Latvian Verbs (Part V)
- Person: first, second, third person
- Number: singular vs. plural
- Tense: present, past, future
- Conjugation classes: 1st conjugation, 2nd conjugation, 3rd conjugation
- Irregular verbs
- Reflexive verbs
- Complex tenses: complex present, complex past, complex future
- Participles: declinable, partially declinable, indeclinable
- Mood: indicative, imperative, subjunctive, etc.
- Voice: active vs. passive
Reflexive Verbs (atgriezeniskie darbības vārdi)
Although English has reflexive pronouns, it doesn't have reflexive verbs. Here are a couple of English example sentences illustrating the use of the reflexive pronouns; the pronouns are shown in olive green:
- Raymond is washing himself.
- We will dress ourselves.
The reflexive pronouns "himself" and "ourselves" refer back to the subject of the sentence "Raymond" and "we".
(Note: the word "reflexive" comes from a Latin verb reflectere which derives from flectere 'to bend' and the prefix re- 'back, backwards').
Latvian has a reflexive pronoun sev-, but it also has separate reflexive forms of the verb, which are formed by adding a reflexive ending. Take a look at the following examples; the reflexive suffixes are bolded:
- Raimonds mazgā Robertu. 'Raymond is washing Robert.'
- Raimonds mazgājas. 'Raymond is washing himself'.
- Mēs ģērbsim lelles. 'We will/are going to dress (the) dolls'.
- Mēs ģērbsimies. 'We will/are going to dress ourselves.'
In sentences (1) and (3), the subject and direct object are different (for example: "Raymond" vs. "Robert"). In sentences (2) and (4) they are the same. We can describe this by saying that the action (of the verb) "bends back" or "reflects back" onto the doer (i.e. the subject of the sentence).
Other Latvian verbs which illustrate this basic reflexive meaning are:
apgulties 'to lie (lay oneself) down,
apsēsties 'to sit (oneself) down', uzvesties 'to behave oneself'.
However, only a small percentage of the verbs showing the reflexive forms have clearly reflexive uses. In Latvian the reflexive verbs have developed several additional meanings/functions:
- Reciprocal function: the action of the verb is mutual. For example: sarunāties 'to talk to one another', skrieties 'to race one another'.
- Intransitive function: transitive verbs have a direct object; intransitive verbs do not have a direct object. When the verb in the active form has a transitive meaning, the same verb in a reflexive form may be used intransitively. Using the abbreviations "tr" for transitive and "intr" for "intransitive", here are a few examples: celt 'to lift (something)(tr)' celties 'to lift oneself; to get up (intr)'
sākt 'to begin (something) (tr)' sākties 'to begin, get started (intr)'
beigt 'to end (something)(tr)' beigties 'to end, be finished (intr)'
- Intensive function: sometimes a verb of reflexive form has an intensified action:
smieties 'to laugh (intensively)'
skatīties 'to look/gaze at (attentively)'
klausīties 'to listen (attentively)'
- Descriptive function (rather rare):
atrasties 'to be situated'
izskatīties 'to look (like)'
justies 'to feel (like)'
- Coining new meanings (rare occurrence); here are some examples comparing the basic active form and the reflexive form: mācīt 'to teach' - mācīties 'to learn, study' (note: can mean 'to teach oneself');
klausīt 'to obey; to listen to someone' - klausīties 'to listen'
atrast 'to find (something)' - atrasties'to find oneself; to be situated'
Conjugating Latvian Reflexive Verbs
Here is a chart that compares the conjugation of some regular (active) verbs and some reflexive verbs in the simple present tense; the verbs are skriet 'to run' - skrieties 'to race, to run against each other', mazgāt 'to wash (something)' - mazgāties 'to wash oneself', mācīt 'to teach' - mācīties 'to learn, study, to teach oneself':
|
|
| 1st conj.
| 2nd conj.
| 3rd conj.
|
|
|
| active
| reflexive
| active
| reflexive
| active
| reflexive
|
| singular
| 1st p.
| skrien-u
| skrien-os
| mazgāj-u
| mazgāj-os
| māc-u
| māc-os
| 2nd p.
| skrien
| skrien-ies
| mazgāj-i
| mazgāj-ies
| māc-i
| māc-ies
| plural
| 1st p.
| skrien-am
| skrien-am-ies
| mazgāj-am
| mazgāj-am-ies
| māc-ām
| māc-ām-ies
| 2nd p.
| skrien-at
| skrien-at-ies
| mazgāj-at
| mazgāj-at-ies
| māc-āt
| māc-āt-ies
|
|
| 3rd. p.
| skrien
| skrien-as
| mazg-ā
| mazg-ā-j-as
| māc-a
| māc-ās
| | | |
The rules for creating reflexive forms are actually rather straightforward. Here they are, according to my viewpoint:
|
| person & number
| reflexivization rule
| example(s)
|
| 1.
| 1st p. singular suffix -u
| u → os
| skrien-u → skrien-os
|
| 2.
| 2nd p. singular suffix -i
| i → ies
| māc-i → māc-ies
|
| 3.
| 3rd person: no suffix
| + as
| skrien → skrien-as
|
| 4.
| 3rd person: suffix -a
| a → ās
| māc-a → māc-ās
| 5.
| in all other cases
| + ies
| skriet → skriet-ies, skrienam → skrienam-ies, skrienat → skrienat-ies
| |
Although these reflexivizaton rules are pretty straightforward, it is actually possible to simplify them even further. Remember that o is actually a diphthong, which phonetically is pronounced [ua̯]. Likewise the diphthong ie is phonetically pronounced [ia̯]. Keeping this in mind, we can actually reduce the first four rules to a single rule, as follows:
|
| person & number
| reflexivization rule
| example(s)
|
| 1.
| 1st p. sing., 2nd p. sing.,
3rd. p.
| + as
| skrien-u + as → skrien-os [skrien-uas];
māc-i + as → māc-ies [ma:ts-ias],
skrien + as → skrien-as,
māc-a + as → māc-ās [ma:ts-a:s]
| 2.
| in all other cases
| + ies
| skriet → skriet-ies, skrienam → skrienam-ies, skrienat → skrienat-ies
| |
Cool, right? These same rules can be applied in all tenses. The following is a chart showing the conjugation of the verb mācīties 'to learn' in all three simple tenses:
|
| singular
| plural
|
|
|
| 1st p.
| 2nd p.
| 1st p.
| 2nd p.
| 3rd p.
|
| present
| māc-os
| māc-ies
| māc-ām-ies
| māc-āt-ies
| māc-ās
|
| past
| māc-īj-os
| māc-īj-ies
| māc-īj-ām-ies
| māc-īj-āt-ies
| māc-īj-ās
|
| future
| māc-ī-š-os
| māc-ī-s-ies
| māc-ī-s-im-ies
| māc-ī-s-it-ies
| māc-ī-s-ies
|
Examples of reflexive verbs by conjugation class (all verbs are intransitive):
- 1st conjugation: apgulties 'to lie down, lay oneself down', atpūsties 'to rest', atrasties 'to be situated (somewhere), to find oneself (somewhere)' - this verb usually occurs only in the third person: atrodas 'he/she/it/they occur(s) is/are situated', celties 'to get up, wake up, lift oneself up', justies 'to feel (oneself)', mosties 'to awaken, to wake (oneself) up', sēsties 'to sit down, to seat oneself', skrieties 'to race', smieties 'to laugh', etc.
- 2nd conjugation: mazgāties 'to wash oneself', sarunāties 'to converse, speak with each other', spēlēties 'to play', žāvāties 'to yawn', etc.
- 3rd conjugation: izskatīties 'to appear, to look as if', klausīties 'to listen', mācīties 'to learn, study, teach oneself', skaisties 'to be angry, fume, chafe', skatīties 'to look at', vēlēties 'to desire, wish', etc.
To continue on with verbs, go to → Latvian Verbs (Part VI)