LingoflyՑուրտ է: the sentence with nobody in it
'It's cold', 'it's late', 'it's hot' — English props these up with a dummy 'it'. Armenian has nothing to prop: the linker է stands there alone. For example: “Դրսում (drsum) ցուրտ է (tsurt e), բաճկոնդ (bachkond) հագիր” (hagir) — It's cold outside, put your coat on. A rule from the Armenian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
'It's cold', 'it's late', 'it's hot' — English props these up with a dummy 'it'. Armenian has nothing to prop: the linker է (e) stands there alone.
Ցուրտ է (tsurt e) is cold. Շոգ է (shog e) is hot. Ուշ (ush) է (ush e) is late. Two words make a whole sentence, and a third is not wanted.
To say who feels it, put ինձ (indz), քեզ (k'ez) or նրան (nran) in front: ինձ (indz) ցուրտ է (tsurt e) (indz tsurt e). Word for word: 'to me it is cold'. Need works the same way: ինձ բժիշկ է պետք (indz bzhishk e petk'), I need a doctor.
One trap: cold also has a personal verb, մրսում (mrsum) եմ (em) (mrsum em), 'I am freezing'. In live speech you hear it even more often.
Table
| In English | In Armenian | Word for word |
|---|---|---|
| it's cold | ցուրտ է (tsurt e) | cold is |
| I'm cold | ինձ (indz) ցուրտ է (tsurt e) | to-me cold is |
| one must hurry | պետք է (petk' e) շտապել (shtapel) | must is to-hurry |
| I need a doctor | ինձ բժիշկ է պետք (indz bzhishk e petk') | to-me a doctor is needed |
| it seems it's raining | թվում (t'vum) է՝ անձրև (andzrev) է գալիս (galis) | it-seems — rain is coming |
| it's not allowed | չի կարելի (chi kareli) | not is-allowed |
| they say it will snow | ասում (asum) են (en)՝ ձյուն (dzyun) կգա (kga) | they say — snow will-come |
| smoking is prohibited | ծխելը (tskhelə) արգելվում (argelvum) է | smoking is-prohibited |
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
the sentence with nobody in it: how does it work in Armenian?
'It's cold', 'it's late', 'it's hot' — English props these up with a dummy 'it'. Armenian has nothing to prop: the linker է stands there alone.
What does it look like in a Armenian example sentence?
“Դրսում (drsum) ցուրտ է (tsurt e), բաճկոնդ (bachkond) հագիր” (hagir) (drsum tsurt e, bachkond hagir) — It's cold outside, put your coat on. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.