Language/Armenian/Grammar/Comma-and-Colon-Usage
As a language teacher specializing in Armenian, I often receive this question from my students: what are the rules for using commas and colons in Armenian sentences? In this lesson, I will provide a comprehensive explanation of these rules to help you improve your Armenian writing skills.
Comma Usage
Commas, like in most languages, are used in Armenian to separate clauses or phrases in a sentence, to create a pause or to distinguish between items in a list. Here are some of the most common situations where you may need to use a comma in Armenian:
Separating Clauses
When a sentence contains more than one clause, you can usually separate them with a comma. However, it is important to use a connector word along with the comma. Here are some examples:
- Նա գնում է գրք, իսկ ես կարող եմ նրացից ասել: (na gnum e grk, isk yes karogh em nrac'ic' asel) – He is buying a book, but I can tell him.
- Ես բան չեմ հասկանում, ինչում ծանուցում կգտնեմ: (es ban chem haskanum, inchum canum kgtneam) – I don’t understand anything, but I will find out in the notification.
Separating Phrases
In Armenian sentences, it is common to separate phrases with commas to make it easier to read and to prevent ambiguity. Here are some examples:
- Գիտես, որ ինչպես փոքր է հարմար մեկ մարդ, այնքան մեծ է նրա նվիրումը: (gites, vor inchpes pok'r e hramar mek mard, aynk'an mec e nra nvirvumy) – You know how much a small kind deed means to a person? It means a lot to him.
- Թույլ ե՞ս տալիս կորցնել, թե փոքր թիվը ավելի քիչն է, թե մեծատառով, հատուկ սիմբոլերով և այլն: (tuyl es t\_lic' korc'nel, te pok'r ti'vy aveli q'ic'n e, te mecatorov, hatuk simboleroov yev aylne) – Do you allow rounding, either to a small number or to capital, special symbols, etc.?
Creating a Pause
When you want to create a pause for emphasis or clarity, you can use a comma in Armenian to separate the phrases:
- Գարշեր ունեն, բայց երբեմն թույլ է ընդունելու, ենթադրվում է այնպես ելքը կանխարգելին կլինի: (Garshery unen, bayc' erberz tuy kgtnealu, ent'adruvum e aynpepes yelk'y kanxarelilin klini) – They have cliffs, but sometimes it's allowed to accept, it is assumed that the output will be preloaded like a canyon.
- Տեսարանից եկեղեցու այցելուն, այնպես պետք է, իրարից հեռավոր լինելով, սովորաբար ուշադրվի երկու նկարների միջև: (Tesaranic' yeghets'u ac'elun, aynpepes petk'y e, iraric' heravor linylov, sovorabar ushadrvy yergu nkarneri mijy) – A visitor from the theater to the church should, being far from each other, usually pay attention to two pictures.
Separating List Items
When you have a list of items or actions in Armenian that you want to write down, you can separate them with commas. Here are some examples:
- Նա արդեն իմացավ, որ մեր ինքները կարևոր են ուրիշների համար, օրինակ իսկություն, հատուկ բնություն, ֆեմինիզմ: (na ard'en imac'c'av, vor mer inknery karevor en urishtneri hamar, orinak iskutyun, hatuk bnutyun, feminizm) – He already knew that our prejudices were important to others, such as equality, uniqueness, feminism.
Other Situations
There are other situations in Armenian where you may need to use a comma such as in dates,
Related Lessons
- Future Tense
- Nouns
- Verb Conjugation
- The Past Subjunctive Mood
- Obligatory Mood Past Obligatory
- Causative Verbs
- The Locative Case
- The Past Perfect Tense
- Personal Pronouns
- Negative Pronouns