LingoflyԱյս, այդ, այն: three 'this' instead of two
English sorts things into 'this' near me and 'that' not near me. Armenian sorts them into three, and not by distance but by whose the thing is. For example: “Սա (sa) իմ (im) հեռախոսն է, այդ (ayd) մեկը (mekə)՝ քոնը” — This is my phone, and that one is yours. A rule from the Armenian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
English sorts things into 'this' near me and 'that' not near me. Armenian sorts them into three, and not by distance but by whose the thing is.
Այս (ays) is what I hold. Այդ (ayd) is what you hold: այդ (ayd) գիրքը (girk'ə) (ayd girk'ə) is the book in your hands. Այն (ayn) is what neither of us holds — a third person's, out the window, in another city.
Without a noun each one shortens: սա (sa) this by me, դա (da) that by you, նա (na) that far off. Սա (sa) ի՞նչ (inch) է (sa inch e) — what is this?
One trap: to point at what somebody just said, only այդ (ayd) or դա (da) will do. Այդ (ayd) մասին (masin) խոսենք վաղը (vaghə) — let's talk about it tomorrow. Դա (da) ճիշտ (chisht) չէ (che) (da chisht che) — that is not true.
Table
| Where the thing is | Before a noun | Alone | Place | Manner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| by me | այս (ays) գիրքը (girk'ə) — this book | սա (sa) — this | այստեղ (aystegh) — here | այսպես — this way |
| by you | այդ (ayd) գիրքը (girk'ə) — that book of yours | դա (da) — that | այդտեղ — there, by you | այդպես (aydpes) — that way |
| with a third party, far away | այն (ayn) գիրքը (girk'ə) — that book there | նա (na) — that one, he | այնտեղ (ayntegh) — over there | այնպես (aynpes) — so, thus |
| about what was said | այդ (ayd) մասին (masin) — about it | դա (da) — that | — | այդպես (aydpes) — exactly so |
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
three 'this' instead of two: how does it work in Armenian?
English sorts things into 'this' near me and 'that' not near me. Armenian sorts them into three, and not by distance but by whose the thing is.
What does it look like in a Armenian example sentence?
“Սա (sa) իմ (im) հեռախոսն է, այդ (ayd) մեկը (mekə)՝ քոնը” (sa im herrakhosn e, ayd mekə — k'onə) — This is my phone, and that one is yours. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.