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Lithuanian cases explained: the seven noun cases, simply

Lithuanian has seven cases. A case is a form of a noun, and of any adjective that goes with it: the word keeps its stem but changes its ending to show what job it does in the sentence. A book is knyga▶, but I'm reading a book is Aš skaitau knygą.▶

That sounds scary, but you already know the idea from English. This guide explains what a case is, then walks through all seven: the Lithuanian name, the question each one answers, what it's used for and a short example sentence you can listen to. Two everyday nouns run through the page, so you can watch their endings change.

The short version: start with five cases, learn words in little phrases, and let the verbs and prepositions tell you which ending to use.

What is a case?

English uses cases only with pronouns. You say he when he does something, him when something happens to him, and his when something belongs to him: He reads. I see him. That's his book. Same person, three forms.

Lithuanian does this with every noun, and with adjectives, pronouns and numbers too. Instead of relying on word order and little words like of, to and in, it changes the ending.

Each case answers a question word, and Lithuanian grammar books name the cases by these questions: kas? (who, what), ko? (of what), kam? (to whom), ką? (whom, what), kuo? (with what), kur? / kame? (where), plus the vocative for calling someone.

The question words are cases themselves, which makes them a handy test. Kas skaito?▶ means Who is reading? (asking about the subject), while Ką tu skaitai?▶ means What are you reading? (asking about the object).

Two nouns in all seven cases

Here are two everyday nouns from the course in all seven cases: knyga▶ (book), a feminine noun in -a, and namas▶ (house), a masculine noun in -as. Each cell shows the singular, with the plural under it. The cases are in the order you'll need them: the five A1 cases first, then the A2 ones.

Notice that knyga▶ looks the same in the nominative and the instrumental singular. Context tells them apart.

Nominative and accusative: kas? and ką?

Nominative (vardininkas), kas? (who? what?). This is the dictionary form, and it's used for the subject, the person or thing doing something or being described: Knyga yra ant stalo.▶ (The book is on the table.)

Accusative (galininkas), ką? (whom? what?). This is the direct object: the thing you see, have, buy, eat or read. Aš skaitau knygą.▶ (I'm reading a book.) Turiu brolį ir seserį.▶ (I have a brother and a sister.)

In the singular, the accusative ending is a vowel with a little tail: -ą, -į, -ų, -ę. The vowel of the nominative ending usually stays and gets the tail: namas → namą, knyga → knygą.

Genitive and locative: ko? and kur?

Genitive (kilmininkas), ko? (of what?) and also kieno? (whose?). It's one of the busiest cases. It shows possession, and it comes before the noun it describes: Vilnius – Lietuvos sostinė.▶ (Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania.)

It also replaces the accusative after a negative verb: Turiu knygą (I have a book) becomes Aš neturiu knygos.▶ (I don't have a book.) And it means some of something: Noriu kavos.▶ (I want some coffee.)

Locative (vietininkas), kur? / kame? (where?). It means in or at, with no preposition needed: Aš gyvenu Vilniuje.▶ (I live in Vilnius.) Katė yra name.▶ (The cat is in the house.)

One exception worth knowing early: at home is a set phrase, namie▶.

Dative, instrumental and vocative: kam?, kuo? and calling someone

Dative (naudininkas), kam? (to whom? for whom?). It marks the person who receives something or benefits: Duodu knygą broliui.▶ (I give the book to my brother.) Many feelings use it too, literally to me it pleases: Man labai patinka Vilnius.▶ (I really like Vilnius.)

Instrumental (įnagininkas), kuo? (with what? by what?). It means with or by means of. For transport and tools there's no preposition: Į darbą važiuoju autobusu.▶ (I go to work by bus.) With people, add su (with): Einu į kiną su draugais.▶ (I'm going to the cinema with friends.)

Vocative (šauksmininkas), used when you speak to someone. It has no question word. Men's names in -as end in -ai: Labas, Tomai!▶ (Hi, Tomas!) Common nouns in -as end in -e: Ačiū, drauge!▶ (Thanks, friend!)

Prepositions and verbs decide the case

You don't choose a case by meaning alone. Very often the verb or the preposition right before the noun decides it, so it pays to learn them together.

Prepositions. Each one takes a fixed case. į (into, to) takes the accusative, ant (on) takes the genitive, and su (with) takes the instrumental. So on the table is ant stalo▶, and going to a friend's place uses pas with the accusative: Einu pas draugą.▶ (I'm going to my friend's.)

Verbs. Most verbs take the accusative (skaitau knygą), but a negative verb switches to the genitive (neturiu knygos), and some verbs have their own habits, like patinka with the dative person.

Where versus where to. Being somewhere uses the locative; going somewhere uses į plus the accusative.

• mokykloje▶at school (locative, kur?)

  į mokyklą▶to school (į + accusative)
• Kaune▶in Kaunas (locative)

  į Kauną▶to Kaunas (į + accusative)

Tips

• Learn the five A1 cases first: nominative, accusative, genitive, locative and instrumental. With them you can say who does what, what you have and don't have, where things are, and who you're with or how you travel. The dative and vocative can wait a little.
• Learn words in short phrases, not alone. Remember Aš skaitau knygą.▶ and Aš neturiu knygos.▶ rather than a bare noun, and the right ending comes along for free.
• Learn each preposition with its case, like į + accusative and su + instrumental. It's one fact that works for every noun.
• Use the question words as a check. If you can ask ką? about the word, it's the accusative; if you ask kur?, it's the locative.
• Don't memorize every ending at once. Nouns fall into a handful of patterns by their ending (-as, -is, -us, -a, -ė…), and they become familiar through lots of short, real sentences.

Questions