Classical Armenian Online - Romanized

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Grammar

16 Reciprocal, Collective and Distributive Pronouns

16.1 Reciprocal Pronouns

There are two reciprocal pronouns, mimeans and irears, both meaning 'each other, one another'. mimeans is the more common pronoun. These are found only in the plural, and only in oblique cases. Their declensions are as follows.

N Pl.		mimeans		irears
Ac		mimeans		irears
G		mimeancʿ		ireracʿ
D		mimeancʿ		ireracʿ
L		mimeans		irears
Ab		mimeancʿ		ireracʿ
I		mimeambkʿ		irerawkʿ

Note the change ea > e in the accusative, locative, and instrumental forms.

Examples are ew hražarecʿakʿ i mimeancʿ 'and we took leave of each other'; zi siricʿēkʿ zmimeans 'that you may love each other'; ein hakaṙakkʿ ireracʿ 'they were opposites to each other'.

16.2 Collective Pronouns

A collective suffix -kʿean, chiefly used with the numerals, is also used with the adjectives amen 'all' and bolor 'the entire' to form collective pronouns. These new pronouns, amenekʿean 'everyone, all the individuals' and bolorekʿean 'all together', have only plural forms.

		amenekʿean		bolorekʿean
		'everyone, all individuals'		'all together'
N Pl.		amenekʿean, amenekʿin		bolorekʿean, bolorekʿin
Ac		amenesean, amenesin		boloresean, boloresin
G		amenecʿun, amenecʿuncʿ		bolorecʿun, bolorecʿuncʿ
D		amenecʿun, amenecʿuncʿ		bolorecʿun, bolorecʿuncʿ
L		amenesean, amenesin		boloresean, boloresin
Ab		amenecʿun, amenecʿuncʿ		bolorecʿun, bolorecʿuncʿ
I		amenekʿumbkʿ		bolorekʿumbkʿ

16.3 Distributive Pronoun

The word iwrakʿančʿiwr 'each individually' is used in a distributive sense both as an adjective and as a substantive. As a substantive it is usually followed by okʿ. Examples are kalan ziwrakʿančʿiwr išxanutʿiwn 'they held each one his own principality'; ew na iwrakʿančʿiwr umekʿ i nocʿanē dnēr jeṙs 'and he placed hands on each one of them'.

17 Numerals

17.1 Cardinal Numbers

The numbers mi 'one', erku 'two', erekʿ 'three', and čʿorkʿ 'four' are adjectives which are declined whether preceding or following the noun they modify. Of course mi occurs only in the singular and is sometimes used as the indefinite adjective 'a, an' when placed after the noun: ayr mi 'a man'. The numbers erku, erek, and čʿorkʿ occur only in the plural. Their declensions are as follows.

		mi		erku		erekʿ		čʿorkʿ
		'one'		'two'		'three'		'four'
N		mi		erku, erkukʿ		erekʿ		čʿorkʿ
Ac		mi		erkus		eris		čʿors
G		mioy, mioǰ		erkucʿ		ericʿ		čʿoricʿ
D		mium, mioǰ		erkucʿ		ericʿ		čʿoricʿ
L		mium, mioǰ		erkus		eris		čʿors
Ab		mioy, mioǰē		erkucʿ		ericʿ		čʿoricʿ
I		miov		erkukʿ		eriwkʿ		čʿoriwkʿ

The numerals 5 through 10 remain uninflected in the N Ac L, and are usually only declined in the other cases when they follow the noun they qualify. Their declensions are as follows.

		hing		vecʿ		ewtʿn		utʿ		inn		tasn
		5		6		7		8		9		10
N Pl.		hing		vecʿ		ewtʿn		utʿ		inn		tasn
Ac		hing		vecʿ		ewtʿn		utʿ		inn		tasn
G		hngicʿ, hngacʿ		vecʿicʿ		ewtʿancʿ		utʿicʿ		ənnicʿ, inuncʿ		tasancʿ, tasin
D		hngicʿ, hngacʿ		vecʿicʿ		ewtʿancʿ		utʿicʿ		ənnicʿ, inuncʿ		tasancʿ, tasin
L		hing		vecʿ		ewtʿn		utʿ		inn		tasn
Ab		hngicʿ, hngacʿ		vecʿicʿ		ewtʿancʿ		utʿicʿ		ənnicʿ, inuncʿ		tasancʿ, tasin
I		hngiwkʿ, kngawkʿ		vecʿiwkʿ		ewtʿambkʿ		utʿiwkʿ		ənniwkʿ, inambkʿ, innambkʿ		tasambkʿ, tasamb

All remaining numbers are typically not declined unless used as substantives, and if inflected, only in the G D Ab I. When declined, the numbers 11 through 16 follow the declension of hing, and 17 through 19 follow tasn -- that is, only tasn is inflected. The numbers 11 through 19 are listed below.

• 11. metasan, metasanicʿ
• 12. erkotasan, -icʿ
• 13. erekʿtasan, -icʿ
• 14. čʿorekʿtasan, -icʿ
• 15. hngetasan, -icʿ
• 16. veštasan, -icʿ
• 17. ewtʿn ew tasn, ewtʿn ew tasancʿ
• 18. utʿ ew tasn, ... tasancʿ
• 19. inn ew tasn, ... tasancʿ

The tens, when declined, have have G D Ab Sg. -i, Pl. -icʿ and I Sg. -iw, Pl. -iwkʿ. After 20, the tens are formed by means of the suffix -sun. The tens are listed below.

• 20. kʿsan
• 30. eresun
• 40. kʿaṙasun
• 50. yisun
• 60. vatʿsun
• 70. ewtʿanasun
• 80. utʿsun
• 90. innsun

The word hariwr 'one hundred' is the basis for the ensuing multiples of 100; 200, 300, ..., 900 are composites built from hariwr. When declined, these numbers have G D Ab Sg. -oy, Pl. -ocʿ and I Sg. -ov, Pl. -ovkʿ. The word hazar 'one thousand' follows the a-declension of invariable stem nouns, e.g. am, with G Sg. hazari and Pl. hazaracʿ. bewr 'ten thousand', also written biwr, follows the u-declension of invariable stem nouns, cf. cov. Thus it has G Sg. biwroy, Pl. biwrocʿ. The hundreds and above are listed below,

• 100. hariwr
• 200. erkeriwr
• 300. erekʿhariwr
• 400. čʿorekʿhariwr
• 500. hinghariwr
• 600. vecʿhariwr
• 700. ewtʿnhariwr
• 800. utʿhariwr
• 900. innhariwr
• 1,000. hazar, G Sg. hazari, Pl. hazaracʿ
• 2,000. erku hazar
• ...
• 10,000. bewr or biwr, G Sg. biwroy, Pl. biwrocʿ

When compound numbers are formed, the larger numbers are placed first and the last number joined after the conjunction ew, much as in English. For example,

• 99. innsun ew inn;
• 1,335. hazar erekʿ hariwr eresun ew hing;
• 41,500. kʿaṙasun ew mi hazar ew hing hariwr.

When the cardinal number is inflected, the substantive which it modifies is inflected: z-eris awurs 'for three days'; i čʿorcʿ hołmocʿ 'from the four winds'. When the cardinal number is uninflected, the substantive is often in the singular after the number: i veray tasn kʿałakʿi 'over ten cities'; but ewtʿn kreštakag'n 'to the seven angels'. When the cardinal number follows the substantive, the substantive is declined, the numeral may be or may not: aṙakʿelocʿn erkotasancʿ 'of the twelve apostles' (both declined); lucʿs hing 'five yokes' (only substantive declined); ogis ewtʿanasun ew hing 'seventy-five souls' (only substantive declined).

Note several numerals may slightly change form when in compounds. For example, erku 'two' gives erkotasan 'twelve' and erkeam (< erki + am) 'two-year period', erksayri 'double-edged'; erekʿ 'three' gives eṙapatik 'triple'; čʿorkʿ 'four' gives čʿorekʿtasan 'fourteen', čʿorekʿhariwr 'four hundred', čʿorekʿkin 'quadruple'. Note also the element kʿaṙ 'four' used in compounds, e.g. kʿaṙasun 'forty', kʿaraniwtʿ 'composed of the four elements'.

17.2 Ordinal Numbers

The ordinal aṙaǰim 'first' is declined in the same manner as im 'my, mine':

		aṙaǰim
		'first'
N Sg.		aṙaǰim
Ac		aṙaǰim
G		aṙaǰnoy
D		aṙaǰnoy
L		aṙaǰnum
Ab		aṙaǰnmē
I		aṙaǰnov

The remaining ordinals are formed by means of the suffix -rord, for 2 through 4, or -erord, from 5 onward. This inflects as am, according to the a-declension of invariable stems. The first few ordinals are as follows.

• 2nd erkrord
• 3rd errord
• 4th čʿorrord
• 5th hingerord, without reduction of -i-
• 6th vecʿerord
• ...

The form aṙaǰnord occurs as a substantive meaning 'leader'.

In forming ordinals from numbers containing ew, typically only the last numeral takes the ordinal suffix. This however is not a hard and fast rule, different authors even using different conventions for the same number:

• 24th kʿsan ew čʿorrord;
• 66th vatʿsunerord vecʿerord.

Ordinals, when modifying nouns, obey the usual rules for adjectives discussed in the first lesson. Note however that at times a cardinal number is found where an ordinal might be expected.

17.3 Collective, Multiplicative, Iterative, Distributive, and Fractional Forms

Classical Armenian makes use of several suffixes to further shade the meaning of numerals.

Collective

The suffixes -kʿean and -kʿin denote a collective use of numerals:

• erkokʿean 'both';
• erekʿean 'all three';
• čʿorekʿean 'all four';
• hingekʿean 'all five', without reduction of -i-;
• ... .

Sample declensions are as follows.

		erkokʿean		erekʿean		erkokʿin
		'both'		'all three'		'both'
N		erkokʿean		erekʿean		erkokʿin
Ac		erkokʿean		erekʿean		erkosin
G		erkocʿuncʿ, erkocʿun		erecʿuncʿ		erkocʿuncʿ
D		erkocʿuncʿ, erkocʿun		erecʿuncʿ		erkocʿuncʿ
L		erkokʿean		erekʿean		erkosin
Ab		erkocʿuncʿ, erkocʿun		erecʿuncʿ		erkocʿuncʿ
I		erkokʿumbkʿ		erekʿumbkʿ		erkokʿumbkʿ

Abstract Collectives

The suffix -eak, with genitive -eakacʿ, is used to form abstract collectives, e.g. erreak 'trinity', tasneak 'decade', hariwreak 'the (entire) hundred'.

Multiplicative

The suffixes -kin, -krkin, and -patik are used to form multiples of numerals: erekʿkin 'threefold', hingkrkin 'five-fold', hariwrapatik 'hundred-fold'. Note erekʿkin has G Sg. erekʿni or erekʿnoy, Pl. ereknacʿ. Such multiplicative forms may be found in verbs: erekʿknem 'I repeat three times'.

Iteratives

The suffixes -icʿs and -(e)kin may be used as iteratives: erkicʿs 'twice', ewtʿanasnekin 'seventy times'.

Distributive

Distributive meaning is often conveyed through doubling of the numeral: mi mi 'one each'. The same effect, however, may also be gained by use of the collective forms: erkokʿean 'two each'.

Fractional

Fractions are for the most part denoted by the ordinal, e.g. errord '(a) third'.

17.4 Numeral Interrogative and Iterative Adverb

The question of quantity is specified through the use of the word kʿan⁰i 'how much?, how many?': kʿan⁰i nkanak unikʿ 'how many loaves have you?' The same word, kʿani, may be used in an exclamatory role: kʿani varjkankʿ icʿen i tan hawr imoy hacʿalicʿkʿ 'how many hired servants there are in my father's house sated with bread!'

There is a similar distinction made with the iterative adverb kʿanicʿs. In an interrogative role it has the sense of 'how often?, how many times?': kʿan⁰icʿs angam etʿe mełicʿē inj ełbayr im, ew tʿołicʿ nma 'how many times, if my brother sins against me, shall I forgive him?' When not used interrogatively, it may have the sense 'as often as': kʿanicʿs angam etʿe uticʿēkʿ zhacʿs zays ew zbažaks əmpicʿēkʿ 'as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup'.

18 Participle, Infinitive, and Verbal Adjectives

18.1 Participle Formation

Classical Armenian has one true participle. This is a past participle formed from the aorist stem by addition of the ending -eal. This is then declined according to the o-declension, e.g. N Ac Sg. asacʿeal, G D Ab Sg. asacʿeloy (from *-eal-oy), etc. For verbs whose presents are formed with simple -em or -im, the stem may lack the -ecʿ suffix of the aorist. When simple present stems are paired with root aorists, the participle is formed from the simple verbal root as expected. Examples are given below.

		Present		Aorist		Participle
		grem 'I write'		grecʿi		greal
		bazmim 'I sit'		bazmecʿay		bazmeal
		hayim 'I look'		hayecʿay		hayecʿeal
		kočʿem 'I call'		kočʿecʿi		kočʿecʿeal, kočʿeal
		hanem 'I draw'		hani		haneal
		nstim 'I sit down'		nstay		nsteal
		tʿołum 'I let'		tʿołi		tʿołeal

Root aorists in -eay, built from original i-stems as in pʿaxeay 'I fled' < *pʿaxi-ay and sarteay 'I startled' < *sarti-ay, do not form participles from this stem. The participle is instead formed from the corresponding causative base: pʿax-ucʿ-eal 'having fled', from pʿaxucʿanem 'I put to flight, chase', supplies the participle for pʿaxčʿim 'I flee'. Aorist stems in -u- are not defective in this manner, simply adding -eal to the stem: tu-eal 'given' from etu, aorist of tam 'I give'; erdu-eal 'having sworn' from erduay, aorist of erdnum 'I swear'.

18.2 Participle Usage

The Classical Armenian participle is a past participle and makes no distinction between active or passive voice. For example asacʿeal 'having spoken' or 'having been said'; meṙeal 'dead'; bereal 'having carried' or 'having been carried'. The participle may be inflected to function as an attributive or predicate adjective, e.g. ztueal hramans katarēr 'he fulfilled the commands that had been given'. It may also be used as a substantive: asacʿealkʿ margarēin 'the sayings of the prophet, the prophet's words'; ənkalay zgreals kʿo 'I received your letter'.

The participle may also be used in periphrastic verbal constructions to denote completed actions. The tense of such constructions follows that of the auxiliary verb, present tense of the auxiliary yielding a perfect construction, imperfect auxiliary yielding a pluperfect. A future perfect is found with the subjunctive of em 'I am'. Some statements may omit the auxiliary altogether. In these constructions, the form of the participle remains unaltered, even in the plural. Examples are hramayeal ē yAstuacoy zi... 'it is commanded by God that...'; tʿo'\eal licʿin mełkʿ kʿo 'may your sins be forgiven'; žamanak im čʿew ē haseal 'my time has not yet come'; ... ur dpirkʿn ew cerkʿ žołoveal ein '... where the scribes and elders had gathered'.

There is a noteworthy construction involving what is termed the genitive subject. The participle may be used in an impersonal construction, whereby the -eal from remains in the singular with a singular copula, and takes an accusative object. The subject, however, is placed in the genitive. For example, ekełecʿin zor šineal ēr mecin Grigori 'the church which Gregory the great had built'; ew zays o⁰čʿ ē əntʿercʿeal jer 'and have you not read this?'; arkeal ēr nocʿa uṙkans i cov 'they had thrown (their) nets into the lake'. Such expression seems to have arisen as a sort of possessive construct, with a phrase like nora (Gen.) ē gorceal 'his is (the thing) done' > 'he has done' in parallel to nora (Gen.) ē handerj 'his is clothing' > 'he has clothing'.

The -eal participle may be used in conjunction with another finite verb where English might have two separate finite verbs, e.g. matucʿeal borot mi erkir paganēr mna 'a leper approached and worshipped him'. The genitive subject is sometimes found in these constructions, even though it expresses the subject of both the participle and finite verb: tʿołeal Yisusi zžołovurdsn ekn i tun 'Jesus left the crowds and went to the house'; ew nocʿa aṙeal zarcatʿn ararin orpēs usann 'and they took the money and did as they had been told'. The -eal participle may also be used alone as a main verb in historical narrative: zaysu žamanakaw miabaneal Alankʿ... mecaw amboxiw taraceal ənd ašxarhs mer 'about this time the Alans united... and in a great host spread over our land'.

18.3 Infinitive

There is only one infinitive in Classical Armenian, formed from the present stem by addition of the suffix -l. The infinitive functions as a substantive and declines according to the o-declension. It does not distinguish active and passive. The -l ending is preceded by the characteristic vowel of a verb's conjugation, except that both e- and i-conjugation verbs form the infinitive with e. For example:

Class		Present		Infinitive
e		sirem		sirel, G sireloy
i		sirim		sirel, G sireloy
a		lam		lal, G laloy
u		hełum		hełul, G hełloy < *hełu-loy
o		(gom)		(gol, G goloy)

In post-classical times a mediopassive form in -il developed to distinguish verbs of the i-conjugation.

The infinitive is regularly used as a complement after certain verbs, such as kamim 'I wish to', unim 'I have to', tam 'I have (someone) do (something)', sksim 'I begin to', erknčʿim 'I am afraid to', tʿołum 'I allow to'. Certain expressions are also common with the infinitive, e.g. law ē 'it is good to', aržan ē 'it is right to'. The infinitive may be used with verbs of motion to indicate purpose: gayr yaytnel zawetisn 'he came (in order) to reveal the news'. Result may be indicated by use of minčʿew with the infinitive: minčʿew zarmanal amenecʿun 'so that everyone was amazed'. Used as a substantive, the infinitive may be found in any case: mis utel (N) očʿ en mełkʿ 'eating meat is not a sin'; yaṙaǰ kʿan zlineln (A) ašxarhi 'before the world came into being'; vasn imoy tanǰeloy (G) i kʿēn 'because I am being tortured by you'; akn unein ǰrocʿn yuzeloy (D) 'they were waiting for the movement of the waters'; i baṙnal (L) tērutʿeann jArtawanay, i spananel (L) zna Artašri 'when rule was taken from Artavan and when Artashir killed him'; gtakʿ zsa zi argeloyr i taloy (Ab) harks kayser 'we found him preventing the giving of tribute to Caesar'; zayd bans aselov (I) ew zmez tʿšnamanes 'by saying these words you also insult us'.

The instrumental case of the infinitive is widely used, sometimes occuring where a participle might otherwise occur: awrinadrē tʿagaworn zinkʿn ew ztun iwr, skizbn aṙnelov (I) i glxoyn iwrmē ew i tʿagē 'the king set in order his own person and his house, beginning with himself and the crown'. The infinitive may be used in the instrumenal in an absolute sense; the logical subject in these contructions is expressed by a genitive: ekn Nersēs i meǰ nocʿa ew arar xałałutʿiwn, lselov nma tʿagaworin ew naxararacʿn 'Nerses came into their midst and made peace, the king and nobles obeying him'.

18.4 Verbal Adjectives

There are two verbal adjectives often termed 'participles' by grammarians. These are derived by means of the suffixes -locʿ and -li. These are added to the same present stem from which the infinitive is derived, that is, to the present tense stem without the personal endings. Neither form makes a distinction between active and passive. The verbal adjective in -locʿ is generally used as a predicate and does not occur in oblique cases. Often termed the future participle or participium necessitatis, the -locʿ form often connotes futurity or necessity: sirelocʿ e 'he should love, he should be loved'; or galocʿn e 'that which is to come, that which shall come'. The verbal adjective in -li, termed the participle of possibility, is used as a true adjective and may be found in any case. Its declension follows that of tełi. Examples are sireli 'lovable, beloved', zarmanali 'admirable' from zarmanam 'I marvel', əntʿeṙnli 'readable' < *-nu-li from əntʿeṙnum 'I read'.

Consult also the section on Word Formation in Lesson 5 for other nominalized verbal derivatives.

19 Comparison

There is one intensive suffix, -a-goyn, which may be added to adjectives to produce forms with comparative or superlative sense: imastnagoyn 'very wise' from imastun 'wise'; vołagoyn 'sooner, very soon' from voł 'soon'; baregoyn (< *bari-a-goyn) 'very good' from beri 'good'. Otherwise, there are no separate suffixes which serve to derive comparative or superlative forms from adjectives. There are, however, some common collocations used to indicate direct or indirect comparison.

19.1 Comparative

The comparative degree may be indicated by constructions involving the adverbs aweli 'more', aṙawel 'more', ews 'yet, still, even'. For example, ew ews čʿar pataṙumn lini 'and the split became even worse'; or sirē zhayr kam zmayr aṙawel kʿan zis 'whoever loves his father or mother more than me'. The last example illustrates the use of kʿan in the role 'than'. If the object of comparison is expressed through a noun, pronoun, or adjective, z- is prefixed to this elements as in the preceding example. The adverbs aweli or aṙawel need not be present for kʿan to fulfill this comparative role: cʿankali ē na kʿan zoski 'it is more desirable than gold'. Note that the adjective need not take any special form: pʿokʿr ē zamenayn sermanis 'it is smaller than all seeds'. kʿan may stand alone, without the prefix z-, as in the following: law ē koyr ačʿawkʿ kʿan koyr mtawkʿ 'it is better to be blind with the eyes than blind with the mind'. kʿan may mark the comparative of adverbs as well as adjectives: kʿan amenays urekʿ aṙawel yEpʿesos paštein zArtemis 'they (i.e. people) worshipped Artemis more in Ephesus than anywhere else'.

19.2 Superlative

The superlative degree is often denoted through constructions involving amenayn 'all, every' or amenekʿean 'all individuals' (cf. the section on Collective Pronouns above). An example was given in the preceding paragraph which straddles the comparative and superlative: pʿokʿr ē zamenayn sermanis 'it is smaller than all seeds', giving the sense 'it is the smallest of all seeds'. Another example is or pʿokʿrikn ē jamenesean i jez 'whoever is the smallest among you all'. The notion of 'all', however, need not be expressed explicitly: gełecʿikd i kanays 'O you most beautiful among women!'

There are also special adjectival formations which elicit the sense of the superlative. The form amen-a- may be prefixed to an adjective: amenabari 'very good'; amenasurb 'most holy'. Reduplication, or iteration, is another common means of intensifying the force of an adjective. A linking vowel -a- often intercedes: barjrabarj or barjraberj 'very high' from barjr 'high'; mec mec or mecamec 'greatest' from mec 'big'. Some such collocations may be used as substantives: mecameckʿ 'magnates, most important nobles'. Iteration may also intenstify adverbs: arag arag 'very fast'. See also the section on Word Formation in Lesson 5 for further details on iteration.

19.3 Comparative Clauses

Comparison may also be made though employment of constuctions spanning entire clauses. Some of the more common among such constructions are listed below for reference.

Correlative Comparison: The separate clauses are generally correlated by orpēs (zi)... aynpēs 'just as... , so...', though the latter conjunction is often omitted. Examples are: orpēs pʿapʿagi ełǰeru yałbers ǰurcʿ, aynpēs pʿapʿagi anjn im aṙ kʿez 'just as the deer yearns for the waters' springs, so my soul yearns for you'; orpēs zi očʿ əntrecʿin zAstuac unel i gitutʿean, natneacʿ znosa Astuac i mits anargutʿean 'as I did not care to hold God in esteem, so he betrayed them to a careless mind'; arar tər, orpēs asacʿn Movsēe 'the master did as Moses had said'.

Increasing Comparison: This heading here denotes statements of the form 'better that A should B, than that C should D', where the A-B clause as a whole is compared to the C-D clause. In such statements, kʿan tʿe fills the role of the English 'than that...'. Examples are law ēr nma, tʿe vēm erkanakʿar kaxēr zparanocʿē nora..., kʿan tʿe gaytʿagłecʿucʿanē zmi okʿ... 'it would be better if a millstone were placed round his neck than that he should offend someone'; mez law licʿi meṙanel kʿan tʿe əst awrēns ancʿanicʿem 'it would be better for us to die than that we transgress the laws.' When the 'that that...' clause is placed first, kʿan may be found without tʿe. In this situation, kʿan has the sense of 'rather than that...': kʿan znosa arkanēr i gehen, zna... əndē⁰r očʿ arkanēr... 'rather than that he throw them into Hell... why did he not throw...?'

Correlative Increasing Comparison: Under this heading fall constructions like the English 'the more... the merrier'. Such constructions in Classical Armenian are signalled by orčʿapʿ... aynčʿapʿ or orčʿapʿ... ews. For example, orčʿapʿ na patuirēr nocʿa, nokʿa ews aṙawel kʿarozein 'the more he ordered them, the more they proclaimed.'

Unreal Comparison: These are introduced by the conjunctions orpēs zi, ibrew zi tʿe, orpēs tʿe, ibrew tʿe 'as if'; ibr očʿ etʿe, ibrew očʿ etʿe 'not as if'. The verbal mood in such clauses is variable, though the subjunctive is typical following orpēs zi, orpēs tʿe, ibrew zi and the indicative is typical following the negative ibr očʿ etʿe. The indicative is also found in clauses which are not negated, e.g. orpēs tʿe ēg okʿ inčʿ ēr hiwłn 'as if the matter were something female.' Other examples are orpēs zi ayr mi arkanicʿē sermanis jerkir 'as if a man casts seed upon the earth'; ararin iwreancʿ jeṙagorc ibrew zi tʿe anerewoytʿn Astuac stutʿeanb inčʿ pašticʿi 'they did their work as if the invisible God would be honored by falsehoods'; ibr očʿ etʿe anawrēn inčʿ ei Astucoy, ayl... 'not as if I was lawless before God, rather...'.

20 Time and Temporal Clauses

20.1 Time

Common words related to the expression of time are listed below:

• žam, G žamu 'hour'
• awr, G awur 'day'
• amis, G amsoy, L amsean 'month'
• am, G amacʿ 'year'
• amaṙn, G amaraynoy 'summer'
• jmeṙn, G jmeraynoy 'winter'
• garun, G garnaynoy 'spring'
• ašun, G ašnaynoy 'autumn'

Temporal expressions may be broken down into statements about the time at which (point) an event occurs, the time from which (origin), the time during which (expanse), and the time up to which (terminus). Each such expression is typically handled through a preposition with a corresponding nominal case. The most common are listed below.

• at which -- i + Locative, e.g. i hingerord žanu 'at the fifth hour'; i tasnerordum awur amsoyn 'on the tenth day of the month'. The date is expressed by a cardinal number when awr is omitted: i kʿsan ew čʿors amsoyn 'on the twenty-fourth of the month'. Seasons are often found without the preposition i, thus amarayni or yamarayni 'in summer'.
• from which -- i + Ablative, e.g. skseal i čʿorrord amēn minčʿew i metasan amn iwroy tērutʿeann 'beginning from the fourth year up to the eleventh year of his reign'.
• during which -- Accusative, with or without z-; aṙ or z- + Instrumental; əst + Ablative. Examples of the accusative construction are zawurs eris 'for three days'; žam mi 'for one hour'. Examples of the instrumental construction are aṙ hnawkʿn tʿgaworawkʿn 'in the time of the ancient kings'; zaysu žamanakaw 'about this time'. An example of the ablative construction is awr əst awrē 'day by day'.
• up to which -- minčʿew + cʿ/i + Accusative, e.g. et nocʿa datawors minčʿew i Samuēl margarē 'he gave them judges up to the prophet Samuel'; mincʿew cʿaysawr 'up to today'.

20.2 Temporal Clauses

Contemporaneous Action: Clauses denoting action simultaneous with the main clause are set off by the conjunction minčʿ. This may be reinforced by deṙ, written minčʿ deṙ or minčʿdeṙ, or by ew, written as minčʿew. Thus one finds minčʿder ancʿanēr, etes ayr mi 'while he was passing he saw a man'. The particle deṙ may stand alone: ibrew bazmecʿan ew deṙ utein 'when they had sat down and while they were still eating'.

The particles minčʿ and minčʿew may be used to express 'until': minčʿew gam es, mit dir əntʿercʿuacocʿ 'until I come, attend to the readings'. For the use of minčʿew to express result, see the section above on the infinitive.

Constructions with kʿan are often used, such as cʿ-or-kʿan 'as long as'. For example, cʿorkʿan unicʿin zpʿesayn 'as long as they have the groom'.

Antecedent Action: Expression of actions preceding that of the main clause may employ minčʿ čʿew, also written together as minčʿčʿew. Examples are minčʿ čʿew bnaw ēr inčʿ 'before anything at all existed'; minčʿčʿew hawu xawseal icʿē, ericʿs urascʿes zis 'before the cock crows you will deny me thrice'.

The conjunction yaṙaǰ kʿan may express 'before'. The infinitive is often employed instead of a finite verb. For example, yaṙaǰ kʿan zlineln Abrahamu em es 'before Abraham came into being, I am'.

The conjunction ibrew may be used with the aorist indicative to express 'when' or 'after': ibrew tesin zna, erkir pagin nma 'when they saw him, they worshipped him'.

Future Action: The conjunctions ibrew and y-or-žam express 'when' or 'as' in a future sense: ibrew mtanicʿēkʿ i kʿałakʿn, patahescʿē jez ayr mi 'when you enter the city, a man will meet you'; minčʿew cʿawrn cʿayn joržam arbicʿ zna nor 'until that day when I shall drink it afresh'.

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