Lithuanian Out Loud 0243 – Neringa Gyvena Savo Bute Neringa Lives In Her Flat

Sep 23, 2010

Hi there, I’m Jack and I’m Gintarė and welcome back to Lithuanian Out Loud where we offer the world the Lithuanian language.

 

According to the Wikipedia page Knygnešiai, between 1866 and 1904 Russian authorities instituted a Lithuanian press ban in Lithuania.  The Russians attempted to replace the Lithuanian alphabet with the Russian or cyrillic alphabet.

 

The Lithuanian people responded with knygnešiai a combination of the word knyga – book and the verb nešti – to carry.

 

Knygnešiai – were people who smuggled printed materials from Lithuania minor and the United States into Lithuanian speaking areas of Imperial Russia.  The knygnešiai, or singular: knygnešys, became a symbol of the resistance of the Lithuanians against Russification.

 

When caught, knygnešiai were punished by fines, banishment, and exile, including deportation to Siberia.  Some were shot while crossing the border into Lithuania.

 

Knygnešiai

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knygne%C5%A1iai

 

In previous episodes we learned how to use pronouns to express possession such as;

 

my

mano

 

your

tavo

 

his

jo

 

her

jos

 

our

mūsų

 

your

jūsų

 

their

jų

 

prašom pakartoti, please repeat…

 

my ancestor

mano prosenelis

 

your dog

tavo šuo

 

their friends

jų draugai

 

our nationality

mūsų tautybė

 

into the list of pronouns we have to add “savo”  

 

savo is a bit unusual

 

you use savo to express possession according to the subject of the sentence

 

back in episode 23 we learned how to say, “I really love my wife” – “aš labai myliu savo žmoną.”

 

žmona is vardininkas for a wife or the wife

why don’t we say, aš myliu mano žmoną?

 

right, that would be wrong

 

I love my wife

myliu savo žmoną – is correct

myliu mano žmoną – is incorrect – why?

 

let’s create a simple sentence - I see my wife

 

my wife can be translated as, mano žmona

 

I see, is translated as, aš matau

 

So, in order to say, I see my wife, you might be tempted to say, aš matau mano žmoną.  That’s perfectly logical – but it’s wrong.  The reason is that in Lithuanian, when we talk about possession, such as, my wife, his wife, your wife, etcetera, we have to be aware of the subject of the sentence.

 

I see my wife.

 

In this sentence, my wife, is the object which receives the action of the verb – to see.

 

My wife is being seen.

 

The subject is I.

 

I am the subject and my wife is the object, who is being seen.

 

I see my wife.

 

In this sentence “I” and “my” have a lot in common.  Both words refer to me.  In English, I see my wife sounds fine but in Lithuanian this is unnecessary repetiton.

 

Since we started the sentence with, I see – aš matau, we don’t need to say, “mano žmoną.”

 

Here we use the word savo in place of mano and the meaning is clear.

 

I see my wife

aš matau savo žmoną

 

We don’t want to repeat a reference to the subject of the sentence which in this case is “I.”

 

Here are some more examples but first some new words:

 

a key

raktas

 

a hat

skrybėlė

 

to love

mylėti

 

I see my book

aš matau savo knygą

 

I see my books

aš matau savo knygas

 

I see my dog

aš matau savo šunį

 

I see my dogs

aš matau savo šunis

 

I see my house

aš matau savo namą

 

I see my houses

aš matau savo namus

 

I love my son

aš myliu savo sūnų

 

I love my sons

aš myliu savo sūnus

 

I love my job 

aš myliu savo darbą

 

I love my jobs 

aš myliu savo darbus

 

I have my key

aš turiu savo raktą

 

I have my keys

aš turiu savo raktus

 

I have my hat

aš turiu savo skrybėlę

 

I have my hats

aš turiu savo skrybėles

 

I have my shoe

aš turiu savo batą

 

I have my shoes

aš turiu savo batus

 

so, for example, let's say, “we love our country”  

 

here we’re talking about “we love - mylime” - “our country – savo šalį”  

 

both the subject – we, and the object – our country, agree

 

we love our country – mylime savo šalį

 

we would not say, “mylime mūsų šalį”  

 

this would be unnecessary repetiton

 

we love our country – mylime savo šalį

 

here are some examples of sentences where the subject and the object of the sentence agree, but first, some new words:

 

vocabulary

žodynas

 

a camera

fotoaparatas

 

a coat

paltas

 

a ticket

bilietas

 

to visit

aplankyti

 

do you have your key?

ar turite savo raktą?

 

do you have your camera?

ar turite savo fotoaparatą?

 

Algis with his family live here

Algis su savo šeima gyvena čia

 

Valdemaras with his dog live here

Valdemaras su savo šuniu gyvena čia

 

Neringa lives in her flat

Neringa gyvena savo bute

 

Justina lives in her house

Justina gyvena savo name

 

we love our country

mylime savo šalį

 

we love our language

mylime savo kalbą

 

Diana and Natalija visit their mother

Diana ir Natalija aplanko savo motiną

 

Agnė and Edita visit their family

Agnė ir Edita aplanko savo šeimą

 

she has her coat

ji turi savo paltą

 

she has her ticket

ji turi savo bilietą

 

Now here are some examples where the subject and the object don’t agree.  In these examples we wouldn’t use savo.  First, some vocabulary…

 

a magazine

žurnalas

 

a party

vakarėlis

 

I have your book

aš turiu tavo knygą

 

I have her book

aš turiu jos knygą

 

you have my book

tu turi mano knygą

 

you have our book

tu turi mūsų knygą

 

Agnė hugs my daughter

Agnė apkabina mano dukrą

 

Andrius is calling your brother

Andrius skambina tavo broliui

 

Andrius is calling her brother

Andrius skambina jos broliui

 

are you reading his magazine?

ar skaitote jo žurnalą?

 

are you reading my magazine?

ar skaitote mano žurnalą?

 

I am going to your party

važiuoju į tavo vakarėlį

 

I am going to their party

važiuoju į jų vakarėlį

 

now let’s mix them up

 

I’m living my life

aš gyvenu savo gyvenimą

 

I’m drinking his beer

aš geriu jo alų

 

she is living her own life

ji gyvena savo gyvenimą

 

she is eating his pizza

ji valgo jo picą

 

he is living his own life

jis gyvena savo gyvenimą

 

he is eating her sandwich

jis valgo jos sumuštinį

 

we are living in our flat

gyvename savo bute

 

we are living in their flat

gyvename jų bute

 

Šaunuoliai!!  Great!  You made it to the end of another episode!  Puiku!  Excellent!