LingoflyԿարդացած գիրք, երգող աղջիկ: a modifier instead of a clause
You can link a thought with որ (vor). But live text rarely does: it puts a participle before the noun, and a whole relative clause shrinks into one modifier. For example: “Կարդացած (gartatsadz) վէպը (vebə) գրադարան (krataran) վերադարձուր” (veratartsur) — Return the finished novel to the library. A rule from the Western Armenian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
You can link a thought with որ (vor). But live text rarely does: it puts a participle before the noun, and a whole relative clause shrinks into one modifier.
-ած — done; -ող — doing. կարդացած (gartatsadz) գիրք (kirk') (gartatsadz kirk') — a book that was read. The present uses the same suffix as գրող (krogh): երգող աղջիկ (aghchig) (yerkogh aghchig) — a singing girl. Everything that belongs to the participle stands before it, and the participle before the noun: բեմին վրայ (vra) երգող աղջիկը (aghchigə) (pemin vra yerkogh aghchigə) — the girl singing on stage.
-ուող, -ուած, and what is yet to come. Գրուող նամակը (namagə) — the letter being written; գրուած (kruadz) նամակը (namagə) (krvadz namagə) — the written letter. կարդալու գիրք (kirk') (gartalu kirk') — a book still to be read. Bookish, but frequent on posters.
When որ (vor) after all. If "which" needs a preposition, as in "the book we talked about", the participle will not do: գիրքը (kirk'ə), որուն մասին (masin) կը (gə) խօսէինք.
Table
| Form | Meaning | Example | In English |
|---|---|---|---|
| -ած | done | կարդացած (gartatsadz) գիրք (kirk') | a read book |
| -ող | doing | երգող աղջիկ (aghchig) | a girl who is singing |
| -ուած | done by someone | թարգմանուած վէպ (veb) | a translated novel |
| -ուող | being done now | կառուցուող շէնք (shenk') | a building being built |
| -ելու | yet to be done | կարդալու գիրք (kirk') | a book for reading |
| -ելիք | what is to come | ըսելիք | what is to be said |
| որ (vor) | when the participle will not do | գիրքը (kirk'ə), որուն մասին (masin) խօսեցանք | the book we talked about |
By example
- Կարդացած վէպը գրադարան վերադարձուրgartatsadz vebə krataran veratartsurReturn the finished novel to the library
- Բեմին վրայ երգող աղջիկը իմ դուստրն էpemin vra yerkogh aghchigə im tusdrn eThe girl singing on the stage is my daughter
- Թարգմանուած գիրքերը ցուցափեղկին մէջ դրուած ենt'arkmanvadz kirk'erə tsutsap'eghgin mech trvadz enThe translated books are displayed in the shop window
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
a modifier instead of a clause: how does it work in Western Armenian?
You can link a thought with որ (vor). But live text rarely does: it puts a participle before the noun, and a whole relative clause shrinks into one modifier.
What does it look like in a Western Armenian example sentence?
“Կարդացած (gartatsadz) վէպը (vebə) գրադարան (krataran) վերադարձուր” (veratartsur) (gartatsadz vebə krataran veratartsur) — Return the finished novel to the library. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.