Module 04 · Pronouns · Vietniekvārdi · Level A2
Indefinite and negative pronouns
Nenoteiktie un noliedzamie vietniekvārdi
Indefinite: kaut- and -kāds
| Word | Translation | Declension |
|---|---|---|
| kaut kas | something | kaut kā, kaut kam, kaut ko |
| kaut kurš / kaut kura | someone, anyone | declines like kurš |
| kaut kāds / kaut kāda | some kind of | declines like an adjective |
| kaut kur · kaut kad · kaut kā | somewhere · sometime · somehow | indeclinable |
| kāds / kāda | someone, some (without kaut) | Kāds zvanīja. — Someone called. |
| daži / dažas | some, a few | daži cilvēki (some people) |
| cits / cita | another, other | cita reize (another time) |
| katrs / katra | every, each | katru dienu (every day) |
| viss / visa / visi / visas | all, everything | visu dienu, visi draugi (all day, all [my] friends) |
| jebkurš / jebkas | any / anything | jebkurā laikā (at any time) |
Negative: ne-
| Word | Translation | Example |
|---|---|---|
| nekas | nothing | Nekas nenotika. (Nothing happened.) |
| neviens / neviena | no one, not a single one | Neviens nezina. (No one knows.) |
| nekāds / nekāda | no kind of, none | Nav nekādu problēmu. (No problems at all.) |
| nekur · nekad · nekā | nowhere · never · in no way | Es nekad nekavēju. (I'm never late.) |
Double negation is the norm
As in many other languages: a negative pronoun plus a negated verb. Es nekad neesmu bijis Liepājā (I have never been to Liepāja). Neviens neatnāca (No one came). *Man nekas nepatīk (I don't like anything). English does the opposite — "I have never been," "no one came," "I don't like anything" — using only one negative word, so resist the urge to drop the ne-* on the verb; leaving only one negation, as English would, is the mistake here.
Declining nekas and neviens
nekas: Ģ nekā, D nekam, A neko — Es neko nezinu (I don't know anything). Tas nekam neder (That's no good for anything). — neviens declines like viens: nevienam, nevienu, ar nevienu.
Exercise
1) Someone is knocking. 2) I didn't buy anything. 3) No one came. 4) I don't need anything. 5) Every morning I drink coffee.
Answers
1) Kāds klauvē. 2) Es neko nenopirku. 3) Neviens neatnāca. 4) Man nekā nevajag / man neko nevajag. 5) Katru rītu es dzeru kafiju.Open the lesson in the trainer — with exercises and a “done” mark →Module test 04