Language/Armenian/Grammar/Present-Tense

Armenian → Grammar → 0 to A1 Course → Verbs and Tenses → Present Tense

As a student of Armenian, you will soon learn that verbs play a crucial role in expressing action and tense in the language. Understanding how to form and use the present tense is a vital step towards mastering Armenian. In this lesson, you will learn how to form regular and irregular present tense verbs in Armenian and how to use them in different contexts, including daily life and conversation. Let's get started!

Regular Present Tense Verbs

Armenian verbs are split into two main categories: Eastern Armenian and Western Armenian. Western Armenian is used mainly in the Armenian diaspora, while Eastern Armenian is used in Armenia, Iran, and the former Soviet republics. In this lesson, we will focus on Eastern Armenian, which has its own distinctive conjugation structure.

The present tense of Armenian verbs has three different endings, depending on the subject of the sentence. Let's take a look at the present tense of the verb "to speak" for each of the three persons in Armenian:

Person	Armenian	Pronunciation	English
I	խոսում եմ	khosoom yem	I am speaking
You	խոսում ես	khosoom es	You are speaking
He/She/It	խոսում է	khosoom e	He/She/It is speaking

To form the present tense of a regular Eastern Armenian verb, follow these steps:

1. Take the infinitive form of the verb (which ends in -ել or -ալ). 2. Remove the last two letters of the infinitive form (-լ). 3. Add one of the following endings, depending on the subject of the sentence:

-ում - for the subject "I" -ս - for the subject "You" (singular) -է - for the subject "He/She/It" -ենք - for the subject "We" -եք - for the subject "You" (plural) -են - for the subject "They"

Here's an example using the verb "to watch":

Person	Armenian	Pronunciation	English
I	դիտում եմ	ditum yem	I am watching
You	դիտում ես	ditum es	You are watching
He/She/It	դիտում է	ditum e	He/She/It is watching
We	դիտում ենք	ditum enk	We are watching
You (plural)	դիտում եք	ditum ek	You (plural) are watching
They	դիտում են	ditum en	They are watching

As you can see from the table, the only part of the verb that changes is the ending. This makes it relatively easy to conjugate regular Armenian verbs in the present tense, once you know the basic structure. Let's take a look at a few more regular verbs in the present tense:

Example Verbs

• գումար (gum-ar) - to count

Person	Armenian	Pronunciation	English
I	գումարում եմ	gumaroom yem	I am counting
You	գումարում ես	gumaroom es	You are counting
He/She/It	գումարում է	gumaroom e	He/She/It is counting
We	գումարում ենք	gumaroomeh-nk	We are counting
You (plural)	գումարում եք	gumaroomeh-k	You (plural) are counting
They	գումարում են	gumaroom-ehn	They are counting

• գցել (ktsel) - to knot

Person	Armenian	Pronunciation	English
I	գցում եմ	ktsuum yem	I am knotting
You	գցում ես	ktsuum es	You are knotting
He/She/It	գցում է	ktsuum e	He/She/It is knotting
We	գցում ենք	ktsuum eh-nk	We are knotting
You (plural)	գցում եք	ktsuum eh-k	You (plural) are knotting
They	գցում են	ktsuum-ehn	They are knotting

• պատրաստել (patras-tel) - to prepare

Person	Armenian	Pronunciation	English
I	պատրաստում եմ	patrastoom yem	I am preparing
You	պատրաստում ես	patrastoom es	You are preparing
He/She/It	պատրաստում է	patrastoom e	He/She/It is preparing
We	պատրաստում ենք	patrastoom eh-nk	We are preparing
You (plural)	պատրաստում եք	patrastoom eh-k	You (plural) are preparing
They	պատրաստում են	patrastoom ehn	They are preparing

In Armenian, each verb has a base form, which is the form of the verb when it's not being used in a specific tense or form. This base form is the infinitive of the verb, which typically ends in -ել or -ալ. For example, the base form of the verb "to speak" is խոսել (khosel), and the base form of the verb "to watch" is դիտել (diteel).

Irregular Present Tense Verbs

In Armenian, there are several commonly used verbs that follow irregular conjugation rules in the present tense. Memorizing these irregular verbs is an important step towards mastering Armenian grammar. Let's take a look at some of the most commonly used irregular present tense verbs:

"To Be"

The verb "to be" is irregular in Armenian and doesn't follow the typical conjugation structure described earlier. Instead, it has its own special conjugation:

Person	Armenian	Pronunciation	English
I	եմ	yem	I am
You	ես	es	You are
He/She/It	է	e	He/She/It is
We	ենք	enk	We are
You (plural)	եք	ek	You (plural) are
They	են	en	They are

As you can see, the verb "to be" has its own unique forms for each person. Notice that the Armenian language doesn't distinguish between "is" and "are" in the present tense. The verb է (e) can be translated as either "is" or "are".

Here are a few example sentences using the verb "to be":

• Ես կանչելու եմ (yes kan-chel-oo yem) - I am calling
• Հայերն բոլորը լեզուն խոսում են (hayer-n bol-or-e lez-oon khosoom en) - All Armenians speak the language.

"To Want"

The verb "to want" is another irregular verb in Armenian, with its own set of unique forms:

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