Lithuanian declension

The Lithuanian language's declension system is similar to declension systems in ancient Indo-European languages such as Sanskrit, Latin or Ancient Greek. It is one of the most complicated declension systems among modern Indo-European and modern European languages.^{[ citation needed ]}

Traditionally, scholars count up to ten case forms in Lithuanian. However, at least one case is reduced to adverbs and certain fixed expressions and another is extinct in the modern language. So the official variant of Lithuanian has eight cases; moreover, the illative case can be replaced with the locative case. The main cases are:

• nominative (vardininkas); used to identify the inflection type
• genitive (kilmininkas); used to identify the inflection type
• dative (naudininkas)
• accusative (galininkas)
• instrumental (įnagininkas)
• locative (inessive; vietininkas) and with several subcases:
  • illative (kryptininkas)
  • allative (pašalys) (reduced to adverbs and certain fixed expressions)
  • adessive (gretininkas) †
• vocative (šauksmininkas)

Lithuanian has two main grammatical numbers: singular and plural. There is also a dual number, which is used in certain dialects, such as Samogitian. Some words in the standard language retain their dual forms (for example du ("two") and abu ("both"), an indefinite number and super-plural words (Lithuanian : dauginiai žodžiai). Dual forms of pronouns used in the standard language are also optional. Although grammatically the dual number can be applied to any word, in practice it was used quite sporadically during the last century. The singular and the plural are used similarly to many European languages. Singular, plural and dual inflections of the same case always differ among themselves; no rule dictates how to form, for example, the plural inflection from the singular of the same case.

Nouns

Lithuanian nouns have five declensions which are defined by the inflection in singular nominative and genitive cases. Only a few borrowed words, like taksì – taxi, tabù – taboo, kupė̃ – compartment (in a train), coupé, are not subject to declension.

Declension	Inflection in singular cases		Examples			Notes
	Nominative	Genitive	Nominative	Genitive	Meaning
I	-as, -is, -ys, -ias	-o	výras mẽdis traukinỹs svẽčias	výro mẽdžio tráukinio svẽčio	man; husband tree train guest	Main pattern for masculine nouns.
II	-a, -i¹, -ė	-os, -ės	žmonà šviesà várna pradžià sáulė	žmonõs šviesõs várnos pradžiõs sáulės	wife light crow beginning sun	Main pattern for feminine nouns; few masculine exceptions.
III	-is²	-ies	móteris³ f pilìs f avìs f dantìs m	móteries piliẽs aviẽs dantiẽs	woman castle sheep tooth	Rarer; feminine nouns; fewer masculine exceptions.
IV	-us	-aus	žmogùs sūnùs medùs skaĩčius	žmogaũs sūnaũs medaũs skaĩčiaus	human son honey number; digit	Rare; masculine nouns.
V	-uo, -ė³	-en-s, -er-s f	vanduõ akmuõ skaitmuõ sesuõ duktė̃	vandeñs akmeñs skaitmeñs seser̃s dukter̃s	water stone digit sister daughter	Very rare; masculine nouns; four³ feminine; suffixed by -en- m and -er- f.

1. There are only two nouns ending in -i: pati 'wife' and marti 'daughter-in-law'. Their declension is the same to the second adjective feminine declension and similar to a second feminine noun palatalized declension. The noun pati is the same to a pronoun pati 'herself; myself f; itself (for feminine nouns)'
2. Exception: petys m – shoulder, peties, etc. after this declensional pattern. This declension is very similar to the fifth declension.
3. Duktė 'daughter' is the only word of the fifth declension not having the ending "uo". A word moteris 'woman, female' often has a genitive móters; the plural genitive of moteris is moterų (not palatalized -ių); it is the only normal form for the fifth declension and one of the two (the main is -ių) for the third. The other two words, obelis f – apple tree and dieveris m – (older) brother-in-law, are the same declensional case as moteris, but dieveris, being masculine possibly has a sg. inst. -iu. Dieveris is also the only -er- masculine case. There was also possibly a word broteris – brother (modern brolis) in old Lithuanian.

Table of noun declension endings

first declension

second declension

third d.

fourth d.

fifth d.

adjectives

masculine

feminine

f

m

m

m

f

I-m

I-f

-ǎ-

-i-

-o-

-ė-

-i-

-u-

-i-

-ǎ-

-o-

sg.

Nom.

-as

-is

-ys

-ias

-a

-ia

-ė

-is

-us

-ius

-uo

-as

-a

Gen.

-o

-io

-os

-ios

-ės

-ies

-aus

-iaus

-en-s

-er-s

-o

-os

Dat.

-ui

-iui

-ai

-iai

-ei

-iai

-iui

-ui

-iui

-en-iui

-er-iai

-am

-ai

Acc.

-ą

-į

-ią

-ą

-ią

-ę

-į

-ų

-ių

-en-į

-er-į

-ą

-ą

Ins.

-u

-iu

-a

-ia

-e

-imi

-umi

-iumi

-en-iu

-er-imi

-u

-a

Loc.

-e

-yje

-oje

-ioje

-ėje

-yje

-uje

-iuje

-en-yje

-er-yje

-ame

-oje

Voc.

-e¹

-ai

-i

-y

-y²

-a

-ia

-e

-ie

-au

-iau

-en-ie

-er-ie

-as

-a

pl.

Nom.

-ai

-iai

-os

-ios

-ės

-ys

-ūs

-iai

-en-ys

-er-ys

-i

-os

Gen.

-ų

-ių

-ų

-ių

-ių

-ių³

-ų

-ių

-en-ų

-er-ų

-ų

-ų

Dat.

-ams

-iams

-oms

-ioms

-ėms

-ims

-ums

-iams

-en-ims

-er-ims

-iems

-oms

Acc.

-us

-ius

-as

-ias

-es

-is

-us

-ius

-en-is

-er-is

-us

-as

Ins.

-ais

-iais

-omis

-iomis

-ėmis

-imis

-umis

-iais

-en-imis

-er-imis

-ais

-omis

Loc.

-uose

-iuose

-ose

-iose

-ėse

-yse

-uose

-iuose

-en-yse

-er-yse

-uose

-ose

Voc.

-ai

-iai

-os

-ios

-ės

-ys

-ūs

-iai

-en-ys

-er-ys

-i

-os

1. Nouns having -j- before an ending -as, vėjas – wind, vertėjas – translator (versti – translate; convert; subvert etc.), naudotojas – user (naudoti – to use), vartotojas – consumer (vartoti – to consume) have vocative -au: vėjau, vertėjau, naudotojau, vartotojau. Feminine counterparts for agent's words are vertėja, naudotoja, vartotoja and their vocative is the same to nominative. If naudotojas would have and ending -e for vocative it would sound same to feminine: naudotoja = *naudotoje (ja = *je, which is not used combination, because all vowels succeeding j are soft). Sg. locative of these words have -yje or -uje (-uje appears where it is needed for easier pronunciation): naudotojuje, vėjyje.
2. There are only a few words with the ending -ias (sg. nom.), historically they are related with -ys words; -ias words have -y in vocative: svečias – svety (guest); kelias – kely (road); some can have fifth-declension-like ending -iau for vocative: velnias – velniau (devil). In dialects an inflection -iau in vocative can be used, for example, for names ending in -is: Algis – Algiau (dial.) instead of Algi. A word brolis besides a paradigmatic vocative broli has also a form brolaũ.
3. Many nouns of this paradigm have -ų in pl. gen.: žąsis f – žąsų 'goose', naktis f – naktų 'night', debesis m – debesų 'cloud'.

Each Lithuanian consonant (except [j]) has two forms: palatalized and non-palatalized ([bʲ]-[b], [dʲ]-[d], [ɡʲ]-[ɡ] and so on). The consonants preceding vowels [i] and [e] are always moderately palatalized.

The letter i represents either the sound similar to i in the English lit or is a palatalization marker – softens the preceding consonant (ia = like e, iu = ü, io = ö; all samples where i is a softening marker are ia (ią), iu (iū, ių), io). But ie is a diphthong and there are no combinations ię and iė. Other diphthongs are: uo, ai, ei, oi (this one is used only in foreign words; in Lithuanian-derivation it is present when a word kojinė 'sock, stocking' is pronounced shorter as koinė), ui, au (palatalized iuo, iai, iui, iau; there is no iei combination because ei is already soft and same to iai; a combination ie is only a diphthong and in use is succeeded by a consonant).

Feminine nouns ending in -a, and masculine ending in -us have their palatal forms: -ia, -ius (the latter is declined in the first paradigm in its plural). The nominative singular ending -ias (sg. nom.; the first paradigm) alone is a palatal variant of -as, but -ias pattern, differently from -ia, -ius, are not palatalized counterpart for -as (unpalatalized equivalent in sg. nominative) and there is no palatalized counterpart for -as type. The -ias pattern is a type of -ys pattern, its words are declined like -ys words, except sg. nom. -ias and, for some of the words, vocative -iau. There are only a few words of -ias type.

There are two consonants in Lithuanian, d and t, that become respectively dž [dʒ] and č [tʃ] when they precede a palatalization marker i (so, this does not include the softer sounds: i, į, y, ie, ė, e, ę) and they still have to be pronounced softer, like all other consonants preceding the palatalization marker. Examples: masc. sg. nom. svẽčias 'guest', fem. sg. nom. valdžià 'power (on somebody); government', m. sg. nom. skaĩčius 'number'; pavyzdỹs 'example', pãvyzdžio, pãvyzdžiui, pãvyzdį; kėdė̃ 'chair', kėdžių̃ etc. (Compare how T in English is pronounced like "sh" when followed by -ion in words like "station", "revolution", or how "due"/ "dew" and "Jew" are pronounced identically by many English speakers).

• I-st declension. Ending in -as (nom. sg.): rýtas – morning, var̃das – name. Ending in -is: brólis – brother, aũkštis – height. Ending in -ys: pavyzdỹs – example, dagỹs – thistle. Ending in -ias: kẽlias – road, élnias – deer. A word mė́nuo – month, moon, or mė́nesis, which uo ending form is of the V-th declension type, belongs to the first paradigm: nom. sg. mėnuo / mėnesis, gen. sg. mė́nesio etc.
• II. Ending in -a: várna – crow, líepa – linden; July, gijà – thread, ply; palatalized: valià – will, galià – power, pradžià – beginning. Lithuanian vowel o [oː] derives from an older ā [aː]: nom. sg. mótina (mother) < *mātina < *mātinā, gen. sg. mótinos < *mātinās. Ending in -ė: prẽkė – commodity, item, ẽglė – spruce.
• III. Examples: pilìs f – castle, vagìs m – thief. There are many nouns of this paradigm which have -ų in pl. gen.: žąsìs f – žąsų̃ 'goose', naktìs f – naktų̃ 'night', debesìs m – debesų̃ 'cloud'. This declension is very similar to the fifth, except the singular nominative, genitive, instrumental and plural genitive for a part of nouns.
• IV. Ending in -us: sūnùs – son, alùs – beer, rytojus – tomorrow; palatalized: karalius – king, procesorius – processor. The plural forms of the palatalized variant are of the first declension, the same to -is, -ys, -ias.
• V. Nouns of this paradigm has a sg. nom. ending -uo and a suffix -en- in the other cases. Examples: vanduõ – water, akmuõ – stone. Words made with a suffix -m-: duomuõ 'a single item of a data' ← duoti 'to give', skaitmuõ 'digit' ← skaičiuoti 'to count, calculate'. There are two feminine nouns of the fifth declension, sesuõ – sister and duktė̃ – daughter, the second with an irregular ending. A word moteris – woman, having the same suffix as duktė and sesuo is declined in the third declension.

First declension

-as, -is, -ys (masculine)

	vaĩkas = child		brólis = brother		arklỹs = horse
	singular	plural	singular	plural	singular	plural
Nominative	vaikas	vaikai	brolis	broliai	arklys	arkliai
Genitive	vaiko	vaikų	brolio	brolių	arklio	arklių
Dative	vaikui	vaikams	broliui	broliams	arkliui	arkliams
Accusative	vaiką	vaikus	brolį	brolius	arklį	arklius
Instrumental	vaiku	vaikais	broliu	broliais	arkliu	arkliais
Locative	vaike	vaikuose	brolyje	broliuose	arklyje	arkliuose
Vocative	vaike	vaikai	broli	broliai	arkly	arkliai

Note that the -e ending for the vocative singular applies only to common nouns; proper nouns take the ending -ai. So, for example Jonas = 'John' [nominative] and Jonai! = 'John!' [vocative]

Second declension

-a, -ė, -ti (feminine)

	mótina = mother		katė̃ = cat		patì = wife
	singular	plural	singular	plural	singular	plural
Nominative	motina	motinos	katė	katės	pati	pačios
Genitive	motinos	motinų	katės	kačių	pačios	pačių
Dative	motinai	motinoms	katei	katėms	pačiai	pačioms
Accusative	motiną	motinas	katę	kates	pačią	pačias
Instrumental	motina	motinomis	kate	katėmis	pačia	pačiomis
Locative	motinoje	motinose	katėje	katėse	pačioje	pačiose
Vocative	motina	motinos	kate	katės	pati (or pačia)	pačios

Only two nouns end in -i: pati 'wife' and marti 'daughter-in-law'. Their declension is same to the second adjective feminine declension.

The noun pati has the same form as the pronoun pati 'herself; myself (feminine); itself (for feminine nouns)'.

Third declension

-is (masculine and feminine)

	vagìs = thief (masculine)		akìs = eye (feminine)
	singular	plural	singular	plural
Nominative	vagis	vagys	akis	akys
Genitive	vagies	vagių	akies	akių
Dative	vagiui	vagims	akiai	akims
Accusative	vagį	vagis	akį	akis
Instrumental	vagimi	vagimis	akimi	akimis
Locative	vagyje	vagyse	akyje	akyse
Vocative	vagie	vagys	akie	akys

The only difference in masculine and feminine nouns of this declension is between the dative singular forms.

Fourth declension

-us, -ius (masculine)

	sūnùs = son		profèsorius = professor
	singular	plural	singular	plural
Nominative	sūnus	sūnūs	profesorius	profesoriai
Genitive	sūnaus	sūnų	profesoriaus	profesorių
Dative	sūnui	sūnums	profesoriui	profesoriams
Accusative	sūnų	sūnus	profesorių	profesorius
Instrumental	sūnumi	sūnumis	profesoriumi	profesoriais
Locative	sūnuje	sūnuose	profesoriuje	profesoriuose
Vocative	sūnau	sūnūs	profesoriau	profesoriai

The palatalized variant of this declension has the forms of the first declension.

Fifth declension

-uo (masculine)

There are also two feminine nouns of the fifth declension: sesuo (sister) and duktė (daughter).

	vanduõ = water		sesuõ = sister		duktė̃ = daughter
	singular	plural	singular	plural	singular	plural
Nominative	vanduo	vandenys	sesuo	seserys	duktė	dukterys
Genitive	vandens	vandenų	sesers	seserų	dukters	dukterų
Dative	vandeniui	vandenims	seseriai	seserims	dukteriai	dukterims
Accusative	vandenį	vandenis	seserį	seseris	dukterį	dukteris
Instrumental	vandeniu	vandenimis	seseria	seserimis	dukteria	dukterimis
Locative	vandenyje	vandenyse	seseryje	seseryse	dukteryje	dukteryse
Vocative	vandenie	vandenys	seserie	seserys	dukterie	dukterys

Adjectives

In Lithuanian, adjectives have three declensions determined by the singular and plural nominative case inflections. Adjectives agree with nouns in number, gender, and case. Unlike nouns, which have two genders – masculine and feminine – adjectives have three (except -is, -ė adjectives), but the neuter adjectives (the third example in the table) have only one uninflected form.

Declension	Singular nom. inflection		Plural nom. inflection		Examples
	Masculine	Feminine	Masculine	Feminine
I	-(i)as	-(i)a	-i	-(i)os	šáltas, šaltà, (šálta) – cold; šlápias, šlapià, (šlápia) – wet, soppy;
II	-us	-i	-ūs	-ios	gražùs, gražì, (gražù) – pretty, beautiful; malonùs, malonì, (malonù) – pleasant;
III	-is	-ė	-iai	-ės	varìnis, varìnė – copper; laukìnis, laukìnė – wild;
	-is	-ė	-i	-ės	dìdelis, dìdelė – big; dešinỹs, dešinė̃ – right; kairỹs, kairė̃ – left.

• Most of the first type adjectives of the third declension are with the suffix -in-. These are easily made from nouns, adjectives, by adding the suffix -in-. When made from verbs, they are mostly made from a past passive participle: vìrti – to boil, vìrtas – boiled, virtìnis – which is boiled, made by boiling. Consequently, the suffix is -t-in- for such adjectives. These variants of verbal derivation easily become nouns, in this case it is a noun virtìnis – dumpling (with mushrooms; curd; etc.; but dumplings with meat are called koldūnai). There are also some other word types having certain suffixes or prefixes in this declensional group: (of the first accentuation pattern) pern-ykšt-is – of yesteryear (pernai - in yesteryear); apy-geris – goodish, around good; po-geris – around good; prie-kurtis – somewhat deaf; (of the second accentuation pattern) ketvirt-ain-is, viln-on-is – woollen, graž-ut-ėl-is, rug-ien-is, maž-yl-is – tiny tot, ger-ul-is – goody, maž-ut-is – smally.
• Two adjectives of the third declension have long -ys: dešinỹs – right, kairỹs – left; plural nominative is dešinì, kairì; plural dative: dešiníems, kairíems. A short form of dìdelis, dìdelė is dìdis, didì (similar to pats, pati). Dešinys, kairys, didis have neutral gender of the u pattern: dešinu, kairu, didu. Pronominal forms: didỹsis, didžióji, dešinỹsis, dešinióji. An adjective didelis, didelė hasn't pronominal forms. The word didis has more mingled forms: nominative is sometimes didus; genitive masc.: didžio / didaus; accusative: didį (/ didų); plural masc. nom. didūs; other forms are of the regular pattern.
• Adjectives, except -inis type and an adjective didelis, can have pronominal (definite) forms
• Some other forms have variations in the standard language: pė́sčias, pėsčià, pė́sčia – pedestrian, afoot; pėsčiàsis, pėsčióji and pėstỹsis, pėsčióji (adjectival and substantival meanings).

Table of adjective declension endings

I-m II-m III-m I-f II-f III-f -ǎ- -u- -i- -ā- -i- -ē- palat. palat.   Nom.      -as -ias -us -is -a -ia -i    -ė Gen. -o -io -aus -io -os -ios -ės Dat. -am -iam -ai -iai -ei Acc. -ą -ią -ų -į -ą -ią -ę Ins. -u -iu -a -ia -e Loc. -ame -iame -oje -ioje -ėje   Nom. -i -ūs -iai -i -os -ios -ės Gen. -ų -ių -ų -ių Dat. -iems -iams -iems -oms -ioms -ėms Acc. -us -ius -as -ias -es Ins. -ais -iais -omis -iomis -ėmis Loc. -uose -iuose -ose -iose -ėse

Masculine adjectives of the III-rd paradigm are of two types, they differ in plural nominative and dative: varinis – copper, brazen, laukinis – wild have pl. nom. variniai, laukiniai and pl. dat. variniams, laukiniams; an example of the second type: didelis (big), dideli in pl. nom. and dideliems in pl. dat.

Pronominal forms

I-m II-m III-m I-f II-f III-f -ǎ- -u- -i- -ā- -i- -ē- palat. palat. Nom.      -as-is -ias-is -us-is -ys-is -o-ji -io-ji Gen. -o-jo -io-jo -os-ios -ios-ios Dat. -a-jam -ia-jam -a-jai -ia-jai Acc. -ą-jį -ią-jį -ų-jį -į-jį -ą-ją -ią-ją Ins. -uo-ju -iuo-ju -ą-ja -ią-ja Loc. -a-jame -ia-jame -o-joje -io-joje   Nom. -ie-ji -os-ios -ios-sios Gen. -ų-jų -ių-jų -ų-jų -ių-jų Dat. -ies-iems -os-ioms -ios-ioms Acc. -uos-ius -iuos-ius -as-ias -ias-ias Ins. -ais-iais -iais-iais -os-iomis -ios-iomis Loc. -uos-iuose -iuos-iuose -os-iose -ios-iose

Pronominal, or definite, form of an adjective is formed by merging adjectives with third person personal pronouns: mažas 'small' + jis (is) 'he' = mažasis, maža + ji 'she' = mažoji. An example: mažasis princas 'the little prince' (the name of the novella is Mažasis princas – The Little Prince). And a normal form: mažas princas 'a little prince'. Several forms have not only a pronoun added, but have different respective to non-pronominal adjectives ending syllable – longer sound retained: feminine singular nominative -o-ji, masculine singular instrumental and plural accusative, respectively -uo-ju, -uos-ius (the respective forms of a pronoun jis are juo, juos) and one with ogonek, feminine singular instrumental: -ą-ja, -ią-ja; or has a sound -m- not doubled: masculine singular dative and locative, masculine plural dative, feminine plural dative and instrumental, for example -a-jam, -a-jame, -ies-iems, not non-existing -am-jam, -ame-jame, -iems-iems.

Examples

	geras = good				gražus = beautiful				vidutinis = middle
	masculine		feminine		masculine		feminine		masculine		feminine
	singular	plural	singular	plural	singular	plural	singular	plural	singular	plural	singular	plural
Nominative	geras	geri	gera	geros	gražus	gražūs	graži	gražios	vidutinis	vidutiniai	vidutinė	vidutinės
Genitive	gero	gerų	geros	gerų	gražaus	gražių	gražios	gražių	vidutinio	vidutinių	vidutinės	vidutinių
Dative	geram	geriems	gerai	geroms	gražiam	gražiems	gražiai	gražioms	vidutiniam	vidutiniams	vidutinei	vidutinėms
Accusative	gerą	gerus	gerą	geras	gražų	gražius	gražią	gražias	vidutinį	vidutinius	vidutinę	vidutines
Instrumental	geru	gerais	gera	geromis	gražiu	gražiais	gražia	gražiomis	vidutiniu	vidutiniais	vidutine	vidutinėmis
Locative	gerame	geruose	geroje	gerose	gražiame	gražiuose	gražioje	gražiose	vidutiniame	vidutiniuose	vidutinėje	vidutinėse

Pronouns

The personal pronouns aš (I), tu (you) jis (he, it), ji (she, it) and the reflexive pronoun savęs are declined as follows:

			Nominative	Accusative	Genitive	Dative	Instrumental	Locative
Singular	1st person		aš	mane	manęs	man	manimi	manyje
	2nd person		tu	tave	tavęs	tau	tavimi	tavyje
	3rd person	Masculine	jis	jį	jo	jam	juo	jame
		Feminine	ji	ją	jos	jai	ja	joje
	Reflexive pronoun		–	save	savęs	sau	savimi	savyje
Dual	1st person	Masculine	mudu		mudviejų	mudviem		mudviese
		Feminine	mudvi
	2nd person	Masculine	judu		judviejų	judviem		judviese
		Feminine	judvi
	3rd person	Masculine	juodu or jiedu	juodu		jiedviem		juodviese
		Feminine	jiedvi			jodviem		jiedviese
Plural	1st person		mes	mus	mūsų	mums	mumis	mumyse
	2nd person		jūs	jus	jūsų	jums	jumis	jumyse
	3rd person	Masculine	jie	juos	jų	jiems	jais	juose
		Feminine	jos	jas		joms	jomis	jose

Note that the table contains only the objective genitive of pronouns aš, tu, savęs. The possessive genitives of these words are mano, tavo and savo respectively. Compare jis manęs laukia – 'he waits for me' and mano draugas – 'my friend' ('friend' is in masculine), but in jis mūsų laukia – 'he waits for us' and mūsų draugas – 'our friend', the two genitives coincide as in almost any word.

Irregular declension

Duktė – daughter, and sesuo – sister, are the only two feminine words of the fifth declension, they have the suffix -er- in the other cases. One word, moteris – woman, female, is both of the fifth and the third declensions, because it has variant genitive singular, both variants of which (-s and -ies) are equally apt, and it has a gen. pl. -ų. Two more words, dieveris m (older) – brother-in-law, and obelis f – apple tree, are the same case as moteris. The word dieveris, -ies (-ers) m, having more close meaning to a proper one, possibly has the fifth-type-like masculine singular instrumental (dieveriu), which is taken from the first declension, while the words of the third declension have -imi (dantimi, vagimi), without a gender distinction. But -imi is normal as well for the masculine nouns of the fifth declension, for example – akmenimi / akmeniu.

A word šuo – dog, differs from the other -uo words in that, that its stem is mixed with the suffix -uo and it consequently does not have the suffix -en- in the other cases (š-uo, akm-uo; šu-n-į, akm-en-į), its singular instrumental normal ending is of the third type (šunimi; that can be understood as a part of a meaning: more like an indefinite gender) and its accentuation paradigm is fourth, the sole case for the -uo words.

Mėnuo – month, moon, is of the first declension -is type, the only fifth type form is one of the two equal variants of singular nominative: mėnuo (other is mėnesis); genitive is mėnesio etc.

The word žmogus – man, human, historically had the nominative singular žmuo (compare Latin homō). Today žmogus is declined in the fourth paradigm in singular (žmogus, žmogaus etc.) and in the third -ė paradigm in plural (žmonės, žmonių etc.).

The words pats m, pati f – one/my/him/her/itself (also noun meanings: husband and wife) have also peculiarities. The ending -i (f., sg. nom.) is present only in two words: pati and marti – daughter-in-law. Pats (< patis) is of the third adjectival declensional type, but the singular nominative is different (-s < -is), plural nominative is -ys and the singular genitive -ies, like in nouns of the third declension. Its sg. gen. is also often said pačio.

The words of the third declension (-is, -ies) have either -ių or -ų in the genitive plural. The dative singular, similarly to the fifth declensional type, differs depending on the gender (-iai f, -iui m), the instrumental singular, differently from the fifth type, is the same for both genders. One noun of the third type, petys, peties, has the sg. nom. ending with a long i: -ys. Some of the words having the suffix -uonis (there are few of such words) have parallel forms in the other declensions: palikuonis, -ies (common gender) and palikuonis, -io m, palikuonė, -ės f. Such change can happen after the change of an accent place: if the word is accented on the ending -is, then the change of declension (-is, -ies > -is, -io) does not occur in speech, and if the accent moves from the ending to the stem in singular nominative, then the change of declension sometimes occurs. For most of -uonis words, declining in the first declension is considered to be a mistake.

Shifts in declension

There are few words which are sometimes declined mistakenly in other declensions. But some of the shifts are not rare: a word pats besides sg. gen. paties is often said pačio and these two forms of sg. gen. are equal. Some words have parallel forms from other declensions with a little change in a meaning: dukra, dukros; sesė, sesės; palikuonis, -io, palikuonė, -ės. The forms sesė and dukra are more like unformal, than duktė, -ers and sesuo, -ers. For the word moteris the form motera were existent in dialects, but it is, differently from dukra, sesė cases, only a formal shift of declension without a meaning variation and such word would be perceived as a vernacularism and obsolete.

The forms from the two more declensions sometimes occur in a speech for the masculine words of the fifth declension: of the third and of the first declensions. Similar case is with the masculine words of the third declension – they are sometimes declined in the first declension (because singular nominative is the same). Such a shift is a mistake of declension. For example, a word akmuo, akmens can have the forms (third d.) (sg. nom., sg. gen.) akmenis, akmenies – more like older dialectal not used widely and a little likely to be heard in a speech – and (first d.) akmenis, akmenio; akmenys, akmenio; akmenas, akmeno – sometimes said by the speakers, who don't know the fifth declension well, for example, children. But these variants are possibly also present as dialectal forms. The other examples which are sometimes used by some, but not fit are: rudenio (rudens), šunio (šuns, šunies) etc. Examples of migrants from the third declension (-is, -ies) are, for example, dantis, dančio instead of dantis, danties. Such use like akmenas, akmeno; dančio; šunio; rudenio; is a clear mistake and is not accepted. A case of petys, pečio instead of petys, peties is also a mistake, but petys is the only one -ys (instead of -is) form declined in the third declension and consequentely tends to be declined like all other -ys words (of the first declension).

For the word mėnuo / mėnesis the proper form is sg. gen. mėnesio etc. (sg. gen. mėnesies is known in dialects). The genitive of the word pats is paties, but it is also frequently said pačio. Some of the cases of the word pats are of the third adjectival declension, some – sg. nom. -s (< -is), sg. gen. -ies (also -io, like in respective adjectives) and pl. nom. -ys – of the third noun declension.

Some of the nouns occur in another declensional type only in one case. All these cases are more like dialectal and older. For example, seseris can be said seseria in dialects, but the genitive remains sesers; (older) motė, moters, but also a migrant form: (older) motė, motės. The dialectal and older form sesuva (a type of sesuo), for example, can remain in the original paradigm with sg. gen. sesers or shift to the -a declension: sesuva, sesuvos.

Tables

In the tables below the words from the fifth and the third declensions are compared with the words from the other declensions. Table cells with the correct forms written are coloured (not white). In the right outside column the variant forms within the fifth and third declensions are given. They are older, dialectal and not used or used only in small areas. For example, among the variant forms of singular nominative sesuo within the fifth declension are archaic sesuoj, sesuon, sesuva. The first column is for the words of the fifth (-uo, -ens / -ers) declension and the second for the third (-is, -ies). These declensions are very similar. The words are given in the same column, when the forms are same. The column to the right from these, are for the forms of the first (-as, -is, -ys, -ias) and second (-a (-ia), -ė) declensions; one word, žmogus, is of the fourth in singular.

The proper forms of the word mėnuo / mėnesis is not of the fifth-third declension and the same is with the word žmogus, which historically had the form žmuo. A word judesys – move, is included for comparison with mėnesis (they have the same suffix -es- and are declined in the same declension, except sg. nom. of mėnuo / mėnesis).

Dukra and sesė are variants of duktė, sesuo of a different declension and meaning – dukra and sesė are more like informal.

A word palikuonis has two forms of different declensions: one of the third (original) – palikuonis, and other shifted to the first declension – palikuonis, -io palikuonė, -ės. There are few of -uonis words and only several of them have forms other than the original declension, but in a speech some of them are also sometimes declined in the first declension, for example, geluonis, -ies c – sting, can be understood as geluonis, -io m.

For the -uo words (except mėnuo) and the -is words (like dantis) the shift to the other declensions would be a mistake. When the shift is from the fifth to the third declension it can be understood as minor variation, but the shift to the first declension would be a clear mistake (however, some of the cases are the same, and that is one of the reasons why the shift can occur). But in speech some of the speakers say, for example, rudenio instead of rudens (this can come on dialectal base), dantis, dančio instead of dantis, danties. Besides these cases, there are shifts, which occur commonly in a speech: pačio instead of paties, pečio instead of peties (the original variants are not used less). A word šuo can also be said šuva (one of dialectal variants).

The words rūgštìs f 3 (1) – acid, and rū̃gštis 2 – sourness; acidity, are two words of different declensions, their meanings are different, but related.

Nominative III-V declensions I, II, IV declensions other forms of words of III-V d. obelìs f 3a móteris 1 móterà 1, 3a duktė̃ 3b dukterìs 3b dukrà 4 (2) sesuõ 3b seserìs 3b (1) seserià 3b, sẽsė 2 (4) sesuõj, sesuõn, sesuvà dieverìs 3a, 1 díeveris, dieverỹs 3a mė́nuo 1 (3a) mė́nesis 1 mė́nesis 1, mėnesỹs 3a mė́nuoj judesỹs 3b žmuo žmogùs 4 žmuõj vanduõ 3a vandenìs vandenỹs, vándenis vanduõj, vanduõn, vanduvà, vandvà akmuõ 3b akmenìs akmenỹs, ãkmenis, ãkmenas akmuõj, ãkmuo, akmuvà šuõ 4 šunìs šùnis šuõj, šuõn, šuvà dantìs m 4 dañtis pàts m 4 patis patì f 4, pačià palikuonìs 34b palikuõnis m, ė f 2 rūgštìs f 3 (1) rū̃gštis 2; rū́gštė 1 (3)

Genitive III-V declensions I, II, IV declensions other forms obel̃s obeliẽs obelès móters móteries moterès dukter̃s dukteriẽs dukrõs seser̃s seseriẽs sẽsės seserès, -erė̃s diever̃s dieveriẽs díeverio mėnaũs mė́nesies mė́nesio jùdesio žmogaũs vandeñs vandeniẽs, vandiniẽs vándenio, -inio, vándnio vandenès akmeñs akmeniẽs, ãkmenio, ãkmeno akmenès šuñs šuniẽs šùnio šunès dantiẽs dañčio patiẽs pãčio pačiõs palikuoniẽs palikuõnio, ės rūgštiẽs rū̃gščio; rū́gštės

Dative III-V d. I, II, IV d. other óbeliai móteriai moterai dùkteriai dùkrai sẽseriai sẽsei sẽser, -i, -ie (-iẽ) díeveriui díeveriui mė́nesiui mė́nesiui jùdesiui žmõgui vándeniui   ãkmeniui ãkmenui šùniui šùniui šùni dañčiui dañčiui pačiám pãčiui pãčiai / pačiái pãlikuoniui palikuõniui, ei rū́gščiai rū̃gščiui; rū́gštei

Accusative III-V d. I, II, IV d. óbelį móterį dùkterį dùkrą sẽserį sẽsę díeverį díeverį mė́nesį mė́nesį jùdesį žmunį žmõgų vándenį ãkmenį akmeną šùnį dañtį pãtį pãčią pãlikuonį palikuõnį, ę rū́gštį rū̃gštį; rū́gštę

Instrumental III-V d. I, II, IV d. obelimì óbelia móterimi móteria mótera dukterimì dùkteria dukrà seserimì sẽseria sesè dieverimì díeveriu díeveriu mė́nesimi mė́nesiu mė́nesiu jùdesiu žmogumì vandenimì vándeniu vándeniu akmenimì ãkmeniu ãkmenu šunimì šuniù dantimì dančiù pačiù pačiù pačià palikuonimì palikuõniu, e rūgštimì rū́gščia rūgščiù; rū́gšte

Locative III-V d. I, II, IV d. obelyje móteryje dukteryjè dukrojè seseryjè sẽsėje dieveryjè díeveryje mė́nesyje judesyjè žmogujè vandenyjè akmenyjè šunyjè dantyjè pačiamè pačiojè palikuonyjè palikuõnyje, ėje rūgštyjè rū̃gštyje; rū́gštėje

Vocative III-V d. I, II, IV d. obeliẽ móterie dukteriẽ dùkra seseriẽ sẽse dieveriẽ díeveri mė́nesie mė́nesi, -iẽ judesỹ žmogaũ vandeniẽ vándeni, -ỹ akmeniẽ akmenỹ, -i, ãkmenai šuniẽ šùniau, šùni dantiẽ dañčiau, dañti patiẽ pãčia, patì palikuoniẽ palikuõni, e rūgštiẽ rū̃gšti; rū́gšte

Nominative III-V d. I-II d. óbelys móterys dùkterys dùkros sẽserys sẽsės sẽsers, -eres, -erės díeverys díeveriai mė́nesys mė́nesiai judesiaĩ žmónys žmónės žmónes, žmónies vándenys vandeniaĩ, -enaĩ vandiniaĩ, -inaĩ vándens, -enes, -enės ãkmenys akmeniaĩ, akmenaĩ ãkmenes, -ens, -enie šùnys šuniai šùnes, šùnės dañtys dañčiai pãtys pãčios pãlikuonys palikuõniai, ės rū́gštys rū̃gščiai; rū́gštės

Genitive III-V d. I-II d. obelų̃ obelių̃ móterų dukterų̃ dukrų̃ seserų̃ seserių̃ sẽsių dieverų̃ dieverių̃ díeverių mė́nesių mė́nesių judesių̃ žmonių̃ vandenų̃ vandenių̃ vándenų, -ų̃ akmenų̃ akmenių̃ akmenių̃ šunų̃ šunių̃ šunių̃ dantų̃ pačių̃ pačių̃ palikuonių̃ palikuõnių rūgščių̃ rū̃gščių; rū́gščių

Dative III-V d. I-II d. obelìms móterims móteroms dukterìms dukróms seserìms sẽsėms dieverìms díeveriams mė́nesims mė́nesiams judesiáms žmonė́ms vandenìms vandenáms akmenìms akmenáms šunìms šùniams dantìms dañčiams patíems pačióms palikuonìms palikuõniams, ėms rūgštìms rū̃gščiams; rū́gštėms

Accusative III-V d. I-II d. óbelis móteris dùkteris dukràs sẽseris sesès díeveris díeverius mė́nesis mė́nesius jùdesius žmónes vándenis vándenius ãkmenis ãkmenus šunìs šuniùs dantìs dančiùs pačiùs pačiàs palikuonìs palikuoniùs, ès rū́gštis rūgščiùs; rū́gštes

Instrumental III-V d. I-II d. obelimìs móterimis dukterimìs dukróms seserimìs sẽsėms dieverimìs díeveriais mė́nesimis mė́nesiais judesiaĩs žmonėmìs vandenimìs vandenaĩs, -iaĩs akmenimìs akmenaĩs, -iaĩs šunimìs šùniais dantimìs dañčiais pačiaĩs pačiomìs palikuonimìs palikuõniais, ėmis rūgštimìs rū̃gščiais; rū́gštėmis

Locative III-V d. I-II d. obelysè móteryse dukterysè dukrosè seserysè sẽsėse dieverysè díeveriuose mė́nesyse mė́nesiuose judesiuosè žmonėsè vandenysè vandenuosè akmenysè akmenuosè šunysè šuniuose dantysè dančiuose pačiuosè pačiosè palikuonysè palikuõniuose, ėse rūgštysè rū̃gščiuose; rū́gštėse

Declension by the paradigms

a-paradigm

The a-paradigm is used to decline:

• nouns of the first declension
• adjectives of the first declension (masculine forms)
• adjectives of the third declension (masculine forms, palatalized sub-paradigm)
• all pronouns (masculine forms), except the pronoun pats – 'own, self'
• all passive (the main sub-paradigm) or active (the palatalized sub-paradigm) participles (masculine, - active participles have their specific nominatives)
• all ordinal numbers (masculine forms, adjective inflections)
• significant part of cardinal numbers (masculine, see the list below)

The a-paradigm is the most complex declension paradigm in Lithuanian. It has two different sub-paradigms, one of which is the main paradigm. The second sub-paradigm is called "palatalized", which means that the last consonant of the stem before the inflection is always palatalized. Note that in this case the palatalization mark (the letter "i") is marked as a part of the inflection. The a-paradigm is masculine.

Also note that inflection in the a-paradigm is different for nouns, adjectives, and pronouns in some cases. However, not every pronoun's declension uses the inflections from the "pronoun" column in the table below. Some pronouns, as well as every numeral of the a-paradigm, use the inflections from the "adjective" column.

The main sub-paradigm

• Tas - 'that', rudas - 'brown', namas - 'house'.

	singular			plural
	pronoun	adjective	noun	pronoun	adjective	noun
Nominative	tas	rudas	namas	tie	rudi	namai
Genitive	to	rudo	namo	tų	rudų	namų
Dative	tam	rudam	namui	tiems	rudiems	namams
Accusative	tą	rudą	namą	tuos	rudus	namus
Instrumental	tuo	rudu	namu	tais	rudais	namais
Locative	tame	rudame	name	tuose	ruduose	namuose
Illative	tan	rudan	naman	tuosna	ruduosna	namuosna
Vocative			name			namai

Other features:

• the -e ending for the vocative singular applies only to common nouns; proper nouns take the ending -ai. So, for example Jonas = John [nominative] and Jonai! = John! [vocative])

The palatalized sub-paradigm

• Šis - 'this', žalias - 'green', uosis - 'ash' (a tree).

	singular			plural
	pronoun	adjective	noun	pronoun	adjective	noun
Nominative	šis	žalias	uosis	šie	žali	uosiai
Genitive	šio	žalio	uosio	šių	žalių	uosių
Dative	šiam	žaliam	uosiui	šiems	žaliems	uosiams
Accusative	šį	žalią	uosį	šiuos	žalius	uosius
Instrumental	šiuo	žaliu	uosiu	šiais	žaliais	uosiais
Locative	šiame	žaliame	uosyje	šiuose	žaliuose	uosiuose
Illative	šian	žalian	uosin	šiuosna	žaliuosna	uosiuosna
Vocative			uosi			uosiai

Other features:

• The inflection of noun for singular nominative can be -is, -ys or -ias, depending on word. Pronouns however always have the inflection -is, but adjectives never have -ys in this case.
• The inflection in singular accusative depends on the inflection in singular nominative. If the singular nominative ends with -ias, a word has -ią in singular accusative, otherwise it has the inflection -į.
• Significant part of adjectives, that end with -is in the singular nominative (adjectives of the third declension), have noun inflections in plural.
• The inflection in singular vocative follows the inflection of the singular nominative too:

nominative	vocative
-is	-i
-ys	-y
-ias	-e or -iau

Pronouns

• Part of pronouns (kas - 'who, what', kažkas - 'somebody, something', tas - 'that', šitas - 'this' etc.) use the main sub-paradigm, but others (jis - 'he', šis - 'this', kuris- 'which' etc.) the palatalized.
• Pronouns koks - 'what' (quality), kažkoks - 'somewhat', toks - 'such', šitoks - 'such'(demonstrative), kitoks - 'different, other' have the inflection -s instead of the regular -is in the singular nominative.
• Pronoun kitas - 'another, other' is declined using adjectival inflections.
• There are few pronouns, that don't use the a-paradigm:
  • Personal pronouns aš - 'I', tu - 'you, thou', mes - 'we', jūs - 'you' (plural), that formally are of the indefinite gender, each has its own specific paradigm.
  • Pronoun pats - 'own, self' uses the i-paradigm.
  • Note, that pronouns kas - 'who, what' or kažkas - 'somebody, something', that have the indefinite gender only, do use the a-paradigm.

Numbers

• The a-paradigm (the main sub-paradigm) is used with all ordinal numbers in masculine and with all collective numbers.
• The a-paradigm (the palatalized sub-paradigm) is used with all numbers-for-plural-only in masculine.
• Cardinal numbers that use the adjectival a-paradigm (the palatalized sub-paradigm) in plural (as they're plural only) are:

keturi - 'four'

penki - 'five'

šeši - 'six'

septyni - 'seven'

aštuoni - 'eight'

devyni - 'nine'

• Cardinal numbers that use inflections of nouns of the a-paradigm both in singular and in plural are:

šimtas - 'a hundred'

tūkstantis - 'a thousand'

milijonas - 'a million'

milijardas - 'a billion'

...

and other internationally accepted words for big numbers.

• Some cardinal numbers have their own specific paradigms:
  • a number du - 'two' uses a paradigm of the dual number.
  • a number trys - 'three' uses a specific paradigm, similar to the i-paradigm.
  • a number dešimt - 'ten' is undeclinable (however it's a shortened word from dešimtis - 'ten', which is of the i-paradigm).

List of numbers, that don't use the a-paradigm

Here is a list of numerals that don't use the a-paradigm in the masculine. See the o-paradigm for feminine numbers.

du - 'two' (dual number, has a special paradigm)

trys - 'three' (the i-paradigm)

vienuolika - '11'

dvylika - '12'

trylika - '13'

keturiolika - '14'

penkiolika - '15'

šešiolika - '16'

septyniolika - '17'

aštuoniolika - '18'

devyniolika - '19' (numbers 'vienuolika' - 'devyniolika' are singular words of the o-paradigm)

dešimt - 'ten' (undeclinable, sometimes "dešimtis" as a word of the i-paradigm)

Nominatives of the active participles

	singular		plural
	short	long	short	long
Present tense	-ąs	-antis	-ą	-antys
Present tense (palatalized)	-iąs	-iantis	-ią	-iantys
Past tense	-ęs		-ę
Future tense	-siąs	-siantis	-sią	-siantys

Notes:

1. Short forms of the nominatives skip the active participle suffix -(i)ant-, e. g.
   miegantis 'sleeping' (masculine singular, the long form) - miegąs (idem, the short form),
   sakantys 'saying' (masculine plural, the long form) - saką (idem, the short form).
   This is valid in the masculine nominative only.
2. The past tense doesn't have the long forms.

u-paradigm

The u-paradigm is used to decline:

• nouns of the fourth declension
• adjectives of the second declension (their masculine forms)

The u-paradigm has two different sub-paradigms, the main and the palatalized. Note, that in this case the palatalization mark (the letter "i") is marked as a part of the inflection. The u-paradigm is masculine.

Inflections of the u-paradigm differ between nouns and adjectives in some cases.

The main sub-paradigm

• Drąsus - 'brave', sūnus - 'son'.

	singular		plural
	adjective	noun	adjective	noun
Nominative	drąsus	sūnus	drąsūs	sūnūs
Genitive	drąsaus	sūnaus	drąsių	sūnų
Dative	drąsiam	sūnui	drąsiems	sūnums
Accusative	drąsų	sūnų	drąsius	sūnus
Instrumental	drąsiu	sūnumi	drąsiais	sūnumis
Locative	drąsiame	sūnuje	drąsiuose	sūnuose
Illative	drąsian	sūnun	drąsiuosna	sūnuosna
Vocative		sūnau		sūnūs

The palatalized sub-paradigm

• Narsus - 'brave, hardy', karalius - 'king'.

	singular		plural
	adjective	noun	adjective	noun
Nominative	narsus	karalius	narsūs	karaliai
Genitive	narsaus	karaliaus	narsių	karalių
Dative	narsiam	karaliui	narsiems	karaliams
Accusative	narsų	karalių	narsius	karalius
Instrumental	narsiu	karaliumi	narsiais	karaliais
Locative	narsiame	karaliuje	narsiuose	karaliuose
Illative	narsian	karaliun	narsiuosna	karaliuosna
Vocative		karaliau		karaliai

Note that:

• The sub-paradigm for adjectives is fully identical with the main sub-paradigm and is mixed-type, with some inflections palatalized and others not.
• The plural of nouns in this sub-paradigm is identical with the plural of nouns of the a-paradigm (the palatalized sub-paradigm).

o-paradigm

The o-paradigm is used to decline:

• part of nouns of the second declension (whose singular nominative ends with -a or -i)
• adjectives of the first declension (their feminine forms)
• adjectives of the second declension (their feminine forms, the palatalized sub-paradigm)
• all pronouns (their feminine forms)
• all passive (the main sub-paradigm) or active (the palatalized sub-paradigm) participles (feminine)
• all ordinal numbers (feminine forms, the main sub-paradigm)
• cardinal numbers from vienuolika - 'eleven', dvylika - 'twelve' to devyniolika - 'nineteen' (in singular)
• (feminine) cardinal numbers, that are used in plural, except a number trys - 'three'.

The main sub-paradigm

• Ta - 'that', ruda - 'brown', meška - 'bear'.

	singular	plural
Nominative	ta ruda meška	tos rudos meškos
Genitive	tos rudos meškos	tų rudų meškų
Dative	tai rudai meškai	toms rudoms meškoms
Accusative	tą rudą mešką	tas rudas meškas
Instrumental	ta ruda meška	tomis rudomis meškomis
Locative	toje rudoje meškoje	tose rudose meškose
Illative	ton rudon meškon	tosna rudosna meškosna
Vocative	meška	meškos

The palatalized sub-paradigm

• Ši - 'this', stipri - 'strong, potent', galia - 'power'.

	singular	plural
Nominative	ši stipri galia	šios stiprios galios
Genitive	šios stiprios galios	šių stiprių galių
Dative	šiai stipriai galiai	šioms stiprioms galioms
Accusative	šią stiprią galią	šias stiprias galias
Instrumental	šia stipria galia	šiomis stipriomis galiomis
Locative	šioje stiprioje galioje	šiose stipriose galiose
Illative	šion stiprion galion	šiosna stipriosna galiosna
Vocative	galia	galios

Other features:

• Words of the palatalized sub-paradigm may have -i or -ia in the singular nominative. This doesn't affect other inflections.
• Adjectives of the first declension have -ia, but adjectives of the second declension have -i in the singular nominative.

Pronouns

• Part of pronouns (ta - 'that', šita - 'this' etc.) use the main sub-paradigm, but others (ji - 'he', ši - 'this', kuri- 'which' etc.) the palatalized.
• There are few pronouns, that don't use the o-paradigm:
  • Personal pronouns aš - 'I', tu - 'you, thou', mes - 'we', jūs - 'you' (plural), that are of the indefinite gender, each has its own specific paradigm.
  • Pronouns kas - 'who, what' or kažkas - 'somebody, something', that have the indefinite gender only, use the a-paradigm.

Numbers

• The i-paradigm (the main sub-paradigm) is used with all ordinal numbers in feminine.
• The a-paradigm (the palatalized sub-paradigm) is used with all numbers-for-plural-only in feminine.
• Cardinal numbers, that use the o-paradigm (the palatalized sub-paradigm) in feminine plural (as they're plural only) are:

keturios - 'four'

penkios - 'five'

šešios - 'six'

septynios - 'seven'

aštuonios - 'eight'

devynios - 'nine'

• Cardinal numbers, that use the o-paradigm (the palatalized sub-paradigm) in feminine singular are:

vienuolika - '11'

dvylika - '12'

trylika - '13'

keturiolika - '14'

penkiolika - '15'

šešiolika - '16'

septyniolika - '17'

aštuoniolika - '18'

devyniolika - '19'

• • Numbers vienuolika to devyniolika have the inflexion -a instead of -ą in the (singular) accusative.
• Some cardinal numbers have their specific paradigms:
  • a number dvi - 'two' (feminine) uses a paradigm of the dual number.
  • a number trys - 'three' uses a specific paradigm, similar to the i-paradigm.

ė-paradigm

The ė-paradigm is used to decline:

• part of nouns of the second declension (that end with -ė in the singular nominative)
• adjectives of the third declension (their feminine forms)

The words in the table:

• Didelė - 'big', upė - 'river'.

	singular	plural
Nominative	didelė upė	didelės upės
Genitive	didelės upės	didelių upių
Dative	didelei upei	didelėms upėms
Accusative	didelę upę	dideles upes
Instrumental	didele upe	didelėmis upėmis
Locative	didelėje upėje	didelėse upėse
Illative	didelėn upėn	didelėsna upėsna
Vocative	upe	upės

Note, that the inflection of the plural genitive is palatalized (-ių).

i-paradigm

The i-paradigm is used to decline:

• nouns of the third declension, which are mostly feminine (dantis - 'tooth', debesis - 'cloud', vagis - thief and few nouns that end with -uonis in the singular nominative are masculine exceptions)
• nouns of the fifth declension, which are mostly masculine (duktė - 'daughter', sesuo - 'sister' are feminine exceptions)
• pronoun pats - 'own, self' (masculine form)
• number trys - 'three' (has the plural only)

All these words use the unsuffixed sub-paradigm, except the nouns of the first declension, which apply the suffixed sub-paradigm

Unsuffixed sub-paradigm

The words in the table:

• pilis - 'castle', vagis - 'thief'.

	singular		plural
	feminine	masculine	feminine	masculine
Nominative	pilis	vagis	pilys	vagys
Genitive	pilies	vagies	pilių	vagių
Dative	piliai	vagiui	pilims	vagims
Accusative	pilį	vagį	pilis	vagis
Instrumental	pilimi	vagimi	pilimis	vagimis
Locative	pilyje	vagyje	pilyse	vagyse
Illative	pilin	vagin	pilysna	vagysna
Vocative	pilie	vagie	pilys	vagys

Other features:

• Many words have -ų instead of -ių in the plural genitive, for example, žąsis - žąsų 'goose', naktis-naktų 'night', debesis - debesų 'cloud'.

Irregularities:

• Words pats - 'own, self' and trys - 'three' are declined as following:

	singular	plural
	pronoun	number	pronoun
Nominative	pats	trys	patys
Genitive	paties	trijų	pačių
Dative	pačiam	trims	patiems
Accusative	patį	tris	pačius
Instrumental	pačiu	trimis	pačiais
Locative	pačiame	m. trijuose / f. trijose	pačiuose
Illative	pačian	m. trijuosna / f. trijosna	pačiuosna

Note, that the word pats is declined only in masculine in this table. Its feminine form pati is declined with the o-paradigm regularly.

Suffixed sub-paradigm

The words in the table:

• akmuo - 'stone', sesuo - 'sister'.

	singular		plural
	masculine	feminine	masculine	feminine
Nominative	akmuo	sesuo	akmenys	seserys
Genitive	akmens	sesers	akmenų	seserų
Dative	akmeniui	seseriai	akmenims	seserims
Accusative	akmenį	seserį	akmenis	seseris
Instrumental	akmeniu	seserimi	akmenimis	seserimis
Locative	akmenyje	seseryje	akmenyse	seseryse
Illative	akmenin	seserin	akmenysna	seserysna
Vocative	akmenie	seserie	akmenys	seserys

Other features:

• Other cases than the singular nominative always have a suffix -en- for masculine words and -er- for feminine words. There are only two feminine words using the suffixed subparadigm, duktė - 'daughter' and sesuo - 'sister'.

Irregularities:

• A word duktė - 'daughter' has the inflexion -ė instead of -uo in singular nominative.
• A word šuo - 'dog' has a suffix -un- instead of -en-. The root of this word formally is a single š-, but historically it was šu-, that subsequently amalgamated with the suffix, and the further cases are šuns, šuniui, šunį and so on.

Other:

• A word sesuo - 'sister' has a synonym sesė, that's used in vocative ('sese!') more often than the first ('seserie!'). The synonym sesė is of the ė-paradigm.

Dual number

The dual number has its specific inflections, that are similar with plural inflections with some specific differences:

• Nominative, accusative or vocative: masculine words end with -(i)u, feminine with -i
• Genitive and locatives are the same as in the plural.
• Dative has the inflection of the plural dative, but without the final -s, so -(i)ams, -iems, -(i)oms, -ėms, -ims in the plural give -(i)am, -iem, -(i)om, -ėm, -im in the dual respectively
• Instrumental has the same inflections as the dual dative, but they are pronounced in different intonation.

Other features:

• It depends on the paradigm, whether -(i) in the brackets is used or not. The masculine i-paradigm always has -iu as the nominative inflection.

Irregularities:

• A word du - 'two' has three modifications of the stem, d- (in nominative and accusative), dv- (in dative and instrumental) and dviej- (in genitive and locatives)
• Words mudu - 'we (both)', judu - 'you (both)', juodu - 'they (both)' (masculine), jiedvi - 'they (both)' (feminine), as well as šiuodu - 'these (both)', tuodu - 'that (both)', abudu - 'both' and their feminine counterparts have a specific paradigm, based on declension of a word du - 'two' (see an example in the paragraph about pronouns).

Shortened inflections

Inflections, that have two or more syllables, are often shortened in Lithuanian, eliding the final short vowel. Shortened inflections are especially used in the spoken language, while in the written language full inflections are preferred. The elision occur in:

• Singular locative. Inflections -ame, -yje, -oje, -ėje may be shortened to -am, -y(j), -oj, -ėj. Note, that a one-syllable inflection -e of the a-paradigm isn't a subject of the rule.
• Plural instrumental. Feminine inflections -omis, -ėmis, -imis may be shortened to -om, -ėm, -im. These inflections coincide with respective inflections of the dual number.
• Plural dative has one-syllable inflections, but sometimes they are shortened, skipping the final -s, to -am, -iem, -om, -ėm, -im. These inflections coincide with respective inflections of the dual number too.
• Plural locative. A masculine inflections -uose may be shortened to -uos. What however doesn't pertain to inflections -yse, -ose, -ėse, whose shortened variants would coincide with inflections of other cases.

Also there's just one occasion, when the whole one-syllable inflection may be skipped. This may be done with feminine active participles of the past tense (or of the past iterative tense) in the singular nominative. So a word dariusi - 'who was making, who has made' can be said as darius. Note, that this shortened form coincides with the sub-participle of the past tense.

History

Noun declension inter-linguistic comparison

The declension of Lithuanian nouns of the different declensional patterns are given compared with Latin, Sanskrit, Latvian (in a separate section), Old Prussian, Gothic, Ancient Greek and Russian. Because Old Prussian has left a limited literature with not all the cases of all the stems employed, the Prussian samples are not full in the tables (the cases which existed are most probably already reconstructed from various data by linguists). At the same time there were fewer cases in Prussian than in modern common Lithuanian and mixing the declension patterns was more common, what could develop in a context of a slow decline in the use of Old Prussian, as the Prussians adopted the languages of the others, particularly German. Lithuanian declension varied in dialects.

Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc. Inst. Loc. Voc.   Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc. Inst. Loc.

wolf father day man wolf vil̃kas vṛ́kas lupus tavs dags ἄνθρωπος волк vil̃ko vṛ́kasya lupī tavas dagis ἀνθρώπου во́лка vil̃kui vṛ́kāya lupō tavu daga ἀνθρώπῳ во́лку vil̃ką vṛ́kam lupum tavan dag ἄνθρωπον во́лка vilkù vṛ́keṇa (lupō) во́лком vilkè vṛ́ke (in lupō /-ī) в во́лке vil̃ke vṛ́ka lupe dag ἄνθρωπε (во́лче)   vilkaĩ lupī tavai dagōs ἄνθρωποι во́лки vilkų̃ vṛ́kāṇām lupōrum tavan dagē ἀνθρώπων волко́в vilkáms vṛ́kebhyas lupīs tavamans dagam ἀνθρώποις волка́м vilkùs vṛ́kān lupōs tavans dagans ἀνθρώπους волко́в vilkaĩs vṛ́kais (lupīs) волка́ми vilkuosè vṛ́keṣu (in lupīs) в волка́х

language star gift army country kalbà lingua lauksno giba στρατιά страна́ kalbõs linguae /-ās lauksnos gibōs στρατιᾶς страны́ kal̃bai linguae lauksnai gibái στρατιᾷ стране́ kal̃bą linguam lauksnan giba στρατιάν страну́ kalbà linguā страно́й kalbojè in linguā /-ae в стране́ kal̃ba lingua στρατιά (стра́нo)   kal̃bos linguae /-ās lauksnos gibōs στρατιαί стра́ны kalbų̃ linguārum lauksnun gibō στρατιῶν стран kalbóms linguīs /-ābus lauksnomans gibōm στρατιαῖς стра́нам kalbàs linguās lauksnans gibōs στρατιάς стра́ны kalbomìs linguīs /-ābus стра́нами kalbosè in linguīs в стра́нах

The first declension. Sg. nom. ends in -as, sg. acc. – in -ą. Latin words of this stem ends in -us in sg. nom., and -um in sg. acc. When these Latin endings succeeded a labial sound, their vowel was originally ŏ: equos – horse, equom; servos – slave, serf, servom. Sg. nom. in Prussian and Gothic is shortened: tavs, dags. Such shortening is present in western and northern Lithuanian dialects: tėvas, -o – father, and tėvs, -o; dagas, -o – heat of the sun (from degti – to burn), and dags, -o. In Prussian there existed only a shortened form, and it developed one step further in a part of the nouns: kaimis / kaimⁱs – village < kaims < kaimas (Lith. kaimas – village, kiemas – yard). There are no neuter nouns in Lithuanian and Latvian, differently from the other given here: Lith. butas – flat, living place, Prus. butan – the same meaning, Lat. aedificium – building. Lithuanian instrumental -u derives from an older -uo, what is seen, for example, in pronominal (definite) adjective forms, pronouns: gerù (nom. sg. gẽras – good) and gerúo-ju (nom. sg. geràsis – that good one), juõ (nom. sg. jis / is – he). Lithuanian diphthong uo corresponds to Latin ō. For dat. sg., an ending -uo is also known in dialects. Lithuanian acc. sg. and gen. pl. are written in the letters with an ogonek: ą and ų. An ogonek indicates that the sound is long. Historically these sounds were nasal: vilką < vilkan, vilkų < vilkun. The form with a sound -n is used in some places in north-west Samogitia today. Latin pl. dat.-abl. -īs corresponds to Ancient Greek pl. dat. -ois and Lithuanian pl. instr. -ais. Lithuanian sg. gen. corresponds to Slavic, for example, Lithuanian: vilko (also dial. vilkā) and Russian во́лка. Prussian sg. loc. was probably -ai, -ei: bītai (adverb) – in the evening, kvei – where; ^[1] compare Lith. namiẽ – at home (namè – in the house).

The second declension. Lithuanian and Prussian o denotes a long ō. Narrowed more, it becomes ū. When more open, it is ā; ā was used in Catechisms in Prussian, o – in Elbing vocabulary. The ą, ę correspond to ų, į in dialects of eastern Lithuania and acc. sg. is kalbų (kalbą), gėlį (gėlę) in these dialects. The case of -ų corresponds to Latvian and Slavic languages: nom. sg. liepa (Lith.) – linden, liepa (Latv.), ли́па / lipa (Rus.) and acc. sg. liepą and liepų (Lith.), liepu (Latv.), ли́пу / lipu (Rus.).

Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc. Inst. Loc. Voc.   Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc. Inst. Loc.

stone man m sharp point n name m man m heart n shepherd m name n akmuõ aśmā homō acūmen emen guma haírtō ποιμήν и́мя akmeñs aśmanas hominis acūminis emnis gumins haírtins ποιμένος и́мени ãkmeniui aśmane hominī acūminī emnei gumin haírtin ποιμένι и́мени ãkmenį aśmānam hominem acūmen emnin guman haírtō ποιμένα и́мя akmenimì aśmanā homine acūmine и́менем akmenyjè aśmani in homine /-ī in acūmine /-ī и́мени akmeniẽ aśman homō acūmen ποιμήν и́мя   ãkmenys aśmānas hominēs acūmina gumans haírtōna ποιμένες имена́ akmenų̃ aśmanām hominum acūminum gumanē haírtanē ποιμένων имён akmenìms aśmabhyas hominibus acūminibus gumam haírtam ποιμέσι(ν) имена́м ãkmenis aśmanas hominēs acūmina emnins gumans haírtōna ποιμένας имена́ akmenimìs aśmabhis hominibus acūminibus имена́ми akmenysè aśmasu in hominibus in acūminibus в имена́х

Fifth declension. Among variant declensional forms are known: sg. dat. -i, -ie: akmeni, akmenie, seseri, seserie. Sg. gen. akmenes, pl. nom. akmenes, akmens. In a case of Old Prussian emen – name, e is dropped in other than sg. nom. cases (sg. acc. emnin instead of emenin). A drop can similarly occur in other languages, for example: Lith. vanduo – water, sg. gen. variants: vandens, vandenies, vandinies, vandenio, vandinio, vandnio. Gothic wato n – water: pl. forms, for example, nom.-acc. watna.

Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc. Inst. Loc. Voc.   Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc. Inst. Loc.

castle f tower f trouble f wife f guest m city part f pilìs turris nautis qēns gasts πόλις часть piliẽs turris nauteis qēnáis gasts πόλεως ча́сти pìliai turrī nautei qēnái gasta πόλει ча́сти pìlį turrim nautin qēn gast πόλιν часть pilimì turrī ча́стью pilyjè in turrī в части́ piliẽ turris qēn gast πόλι (ча́сти)   pìlys turrēs nautis qēneis gasteis πόλεις ча́сти pilių̃ turrium qēnē gastē πόλεων часте́й pilìms turribus nautimans qēnim gastim πόλεσι частя́м pilìs turrēs /-īs nautins qēnins gastins πόλεις ча́сти pilimìs turribus частя́ми pilysè in turribus в частя́х

night f naktìs náktis nox naktiẽs náktyās noctis nãkčiai náktyai noctī nãktį náktim noctem naktimì náktyā (nocte) naktyjè náktau (in nocte) naktiẽ nákte nox   nãktys náktayas noctēs naktų̃ náktīnām noctium naktìms náktibhyas noctibus naktìs náktīs noctēs naktimìs náktibhis (noctibus)

The third declension.

Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc. Inst. Loc. Voc.   Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc. Inst. Loc.

top lake fount son fish son viršùs lacus apus sunus sūnús ἰχθύς сынъ viršaũs lacūs apus sunáus sūnós, sūnvàs ἰχθύος сыноу vir̃šui lacuī apu sunáu sūnáve / sūnvè ἰχθύϊ сынови vir̃šų lacum apun sunu sūnúm ἰχθύν сынъ viršumì lacū sūnúnā сынъмъ viršujè in lacū /-i sūnaú сыноу viršaũ lacus sunu sū́no ἰχθύ сыноу   vir̃šūs lacūs sunjus sūnávas ἰχθύες сынове viršų̃ lacuum suniwē sūnūnā́m (cf. dual sūnvóḥ) ἰχθύων сыновъ viršùms lacubus sunum sūnúbhyas ἰχθύσι сынъмъ viršùs lacūs apuns sununs sūnū́n ἰχθῦς сыны viršumìs lacubus sūnúbhis сынъми viršuosè in lacubus sūnúṣu сынъхъ

flower thing earth technique gėlė̃ rayís rēs zemē τέχνη gėlė̃s rayés / rayyàs reī zemēs τέχνης gė̃lei rayáye / rayyè reī zemei τέχνῃ gė̃lę rayím rem zemen τέχνην gėlè rayyā̀ (rē) gėlėjè rayaú (in rē /-eis) gė̃le ráye rēs τέχνη   gė̃lės rayáyas rēs zemēs τέχναι gėlių̃ rayīṇā́m rērum τεχνῶν gėlė́ms rayíbhyas rēbus zemēmans τέχναις gėlès rayī́s, rayī́n rēs zemens τέχνᾱς gėlėmìs rayíbhis (rēbus) gėlėsè rayíṣu (in rēbus)

The fourth declension. Prussian sg. nom. -us is known from Elbing vocabulary, it was shortened to -s in Catechisms. Sg. gen. -us is an innovative form, known from Catechisms, the older form was -aus. A word сынъ is given in Old Slavonic cases.

The second declension, -ė type. Prussian -ē stems became -i in an unaccented position.

Lithuanian and Latvian

Lithuanian declensional endings are given compared with Latvian declensional endings in the table below.

first declension

second declension

third d.

fourth d.

fifth d.

adjectives

masculine

feminine

f

m

m

m

f

m

f

-ǎ-

-i-

-o-

-ė-

-i-

-u-

-i-

-ǎ-

-o-

sg.

Nom.

-as

-is

-ys

-ias

-a

-ia

-ė

-is

-us

-ius

-uo

-as

-a

Gen.

-o

-io

-os

-ios

-ės

-ies

-aus

-iaus

-en-s

-er-s

-o

-os

Dat.

-ui

-iui

-ai

-iai

-ei

-iai

-iui

-ui

-iui

-en-iui

-er-iai

-am

-ai

Acc.

-ą

-į

-ią

-ą

-ią

-ę

-į

-ų

-ių

-en-į

-er-į

-ą

-ą

Ins.

-u

-iu

-a

-ia

-e

-imi

-umi

-iumi

-en-iu

-er-imi

-u

-a

Loc.

-e

-yje

-oje

-ioje

-ėje

-yje

-uje

-iuje

-en-yje

-er-yje

-ame

-oje

Voc.

-e

-i

-y

-a

-ia

-e

-ie

-au

-iau

-en-ie

-er-ie

-as

-a

pl.

Nom.

-ai

-iai

-os

-ios

-ės

-ys

-ūs

-iai

-en-ys

-er-ys

-i

-os

Gen.

-ų

-ių

-ų

-ių

-ių

-ių

-ų

-ių

-en-ų

-er-ų

-ų

-ų

Dat.

-ams

-iams

-oms

-ioms

-ėms

-ims

-ums

-iams

-en-ims

-er-ims

-iems

-oms

Acc.

-us

-ius

-as

-ias

-es

-is

-us

-ius

-en-is

-er-is

-us

-as

Ins.

-ais

-iais

-omis

-iomis

-ėmis

-imis

-umis

-iais

-en-imis

-er-imis

-ais

-omis

Loc.

-uose

-iuose

-ose

-iose

-ėse

-yse

-uose

-iuose

-en-yse

-er-yse

-uose

-ose

Latvian:

I (m)

II (m)

IV (f)

V (f)

VI (f)

III (m)

II (m)

m

f

-ǎ-

-i-

-ā-

-ē-

-i-

-u-

-i-

-ǎ-

-ā-

sg.

Nom.

-s, -š

-is

-a

-e

-s

-us

-en-s

-s, -š

-a

Gen.

-a

-a*

-as

-es

-s

-us

-en-s

-a

-as

Dat.

-am

-im

-ai

-ei

-ij

-um

-en-im

-am

-ai

Acc.

-u

-i

-u

-i

-i

-u

-en-i

-u

-u

Ins.

-u

-i

-u

-i

-i

-u

-en-i

-u

-u

Loc.

-ā

-ī

-ā

-ē

-ī

-ū

-en-ī

-ā

-ā

pl.

Nom.

-i

-i*

-as

-es

-is

-i

-eņ-i*

-i

-as

Gen.

-u

-u*

-u

-u*

-u

-u

-eņ-u*

-u

-u

Dat.

-iem

-iem*

-ām

-ēm

-īm

-iem

-eņ-iem*

-iem

-ām

Acc.

-us

-us*

-as

-es

-is

-us

-eņ-us*

-us

-as

Ins.

-iem

-iem*

-ām

-ēm

-īm

-iem

-eņ-iem*

-iem

-ām

Loc.

-os

-os*

-ās

-ēs

-īs

-os

-eņ-os*

-os

-ās

References

1. Mažiulis, Vytautas (2004), Prūsų kalbos istorinė gramatika (in Lithuanian), p. 39

• J. Marvan. Modern Lithuanian declension: a study of its infrastructure. University of Michigan. 1979
• Lituanus. Lithuanian in the 21st century. Retrieved 2007.04.28
• (in Lithuanian) I. Savickienė, A. Kazlauskienė, L. Kamandulytė. Naujas požiūris į lietuvių kalbos daiktavardžio linksniavimo tipus pagal natūraliosios morfologijos teoriją. Retrieved 2007.04.28