Language/Armenian/Grammar/Descriptive-Adjectives
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As an Armenian language teacher with 20 years of experience, I am excited to guide you through the lesson on descriptive adjectives in Armenian. Understanding how to use descriptive adjectives is crucial to building your language skills, as it allows you to describe and compare nouns more accurately. By the end of this lesson, you will know how to form comparative and superlative forms, and how to agree in gender and number with descriptive adjectives.
Don't hesitate to look into these other pages after completing this lesson: Verb Conjugation & The Present Perfect Tense.
What are descriptive adjectives?
Descriptive adjectives are words that describe or modify a noun, giving more information about its characteristics or qualities. In Armenian, descriptive adjectives come after the noun they modify, and agree with it in gender and number. For example:
| Armenian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| շուն | shoon | dog |
| մեծ | mets | big |
| շուն մեծ | shoon mets | big dog |
In the example above, "շուն" (shoon) is the noun for "dog", and "մեծ" (mets) is the adjective for "big". Together, they form the descriptive phrase "շուն մեծ" (shoon mets), which means "big dog". It's important to note that because "շուն" (shoon) is a masculine noun, the adjective "մեծ" (mets) is also in its masculine form.
Forming comparative and superlative forms
Comparative and superlative forms are derived from the basic form of an adjective, and are used to compare two or more nouns. In Armenian, the comparative and superlative forms of adjectives are formed using suffixes.
To form the comparative form, add the suffix "-ավ" (-av) to the end of the adjective. For example:
| Armenian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| հարդ | hahrd | hard |
| ավելի հարդ | aveli hahrd | harder |
In the example above, "ավելի" (aveli) means "more", and "հարդ" (hahrd) means "hard". Together, they form the comparative phrase "ավելի հարդ" (aveli hahrd), which means "harder".
To form the superlative form, add the suffix "-ամենա" (-amen-a) to the end of the adjective. For example:
| Armenian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| շատ | shat | many |
| շատանալու ամենա շատը | shatanaloo amen-a shate | the most populous |
In the example above, "շատանալու" (shatanaloo) means "populous", and "շատ" (shat) means "many". Together, they form the descriptive phrase "շատանալու ամենա շատը" (shatanaloo amen-a shate), which means "the most populous".
Agreement in gender and number
As mentioned earlier, descriptive adjectives must agree with the nouns they modify in both gender and number. This rule applies to both singular and plural nouns in Armenian. For example:
| Armenian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| գործ | goorts | work |
| գործնական | goortsnakan | work-related |
| գործնական մարմիներ | goortsnakan marmin-er | work-related bodies |
In the example above, "գործ" (goorts) is the noun for "work", and "գործնական" (goortsnakan) is the adjective for "work-related". Together, they form the descriptive phrase "գործնական մարմիներ" (goortsnakan marmin-er), which means "work-related bodies". It's important to note that because "մարմիներ" (marmin-er) is a plural noun, the adjective "գործնական" (goortsnakan) is also in its plural form.
Conclusion
Descriptive adjectives are an important part of the Armenian language, allowing speakers to describe and compare nouns with greater precision. By mastering the rules for agreement in gender and number, as well as how to form the comparative and superlative forms of adjectives, you will be able to expand your vocabulary and language skills. Keep practicing and incorporating descriptive adjectives in your daily conversations, and you will soon see the progress you make.
Finished this lesson? Check out these related lessons: The Future Perfect Tense & Conditional Mood Past Conditional.
Other Lessons
- Comma and Colon Usage
- Quotation Marks and Parentheses
- The Verb to Have
- Verb Conjugation
- Past Progressive Tense
- How to Use Have
- The Definite Article
- Adverbs
- Indefinite Pronouns
- The Future Perfect Tense
Sources
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