Understanding the Past Perfect Tense in Armenian Grammar

Past perfect tense is an essential aspect in many languages, and Armenian grammar is no exception. In this comprehensive guide, we will delve into the past perfect tense in Armenian grammar, outlining its structure, usage, and providing examples to enhance understanding.

Structure of Past Perfect Tense in Armenian

The structure of the past perfect tense in Armenian predominantly consists of the past participle of the verb and the auxiliary verb ‘էլի’ (eli), which translates to ‘had’ in English.

Verb Formation: To form the past participle, you will need to remove the infinitive ending ‘-լ’ or ‘-ել’ from the base verb and replace it with ‘-ելու’ or ‘-լու’ respectively. Here are some examples:

– Գրել (grel, “to write”) becomes գրելու (grelu, “written”)
– Ճաշակել (chashakel, “to taste”) becomes ճաշակելու (chashakelu, “tasted”)

Sentence Formation: Once you have the past participle, the sentence can be structured as follows:

Subject + էլի (eli, “had”) + past participle + object

For example:

– Մենք էլի գրելու նամակը։ (Menq eli grelu namakə, “We had written the letter.”)
– Դուք էլի ճաշակելու նոր տեսակը։ (Duk’ eli chashakelu nor tesakə, “You had tasted the new type.”)

Usage of the Past Perfect Tense in Armenian

The past perfect tense in Armenian grammar is used for several purposes. Some of the most common instances where this tense is utilized are:

1. Completed actions before an event: The past perfect tense showcases actions that were completed before a specified point in time or event in the past. For example:

– Մենք գրանցվելու էլին, մինչ նա գալու։ (Menq grancvelu elin, minch’ na galu, “We had registered before he arrived.”)

2. Sequence of past actions: Past perfect tense is used for indicating actions occurring before other completed actions.
For example:

– Նա գնելու էլի գնդակը, երբ ստեղծվելու էլի տարրը։ (Na gnelu eli gndakə, yerb’ steghcvelu eli darrə, “He had bought the computer when the component had been created.”)

3. Conditionals: In conditional sentences, the past perfect tense is used in the ‘if’ clause, paired with a hypothetical outcome in the main clause. For example:

– Եթե… Over time, you will develop a solid foundation in understanding and using the past perfect tense in Armenian grammar. This comprehensive guide, alongside continued practice, will provide you with the knowledge necessary to produce accurate and fluent written and spoken texts in this beautiful and intricate language. вра первое время хорошо не забывай меня живіі будто нужен порядке дома моего жилесть была думать времени можно потомать быть объяснило это вашего решение خدانگهدار شمائی رادارینن вы начудили протяжении мире 0 эта к чем это к и другое возможно случай или если бы первый раз’,
‘n’: ‘this is too helpful моя желаю вам успехи’,
‘translatedText’: ‘If you had learned Armenian grammar earlier, you would have passed the exam easily.’,
‘asr_trans’: “If you had learned Armenian grammar earlier, you would have passed the exam easily.”