Possessive Pronouns

A1 — Vietniekvārdi

Possessive pronouns — mans, tavs, viņa, mūsu, jūsu

Can express possession using mans/tavs with gender agreement and viņa/mūsu/jūsu

Examples

Mans draugs ir šeit. — My friend is here.
Viņa grāmata ir interesanta. — His book is interesting.
Mūsu māja ir liela. — Our house is big.

PronounsA1

Possessive Pronouns

Possessive pronouns — mans, tavs, viņa, mūsu, jūsu

Learning Goal

Can express possession using mans/tavs with gender agreement and viņa/mūsu/jūsu

Exam Skills:VISC A1

Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?

Mans draugs ir šeit.

My friend is here.

Viņa grāmata ir interesanta.

His book is interesting.

Mūsu māja ir liela.

Our house is big.

Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?

Latvian possessives come in two kinds. Mans (my), tavs (your) and savs (one's own) behave like adjectives and agree with the noun. The others are simply the genitive of the personal pronoun and do not change.

Owner	with a masculine noun	with a feminine noun
my	mans draugs	mana māja
your (tu)	tavs draugs	tava māja
his	viņa draugs, viņa māja
her	viņas draugs, viņas māja
our	mūsu draugs, mūsu māja
your (jūs)	jūsu draugs, jūsu māja
their	viņu draugs, viņu māja

Like adjectives, mans and tavs also take plural and case endings: mani draugi (my friends), manā mājā (in my house), ar manu māsu (with my sister).

His or her?

Watch the small difference: viņa = his, viņas = her. Viņa māja is "his house"; "her house" is viņas māja. Because viņa also means "she", a sentence like Viņa grāmata ir interesanta means "His book is interesting", not "She ...".

savs: "my own, his own"

When the owner is the subject of the same clause, Latvian uses savs / sava for every person:

Es mīlu savu pilsētu. - I love my city.
Jānis zvana savai mātei. - Jānis is calling his (own) mother.
Jānis zvana viņa mātei. - Jānis is calling his (another man's) mother.

English speakers say *Es mīlu manu pilsētu; it is understood, but savu is what Latvians say. If the owner is the subject, reach for savs.

Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises

Practice Exercises

Viņa means 'his' (genitive of viņš); 'her' is viņas (genitive of viņa). Mans/tavs decline but mūsu/jūsu don't. 🇬🇧 English speakers: viņa (his) and viņas (her) differ in one letter, and viņa also means 'she'. Also, mans/mana must agree with the possessed noun, not the possessor.

Mans draugs ir šeit.

My friend is here.

Mans = my (masc.). Feminine would be: mana.

Viņa grāmata ir interesanta.

His book is interesting.

Viņa = his (genitive of viņš); her is viņas. So this sentence means "His book is interesting".

Mūsu māja ir liela.

Our house is big.

Mūsu = our (indeclinable — never changes form).

The check for this topic is still being prepared

Ask Sofi

Ready-made hints are free

Practice in course

Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises

A1 Course

← Back to topics

Put it into practice

Try a free exercise from the course

Frequently asked questions

When do you use Possessive Pronouns?: Latvian possessives come in two kinds. Mans (my), tavs (your) and savs (one's own) behave like adjectives and agree with the noun. The others are simply the genitive of the personal pronoun and do not change.
How do you form Possessive Pronouns?: Like adjectives, mans and tavs also take plural and case endings: mani draugi (my friends), manā mājā (in my house), ar manu māsu (with my sister). Watch the small difference: viņa = his, viņas = her. Viņa māja is "his house"; "her house" is viņas māja . Because viņa also means "she", a sentence like Viņa grāmata ir interesanta means "His book is interesting", not "She ...". When the owner is the subject of the same clause, Latvian uses savs / sava for every person: English speakers say *Es mīlu manu pilsētu ; it is understood, but savu is what Latvians say. If the owner is the subject, reach for savs .
What are common mistakes with Possessive Pronouns?: Viņa means 'his' (genitive of viņš); 'her' is viņas (genitive of viņa). Mans/tavs decline but mūsu/jūsu don't. 🇬🇧 English speakers: viņa (his) and viņas (her) differ in one letter, and viņa also means 'she'. Also, mans/mana must agree with the possessed noun, not the possessor.

Owner

with a masculine noun

with a feminine noun

mans draugs

mana māja

your (tu)

tavs draugs

tava māja

his

viņa draugs, viņa māja

her

viņas draugs, viņas māja

our

mūsu draugs, mūsu māja

your (jūs)

jūsu draugs, jūsu māja

their

viņu draugs, viņu māja

Frequently asked questions

When do you use Possessive Pronouns?

Latvian possessives come in two kinds. Mans (my), tavs (your) and savs (one's own) behave like adjectives and agree with the noun. The others are simply the genitive of the personal pronoun and do not change.

How do you form Possessive Pronouns?

Like adjectives, mans and tavs also take plural and case endings: mani draugi (my friends), manā mājā (in my house), ar manu māsu (with my sister). Watch the small difference: viņa = his, viņas = her. Viņa māja is "his house"; "her house" is viņas māja . Because viņa also means "she", a sentence like Viņa grāmata ir interesanta means "His book is interesting", not "She ...". When the owner is the subject of the same clause, Latvian uses savs / sava for every person: English speakers say *Es mīlu manu pilsētu ; it is understood, but savu is what Latvians say. If the owner is the subject, reach for savs .

What are common mistakes with Possessive Pronouns?

Viņa means 'his' (genitive of viņš); 'her' is viņas (genitive of viņa). Mans/tavs decline but mūsu/jūsu don't. 🇬🇧 English speakers: viņa (his) and viņas (her) differ in one letter, and viņa also means 'she'. Also, mans/mana must agree with the possessed noun, not the possessor.