Western Armenian grammar
Western Armenian grammar explained in plain words. Stress almost always on the last syllable, no grammatical gender, the alphabet is shared with the Eastern course. What is harder: a brand-new alphabet, classical spelling, and consonants that "flip".
Notes
- 📐The verb "to be": em, yes, eThe verb "to be" is a set of little words — em, yes, e. They hook onto the word in front of them and are pronounced…
- 📐Thank you: շնորհակալութիւն or մերսիTwo thank-yous — and the choice is not about politeness but about register. Shnorhagalut'yun is the full, literary…
- 📐The article -ը / -նDefiniteness is an ending, not a separate word. Plain coffee is սուրճ; the coffee, the one we both have in mind, is…
- 📐Negation: չ + copula + the -եր/-ար formThe copula is negated with the prefix չ- and moves to the front: "I understand" — "kə hasganam"; "I don't understand"…
- 📐Two words for "yes": այո and հաAyo is the full "yes"; it fits everywhere and offends nobody. Ha is the short colloquial one, closer to "yeah": among…
- 📐Please and excuse me: խնդրեմ and ներողութիւնKhntrem works in three roles: "please" with a request, "after you" with an invitation, and "you're welcome" as the…
- 📐Present tense: կը + the verb formThe western standard builds the present with the particle կը (read "gə"; before a vowel — կ'): երթալ → կ'երթամ…
- 📐Plural: -եր / -ներOne-syllable words take -եր, longer words -ներ: միրգ → մրգեր — mirg → mrger (fruits); usanogh → usanoghner (students).
- 📐A question without a particle: the ՞ markThe mark is put not at the end of the phrase but directly over the stressed vowel of the word the question is about…
- 📐Ցտեսութիւն and Հաջող: goodbye and byeTsdesut'yun is built around the verb տեսնել — to see — and literally means "until we see each other". It is the neutral…
- 📐More expensive, cheaper: one word, աւելիEnglish bends the word itself — cheap, cheaper, the cheapest — and here nothing inside the word moves. The adjective…
- 📐Where? ի մէջ — and a trap with the verb"In the room", "in the kitchen", "in the city" — no preposition is needed. The noun takes ի մէջ: seniag → seniagi mech…
- 📐Գլուխս կը ցաւի: your body without "my"To complain to a doctor you need one habit English lacks: possession is glued onto the word. glukh is a head in…
- 📐Yesterday it was cold: the past with one swapBefore any table of verb forms, one thought: to move a story into the past, the verb itself is not touched. The…
- 📐A request, not an order: -եք, -իր and the treacherous միAll the "fill in", "wait", "explain" forms are built the same way: cut -իլ/-ալ off the verb, then add an ending. -եք…
- 📐Վաղը պիտի երթամ: the future through պիտի"Tomorrow I'll go", "I'll call you", "we'll order" — turns without which a week cannot be lived. The future is built…
- 📐Ինծի տուր: to whom and whom"Give me", "I'll call you", "he is waiting for us" — for these phrases the words were missing. Until now only yes, tun…
- 📐Ճամպրուկը or ճամպրուկ: where -ը is neededThe article does not stand before the word — it is glued on at the back: -ը after a consonant, -ն after a vowel.…
- 📐One ending or two: -եր and -ներThe plural is chosen by the length of the word, not by gender or by the final letter. The rule is short: a one-syllable…
- 📐Պէտք է, կրնամ: must, can, worth"I have to go", "can I try it on?", "it is worth trying" — three turns for every day. All three are built around the…
- 📐Այս, այդ, այն: three "this" where you expect twoEnglish splits the world in two: this — near, that — far. Here there are three, and not by distance: what decides is…
- 📐Իմ հեռախօսը and հեռախօսս: two ways to say "my""My phone" can be said in two ways here, and both are correct. The first will look familiar: a separate word in front…
- 📐Շատ, բաւական, չափազանց: exactly how muchBetween "good" and "too good" lies a rigid scale. On the left k'ich — little. Then pavagan — quite: everything in…
- 📐Ցուրտ է: a sentence with no actor"It is cold", "one must go", "it seems" — English fills these with a dummy "it". Here nothing is needed: the copula է…
- 📐Որ, որովհետեւ, եթե, երբ: two thoughts in one sentenceUntil now a phrase was one thought long. "Tell him that I am late", "if there is time". The conjunction opens the…
- 📐Ամենալաւը and լաւագոյնը: two "best"Three ways to say "the most". The first is the prefix ամենա-, glued to the front: amenat'arm hatsə — the freshest…
- 📐Շատ գիրք, մի քանի օր, մօտ հազար դրամ: how much exactlyTalking money means "many", "a few", "about a thousand". One rule looks like a mistake at first: after a word of…
- 📐Այնքան վատ, որքան երէկ: compare whole situations, not wordsComparing one adjective is already known. At the doctor's one compares states of affairs: "today is not as bad as…
- 📐Կ'ուզենայի: how to say "I would"The real condition is familiar: Yet'e gas, bidi urakhanam. A polite request needs "I would like", "if I had…
- 📐Այն բնակարանը, որ վարձեցինք: how a noun's word group is builtIn talk about renting, four other words gather around one noun, and their order is strict.
- 📐Ստիպուած էի, կարելի էր: must and can in yesterday and tomorrow"I had to wait", "parking was not allowed". Modality almost always sits in yesterday or in tomorrow. The modal words…
- 📐Ասաց, որ պիտի գայ: other people's words in your mouthReporting speech rests on one construction: one huge relief and one trap.
- 📐Դիմումը ընդունուեցաւ: one inserted -ու- and no actorThe language of offices rests on one device: "the application has been accepted", "the visa was refused". The state…
- 📐Որպէսզի, չնայած որ, ուստի: complex sentences in fullTalk about opinion needs the rest: purpose, concession, consequence, boundaries in time. Two rules first.
- 📐Կը գրէի or gretsi: two pasts and the question "finished or not"English marks "was writing" against "wrote" with auxiliary verbs; here there are none. The difference lives in the form…
- 📐Աշխատասեր, շատախոս, անտարբեր: what character is built fromThree dozen adjectives about character need not be memorized one by one. Almost every one is a familiar root plus a…
- 📐Ինձ ամոթ է, ինծի դուր կը գայ: to whom it is feltFeelings split into two piles, and the pile decides what the person is in the sentence.
- 📐Եփելուց առաջ, եփելիս: one action wrapped around anotherA recipe is a chain of "first… then…", and English holds it together with conjunctions: "before boiling", "after it…
- 📐Կաշվե պայուսակ and դանակով կտրել: made of what, done with whatIn a shop two questions are asked more than any others. What is it made of? What do you do it with? Here an ending does…
- 📐Երեւի, հաւանաբար, իհարկե: how sure the speaker isHalf the meaning hangs not on facts but on how sure the speaker is. "Probably the board burned out", "of course we'll…
- 📐Լիճ → լճակ, արեւ → արեւոտ: how nature words are assembledHalf of the words about nature are familiar words with a tail. Learn the tails plus one way of compounding, and you…
- 📐Բանկի դիմաց, տան հետեւում: the word comes after, not beforeExplaining the way is the most frequent task of the first year, and one always stumbles on the same thing. English puts…
- 📐Կարդալ գիտեմ, կարդալը հեշտ է: the infinitive instead of a nounThe whole topic of skills rests on one construction English lacks. "I know how to read" and "reading comes easily"…
- 📐Ժամը հինգին, մէկ տարի հետո: time without prepositionsWhen, since when, until when — the questions of every meeting. Here every question has its own ending, and prepositions…
- 📐Ի՞նչ ասացիք and թե ինչ ասացիք: the ՞ mark and a question inside a sentenceTwo oddities at once: the question mark does not stand at the end, and a question inside a sentence is introduced by a…
- 📐Շինարար, երգիչ, այգեպան: how an occupation comes out of a deedThe name of a doer is built with a suffix, and there are four common ones. Whoever knows them reads an unfamiliar -ող…
- 📐Բանկից, քեզնից, դրանից: the -ից case and everything it can doThe ending -ից is the source case: it answers "from where". -ից is added to the -ի 'of' form, not to the dictionary…
- 📐Մարդիկ, կանայք, ժողովուրդ: plurals that break the ruleThe plural rule is familiar: a one-syllable word takes -եր, a longer one -ներ. It covers ninety-five words out of a…
- 📐Կարդացած գիրք, երգող աղջիկ: a modifier instead of a clauseA thought can be tied together with vor. But live text almost never does that: it puts a participle before the noun…
- 📐Վազեցնել, հագցնել, հասցնել: to make, to give and to bring toHalf the gym phrases are about one person making another act. Here -ցն- is inserted into the verb. The pairs speak for…
- 📐Քսան, հարիւր, երկրորդ, քառորդ: numbers beyond tenNumbers past ten are assembled from pieces you already know. For "two tickets" and "five days" the first ten was…
- 📐Բորբոքում, հետազոտութիւն, ցավ: a noun made from a verbHalf of medical words are a noun made from a verb by one device: porpok'vel → porpok'um. The suffix -ում makes a noun…
- 📐Թող լինի, Աստուած պահի, ապրես: wishing is a verb form of its ownWishes number in the dozens, and almost all are assembled from one verb form — the one after bedk e and vorbeszi. It is…
- 📐Ես ասած եմ and ես ասած եմ: wherever em stands, that is what is at issueEnglish marks it with stress and cleft sentences ("It was ME who said it"); here the grammar is stricter. The copula…
- 📐Ինչ-որ, որեւէ, ցանկացած, ոչ ոք: somebody, anybody, any and nobodyGeneralization — "almost everyone", "mostly" — rests on indefinite words: someone, anything, any, nobody. Each has its…
- 📐Ժանգոտ, փայլուն, օվալաձեւ: how a quality is assembledMost of the adjectives in this topic need not be memorized: a quality is built with a suffix from a ready-made noun.…
- 📐Դռան միջով, տան կողքով: the relational word stands after the nounIt looks like a list of prepositions, but there are almost none. The relational word stands AFTER the noun, and the…
- 📐Կրկնակի, տասնյակ, մէկուկես: fractions and multiplesCounting you can already do. This is about turning a number into "twice as much", "a group of ten" and "one and a…
- 📐Վերսկսել, դադարեցնել, ձեռնամուխ ըլլալ: a beginning, an end and "all over again"Here they are words, but transparently assembled. The prefix վեր- means "again, anew". Sgseł (to begin) → versgsil (to…
- 📐Մտածողութիւն, չափում, դիտարկում: a noun out of a verbAlmost the whole topic is nouns made from verbs, and two predictable suffixes do it. -ում — the action as a process or…
- 📐Ուրբաթին, աշնանը, օրերս: the ending does the talking about timeIt looks like a list of adverbs, but there are almost none here. "On Friday", "in autumn", "the other day" are conveyed…
- 📐Սառցադաշտ, հանքավայր, կանաչապատում: the -ա- seam in the middle of a wordAt first glance these are unpronounceable long words. In fact almost every one is two familiar words stitched by one…
- 📐Արտադրվում է, ստուգվեց, փաթեթաւորված: the workshop speaks with no doerFactory text talks almost entirely about what was done to a thing, not who did it. One inserted -վ- removes the doer.…
- 📐Ասաց, որ… ասաց, թե…: how to pass on other people's wordsReported speech is not a phrase but a choice of conjunction and verb form. "Որ" introduces a statement. Na batsatrets…
- 📐Ամաչկոտ, ինքնասեր, եսասիրութիւն: the name of a quality and its ownerThe words of this topic come in pairs: a trait of character and the person who has it. Half of them you can assemble…
What works differently from what you know
The Western Armenian present tense is built with the prefix կը-, read “gə”: կը խօսիմ is “I speak”, literally “gə-khosim”. Eastern Armenian says the same with a different form — խոսում եմ, “khosum em” — and that prefix is one of the first marks by which the Western norm gives itself away.
Kevork B. Bardakjian & Robert W. Thomson, «Western Armenian for the Foreigner», 1988
What is hard about Western Armenian and what comes for free
Hard: a brand-new alphabet, classical spelling, and consonants that "flip".
Easy: stress almost always on the last syllable, no grammatical gender, the alphabet is shared with the Eastern course.
This is not a verdict on the language but a hint on where to spend effort. The hard parts are best taken a little at a time and often; the easy parts — left alone while they work by themselves.
Frequently asked
Is the grammar of Western Armenian complicated?
A brand-new alphabet, classical spelling, and consonants that "flip" is the main difficulty. In return, stress almost always on the last syllable, no grammatical gender, the alphabet is shared with the Eastern course.
Should grammar be learned separately?
Not as a separate course. A rule learned before you need it is forgotten before you meet it. It is more useful to work it out at the moment you stumble over it.