LingoflyԱսաց, որ կգա: other people's words in your mouth
To pass on someone's words, you do not shift the tense: it stays put. Ասաց (asats)՝ «Կգամ» (kgam) becomes Ասաց (asats), որ (vor) կգա (kga). A future stays a future; only 'I' turns into 'he'. For example: “Լրագրողն ասաց (asats), որ (vor) ռեպորտաժը (rreportazhə) ուղիղ (ughigh) եթերում (yet'erum) կլինի” (klini) — The journalist said the report would be live on air. A rule from the Armenian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
To pass on someone's words, you do not shift the tense: it stays put. Ասաց (asats)՝ (asats) «Կգամ (kgam)» becomes Ասաց (asats), որ (vor) կգա (kga) (vor kga). A future stays a future; only 'I' turns into 'he'.
The conjunction is որ (vor). Verbs of speech have their own mark as well, ՝: Ասաց (asats)՝ կուշանա, he said he'd be late. It stands in for the comma and the conjunction at once.
A question takes թե (t'e) instead of որ (vor), and the ՞ mark drops out: Հարցրեց (hartsrets), թե (t'e) երբ (erb) եմ (em) գալիս (galis) (t'e yerb em galis). That is 'he asked when I was coming'. Թե (t'e) is the Armenian 'whether'.
The trap: որ (vor) կգա (kga) is 'that he will come', որ (vor) գա (ga) (vor ga) is 'that he should come'. One letter կ divides a report from a demand.
Table
| Direct speech | Reported | What changed |
|---|---|---|
| «Կգամ» (kgam) | Ասաց (asats), որ (vor) կգա (kga) | only the person; the tense stayed |
| «Ուշանում եմ» (ushanum em) | Ասաց (asats), որ (vor) ուշանում (ushanum) է | only the person |
| «Ե՞րբ (yerb) ես (yes) գալիս» (galis) | Հարցրեց (hartsrets), թե (t'e) երբ (erb) եմ (em) գալիս (galis) | որ (vor) → թե (t'e), the ՞ mark removed |
| «Գնա (gna)՞լ եմ» (em) | Հարցրեց (hartsrets), թե (t'e) արդյոք գնամ (gnam) | թե (t'e) + արդյոք — the Armenian whether |
| «Արի» (ari) | Ասաց (asats), որ (vor) գամ | command → the form without կ- |
| «Կուշանամ» | Ասաց (asats)՝ կուշանա | the mark ՝ instead of որ (vor) |
By example
- Խմբագիրն ասաց՝ վերնագիրը փոխիրkhmbagirn asats — vernagirə p'okhirThe editor said: change the headline
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
other people's words in your mouth: how does it work in Armenian?
To pass on someone's words, you do not shift the tense: it stays put. Ասաց (asats)՝ «Կգամ» (kgam) becomes Ասաց (asats), որ (vor) կգա (kga). A future stays a future; only 'I' turns into 'he'.
What does it look like in a Armenian example sentence?
“Լրագրողն ասաց (asats), որ (vor) ռեպորտաժը (rreportazhə) ուղիղ (ughigh) եթերում (yet'erum) կլինի” (klini) (lragroghn asats, vor rreportazhə ughigh yet'erum klini) — The journalist said the report would be live on air. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.