Present tense of regular verbs
Say what you do and what is happening now with the characteristic -ում form.
One tense, two common English meanings
Most infinitives end in -ել (-el) or -ալ (-al). For the present, remove that ending, add -ում (-um), and use the matching present form of “to be”. The result can mean both “I do” and “I am doing”.
From infinitive to present participle
| Infinitive | Present form | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| սիրել | սիրում | sirel → sirum | to love / like → loving / liking |
| խոսել | խոսում | khosel → khosum | to speak → speaking |
| կարդալ | կարդում | kardal → kardum | to read → reading |
| աշխատել | աշխատում | ashkhatel → ashkhatum | to work → working |
Full pattern with կարդալ
| Person | Armenian | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | կարդում եմ | kardum em | I read / am reading |
| you, informal | կարդում ես | kardum es | you read / are reading |
| he / she | կարդում է | kardum e | reads / is reading |
| we | կարդում ենք | kardum enk’ | we read / are reading |
| you, plural / polite | կարդում եք | kardum ek’ | you read / are reading |
| they | կարդում են | kardum en | they read / are reading |
Frequent irregular present forms
| Infinitive | Present form | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| գնալ | գնում | gnal → gnum | to go → going |
| գալ | գալիս | gal → galis | to come → coming |
| տալ | տալիս | tal → talis | to give → giving |
| լալ | լալիս | lal → lalis | to cry → crying |
Examples
Ես հայերեն եմ սովորում։Yes hayeren em sovorum.I learn / am learning Armenian.
Նա Երևանում է աշխատում։Na Yerevanum e ashkhatum.He / she works in Yerevan.Pronunciation: kh is the throaty sound in German “Bach”.
Մենք ամեն օր սուրճ ենք խմում։Menk’ amen or surch enk’ khmum.We drink coffee every day.Pronunciation: k’ is aspirated; kh is throaty; ch is unaspirated.
Use it now
Not practised yet
Practice this lesson
Eight questions are drawn from this lesson and reshuffled every time.
Questions switch between recognition and recall, so you practise both meaning and the Armenian form.