Grammar Notes¶
Grammatical concepts we covered in this unit
- word order in Western Armenian
- all affirmative and some negative present tense, current reality conjugations of ըլլալ ("to be")
- some affirmative and negative present tense, current reality conjugations of ունենալ ("to have")
- all affirmative and some negative present tense, current reality conjugations of գիտնալ ("to know")
- introduction to definite articles
- indefinite articles
- introduction to cases
- nominative case of some personal pronouns
- genitive case of some personal pronouns (AKA possessive adjectives)
- ablative case of origin
- -ցի suffix for demonyms
Word order in Western Armenian¶
Western Armenian is a free-word-order language, but there are many ways in which the preferred order is SUBJECT-OBJECT-VERB. We know that, since each subject has its own conjugations (six in all), the subject can be dropped. We also can drop the possessive adjectives for you and me (because we have special -ս and -դ possessive suffixes). However, that means that we can make many sentences that have similar meanings:
- Անունդ ի՞նչ է [subject-object-verb]
- Ի՞նչ է անունդ
- Քու անունդ ի՞նչ է [subject-object-verb]
- Ի՞նչ է քու անունդ
Here, you see that Armenian has at least four options to articulate the same idea. So, what's an Armenian learner to do? Which one to choose when we are trying to ask someone their name? Well, you have the freedom to say any (and all!) of them, though the SUBJECT-OBJECT-VERB order is most common and highlights the object/indirect object of your action. This freedom in word order is one of the things that makes Western Armenian special! 😍
For more information about word order in Western Armenian, consult Haroutiun Kurkjian's Practical Textbook of Western Armenian (pages 260, 265), Fr. S.L. Kogian's Armenian Grammar (West Dialect) (pages 211–213), or, with an Armenian-speaking friend, consult pages 699, 736, 771–775, 778–783 of Armenag Yeghiayan's «Արեւմտահայերէնի Ուղղագրական, Ուղղախօսական, Ոճաբանական Ուղեցոյց».
Present tense, current reality conjugations of ըլլալ ("to be")¶
Is ըլլալ a regular verb?
Good question! Ըլլալ is actually one of four verbs that have TWO conjugations in the present tense (and in the imperfect past tense, but we're not there yet)! The current reality is articulated by the conjugation provided below. The second present tense conjugation reflects habitual actions or assured future actions. For all other verbs besides these four unusual verbs, current reality, habitual actions, and assured future actions are all expressed by just one present tense conjugation.
This might seem like a lot to take in...but take heart in knowing that, by learning the conjugations of ըլլալ, you're actually getting a leg up on learning conjugations for one of the three classes of regular verbs in Western Armenian. All verbs ending in -ել use this present tense conjugation of ըլլալ as their conjugation endings!
| ըլլալ ("to be") | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1st | եմ | ենք |
| 2nd | ես | էք |
| 3rd | է | են |
Forming the negative for ըլլալ
The current reality present tense conjugation of ըլլալ is easily negated by adding a չ- in front of the affirmative present tense current reality conjugation!
| ըլլալ ("to be") | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1st | չեմ | չենք |
| 2nd | ||
| 3rd | չէ | չեն |
Forming the negative for ըլլալ
The current reality present tense conjugation of ըլլալ is easily negated by adding a չ- in front of the affirmative present tense current reality conjugation!
| ըլլալ ("to be") | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1st | չեմ | չենք |
| 2nd | չես | չէք |
| 3rd | չէ | չեն |
Present tense, current reality conjugations of ունենալ ("to have")¶
Is ունենալ a regular verb in the present tense?
Good question! Ունենալ (like ըլլալ) is one of four verbs that have TWO conjugations in the present tense (and in the imperfect past tense, but we're not there yet)! The current reality is articulated by the conjugation provided below. The second present tense conjugation reflects habitual actions or assured future actions. Remember that, for all other verbs besides these four unusual verbs, current reality, habitual actions, and assured future actions are all expressed by just one present tense conjugation.
This might seem like a lot to take in...but take heart in knowing that, by learning the conjugations of ունենալ, you're actually getting a leg up on learning conjugations for a second of the three classes of regular verbs in Western Armenian. All verbs ending in -իլ use the endings of this present tense conjugation of ունենալ as their conjugation endings!
| ունենեալ ("to have") | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1st | ունիմ | |
| 2nd | ունիս | ունիք |
| 3rd |
| ունենեալ ("to have") | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1st | ունիմ | ունինք |
| 2nd | ունիս | ունիք |
| 3rd | ունի | ունին |
Forming the negative for ունենալ
The current reality present tense conjugation of ունենալ is easily negated by adding a չ- in front of the affirmative present tense current reality conjugation!
| ունենեալ ("to have") | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1st | չունիմ | |
| 2nd | ||
| 3rd |
Forming the negative for ունենալ
The current reality present tense conjugation of ունենալ is easily negated by adding a չ- in front of the affirmative present tense current reality conjugation!
| ունենեալ ("to have") | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1st | չունիմ | չունինք |
| 2nd | չունիս | չունիք |
| 3rd | չունի | չունին |
Present tense, current reality conjugations of գիտնալ ("to know")¶
Is գիտնալ a regular verb in the present tense?
Very good question! Գիտնալ is a third unusual verb that has two present tense conjugations, similar to ըլլալ and ունենալ. To express current reality, we use these conjugations.
The endings for this present tense conjugation of գիտնալ mirror the endings of the current reality present tense conjugation of ըլլալ.
| գիտնալ ("to know") | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1st | գիտեմ | գիտենք |
| 2nd | գիտես | գիտէք |
| 3rd | գիտէ | գիտեն |
Forming the negative for գիտնալ
The current reality present tense conjugation of գիտնալ is different than the negative conjugations of ըլլալ and ունենալ! However, the negative for գիտնալ is basically a model for negative conjugations of regular verbs, and even uses the negative of ըլլալ (except for the third person singular) in the first part of its conjugation.
This might seem like a lot to take in...but take heart in knowing that, by learning the negative conjugations of գիտնալ, you're actually getting a leg up on learning negative conjugations for regular verbs in Western Armenian.
| գիտնալ ("to know") | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1st | չեմ գիտեր | |
| 2nd | ||
| 3rd |
Forming the negative for գիտնալ
The current reality present tense conjugation of գիտնալ is different than the negative conjugations of ըլլալ and ունենալ! However, the negative for գիտնալ is basically a model for negative conjugations of regular verbs, and even uses the negative of ըլլալ (except for the third person singular) in the first part of its conjugation.
This might seem like a lot to take in...but take heart in knowing that, by learning the negative conjugations of գիտնալ, you're actually getting a leg up on learning negative conjugations for regular verbs in Western Armenian.
| գիտնալ ("to know") | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1st | չեմ գիտեր | չենք գիտեր |
| 2nd | չես գիտեր | չէք գիտեր |
| 3rd | չի գիտեր | չեն գիտեր |
Introduction to definite articles¶
In this lesson, you were introduced to the definite article (the word "the" in English) in Western Armenian. In a later unit, you will learn more about definite articles. One thing to note is that, unlike English that has a separate word "the," Armenian uses suffixes (-ը/-ն) on the word ("the word," consequently, if we are being silly, would be "wordը" in Armenian.)
In this lesson, you learned that proper nouns (but not names) are also marked with definite article suffixes (-ը/-ն) in certain situations.
Note these examples:
- Ես Արենին եմ ("I am [the] Արենի")
- Դալարը քոյրս է ("[The] Դալար is my sister")
But what about when I say my name?
We do not use the definite article to say names. Note the differences in these two statements:
- Անունս Զաւէն է
- Ես Զաւէնն եմ
So, we do not use definite articles with names, but we do use them when we are referring to specific people as individuals. In a later unit, you will learn more about the use of the definite article when referring to third-person subjects, objects, or indirect objects.
The choice of whether to use -ը or -ն is about vocalic harmony. If the word ends in a vowel sound or is immediately followed by a vowel sound (usually a conjugation of ըլլալ), use -ն.
Indefinite articles¶
In this lesson, you saw the use of the indefinite article (the word "a" in English) in քիչ մը ("a little"). Like English, Western Armenian uses a separate word to mark "a." Unlike English, the word մը FOLLOWS the word it modifies.
Note these examples:
- անուն մը ("a name")
- մամա մը ("a mom")
The only situations when մը is modified by adding a -ն is when it is followed by conjugations of ըլլալ in the ՝current reality` present tense and the imperfect past tense, or when it is followed by the word ալ ("too"). Note these examples:
- Անուն մըն է։ ("It is a name.")
- Մամա մըն ալ։ ("A mom also.")
Introduction to cases¶
Western Armenian is a language that has case. What are cases, exactly? Well, cases are ways to mark the grammatical function of a word by changing it, whether that is by adding suffixes or by using a completely new form of the word. An example of case in English is the difference between "I gave you the book" and "You gave me the book." In these two sentences, we don't use "I" when we are the direct or indirect object of an action. English is not a case-heavy language, however. The uses of "I" as subject and "me" as direct/indirect object, as well as "my" as possessive adjective, are the extent of case usage in English. So, English really has four cases (seen in pronouns only that really only have three forms because the accusative and dative are fused):
- Nominative: The nominative is the case of the subject and answers the questions
who?orwhat?. - Accusative / Dative: The accusative is the case of the object and answers the questions
who?orwhat?. The dative is the case of the indirect object and answers the questionsto whom?orfor what?orfor whom?. - Genitive: The genitive is the case of possession. It answers the questions
whose?andof what?.
However, Western Armenian is different. It is a case-heavy language (like Russian, Bengali, and Turkish) with six cases: Nominative, Accusative, Genitive, Dative, Ablative, and Instrumental. Eastern Armenian has one more additional case, the Locative, that is not used in Western Armenian. During the course of all our units, we will be looking at all six cases that are used in Western Armenian.
Just remember this for now: In Western Armenian, words are transformed to show their grammatical function in an utterance. There are many different ways that Western Armenian does this: By adding suffixes or by changing the word completely.
Nominative case of personal pronouns¶
The nominative case is the base form of nouns. The nominative is the case of the subject and answers the questions who? or what?.
| 1st | ես | մենք |
| 2nd | դուն | դուք |
| 3rd |
Nominative Personal Pronouns
| 1st | ես | մենք |
| 2nd | դուն | դուք |
| 3rd | ան / ինք[ը] | անոնք / իրենք |
Genitive case for personal pronouns (AKA possessive adjectives and suffixes)¶
The genitive is the case of possession. It answers the questions whose? and of what?.
| 1st | [իմ] ___ս | |
| 2nd | [քու] ___դ | ձեր ___ը/ն |
| 3rd |
Genitive case for personal pronouns (AKA possessive adjectives and suffixes)
| 1st | [իմ] ___ս | մեր ___ը/ն |
| 2nd | [քու] ___դ | ձեր ___ը/ն |
| 3rd | անոր / իր ___ը/ն | անոնց / իրենց ___ը/ն |
Why is there both ը and ն for everyone else?
Good question! Ը and Ն are letters that mark the definite article in Armenian (the word "the" in English). We can choose between these two letters to maintain vocalic harmony—we don't like two vowel sounds next to one another, so we change the default ը to ն when the word to which we are adding the definite article ends in a vowel. We also use ն instead of ը when the word immediately following begins with a vowel.
Note these two examples, which mean exactly the same thing: 1. Ի՞նչ է ձեր անունը։ 2. Ձեր անունն ի՞նչ է։
Ablative case of origin¶
The ablative case marks an object, place, or person from which, from where, and from whom the action originates. It answers the questions From whom?, From what?, and From where?. The case marker of the ablative case is the ending -է in Western Armenian. To say that you are from a particular location, we add -էն to the place name (or -յէն if the place name ends in a vowel).
Note these examples:
- Պոստոնէն
- Անգլիայէն
-ցի suffix for demonyms¶
Demonyms (special names for people from a certain place, like Roman or Berliner) can be marked in Armenian by adding a -ցի to the place name. However, for some place names that end in a consonant, we use -ացի or -եցի (like Վանեցի and Հռոմացի). Note also that some country names that end in -իա will sometimes drop their -ի (like Իտալացի and Գերմանացի). This might seem like a lot to remember, but don't fret! The -ցի ending is the most productive ending, so if you use it, people will get the gist!