Language/Armenian/Grammar/Definite-and-Indefinite
As a beginner learner of Armenian, you will already have learned about basic sentence structures and other important concepts, such as noun and pronoun, verb conjugation and adjectives. You will also have been introduced to some Armenian culture and history, as well as basic vocabulary necessary for daily life. In this lesson, we will be discussing the concepts of definite and indefinite in Armenian.
Definite and Indefinite
In Armenian, definite nouns are those that we recognize as specific objects or people, or those that have already been mentioned in previous sentences or conversations. Indefinite nouns refer to objects or people in a more general sense, and have not yet been specified or identified.
For example, take the Armenian word for "book". If we say "գիրք" (girk), we are referring to any book in general. However, if we refer to "գրքին" (grk’in), we are speaking of a specific book that we have already established in the conversation.
Another example could be the words "տուր" (tur) and "այցելություն" (aytsevolut’youn). Both words refer to the concept of "tourism", but "այցելություն" is a more specific and definite term, referring to the act of visiting different places, while "տուր" is a more general and indefinite term, referring to the concept of traveling for pleasure.
Definite nouns are formed by adding various affixes to the noun.
Some examples are:
| Armenian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| եսական (esakan) | e-sa-kan | belonging to, for |
| պարունակ (parounak) | pa-ru-na-k | including |
| վրայով (vrayov) | vra-yov | on top of, on |
| մրգաշարժ (mrgasharch) | mrga-sharj | about, concerning |
These affixes are added to the end of the noun to make it definite.
Indefinite nouns, on the other hand, are formed by adding the suffix "-ում" or "-ույն" to the end of the noun.
For example:
| Armenian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| կլոր (klor) | klor | circle |
| կլորում (klorum) | klor-um | in a circle |
| պատերազմ (paterazm) | pa-te-ra-zm | war |
| պատերազմուն (paterazmun) | pa-te-ra-zmun | in a war |
The suffix "-ում" is generally used with nouns that indicate place, time, or manner, while the suffix "-ույն" is used with nouns indicating possession or action.
It is important to remember that using the correct form of a noun, whether definite or indefinite, can be critical to the meaning of a sentence.
For example, let's take the sentence "I found a book in the library." In Armenian, this could be written as "Այսօր գիրք գտայ գրադարանում" (Aysohr girk gtay gra-ta-ra-noum).
If we change the sentence to "I found the book in the library," it would be written as "Այսօր գրքին գտայ գրադարանում" (Aysohr grk’in gtay gra-ta-ra-noum), using the definite form "քրքշրժ" to indicate a specific book.
Conclusion
In this lesson, we have discussed the concepts of definite and indefinite in Armenian. It is important to remember the correct usage of these forms, as it can significantly alter the meaning of sentences. As always, practice makes perfect, so try to use these concepts as much as possible in your own Armenian conversations and writing.