LvLatvian grammar

Prepositions and cases

In the singular, each preposition governs the genitive, the dative, or the accusative case.

⚠️ In the plural, almost all prepositions govern the dative case, regardless of which case they take in the singular.

A few prepositions take different cases depending on meaning. uz governs the genitive for location (uz galda — on the table) but the accusative for direction (uz Rīgu — to Riga).

PrepositionMeaningCase (sg.)
bezwithoutĢenitīvs
nofromĢenitīvs
pieat, byĢenitīvs
pēcafterĢenitīvs
uzto, ontoĢenitīvs / Akuzatīvs
arwithAkuzatīvs
parabout, forAkuzatīvs
pretagainstAkuzatīvs
caurthroughAkuzatīvs
līdzuntil, up toDatīvs
ar draugu (sg.)
with a friend
ar draugiem (pl.)
with friends