I can say who I am, who he or she is, and how we feel — and I won't forget the linking verb եմ, ես, է, ենք, եք, են, without which there is no Armenian sentence.
I'm a student: six pronouns and the linking verb
I'm a student: six pronouns and the linking verb եմ
What for: to say who you are, who he or she is, and how you feel.
Six personal pronouns: ես — I, դու — you (informal), նա — he and she (Armenian has no gender), մենք — we, դուք — you (formal or plural), նրանք — they.
As in English, “am / is / are” is needed: the linking verb, a separate word at the end, after the “who” or “what kind” word: Ես ուսանող եմ. Each person has its own form: եմ, ես, է, ենք, եք, են (see the table).
The word before the linking verb doesn't change: Մենք ուսանող ենք — “we're students”; Նա հոգնած է — “he's / she's tired”. You can drop the pronoun, since the linking verb shows the person: Ուսանող եմ.
Two words look the same: Ես — “I” and ես — “(you) are”: Դու բժիշկ ես. After a consonant the linking verb is read with no [j]: [ɛm], [ɛs]; after a vowel you hear a light [j] (ընկերուհի եմ); the pronoun Ես always has [j].
շատ — “very”, մի քիչ — “a little”: before the describing word (Դուք շատ ուրախ եք). “And” is և or the short ու.
The word for a woman ends in -ուհի: ուսուցիչ — ուսուցչուհի, ընկեր — ընկերուհի. The general word fits a woman too.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “Ես ուսանող” → Ես ուսանող եմ (the linking verb is required).
• NOT “Ես եմ ուսանող” for “I'm a student” → Ես ուսանող եմ (the linking verb goes at the end, not right after “I”).
• NOT “Դու ինժեներ եմ” → Դու ինժեներ ես (with դու, the linking verb is ես).
Pronouns and their linking verb
Ես ուսանող եմ — “I'm a student”: the linking verb is the last word.
| Who | Pronoun | Linking verb |
|---|---|---|
| I | ես | եմ |
| you (informal) | դու | ես |
| he, she | նա | է |
| we | մենք | ենք |
| you (formal or plural) | դուք | եք |
| they | նրանք | են |
Pairs with -ուհի
You only need to recognize ուսանողուհի: a female student is also called by the general word ուսանող.
| General word | Only for a woman | Translation of the pair |
|---|---|---|
| ուսուցիչ | ուսուցչուհի | teacher — female teacher |
| ընկեր | ընկերուհի | friend — female friend |
| ուսանող | ուսանողուհի | student — female student |
Lesson notes
I'm a student: six pronouns and the linking verb եմ
What for: to say who you are, who he or she is, and how you feel.
Six personal pronouns: ես — I, դու — you (informal), նա — he and she (Armenian has no gender), մենք — we, դուք — you (formal or plural), նրանք — they.
As in English, “am / is / are” is needed: the linking verb, a separate word at the end, after the “who” or “what kind” word: Ես ուսանող եմ. Each person has its own form: եմ, ես, է, ենք, եք, են (see the table).
The word before the linking verb doesn't change: Մենք ուսանող ենք — “we're students”; Նա հոգնած է — “he's / she's tired”. You can drop the pronoun, since the linking verb shows the person: Ուսանող եմ.
Two words look the same: Ես — “I” and ես — “(you) are”: Դու բժիշկ ես. After a consonant the linking verb is read with no [j]: [ɛm], [ɛs]; after a vowel you hear a light [j] (ընկերուհի եմ); the pronoun Ես always has [j].
շատ — “very”, մի քիչ — “a little”: before the describing word (Դուք շատ ուրախ եք). “And” is և or the short ու.
The word for a woman ends in -ուհի: ուսուցիչ — ուսուցչուհի, ընկեր — ընկերուհի. The general word fits a woman too.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “Ես ուսանող” → Ես ուսանող եմ (the linking verb is required).
• NOT “Ես եմ ուսանող” for “I'm a student” → Ես ուսանող եմ (the linking verb goes at the end, not right after “I”).
• NOT “Դու ինժեներ եմ” → Դու ինժեներ ես (with դու, the linking verb is ես).