Ուրբաթին, աշնանը, օրերս: the ending does the talking about time
It looks like a list of adverbs, but there are almost none here. "On Friday", "in autumn", "the other day" are conveyed by an ending on the word itself. Then no one hunts for a preposition that is not there. The dative -ին answers "when". Urbat'in → urbat'in (on Friday); yerekoyan (in the evening); tarinerin (in those years); pahin (at the moment). The plural takes the same -ին: ashkhadank'ayin orerin — on working…
How it works
It looks like a list of adverbs, but there are almost none here. "On Friday", "in autumn", "the other day" are conveyed by an ending on the word itself. Then no one hunts for a preposition that is not there. The dative -ին answers "when". Urbat'in → urbat'in (on Friday); yerekoyan (in the evening); tarinerin (in those years); pahin (at the moment). The plural takes the same -ին: ashkhadank'ayin orerin — on working days.
The -ում (-um) duration ending answers "how long it took". Meg zhamum — within an hour; mi k'ani robeum — within a few minutes; yergu tarum — in two years. The same -ում for "inside something": ayt ənt'atsk'um — in the meantime; hedagayum — afterwards.
The source -ից answers "since when". Hin zhamanaknerits — from time immemorial; yeregvayits — since yesterday. The possessive -ս in the meaning "the present". Orers — the other day; aysorva — of today. The form looks like "my days" but means "these days".
The seasons stand apart. Ashun → ashnanə (in autumn); karun → garnanə; dzmerr → dzmrranə; amarr → amrranə. Inside the word a vowel drops out, as in midk' → mdk'i.
Table
| Question | The case | Example | In English |
|---|---|---|---|
| when | -ին | ուրբաթին | on Friday |
| when | -ը (a season) | աշնանը | in autumn |
| how long it took | -ում | մէկ ժամում | within an hour |
| since when | -ից | հին ժամանակներից | from time immemorial |
| these days | -ս | օրերս | the other day |
By example
- Գրադարանը բաց է աշխատանքային օրերինkrataranə pats e ashkhadank'ayin orerinThe library is open on working days
- Կրակը տարածվեց մի քանի րոպեումgragə daradzvets mi k'ani robeumThe fire spread within a few minutes
- Օրերս կզանգեմ եւ կպայմանավորվենքorers gzankem yev gbaymanavorvenk'I will call one of these days and we'll arrange things
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
the ending does the talking about time: how does it work in Western Armenian?
It looks like a list of adverbs, but there are almost none here. "On Friday", "in autumn", "the other day" are conveyed by an ending on the word itself. Then no one hunts for a preposition that is not there. The dative -ին answers "when". Urbat'in → urbat'in (on Friday); yerekoyan (in the evening)…
What does it look like in an example sentence Western Armenian?
“Գրադարանը բաց է աշխատանքային օրերին” (krataranə pats e ashkhadank'ayin orerin) — The library is open on working days. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.