LingoflyԴրան միջով, տան կողքով: the relational word stands after the noun
It looks like a list of prepositions, but there are almost none. The relational word stands AFTER the noun, and the noun takes its "of" form. "Through the door" is literally "of-the-door through": դրան (tran) միջով (michov) (tran michov). For example: “Լոյսը կ'անցնի վարագոյրին միջով” (luysə g'antsni varakuyrin michov) — The light passes through the curtain. A rule from the Western Armenian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
It looks like a list of prepositions, but there are almost none. The relational word stands AFTER the noun, and the noun takes its "of" form. "Through the door" is literally "of-the-door through": դրան (tran) միջով (michov) (tran michov).
Place: the word comes after the noun. -ին միջով (michov) (through), -ին կողքով (goghk'ov) (past), -ին շուրջ (shurch) (around), -ին դիմաց (timats) (opposite). They are ordinary nouns frozen in this role: մէջ (mech) is "the middle", կողք is "the side". So "past the house" is literally "of-the-house sideways".
Adverbs of place are forms too. One word takes different endings: վերեւ (verev) (up, where to), վերեւը (verevə) (upstairs, where), վերեւէն (vereven) (from above). "Far" works the same: հեռու (herru), հեռուն (herrun), հեռուէն (herruen). Learn one row, and the ending tells "in the distance" from "from afar".
Where to versus where. Ներս (ners) — in (motion), ներսը (nersə) — inside; դուրս (turs) — out, դուրսը (tursə) — outside. Here you get the split regularly, for every word.
Table
| Where to | Where | From where | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| վերեւ (verev) | վերեւը (verevə) | վերեւէն (vereven) | up |
| ներքեւ (nerk'ev) | ներքեւը (nerk'evə) | ներքեւէն (nerk'even) | down |
| ներս (ners) | ներսը (nersə) | ներսէն (nersen) | in / inside |
| դուրս (turs) | դուրսը (tursə) | դուրսէն | out / outside |
| — | հեռուն (herrun) | հեռուէն (herruen) | far away |
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
How to say through the door?
It looks like a list of prepositions, but there are almost none. The relational word stands AFTER the noun, and the noun takes its "of" form. "Through the door" is literally "of-the-door through": դրան (tran) միջով (michov) (tran michov).
Passing by the house?
Place: the word comes after the noun. -ին միջով (michov) (through), -ին կողքով (goghk'ov) (past), -ին շուրջ (shurch) (around), -ին դիմաց (timats) (opposite). They are ordinary nouns frozen in this role: մէջ (mech) is "the middle", կողք is "the side". So "past the house" is literally "of-the-house sideways".
The word order in michov?
It looks like a list of prepositions, but there are almost none. The relational word stands AFTER the noun, and the noun takes its "of" form. "Through the door" is literally "of-the-door through": դրան (tran) միջով (michov) (tran michov).
Top bottom inside outside endings?
Where to versus where. Ներս (ners) — in (motion), ներսը (nersə) — inside; դուրս (turs) — out, դուրսը (tursə) — outside. Here you get the split regularly, for every word.
What does it look like in a Western Armenian example sentence?
“Լոյսը կ'անցնի վարագոյրին միջով” (luysə g'antsni varakuyrin michov) — The light passes through the curtain. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.