Armenian Grammar

Welcome to the 8th lesson about Armenian grammar. We will first learn about prepositions, negation, questions, adverbs, and pronouns including: personal, object and possessive pronouns. To hear the pronunciation, just click on the sound icon.

We will start with prepositions. In general, they are used to link words to other words. For example: I speak Armenian and English the preposition is [and] because it connects both words Armenian and English. The following is a list of the most used prepositions in Armenian.

Prepositions - Armenian - Pronunciation
and և [yev]
above վեր [ver]
under տակ [tak]
before առաջ [arraj]
after հետո [heto]
in front of առջև [arrjev]
behind հետևում [hetevum]
far from հեռու [herru]
near մոտ [mot]
in մեջ [mej]
inside ներսում [nersum]
outside դրսում [drsum]
with հետ [het]
without առանց [arrants’]
about մասին [masin]
between միջև [mijev]
but բայց [bayts’]
for համար [hamar]
from -ից [- Its’]
to դեպի [depi]

Preposition Grammar Rules

The following examples use prepositions in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence.

Prepositions + Rules - Armenian + Pronunciation
I eat without a knife [preposition + noun] Ես ուտում եմ առանց դանակի: [Yes utum yem arrants’ danaki]
she lives near the church [verb + preposition] Նա ապրում է եկեղեցու մոտ: [Na aprum e yekeghets’u mot]
he is taller than her [adjective + preposition] Նա նրանից ավելի բոյով է: [Na nranits’ aveli boyov e]
he came with his small dog [preposition + pronoun] Նա իր փոքրիկ շան հետ է եկել: [Na ir p’vok’rik shan het e yekel]
can you come with me? [preposition + pronoun] Կարող եք գալ ինձ հետ? [Karogh yek’ gal indz het]

Negation in Armenian

Now let's learn how to make a negative sentence (negation). For example: Saying no, I can't, I don't ... The following examples use negation in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence.

Negation + Rules - Armenian + Pronunciation
I understand you [affirmative form] Ես հասկանում եմ Ձեզ: [Yes haskanum yem Dzez]
I don't understand you [negation + verb] Ես Ձեզ չեմ հասկանում: [Yes Dzez ch’yem haskanum]
this is not the correct word [negation + adjective] Սա ճիշտ բառը չէ: [Sa chisht barry ch’e]
don't leave me [imperative negation] Մի թողեք ինձ: [Mi t’voghek’ indz]
no problem [negation + noun] Ոչ մի խնդիր: [Voch’ mi khndir]

Negative Sentences - Armenian + Pronunciation
I don't speak French [negation + present tense] Ես ֆրանսերեն չեմ խոսում: [Yes franseren ch’yem khosum]
she didn't visit Germany [negation + past tense] Նա չի այցելել Գերմանիա: [Na ch’i ayts’yelel Germania]
he cannot see us [negative modal verb] Նա չի կարող տեսնել մեզ: [Na ch’i karogh tesnel mez]
can't she play chess? [interrogative negation] Նա շախմատ խաղալ չի կարող? [Na shakhmat khaghal ch’i karogh.]
we will not come late [negation + future tense] Մենք ուշ չենք գա: [Menk’ ush ch’yenk’ ga]

Questions in Armenian

Now let's learn how to ask questions (interrogative). Such as: what, why, can you ...? Here are some common examples:

English - Armenian - Pronunciation
how? Ինչպես? [Inch’pes?]
what? Ինչ? [Inch’?]
who? Ով? [Ov?]
why? Ինչու? [Inch’u?]
where? Որտեղ? [Vortegh?]

More of the interrogative form, now in a sentence:

Questions + Rules - Armenian + Pronunciation
where do you live? [interrogative + verb] Որտեղ եք ապրում? [Vortegh yek’ aprum?]
does she speak Chinese? [interrogative verb] Նա չինարեն խոսում է? [Na ch’inaren khosum e.]
how much is this? [interrogative preposition] Որքան ե սա? [Vork’an ye sa?]
can I help you? [interrogative modal verb] Ինչով կարող եմ ոգնել Ձեզ? [Inch’ov karogh yem vognel Dzez?]
what is your name? [interrogative preposition] Ինչ է Ձեր անունը? [Inch’ e Dzer anuny]

Adverbs in Armenian

It's time to learn the adverbs in Armenian. But what is an adverb? In general, adverbs modify verbs and adjectives. For example: You speak fast. The adverb is [fast] because it describes the verb and answers the question how do you speak?. Here is a list of the most common ones:

Adverbs - Armenian - Pronunciation
now այժմ [ayzhm]
yesterday երեկ [yerek]
today այսօր [aysor]
tonight այս գիշեր [ays gisher]
tomorrow վաղը [vaghy]
soon շուտով [shutov]
quickly արագ [arag]
slowly դանդաղ [dandagh]
together միասին [miasin]
very շատ [shat]
almost գրեթե [gret’ye]
always միշտ [misht]
usually սովորաբար [sovorabar]
sometimes երբեմն [yerbemn]
rarely հազվադեպ [hazvadep]
never երբեք [yerbek’]

The following examples use the adverbs in different ways and places to demonstrate how it behaves in a sentence.

Adverbs + Rules - Armenian + Pronunciation
do you understand me now? [pronoun + adverb] Հիմա ինձ հասկանում եք? [Hima indz haskanum yek’?]
I need help immediately [noun + adverb] Ես անհապաղ ոգնության կարիք ունեմ: [Yes anhapagh vognut’yan karik’ unem]
she is very intelligent [adverb + adjective] Նա շատ խելացի է: [Na shat khelats’i e]
I will always love you [verb + adverb] Ես միշտ կսիրեմ Ձեզ: [Yes misht ksirem Dzez]
can we learn German together? [adverb in a question] Մենք կարող ենք միասին գերմաներեն սովորել? [Menk’ karogh yenk’ miasin germaneren sovorel?]

Pronouns in Armenian

We're almost done! This time we will learn the pronouns in Armenian. In general, a pronoun can be used instead of a noun. For example instead of saying my teacher speaks 3 languages, you can use the pronoun he, and say he speaks 3 languages. Here is a list of the most common ones:

Personal Pronouns - Armenian - Pronunciation
I ես [yes]
you Դուք [Duk’]
he նա [na]
she նա [na]
we մենք [menk’]
they նրանք [nrank’]

Object Pronouns - Armenian - Pronunciation
me ինձ [indz]
you Ձեզ [Dzez]
him նրան [nran]
her նրան [nran]
us մեզ [mez]
them նրանց [nrants’]

Possessive Pronouns - Armenian - Pronunciation
my իմ [im]
your Ձեր [Dzer]
his նրա [nra]
her նրա [nra]
our մեր [mer]
their նրանց [nrants’]

I think it's better to put the above example in a sentence to better assist you. The following examples use pronouns in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence. We will start with the personal pronouns.

Personal Pronouns - Armenian + Pronunciation
I am your friend [1st pronoun + verb] Ես քո ընկերն եմ: [Yes k’vo ynkern yem]
you speak very fast [2nd pronoun + adverb] Դուք շատ արագ եք խոսում: [Duk’ shat arag yek’ khosum]
he has three dogs [3rd pronoun + verb] Նա երեք շուն ունի: [Na yerek’ shun uni]
she can speak German [3rd pronoun + verb] Նա կարող է գերմաներեն խոսել: [Na karogh e germaneren khosel]
we will not come late [1st plural pronoun] Մենք ուշ չենք գա: [Menk’ ush ch’yenk’ ga]
they bought milk and bread [3rd plural pronoun] Նրանք կաթ ու հաց գնեցին: [Nrank’ kat’ u hats’ gnets’in]

The object pronoun is used as a target by a verb, and usually come after that verb. For example: I gave him my book. The object pronoun here is him. Here are more examples:

Object Pronouns - Armenian + Pronunciation
can you tell me your name? [1st object pronoun] Կարող եք ինձ ասել Ձեր անունը? [Karogh yek’ indz asel Dzer anuny]
I will give you money [2nd object pronoun] Ես Ձեզ դրամ կտամ: [Yes Dzez dram ktam.]
she wrote him a letter [3rd object pronoun] Նա նրան մի նամակ գրեց: [Na nran mi namak grets’]
they visited her yesterday [3rd object pronoun] Նրանք այցելեցին նրան երեկ: [Nrank’ ayts’yelets’in nran yerek]
can she help us? [1st pl. object pronoun] Նա կարող ե մեզ օգնել? [Na karogh ye mez ognel.]
he gave them food [3rd pl. object pronoun] Նա նրանց կերակուր տվեց: [Na nrants’ kerakur tvets’]

Possessive Pronouns - Armenian + Pronunciation
my name is Maya [1st possessive pronoun] Իմ անունն է Մայա: [Im anunn e Maya]
your brother lives here [2nd possessive pronoun] Ձեր եղբայրը այստեղ է ապրում: [Dzer yeghbayry aystegh e aprum]
her mother cooks for us [3rd possessive pronoun] Նրա մայրը խոհարարություն է անում մեզ համար: [Nra mayry khohararut’yun e anum mez hamar]
his hobby is reading books [3rd possessive pronoun] Նրա սիրած զբաղմունքը գիրք կարդալն է: [Nra sirats zbaghmunk’y girk’ kardaln e]
our dream is to visit Paris [1st pl. possessive pronoun] Մեր երազանքն ե այցեել Փարիզ: [Mer yerazank’n ye ayts’yeel P’ariz]
their house is not far [3rd pl. possessive pronoun] Նրանց տունը հեռու չէ: [Nrants’ tuny herru ch’e]

One more thing you need to know is the demonstrative pronouns. They're very easy to learn.

Demonstrative Pronouns - Armenian - Pronunciation
this is my house Սա իմ տունն է: [Sa im tunn e]
that restaurant is far Այդ ճաշարանը հեռու է: [Ayd chasharany herru e]
these apples are delicious Այս խնձորները համեղ են: [Ays khndzornery hamegh yen]
those stars are shiny Այդ աստղերը պայծառ են: [Ayd astghery paytsarr yen]

I hope you learned a lot about the Armenian grammar in this lesson. Please check out our main menu here for more lessons: homepage. The next lesson is below, have fun!