LingoflyԿը գրէի or գրեցի: two pasts and the question "finished or not"
English marks "was writing" against "wrote" with an auxiliary verb. Armenian has none: the difference lives in the form of the verb. For example: “Կը (gə) կարդայի (gartayi), երբ (yerp) յանկարծ (hangardz) լոյսը (luysə) հանգաւ” — I was reading when suddenly the light went out. A rule from the Western Armenian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
English marks "was writing" against "wrote" with an auxiliary verb. Armenian has none: the difference lives in the form of the verb.
The simple past — գրեցի (kretsi), գացի (katsi), կարդացի (gartatsi): one completed action, "wrote", "went". The unfinished past — կը (gə) գրէի, կը (gə) կարդայի (gartayi) (gə gartayi): the action lasted, repeated or was the backdrop. It is built like the present: կը (gə) stays, the ending changes to -էի (-ei). կը (gə) գրեմ (krem) (gə krem) — I write; կը (gə) գրէի — I was writing.
Side by side: Կը (gə) կարդայի (gartayi), երբ (yerp) զանգեցիր — I was reading when you called. The first lasted; the second cut in. Backdrop — the կ'-էի form, event — the simple past.
The third form is the perfect, գրած եմ (em) (kradz em). It is about a result that exists now: Արդէն (arten) կարդացած (gartatsadz) եմ (em) (arten gartatsadz em) — I have already read it. With արդէն (arten), դեռ (terr), երբեք (yerpek') you use -ած եմ (em), not -եցի.
Table
| Form | What it looks like | When it is used | In English |
|---|---|---|---|
| the simple past | գրեցի (kretsi) | one completed action | wrote |
| the unfinished past | կը (gə) գրէի | it lasted, it was the backdrop | was writing |
| unfinished + frequency | ամէն օր (amen or) կը (gə) գրէի | a habit in the past | used to write |
| the perfect | գրած եմ (em) | the result exists now | have written |
| the perfect with երբեք (yerpek') | երբեք (yerpek') չեմ (chem) գրած | the experience never happened | have never written |
| շարունակել (sharunagel) | կը (gə) շարունակեմ (sharunagem) գրել (krel) | the action has not ended | keep writing |
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
Gə krei or kretsi which one?
The simple past — գրեցի (kretsi), գացի (katsi), կարդացի (gartatsi): one completed action, "wrote", "went". The unfinished past — կը (gə) գրէի, կը (gə) կարդայի (gartayi): the action lasted, repeated or was the backdrop. It is built like the present: կը (gə) stays, the ending changes to -էի. կը (gə) գրեմ (krem) — I write; կը (gə) գրէի — I was writing.
Past continuous and simple past?
The simple past — գրեցի (kretsi), գացի (katsi), կարդացի (gartatsi): one completed action, "wrote", "went". The unfinished past — կը (gə) գրէի, կը (gə) կարդայի (gartayi): the action lasted, repeated or was the backdrop. It is built like the present: կը (gə) stays, the ending changes to -էի. կը (gə) գրեմ (krem) — I write; կը (gə) գրէի — I was writing.
How to say i had already read?
The third form is the perfect, գրած եմ (em). It is about a result that exists now: Արդէն (arten) կարդացած (gartatsadz) եմ (em) — I have already read it. With արդէն (arten), դեռ (terr), երբեք (yerpek') you use -ած եմ (em), not -եցի.
Arten gartatsadz em meaning?
English marks "was writing" against "wrote" with an auxiliary verb. Armenian has none: the difference lives in the form of the verb.
Which past with already and never?
The third form is the perfect, գրած եմ (em). It is about a result that exists now: Արդէն (arten) կարդացած (gartatsadz) եմ (em) — I have already read it. With արդէն (arten), դեռ (terr), երբեք (yerpek') you use -ած եմ (em), not -եցի.
Unfinished past vs completed action?
The simple past — գրեցի (kretsi), գացի (katsi), կարդացի (gartatsi): one completed action, "wrote", "went". The unfinished past — կը (gə) գրէի, կը (gə) կարդայի (gartayi): the action lasted, repeated or was the backdrop. It is built like the present: կը (gə) stays, the ending changes to -էի. կը (gə) գրեմ (krem) — I write; կը (gə) գրէի — I was writing.
What does it look like in a Western Armenian example sentence?
“Կը (gə) կարդայի (gartayi), երբ (yerp) յանկարծ (hangardz) լոյսը (luysə) հանգաւ” (gə gartayi, yerp hangardz loysə hankav) — I was reading when suddenly the light went out. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.