I can ask “what's this?” and “who's this?”, name the things around me, and point to them: this, that (near you), that over there; here, there, over there.
This, that, that over there: three degrees
This, that, that over there: սա — այս — այստեղ
What for: to ask what or who it is, point to things, and say where they are.
Three degrees where English has two: by me, by you, away from us both (see the table).
On their own: սա, դա, նա, as in Սա գիրք է (“this is a book”). Նա is for a person (“he, she”); for a thing away from you both, use այն + a noun.
Before a noun: այս, այդ, այն, and the noun always takes the article: այս գիրքը, այդ բանալին, այն մարդը.
Place: այստեղ — here, այդտեղ — there, by you, այնտեղ — over there.
Ի՞նչ is for a thing: Սա ի՞նչ է։ Ո՞վ is for a person: Նա ո՞վ է։ The question word comes before the linking verb.
“This is a book”: Սա գիրք է (no article). “This is my book”: Սա իմ գիրքն է (a set phrase; -ն before the linking verb).
Ահա — “here is, here are”: Ահա գիրքը. No linking verb after ահա.
Written ≠ heard: in այդ, այդտեղ you write դ but hear [tʰ].
Common mistakes:
• NOT “այս գիրք” → այս գիրքը (after այս, այդ, այն, the noun takes the article).
• NOT “Սա գիրքը է” → Սա գիրք է; and in “my book”, գիրքն է, not “գիրքը է”.
• NOT “Սա նկար” → Սա նկար է (the linking verb is required).
• NOT “Սա ո՞վ է” about a thing → Սա ի՞նչ է.
“This” and “that”: three degrees
նա also means “he, she”; for a thing over there, say այն + a noun.
| Where | On its own | Before a noun (the noun takes the article) | Place |
|---|---|---|---|
| by me | սա | այս …-ը | այստեղ |
| by you | դա | այդ …-ը | այդտեղ |
| away from both of us | նա | այն …-ը | այնտեղ |
Lesson notes
This, that, that over there: սա — այս — այստեղ
What for: to ask what or who it is, point to things, and say where they are.
Three degrees where English has two: by me, by you, away from us both (see the table).
On their own: սա, դա, նա, as in Սա գիրք է (“this is a book”). Նա is for a person (“he, she”); for a thing away from you both, use այն + a noun.
Before a noun: այս, այդ, այն, and the noun always takes the article: այս գիրքը, այդ բանալին, այն մարդը.
Place: այստեղ — here, այդտեղ — there, by you, այնտեղ — over there.
Ի՞նչ is for a thing: Սա ի՞նչ է։ Ո՞վ is for a person: Նա ո՞վ է։ The question word comes before the linking verb.
“This is a book”: Սա գիրք է (no article). “This is my book”: Սա իմ գիրքն է (a set phrase; -ն before the linking verb).
Ահա — “here is, here are”: Ահա գիրքը. No linking verb after ահա.
Written ≠ heard: in այդ, այդտեղ you write դ but hear [tʰ].
Common mistakes:
• NOT “այս գիրք” → այս գիրքը (after այս, այդ, այն, the noun takes the article).
• NOT “Սա գիրքը է” → Սա գիրք է; and in “my book”, գիրքն է, not “գիրքը է”.
• NOT “Սա նկար” → Սա նկար է (the linking verb is required).
• NOT “Սա ո՞վ է” about a thing → Սա ի՞նչ է.