Module 03 · Cases · Locījumi · Level A1

Accusative (ko?) — object and direction

Akuzatīvs

The accusative answers "whom? what?" and, unlike English, also "where to?" with the preposition uz.

Endings

Easiest way to remember: singular — -u after -s/-a, -i after -is/-e/-s(fem.); plural feminine = nominative, plural masculine -us.

Personal pronouns

Three functions

1. Direct object: Es redzu māju (I see the house). Es lasu grāmatu (I read a book). Es mīlu tevi (I love you).
2. Direction with uz: Es eju uz skolu (I'm going to school). Braucu uz Rīgu (I'm going to Riga). Compare with the genitive for "location": Grāmata ir uz galda (The book is on the table).
3. Time (duration and "when"): visu dienu (all day), katru rītu (every morning), nākamo nedēļu (next week).

Prepositions with the accusative

par (about; for): runāt par darbu (to talk about work); pa (along, via): pa ielu (along the street); caur (through): caur parku (through the park); ap (around): ap māju (around the house); pret (against, toward): pret sienu (against the wall); gar (along, past): gar upi (along the river); uz (to, toward): uz veikalu (to the store).

Accusative = instrumental

The singular form with ar matches the accusative: ar brāli, ar māju, ar autobusu (with a brother, with a house, by bus). There is effectively no separate instrumental case in the singular — English has no case here at all, so just remember: singular "with X" reuses the accusative form.

Exercise

Put into the accusative: 1) Es pērku (maize). 2) Eju uz (veikals). 3) Redzu (brālis). 4) Mīlu (jūs). 5) Lasu (grāmatas, plural).

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