Module 07 · The verb: present tense · Darbības vārds: tagadne · Level A1
The three conjugations — how to tell them apart
Trīs konjugācijas
Every Latvian verb belongs to one of three conjugations. You only need to identify it once — after that, the person endings are predictable.
Markers
| Conj. | Marker | Infinitive | es | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | short stem: infinitive in consonant + t, 1-syllable stem | brauk-t, nāk-t, dzer-t | braucu | braukt, nākt, dzert, ēst, likt, ņemt, iet, dot, sākt, celt, just |
| 2nd | long stem, -ju appears in es | runā-t, dzīvo-t, meklē-t | runāju, dzīvoju | runāt, strādāt, dzīvot, domāt, ceļot, dejot, meklēt |
| 3rd | long stem, es has -u with no j, viņš has -a / -ø | lasī-t, gribē-t, zinā-t | lasu, gribu | lasīt, rakstīt, mācīt, darīt, gribēt, varēt, redzēt, zināt, gulēt |
How to check
Put the verb into the es form: - -ju after a long vowel → 2nd conjugation (runāju, dzīvoju, meklēju). - -u with a stem shorter than the infinitive by one vowel → 3rd conjugation (lasīt → lasu, gribēt → gribu). - stem ends in a consonant and barely changes → 1st conjugation (braukt → braucu, nākt → nāku).
Why this matters
| 1st (braukt) | 2nd (runāt) | 3rd (lasīt) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| es | braucu | runāju | lasu |
| tu | brauc | runā | lasi |
| viņš | brauc | runā | lasa |
| mēs | braucam | runājam | lasām |
| jūs | braucat | runājat | lasāt |
In the 2nd conjugation tu and viņš are identical and equal to the stem; in the 3rd, tu ends in -i and viņš in -a; in the 1st, tu and viņš are the bare stem.
Subgroups of the 3rd conjugation
3rd-conjugation verbs in -ēt and -āt lose the ending in the viņš form: gribēt → grib, varēt → var, redzēt → redz, zināt → zina (here the -a stays), dzirdēt → dzird. In -īt: lasa, raksta, māca.
Exercise
Identify the conjugation: strādāt, gulēt, likt, mācīt, dejot, ēst.
Answers
strādāt 2nd · gulēt 3rd (guļu, guli, guļ) · likt 1st · mācīt 3rd · dejot 2nd · ēst 1st (ēdu)Open the lesson in the trainer — with exercises and a “done” mark →Module test 07