Ասաց, որ պիտի գայ: other people's words in your mouth
Reporting speech rests on one construction: one huge relief and one trap. For example: “Լրագրողը ասաց, որ ռեպորտաժը ուղիղ եթերին մէջ պիտի ըլլայ” — The journalist said the report would be live. A rule from the Western Armenian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Reporting speech rests on one construction: one huge relief and one trap.
The relief: the tense in the reported clause does not shift. English moves it back; here what the person said is kept. Asats՝ "Bidi gam" → Asats, vor bidi gay. Only the person changes.
The conjunction is vor. But verbs of speech have a mark of their own: ՝ — but. But replaces comma and conjunction at once, after words of speech and thought.
A question takes t'e instead of vor, and the ՞ mark goes away. "Yerp՞ bidi gas" → Hartsuts, t'e yerp bidi gam — he asked when I would come. Orders and requests go into the form without piti: "Ari" → Asats, vor gam — he said I should come. Vor bidi gay — that he will come; vor ga — that he come: only the verb form tells a message from a demand.
Table
| Direct speech | Reported | What changed |
|---|---|---|
| «Պիտի գամ» | Ասաց, որ պիտի գայ | only the person; the tense stayed |
| «Կ'ուշանամ» | Ասաց, որ կ'ուշանայ | only the person |
| «Ե՞րբ կ'գաս» | Հարցուց, թէ երբ կ'գամ | որ → թէ, the ՞ mark removed |
| «Պիտի երթա՞մ» | Հարցուց, թէ արդիոք պիտի երթամ | թէ + արդիոք — the local "whether" |
| «Արի» | Ասաց, որ գամ | an order → the form without պիտի |
| «Պիտի ուշանամ» | Ասաց՝ պիտի ուշանայ | the but` mark ՝ instead of ", որ" |
By example
- Լրագրողը ասաց, որ ռեպորտաժը ուղիղ եթերին մէջ պիտի ըլլայlrakroghə asats, vor rrebordazhə ughigh yet'erin mech bidi əllayThe journalist said the report would be live
- Հարցուց, թէ որտեղէ է այս լուրըhartsuts, t'e vordeghe e ays lurəHe asked where this news came from
- Խմբագիրը ասաց՝ վերնագիրը փոխիրkhmpakirə asats vernakirə p'okhirThe editor said: change the headline
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
other people's words in your mouth: how does it work in Western Armenian?
Reporting speech rests on one construction: one huge relief and one trap.
What does it look like in an example sentence Western Armenian?
“Լրագրողը ասաց, որ ռեպորտաժը ուղիղ եթերին մէջ պիտի ըլլայ” (lrakroghə asats, vor rrebordazhə ughigh yet'erin mech bidi əllay) — The journalist said the report would be live. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.