LingoflyPresent tense: -ում + the linker
To say 'I read', take the verb stem, add -ում and put the linker beside it: կարդում (kardum) եմ (em). For example: “Ես (yes) կարդում (kardum) եմ” (em) — I read. A rule from the Armenian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
To say 'I read', take the verb stem, add -ում (-um) and put the linker beside it: կարդում (kardum) եմ (em) (kardum em).
The -ում form never changes — only the linker does: կարդում (kardum) ես (yes) (kardum yes) is you read, կարդում (kardum) ենք (enk) (kardum enk') is we read. Learn the form once and it serves for I, you and we.
One trap: գնալ (gnal) (to go) gives գնում (gnum), not 'գնալում'. The լ drops out before -ում.
Table
By example
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
Present tense: how does it work in Armenian?
To say 'I read', take the verb stem, add -ում and put the linker beside it: կարդում (kardum) եմ (em).
What does it look like in a Armenian example sentence?
“Ես (yes) կարդում (kardum) եմ” (em) (yes kardum em) — I read. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.