The Lithuanians: A Lithuanian Language Lesson - Lietuviu Kalba Pamoka: Grammar

Pamoka
Lesson

GRAMMAR
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1,1 There are no articles in Lithuanian. Thus, studentas can mean: student, the student, a student.
1.2 There are only two genders in Lithuanian nouns: masculine and feminine.All nouns ending in -as are masculine.

1.3 The Present Tense of buti 'to be'

• I am - aš esiu - .
• you are - tu esi
• he, she is - jis, ji yra -
• we are - mes esame
• you are - jus esate - -
• they are - jie, jos yra
  

The Present Tense of eiti 'to go'.

• I go - aš einiu
• You go - tu eini
• He , She goes - jis, ji eina
• we go - - mes einame
• you go - jus einate
• they go - - jie, jos eina
  

The second person singular tu which corresponds to English thou is used to address children, real friends, members of the immediate family and God. It would correspond in use to German du or French tu. The second person plural is used for polite address:

• Petrai, kur tu eini? - Peter, where are you going?
• Pone Petraiti, kur jus einate? - Mr. Petraitis, where are you going?
  

There is no progressive form in Lithuanian. Thus aš einu can mean: I go, I am going, I do go.
There is no auxiliary "to do" to help to form questions: you have to indicate the question by the tone of your voice, or by putting the little word "ar "in front of a question which has no other interrogative word in it. Thus:

• Čia [.yra]* mano namas. - Here is my house.
• Čia mano namas? - Is my house here?
• Ar čia mano namas? - Is my house here?
• Kur mano namas? - Where is my house?

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Note* About leaving out yra, etc., see Lesson 6.

From "The Lithuanians" http://www.thelithuanians.com/page15.html

"The Lithuanians Store Parduotuve: Books - Language, Dictionaries, etc http://www.thelithuanians.com/store/books.html