LingoflyԸսաւ, որ պիտի գայ: other people's words in your mouth
Reporting speech rests on one construction, with one huge relief and one trap. For example: “Լրագրողը (lrakroghə) ըսաւ (əsav), որ (vor) ռեպորտաժը (rrebordazhə) ուղիղ (ughigh) եթերին (yet'erin) մէջ (mech) պիտի (bidi) ըլլայ” (əllay) — The journalist said the report would be live. A rule from the Western Armenian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Reporting speech rests on one construction, with one huge relief and one trap.
The relief: the tense in the reported clause does not shift. English moves it back; here you keep exactly what was said. Ըսաւ (əsav)՝ (əsav) «Պիտի (bidi) գամ (kam) (bidi kam)» → Ըսաւ (əsav), որ (vor) պիտի (bidi) գայ (kay) (vor bidi kay). Only the person changes.
The conjunction is որ (vor). But verbs of speech have a mark of their own, ՝: Ըսաւ (əsav)՝ պիտի (bidi) ուշանայ — he said he would be late. It replaces the comma and the conjunction at once.
A question takes թէ (t'e) instead of որ (vor), and the ՞ mark goes away: Հարցուց (hartsuts), թէ (t'e) երբ (yerp) պիտի (bidi) գամ (kam) (t'e yerp bidi kam) — he asked when I would come. Orders go into the form without պիտի (bidi): «Եկուր (yegur)» → Ըսաւ (əsav), որ (vor) գամ (kam) (vor kam). So որ (vor) պիտի (bidi) գայ (kay) means "that he will come", and որ (vor) գայ (kay) (vor kay) means "that he should come".
Table
| Direct speech | Reported | What changed |
|---|---|---|
| «Պիտի (bidi) գամ» (kam) | Ըսաւ (əsav), որ (vor) պիտի (bidi) գայ (kay) | only the person; the tense stayed |
| «Կ'ուշանամ» (g'ushanam) | Ըսաւ (əsav), որ (vor) կ'ուշանայ (g'ushanay) | only the person |
| «Ե՞րբ (yerp) կու (gu) գաս» | Հարցուց (hartsuts), թէ (t'e) երբ (yerp) կու (gu) գամ (kam) | որ (vor) → թէ (t'e), the ՞ mark removed |
| «Պիտի (bidi) երթա՞մ» | Հարցուց (hartsuts), թէ (t'e) արդեօք պիտի (bidi) երթամ (yert'am) | թէ (t'e) + արդեօք — the Armenian "whether" |
| «Եկուր» (yegur) | Ըսաւ (əsav), որ (vor) գամ (kam) | an order → the form without պիտի (bidi) |
| «Պիտի (bidi) ուշանամ» | Ըսաւ (əsav)՝ պիտի (bidi) ուշանայ | the mark ՝ instead of ", որ" (vor) |
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
other people's words in your mouth: how does it work in Western Armenian?
Reporting speech rests on one construction, with one huge relief and one trap.
What does it look like in a Western Armenian example sentence?
“Լրագրողը (lrakroghə) ըսաւ (əsav), որ (vor) ռեպորտաժը (rrebordazhə) ուղիղ (ughigh) եթերին (yet'erin) մէջ (mech) պիտի (bidi) ըլլայ” (əllay) (lrakroghə əsav, vor rrebordazhə ughigh yet'erin mech bidi əllay) — The journalist said the report would be live. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.