Language/Armenian/Grammar/present-simple-and-present-continuous
Armenian verbs in their infinite form end either with -ել or -ալ. For instance քայլել - “to walk” and կարդալ - “to understand.” To form the present simple replace -ել/-ալ with -ում and place the corresponding form of the auxiliary after the verb. Example:
Armenian | Pronunciation | English |
Ես քայլում եմ: | Yes k`aylum em. | I am walking. |
Մենք քայլում ենք: | Menk` k`aylum enk`. | We are walking. |
Դու քայլում ես: | Du k`aylum es. | You (singular) are walking. |
Դուք քայլում եք: | Duk` k`aylum ek`. | You (plural) are walking. |
Նա քայլում է: | Na k`aylum e. | S/he is walking. |
Նրանք քայլում են: | Nrank` k`aylum en`. | They are walking. |
As you see from the chart above, the English “you” can be translated either as դու or դուք. դու stands for 2nd person singular, while դուք stands for the 2nd person plural. Sometimes, to indicate respect, the 2nd person singular is also addressed with դուք.
In Armenian the structures of present simple and present continuous are the same. Thus the sentence “Դու քայլում ես” can mean both “You are walking” and “You walk.” Here is an example:
Armenian | Pronunciation | English |
Ես կարդում եմ։ | Yes kardum em. | I am reading. / I read. |
Մենք կարդում ենք։ | Menk` kardum enk`. | We are walking. / We read. |
Դու կարդում ես: | Du kardum es. | You (singular) are reading. / You read. |
Դուք կարդում եք։ | Duk` kardum ek`. | You (plural) are walking. / You read. |
Նա կարդում է։ | Na kardum e. | S/he is reading. S/he reads. |
Նրանք կարդում են։ | Nrank` kardum enk`. | They are walking. / They read. |
We will return to present simple and present continuous in later lessons.
Sources[edit | edit source]
https://slaviccenters.duke.edu/sites/slaviccenters.duke.edu/files/handbook_of_armenian.pdf
Other Lessons[edit | edit source]
- The Locative Case
- Conditional Mood
- To Like, To Want, To Wish
- The Past Perfect Tense
- The Nominative Case
- Conditional Mood Future Conditional
- The Definite Article
- The Instrumental Case
- Indefinite Article
- Participles