Շատ գիրք, մի քանի օր, մոտ հազար դրամ: exactly how many
After a word that says how much, the noun stays singular. Շատ գիրք is many books, not 'գրքեր'. Տասը տարի — ten years. Մի քանի օր — a few days. For example: “Այս ամիս շատ ծախս ունեցանք” — This month we had a lot of expenses. A rule from the Armenian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
After a word that says how much, the noun stays singular. Շատ գիրք (shat girk') is many books, not 'գրքեր'. Տասը տարի (tasə tari) — ten years. Մի քանի օր (mi k'ani or) — a few days.
The set of such words is small: շատ (shat) many, քիչ (k'ich) few, մի քանի (mi k'ani) a few, բավական (bavakan) enough.
Ոչ մի (voch mi) means 'not a single one', and it demands չ- on the verb as well: ոչ մի դրամ չունեմ (voch mi dram chunem). That is 'I haven't a single dram'.
For 'about' put մոտ (mot) in front of the number: մոտ հազար դրամ (mot hazar dram), about a thousand drams. It is the same մոտ that means 'near'.
Table
| Word | Meaning | Example | Careful |
|---|---|---|---|
| շատ | many, much | շատ գիրք — many books | the noun stays singular |
| քիչ | little, few | քիչ գումար — little money | — |
| մի քանի | a few | մի քանի օր — a few days | also singular |
| ոչ մի | not a single one | ոչ մի դրամ չունեմ | the verb must carry չ- |
| բոլոր(ը) | all — countable | բոլոր ուսանողները | about people and things |
| ամբողջ | the whole | ամբողջ օրը | about the indivisible |
| մոտ | about | մոտ հազար դրամ | the same word as near |
| մոտավորապես | approximately | մոտավորապես երկու ժամ | bookish, more precise |
| շուրջ | in the region of | շուրջ հիսուն մարդ | newspaper word, rare in speech |
By example
- Այս ամիս շատ ծախս ունեցանքays amis shat tsakhs unetsank'This month we had a lot of expenses
- Հաշվին մոտ հարյուր հազար դրամ կաhashvin mot haryur hazar dram kaThe account holds about a hundred thousand drams
- Ամբողջ աշխատավարձը վարկին գնացamboghj ashkhatavardzə varkin gnatsThe whole salary went to the loan
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
exactly how many: how does it work in Armenian?
After a word that says how much, the noun stays singular. Շատ գիրք is many books, not 'գրքեր'. Տասը տարի — ten years. Մի քանի օր — a few days.
What does it look like in an example sentence Armenian?
“Այս ամիս շատ ծախս ունեցանք” (ays amis shat tsakhs unetsank') — This month we had a lot of expenses. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.