Ասաց, որ կգա: other people's words in your mouth
The news unit rests entirely on one construction: 'the journalist said that…', 'the minister stated that…', 'they asked whether…'. This is reported speech, and Armenian gives it one huge relief and one small trap. For example: “Լրագրողն ասաց, որ ռեպորտաժը ուղիղ եթերում կլինի” — 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
The news unit rests entirely on one construction: 'the journalist said that…', 'the minister stated that…', 'they asked whether…'. This is reported speech, and Armenian gives it one huge relief and one small trap.
The relief is this: the tense in the subordinate part does not shift. English backs the tense up ('he said he would come' — although he said 'I will come'); Armenian keeps exactly what the person said. Ասաց՝ (asats) «Կգամ (kgam)» → Ասաց (asats), որ կգա (vor kga). What was future stays future. Only the person changes: 'I will come' in someone else's mouth becomes 'he will come'. Nothing else is touched.
The conjunction is որ (vor), known from wave 3. But verbs of speech have their own mark: ՝ — the but'. Ասաց՝ կուշանա — he said he would be late. The but' replaces both the comma and the conjunction at once, and in a newspaper it is more common than որ. It reads as a short pause and is placed only after words of speech and thought: ասաց, հարցրեց (hartsrets), կարծում է (kartsum e), թվում է (t'vum e).
A question in reported speech takes թե (t'e) instead of որ, and the ՞ mark goes away. «Ե՞րբ ես գալիս (yerb yes galis)» → Հարցրեց, թե երբ եմ գալիս (t'e yerb em galis) — he asked when I would come. A yes/no question ('will you come?') is built the same way: Հարցրեց, թե գալու եմ արդյոք. Թե is the Armenian 'whether', and without it a reported question sounds like a statement.
Commands and requests go into the form without կ- — the very one after պետք է (petk' e): «Արի (ari)» → Ասաց, որ գամ — he said I should come. Here որ already means 'to, should', and only the verb's form tells a message from a command apart: որ կգա — that he will come, որ գա (vor ga) — that he should come. One letter կ, and the difference between a report and an order.
Table
| Direct speech | Reported | What changed |
|---|---|---|
| «Կգամ» | Ասաց, որ կգա | only the person; the tense stayed |
| «Ուշանում եմ» | Ասաց, որ ուշանում է | only the person |
| «Ե՞րբ ես գալիս» | Հարցրեց, թե երբ եմ գալիս | որ → թե, the ՞ mark removed |
| «Գնա՞լ եմ» | Հարցրեց, թե արդյոք գնամ | թե + արդյոք — the Armenian whether |
| «Արի» | Ասաց, որ գամ | command → the form without կ- |
| «Կուշանամ» | Ասաց՝ կուշանա | the mark ՝ instead of որ |
By example
- Լրագրողն ասաց, որ ռեպորտաժը ուղիղ եթերում կլինիlragroghn asats, vor rreportazhə ughigh yet'erum kliniThe journalist said the report would be live on air
- Հարցրեց, թե որտեղից է այս լուրըhartsrets, t'e vorteghits e ays lurəHe asked where this news came from
- 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?
The news unit rests entirely on one construction: 'the journalist said that…', 'the minister stated that…', 'they asked whether…'. This is reported speech, and Armenian gives it one huge relief and one small trap.
What does it look like in an example sentence Armenian?
“Լրագրողն ասաց, որ ռեպորտաժը ուղիղ եթերում կլինի” (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.