Language/Armenian/Grammar/Past-Tense
As an Armenian language teacher with over 20 years of experience, I am excited to teach you about the past tense in Armenian. Knowing how to form and use the past tense is an essential part of communicating in any language, so let's dive right in! In this lesson on past tense, I will cover regular and irregular verb conjugations, common usage, and provide practice exercises to help you become comfortable using the past tense in various contexts.
Regular Past Tense Verbs
In Armenian, the regular past tense verb form is formed by adding -ացրել (-ats'rel) to the infinitive form of the verb. For example, the verb խնայել (khna-yel) means "to sleep," so to form the past tense, we add -ացրել to the end, resulting in խնայացրել (khna-ats'rel) or "slept."
Here are some more examples:
| Armenian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| խոսել | khosel | talked |
| գնալ | gnal | went |
| բարել | barel | ran |
As you can see, the regular past tense form is formed by adding -ացրել to the end of the infinitive verb form.
Irregular Past Tense Verbs
In addition to regular past tense verbs, there are many irregular past tense verbs in Armenian that you will need to memorize. These verbs do not follow the standard -ացրել conjugation and have unique forms for the past tense.
Here are some common irregular verbs and their past tense forms:
| Armenian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| ել | yel | came |
| գումար | gumar | thought |
| տալ | tal | gave |
As you can see, the past tense forms of these verbs do not follow the standard -ացրել conjugation, so it's important to memorize them through practice.
Using the Past Tense
Now that you know how to form the past tense in Armenian, it's important to learn when to use it. The past tense is used to describe actions or events that have already happened in the past, and it is often equivalent to the English simple past tense.
For example, "I walked to the store yesterday" would be translated to "Ես երեկ դիմեցի խանութ" (Yes er-yek' dimetsi khanut') in Armenian.
Here are some more examples:
- Քանի՞ տարի առաջ գումարը մտածեցրեց։ (Kani tar-i ari gumar-e mtatserts'?)- "How many years ago did he think?"
- Երկու օր առաջ եկավ որդինը։ (Yerku or-a araj ek-av vord-in) - "The child came two days ago."
In Armenian, it's important to remember that the past tense form agrees with both the subject and object of the sentence. This means that the verb form will change depending on the gender and number of both the subject and object.
For example, if we want to say "I saw the cat," we would need to use the correct past tense verb form for both "I" and "cat" to reflect their gender and number:
- Ես տեսային եմ կատու մեծ։ (Es tesayin em kat-u me-ts') - "I saw the big cat."
Here, the verb form տեսային (tesayin) agrees with both "I" (ես) and "cat" (կատու) in gender and number.
Practice Exercises
To become comfortable using the past tense in Armenian, it's essential to practice with exercises. Here are some practice exercises to get you started:
- Translate the following English sentences into Armenian using the past tense:
1. They arrived at the airport five hours ago. 2. She sang a beautiful song last night. 3. He studied for three hours yesterday.
- Conjugate the following verbs in the past tense:
1. գալ (gal) - to come 2. գցել (gts'el) - to tie 3. բաղկացած (bagh-tsats') - to be full
Conclusion
The past tense is an essential part of any language, and mastering it is an important step in becoming proficient in Armenian. In this lesson, we covered regular and irregular past tense verb conjugations, common usage, and practice exercises to help you become comfortable using the past tense in various contexts. With practice, you can become confident in forming and using the past tense in Armenian conversation. Happy learning!
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