Verbs: Participles

01

Adjectival Participles

These describe a noun and agree with it like an adjective. The main ones are:

• Present active (currently doing): dirbantis (working), einantis (going).
• Past active (having done): dirbęs, buvęs (former, having been).
• Passive (being / having been done): daromas (being done), padarytas (done, finished).

• Darbas padarytas.

  The work is done. (masculine, -tas)

• Tai padaryta Lietuvoje.

  This is made in Lithuania.

• Jis buvęs mokytojas.

  He is a former teacher.

• Knyga jau išparduota.

  The book is already sold out.

02

The Past Active in -ęs

The form ending in -ęs (masculine) / -usi (feminine) is the one you will see most. Together with būti it reports a completed action. Since the present yra is normally left out, in the third person the participle is usually left standing there alone, with no verb in sight:

• Esu pavargęs.

  I am tired. (literally "I am having-grown-tired")

• Ji jau išvykusi.

  She has already left. (yra dropped)

• Ką jis pasakęs?

  What has he said? (yra dropped)

The same form also serves as an ordinary adjective meaning "former", which is the job it is doing in Jis buvęs mokytojas. above.

03

Adverbial Participles

These do not describe a noun; they describe the circumstances of another action - "while something is happening". They never change for gender or number, and the common ending is -ant / -int. Lithuanian uses this form when the doer of the circumstance is somebody else - put in the dative - or when no doer is named at all:

• Man kalbant, visi tylėjo.

  While I was speaking, everyone was silent. (a different doer, in the dative)

• Norint mokėti, reikia mokytis.

  To know (something), one must study. (no doer named)

• Tiesą sakant, pavargau.

  To tell the truth, I am tired. (a set phrase)

When both actions belong to the same doer, you need the -damas form below instead.

04

The -us Form (Having Done)

A related form ending in -us means "after / having done" and sets the scene for the main clause:

• Įėjus į kambarį, buvo tylu.

  On entering the room, it was quiet.

• Pagalvojus, sutikau.

  After thinking it over, I agreed.

05

The Half-Participle "-damas"

One more form is common in speech: the half-participle in -damas (masculine) / -dama (feminine), meaning "while doing", performed by the same subject as the main verb. This is the form to reach for whenever one person does both things - where the -ant form above needs a second doer - and unlike -ant it agrees with that subject:

• Eidamas dainavau.

  I sang while walking.

• Ji skaitė valgydama.

  She read while eating.

06

Recognising the Endings

A quick map of what each ending signals:

• -antis / -anti - present active ("doing"), describes a noun
• -ęs / -usi - past active ("having done"), with būti or for "former"
• -amas / -tas - passive ("being / having been done")
• -ant / -int - adverbial ("while doing"), a different doer or none
• -damas - half-participle ("while doing"), same subject

07

What to Take Away

Do not try to master every participle now. The practical goal is to recognise that an ending in -antis, -ant, -us, -damas or -ęs has turned a verb into a word that describes a thing or frames another action - and that the -ęs "having done" form, used with būti, is the everyday way Lithuanian reports a completed action.