Language/Halh-mongolian/Grammar/Declensions

Halh Mongolian Grammar → Introduction to Halh Mongolian Grammar → Declensions

As a Halh Mongolian language teacher with over 20 years of experience, I am thrilled to continue our journey into the fascinating world of Halh Mongolian grammar. In this lesson, we will dive into the topic of declensions, an essential aspect of the language that will immensely improve your overall understanding and communication skills.

What are Declensions?

Declensions are modifications made to a noun, adjective, or pronoun to reflect its grammatical function in a sentence. In Halh Mongolian, declensions are a way to show the role of a noun, or the relationship between the thing or person the noun represents and the other elements in the sentence. This includes the subject, direct object, indirect object, and possessive.

The Cases of Halh Mongolian

Cases are different forms that a word can take to reflect its grammatical function or relationship to other words in a sentence. In Halh Mongolian, there are six cases:

1. Nominative
2. Accusative
3. Dative
4. Genitive
5. Ablative
6. Instrumental

Nominative Case

The nominative case is used for the subject of a sentence, meaning the person or thing doing the action. For example:

Halh Mongolian	Pronunciation	English
Монгол	Mongol	Mongol(ian)
бичиг	bichig	writing
байгууллага	baiguul-lagaa	company
нас	nas	age

Accusative Case

The accusative case is used for the direct object of a sentence, meaning the person or thing receiving the action. It is also used after postpositions indicating motion towards. For example:

Halh Mongolian	Pronunciation	English
Монголчуудаа	Mongolchuudaa	To Mongolians
бичигний	bichignii	writing (of the)
байгууллагыг	baiguul-lagy-g	company (of the)
насыг	nas-yg	age (of)

Dative Case

The dative case is used to indicate the indirect object of a sentence, meaning the person or thing for whom the action is done. It is most commonly used after verbs such as "give" or "show". For example:

Halh Mongolian	Pronunciation	English
та	ta	you
манай	manai	our
хүүхэд	khüükhed	children
гараа	garaa	hand (dative of)

Genitive Case

The genitive case is used to show possession and to indicate the object of some postpositions. For example:

Halh Mongolian	Pronunciation	English
миний	minii	my
машины	mashinii	car's
гэр	ger	home
хүү	khüü	son

Ablative Case

The ablative case is used to indicate movement from or separation from a source. For example:

Halh Mongolian	Pronunciation	English
Нэрт	Nert	From Nert
сургуулиас	surguu-li-ias	From school
Монголоос	Mongoloos	From Mongolia
шөнө	shönö	snow

Instrumental Case

The instrumental case is used to indicate the means or tool by which the action was carried out. For example:

Halh Mongolian	Pronunciation	English
суманд	sumand	with a knife
голоошоос	goloo-shoos	with a spoon
хонины	honinii	with honey
өнгөрсөн	öngörsön	passed (by)

Adjectives and Pronouns

Adjectives and pronouns in Halh Mongolian also decline according to the cases. Here are some examples of how adjectives and pronouns can change in the different cases:

Adjectives

Halh Mongolian	Pronunciation	English
маш	mash	very
бага	baga	small
эрс	ers	brave
дээр	deer	on (top of)

Pronouns

Halh Mongolian	Pronunciation	English
би	bi	I, me
та	ta	you
тэр	ter	he, she, it
бид	bid	we, us (inclusive)
манай	manai	our

Practice Makes Perfect

Declensions are a fundamental aspect of Halh Mongolian grammar, but they can also be challenging for beginners. It takes time and practice to become comfortable with them, so don't be discouraged if you don't understand everything right away. To help you get started, here are some examples for you to practice.

1. Монголчуудаа бичигний хэсгийг захиалсан.
2. Би голоолгоор машины түвшнийг уншлаа.
3. Энэ сард бид манай хүүхэд дулааныг өргөөж байгаа.
4. Хониндоо гараа цэвэрлэж байгаа хэрэгтэй.
5. Тэд насыг хамгаалъя.
6. Нэртэй сургуульд эзэн байхдаа түүний эрс дээрээс элемэнтдэж зод бичиж байлаа.

I hope you find this lesson helpful in your Halh Mongolian language journey. In our next lesson, we will be exploring Conditional Verbs, another essential part of building your Halh Mongolian language skills. Keep up the good work!

Table of Contents - Halh Mongolian Course - 0 to A1

• Course Presentation

  ---

Introduction to the Halh Mongolian Alphabet

• Cyrillic Script
• Vowel Harmony

  ---

Basic Greetings and Expressions

• Greetings
• Polite Expressions

  ---

Nouns and Pronouns

• Noun Cases
• Personal Pronouns

  ---

Numbers and Time

• Cardinal Numbers
• Ordinal Numbers
• Telling Time

  ---

Verbs and Tenses

• Present Tense
• Past Tense
• Future Tense

  ---

Family and Relationships

• Family Members
• Relationships

  ---

Adjectives and Adverbs

• Adjectives
• Adverbs

  ---

Food and Dining

• Common Foods
• Dining Phrases

  ---

Prepositions and Conjunctions

• Prepositions
• Conjunctions

  ---

Travel and Transportation

• Modes of Transportation
• Travel Phrases

  ---

Mongolian Customs and Traditions

• Traditional Holidays
• Mongolian Etiquette

  ---

Weather and Seasons

• Weather Vocabulary
• Seasons

  ---

Mongolian Music and Arts

• Traditional Music
• Visual Arts

Related Lessons

• Gender
• Present Tense Verbs
• How to Use Have
• Adjectives
• Conditional Verbs
• Causative Verbs
• Past Tense Verbs
• Pronouns
• Conditional Mood
• Future Tense