the flat suitable for a family with young children? Why? How is the flat heated? Where can you park your car?

What can you remember? How do you say the following in Latvian? 1 2 3 4 5

Valdis and I went to the cinema yesterday. I have been to France. (fem.) I was tired because I’d been playing football. (masc.) She hasn’t learnt Spanish. I will go to Latvia when I have learnt Latvian. (masc.; iemaccties learn, acquire) 6 He’s standing by the cooker. 7 She’s standing at the door. 8 The plates are in the cupboard. 9 Could I please have the mushroom soup? 10 My brother’s daughter is beautiful.

Unit Fourteen Kads vodien bes laiks? What will the weather be like today?

In this unit you will learn how to: • • • • •

talk about the weather talk about the seasons talk about sights in Riga read about Latvian history use the passive

Dialogue 1 Kads vodien bes laiks? What will the weather be like today? (CD2; 41) We have met Anita before; she is from Canada and is visiting Latvia with her husband. They are staying with Peteris and Anda, and today they are planning to go out for the day. Anita is asking about the weather. Diktors ‘newsreader’. ANITA PgTERIS

DIKTORS

Vai tu zini, kads vodien bes laiks? Nezinu, neesmu dzirdbjis, bet telct bes zi.as un tad laika prognoze. Mbs varam paklauscties. Laika zi.as. Latvija – bes mako.ains laiks, brcwiem skaidrosies. Teritorijas lielakaja da7a neliels, cslaiccgs lietus, atseviv6os rajonos iespbjams pbrkona negaiss. Rietumu, zieme7rietumu vbjv no 4 lcdz 8 metriem sekundb.

Unit 14: Kads vodien bes laiks?

174

ANITA

Gaisa temperatera vodien plus 14 . . . plus 19 gradu, 17. maija naktc plus 2 . . . plus 7 gradi. Rcga – bes mako.ains laiks, brcwiem skaidrosies, neliels cslaiccgs lietus. Rietumu, zieme7rietumu vbjv no 4 lcdz 8 m/s. Gaisa temperatera vodien +16 . . . +18 gradu, 17. maija naktc +4 . . . +6 gradi. Mediccniskais laika tips labvbligs. Nav tik slikti. Bet katram gadcjumam bes japa.em lcdzi lietussargi.

Vocabulary zinat

to know

dzirdbt

to hear

telct

in a moment

zi.as

the news

laika prognoze

weather forecast

paklauscties

listen (in)

lietus

rain

p\rkons

thunder

negaiss

storm

rietumi

west

zieme7i

north

vbjv

wind

mako.ains

cloudy

gaiss

air

brcwiem (dat. pl. of brcdis moment)

at times, occasionally

temperatera temperature

skaidroties

to clear up

teritorija lielakais

grads

degree

mediccnisks

medical, healthrelated

territory

tips

type

most, greater

labvblcgs

favourable

da7a

part

atseviv6s

certain, particular

cslaiccgs

brief

iespbjams

possible

sekunde

second

metrs

metre

slikts

bad umbrella

katram gadcjumam

just in case

lietussargs

Unit 14: What will the weather be like today?

175

Cultural point Mediccniskais laika tips labvbligs. The weather forecasts in Latvia always give the type of weather that is expected from a healthrelated point of view, i.e. for people who might be affected by the weather. There are four categories: 1. cpavi labvblcgs ‘particularly favourable’; 2. labvbligs ‘favourable’; 3. nelabvbligs ‘unfavourable’; 4. cpavi nelabvbligs ‘particularly unfavourable’.

Exercise 1 Listen to Dialogue 1 and then answer these questions in Latvian. 1 2 3 4 5

Kads bes temperateras maksimums (= visaugstaka temperatera) Latvija 16. maija? Kads vbjv vodien ir? Vai mako.i bes visu dienu? Vai bes lietus? Kada veida (‘in what way’) Rcgas laiks atv6iras (atv6irties ‘differ’) no Latvijas laika vispar (‘generally’)?

Talking about the weather – laiks (CD2; 42) Here is some vocabulary associated with the weather. Saule spcd. Lcst. Ir mako.ains. Ir vbjains. Vbjv pev. Ir auksts. Ir silts.

The sun’s shining. It’s raining. It’s cloudy. It’s windy. The wind blows. It’s cold. It’s warm.

Ir saulains. Ir lietains. Ir apmacies. Snieg. Ir miglains. Ir karsts.

Gadalaiki ‘seasons’ pavasaris spring

vasara summer

rudens autumn

ziema winter

It’s It’s It’s It’s It’s It’s

sunny. rainy. overcast. snowing. foggy. hot.

Unit 14: Kads vodien bes laiks?

176

rie el7 em zi

el7 au st ru m i

Kompasa virzieni ‘compass points’

i

zi

m tu

em

ziemel7i

rietumi

austrumi

ie dr vi en di

A Say what the weather is like in each season. Example: Answer: 1 2 3

Ziema __________. Ziema ir auksts un biewi snieg.

Pavasarc __________. Vasara __________. Rudenc __________.

B Say which season you like best and why.

Exercise 3 Give a weather forecast for Latvia for 12 October. Rcga . . . Zieme7os . . . Dienvidos . . .

i

Exercise 2

m

ru

st

au id nv

tu m

i

e di

dienvidi

Unit 14: What will the weather be like today?

Dialogue 2 Ko var Rcga redzbt? What can you see in Riga? (CD2; 43) Peteris and Anita continue their conversation. ANITA

PgTERIS

ANITA PgTERIS

Mbs vodien gribam apskatct Rcgu. Ko tur var darct un redzbt? Rcga ir daudz ko redzbt. Vecrcga ir vbsturisks centrs, kur ir 7oti senas bkas. Cik vecas ir vcs bkas? Dawas ir pat no 13. gadsimta. Domam pamatakmens tika likts 1211. gada, un Sv. Pbtera bazncca pirmo reizi dokumentos ir minbta 1209. gada. Rcgas pils ir lielaka un vislabak saglabata viduslaiku pils Zieme7eiropa. Ta tika celta no 1330. gada, kaut gan ta ir vairakas reizes parbevbta un atjaunota. Tagad ta ir valsts prezidenta rezidence.

177

Unit 14: Kads vodien bes laiks?

178

ANITA PgTERIS

ANITA PgTERIS

ANITA PgTERIS

ANITA PgTERIS

Vai pili var apskatct? Ja, var iet iekva, jo tur ir iekartoti muzeji. -oti interesants ir Latvijas nacionalais vbstures muzejs. Tad jes varat pastaigaties pa vecajam, vaurajam ieli.am un pasbdbt kada Doma laukuma kafejncca. Un kur tad lai ejam? Rcgas jegendstila arhitektera ir 7oti iespaidcga. Ejiet noteikti uz Alberta ielu, kur ir vairaki brcniv6cgi nami. Iela ir nosaukta par godu Rcgas bcskapam Albertam, kurv 1201. gada dibinaja Rcgu. Rcga arc ir daudz muzeju, kur var apskatct gan makslu, gan vbsturiskus objektus, gan arc daudz citu objektu. Izklausas, ka mums bes daudz ko redzbt. Ja, viena diena to nevar visu paspbt. Bez tam, sestdien varam aizbraukt uz Etnografisko brcvdabas muzeju, kur var redzbt, ka cilvbki vecos laikos dzcvoja. Tas bes interesanti. Labi, tad taisamies un ejam! Lai jums jauka diena!

Kramu iela: a street in the Old Town of Riga with a view of the Dom Church – this street has been in existence since the fourteenth century

Unit 14: What will the weather be like today?

179

Vocabulary have a pleasant day

history)

lai jums jauka diena

sens

ancient

likt

lay, put

\ka

building

dokuments

document

pat

even

minbt

mention

saglabat

preserve

no (+ gen.)

from

gadsimts

century

tikt

here: be (passive)

Doms

Dom Church

viduslaiku

medieval

rebuild

celt

build

pamatakmens foundation stone (fem.)

kaut gan

although

atjaunot

restore

valsts

state, country

tad

then

prezidents

president

vaurs

narrow

rezidence

residence

pasbdbt

sit (for a while)

iekva

inside

laukums

square

muzejs

museum

kafejncca

café

lai

here: should

nosaukt

name

nacionals

national

jugendstils

Art Nouveau

arhitektera

architecture

iespaidcgs

impressive

noteikti

definitely

par godu

in honour

bcskaps

bishop

dibinat

found, establish

kurv, kura

who

gan . . . gan

either . . . or

maksla

art

objekts

object

izklauscties

sound

paspbt

manage

etnografisks

ethnographic

brcvdaba

open air

ka

how

taiscties

get ready

v\sturisks

historic

(vbsture

parbevbt

Unit 14: Kads vodien bes laiks?

180

Language point ‘Should’ To get across the idea of should in questions, Latvian uses the word lai as we saw in the dialogue: Un kur tad lai ejam?

And where should we go then?

Here are a couple more examples: Ko lai es daru? Kur lai vi.v iet?

What should I do? Where should he go?

Exercise 4 Listen to Dialogue 2 and answer these questions. 1 2 3 4 5

What kind of buildings are there in the old town? What is significant about Riga Castle? Where can you walk? Where can you have a coffee? Why is the Alberta iela so called?

Language point The passive The passive is what we commonly use when we wish to focus attention not on the doer of the action, but on the person or thing acted upon, e.g. ‘the castle was built’. In English we use the verb to be together with the past participle. This is also one way of forming the passive in Latvian. A second way is to use the verb tikt, which we have already met. On its own, it means ‘become’ or ‘get (to)’. Here is the conjugation of the verb:

es tu vi.v, etc. mbs jes

Present tense

Past tense

Future tense

tieku tiec tiek tiekam tiekat

tiku tiki tika tikam tikat

tikvu tiksi tiks tiksim tiksit

Unit 14: What will the weather be like today?

In a passive sentence, the logical object of the action becomes the subject and appears in the nominative case. To form the past passive participle, simply add indefinite adjective endings to the infinitive of the verb, remembering to make it agree in number and case with the noun to which it refers, like any other adjective. In general, using the auxiliary bet gives a perfect meaning, e.g. maja tiek bevbta ‘the house is being built’; maja ir uzbevbta ‘the house has been built’. Here are some examples from the dialogue: Sv. PBtera baznCca pirmo reizi dokumentos ir minBta 1209. gada. St Peter’s Church is first mentioned in documents in the year 1209. TA ir vairakas reizes pArbEvBta un atjaunota. It has been rebuilt and restored several times. Tur ir iekArtoti muzeji. Museums have been established there. Iela ir nosaukta . . . The street is named . . . Domam pamatakmens tika likts 1211. gada. The foundation stone of the Dom Church was laid in the year 1211. TA tika celta no 1330. gada. It was built from the year 1330. One big difference between English and Latvian is that in English we often use the passive together with by to indicate the agent, e.g. ‘The castle was built by German knights’. In Latvian this is not possible – this would simply be said in the active, i.e. ‘German knights built the castle’. In Latvian we can only use the passive in impersonal constructions as in the examples above. Very often in the present tense ir is omitted so you could also say: Sv. Pbtera bazncca pirmo reizi dokumentos minbta 1209. gada. Iela nosaukta . . . Just as in English, we can use the past passive participle as an adjective, e.g. varcti kartupe7i ‘boiled potatoes’, ceptas sbnes ‘fried mushrooms’.

181

Unit 14: Kads vodien bes laiks?

182

Exercise 5 Fill in the gaps with the correct form of the verbs in brackets. Example:

Answer:

Latvijas teritorija ______ ______ jau kopv 9. gadu tekstova p.m.b. (bEt, apdzCvot ‘inhabit’; p.m.b. – pirms mesu bras ‘before our era’, i.e. ‘Before Common Era’) Latvijas teritorija ir apdzcvota jau kopv 9. gadu tekstova p.m.b.

1

Sv. Jbkaba bazncca ______ ______13. gs. sakuma un ir vismazaka no Vecrcgas baznccam. (bEt, celt; gs. – gadsimts ‘century’) 2 Latvijas Republikas Saeimas bka ______ ______ 1867. gada. (bEt, celt; Saeima ‘Latvian parliament’) 3 Rcga ______ ______ UNESCO pasaules kulteras mantojuma saraksta 1997. gada. (tikt, iek&aut ‘include’; pasaules kulteras mantojuma saraksts ‘World Cultural Heritage List’) 4 Rcga, Rcga, skaista Rcga, Kas to skaistu darinaja? darinat to make Vidzemnieku seri darbi, sers harsh ______ kumeli.i. ( pakavot) pakavot to shoe (a horse) kume7v horse (in folklore)

5 6 7

8 9

This is a folksong which reflects the fact that it was the people of Vidzeme who, together with their horses, built Riga for their German masters. Rcga ______ ______ jauna bibliotbka. (tikt, bEvBt; future) Katru gadu Rcga ______ _______ daudz jaunu restoranu. (tikt, atvBrt ‘open’) Dziesmu svbtki ar vairak neka 18 000 dziedataju ______ ______ ik pbc pieciem gadiem. (tikt, rCkot ‘organize’; dziesmu svbtki ‘song festival’, dziedatajs ‘singer’, ik pbc ‘every’) Es .emvu cekas cepeti ar ______ darze.iem. (grilBt) Peldbvana upb ______ ______. (bEt, aizliegt ‘forbid’)

Unit 14: What will the weather be like today?

Cultural point Song and dance festival Latvia’s slogan is Zeme kas dzied ‘The Land That Sings’ and nowhere is this more evident than at the National Song and Dance Festival visparbjie latvievu dziesmu un deju svbtki. The first song festival was held in 1873 with the dance element added in 1948 and they are now held every five years. The numbers of participants are staggering. At the 2008 festival there were 38,601 participants, dalcbnieki: 394 choirs, kori, and 54 vocal ensembles, vokalie ansamb7i, with a total of 18,464 singers, dziedataji; 544 dance groups, deju grupas, with a total of 13,700 dancers, dejotaji. In addition, there were orchestras and musicians. The high point is the closing concert when all the singers join together to sing as a massed choir.

Exercise 6 (CD2; 44) Read the following short history of Latvia with the help of the vocabulary and then answer the questions. When you are reading Latvian and you have problems deciphering a sentence, always start by finding the subject of the sentence – the noun which is in the nominative. Don’t forget that it may not be at the beginning of the sentence as it is in English. Teritorija, ko mbs vodien pazcstam ka Latviju, ir apdzcvota kopv 9000. gada pirms mesu bras. Pirmas baltu ciltis, mesdienu latvievu senui, tur ieradas 2000 gadu pirmaja pusb p.m.b. Teritorija k7uva slavena ka tirdznieccbas krustojums. Slavenais marvruts no vikingiem lcdz grie6iem, kas ir minbts senajas hronikas, virzcjas no Skandinavijas caur Latvijas teritoriju pa Daugavu uz seno Krieviju un Bizantijas impbriju. Tapbc ka Latvijas teritorija atrodas stratb[iski un [eografiski izdevcga vieta, ta vienmbr tika pak7auta lielakam nacijam. 12. gs. beigas ieradas vacu tirgotaji un kopa ar vi.iem kristcgas ticcbas macctaji, kuri mb[inaja vbrst paganiskas baltievu un lcbievu ciltis pie kristcgas ticcbas. 1200. gada vacu vara tika izveidota naciju apviencba, ko sauca par Livoniju. Livonija ietvbra sevc tagadbjo Latviju un Igauniju. Pbc Livonijas kara 1550. gados, mesdienu Latvijas teritorija tika pak7auta Polijas un Lietuvas varai. Savukart Rcga, 1621. gada, pbc

183

Unit 14: Kads vodien bes laiks?

184

Po7u-zviedru kara, nok7uva zviedru pak7autcba un bija vislielaka un visattcstctaka Zviedrijas pilsbta. yaja laika perioda Vidzeme bija pazcstama ka ‘zviedru maizes kaste’. 1700. gadu sakuma sakas Lielais zieme7u karv. Viens no ta mbr6iem bija pak7aut slaveno un bagato pilsbtu Rcgu. 1710. gada Krievijas caram Pbterim I izdevas pak7aut Vidzemi. Caur Vidzemi uz Rcgu Krievija ieguva brcvu ce7u uz Eiropu. 18. gs. beigas visa Latvijas teritorija bija pak7auta Krievijas varai. 20. gs. sakuma ideja par Latvijas neatkarcbu k7uva cpavi aktuala. Uzreiz pbc pirma pasaules kara beigam, 1918. gada 18. novembrc tika proklambta Latvijas Republika. Bet Latvija bija tikai dawus gadus brcva. 1940. gada padomju karaspbks okupbja Latvijas teritoriju. Pbc dawiem mbneviem Latvija tika iek7auta PSRS sastava. Otra pasaules kara laika 1941. gada jelija, Latvijas teritoriju ie.bma nacistiskas Vacijas karaspbks. 1944. gada Latvija atkal nonaca padomju okupacijas spbku rokas. 1980. gadu vide sakas komunistiska rewcma liberalizacija. Latvija tika organizbtas dawadas politiskas organizacijas, kuras uzstajas par valsts neatkarcbas atjaunovanu. 1991. gada 21. augusta Augstaka padome pie.bma konstitucionalo likumu atjaunot Latvijas neatkarcbu. 2004. gada Latvija tika uz.emta Eiropas Saviencbas un NATO sastava.

Vocabulary gs. = gadsimts

century

izveidot

form

teritorija

territory

krustojums

crossroads

pazct

know, recognize

marvruts

route

apdzcvot

inhabit

vikings

Viking

kopv (+ gen.)

since

sevc

in itself

balti

Balts

hronika

chronicle

cilts (fem.)

tribe

virzcties

lead

mesdienu

modern

caur (+ acc.)

through

sencis

ancestor arrive

Bizantijas impbrija

Byzantine empire

ierasties slavîns

famous

tapbc ka

because

tirdznieccba

trade

stratb[iski

strategically

Unit 14: What will the weather be like today?

185

[eografiski

geographically

macctajs

preacher, priest

izdevcgs

favourable

vbrst

lead

pak7aut

subject, subjugate

baltievi

Balts

nacija

nation

lcbievi

bagats

rich

cars

tsar

Livs (the Livs are Finno-Ugric people resident in Latvia)

izdoties (+ dat.)

succeed, manage

vara

power, authority

ieget

gain

Livonija

Livonia

apviencba

union

ietvert

include, contain

tagadbjs

present-day

karv

war

savukart

in turn

nok7et

get, end up

pak7autcba

subjection

attcstcts

developed

vieta

place

pazcstams

known, famous

kaste

box

sakums

beginning

brcvs

free

ideja

idea

neatkarcba

independence

aktuals

topical

pasaule

world

proklambt

proclaim

css

short, brief

karasp\ks

army, force(s)

PSRS = Padomju Socialistisko Republiku Saviencba

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

sakties

begin

sastavs

structure

mbr6is

aim

nacistisks

Nazi

uzstaties

speak up

nonakt

fall into in the middle

Augstaka padome

Supreme Council

vide rewcms

regime

pie.emt

adopt

politisks

political

konstitucionals

constitutional

uz.emt

admit

cpavi

particularly

kopa ar

together with

likums

law

beigas (pl.)

end

iek7et

join

tirgotajs

trader, merchant

uzreiz

immediately

kristcgs

Christian

tikai

only

ticcba

faith

republika

republic

k7et

become

padomju

Soviet

Unit 14: Kads vodien bes laiks?

186

okupbt

occupy

liberalizacija

liberalization

ie.emt

seize, take over

organizacija

organization

komunistisks

communist power

Eiropas Saviencba

European Union

sp\ks organizbt

organize

1

What was the area we now know as Latvia famous for in its early history? 2 Why has it been frequently conquered by bigger nations? 3 Who were the first Germans to arrive in Latvia? 4 What two aims did they have? 5 What area did Livonia cover? 6 What was special about Riga under Swedish rule? 7 What was one of the aims of the Great Northern War? 8 When was Latvian independence proclaimed? 9 When did Latvia lose this independence? 10 What helped Latvia to regain independence in 1991?

What can you remember? How do you say the following in Latvian? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Riga Castle was built in the fourteenth century. I would like meat rissoles with boiled potatoes. Latvia’s independence was proclaimed on 18 November 1918. A new restaurant was opened in December. Swimming in the lake is forbidden. An exhibition of modern art was organized in the castle. In summer the weather is warm and sunny in Latvia. In winter it often snows. Spring is the most beautiful season. I like autumn because there are beautiful colours in the forests. (mews ‘forest’) 11 What should we do? 12 What should I write?

Unit Fifteen Sakari un masu informacijas lcdzek7i Communications and mass media

In this unit you will learn how to: • • • • •

contact people by telephone and e-mail find your way around a website find your way around newspapers and news websites report what somebody has said report commands

Dialogue 1 Vai es varbtu, ledzu, runat ar . . . ? please speak to . . . ? (CD2; 46)

Could I

Peteris is phoning another company to speak to a colleague. PgTERIS

TELEFONISTE

PgTERIS TELEFONISTE

PgTERIS TELEFONISTE PgTERIS TELEFONISTE

Labdien, mani sauc Pbteris Priedctis. Vai es varbtu, ledzu, runat ar Ainu Bbrzi.u? Vienu mirkli. . . . Atvainojiet, vi.as pavlaik nav biroja. Vai varu vi.ai atstat zi.u? Vai jes zinat, kad vi.a bes atpaka7? Vi.a bevot ap uetriem atpaka7. Tad pasakiet, ledzu, lai vi.a man piezvana. Kads ir jesu talru.a numurs? Mans mobila numurs ir 26113385. Labi, pateikvu.

188

Unit 15: Sakari un masu informacijas lcdzek7i

Vocabulary mirklis

moment

pasacct*

tell

atstat

leave

pateikt*

tell

pavlaik

at the moment

piezvanct ring, telephone

zi.a

message

atpaka7

back (again)

mobclais mobile (telephone) (telefons)

birojs

office

* teikt ‘say’ is used in the past and future, whereas sacct ‘say’ is used in the present and in commands. Pateikt and pasacct are used in the meaning of telling somebody to do something in the command form and in a promise, as the above dialogue shows.

Language point The relative mood The relative mood is the equivalent of reported speech in English, e.g. He said it was raining. The present tense is formed by taking the he form of the verb, i.e. the third person, removing the -a ending if there is one, and adding -ot, e.g. pirkt ‘to buy’ → vi.v pbrk → pbrkot. For a reflexive verb take the -as ending off the he form and add -oties, e.g. sakties ‘to begin’ → sakas → sakoties. Two of the irregular verbs are different: bet ‘to be’ → esot, iet ‘to go’ → ejot. You’ll be happy to learn that this form is the same for all persons, i.e. it is not conjugated. Here is an example: Vi.i teica, ka ejot uz veikalu. They said that they were going to the shop. Vi.a teica, ka vi.i tiekoties katru dienu. She said that they meet every day. Note that Latvian uses the present tense, whereas English often has a past tense. Latvian uses the same tense as would have been used in direct speech, i.e. ‘mbs ejam uz veikalu’ ‘we are going to the shop’, but just changes it into the relative mood.

Unit 15: Communications and mass media

For a reported question you just repeat the question as it would have been said in direct speech and put the verb into the relative mood, e.g.: Vai vi.a macas latvievu valodu? → Vi.v jautaja, vai vi.a macoties latvievu valodu. Is she learning Latvian? → He asked if she was learning Latvian. For the future, take the es form of the verb in the future, take off the -u ending and add -ot, e.g. bet → es bevu → bevot. For a reflexive verb, take the es form, remove the -u and add -oties, e.g.: Vi.v teica, ka bevot ap uetriem atpaka7. He said he would be back about 4.00. Vi.a teica, ka filma sakvoties 18.00. She said the film would start at 18.00. For the past of the relative mood we use the perfect tense and change the auxiliary verb to esot. Don’t forget that the participle will need to agree with the subject. Here again the same tense is used as in direct speech so in the example below, Mara said ‘I have bought new clothes’ or ‘I bought new clothes’. Mara teica, ka esot nopirkusi jaunas drbbes. Mara said that she had bought new clothes. In all the above examples it is also possible to use the normal verb form without putting it into the relative mood. In addition, the relative mood is used for relating what is only hearsay in the speaker’s view; it is non-committal, suspending belief. In English we would use expressions like It is said that . . . ; Apparently, . . . , etc. Vi.a skrienot atrak neka Aina. They say she runs faster than Aina. Pils esot 7oti veca. The castle is supposed to be very old. Runa, ka Vilis esot bijis arzembs. They say that Vilis has been abroad. Pbc saraksta, drcz pienakvot vilciens. According to the timetable, a train is supposed to come soon.

189

190

Unit 15: Sakari un masu informacijas lcdzek7i

Exercise 1 How do you say the following in Latvian? Example: Answer: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

She said it was raining. Vi.a teica, ka lcstot.

The museum is supposed to be very interesting. He said he was tired. You said you would be back at 10.00. (use tu) Apparently, Rudis is working in Ireland. I asked if they are going on holiday to Spain this year. They said that they had visited their grandmother on Sunday. (apciemot) Inita said she had moved into a new flat. The new flat is supposed to be very beautiful. It has apparently snowed in the night.

Language point Reported commands Reported commands are formed in a different way from the way they are formed in English. In English we say: ‘He told me to come at 9.00’. In Latvian we don’t use the infinitive as in English, instead we use a subject and a verb in the relative mood, and introduce this with the word lai, e.g.: Vi.v man teica, lai es ejot devi.os. He told me to go at 9.00. Leaving the verb in the normal form is also possible: e.g.: Vi.v man teica, lai es eju devi.os. Very often Latvian misses out the first noun or pronoun if it refers to the same person as in the second part of the sentence, e.g.: Vi.v teica, lai es ejot devi.os. This construction is also used if you ask somebody to tell somebody else to do something, as in the dialogue, but this time the verb is not put into the relative mood:

Unit 15: Communications and mass media

Pasakiet, lai vi.a man piezvana. Tell (her) to phone me. Pasakiet, lai Brigita man atseta cszi.u. Tell Brigita to send me a text message.

Exercise 2 How do you say the following in Latvian? Use the relative mood wherever possible. Example: Answer: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Mother told them to be home at 10.00. Mate teica, lai vi.i esot desmitos majas.

Inita told me to send her a text message. (aizsetct cszi.u) Tell (fam.) Imants to buy some tomatoes at the supermarket. Tell (pol.) him to visit me. (apciemot) The doctor told him not to smoke. I told her to go to the doctor’s. She told Mara to meet her at the restaurant. Tell (fam.) her to listen to the weather forecast. Tell (pol.) her to bring some sandwiches. (sviestmaizes) I’ll tell her to phone you.

Dialogue 2 Es gribbju runat par . . . about . . . (CD2; 47)

I wanted to talk

Aina Berzina phones Peteris back and they talk about the conference Peteris is going to next week. AINA

PgTERIS

AINA

Labdien, Priedcva kungs! Te runa Aina Bbrzi.a. Sa.bmu jesu zi.u. Labdien, Bbrzi.as kundze! Paldies, ka piezvancjat. Es gribbju runat par sanaksmi nakovnedb7. Vai jes zinat, kada tehniska iekarta ir telpas? Nu, es zinu, ka ir projektori un bezvada interneta savienojumi, bet jums pavam esot japa.em lcdzi portatcvais dators.

191

192

Unit 15: Sakari un masu informacijas lcdzek7i

PgTERIS AINA PgTERIS AINA

PgTERIS

AINA

PgTERIS

AINA

PgTERIS AINA

Ta nav nekada problbma. Bet vai tur bes printeris? Ja, bes. Fotokopbtajs arc ir. Un vai jes zinat, kura telpa es lascvu referatu? Pavlaik nb. Bet noskaidrovu un jums pazi.ovu. Labi, paldies. Jes varat man atsetct cszi.u uz vo mobila numuru, vai arc e-pastu. Kada ir jesu e-pasta adrese? Man ir dokuments, kas man jums ir janoseta. Mana adrese ir [email protected]. (p prieditis at inbox punkts l v) Labi, es nosetcvu failu ar pielikumu. Un tad lcdz nakovnedb7ai. Ja, ceru, ka bes laba sanaksme. Visu labu. Visu labu.

Vocabulary sa.emt

receive

problbma

problem

sanaksme

meeting, conference

printeris

printer

nakovnedb7

next week

referats

tehnisks

technical

presentation, report

iekarta

equipment

tîlpa

room

noskaidrot

ascertain, find out

nosetct

send

pazi.ot

inform, announce

projektors

projector

cszi.a

(text) message

bezvada

wireless connection

mobilais (telefons)

mobile (telephone)

savienojums pats*

(one)self

notikt

take place, happen

pa.emt

take, carry

fotokopbtajs photocopier

e-pasts

e-mail (message)

portatcvais dators laptop

adrese

address

dators

computer

pielikums

attachment

fails

(computer) file

atsetct

cerbt

hope

send (to the addressee)

Unit 15: Communications and mass media

* pats, pati is used like the English ‘(one)self’ – thus in the dialogue jums pavam esot japa.em lcdzi portatcvais dators uses the masculine singular dative together with the debitive mood: ‘apparently you yourself have to take a laptop with you’, although in English one wouldn’t necessarily use the ‘yourself’ in this case. The full declension can be found in the grammar summary.

Exercise 3 Listen to Dialogue 2 and then answer the following questions. 1 2 3 4 5

What will be available in the rooms? What does Peteris have to take with him? What room will Peteris’ presentation be in? Why does Aina need Peteris’ e-mail address? How is Aina going to send the document?

Exercise 4 Here is some vocabulary you might come across on websites. Match up the Latvian words with their English meaning. You should be able to work out many of them from the vocabulary you have already learnt. The first one has already been done for you. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

lietotaja vards parole meklbt iepirkumu grozs palcdzcba ieiet or ienakt pirkt lasct vairak majas lapa apstiprinat pirkumu

(a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f ) (g) (h) (i) ( j)

user name buy website enter read more password confirm purchase find/go shopping basket help

193

194

Unit 15: Sakari un masu informacijas lcdzek7i

Cultural point Newspapers and media

The main Latvian daily papers are Diena The Day and NeatkarCgA RCta AvCze The Independent Morning Newspaper. These are both also available online so this is an excellent opportunity to improve your Latvian. There are of course plenty of local and specialized newspapers as well. Let us have a look at the contents of a Latvian national newspaper. By now you will have learnt enough of the language to be able, with the help of a dictionary, to read some of the articles, so here is some useful vocabulary to help you find your way around a newspaper or a website. The description is of a newspaper, but the sections refer equally to a website. On the front page you might find a brief weather forecast laika prognoze. The main news item will generally be something of national importance, with a summary of what you will find on other pages. The leading article will appear on page 2, along with letters to the editor, vbstules. Pages 2 and 3 are generally given over to political debate under such general headings as politika ‘politics’; notikumi ‘events’; jaunakais or jaunumi ‘news of the day’; fakti; komentari or problbmas; pbtcjumi ‘investigations, research’; skandali. Further into the paper we would find interviews, intervijas, with prominent figures, and the kultera ‘culture’ and makslas ‘arts’ section, along with small items of local news vietbjas zi.as. Economic and business news might come next: ekonomika, saimnieccba ‘the economy’; bizness, darcjumi ‘business’ (lit. ‘dealings’); nauda ‘money’. Then we come across the international news arzembs or arzemju zi.as, usually confined to one page. There may also be articles on science zinatne. This will usually be followed by the sports page sports. The back page generally carries smaller items such as minor news, csuma ‘in brief’ or scka informacija ‘minor reports’, currency exchange

Unit 15: Communications and mass media

rates valeta, a more detailed weather report laika zi.as, and of course the crossword puzzle krustvardu mckla. If you can attempt that, your knowledge of Latvia and Latvian is coming on very nicely! On different days of the week, the Latvian national papers also carry different kinds of supplements: lifestyle dzcvesstils; ideas for the home majoklis; for women sievietbm; leisure atpeta; or entertainment izklaide, covering radio and television radio un televczija; and events, usually under the heading ce7vedis ‘guide’. The newspapers also cater for the great interest in spiritual and supernatural things: don’t be surprised to find detailed horoscopes horoskopi, or even a whole page with the heading Dvbselei ‘for the soul’. Newspapers also carry various kinds of classified advertisement sludinajumi. In some papers there are entire pages of advertising reklamas and announcements pazi.ojumi. The Latvian national newspapers also act as government gazettes, giving the texts, in a supplement, of the latest laws and decrees (likumi un lbmumi) passed by the parliament Saeima. In the online versions you will often find a survey aptauja or izsaki viedokli ‘give your opinion’ on the home page. There are many websites majas lapas on the Internet internets which you may like to explore to broaden your knowledge of Latvia or the aspect of it that particularly interests you. Here are the addresses of some: Diena: www.diena.lv Neatkarcga Rcta Avcze: www.nra.lv/zinas/red/nra/ Latvijas Radio: www.latvijasradio.lv – click Tievraide for live broadcasts Latvijas TV: www.ltv.lv – there are archived programmes you can watch but, at the time of writing, you need to pay – click LTV Arhcvs Internet TV news: www.tv24.lv Two news and general interest sites: www.delfi.lv and www.apollo.lv/ portal/home For general information about Latvia go to the Latvian Institute: www.li.lv Government bodies: www.gov.lv Tourist information: www.latviatourism.lv; www.airbaltic.com (national airline); www.ldz.lv (Latvian rail company)

195

196

Unit 15: Sakari un masu informacijas lcdzek7i

Reading Here is the TV guide for Sunday, 19 October. Read it and then answer the questions. Vocabulary can be found in the glossary at the back of the book.

LAIKS

PfRRAIDE

zANRS

07.30

Garcga dimensija

Kultera

08.00

Sargajiet bbrnus! Raidcjums par bbrnu tiescbam

Dokumentalie

08.15

Titoms 1. sbrija

Bbrniem

08.40

Bitcte 42. sbrija

Bbrniem

09.00

Kas te? Es te! Jauns raidcjums bbrniem

Dokumentalie

09.30

Neprata cena LTV serials. 368. un 369. sbrija

Seriali

10.30

Mans za7ais darzs Praktiski padomi ne tikai darzkopjiem

Raidcjumi

11.00

Dievkalpojums Svbtbrcdis ar LTV starpnieccbu

Kultera

12.00

Vides fakti Aktualas tbmas ar Sandiju Semjonovu. Skaties daba!

Dokumentalie

12.30

Latvijas vlageraptauja 2008

Izklaide

13.25

Maija un Paija Makslas filma, Latvija

Filmas visai [imenei

15.00

Dabas gramata Raidcjums par dabu

Dokumentalie

15.30

Juniors TV Informatcvi izklaidbjovs raidcjums pusaudwiem

Bbrniem

16.00

Slepenais arhcvs Izglctojovu raidcjumu cikls par Latvijas vbsturi

Dokumentalie

Unit 15: Communications and mass media

1

2

3

4

197

LAIKS

PfRRAIDE

zANRS

17.30

Vienaudwi Latvijai 90

Raidcjumi

18.00

yodien Latvija 18.00 Zi.as 18.20 Nedb7a izklaidb

Dokumentalie

18.30

Ielas garuma Za6usalas krastmala. 2. da7a

Kultera

19.00

Province Cilvbku likte.i arpus Rcgas

Dokumentalie

19.30

Pasaci.a Zilo.i un za6i.

Bbrniem

19.40

Bra7i un masas Daudzsbriju drama. ASV. 2006. 23. sbrija

Dokumentalie

20.30

Panorama 20:30 Panorama. 20:40 De Facto. 21:15 Sporta zi.as. 21:22 Laika zi.as.

Dokumentalie

21.25

Fotografija ar sievieti un mewa kuili Makslas filma, Latvija

Makslas filmas

23.10

Nakts zi.as

Dokumentalie

23.15

Projekts Cilvbks Ska.u telpa

Kultera

23.45

Agata Kristi. Erkils Puaro Kriminaldrama. Lielbritanija. 5. sbrija

Seriali

You want a lie-in but the kids are trying to get you up and about. You decide, against your better judgement, to put them in front of the TV. What will they watch? What will you watch if you are interested in: (a) the environment and nature (b) history (c) gardening (d) easy listening pop (e) current events Say at what time each of the programmes you will watch in no. 2 is on, e.g. divdesmit trijos un uetrdesmit piecas minetbs Again against your better judgement, you allow your teenage son and daughter to watch TV, just to get them to be quiet because they’ve been arguing all afternoon. What could they watch?

198

Unit 15: Sakari un masu informacijas lcdzek7i

5

You’ve finally got the kids off to bed and want to sit down with a nice glass of wine and a film to relax – is there anything on TV?

What can you remember? As we come to the end of the book, here is some revision. How do you say the following sentences in Latvian? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

London is bigger than Riga. The Latvian language is one of the oldest in Europe. Maija travelled to Spain on holiday. Vilis went to Ireland to work at a mushroom farm. (ferma ‘farm’) I’ve had backache since I worked in the garden on Saturday. Departure is at 18.00 and arrival at 21.00. Mr Ozolins, could you help me please? (palcdzbt ‘help’) Maija has been to Germany. Peteris and I have eaten in very good restaurants in Latvia. The dog is sleeping under the table. There are many new buildings being built in Riga. Smoking is forbidden. Aina said that Peteris would have to take a laptop. Peteris asked if there would be a printer. I can now speak good Latvian.

Grammar summary

Nouns A noun names a thing or living being, e.g. train, baby, idea. Nouns in Latvian have two genders: masculine and feminine. They are also declined (modified) according to case by the addition of different endings to the stem. Here are the cases used in Latvian together with some of their functions. Nominative (nom.)

Genitive (gen.)

Basic dictionary form, the subject of the sentence, the performer of the action of the verb, e.g. ‘She gave me a present’ Vi>a man iedeva davanu. Answers the question what? or who? as a subject, e.g. ‘Who gave me a present?’ Possession, belonging, equivalent to of or the possessive ’s in English: masas gramata ‘the sister’s book’. Answers the question whose?, e.g. ‘Whose book is that?’ Materials, substance, composition: zelta aproce ‘gold bracelet’. Use, purpose: vcna glaze ‘wine glass’. Description or classification: latvievu valoda ‘the Latvian language’. With units of measurement: kilograms sviesta ‘a kilogram of butter’. With containers: pudele limonades ‘a bottle of lemonade’. With the negative of the verb to be: Man nav naudas ‘I have no money’. With certain prepositions in the singular (see the section on prepositions below).

200

Grammar summary

Dative (dat.)

Accusative (acc.)

Locative (loc.)

Vocative (voc.)

With daudz ‘much/many’, maz ‘little/few’, vairak ‘more’, mazak ‘less/fewer’: daudz naudas ‘much money’. Following the -desmit numbers, e.g. 10, 20, the -padsmit numbers, e.g. 11, 12, and round numbers ending in 0, e.g. 100, 1000: desmit latu. To say one and a half: pusotra. The indirect object of a verb, e.g. ‘She gave Ieva a present’ Vi.a iedeva Ievai davanu. Answers the question to or for whom? or who? as an indirect object, e.g. ‘Who did you give that to?’ or ‘To whom?’ Used with all prepositions in the plural. Used with certain prepositions in the singular (see the section on prepositions below). Used to indicate the possessor in phrases meaning to have: Man ir trcs ka6i ‘I have three cats’. In constructions with the prefix ja- meaning must/have to: Man jaiet ‘I have to go’. With verbs such as patikt ‘like’, garvot ‘like (food)’, sapbt ‘hurt’, vajadzbt ‘need’: Man sap galva ‘I have a headache’. With adverbs such as karsti ‘hot’ and auksti ‘cold’: Man ir auksti ‘I am cold’. The direct object of the action of the verb, e.g. ‘She gave me a present’: Vi.a man iedeva dAvAnu. Answers the question what? as a direct object, e.g. ‘What did you give her?’ With certain prepositions in the singular (see the section on prepositions below). In, at, on a place or time, e.g. ‘I live in Riga’ Es dzcvoju RCgA. Answers the questions where?, e.g. ‘Where were you?’ or at what time? Direct address, e.g. Imant!

Grammar summary

201

Noun declension – singular Masculine Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc. Loc. Voc.

wurnals ce7v wurnala wurnalam wurnalu wurnala Imant!

teatris

tirgus

teatra teatrim teatri teatrc U[i! Pbter!

tirgus tirgum tirgu tirge Miku!

Feminine Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc. Loc. Voc.

stacija stacijas stacijai staciju stacija Anda!

universitate universitates universitatei universitati universitatb Dace! Elizabet!

valsts valsts valstij valsti valstc –

Noun declension – plural Masculine Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc. Loc.

wurnali wurnalu wurnaliem wurnalus wurnalos

teatri teatru teatriem teatrus teatros

tirgi tirgu tirgiem tirgus tirgos

Feminine Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc. Loc.

stacijas staciju stacijam stacijas stacijas

universitates universitatu universitatbm universitates universitatbs

valstis valstu valstcm valstis valstcs

202

Grammar summary

Consonant changes Consonant changes happen in masculine nouns ending in -is in the genitive singular and all the cases in the plural. It also happens in feminine nouns ending in -e and -is but only in the genitive plural. Consonant change

Nominative

Genitive plural

Translation

b → bj c→u d→w dz → dw l→7 m → mj n→. p → pj s→v sn → v. t→v v → vj z→w zn → w.

krabis saimniece sirds (fem.) palodze bralis zeme suns skapis lasis aploksne latvietis zivs (fem.) nazis zvaigzne

krabju saimnieuu sirwu palodwu bra7u zemju su.u skapju lavu aplokv.u latvievu (masc.) zivju nawu zvaigw.u

crab mistress of the house heart window sill brother land, country dog cupboard salmon envelope a Latvian fish knife star

Diminutives A diminutive is like saying ‘a small . . .’, e.g. ‘tummy’ or ‘doggy’ in English. Here are the main endings used in Latvian. Masculine Nom. Diminutive

gabals ce7v gabali.v celi.v

bralis

tirgus

bralctis

tirdzi.v

kaste kastcte

zivs zivti.a

Feminine Nom. Diminutive

karba karbi.a

Grammar summary

203

Adjectives An adjective describes the quality of a thing, for example, red, old. In Latvian, adjectives agree with the nouns they qualify by adding endings. They may be either indefinite (a black cat) or definite (the black cat).

Indefinite endings Singular

Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc. Loc.

Plural

Masculine

Feminine

Masculine

Feminine

liels liela lielam lielu liela

liela lielas lielai lielu liela

lieli lielu lieliem lielus lielos

lielas lielu lielam lielas lielas

The possessive adjectives mans ‘my’ and tavs ‘your’ (sing. fam.) take these endings. The other possessive adjectives, i.e. vi.a ‘his’, vi.as ‘her’, mesu ‘our’, jesu ‘your’ (pl. and pol.), vi.u ‘their’ do not decline. Savs ‘one’s own’ also takes these endings. The numbers viens ‘one’, divi ‘two’ and uetri ‘four’ to devi.i ‘nine’ also take these endings.

Definite endings Singular

Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc. Loc.

Plural

Masculine

Feminine

Masculine

Feminine

lielais liela lielajam lielo lielaja

liela lielas lielajai lielo lielaja

lielie lielo lielajiem lielos lielajos

lielas lielo lielajam lielas lielajas

All the ordinal numbers, i.e. pirmais ‘first’, etc. take these endings.

204

Grammar summary

Comparison Comparative adjectives – more: liels → lielaks ‘bigger’, with indefinite adjective endings. Superlative adjectives – most: lielaks → vislielakais ‘the biggest’, with definite adjective endings.

Adverbs An adverb qualifies an adjective or a verb, for example, really, quickly. Adverbs are formed from adjectives by adding -i to the stem: skaists → skaisti ‘beautifully’. Comparative adverbs – more: skaisti → skaistak ‘more beautifully’. Superlative adverbs – most: skaistak → visskaistak ‘most beautifully’.

Pronouns A pronoun stands in place of a noun, for example, he, you, it. In Latvian they decline according to case.

Personal pronouns 1st person

2nd person

3rd person masc.

3rd person fem.

Singular

Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc. Loc.

es manis man mani manc

tu tevis tev tevi tevc

vi.v vi.a vi.am vi.u vi.a

vi.a vi.as vi.ai vi.u vi.a

Plural

Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc. Loc.

mbs mesu mums mes mesos

jes jesu jums jes jesos

vi.i vi.u vi.iem vi.us vi.os

vi.as vi.u vi.am vi.as vi.as

Grammar summary

205

Interrogative/relative pronouns Interrogative pronouns are the questions words who or what – in Latvian there is no distinction between people or objects so the same word kas is used. The words for where and when are included for the locative. Nom.

Gen.

Dat.

Acc.

Loc.

kas

ka

kam

ko

kur ‘where’ kad ‘when’

Demonstrative pronouns Demonstrative pronouns are vis ‘this’ and tas ‘that’. Tas is also used as the pronoun ‘it’ for inanimate objects. Masculine

Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc. Loc.

Feminine

Singular

Plural

Singular

Plural

vis va vim vo vaja

vie vo viem vos vajos

vc vcs vai vo vaja

vcs vo vcm vcs vajas

Masculine

Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc. Loc.

Feminine

Singular

Plural

Singular

Plural

tas ta tam to taja

tie to tiem tos tajos

ta tas tai to taja

tas to tam tas tajas

206

Grammar summary

Emphatic reflexive pronouns The emphatic reflexive pronoun is pats, pati (one)self. Masculine Singular Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc. Loc.

pats pava pavam pavu pava

Feminine Plural pavi pavu paviem pavus pavos

Singular pati pavas pavai pavu pava

Plural pavas pavu pavam pavas pavas

Prepositions A preposition is a word which comes before a noun to express a relationship in time or space, such as before, on, with. Sometimes a word or particle is placed after the word it modifies, such as -ward in homeward – this is known as a postposition. In Latvian prepositions govern different cases in the singular, but all prepositions and postpositions take the dative in the plural.

+ Gen.

Preposition

Approximate meaning

aiz bez kopv no pbc pie pirms uz virs zem

behind, owing to without since from, out of, off after, according to at (the place of), by, near ago, before on above below, under

Grammar summary

207

Preposition

Approximate meaning

+ Acc.

ap ar caur gar pa par par pret starp uz

about, around with, by means of through along through, along, on about, with reference to across, over against, towards between, among to, until

+ Dat.

blakus (postposition) l cdz l cdzi (postposition) pretc (postposition) priekva (postposition)

next to up to, until with opposite, towards in front of

Verbs A verb describes an action, process or state, such as go, exist, travel. Verbs are conjugated (i.e. modified) according to voice, person, tense, mood and what we might call valency (whether they are positive or negative). Valency: es eju uz tirgu ‘I’m going to the market’; es neeju uz tirgu ‘I’m not going to the market’. Voice can be either active (performing an action – ‘I built a house’: es uzbevbju maju) or passive (being acted upon – ‘a house was built’: maja tika uzbevbta). The passive is formed using the verbs tikt or bet + the past passive participle which is the infinitive + indefinite adjective endings. Person: there are three persons – first (es ‘I’, mbs ‘we’), second (tu, jes ‘you’) and third (vi.v/vi.a/tas ‘he/she/it’, vi.i/vi.as/tie ‘they’).

208

Grammar summary

Tense in Latvian can be one of the following: Present

Future

Past (or imperfect)

Present perfect

Future perfect

Past perfect (or pluperfect)

Describing an action current at the time of the utterance: es eju uz tirgu ‘I’m going/I go to the market’. Describing what is anticipated or yet to occur: es ievu uz tirgu ‘I will go/I am going to go to the market’. Describing something that took place prior to the time of the utterance: es gaju uz tirgu ‘I went to the market’. Describing something that has taken place: es esmu bijis/bijusi uz tirgu ‘I have been to the market’. Describing something that will have taken place: es ievu uz tirgu, kad bevu izlasijis/ izlasijusi avczi ‘I will go the market when I have read (lit. ‘will have read’) the newspaper’. Describing something that had taken place: es gaju uz tirgu, kad biju izlasijis/ izlasijusi avczi ‘I went to the market when I had read the newspaper’.

Mood: the mood of a verb can be: Indicative

Conditional

Describing an action that is real – all the examples given under Tense are indicative. Describing action that is putative or projected – where we use would/ should/could in English, and in clauses starting with if: es gribbtu iet uz tirgu ‘I would like to go to the market’.

Grammar summary

Imperative Relative or reported

Debitive

209

Commanding or ordering an action: ej/ejiet uz tirgu! ‘go to the market!’ Reported speech or describing an action or state which is said to be the case but which the speaker does not necessarily believe: vi.v ejot uz tirgu ‘he’s apparently going to the market’. The mood of obligation – must/have to in English: man jaiet uz tirgu ‘I have to go to the market’.

Present tense Non-reflexive verbs

es tu vi.v, vi.a, vi.i, vi.as mbs jes

Group 1

Group 2

Group 3

-u -/i -am -at

(aj, bj, oj)-u (a, b, o)(a, b, o)(aj, bj, oj)-am (aj, bj, oj)-at

-u -i -a/-am/-am -at/-at

Group 1

Group 2

Group 3

-os -ies -as -amies -aties

(aj, bj, oj)-os (a, b, o)-jies (a, b, o)-jas (aj, bj, oj)-amies (aj, bj, oj)-aties

-os -ies -as/-as -amies/-amies -aties/-aties

Reflexive verbs

es tu vi.v, vi.a, vi.i, vi.as mbs jes

210

Grammar summary

Future tense

es tu vi.v, vi.a, vi.i, vi.as mbs jes

Non-reflexive verbs

Reflexive verbs

-vu -si -s -sim -sit

-vos -sies -sies -simies -sities

Past tense Non-reflexive verbs

es tu vi.v, vi.a, vi.i, vi.as mbs jes

Group 1

Groups 2, 3

-u -i -a -am -at

(aj, (aj, (aj, (aj, (aj,

Group 1

Groups 2, 3

-os -ies -as -amies -aties

(aj, (aj, (aj, (aj, (aj,

bj, bj, bj, bj, bj,

oj, oj, oj, oj, oj,

ij)-u ij)-i ij)-a ij)-am ij)-at

Reflexive verbs

es tu vi.v, vi.a, vi.i, vi.as mbs jes

bj, bj, bj, bj, bj,

oj, oj, oj, oj, oj,

ij)-os ij)-ies ij)-as ij)-amies ij)-aties

The perfect tenses The perfect tenses are formed with the present/past/future of the verb bet ‘to be’ and the past participle which is formed from the past stem with the following endings added, e.g. es esmu bijis uz tirgu ‘I have been to the market’.

Grammar summary

211

Non-reflexive verbs

Singular Plural

Masculine

Feminine

-is -uvi

-usi -uvas

Masculine

Feminine

-ies -uvies

-usies -uvas

Reflexive verbs

Singular Plural

Verb prefixes Prefix Approximate meaning aizapatieiznopaparpiesa-

uz-

away around back, away

Examples

aiziet apbraukt atiet atnest in ieiet out, completely iziet izlasct off, from, down nolikt small action pateikt over, across parliet approach sthg pieliet together, sazvancties completely sagriezt on, up uzlikt

Translation

Basic verb

Translation

leave, go off travel around depart bring go in, enter go out read completely put down tell pour over add by pouring phone – reciprocal cut up put on

iet braukt iet nest iet iet lasct likt teikt liet liet zvanct

go travel go carry go go read put say pour pour phone

griezt likt

cut put

Verb list This verb list gives the conjugations of verbs which do not follow regular patterns. We give the present tense in full, then the past tense, and the future only if this does not follow the normal pattern.

212

Grammar summary

î indicates that the ‘e’ is pronounced as a broad short ‘e’; \ means that the ‘e’ is pronounced as a broad long ‘e’.

Irregular verbs atiet bet

depart be

dot

give

ieiet iet izdoties iziet

enter go succeed, manage go out, leave

see iet îsmu esi ir îsam îsat; biju nîîsmu neesi nav nîîsam nîîsat; nebiju dodu dod dod dodam dodat; devu see iet eju ej iet ejam ejat; gaju man izdodas; man izdevas see iet

Group 1 non-reflexive verbs aizliegt

forbid

apbraukt travel around braukt drive celt cept degt

build fry, bake, roast burn

dzert

drink

bst iek7et iev6elt

eat include, join split

ieteikt ietilpt

recommend include

ietvert

include, contain

just klaties

feel be feeling

aizliedzu aizliedz aizliedz aizliedzam aizliedzat; aizliedzu see braukt braucu brauc brauc braucam braucat; braucu ce7u ce7 ce7 ce7am ce7at; cblu cîpu cep cîp cîpam cîpat; cepu dîgu dedz dîg dîgam dîgat; degu dzeru dzer dzer dzeram dzerat; dzbru \du bd \d \dam \dat; bdu; bdcvu see k7et iev6e7u iev6bl iev6e7 iev6e7am iev6e7at; iev6blu see teikt ietilpstu ietilpsti ietilpst ietilpstam ietilpstat; ietilpu ietveru ietver ietver ietveram ietverat; ietvbru jetu jeti jet jetam jetat; jutu; jutcvu man klajas; man klajas

Grammar summary

k7et

become

krist

fall

liet lct nakt nest

pour rain come carry

.emt

take

nest

carry

nogurt

get tired

nok7et nokrist nolikt

get, end up fall put down

notikt

pa.emt parliet parnakt pasniegt

happen, take place take off have a meal subject, subjugate take pour over arrive hand, serve

paspbt

manage

patikt

like

pazct

recognize, know (s.b.) disappear

novilkt pabst pak7aut

pazust

213

k7estu k7esti k7est k7estam k7estat; k7uvu krctu krcti krct krctam krctat; kritu; kritcvu leju lej lej lejam lejat; lbju lcst; lija; lcs naku nac nak nakam nakat; nacu nîsu nes nîs nîsam nîsat; nesu; nescvu .îmu .em .îm .îmam .îmat; .bmu nîsu nes nîs nîsam nîsat; nesu; nescvu nogurstu nogursti nogurst nogurstam nogurstat; noguru see k7et see krist nolieku noliec noliek noliekam noliekat; noliku see tikt see uzvilkt see bst see k7et see .emt see liet see nakt pasniedzu pasniedz pasniedz pasniedzam pasniedzat; pasniedzu paspbju paspbj paspbj paspbjam paspbjat; paspbju man patck; man patika; man patiks pazcstu pazcsti pazcst pazcstam pazcstat; pazinu pazedu pazedi pazed pazedam pazedat; pazudu; pazudcvu

214

Grammar summary

piekust

get tired

pieliet pielikt pirkt

add (by pouring) add buy

pest

blow

reibt

get dizzy

sagriezt

cut

sakt saukt

begin (sthg) call

sist v6ist skriet

hit appear run

snigt spbt

snow be able; can

teikt tikt uzbbrt

say reach sprinkle

uzlikt

put onto

veikt

carry out

vbrst

lead

uzvilkt

wind up

piekestu piekesti piekest piekestam piekestat; piekusu; piekuscvu see liet see nolikt p\rku pbrc p\rk p\rkam p\rkat; pirku pevu pet pev pevam pevat; petu; petcvu reibstu reibsti reibst reibstam reibstat; reibu sagriewu sagriez sagriew sagriewam sagriewat; sagriezu; sagriezcvu saku sac sak sakam sakat; saku saucu sauc sauc saucam saucat; saucu situ sit sit sitam sitat; situ man v6iet; man v6ita; man v6itcs skrienu skrien skrien skrienam skrienat; skrbju skreju skrej skrej skrejam skrejat; skrbju snieg; sniga; snigs spbju spbj spbj spbjam spbjat; spbju teicu teic teic teicam teicat; teicu tieku tiec tiek tiekam tiekat; tiku uzberu uzber uzber uzberam uzberat; uzbbru uzlieku uzliec uzliek uzliekam uzliekat; uzliku veicu veic veic veicam veicat; veicu vbrvu vbrs vbrv vbrvam vbrvat; vbrsu uzvîlku uzvelc uzvîlk uzvîlkam uzvîlkat; uzvilku

Grammar summary

215

Group 1 reflexive verbs atpesties

relax

atrasties

find oneself

atv6irties beigties

differ finish

celties

get up

griezties

turn

iepazcties

get to know

iepirkties

go shopping

ierasties sakties

arrive begin

v6irties

get divorced, part

tikties

meet

uzstaties

speak up

atpevos atpeties atpevas atpevamies atpevaties; atpetos; atpetcvos atrodos atrodies atrodas atrodamies atrodaties; atrados; atradcvos see v6irties beidzos beidzies beidzas beidzamies beidzaties; beidzos ce7os celies ce7as ce7amies ce7aties; cblos griewos griezies griewas griewamies griewaties; griezos iepazcstos iepazcsties iepazcstas iepazcstamies iepazcstaties; iepazinos iep\rkos iepbrcies iep\rkas iep\rkamies iep\rkaties; iepirkos see atrasties sakos sacies sakas sakamies sakaties; sakos v6iros v6iries v6iras v6iramies v6iraties; v6cros tiekos tiecies tiekas tiekamies tiekaties; tikos uzstajos uzstajies uzstajas uzstajamies uzstajaties; uzstajos

216

Grammar summary

Group 3 verbs ending in -at davinat

present

dibinat

found

dziedat

sing

mbñinat

try

paaugstinat

raise

risinat

solve

zinat

know

davinu davini davina davinam davinat; davinaju dibinu dibini dibina dibinam dibinat; dibinaju dziedu dziedi dzied dziedam dziedat; dziedaju mbñinu mbñini mbñina mbñinam mbñinat; mbñinaju paaugstinu paaugstini paaugstina paaugstinam paaugstinat; paaugstinaju risinu risini risina risinam risinat; risinaju zinu zini zina zinam zinat; zinaju

Other verbs (verb group given in brackets) dabet (2)

get, receive

dabeju dabe dabe dabejam dabejat; dabeju gulbt (3) sleep gu7u guli gu7 gu7am gu7at; gulbju izgulbties (3) have a lie-in izgu7os izgulies izgu7as izgu7amies izgu7aties; izgulbjos pasacct (3) tell see sacct sacct (3) say saku saki saka sakam sakat; saciju sbdbt (3) sit sbwu sbdi sbw sbwam sbwat; sbdbju s\du sbdi s\d s\dam s\dat; sbdbju vajadzbt need man vajag; man vajadzbja; man vajadzbs

Key to exercises

Unit 1 Exercise 1 1 Labi, paldies/Nekas, normali. 2 Arlabunakti! 3 Sveiks/Sveika! 4 Visu labu! 5 xau, Anda! 6 Paldies, labi, un tev/jums? 7 Ata! 8 Uz redzbvanos! 9 Labvakar!

Exercise 2 Vi.v ir/nav; Anda ir/nav; tu esi/neesi; mbs esam/neesam; vi.a ir/nav; Daniels un Lija ir/nav; jes esat/neesat.

Exercise 3 1 vi.u; 2 vi.as; 3 Vi.a; 4 vi.us; 5 Mani; 6 Vi.as; 7 vards; 8 sauc; 9 sauc.

Exercise 4 1 strada; 2 dzcvo; 3 dzcvo/strada; 4 runa; 5 dzcvo/strada; 6 runa; 7 strada; 8 stradaju; 9 dzcvojat.

Exercise 5 anglis; kanadiete; australietis; criete; wurnalists; arste; students; skolotaja; oficiants.

Exercise 6 1 uetri plus viens ir pieci; 2 asto.i plus divi ir desmit; 3 trcs plus pieci ir asto.i; 4 sevi plus uetri ir desmit; 5 septi.i plus divi ir devi.i; 6 pieci plus pieci ir desmit; 7 divi plus uetri ir sevi; 8 devi.i plus viens ir desmit; 9 viens plus pieci ir sevi; 10 trcs plus divi ir pieci.

218

Key to exercises

What can you remember? A 1 Vi.v dzcvo Rcga. 2 Vai vi.v ir arhitekts? 3 Vi.a ir oficiante. 4 Es stradaju Liepaja. 5 Vi.as ir Londona. 6 Vai vi.u sauc Marija? 7 Vai jes esat amerikanis/amerikaniete? 8 Vai jes dzcvojat Vavingtona? 9 Vi.u sauc An?ris. 10 Vi.a ir skolotaja, vai ne? B 1 Ka tevi sauc? 2 Kur vi.v dzcvo? 3 Ka vi.us sauc? 4 Par ko vi.a strada? 5 Kur jes dzcvojat? 6 Ka vi.u sauc? 7 Vai jes runajat latviski? 8 Vai jes dzcvojat Rcga? 9 Par ko tu strada? 10 Vai vi.v ir arsts? C 1 viens; 5 pieci; 8 asto.i; 4 uetri; 10 desmit; 9 devi.i; 6 sevi; 2 divi.

Unit 2 Exercise 1 1 Ejiet taisni uz priekvu, un parks ir pa kreisi. 2 Ejiet taisni uz priekvu, un tad pa labi. 3 Ejiet taisni uz priekvu, un restorans ir pa kreisi. 4 Ejiet taisni uz priekvu, un tur ir kino. 5 Ejiet taisni uz priekvu, un bazncca ir pa kreisi. 6 Ejiet taisni uz priekvu, un bibliotbka ir pa labi. 7 Ejiet taisni uz priekvu, un tad pa labi. 8 Stacija ir te pa labi. 9 Ejiet taisni uz priekvu, un tad pa labi.

Exercise 2 aptiekas; skolas; operas; stacijas; stadioni; bibliotbkas; kafejnccas; tirgi; parki; veikali; kioski; baznccas; slimnccas; restorani; biroji; kino; katedrales; ce7i.

Exercise 3 Divi restorani; piecas bibliotbkas; trcs stadioni; devi.i kino; viena slimncca; asto.as skolas.

Exercise 5 1 ejam, restoranu; 2 brauc, vilcienu; 3 ejat, tirgu; 4 brauc, tramvaju; 5 iet, kino; 6 brauc, stadionu; 7 eju, banku; 8 ejam, Rcgas pili; 9 iet, stadionu.

Key to exercises

219

Exercise 6 Divpadsmit; uetrdesmit; septi.padsmit; asto.desmit divi; vienpadsmit; sevdesmit trcs; piecdesmit pieci; asto.padsmit; septi.i; devi.desmit uetri.

What can you remember? A 1 Atvainojiet, kur ir tramvaja pietura? 2 Kur ir taksometra stavvieta? 3 Taksometra stavvieta ir pa kreisi. 4 Ejiet taisni un tad pa labi. 5 Ledzu, vokoladi. 6 Ledzu, saldbjumu. 7 Ledzu, konfektes. 8 Ledzu, avczi. 9 Paldies. 10 Ledzu. B 1 Ledzu, uz stadionu. 2 Ledzu, uz staciju. 3 Ledzu, uz lidostu. C 1 uetrdesmit divi plus trcsdesmit asto.i ir asto.desmit; 2 trcsdesmit viens plus sevdesmit divi ir devi.desmit trcs; 3 piecdesmit plus uetrdesmit divi ir devi.desmit divi; 4 septi.desmit plus asto.padsmit ir asto.desmit asto.i; 5 divpadsmit plus asto.desmit ir devi.desmit divi; 6 vienpadsmit plus uetrpadsmit ir divdesmit pieci; 7 sevdesmit sevi plus trcsdesmit trcs ir devi.desmit devi.i; 8 uetrdesmit plus uetrpadsmit ir piecdesmit uetri; 9 piecpadsmit plus trcs ir asto.padsmit; 10 divdesmit uetri plus sevi ir trcsdesmit.

D

E H J K L M N B V C Z A S D F A

R R y O D j x I = D f P S f P

T E D B A Z N h C A f O L A T

U S ] I h 0 S U j F S ] L I y I

I T S R P F = h O g z I h M E E

O O 0 O P E R A ] G A g K N h K

P R A J x h A T P j h U 0 h R A

A f = S L G z y f H E K J C x G

U N I V E R S f L V E I K A L S

S S E I j T R L 0 y O j D T H

D h j f K P A R K S R S H z j J

F G R U ] H C f J j K I N O K

G y T z J f I E K h T S = F U L

H F K A F E J N h C A x G g ] P

J K L Z C V A B N M E R T U I O

220

Key to exercises

Unit 3 Exercise 1 Piecsimt sevdesmit septi.i – 567; septi.simt asto.desmit asto.i – 788; uetrsimt septi.desmit sevi – 476; sevsimt piecdesmit septi.i – 657; piecdesmit uetri – 54; divsimt divdesmit septi.i – 227; devi.simt devi.desmit trcs – 993; uetrsimt piecdesmit divi – 452; trcssimt uetrdesmit septi.i – 347; asto.simt devi.desmit pieci – 895.

Exercise 2 Desmitais novembris; divdesmit piektais decembris; pirmais maijs; trcsdesmitais septembris; trevais marts; divdesmit pirmais jenijs; pirmais janvaris; piecpadsmitais aprclis; divdesmit ceturtais februaris; piecpadsmitais jelijs.

Exercise 5 1 Janim ir wurnals. 2 Ievai ir vienvietcgs numurs. 3 Vai vi.am ir atslbga? 4 Mums ir restorans. 5 Vai vi.iem ir saldbjums? 6 Vai tev ir pieci lati? 7 Vai jums ir divvietcgs numurs? 8 Man ir atslbga. 9 Vi.am ir trcs wurnali.

Exercise 6 Atnesiet, ledzu: 1 tostermaizi, sviestu, ievarcjumu un tbju ar pienu. 2 rupjmaizi, sviestu, sieru, jogurtu un kafiju. 3 baltmaizi, sviestu, v6i.6i, abolu sulu un tbju.

Reading 1 The cheapest would be a ‘divvietcgs numurs – atseviv6as gultas’ and a ‘divvietcgs numurs – liela gulta’ for 62 lats; or for 66 lats you could have a family room with an extra lounge. 2 5 lats. 3 Divvietcgs numurs – atseviv6as gultas – 28 lats. 4 12.00. 5 The ‘lux numurs – liela gulta’ costs 40 lats.

What can you remember? B 1 Atnesiet man, ledzu, tostermaizi, ievarcjumu un kafiju. 2 Mums ir divvietcgs numurs ar duvu. 3 Vi.iem ir [imenes numurs ar duvu un tualeti. 4 Andrim ir divi su.i. 5 Dacei ir trcs ka6i. 6 Vai jums ir vienvietcgs

Key to exercises

numurs? 7 Vai jums ir dzcvnieki? 8 yodien ir ceturtais jelijs. 9 yodien ir divdesmit pirmais janvaris. 10 yodien ir divdesmit piektais oktobris.

Unit 4 Exercise 1 Pulkstenis ir: 1 desmit; 2 pusdevi.i; 3 bez piecpadsmit desmit; 4 septi.padsmit minetes pari seviem; 5 bez divdesmit asto.am minetbm asto.i.

Exercise 2 Pulksten: 1 desmitos; 2 pusdevi.os; 3 devi.os un uetrdesmit piecas minetbs; 4 sevos un septi.padsmit minetbs; 5 septi.os un trcsdesmit divas minetbs.

Exercise 3 A 1 pienak; 2 nak; 3 nak; 4 pienak; B 1 atiet; 2 ejam; 3 atiet; 4 iet.

Exercise 4 1 Pulksten divdesmit vienos. 2 Pulksten divdesmit trijos un divdesmit piecas minetbs. 3 Pulksten piecos un divdesmit trijas minetbs. 4 Divus latus un trcspadsmit santcmus. 5 Vienu latu un divdesmit piecus santcmus. 6 Ls. 10,50.

Exercise 5 Vilcienu stacija; autobusu pietura; tramvaja bi7ete; bi7evu cenas; studenta avcze; [imenes numurs; Rcgas restorani; Latvjias pilis; apelscna sula; taksometra voferis.

What can you remember? 1 Cik ir pulkstenis? 2 (Pulkstenis) ir divi. 3 (Pulkstenis) ir pussepti.i. 4 Ir desmit minetes pari devi.iem. 5 Ir bez divdesmit minetbm desmit. 6 Cikos atiet vilciens uz Jermalu? 7 Vilciens atiet pulksten asto.padsmitos un trcsdesmit piecas minetbs. 8 Laimcgu ce7u! 9 Paldies. 10 Taksometra voferis brauc uz Rcgas pili. 11 Vilciens brauc uz Liepaju.

221

222

Key to exercises

12 Tramvajs brauc uz centru. 13 Es eju uz lielveikalu. 14 Autobuss pienak pulksten sevpadsmitos un divdesmit divas minetbs. 15 Vilciens atiet no sesta perona.

Unit 5 Exercise 1 1 ies; 2 dosim; 3 dzcvos; 4 .emvu; 5 dzersit; 6 aties; 7 pienaks; 8 brauksit; 9 iesi.

Exercise 2 1 Man nav tbjas. 2 Mums nav ka6a. 3 Vi.am nav atslbgu. 4 Vai tev nav bi7etes? 5 yodien nav vilcienu. 6 Kafijas nav. 7 Vai nav abolu sulas? 8 Sarkanvcna nav. 9 Vai jums nav alus?

Exercise 3 1 Vi.iem garvo frc kartupe7i. 2 Man garvo kafija. 3 Vai jums garvo kafija? 4 Vai tev garvo sarkanvcns? 5 Mums garvo tbja ar citronu. 6 Vi.am garvo zemenes ar krbjumu. 7 Man patck Latvija. 8 Vi.iem patck ka6i. 9 Mums patck Rcga.

Exercise 4 1 Vistas stroganovu ar rcsiem. 2 Citrona krbmu bez jogurta bet ar putukrbjumu. 3 Ceptu lava steiku bez darze.iem bet ar frc kartupe7iem. 4 Skabu kapostu zupu ar rupjmaizi un sviestu. 5 Zemenes ar saldbjumu. 6 Vani7as krbmu ar zemenbm. 7 Tostermaizi ar ievarcjumu. 8 Saldskabmaizi ar v6i.6i. 9 Musli ar pienu.

Exercise 5 1 Taksometra; 2 Biroja; 3 Peldbaseina; 4 Universalveikala; 5 Londona; 6 Pulksten sevos; 7 Rcga; 8 Restorana; 9 Pulksten asto.padsmitos un trcsdesmit minetbs.

Key to exercises

223

What can you remember? A P

V

A

I

I

L

=

K

D

U

y

I E

I

S

I

L

C

A

O

P

S

E

A V

h

S

B

U

E

L

Z

U

O

V

N

E

Z

A

P

A

F

I

K

T

O

E

V

N

E

S

E

K

K

T

E

A

R

S

O

S

L

N

A M

I

C

R

E

I

S

I

E

I

K

A

L

L

M A

I

K

T

-

S I

T

E

A R

g

U D

N

P

P

S V

E

T

L N

I

A

I

Z

E R

A

0

I

I

E

T

S

S

y K

f

B 1 Es dzcvoju. . . . 2 Ja, es braukvu uz Latviju. 3 Divdesmit divi plus uetrpadsmit ir trcsdesmit sevi. 4 Ja, es esmu/Nb, es neesmu students/ studente. 5 Ja, es runaju angliski. 6 yodien ir (divpadsmitais decembris). 7 Ja, man ir kafija/Nb, man nav kafijas. 8 Ja, man ir ka6is/Nb, man nav ka6a. 9 Ja, man garvo/Nb, man negarvo kafija. 10 Ja, man patck/Nb, man nepatck futbols.

Unit 6 Exercise 1 1 Vi.a strada divos restoranos. 2 Vi.v iet uz lielu muzeju. 3 Mbs dzcvojam liela pilsbta. 4 Cekas cepetis ir garvcgs. 5 y6i.6a salati ir garvcgi. 6 Divus alus, ledzu. 7 Trcs tbjas, ledzu. 8 Manas mates darzs ir skaists. 9 Vi.a tbvam ir liels darzs.

224

Key to exercises

Exercise 2 1 darze.u; 2 piena; 3 istabu; 4 naudas; 5 cilvbku; 6 piena; 7 bbrnu; 8 kartupe7u; 9 taksometru.

Exercise 3 1 Vi.ai ir trcs gadi. 2 Man ir trcsdesmit viens gads. 3 Manam vectbvam ir asto.desmit gadu. 4 Manai masai ir divdesmit gadu. 5 Vi.am ir trcs taksometri. 6 Mums tuvuma ir desmit restoranu. 7 Man ir simt/simts latu. 8 Vi.am ir devi.desmit devi.i lati. 9 Man ir trcs masas.

Exercise 4 1 runa; 2 dzcvojat; 3 neruna; 4 audzb; 5 pavada; 6 dod; 7 atiet; 8 studb; 9 aizpilda.

What can you remember? A 1 Manam vcram nekad nav daudz laika. 2 Man darza ir daudz kartupe7u. 3 Rcga ir daudz muzeju. 4 Muzeja ir maz cilvbku. 5 Vi.am ir uetrdesmit viens gads. 6 Manam vectbvam ir septi.desmit gadu. 7 Vi.iem ir pieci bbrni. 8 Mans vcrs neruna latviski. 9 Mana masa studb ang7u valodu. B 1 strada; 2 nak; 3 atiet; 4 dod; 5 dzcvoju; 6 ejam; 7 ir; 8 brauc; 9 audzb. C 1 garvcgs; 2 Manam; 3 csi; 4 Mana, garvcgus; 5 divi; 6 uetri; 7 liels; 8 Manam, tumvi; 9 tavai.

Unit 7 Exercise 1 1 pastaigajas; 2 satiekos; 3 klausas; 4 peldas; 5 skatas; 6 mazgajas; 7 macies; 8 macaties; 9 pastaigaties.

Exercise 2 1 pastaigasies; 2 satikvos; 3 klauscsies; 4 peldbsies; 5 skatcsies; 6 mazgasies; 7 maccsies; 8 maccsities; 9 pastaigaties.

Key to exercises

Exercise 3 1 saldais, garvcgs; 2 karstu; 3 Mazie; 4 tumvie garie, skaisti; 5 jauno; 6 brcvaja; 7 Jaunais, populars; 8 mazu/mazo; 9 jaunu/jauno.

Exercise 4 1 Vi.v nekad neiet uz kino. 2 Mbs biewi ejam uz restoranu. 3 Bbrni vad un tad peldas jera. 4 Mana vecamate vienmbr skatas televizoru. 5 Mans tbvs reti klausas meziku. 6 Vi.i biewi iet uz operu. 7 Vi.i nekad neiet uz teatri. 8 Vi.a nekad nebrauc ar taksometru. 9 Vai tu kadreiz klausies dwezu?

What can you remember? A 1 Mbs satiksimies vakara. 2 Vi.v klausas dwezu. 3 Ka6is mazgajas. 4 Mbs peldbsimies jera. 5 Es macos latvievu valodu. 6 Mbs macamies latvievu valodu. 7 Vi.i pastaigasies/Vi.i ies pastaigaties. 8 Vai vi.i klausas popmeziku? 9 Vai vi.a skatas televizoru? B 1 Tas ir interesanti! 2 Lieliski! 3 Tas nav interesanti! 4 Tas nav labi!

Unit 8 Exercise 1 1 brenas bikses/brenas bikses; 2 zils lietusmbtelis/zilais lietusmbtelis; 3 roza kokvilnas bleze/roza kokvilnas bleze; 4 balts krekls/baltais krekls; 5 zili dwinsi/zilie dwinsi; 6 sarkans vilnas dwemperis/sarkanais vilnas dwemperis; 7 melnas kurpes/melnas kurpes; 8 dzeltena zcda kaklasaite/ dzeltena zcda kaklasaite; 9 lilla svarki/lilla svarki.

Exercise 2 Es meklbju: 1 brenas bikses/brenas bikses; 2 zilu lietusmbteli/zilo lietusmbteli; 3 roza kokvilnas blezi/roza kokvilnas blezi; 4 baltu kreklu/balto kreklu; 5 zilus dwinsus/zilos dwinsus; 6 sarkanu vilnas dwemperi/sarkano vilnas dwemperi; 7 melnas kurpes/melnas kurpes; 8 dzeltenu zcda kaklasaiti/ dzelteno zcda kaklasaiti; 9 lilla svarkus/lilla svarkus.

225

226

Key to exercises

Exercise 3 1 gribbtu; 2 varbtu; betu; 3 klausctos, patiktu; 4 brauktu/betu; 5 naktu; 6 peldbtos, nebetu; 7 ietu; 8 pastaigatos; naktu; 9 macctos.

Exercise 4 1 dargaka, neka; 2 vairak istabu neka; 3 mazak istabu neka; 4 vairak pakalpojumu neka; 5 mazak pakalpojumu neka; 6 jaunaka, neka; 7 vecaka, neka; 8 mazak zvaigw.u neka; 9 vairak zvaigw.u neka.

Exercise 5 1 gdncca atrodas ceturtaja stava. 2 Tas atrodas trevaja stava. 3 Tie atrodas trevaja stava. 4 Tie atrodas pirmaja stava. 5 Pulksten pusdevi.os. 6 Pulksten divdesmit divos. 7 Tie atrodas trevaja stava. 8 Tas atrodas otraja stava. 9 Universals.

What can you remember? A 1 Vi.a meklb brenas kurpes. 2 Es gribbtu pirkt latvievu cimdus. 3 Es vblbtos maksat ar kredctkarti. 4 Kaut man betu vairak naudas. 5 Aina ir garaka neka Imants. 6 Rcga ir mazaka neka Londona. 7 Es to .emvu. 8 Cikos tas atiet? 9 yis dwemperis ir skaists. B 2 kiosks > d; 3 partikas veikals > i; 4 maizes veikals > b; 5 ga7as veikals > f; 6 gramatveikals > a; 7 ap[brbu veikals > j; 8 universalveikals > c; 9 apavu veikals > g; 10 lielveikals > h.

Unit 9 Exercise 1 1 Dod man sarkano dwemperi! 2 Runa latviski! 3 Klausies vo meziku! 4 Macies latvievu valodu! 5 Nac man lcdzi! 6 Atnes man vbl vienu alu, ledzu! 7 Dzer vairak edens! 8 Neej! 9 Nedod vi.am avczi!

Key to exercises

Exercise 2 1 Dodiet . . . 2 Runajiet . . . 3 Klausieties . . . 4 Macieties . . . 5 Naciet . . . 6 Atnesiet . . . 7 Dzeriet . . . 8 Neejiet! 9 Nedodiet . . .

Exercise 3 Ledzu, dodiet man: 1 puslitru apelscna sulas; 2 karbu skabu kapostu; 3 paci.u cepumu; 4 pusotra kilogramu kartupe7u; 5 glazi sarkanvcna; 6 pudeli baltvcna; 7 kukuli baltmaizes; 8 kilogramu apelscnu; 9 glazcti Rcgas melna balzama.

Exercise 4 ola – oli.a; maize – maizcte; tase – tascte; pudele – pudelcte; masa – masi.a; mate – matcte; gramata – gramati.a; avcze – avczcte; bralis – bralctis; ka6is – ka6ctis.

Exercise 5 Anda – Andi.a; Emma – Emmi.a; Maija – Maiji.a; Janis – Janctis; Ojars – Ojari.v; Pbteris – Pbterctis; Oskars – Oskari.v; Reta – Reti.a; Anita – Aniti.a, Gundars – Gundari.v.

Exercise 7 1 Local apples. 2 They’re expensive. 3 They’re the new season’s crop. 4 Tasty and juicy. 5 Twenty santims each.

What can you remember? A 1 Brauciet uz Rcgas pili, ledzu! 2 Ejiet taisni uz priekvu! 3 Dodiet man avczi Diena un wurnalu Santa, ledzu! 4 Nerunajiet angliski! 5 Ledzu, atnesiet mums divus alus! 6 Nopbrc aug7us lielveikala, ledzu! 7 Nopbrc vi.am interesantu gramatu! 8 Nepeldies jera – edens ir auksts! 9 =emiet vos abolus – tie ir garvcgi! 10 Iesim!

227

228

Key to exercises

B T

O

M

f

T

S

E

R

T

U

I

g

F

G

B

H

J

K

L

P

O

S

J

D

S

O

L

A

A

Z

C

V

V

A

x

f

L

g

0

y

M

N

B

I

]

Z

-

S

I

E

R

S

j

z

E

I

I

U

T

K

R

E

A

L

U

S

O

V

P

L

R

K

J

L

H

G

T

0

I

R

y

I

A

S

f

D

F

S

Z

S

C

V

B

N

M

T

y

0

g

z

-

]

0

I

R

B

I

S

x

f

C Dodiet man, ledzu: 1 uetras pudeles limonades; 2 glazi edens; 3 paci.u vokolades saldumu; 4 kilogramu liellopa ga7as; 5 pusotra kilograma burkanu; 6 karbi.u tomatu; 7 litru piena; 8 paci.u cukura; 9 lielu kukuli maizes.

Unit 10 Exercise 1 1 About 7.30. 2 8.30. 3 Sometimes he takes sandwiches, sometimes he goes to the company’s canteen. 4 In the afternoons. 5 In the evenings.

Exercise 2 1 Tev vi.am jaraksta. 2 Jums jamacas latvievu valoda. 3 Vi.iem bija jaiet. 4 Vi.am nebes jadzcvo Rcgas centra. 5 Vi.am bes japbrk jaunas kurpes. 6 Mums nebija jastrada parak ilgi. 7 Tev nav jabrauc ar taksometru. 8 Vi.ai bes jabrauc uz sanaksmi Valmiera. 9 Man nebija japbrk jaunas gramatas.

Key to exercises

Exercise 3 1 Vi.a .em lcdzi sviestmaizes, lai nebetu jaiet uz restoranu. 2 Vi.v sazvanas ar klientu, lai atrisinatu problbmu. 3 Mbs izejam no majas pusdevi.os, lai saktu darbu devi.os. 4 Es eju uz lielveikalu, lai pirktu pienu un maizi. 5 Mbs ejam uz koncertu, lai klausctos skaisto meziku. 6 Vi.a iet uz darbu, lai pelnctu naudu. 7 Mbs ejam uz krogu, lai dzertu alu. 8 Vi.v brauc uz Jermalu, lai peldbtos jera. 9 Es runajos ar latvieviem, lai runatu valodu labak.

Exercise 4 1 He sleeps in, reads the paper and cleans the flat or does the washing. 2 On Friday nights. 3 On Saturday afternoons. 4 He goes cycling. 5 Relaxing.

Exercise 7 1 Vai jums nav neka? 2 Man nekad nepatck celties agri. 3 Vi.v sestdienas parasti nekur neiet. 4 Mums nav neka.

What can you remember? A Otrdien pulksten pussevos Lija ies uz kino ar Imantu. Trevdien pulksten pusasto.os vi.a ies uz fitnesa klubu. Ceturtdien pulksten uetros vi.a ies uz banku. Piektdien pulksten septi.os vi.a ies pie Andersoniem. Sestdien vi.a brauks uz Turaidas pili. Bet svbtdien vi.ai bes brcva diena, lai atpestos/Svbtdien vi.a nedarcs neko. B 1 Es gribbtu tasi kafijas, ledzu. 2 Ledzu, dodiet man divas pudeles limonades. 3 Vi.ai ir uetri gadi. 4 Vi.am ir divdesmit viens gads. 5 Vi.iem ir daudz gramatu. 6 xetrus alus, ledzu. 7 Za7a jaka ir skaista. 8 Es klausos dweza meziku. 9 Rcga ir lielaka neka Valmiera. 10 Ja man betu laiks, es ietu uz teatri.

229

230

Key to exercises

C

P

R

I

I R

C

h

T

J

P

A R

g

T

T

A

S

I J

I

R

M

S A

R

h

E

K

L

S

U

A

K

N

N

A

f

S

I

E

U M

S

A

R K

I E

R

C

g E

S

y

O

I

j

V f

G A

L J

h

J

K T

E

A

Z

S G

f

T S

Unit 11 Exercise 1 1 They caught a bus there. 2 It was marvellous. 3 They ate outdoors and enjoyed the local wine. 4 No. 5 It was too hot.

Exercise 3 1 runaja; 2 bijat; 3 pirka; 4 audzbja; 5 pavadcja; 6 deva; 7 atgaja; 8 studbji; 9 aizpildcja.

Exercise 4 1 pastaigajas; 2 satikos; 3 klauscjas; 4 peldbjas; 5 skatcjas; 6 mazgajas; 7 maccjies; 8 maccjaties; 9 pastaigaties.

Key to exercises

Exercise 5 1 To visit the most famous places in Latvia. 2 High mountains. 3 Castles, manor houses and churches. 4 Its blue lakes. 5 One can feel just how people used to live in past times.

Exercise 6 1 visgaraka; 2 vislielakais; 3 visaugstakais; 4 vislielakais; 5 visgaraka; 6 vislielakas; 7 visvecaka; 8 vislielako; 9 visskaistakam.

Exercise 7 1 n; 2 d; 3 o; 4 k; 5 c; 6 m; 7 l; 8 j; 9 i; 10 a; 11 b; 12 f; 13 g; 14 e; 15 h.

What can you remember? A 1 A trip in a comfortable bus with group leader/guide. 2 No. 3 In Ugale church. 4 It’s one of Latvia’s oldest towns and has a radiotelescope. 5 No. 6 It dates back to the Middle Ages. 7 No, it’s a ruin. B 1 Es gaju uz tirgu. 2 Mbs bijam Rcgas tirge. 3 Imantam bija vokolade. 4 Vi.am bija jaunas kurpes. 5 Mbs lidojam uz Vaciju. 6 Vi.as apbrauca Latviju. 7 Vi.i gaja iepirkties. 8 Vi.v peldbjas jera. 9 Vi.i klauscjas skaistu meziku. 10 Man patika slbpot.

Unit 12 Exercise 1 1 Labdien, dakter. 2 Man sap roka. Vai Jes varbtu to apskatct? 3 Jau uetras dienas, kopv es stradaju darza. 4 Ja, 7oti sap. 5 Ne tik daudz. 6 Paldies. Uz redzbvanos!

Exercise 2 1 Bbrzi.a kungs; 2 Bbrzi.as kundze; 3 yoferi; 4 Andri; 5 Ilze; 6 Profesores kundze; 7 Dakter Anderson; 8 Andersones kundze; 9 Upcva kungs.

231

232

Key to exercises

Exercise 3 1 Vi.v runa jau vienu stundu. 2 Mbs esam atva7inajuma jau kopv sestdienas. 3 Vi.a brauc jau trcs stundas. 4 Pbteris macas latvievu valodu jau divus gadus. 5 Vi.i skrien jau pusstundu. 6 Vi.a maca jau divdesmit gadu. 7 Vi.v lasa jau kopv vi.v cblas. 8 Vi.i spblb badmintonu jau uetrdesmit piecas minetes. 9 Manai matei sap mugura jau trcs dienas.

Exercise 4 1 slbpovanu; 2 slbpovana; 3 peldbvanos; 4 Peldbvanas; 5 fotografbvanu; 6 Izlidovana; 7 tikvanas; 8 runavana; 9 Braukvana.

Exercise 5 1 Foot; 2 Hands and feet (since Latvian uses pirksti for both fingers and toes); 3 Hands; 4 Heart; 5 Mouth with teeth.

What can you remember? A 1 Manam tbvam sap mugura. 2 Vi.ai ir nelaba deva (= Vi.a jetas slikti/nelabi). 3 Es esmu ievainojis celi. 4 Vi.a ir ievainojusi muguru. 5 Vi.a ir sasitusi galvu. 6 Latvija ir ziema lieliska slbpovana. 7 Braukvana pa Latgali ir brcniv6cgs atva7inajums. 8 Iebraukvana Rcga bes plkst. 22.00. 9 Liepi.a kungs, ledzu, naciet man lcdzi. 10 Vi.i dzcvo Rcga kopv vi.i bija jauni (= kopv jauncbas). B 1 Uz traumatolo[ijas un ortopbdijas noda7u otraja stava. 2 Uz 6irur[ijas noda7u otraja stava. 3 Uz bbrnu noda7u piektaja stava. 4 Uz poliklcniku pirmaja stava. 5 Uz acu, ausu un deguna slimcbu noda7u ceturtaja stava.

Unit 13 Exercise 1 1 Vi.i ar Jani. 2 Vi.as ar levu. 3 Jes ar Anitu. 4 Mbs ar Aldi.

Exercise 2 1 ir pirkuvi; 2 esi nomazgajies; 3 nav bijusi; 4 ir noguruvi; 5 ir dzimis; 6 ir ieradusies; 7 neesmu teikusi; 8 bijam, pabduvi; 9 esi pa.bmusi.

Key to exercises

Exercise 3 1 galda; 2 levu un lmantu; 3 pilsbtu; 4 galda; 5 Bbrzi.iem; 6 majas; 7 loga; 8 koka.

Exercise 4 [for example] 1 Gramatas atrodas viesistaba uz maza galdi8a. 2 Krbsli atrodas gan virtuvb, gan arc viena gu7amistaba. 3 Karotes, nawi un dakvi8as atrodas virtuvb uz galda. 4 Paklajs atrodas pie gultas. 5 Istabas augi atrodas dcvanam blakus. 6 Glezna atrodas aiz durvcm. 7 Datora galds atrodas gu7amistabas kreisaja pusb. 8 Starp dcvana un atpetas krbsliem atrodas galdi8v ar gramatam un tasbm. 9 Plcts atrodas izlietnei blakus.

Exercise 5 1 bievu; 2 aprc7a; 3 darze.u; 4 pulkste.u; 5 Sievievu; 6 pi7u; 7 Sb.u; 8 Bra7iem; 9 Ita7u.

Reading 1 In the bathroom. 2 No. 3 Yes, because one room is furnished as a children’s bedroom. 4 With central heating. 5 In the yard.

What can you remember? A 1 Mbs ar Valdi vakar gajam uz kino. 2 Es esmu bijusi Francija. 3 Es biju noguris, jo biju spblbjis futbolu. 4 Vi.a nav maccjusies spa.u valodu. 5 Es braukvu uz Latviju, kad bevu iemaccjies latvievu valodu. 6 Vi.v stav pie plcts. 7 Vi.a stav pie durvcm. 8 y6ivji ir skapc. 9 Man ledzu, sb.u zupu. 10 Mana bra7a meita ir skaista.

Unit 14 Exercise 1 1 19 gradu. 2 Rietumu – zieme7rietumu vbjv no 4 lcdz 8 metriem sekundb. 3 Nb, brcwiem skaidrosies. 4 Ja, bes neliels cslaiccgs lietus. 5 Rcga vodien temperateras maksimums bes 18 gradu; Latvija 19 gradu.

233

234

Key to exercises

Exercise 2 [for example] 1 Pavasarc ir saulains un siltaks neka ziema. 2 Vasara ir karsts, ar garam dienam. 3 Rudenc ir vbjains un biewi lcst lietus.

Exercise 3 [for example] Rcga bes mako.ains laiks, temperatera lcdz 12 gradiem. Zieme7os bes mako.ains laiks, brcwiem skaidrosies, atseviv6os rajonos iespbjams lietus. Dienvidos bes mako.ains laiks, brcwiem skaidrosies, temperatera lcdz 14 gradiem.

Exercise 4 1 Old buildings, some dating back to the Middle Ages. 2 It is the biggest and best preserved medieval castle in Northern Europe. 3 In the narrow old streets. 4 In a café in Dom Square. 5 It’s named after the Bishop of Riga who founded the city in 1201.

Exercise 5 1 ir celta; 2 ir celta; 3 tika iek7auta; 4 Pakavoti; 5 tiks, bevbta; 6 tiek atvbrti; 7 tiek rckoti; 8 grilbtiem; 9 ir aizliegta.

Exercise 6 1 As a crossing of trade routes. 2 Because of its strategic and geographic position. 3 Traders and missionaries. 4 Conversion to Christianity and territorial conquest. 5 Present-day Estonia and Latvia. 6 It was the biggest and best developed town on Swedish territory. 7 The conquest of Riga. 8 18 November 1918. 9 1940. 10 The formation of political organizations during the Soviet liberalization period.

What can you remember? 1 Rcgas pils tika celta uetrpadsmitaja gadsimta. 2 Es gribbtu frikadeles are varctiem kartupe7iem. 3 Latvijas neatkarcba tika proklambta 1918. gada 18. novembrc (tekstov devi.simt asto.padsmit astota gada asto.padsmitaja novembrc). 4 Jauns restorans tika atvbrts decembrc. 5 Peldbvanas ezera ir aizliegta. 6 Mesdienu makslas izstade tika iekartota pilc. 7 Vasara laiks Latvija ir silts un saulains. 8 Ziema biewi snieg. 9 Pavasaris ir visskaistakais gadalaiks. 10 Man patck rudens, jo mewos ir skaistas krasas. 11 Ko lai mbs daram? 12 Ko lai es rakstu?

Key to exercises

Unit 15 Exercise 1 1 Muzejs esot 7oti interesants. 2 Vi.v teica, ka esot/ir noguris. 3 Tu teici, ka bevot/besi desmitos atpaka7. 4 Redis stradajot hrija. 5 Es esmu dzirdbjis, ka vi.i vogad braucot atva7inajuma uz Spaniju. 6 Vi.i teica, ka (vi.i) esot svbtdien apciemojuvi vecomati/ka (vi.i) svbtdien apciemoja vecomati. 7 Inita teica, ka (vi.a) esot/ir ievakusies jauna dzcvoklc. 8 Jaunais dzcvoklis esot 7oti skaists. 9 Naktc esot snidzis.

Exercise 2 1 Inita (man) teica, lai es vi.ai aizsetot/aizsetu cszi.u. 2 Pasaki Imantam, lai vi.v lielveikala nopbrk tomatus. (Pasaki, lai Imants lielveikala nopbrk tomatus.) 3 Pasakiet (vi.am), lai vi.v mani apciemo. 4 frsts (vi.am) teica, lai vi.v nesmb6bjot/nesmb6b. 5 Es (vi.ai) teicu, lai vi.a ejot/iet pie arsta. 6 Vi.a teica Marai, lai vi.u satiekot/satiek restorana. (Vi.a teica, lai Mara vi.u satiekot/satiek restorana.) 7 Pasaki (vi.ai), lai vi.a klausas laika zi.as. 8 Pasakiet (vi.ai), lai vi.a atnes sviestmaizes. 9 Es pateikvu (vi.ai), lai vi.a tev piezvana.

Exercise 3 1 Projectors and wireless Internet connections. 2 His laptop computer. 3 He doesn’t know, nor does Aina. 4 So she can tell him which room he will use. 5 By e-mail.

Exercise 4 Parole – password; meklbt – find/go; iepirkumu grozs – shopping basket; palcdzcba – help; ieiet/ienakt – enter; pirkt – buy; lasct vairak – read more; majas lapa – website; apstiprinat pirkumu – confirm purchase.

Reading 1 Titoms and then maybe BitCte and then maybe Kas te? Es te! 2 (a) Vides fakti or Dabas grAmata; (b) Slepenais arhCvs; (c) Mans za&ais dArzs; (d) Latvijas VlAgeraptauja; (e) PanorAma. 3 (a) Divpadsmitos vai trijos; (b) sevpadsmitos; (c) pusvienpadsmitos; (d) pusvienos; (e) divdesmitos un trcsdesmit minetbs. 4 Juniors TV at 15.30. 5 There’s

235

236

Key to exercises

the film FotogrAfija ar sievieti un meWa kuili at 21.25, or the British Agatha Christie series ‘Erkils Puaro’ (Hercule Poirot) at 23.45.

What can you remember? 1 Londona ir lielaka neka Rcga. 2 Latvievu valoda ir viena no Eiropas visvecakajam valodam. 3 Maija brauca uz Spaniju atva7inajuma. 4 Vilis brauca uz hriju, lai stradatu sb.u ferma. 5 Man sap mugura, kopv es sestdien stradaju darza. 6 Izbraukvana ir plkst. 18.00 (asto.padsmitos) un ieravanas plkst. 21.00 (divdesmit vienos). 7 Ozoli.a kungs, ledzu, vai jes varbtu man palcdzbt? 8 Maija ir bijusi Vacija. 9 Mbs ar Pbteri esam bduvi 7oti labos restoranos Latvija. 10 Suns gu7 zem galda. 11 Rcga tiek celtas daudz jaunu bku. 12 Smb6bvana ir aizliegta. 13 Aina teica, ka Pbterim bevot ja.em portatcvais dators lcdzi. 14 Pbteris vaicaja, vai bevot printeris. 15 Es tagad varu labi runat latviski.

Latvian–English glossary

Alphabetical order follows the convention of Latvian dictionaries: the consonants with diacritical marks follow their unaccented counterparts (c, u), while the vowels (a, a) are not distinguished in order. Adjectives, numbers and nouns that are variable for gender are given in their masculine form. Noun gender is given if it deviates from the normal pattern. Verbs are given in their infinitive form. The numbers indicate the conjugation group of each verb.

A, f abi, abas abols acs (fem.) ada adrese agrs aiziet (irreg.) aizlidot (2) aizpildct (3) aiztct (1) aizvakar akmens aktcvs aktuals alus amerikanis (masc.) anglis ap (+ acc.) apakvve7a apbraukt (1) apdzcvot (2)

both apple eye leather address early go off fly (off, away) fill in wrap up the day before yesterday stone active topical beer American Englishman about underwear travel around inhabit

apelscns apetcte ap[brbs apkure apmacies apmeklbjums apmbram applaucbt (2) apraksts aprclis aproce apsargat (2) apskate apskatct (3) apskatcties (3) aptauja aptieka apviencba ar (+ acc.) ara ardurvis

orange appetite clothes heating overcast visit about, approximately scald description April bracelet guard tour look at, check; look around have a look survey chemist’s, drugstore union with outside outer/street door

238

Latvian–English glossary

arhitekts arhitektera arhcvs arc arods arpus (+ gen.) arpuse arsts arzemes asinsspiediens asto.i atiet (irreg.) atjaunot (2) atlaide atmi.a atnest (1) atpaka7 atpesties (1) atpeta atpetas krbsls atrast (1) atrasties (1) atrisinat (3) atrs atseviv6s atslbga attcstct (3) atvainot (2) atva7inajums audzbt (2) auglis augsts Augstaka padome augva augusts auksts aurodams auskari auss (fem.)

architect architecture archive also, too trade outside outside, exterior doctor foreign countries, abroad blood pressure eight leave, depart restore, renovate discount, allowance memory to bring back (again) relax rest, relaxation armchair find be located solve quick, rapid separate key develop excuse holidays grow, cultivate fruit high Supreme Council up August cold howling earrings ear

austrumi (auto)mavcna automavcnas novietovana autoosta autostavvieta B badmintons bagats bagawa balkons bals baltievi balts balzams banka bazilika bazncca beidzamais beigas (pl.) beigties (1) bbrns bet bez (+ gen.) bez tam bezvada (gen.) biewi bikses bi7ete birojs bcskaps bite (dim. bitcte) Bizantijas impbrija blakus (adv. & prep. + dat.) bleze bralis braukt (1) brcdis brcniv6cgs

east car parking bus station parking place

badminton rich luggage balcony pale Balts white balsam bank basilica church last end finish child but without apart from that wireless often trousers ticket office bishop bee Byzantine Empire beside blouse brother go, travel moment wonderful

Latvian–English glossary

brcvdiena brcvs brokastot (2) bru.inieks brens bundwa burci.a burkans burvcgs bet (irreg.) C cars caur (+ acc.) celis ce7v celt (1) celties (1) cena cenradis centrs cepetis cept (1) cepure cerbt (3) ceturtais ceturtdiena ciemoties (2) cik cik ir pulkstenis? cikls cikos cilts (fem.) cilvbks cimdi citrons cits citur ceka

free day, holiday free (have) breakfast knight brown tin, can jar carrot enchanting be

tsar through knee journey, road, way build rise, get up price price list centre roast bake, roast, fry hat hope fourth Thursday go visiting how (much, many) what time is it? series, cycle at what time tribe person, human being gloves lemon other elsewhere pig

239

cekas ga7a cukurs

pork sugar

x uetri

four

D daba dabet (2) dakters da7a darbs dargs darzenis darzkopis darzs dators datums daudz davinat (3) dawadi dawi decembris degt (1) deguns deja dejot (2) desmit devi.i dibinat (3) diemwbl diena dienvidi dievkalpojums dievs digitals dimensija dcvans divi divreiz divvietcgs

nature get doctor part work expensive vegetable gardener garden computer date much, many, multigive, present various some December burn nose dance (n.) dance (v.) ten nine found, establish unfortunately day south religious service God digital dimension sofa, divan two twice double (room)

240

Latvian–English glossary

dcze7vilciens dokuments domat (2) Doms dot (irreg.) drama draugs drckstbt (3) drudwains drupas duva dvielis

diesel train document think Dom Church give drama friend may, be allowed hectic ruins shower towel

DZ dzeltens dzelzce7v dzelzs dzbriens dzert (1) dzintars dzirdbt (3) dzcve dzcvnieks dzcvoklis dzcvot (2)

yellow railway iron drink (n.) drink (v.) amber hear life animal flat live (v.)

Dz dwemperis dwezs dwinsi (pl.)

sweater, jumper jazz jeans

E, g bdamistaba bdienkarte bdiens bdncca Eiropas Saviencba bka ekspozccija elektrisks elikscrs

dining room menu dish, meal canteen, cafeteria European Union building exhibition electric elixir

e77a e-pasts br[eles (pl.) brts es bst (1) bst gribbties (3) bvana eti6is etnografisks ezers F fails fakss fakts februaris filma firma folija fotografbt (2)

oil e-mail organ comfortable I eat be hungry eating vinegar ethnographic lake

frizbtava futbols

(computer) file fax fact February film company aluminium foil photograph, take pictures photograph photocopier France meat ball chips, French fries hairdresser’s football

G gabals gads gadsimts gaiss gaivs galdauts galds gals galva ga7a

piece year century air light, bright tablecloth table end, tip head meat

fotografija fotokopbtajs Francija frikadele frc kartupe7i

Latvian–English glossary

gan gan . . . gan garderobe garcgs garv garvcgs garvot (2) garums gatavs gaze gids glaze gods par godu grads gramata gredzens gribbt (3) griezties (1) grilbt (2) grupa gulbt (3) gulta gu7amistaba gur6is

really, indeed, however both . . . and cloakroom spiritual long, tall tasty, delicious taste, be tasty to length ready gas guide glass (utensil) honour in honour degree book ring want turn to, go to grill group sleep bed bedroom cucumber

9 [eografiski [imene

geographically family

H hercogs hronika

duke chronicle

I, h ideja iebraukvana iebevbt (2) iedot (irreg.) iebst (1) ieget (1)

idea arrival build in give, provide have (sthg) to eat gain

241

iekarta iekartots iek7aut (2) iek7et (1) iekva iela ielikt (1) ienakt (1) ie.emt (1) iepazcties (1) iepirkties (1) ierasties (1) ieravanas ierckot (2) iespaidot (2) iespbjams iev6elt (1) iet (irreg.) ieteikt (1) ietvert (1) ievakties (1) ilgs impbrija informatcvs interesants inwenieris cpavi ir cslaiccgs css cszi.a istaba (it) seviv6i izbaudct (3) izbraukvana izdarct (3) izdevcgs izdoties (irreg.) (+ dat.) izglctot (2)

furniture, equipment arranged include join inside street put into enter seize, take over get to know go shopping arrive arrival build in, incorporate impress possible split to go recommend include, contain move in long (time) empire informative interesting engineer particularly is, are brief short, brief (text) message room (e)specially enjoy departure do favourable succeed, manage educate

242

Latvian–English glossary

izgulbties (3) iziet (irreg.) izjust (1) izklaide izklaidbt (2) izklauscties (3) izlasct (3) izlcdzinat (3) izmazgat (2) izpalcdzcgs izrakstct (3) izstradajums izveidot (2) izvble J ja ja jaka

have a lie-in go out, leave feel, sense entertainment entertain, amuse sound read through smooth/spread out wash, do washing helpful prescribe (hand-made) product, article form choice

janvaris jau jauks jauns jeb jo jogurts josta jelijs jums jenijs juniors jera jurists jes (pl., formal)

if yes (wind) jacket, cardigan January already nice, pleasant young; new or because yoghurt (women’s) belt July to/for you June junior sea lawyer you

K ka ka kad

that (conjunction) how; like when

kads/kada kadreiz kafejncca kafija kaja kajas pirksts kaklarota kaklasaite kakls ka6is kalns kambr kapenes kapnes (pl.) kaposti (pl.) karaspbks karote karsts karv kartcgi kartupelis kas kaste katram gadcjumam kaut gan kaut kas kaut kur kawoks keramika kino kiosks klasisks klaties (1) klauscties (3) kleita klients klubs kluss ko vbl

what (kind of); some, any sometimes café coffee leg toe necklace (neck)tie neck cat mountain, hill until sepulchre, vault staircase cabbage army, (military) force(s) spoon hot war properly potato who, what; which box just in case although something somewhere fur coat ceramics cinema kiosk classical be feeling listen to dress client, customer club quiet what else

Latvian–English glossary

koks kokteilis kokvilna komunistisks konditoreja konfekte konstitucionals kopa kopv (+ gen.) kotlete krasns krastmala krasts kreiss pa kreisi krbjums krekls krelles krbms krbsls kristcgs krogs krustojums kretis (pl.) kuilis kume7v ku.[is kur uz kurieni? kurpe kurv, kura kvartals kvcts (fem.)

wood, tree cocktail cotton communist patisserie sweet (n.) constitutional altogether, together since rissole oven embankment shore left on the left cream shirt (string of) beads cream dessert chair Christian pub crossroads chest, breasts boar horse (poetic) stomach where where to? shoe which, who block receipt

0 6imenes (pl.) 6cselis

caraway seeds stewed fruit

L labdien labrct

good day good morning

243

labi pa labi labprat labs labvakar labvblcgs lai laiks laimcgs lasis lasct lats Latvija lauki (pl.) lauku (gen.) laukums lauru lapas ledus ledusskapis lbns lbts liberalizacija lcbietis lcdz (prep. + dat.) lcdzi (postposition + dat.) Lielbritanija lieliski liellopa ga7a liels lielveikals lietains lietot (2) lietus lietussargs lifts likt (1) liktenis likums

well on the right willingly, gladly good; right good evening favourable in order to; to weather; time happy salmon read major unit of currency Latvia countryside rural (town) square bay leaves ice refrigerator slow cheap liberalization Liv until along with

Great Britain great beef big, large supermarket rainy use, take rain umbrella lift lay, put fate, destiny law

244

Latvian–English glossary

lilla lini (pl.) lct (1) logs ledzu legt (1) lukss lepa

violet (adj.), purple linen rain window please request luxury lip

7oti

very (much)

M macct (3) macctajs maccties (3) maijs maiscjums maize maja majas mako.ains maksat (2) maksla makslinieks man mani mans, mana marinbt (2) marvruts marts masa masa mavcna mate mati (pl.) mazliet mazs mbbelbt (2) mediccnisks medmasa

teach preacher, priest learn May mixture bread house at home cloudy cost, pay art artist to/for me me my marinate route March mixture sister machine; car mother hair a little small furnish health-related nurse

medus mb[inat (3) meklbt (2) mble melns mbrce mbr6is mbs metals mbtelis metrs mews miegs miglains mikrovi7.u krasns (fem.) mclbt (3) mineraledens minbt (2) mobilais (telefons) mugura muiwa mesdienu mute muzejs mezika

honey try seek, look for tongue black sauce aim we metal coat metre forest sleep (n.) foggy microwave oven love mineral water mention mobile (telephone) back manor house modern mouth museum music

N nabags (n. & adj.) poor nacija nation nacionals national nacistisks Nazi nakovgad next year nakovnedb7 next week nakts (fem.) night nauda money nav is not, are not nazis knife ne not nb no neatkarcba independence

Latvian–English glossary

nedb7a nedb7as nogale nekad nekas nekur neliels neprats nest netalu no (prep. + gen.) noda7a nodarboties (2) (ar) nodot (2) nok7et (1) nokrist (1) nolikt (1) noma nombrcbt (2) nomizot (2) nopietns nopirkt (1) nosaukt (1) noskaidrot (2) nosetct (3) noteikti notikt (1) notcrct (3) novembris novilkt (1) nozcmbt (2) nu nulle numurs

O objekts oficiants oga oktobris

245

week weekend never nothing nowhere slight madness carry near, not far from department be involved (in)

okupbt (2) ola oranws organizacija organizbt (2) otrais otrs otrdiena

hand over get, end up fall down put hire, rent (n.) soak, steep peel serious buy name ascertain, find out send definitely take place, happen clean November take off mean well nought, zero (hotel) room; number

paaugstinat (3) pacients paci.a padome padomju padoms pabst (1) pagajuvais (def. adj.) pagalms pakalpojums paklauscties (3) pak7aut (1) pak7autcba paldies palcdzbt (3) (+ dat.) pamats panna pa.emt (1) papildvieta papravs par (+ acc.) par laimi paradct (3) parak parasti parbevbt (2) paris

site waiter berry October

P pa (+ acc.)

occupy egg orange (adj.) organization organize second (2nd) other Tuesday

through, along, around; each (time) increase, raise patient packet council Soviet (piece of) advice have/eat a meal last courtyard service listen in subject, subjugate subjection thanks help foundation (frying) pan take additional space largish, fair-sized as, for, about fortunately show too usually rebuild (a) couple (of)

246

Latvian–English glossary

parct parliet (1) parnakv.ot (2) parnakt (1) partika pardevbjs parraide pasacct (3) pasaka (dim. pasaci.a) pasaule pasawieris pasbdbt (2) pasniegt (1) paspbt (1) pastaiga pastaigaties (2) pastastct (3) pasts pasetct (3) pat pateikt (1) patikt (1) pats, pati pavadct (3) pavasaris pazi.ot (2) pazct (1) pazcstams pazust (1) pbc (+ gen.) pbc tam pbcpusdiena pbda pelbks pelnct (3) pensija pbrkons

the day after tomorrow pour over stay overnight arrive food sales assistant programme, broadcast say, tell fairy tale world passenger sit (for a while) serve manage walk (go for a) walk tell post, post office order even, as much as say, tell please, be pleasing to (one)self spend spring inform, announce know, recognize known, famous be missing, get lost after after that afternoon foot grey earn pension thunder

perons pica pie (+ gen.) pieci piedavat (2) piedeva piektais piektdiena piekusis pieliet (1) pielikt (1) pielikums piembram piembrs pienakt (1) piens pie.emt (1) piere pietura pievienot (2) pildct (3) pilncgs pilns pils (fem.) pilsbta pipari (pl.) pirksts pirkt (1) pirmdiena pirms (+ gen.) plans plecs plcts (fem.) pludmale politisks portatcvais dators praktisks pret (+ acc.) prezidents prieccgs prieks

platform pizza at, by five offer, present side dish fifth Friday tired add (by pouring) add attachment for example example arrive milk adopt forehead stop add, attach fill complete full castle town pepper finger buy Monday before thin shoulder cooker beach political laptop (computer) practical against, for president happy, joyful pleasure

Latvian–English glossary

priekva uz priekvu priekvtelpa printeris problbma prognoze projektors projekts proklambt (2) protams province PSRS = Padomju Socialistisko Republiku Saviencba pudele pulkstenis pusaudzis pusdiena pusdienas pusdienot (2) puse pest (1) putukrbjums R radiators radct (3) raidcjums recepte redzbt (3) referats reize rb6ins renovbt (2) rentgens republika

front ahead hallway, entrance printer problem forecast projector project proclaim of course (the) province(s), rural areas Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

bottle clock teenager, adolescent noon lunch (have) lunch side, half blow whipped cream

radiator show programme, broadcast prescription see presentation, report time, occasion bill renovate X-ray republic

247

resns restorans rezervbt rezidence rewcms rcsi (pl.) rietumi rct, rctdien rcts rcve roka rokdarbi rota rota7lieta roza rudens rupjv S sacepums sacct (3) sagaidct (3) saglabat (2) sagriezt (1) sakarsbt (2) sakt (1) (tr.) sakties (1) (intr.) sakums sala salati (pl.) saldbjums salds saldums saldskabmaize sals sanaksme sanakt (1) sa.emt (1) sape(s)

stout, fat restaurant reserve, book residence routine, regime rice west tomorrow morning grater hand, arm handicrafts ornament toy pink autumn, fall rough, coarse

fried dish say await, meet preserve cut heat (v.) start, begin (sthg) start, begin beginning island salad ice cream sweet (adj.) sweet (n.) sourdough bread salt meeting, conference succeed, be managed receive pain

248

Latvian–English glossary

sapbt (3) (+ dat.) saraksts sargat (2) sarcvbt (2) sarkans sastavs satikt (1) satikties (1) (reciprocal) saukt (1) saulains saule savienojums savs savukart sazvancties (3) (reciprocal) sbdbt (3) seja sekcija sekretars sekunde sencis sbne sens septembris septi.i septctais serials sbrija sestais sestdiena sevi sbta sev siers sieva sieviete scks siksna

hurt, be painful list, timetable protect grate red structure meet meet call sunny sun connection (one’s) own in turn ring, telephone sit face display/storage unit secretary second ancestor mushroom ancient September seven seventh series, sitcom episode sixth Saturday six farm, yard, enclosure for (one)self cheese wife woman small (men’s) belt

silts si76e scpols sirds (fem.) skabs skaidroties skaists ska.a skapis skatcties (3) skats skola skolotajs (masc.) skriet (1) slaids slavens slepens slbpot (2) slikts slims slinks slcps sloksne sniegs snigt (1) soma Spanija spbks spcdbt (3) spilvens sports stacija starp (+ acc.) starp citu starpnieccba stavoklis stavs steiks stils stradat (2)

warm herring onion heart sour; pickled clear up beautiful sound cupboard watch view, scene school teacher run slim famous secret ski bad sick lazy slanting, oblique strip snow (n.) snow (v.) bag Spain power shine cushion sport station between, among among other (things) mediation, auspices condition floor, storey steak style work

Latvian–English glossary

stratb[iski stroganovs students (masc.) studbt (2) stunda sudrabs sula sulcgs suns suvencrs svarki (pl.) sveiks svbtbrcdis svbtdiena svbtki (pl.) sviestmaize sviests y vad un tad valle vampinjons vaurs veit vis, vc (masc./fem.) v6i.6is v6ist (1) v6cvis vlagers vodien vokolade vonakt vorct vovakar T ta tablete tauu tad

strategically strogonoff student study hour silver juice juicy dog souvenir skirt hello, hi religious service Sunday festival sandwich butter

now and then scarf button mushroom narrow here this ham seem plate hit (song) today chocolate tonight this morning this evening

so tablet, pill of course then

249

tagad tagadbjs taisct (3) taisct ciet (3) taisct va7a (3) taiscties (3) taisni talrunis tapat tapbc tas, ta tatad tauta tavs (sing. fam.) te teatris tehnisks tbja telefons televizors telpa te7v tbma temperatera teniss tepat teritorija tev (sing./fam.) tbvs ticcba tiescbas (pl.) tievam tik tikai tckls tikt (1) tips tirdznieccba

now present-day make close open get ready straight telephone also, likewise therefore, that is why that, it so people, nation, folk your here theatre technical tea telephone television space, room, premises calf theme, subject, topic temperature tennis right here territory to/for you father faith right(s) really so only net(work) get (to) type trade, commerce

250

Latvian–English glossary

tirgotajs tirgus tcrct (3) tomats tombr toreiz tramvajs trauki trauku mazgajama mavcna trevais trevdiena trcs tu (fam.) tualete telct tumvs tunelis tur turklat turp turpat tuvs tuvuma tuvums U, j un universalveikals upe uz (+ gen.) (+ acc.) uzaicinat (3) uzbbrt (1) uzkaisct (3) uzkoda uzlaikovanas kabcne uzlaikot (2) uzlikt (1)

trader market clean tomato nevertheless at that time tram dishes dishwasher

third Wednesday three you toilet immediately, in a moment dark tunnel there as well, moreover there, thither right there near near by nearness

and department store river on to invite sprinkle, strew sprinkle snack fitting room try on put onto

uz.emvana uz.emt uzreiz uzstaties (par) (1) uzvalks uzvards uzvilkt (1) V Vacija vads vai vai . . . vai vaicat (2) vairak vairaki vairs vajadzcgs vajv vakar vakari.as vakari.ot (2) vakars vani7a vanna vara vards varct (3) vasara vecaki vecamate vecs vectbvs vbders ve[etars veidlapa veids veikals veikt (1)

admissions admit immediately speak up (for) suit surname wind up

Germany wire (question word), or, oh either . . . or ask more several no longer necessary weak yesterday evening meal have dinner/ supper evening vanilla bathtub power, authority name boil summer parents grandmother old grandfather stomach vegetarian (adj.) form kind, type shop carry out

Latvian–English glossary

vbjains vbjjaka vbjv vbl vblbties (3) velosipbds ve7a ve7as mazgajama mavcna verdovs vbrst vbstule vbsture vbsturisks veterinararsts vide vide vidus viduslaiku (gen.) viela vienaudzis vienmbr viens vienvietcgs vienvirziena viesis viesistaba viesncca vieta vietbjs vikings vilciens vilks vilna vcns vi.a vi.as (fem.) vi.i (masc.) vi.v

windy windcheater, anorak wind more, still want, would like bicycle linen, washing washing machine

boiling lead letter history historic vet environment in the middle middle medieval material peer always one single (room) one-way, single guest living room hotel place local, home-grown Viking train wolf wool wine she they they he

251

virse virtuve virziens virzcties (3) vispirms viss vista Z zabaki za6is Za6usala

on top kitchen direction lead first (of all) all hen, chicken

zi.as zirgs zivs (fem.) zobs zupa

boots hare Hare Island, district of Riga herb green tights, pantyhose sock, stocking gold under strawberry silk ointment winter north elephant blue draw know report, (piece of) news news horse fish tooth soup

z wakete wanrs wbl wurnalists

jacket genre pity journalist

zale za7v ze6bikses ze6e zelts zem (+ gen.) zemene zcds ziede ziema zieme7i zilonis zils zcmbt (2) zinat (3) zi.a

English–Latvian glossary

Adjectives, numbers and nouns that are variable for gender are given in their masculine form. Noun gender is given if it deviates from the normal pattern. Verbs are given in their infinitive form. The numbers indicate the conjugation group of each verb. A add address adopt advice after after that afternoon against ahead aim air all already also although altogether always amber American (n.)

ancient and animal appetite apple

pielikt (1) adrese pie.emt (1) padoms pbc (+ gen.) pbc tam pbcpusdiena pret (+ acc.) uz priekvu mbr6is gaiss viss jau arc kaut gan kopa vienmbr dzintars amerikanis (masc. n.) amerikaniete (fem. n.) sens un dzcvnieks apetcte abols

April architect architecture armchair around arrival

as as well ask at at that time at what time attachment August autumn

aprclis arhitekts arhitektera atpetas krbsls pa (+ acc.) iebraukvana, ieravanas parnakt (1), pienakt (1), ierasties (1) maksla makslinieks (masc.) maksliniece (fem.) par (+ acc.) turklat vaicat (2) pie (+ gen.) toreiz cikos pielikums augusts rudens

B back, backwards back

atpaka7 mugura

arrive

art artist

English–Latvian glossary

bad bag bake balcony bank bathtub beach beautiful because bed bedroom beef beer before berry beside between bicycle big bill biscuit black block blouse blow blue boil book boots both both . . . and bottle box bread brief bring brother brown build build in building

slikts soma cept (1) balkons banka vanna pludmale skaists jo gulta gu7amistaba liellopa ga7a alus pirms (+ gen.) oga blakus (adv. & prep. + dat.) starp (+ acc.) velosipbds liels rb6ins cepums melns kvartals bleze pest (1) zils varct (3) gramata zabaki abi, abas gan . . . gan pudele kaste maize cslaiccgs; css atnest (1) bralis brens celt (1) iebevbt (2) bka

253

burn bus station butter buy C cabbage café cafeteria call canteen car carrot carry carry out castle cat centre century ceramics chair cheap cheese chemist’s chest (also breasts) chicken (meat) child chips, French fries chocolate choice church cinema classical clean clear up client clock close clothes

degt (1) autoosta sviests (no)pirkt (1)

kaposti (pl.) kafejncca bdncca saukt (1) bdncca mavcna, automavcna burkans nest (1) veikt (1) pils (fem.) ka6is centrs gadsimts keramika krbsls lbts siers aptieka kretis (pl.) vista(s ga7a) bbrns frc kartupe7i vokolade izvble bazncca kino klasisks notcrct (3) skaidroties (2) klients pulkstenis taisct ciet ap[brbs

254

English–Latvian glossary

cloudy club coat coffee cold comfortable company complete computer condition conference connection cooker cost cotton countryside couple (of) courtyard cream dessert cream crossroads cucumber cupboard cushion cut D dance dark date day day after tomorrow December definitely department department store departure description dining room direction

mako.ains klubs mbtelis kafija auksts brts firma pilncgs dators stavoklis sanaksme savienojums plcts (fem.) maksat (2) kokvilna lauki (pl.) paris pagalms krbms krbjums krustojums gur6is skapis spilvens sagriezt (1)

deja (n.) dejot (v.) (2) tumvs datums diena parct decembris noteikti noda7a universalveikals izbraukvana apraksts bdamistaba virziens

dishes dishwasher

display/storage unit do doctor dog draw dress drink

trauki trauku mazgajama mavcna sekcija izdarct (3) arsts suns (pl. su.i) zcmbt (2) kleita dzbriens (n.) dzert (v.) (1)

E ear auss (fem.) early agrs earn pelnct (3) east austrumi egg ola eight asto.i vai . . . vai either . . . or elsewhere citur e-mail e-pasts enchanting burvcgs end beigas (pl.), gals engineer inwenieris Englishman anglis enter ienakt (1) equipment, iekarta furniture especially (it) seviv6i even (as much as) pat example piembrs for example piembram excuse atvainot (2) expensive dargs eye acs (fem.) F face family

seja [imene

English–Latvian glossary

famous father favourable February festival fill fill in find finger finish first first (of all) fish five flat floor (storey) folk tale food foot foreign forest form fortunately foundation four France free French fries Friday friend

from front fruit fry full furnish furniture

slavens tbvs izdevcgs, labvblcgs februaris svbtki pildct (3) aizpildct (3) atrast (1) pirksts beigties (1) pirmais vispirms zivs (fem.) pieci dzcvoklis stavs pasaka (dim. pasaci.a) partika pbda arzemju mews veidlapa par laimi pamats uetri Francija brcvs frc kartupe7i piektdiena draugs (masc.) draudzene (fem.) no (+ gen.) priekva auglis cept (1) pilns mbbelbt (2) mbbeles (pl.)

255

G gain garden Germany get, receive get (to) get to know give (present) give (provide) glass (utensil) gloves go go (travel) go out, leave go shopping go visiting gold good good day good evening good morning grandmother great Great Britain green grey grill grow (cultivate) guard guest guide H hair half hallway ham hand happen happy hat

ieget (2) darzs Vacija dabet (2) tikt (1) iepazcties (1) davinat (3) iedot (irreg.) glaze cimdi iet (irreg.) braukt (1) iziet (irreg.) iepirkties (1) ciemoties (2) zelts labs labdien labvakar labrct vecamate lieliski Lielbritanija za7v pelbks grilbt (2) audzbt (2) apsargat (2) viesis gids

mati (pl.) puse priekvtelpa v6i.6is roka notikt (1) laimcgs, prieccgs cepure

256

English–Latvian glossary

have/eat a meal he head hear heart heating hello help helpful herb here high hill history holidays (at) home honey hope horse hot hotel hotel room hour house how how (much, many) I I ice cream idea if immediately impress in order to inform inside interesting invite it

pabst (1) vi.v galva dzirdbt (3) sirds (fem.) apkure sveiks palcdzbt (+ dat.) (3) izpalcdzcgs zale te, veit augsts kalns vbsture atva7inajums majas medus cerbt (3) zirgs karsts viesncca numurs, istaba stunda maja ka cik

J jacket January jar jazz jeans join journalist journey juice juicy July June

wakete janvaris burci.a dwezs dwinsi (pl.) iek7et (1) wurnalists ce7v sula sulcgs jelijs jenijs

K key kitchen knee knife know (a fact) know (recognize) known (famous)

atslbga virtuve celis nazis zinat (3) pazct (1) pazcstams

L lake laptop last

es saldbjums ideja ja telct, uzreiz iespaidot (2) lai pazi.ot (2) iekva interesants uzaicinat (3) tas

Latvia law lawyer lay lazy leather leave left on the left lemon length letter (have a) lie-in

ezers portatcvais dators beidzamais; pagajuvais Latvija likums jurists likt (1) slinks ada atiet (irreg.) kreiss pa kreisi citrons garums vbstule izgulbties

English–Latvian glossary

257

life lift light (bright) likewise linen lip listen in listen to little a little live local long long (time) look at, around look for (have a) look love luggage lunch

dzcve lifts gaivs tapat lini (pl.) lepa paklauscties (3) klauscties (3) mazs mazliet dzcvot (2) vietbjs garv ilgs apskatct (3) meklbt (2) apskatcties (3) mclbt (3) bagawa pusdienas

milk mineral water (be) missing mobile (telephone) modern moment Monday money more morning mother mountain mouth move in much museum mushroom music my

M machine make many March market May may (be allowed) me meal mean meat medieval meet meet (reciprocal) meeting memory mention menu middle in the middle

mavcna taisct (3) daudz (+ gen.) marts tirgus maijs drckstbt (3) mani bdiens nozcmbt (2) ga7a viduslaiku satikt (1) satikties (1) sanaksme, mcti.v atmi.a minbt (2) bdienkarte vidus vide

N name narrow nation nature near necessary neck (neck)tie never nevertheless new next week next year nice night nine no noon north

piens mineraledens trekt (1) mobilais (telefons) mesdienu brcdis pirmdiena nauda vairak (+ gen.) rcts mate kalns mute ievakties (1) daudz (+ gen.) muzejs sbne, vampinjons mezika mans, mana (masc./fem.)

vards vaurs nacija, tauta daba tuvs vajadzcgs kakls kaklasaite nekad tombr jauns nakovnedb7 nakovgad jauks nakts (fem.) devi.i nb pusdiena zieme7i

258

English–Latvian glossary

nose not nothing nought November now now and then nowhere nurse O October of course offer, present office often oh oil old on one (one)self for (one)self one-way onion only open or orange (adj.) orange (n.) order other outside

oven P pain be painful parents

deguns nenekas nulle novembris tagad vad un tad nekur medmasa

parking

oktobris protams, tauu piedavat (2) birojs biewi vai e77a vecs uz (+ gen.) viens pats, pati sev vienvirziena scpols tikai taisct va7a (3) jeb, vai oranws apelscns pasetct (3) cits ara, arpus (prep. + gen.) arpuse (n.) krasns

piece pink pity plate platform please please (be pleasing to) pleasure pork possible post (office) potato prescribe prescription presentation preserve price printer problem proper protect pub purple put put into put onto

prieks cekas ga7a iespbjams pasts kartupelis izrakstct (3) recepte referats saglabat (2) cena printeris problbma kartcgs sargat (2) krogs lilla nolikt (1) ielikt (1) uzlikt (1)

Q quick, rapid quiet

atrs kluss

sape(s) sapbt (+ dat.) (3) vecaki

parking place part particularly passenger patient pepper person photograph

automavcnas novietovana autostavvieta da7a cpavi pasawieris pacients pipari cilvbks fotografbt (2); fotografija gabals roza wbl v6cvis perons ledzu patikt (+ dat.) (1)

English–Latvian glossary

R railway rain rainy read read through ready really rebuild receipt receive receptionist recommend red red wine refrigerator relax renovate report, (piece of ) news restaurant restore rice rich ring, telephone

dzelzce7v lietus (n.) lct (1) lietains lasct (3) izlasct (3) gatavs tievam parbevbt (2) kvcts (fem.) sa.emt (1) re[istratore ieteikt (1) sarkans sarkanvcns ledusskapis atpesties (1) renovbt (2) zi.a

rise, get up river road roast room route ruins run

restorans atjaunot (2) rcsi (pl.) bagats sazvancties (3) (reciprocal) celties (1) upe ce7v cepetis istaba marvruts drupas skriet (1)

S salad sales assistant salmon salt sandwich

salati (pl.) pardevbjs lasis sals sviestmaize

259

Saturday sauce say scarf school sea second see send separate September serious serve service seven she shine shirt shoe shop shoulder show shower sick side side dish silk silver since single, one-way sister sit sit (for a while) site six ski skirt sleep (v.) sleep (n.) slight slim

sestdiena mbrce sacct (3), teikt (1) valle skola jera sekunde redzbt (3) nosetct (3) atseviv6s septembris nopietns pasniegt (1) pakalpojums septi.i vi.a spcdbt (3) krekls kurpe veikals plecs (pa)radct (3) duva slims puse piedeva zcds sudrabs kopv (+ gen.) vienvirziena masa sbdbt (3) pasbdbt (3) objekts sevi slbpot svarki (pl.) gulbt (3) miegs neliels slaids

260

English–Latvian glossary

slow small snack snow (n.) snow (v.) so sock sofa solve some some, any sometimes somewhere sound (v.) sound (n.) soup sour sourdough bread south Spain spend (time) spoon sport sprinkle square (town) staircase start (v.)

start (n.) station stay overnight steak still stomach stone stop (bus, etc.) stout straight ahead

lbns scks, mazs uzkoda sniegs snigt (1) ta, tatad; tik ze6e dcvans atrisinat (3) dawi kads, kada (masc., fem.) kadreiz kaut kur izklauscties (3) ska.a zupa skabs saldskabmaize dienvidi Spanija pavadct (3) karote sports uzkaisct (3), uzbbrt (1) laukums kapnes (pl.) sakt (tr. start sthg) (1) sakties (intr.) (1) sakums stacija parnakv.ot (1) steiks vbl ku.[is, vbders akmens pietura resns taisni uz priekvu

strawberry street stewed fruit student study style succeed (manage) sugar suit

summer sun Sunday sunny supermarket surname sweater, jumper sweet swimming pool T table take take off take place tall taste tasty tea teacher teenager telephone television tell

zemene iela 6cselis students (masc.) studbt (2) stils sanakt (1), izdoties (+ dat.) (irreg.) (1) cukurs uzvalks (men’s); kostcms (women’s) vasara saule svbtdiena saulains lielveikals uzvards dwemperis salds (adj.) konfekte (n.) peldbaseins

galds pa.emt (1) novilkt (1) notikt (1) garv garvot (+ dat.) (2) garvcgs tbja skolotajs (masc.) pusaudzis talrunis, telefons televizors pastastct (3)

English–Latvian glossary

ten thanks that that then there there (thither) therefore they thin think this evening this morning this; this one three through thunder Thursday ticket tie time time, occasion timetable, list tired to to/for me today toe toilet tomato tomorrow tonight too tour town toy trade, commerce trader, merchant train

desmit paldies tas ka (conj.) tad tur turp tapbc vi.i, vi.as (masc., fem.) plans domat (2) vovakar vorct vis, vc (masc./fem.) trcs caur (+ acc.), pa (+ acc.) pbrkons ceturtdiena bi7ete kaklasaite laiks reize saraksts piekusis uz (+ acc.) man vodien kajas pirksts tualete tomats rct, rctdien vonakt parak apskate pilsbta rota7lieta tirdznieccba tirgotajs vilciens

261

tram tree trousers try try on Tuesday turn to (go to) twice two

tramvajs koks bikses mb[inat (3) uzlaikot (2) otrdiena griezties (1) divreiz divi

U umbrella under underwear unfortunately until up use usually

lietussargs zem (+ gen.) apakvve7a diemwbl kambr, lcdz augva lietot (2) parasti

V various vegetable very (much) view vinegar visit

W waiter walk (n.) (go for a) walk (v.) want warm wash washing watch we

dawadi darzenis 7oti skats eti6is apciemot (2), apmeklbt (2)

oficiants pastaiga pastaigaties (2) vblbties (3), gribbt (3) silts izmazgat (2), mazgat (2) ve7a skatcties (3) mbs

262

English–Latvian glossary

weak weather week weekend well west what what (kind of)

vajv laiks nedb7a nedb7as nogale labi, nu rietumi kas kads/kada (masc./fem.) when kad where, where to? kur, uz kurieni? which kurv, kura (masc./fem.) whipped cream putukrbjums white balts who kas wife sieva willingly labprat wind vbjv windy vbjains windcheater, vbjjaka anorak

window wine winter wish with without woman wonderful wood wool work (n.) work (v.) world

logs vcns ziema vblbties (3) ar (+ acc.) bez (+ gen.) sieviete brcniv6cgs koks vilna darbs stradat (2) pasaule

Y year yellow yes yesterday you (sing.) (pl./formal) young

gads dzeltens ja vakar tu jes jauns

Bibliography

In writing this course we have consulted several authoritative dictionaries, grammars and textbooks which we would like to mention here:

Dictionaries Belzbja, Z. et al. (1977), English–Latvian Dictionary. Waverly, Iowa: National Latvian Publishers. Ceplctis, L. et al. (1995), LatvieVu Valodas PareizrakstCbas un Pareizrunas VArdnCca (Dictionary of the correct orthography and pronunciation of the Latvian language). Riga: Avots. Jatniece, A.Z. (2004), Latvian Dictionary & Phrasebook. New York: Hippocrene Books. Kalni.a, D. et al. (2007), English–Latvian Dictionary. Riga: Avots. Turkina, E. (1982), LatvieVu-Ang&u VArdnCca (Latvian–English Dictionary). Riga: Avots. Veisbergs, A. (2005), JaunA LatvieVu-Ang&u VArdnCca (The new Latvian– English Dictionary). Riga: Zvaigzne ABC.

Grammars Ceplcte, B. and L. Ceplctis (1991, 1997), LatvieVu Valodas PraktiskA Gramatika (Practical grammar of the Latvian language). Riga: Zvaigzne. Fennell, T. and H. Gelsen (1979), A Grammar of Modern Latvian (3 volumes). The Hague: Mouton. Nau, N. (2002), PalCgA! KomunikatCvA Gramatika (Help! Communicative grammar). Riga: LVAVP. Steinbergs, A. (last revised 2008), The Latvian Language. www. latvianstuff.com/Language.html

264

Bibliography

Textbooks Budi.a Lazdi.a T. (1966), Teach Yourself Latvian. London: English Universities Press. Budvi6e I. et al. (2005), PalCgA! 1. LCmenis (Help! First level). Riga: LVAVA. Ccrule L. (2005), PalCgA! 2. LCmenis (Help! Second level). Riga: LVAVA. yalme A. and P. jdris (1996), Do it in Latvian! Riga, Apgads.

Index

accusative case 22 addressing people 4, 150 adjectives comparative 97 definite 83 demonstrative 92 indefinite 69 possessive 8 superlative 141 adverbs 87 adverbs comparative 97 superlative 141 adverbs of frequency 84 age 72 alphabet, spelling 32 ‘be’ (present tense) 5 body, parts of the body 148 breakfast 36 bet (present tense) 5 buying tickets 47 chemist’s 153 clothes 93 colours 94 commands 107 commas 101 communications 187 comparative of adjectives 97

comparative of adverbs 97 compass points 176 conditional 95 consonant changes in nouns 169 countries and nationalities 133 cuisine 114 culture 156 currency 39 daily routines 119 dates 32 dative case 33 daudz (‘much/many’) 71 days 121 debitive mood 123 demonstrative adjectives 92 describing people 73 – 74 diminutives 109 directions 16 direct object 22 family relationships 69 festivals and national holidays 88 flats and houses 160 food 36, 113 foreign names 7 furniture 167 future tense 58

gan 68 gender 2 genitive case 52 gerunds 154 greetings and goodbyes 3 ‘have’ 35 health 146–149 history 183 holidays and trips 131 hotels 29 ‘if’ sentences 95 imperative 107 inclusive plural pronouns 162 indirect object 33 ‘in’ or ‘at’ a place 7 ‘in order to’ 124 introducing oneself and others 1 ‘it’ 49 jobs 12 kaut kas, nekas (‘something, nothing’) 87 kiosk, at the 23 lai (‘in order to’) 124 languages 11 leisure activities 78– 80 ‘let’s’ 106

266

Index

‘like’ 60 ‘little/few’ 71 locative case 63 materials 94 maz (‘little/few’) 71 media 187 medicine, instructions 154 menus 57 money 20, 47 months and dates 32 ‘much/many’ 71 ‘must’ 123 nakt, pienakt (‘come, arrive’) 49 nationalities 12, 133 negation, double 127 negative verbs 10 newspapers and media 194 nominative case 17 nouns accusative 22 consonant changes 169 dative 33 diminutives 109 genitive 52 locative 63 nominative 17 vocative 4 nouns following numbers 72 numbers agreement 20 cardinal 13, 26, 30 ordinal 31 object of infinitives 139

passive voice 180 past tense 134 perfect tenses 163 personal pronouns 4 accusative 7 place names 140 places around town 18 plural pronouns 16 possessive adjectives 8 prefixes 49 prepositions 25, 61, 166 present tense 74 pronouns inclusive plural 162 personal 4 accusative 7 questions 10 reflexive verbs 80 relative mood 188 reported commands 190 reported speech 188 restaurants 54 Riga 177 savs (‘one’s own’) 140 seasons 176 shops 95 shopping for clothes 91 shopping for food 105 shopping for souvenirs 99 ‘should’ 180 vis (‘this’) 92 song and dance festival 183 spelling 32

souvenirs 99 subjectless clauses 117 superlative of adjective 141 superlative of adverb 141 tas (‘it’, ‘that’) 49, 92 telephone and e-mail 187 ‘there isn’t any’ 59 ‘this/that’ 92 time, telling the time 44, 46 time expressions 192 transport 24 travelling by taxi 20 travelling by train 42, 47 verbs commands 108 conditional 95 debitive mood 123 future tense 58 negative 10 passive voice 180 past tense 134 perfect tenses 163 present tense 74 reflexive 80, 136 relative mood 188 reported commands 190 vocative case 4 weather 173 websites 195 weights, etc. 108 word order 101 ‘would’ 95