Շատ գիրք, մի քանի օր, մօտ հազար դրամ: how much exactly
Talking money means "many", "a few", "about a thousand". One rule looks like a mistake at first: after a word of quantity the noun stays singular. Shad girk — many books, not "girker". Dasə dari — ten years. For example: “Այս ամիս շատ ծախս ունեցանք” — This month we had many expenses. A rule from the Western Armenian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Talking money means "many", "a few", "about a thousand". One rule looks like a mistake at first: after a word of quantity the noun stays singular. Shad girk — many books, not "girker". Dasə dari — ten years.
Shad — many (and "very" with an adjective). K'ich — few. Mi k'ani — a few. Pavagan — quite, enough. Voch mi — not a single one, and it demands negation in the verb: voch mi tram ch'unim.
"All" is split into two words. Polore — everyone, about what can be counted: polor usanoghnerə, polore yegan. Amboghch — the whole, one indivisible mass: amboghch orə — the whole day. The question: is it counted, or one piece?
And approximation. The workhorse is մօտ (mod) before the number: mod hazar tram — about a thousand drams, the same մօտ as "near". Shurj — "some ... odd", in reports and news: shurj hisun mart. In conversation two numbers often stand side by side: yergu-yerek' or — two or three days.
Table
| Word | Meaning | Example | Careful |
|---|---|---|---|
| շատ | many | շատ գիրք — many books | the noun stays singular |
| քիչ | few | քիչ գումար — little money | — |
| մի քանի | a few | մի քանի օր — a few days | singular here too |
| ոչ մի | not a single | ոչ մի դրամ չունիմ | the verb must carry չ- |
| բոլոր(ը) | all — countable | բոլոր ուսանողները | about people and things |
| ամբողջ | the whole — one piece | ամբողջ օրը | about the indivisible |
| մօտ | about | մօտ հազար դրամ | the same word as "near" |
| մօտաւորապէս | approximately | մօտաւորապէս երկու ժամ | more bookish, more exact |
| շուրջ | some … odd | շուրջ հիսուն մարդ | newspaper style, rare in speech |
By example
- Այս ամիս շատ ծախս ունեցանքays amis shad dzakhs unetsank'This month we had many expenses
- Հաշւին մօտ հարիւր հազար դրամ կայhashvin mod haryur hazar tram gayThere is about a hundred thousand drams in the account
- Ամբողջ աշխատավարձը վարկին երթացampoghch ashkhadavartsə vargin yert'atsThe whole salary went to the credit
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
how much exactly: how does it work in Western Armenian?
Talking money means "many", "a few", "about a thousand". One rule looks like a mistake at first: after a word of quantity the noun stays singular. Shad girk — many books, not "girker". Dasə dari — ten years.
What does it look like in an example sentence Western Armenian?
“Այս ամիս շատ ծախս ունեցանք” (ays amis shad dzakhs unetsank') — This month we had many expenses. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.