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Grammar

1 The Alphabet and Sound System

1.1 The Alphabet

The Armenian alphabet was created in roughly 406 AD by a cleric named Mesrop Mastoc, initially as a vehicle for translation of the Bible. The most likely source of the alphabet is the Greek alphabet: like Greek, Armenian is read left to right; vowels are represented by separate characters, unlike nearby Semitic scripts; certain letters of the Armenian alphabet are reminiscent of the Greek, in particular the use of a digraph ու to represent the sound u as in the Greek; and the use of letters to represent numerals follows the Greek method. Below is a list of the letters of the Armenian alphabet, together with their transliterations, names, numerical values, and a guide to their pronunciation.

		Letter		Trans.		Name		Number		Pronunciation
		Ա ա		A a		ayb		1		a as in 'father'
		Բ բ		B b		ben		2		b as in 'boy'
		Գ գ		G g		gim		3		g as in 'good'
		Դ դ		D d		da		4		d as in 'dog'
		Ե ե		E e		ečʿ		5		e as in 'bet', initially ye as in 'yes'
		Զ զ		Z z		za		6		z as in 'zebra'
		Է է		Ē ē		ē		7		ei as in 'eight'
		Ը ը		Ə ə		etʿ		8		u as in 'but'
		Թ թ		Tʿ tʿ		tʿo		9		t, aspirated, as in 'top'
		Ժ ժ		Ž ž		žē		10		g as in 'rouge'
		Ի ի		I i		ini		20		ee as in 'queen'
		Լ լ		L l		liwn		30		l as in 'lamb'
		Խ խ		X x		xē		40		ch as in (German pronunciation of) 'Bach'
		Ծ ծ		C c		ca		50		t's as in 'what's up?'
		Կ կ		K k		ken		60		k, unaspirated, as in 'skip'
		Հ հ		H h		ho		70		h as in 'hope'
		Ձ ձ		J j		ja		80		ds as in 'heads'
		Ղ ղ		Ł ł		łat		90		ll as in 'ball', or ch as in Scots English 'loch', but voiced
		Ճ ճ		Č č		čē		100		tch, unaspirated, as in 'matchbox'
		Մ մ		M m		men		200		m as in 'map'
		Յ յ		Y y		yi		300		y as in 'yes', also as in 'boy'
		Ն ն		N n		nu		400		n as in 'now'
		Շ շ		Š š		ša		500		sh as in 'ship'
		Ո ո		O o		o		600		oa as in 'boat', initially vo as in 'vote'
		Չ չ		Čʿ čʿ		čʿa		700		tch, aspirated, as in 'match'
		Պ պ		P p		pē		800		p, unaspirated, as in 'spot'
		Ջ ջ		J̌ ǰ		ǰē		900		j as in 'jump'
		Ռ ռ		Ṙ ṙ		ṙa		1000		r as in 'run', but trilled
		Ս ս		S s		sē		2000		s as in 'sip'
		Վ վ		V v		vew		3000		v as in 'vat'
		Տ տ		T t		tiwn		4000		t, unaspirated, as in 'stop'
		Ր ր		R r		rē		5000		r as in 'run'
		Ց ց		Cʿ cʿ		cʿo		6000		ts, aspirated, as in 'hats'
		Ւ ւ		W w		hiwn		7000		w as in 'wet'
		Փ փ		Pʿ pʿ		pʿiwr		8000		p, aspirated, as in 'pot'
		Ք ք		Kʿ kʿ		kʿē		9000		k, aspirated, as in 'kit'

As mentioned above, the digraph ու represents the single vowel sound u. The schwa ը is written only in initial position for monosyllabic words and for words derived from these by nominal composition. In modern printed texts it is written in polysyllabic words when hyphenated.

Beginning in the twelfth century, the letter Ո/ո is used where one would usually find the diphthong աւ. The letter Ֆ/ֆ (F/f) was introduced to represent the corresponding foreign sound, as in the f of English 'father'. Greek omega was usually represented by ով.

1.2 The Sound System

The phonological system of Classical Armenian consists of 29 consonants and 7 simple vowels. The consonants may be organized according to articulation as in the following chart.

		Voiceless				Voiced
Plosives		Unaspirated		Aspirated
Labial		պ (p)		փ (pʿ)		բ (b)
Dental		տ (t)		թ (tʿ)		դ (d)
Velar		կ (k)		ք (kʿ)		գ (g)
Affricates		Unaspirated		Aspirated
Dental		ծ (c)		ց (cʿ)		ձ (j)
Palatal		ճ (č)		չ (čʿ)		ջ (ǰ)
Fricatives		Voiceless				Voiced
Labial						վ (v)
Dental		ս (s)				զ (z)
Palatal		շ (š)				ժ (ž)
Velar		խ (x)
Glottal		հ (h)
Nasals						Voiced
Labial						մ (m)
Dental						ն (n)
Liquids
Central		ր (r)		ռ (ṙ)
Lateral		լ (l)		ղ (ł)
Semivowels
Palatal		յ (y)
Velar		ւ (w)

Conventional pronunciation renders ղ (ł) as the voiced counterpart of խ (x), thereby lending it a fricative quality. The evidence from the classical period, however, seems to point to a heavy lateral articulation, as in Modern English 'ball'. The spelling gaył for the usual gayl shows that the distinction was not absolute within the language itself. It was also used to render the Greek lambda, as in titłos < Gk. titlos and Pawłos < Gk. Paulos.

վ (v) and ւ (w) are conventionally pronounced differently, as their English counterparts. In the classical period, however, they do not seem to have been distinct phonemes, but rather allographs: վ (v) was used initially, initially in the second element of compounds, and after ո (o) with ւ w used elsewhere.

The vowels may be similarly organized, as in the following chart:

Vowels		Front		Central		Back
High		ի (i)				ու (u)
High-Mid		է (ē)		ը (ə)
Mid		ե (e)				ո (o)
Low				ա (a)

There is no evidence for a distinction of vowel quantities in Classical Armenian.

Modern convention pronounces initial ե (e) as ye; the evidence for such pronunciation extending back to the classical period is unclear, since archaic texts often transcribe with initial ե Greek names beginning with epsilon or the alpha-iota diphthong. The word for Jerusalem, which however would have had an initial glide, is written simply as Erosałēm, indicating that ե was preceded by the glide y at least in some instances. Similarly, the pronunciation of initial ո (o) as vo seems to be post-classical.

Below is a list of the diphthongs of Classical Armenian. In some instances the conventional pronunciation diverges from the classical rendering.

• այ (ay) -- conventionally pronounced as a in final position, and as uy otherwise;
• ոյ (oy) -- conventionally pronounced as o in final position, and as uy otherwise;
• աւ (aw) -- conventionally pronounced as av before vowels and finally; later pronounced as ո o and so rendered in written documents;
• եւ (ew) -- conventionally pronounced as ev before vowels and finally; often written alternately as եաւ;
• իւ (iw) -- conventionally pronounced as iv before vowels and finally; often used to represent Greek upsilon;
• եա (ea) -- conventionally pronounced as ya.

1.3 Vocalic and Consonantal Alternation

In many instances the stress of a word shifts due to addition of a morpheme. This shift may cause the originally stressed vowel to change or drop altogether. The general rules for such alternation are listed below with a few illustrative examples.

Stressed V /		Full Form		Reduced Form
Unstressed V
ի / zero		սիրտ 'heart'		G սրտի [sərti]
		ամիս 'month'		G ամսոյ [amso]
		թիւ 'number'		G թուոյ [tʿəwo]
		ելիք 'he reads'		1 sg. լքի [ləkʿi]
ու / zero		քուն 'sleep'		G քնոյ [kʿəno]
		հուր 'fire'		G հրոյ [həro]
		ումպ 'he entered'		1 sg. մտի [məti]
է / ի		վէմ 'stone'		G վիմի [vimi]
		էջ 'side'		G իջի [iǰi]
		էջ 'he descended'		1 sg. իջի [iǰi]
ոյ / ու		լոյս 'light'		G լուսոյ [luso]
		կոյս 'virgin'		G կուսի [kusi]
		եցոյց 'he showed'		1 sg. ցուցի [cʿucʿi]
եա / ե		մատեան 'house'		G մատենի [mateni]
		սենեակ 'room'		G սենեկի [seneki]
		սիրեաց 'he loved'		1 sg. սիրեցի [sirecʿi]
եւ / իւ		եւղ 'oil'		G իւղոյ [iwło]

There are some exceptions to these rules. Other vowels undergo no change under change of stress.

There are also some general tendencies of alternation between consonants in certain environments.

• ր / ռ -- ր often changes to ր before ն, e.g. լեառն 'mountain', G լերին, Ab լեռնէ (< *lerinē); առնեմ 'I do', Aor. արարի.
• հ / zero -- initial հ is lost in combination, e.g. հատ-անեմ 'I cut', but լեզու-ատ (< *lezu‘hat) 'with cut tongue'.
• ւ / վ / բ -- /v/ is realized as բ after the consonants մ, ր, ղ; as ւ after the vowels ա, ի; and as վ after ո. Examples are մատամբ from մատն 'finger', աստեղբ from աստղ 'star', կայսերբ from կայսր 'Caesar', ազգաւ from ասգ 'nation', բայիւ from բայ 'word', գետով from գետո 'river'.
• ց / ս -- before ց and ջ, ց dissimilates to ս, e.g. 1 sg. սիրեցից 'I shall love', 2 sg. սիրեսցես (< *sirecʿcʿes < *sirecʿicʿes), 2 pl. սիրեսջիք (< *sirecʿǰikʿ < *sirecʿiǰikʿ).

2 Nominal Declension

Classical Armenian nouns and adjectives display two numbers, singular and plural, and seven cases: Nominative, Accusative, Genitive, Dative, Locative, Ablative, and Instrumental. There is no purely grammatical gender of the sort found in languages such as Latin. There are several declension paradigms, which broadly fall into two categories: those with variable stems and those with invariable stems. One should note that stem variation is a phenomenon distinct from vocalic alternation. Vowel alternation occurs automatically whenever there is a change of stress due to the addition of a morpheme, and it therefore bears no relation to patterns of declension.

2.1 Nouns with Invariable Stems Ending in a Consonant

Nouns with invariable stems may be divided into two groups: those ending in a vowel, and those ending in a consonant. Of those ending in a consonant, there are four declensions, categorized according to the vowel found in the genitive plural: ա, ի, ու, ո. The nouns ամ 'year', բան 'word', ծով 'sea', and բերան 'mouth' illustrate the declension.

Singular

		ա		ի		ու		ո
Nom.		ամ		բան		ծով		բերան
Acc.		ամ		բան		ծով		բերան
Gen.		ամի		բանի		ծովու		բերանոյ
Dat.		ամի		բանի		ծովու		բերանոյ
Loc.		ամի		բանի		ծովու		բերան
Abl.		ամէ		բանէ		ծովէ		բերանոյ
Inst.		ամաւ		բանիւ		ծովու		բերանով

Plural

		ա		ի		ու		ո
Nom.		ամք		բանք		ծովք		բերանք
Acc.		ամս		բանս		ծովս		բերանս
Gen.		ամաց		բանից		ծովուց		բերանոց
Dat.		ամաց		բանից		ծովուց		բերանոց
Loc.		ամս		բանս		ծովս		բերանս
Abl.		ամաց		բանից		ծովուց		բերանոց
Inst.		ամաւք		բանիւք		ծովուք		բերանովք

Nouns ending in -եայ follow the ի-declension, e.g. հրեայ 'Jew', G sg. հրեի; N pl. հրեայք, G pl. հրեից, etc.

Some nouns of the ու-declension have an ablative singular ending in -ուէ, e.g. սպաս 'service', G sg. սպասու, Ab sg. սպասուէ.

Some nouns of the ո-declension optionally have the ending -ի in the Locative case, for example մէջ 'middle':

• ի մէջ Accusative or Locative;
• ի մէջոյ Ablative;
• ի միջի Locative.

Proper nouns of the ա-declension are characterized by the ending -այ in the genitive, dative, locative, and ablative singular. Տիգրան provides an example:

		ա-decl.
Nom.		Տիգրան
Acc.		Տիգրան
Gen.		Տիգրանայ
Dat.		Տիգրանայ
Loc.		Տիգրանայ
Abl.		Տիգրանայ
Inst.		Տիգրանաւ

2.2 Substantives with Invariable Stems Ending in a Vowel

A large number of nouns and adjectives have invariable stems ending in the vowel -ի. These fall into two declensions, the ո-declension and the ա-declension. The ա-declension has a special Locative ending -ոջ and Ablative ending -ոջէ. The nouns հոգի 'spirit, soul' and տեղի 'place' illustrate the ո- and ա-declensions, respectively.

Singular

		ո		ա
Nom.		հոգի		տեղի
Acc.		հոգի		տեղի
Gen.		հոգւոյ		տեղւոյ
Dat.		հոգւոյ		տեղւոյ
Loc.		հոգի		տեղւոջ
Abl.		հոգւոյ		տեղւոյ, տեղւոջէ
Inst.		հոգւով		տեղեաւ

Plural

		ո		ա
Nom.		հոգիք		տեղիք
Acc.		հոգիս		տեղիս
Gen.		հոգւոց		տեղեաց
Dat.		հոգւոց		տեղեաց
Loc.		հոգիս		տեղիս
Abl.		հոգւոց		տեղեաց
Inst.		հոգւովք		տեղեաւք

Adjectives derived from place names by means of the suffix -ացի follow the declension of հոգի, with G plural in -ւոց, e.g. Աթենացի 'Athenian, one from Athens', G pl. Աթենացւոց. On the other hand, nouns with the suffix -ացի which are not derived from place names follow the declension of տեղի, e.g. դրացի, G pl. դրացեաց 'neighbor' derived from դուրք 'door'.

3 The Present System of Verbs

Verbal forms in Classical Armenian are built from two stems, the present and the aorist. One or both of these stems may contain a suffix inserted between the root and the inflectional vowel (in the present), or between root and ending (in the aorist). The present stem is the base for an indicative mood, subjunctive and (negative) imperative. The indicative mood separates into two tenses: present and imperfect. Nominal forms may arise from the present stem, namely an infinitive and participle. Inasmuch as verbal aspect is distinguished in Classical Armenian, the present system forms denote a developing or continuous action, while the aorist forms refer to an action's completion.

3.1 Present Indicative of 'to be'

The present indicative of the verb 'to be' illustrates the endings of the present indicative of all verbs. The forms are as follows.

		Singular		Plural
1st		եմ		եմք
2nd		ես		էք
3rd		է		են

Note that ե + յ > է, so that the endings are -մ, -ս, -յ, -մք, -յք, -ն.

3.2 The Present Indicative of All Verbs

The forms of the present indicative are comprised of a stem, characteristic vowel, and the present indicative endings. There are five possible characteristic vowels: ե, ի, ա, ու, ո. The endings are the same as those listed above for the verb 'to be'. սիրեմ 'I love', սիրիմ 'I am loved', լամ 'I weep', հեղում 'I pour', and գոմ 'I exist' illustrate the paradigms.

		ե		ի		ա		ու		ո
1 sg.		սիրեմ		սիրիմ		լամ		հեղում		*գոմ
2 sg.		սիրես		սիրիս		լաս		հեղուս		*գոս
3 sg.		սիրէ		սիրի		լայ		հեղու		գոյ
1 pl.		սիրեմք		սիրիմք		լամք		հեղումք		*գոմք
2 pl.		սիրէք		սիրիք		լայք		հեղուք		*գոյք
3 pl.		սիրեն		սիրին		լան		հեղուն		գոն

*գոմ is the sole verb of the ո-class. It is only recorded in third person forms.

3.3 The Present Infinitive

The present infinitive is built from the present stem by addition of a characteristic vowel and the suffix -լ. The characteristic vowel exhibited by a given verb is the same as that found in the present indicative forms, with the exception that verbs in -եմ and -իմ both exhibit the vowel ե in the infinitive. Thus the verbs above form the infinitives սիրել 'to love', լալ 'to weep', հեղուլ 'to pour', գոլ 'to exist'. The infinitive is declined as an ո-type singular noun:

		-ել		-ալ		-ուլ		-ոլ
Nom.		սիրել		լալ		հեղուլ		գոլ
Acc.		սիրել		լալ		հեղուլ		գոլ
Gen.		սիրելոյ		լալոյ		հեղլոյ		գոլոյ
Dat.		սիրելոյ		լալոյ		հեղլոյ		գոլոյ
Loc.		սիրել		լալ		հեղուլ		գոլ
Abl.		սիրելոյ		լալոյ		հեղլոյ		գոլոյ
Inst.		սիրելով		լալով		հեղլով		գոլով

In the post-classical era infinitives in -իլ appear in order to distinguish verbs in -իմ.

3.4 The Imperfect Tense of All verbs

The imperfect indicative is built from the same stem as the present indicative, but makes no distinction between verbal stems ending in -ե or -ի. Therefore verbal pairs such as սիրեմ 'I love' and սիրիմ 'I am loved' lose their distinction in the imperfect. The conjugation is as follows.

		-ե/-ի		-ա		-ու		-ո
1 sg.		սիրեի		լայի		հեղուի		-
2 sg.		սիրեիր		լայիր		հեղուիր		-
3 sg.		սիրէր		լայր		հեղոյր		գոյր
1 pl.		սիրեաք		լայաք		հեղուաք		-
2 pl.		սիրեիք		լայիք		հեղուիք		-
3 pl.		սիրեին		լային		հեղուին		գոյին

The third person singular is one syllable shorter than the other forms.

In the post-classical period -եմ and -իմ verbs were distinguished in the third person singular by means of an innovative ending -իւր: սիրէր 'he loved', սիրիւր 'he was loved'.

3.5 The Present Subjunctive

The present subjunctive is formed from the present tense stem with its characteristic vowel, to which the suffix -ից is added, and to this the usual present indicative endings. With the endings, however, only forms in -եմ, -իմ and -ում are distinguished. For example, սիրեմ forms սիրե + ից + եմ > սիրիցեմ, սիրիմ forms սիրի + ից + իմ > սիրիցիմ. Verbs with present indicative in -ամ take present subjunctive endings in -եմ, so that լամ forms լա + ից + եմ > լայցեմ. But հեղում forms հեղու + ից + ում > հեղուցում.

Although formation of the passive will be treated more fully, later, it is important to point out here that verbs in -ամ make in the subjunctive a distinction between active and passive which is not found in the indicative. In the same fashion that allows սիրեմ 'I love' to be opposed to սիրիմ 'I am loved', so in the subjunctive աղամ 'I grind' distinguishes the active աղայցեմ from the passive աղայցիմ.

Conjugation follows the pattern of the indicative, as the paradigms below illustrate:

		ե		ի		ա		ու		ո
1 sg.		սիրիցեմ		սիրիցիմ		լայցեմ		հեղուցում
2 sg.		սիրիցես		սիրիցիս		լայցես		հեղուցուս
3 sg.		սիրիցէ		սիրիցի		լայցէ		հեղուցու		գուցէ (< *գոյցէ)
1 pl.		սիրիցեմք		սիրիցիմք		լայցեմք		հեղուցումք
2 pl.		սիրիցէք		սիրիցիք		լայցէք		հեղուցուք
3 pl.		սիրիցեն		սիրիցին		լայցեն		հեղուցուն

The form գուցէ is often used in the adverbial sense of 'perhaps'. The verb 'to be' has the following present subjunctive forms:

		Singular		Plural
1st		իցեմ		իցեմք
2nd		իցես		իցէք
3rd		իցէ		իցեն

In the second person one also finds forms adopted from the aorist: second person singular -իձիր and plural -իձիք. These forms are typically employed in the role of futures or imperatives. The singular form is generally, and the plural form occasionally, used in a passive sense, e.g. սիրիձիր 'be thou loved' and սիրիձիք 'be ye loved'.

3.6 The Present Imperative

The present imperative is used only in prohibitive statements, accompanied by the negative particle մի. Only the second person singular present imperative has distinct forms, the others being the same as the present indicative. Formation is based on the present stem with characteristic vowel, to which is added the ending -ր. Thus

		-եմ		-իմ		-ամ		-ում
2 sg.		մի սիրեր		մի սիրիր		մի լար		մի հեղուր

The imperative of 'to be' is used only in the expression սղձ եր 'be thou well, greetings', translating the Greek chaire. The second person plural, of course, is սղձ էք 'be ye well, greetings' (Gk. chairete).

4 Word Order and Congruence

Word order in Classical Armenian is free, with words placed toward the beginning of an utterance gaining prominence. In Biblical translations, the word order often follows that of the Greek text.

Word order may affect the congruence between an adjective an the word it modifies. Attributive adjectives are undeclined when they precede a noun, declined when they follow the noun. For example, in John 10.32 one finds բազում գործս բարիս. Here, բազում is the uninflected N/Ac singular form of the adjective բազում, -աց 'much, many'; գործս is the inflected Ac plural form of the noun գործ, -ոց 'work, deed'; բարիս is the inflected Ac plural of the adjective բարի, -եաց 'good'. In predicate sentences, the predicated adjective is in the Nominative case and singular, even if the subject is plural, unless the adjective follows the copula directly. Thus one might have ազատ են Հայք 'The Armenians are free', but վարդապետք են իմաստումք 'Teachers are wise.'

The verb agrees with its subject in person and number. Coordinated subjects require a plural verb. Singular subjects with collective meaning may have either singular or plural verb forms.

5 Prepositions

Armenian has a wealth of words functioning as prepositions. Many of these, however, are adverbs or collocations of a simple preposition and a noun, which in turn govern a noun in the genitive. Prepositions generally precede the noun they govern, but some follow the noun as a postposition. There are six basic prepositions, listed in the chart below with the cases they govern and their meaning appropriate to each case.

Prep.		Case		Associated Meaning
առ		Acc.		to, toward (motion toward a person)
		Loc.		beside, Fr. chez
		Inst.		beside, in the time of (with person's name), in addition to
ընդ		Acc.		through, along, by way of, against, during
		Gen.		instead of, in exchange for
		Loc.		with, in the company of
		Inst.		under
ըստ		Acc.		on, onto
		Dat.		according to
		Loc.		according to
		Abl.		one after another (e.g. year by year)
զ		Acc.		during, for
		Abl.		concerning
		Inst.		around, about
ի		Acc.		to, into, upon
		Loc.		in, at, under
		Abl.		from, out of, away from; out of (in partitive sense); by (agent in passive sentence)
ց		Acc.		to, up to

The prepositions զ and ց are inseparable from the following noun; similarly ի, which becomes յ before vowels.

Below are listed some of the more frequent adverbs used as prepositions. They all govern the genitive case.

		Adverb		Meaning with Genitive
		առաջի		in front of, before (of time)
		արտաքոյ		outside
		ներքոյ		inside, under
		չուրջ		around
		վասն, աղազաւ		concerning, because of
		հետ		with, after (of time)
		յետ, զկնի		after, following
		առանց		without
		փոխանակ		instead of, for, on behalf of

The word հանդերծ may govern the Instrumental case in the sense 'with, in the company of'. It may come either before or after the noun it governs.

Common compound prepositions are ի վերայ 'above' and ի մէջ 'amidst'. They take the genitive case, which may be placed between the two components, e.g. ի հրոյ մէջ 'in the fire, in the midst of the fire'.

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