Adjektyvas

Adjektyvas is the Lithuanian term for the grammatical category known in most Indo-European languages as “adjective.” It refers to words that modify nouns by providing additional information such as quality, quantity, or identity. In Lithuanian, adjectives belong to a distinct part of speech that is marked for case, number, and gender, and they are required to agree with the noun they modify on these features. The typical inflectional paradigms include singular and plural forms in nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, instrumental, locative, and vocative cases for both masculine, feminine, and neuter genders. This extensive agreement system means that an adjective must be inflected differently depending on its syntactic role, which often leads to long, complex word forms in written language.

Adjektyvai (plural) can be divided into several subcategories. Qualitative adjectives describe inherent properties (e.g., „gražus“ – beautiful), while quantificational adjectives express amounts (e.g., „du“ – two). There are also relational adjectives, which denote connections or belonging (e.g., „miestini“ – urban). Comparative and superlative forms are constructed using the morphemes ‑s (comparative) and ‑iausia (superlative), although many comparative forms are irregular or borrowed from other languages.

Lithuanian adjectives can appear in predicative positions, forming compound predicates with the copula or directly after linking verbs such as „būt“. They also participate in fixed expressions and idioms. In contemporary usage, especially in media and informal speech, shortened adjective forms or attributive phrases may replace classical adjective-noun combinations. The study of adjetives illustrates the close interaction between morphology and syntax in Lithuanian, and serves as a crucial element in both literary and everyday communication.