A request, not an order: -եք, -իր and the treacherous մի
All the "fill in", "wait", "explain" forms are built the same way: cut -իլ/-ալ off the verb, then add an ending. -եք for polite "you"; -իր/-է for "thou". սպասիլ → sbasek' / sbasē; գրիլ → grek' / gri. The -եք form is the normal register with strangers and does not sound like an order. For example: “Լրացուցեք ձեւը, խնդրեմ” — Fill in the form, please. A rule from the Western Armenian course: worked out on examples, not…
How it works
All the "fill in", "wait", "explain" forms are built the same way: cut -իլ/-ալ (-al) off the verb, then add an ending. -եք (-ek') for polite "you"; -իր (-ir)/-է (-e) for "thou". սպասիլ → sbasek' / sbasē; գրիլ (kril) → grek' / gri. The -եք form is the normal register with strangers and does not sound like an order.
To soften it further, khntrem is added at the end: Khntrem, varped gancheck'. That is exactly the gap between "call the repairman" and "please call the repairman".
The prohibition is built with the particle մի (mi) before the same form: mi grek' — don't write; Dzerkh mi duek' — don't touch. And a trap for the ear: մի also means "one" — mi robe is "one minute", not a prohibition. Position tells them apart: before a verb it is "don't", before a noun it is "one".
Table
| Verb | Thou | You | Don't … |
|---|---|---|---|
| սպասիլ — to wait | սպասէ | սպասեք | մի սպասեք |
| կանչել — to call | կանչիր | կանչեք | մի կանչեք |
| բանալ — to open | բանա | բանաք | մի բանաք |
| գրիլ — to write | գրի | գրեք | մի գրեք |
By example
- Լրացուցեք ձեւը, խնդրեմlratsutsek' tsevə, khntremFill in the form, please
- Խնդրեմ, նորից բացատրեքkhntrem, norits patsadrek'Please explain it once more
- Այս դուռը մի բանաքays turrə mi panak'Don't open this door
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 request, not an order: how does it work in Western Armenian?
All the "fill in", "wait", "explain" forms are built the same way: cut -իլ/-ալ off the verb, then add an ending. -եք for polite "you"; -իր/-է for "thou". սպասիլ → sbasek' / sbasē; գրիլ → grek' / gri. The -եք form is the normal register with strangers and does not sound like an order.
What does it look like in an example sentence Western Armenian?
“Լրացուցեք ձեւը, խնդրեմ” (lratsutsek' tsevə, khntrem) — Fill in the form, please. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.