Veiksnys

Veiksnys is the term used in Lithuanian grammar to denote the syntactic function of the doer of the action in a clause. It is commonly identified with the grammatical subject in sentences expressed in the active voice. The veiksnys is usually realized by a noun, pronoun, or numeral and is typically in the nominative case, matching the finite verb in person and number.

In construction, veiksnys answers questions such as “kas?” (who) or “kas daro veiksmą?” (who performs the action). It can be a simple noun phrase or a more complex expression, including coordinated nouns or numerals. Lithuanian allows flexible word order, but the veiksnys remains the central element that marks who performs the action in most clauses.

Dalyvis (participle) and pronouns can also function within the veiksnys framework, but they have distinct grammatical properties. A sentence may lack an explicit veiksnys when the subject is understood from context or when the imperative form is used, as in Eik! (Go!). In such cases the agent is implicit rather than overt.

Etymology traces veiksnys to the root veikti, meaning to act or to perform, with a suffix that forms a noun-like agentive term. In linguistic analysis, veiksnys is treated as a core syntactic role, closely related to the concept of the subject in many languages, while differences in case marking and word order reflect Lithuanian’s rich inflectional system.