What are common mistakes with Darbības vārds būt?

Colloquial Latvian uses 'ir' for all persons. Standard requires esmu/esi/esam/esat. Also: negation is 'nav', not *neir. 🇬🇧 English speakers: English 'to be' is also irregular — good parallel. But Latvian 3rd person is always 'ir' for singular AND plural. 🇷🇺 Russian speakers: Russian drops 'to be' in present (Я студент). Latvian REQUIRES it: Es esmu students. 🇨🇿 Czech speakers: Czech jsem/jsi/je maps well to esmu/esi/ir. Similar irregular pattern. 🇩🇪 German speakers: German bin/bist/ist/sind maps well. But Latvian 3rd singular = 3rd plural (both ir).

Darbības vārds būt: rules, examples & exercises | Latvian Grammar A1

Darbības vārds būt

A1 — Darbības vārdi

Verb būt (to be) — present tense conjugation

Can conjugate būt (to be) in present tense and form negation with nav

Verb būt (to be) — present tense conjugation

Examples

Es esmu skolotājs. — I am a teacher.
Viņi ir no Vācijas. — They are from Germany.
Viņa nav mājās. — She is not at home.

Darbības vārdiA1

Verb Būt (To Be)

Verb būt (to be) — present tense conjugation

Learning Goal

Can conjugate būt (to be) in present tense and form negation with nav

Exam Skills:VISC-A1

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

Es esmu skolotājs.

I am a teacher.

Viņi ir no Vācijas.

They are from Germany.

Viņa nav mājās.

She is not at home.

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

Darbības vārds būt (to be) ir vissvarīgākais latviešu valodā. Tagadnē:

Persona	Forma	Piemērs
es	esmu	Es esmu students.
tu	esi	Tu esi laba.
viņš/viņa	ir	Viņš ir šeit.
mēs	esam	Mēs esam gatavi.
jūs	esat	Jūs esat jauki.
viņi/viņas	ir	Viņi ir te.

Svarīgi:

3. personā (viņš/viņa/viņi/viņas) vienmēr ir ir — viena forma vsk. un dsk.!
Sarunvalodā bieži lieto ir visām personām: Es ir students (sarunvaloda), bet pareizi: Es esmu students.
Noliegums: nav (nevis *neir): Es neesmu šeit. vai Manis nav šeit.

Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises

Practice Exercises

Colloquial Latvian uses 'ir' for all persons. Standard requires esmu/esi/esam/esat. Also: negation is 'nav', not *neir. 🇬🇧 English speakers: English 'to be' is also irregular — good parallel. But Latvian 3rd person is always 'ir' for singular AND plural.

Es esmu skolotājs.

I am a teacher.

Esmu = am. No article before skolotājs.

Viņi ir no Vācijas.

They are from Germany.

Ir = is/are (3rd person, same for singular and plural).

Viņa nav mājās.

She is not at home.

Nav = negative of ir. NOT *neir. Mājās = at home (locative pl.).

Practice in course

Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises

A1 Course

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Put it into practice

Try a free exercise from the course

Frequently asked questions

When is Darbības vārds būt used?: Darbības vārds būt (to be) ir vissvarīgākais latviešu valodā. Tagadnē:
What are common mistakes with Darbības vārds būt?: Colloquial Latvian uses 'ir' for all persons. Standard requires esmu/esi/esam/esat. Also: negation is 'nav', not *neir. 🇬🇧 English speakers: English 'to be' is also irregular — good parallel. But Latvian 3rd person is always 'ir' for singular AND plural. 🇷🇺 Russian speakers: Russian drops 'to be' in present (Я студент). Latvian REQUIRES it: Es esmu students. 🇨🇿 Czech speakers: Czech jsem/jsi/je maps well to esmu/esi/ir. Similar irregular pattern. 🇩🇪 German speakers: German bin/bist/ist/sind maps well. But Latvian 3rd singular = 3rd plural (both ir).