Exam preparation: verb forms and tense relations in Latvian
How it works
In Latvian, verb forms are crucial for expressing temporal relations such as past, present, and future correctly. The forms usually also indicate person, although not always with six fully distinct endings: in particular, the 3. person singular and plural is often identical in form. For example: ‹es eju› (I go, present), ‹es gāju› (I went, past), ‹es iešu› (I will go, future), but ‹viņš raksta› and ‹viņi raksta› have the same verb form. Choosing the correct verb form is important, especially in longer sentences or in texts with several levels of time reference.
In Latvian, the tense of a verb is expressed by endings and in part also by changes in the stem. In the present tense, for example, forms such as ‹rakstu›, ‹raksti›, ‹raksta› occur; in the past tense forms such as ‹rakstīju› or ‹rakstīja›; and in the future tense, for example, ‹rakstīšu›, ‹rakstīsi›, ‹rakstīsim›, ‹rakstīsiet› as well as in the 3. person ‹rakstīs›. Example: ‹viņš raksta› (he writes), ‹viņš rakstīja› (he wrote), ‹viņš rakstīs› (he will write).
An example
Which form is the preterite of ‹es lasu› (I read)?
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50 Exercises
To the learning unit →Own explanation and own practice exercises by AmyMath. Subject reference framework: Latvian. The topic assignment may vary by federal state.