Վերսկսել, դադարեցնել, ձեռնամուխ լինել: beginning, end and 'again'
The course spine warns that phase verbs — 'to stop', 'to resume', 'to set about' — are in many languages not words but constructions. In Armenian they are words, but transparently assembled, and you need to be able to take them apart. For example: “Բանակցությունները վերսկսեցին երկուշաբթի” — The talks resumed on Monday. A rule from the Armenian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
The course spine warns that phase verbs — 'to stop', 'to resume', 'to set about' — are in many languages not words but constructions. In Armenian they are words, but transparently assembled, and you need to be able to take them apart.
The prefix վեր- (ver) means 'again, anew'. Սկսել (to begin) → վերսկսել (to resume), կանգնել (to stand) → վերականգնել (to restore), ստուգել (to check) → վերստուգել (to double-check), նայել (to look) → վերանայել (to review). English's 're-' is translated by this վեր- in half the cases. Careful: the same prefix has a second meaning — 'away': վերացնել (veratsnel) is not 'to make anew' but 'to abolish'.
The pair 'by itself' and 'someone does it'. Armenian regularly tells what happens from what someone makes happen: դադարել (to come to a halt) — դադարեցնել (to halt it), ավարտվել (to end) — ավարտել (to end it), ձգձգվել (to drag on) — ձգձգել (to drag out). The suffix -եցնել adds a doer; -վել takes one away — the same -ցն/-վ pair you met in the gym unit.
Turns instead of a verb. Where English manages with a prefix or a small verb, Armenian takes a phrase: 'to set about' — ձեռնամուխ լինել (literally 'to put one's hand to'), 'to get down to' — գործի անցնել ('to move to the work'), 'to give up on' — ձեռք թափ տալ (dzerrk' t'ap' tal). All three demand the dative on the object: գործին ձեռնամուխ լինել (gortsin dzerrnamukh linel).
Negation. The particle չ- clings to the front of the verb and shifts the stress of the syllable: հանձնվեց (surrendered) → չհանձնվեց (did not surrender), հասկացա (haskatsa) → չհասկացա (chhaskatsa).
Table
| By itself | Someone does it | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| դադարել | դադարեցնել | to come to a halt / to halt |
| ավարտվել | ավարտել | to end / to finish off |
| ձգձգվել | ձգձգել | to drag on / to drag out |
| պահպանվել | պահպանել | to survive / to preserve |
By example
- Բանակցությունները վերսկսեցին երկուշաբթիbanaktsut'yunnerə versketsin yerkushabt'iThe talks resumed on Monday
- Աշխատանքը դադարեցրին մինչև գարունashkhatank'ə dadaretsrin minchev garunThe work was halted until spring
- Առավոտյան ձեռնամուխ եղանք վերանորոգմանըarravotyan dzerrnamukh yeghank' veranorogmanəIn the morning we set about the renovation
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
beginning, end and 'again': how does it work in Armenian?
The course spine warns that phase verbs — 'to stop', 'to resume', 'to set about' — are in many languages not words but constructions. In Armenian they are words, but transparently assembled, and you need to be able to take them apart.
What does it look like in an example sentence Armenian?
“Բանակցությունները վերսկսեցին երկուշաբթի” (banaktsut'yunnerə versketsin yerkushabt'i) — The talks resumed on Monday. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.