LingoflyՇատ գիրք, քանի մը օր: after a quantity the noun stays singular
Talking money means "many", "a few", "not a single one". One rule looks like a mistake at first: after a word of quantity the noun stays singular. Շատ (shad) գիրք (kirk') — many books. Տասը (dasə) տարի (dari) — ten years. Քանի մը (k'ani mə) օր (or) — a few days. For example: “Այս (ays) ամիս (amis) շատ (shad) ծախս ունեցանք” (unetsank) — This month we had many expenses. A rule from the Western Armenian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Talking money means "many", "a few", "not a single one". One rule looks like a mistake at first: after a word of quantity the noun stays singular. Շատ (shad) գիրք (kirk') (shad kirk') — many books. Տասը (dasə) տարի (dari) (dasə dari) — ten years. Քանի մը (k'ani mə) օր (or) (k'ani mə or) — a few days.
Շատ (shad) — many (and "very" with an adjective). Քիչ (k'ich) — few. Քանի մը (k'ani mə) — a few. Բաւական (pavagan) — quite, enough. Ոչ (voch) մէկ (meg) (voch meg) — not a single one; the verb must be negative too: ոչ (voch) մէկ (meg) դրամ (tram) չունիմ (chunim) (voch meg tram chunim).
Table
| Word | Meaning | Example | Careful |
|---|---|---|---|
| շատ (shad) | many | շատ (shad) գիրք (kirk') — many books | the noun stays singular |
| քիչ (k'ich) | few | քիչ (k'ich) գումար (kumar) — little money | — |
| քանի մը (k'ani mə) | a few | քանի մը (k'ani mə) օր (or) — a few days | singular here too |
| ոչ (voch) մէկ (meg) | not a single | ոչ (voch) մէկ (meg) դրամ (tram) չունիմ (chunim) | the verb must carry չ- |
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
after a quantity the noun stays singular: how does it work in Western Armenian?
Talking money means "many", "a few", "not a single one". One rule looks like a mistake at first: after a word of quantity the noun stays singular. Շատ (shad) գիրք (kirk') — many books. Տասը (dasə) տարի (dari) — ten years. Քանի մը (k'ani mə) օր (or) — a few days.
What does it look like in a Western Armenian example sentence?
“Այս (ays) ամիս (amis) շատ (shad) ծախս ունեցանք” (unetsank) (ays amis shad dzakhs unetsank') — This month we had many expenses. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.