Yesterday it was cold: the past with one swap
Before any table of verb forms, one thought: to move a story into the past, the verb itself is not touched. The particle կը/կ' stays where it was; only the copula changes: em → էի, es → էիր, e → էր. G'ashkhadim — I work; g'ashkhadēi — I worked. For example: “Երեկ ես տան մէջ էի” — Yesterday I was at home. A rule from the Western Armenian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Before any table of verb forms, one thought: to move a story into the past, the verb itself is not touched. The particle կը (gə)/կ' stays where it was; only the copula changes: em → էի (ei), es → էիր, e → էր (er). G'ashkhadim — I work; g'ashkhadēi — I worked.
This is the unfinished past: what lasted or repeated. It is exactly what the weather, memories and routines need. Amranə shad shog er — it was very hot in summer. Antsadz dari Yerevani mech g'ashkhadēi — last year I worked in Yerevan. For a single completed action there is a separate past — yert'atsay (went), asats (said). No hurry with it: the էի copula covers most everyday stories.
One note about the weather. "It is raining" is antsev k'gay, where the verb գալ (kal) takes a prefixed form. In the past it behaves just as obediently: antsev k'gar — it was raining.
Table
| Person | Present | Past |
|---|---|---|
| ես (I) | կ'աշխատիմ | կ'աշխատէի |
| դուն (you) | կ'աշխատիս | կ'աշխատէիր |
| ան (he/she) | կ'աշխատի | կ'աշխատէր |
| մենք (we) | կ'աշխատինք | կ'աշխատէինք |
| դուք (you pl.) | կ'աշխատիք | կ'աշխատէիք |
| անոնք (they) | կ'աշխատին | կ'աշխատէին |
By example
- Երեկ ես տան մէջ էիyereg yes dan mech eiYesterday I was at home
- Ամռանը շատ շոգ էրamrranə shad shok erIt was very hot in summer
- Անցած տարի Երեւանի մէջ կ'աշխատէիantsadz dari Yerevani mech g'ashkhadeiLast year I worked in Yerevan
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
Yesterday it was cold: how does it work in Western Armenian?
Before any table of verb forms, one thought: to move a story into the past, the verb itself is not touched. The particle կը/կ' stays where it was; only the copula changes: em → էի, es → էիր, e → էր. G'ashkhadim — I work; g'ashkhadēi — I worked.
What does it look like in an example sentence Western Armenian?
“Երեկ ես տան մէջ էի” (yereg yes dan mech ei) — Yesterday I was at home. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.