5. deklinace (-e žen.)

The fifth declension holds the feminine nouns ending in -e: māte (mother), upe (river), zeme (land, earth), bilde (picture), egle (fir tree), pele (mouse). A few masculine nouns that refer to men decline the same way, such as bende (executioner).

Compared with the fourth declension

Fifth-declension endings mirror the fourth (māja) with e in place of a: dative mātei like mājai, locative upē like mājā. Two differences to remember:

• The accusative singular ends in -i, not -u: Es redzu māti - I see my mother (compare māju).
• The genitive plural changes the last consonant of the stem: māte → māšu, upe → upju, zeme → zemju, egle → egļu, bilde → bilžu. You will meet it in phrases like daudz upju (many rivers).

As in the fourth declension, one spelling can do several jobs: mātes is "of the mother", "mothers" and "the mothers" (object). Read it in context.

In use

• Māte gatavo vakariņas. - Mother is making dinner.
• Es dodu ziedus mātei. - I give flowers to my mother. (dative)
• Upē peld pīles. - Ducks are swimming in the river. (locative)
• Daugava ir lielākā upe Latvijā. - The Daugava is the biggest river in Latvia.
• Ziemassvētkos istabā stāv egle. - At Christmas there is a fir tree in the room.

English speakers often treat -e nouns like -a nouns and say *māju for "mother" in the accusative, which is a different word: māju means "house". The -i keeps them apart.