Simple past
Talk about a completed event with common regular and irregular past forms.
The completed past is a single conjugated word
Unlike the present tense, the simple past does not use the present auxiliary. Verb stems can change, so begin with frequent verbs and notice recurring person endings.
Regular pattern with “to love / like”
| Person | Armenian | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | սիրեցի | siretsi | I loved / liked |
| you, informal | սիրեցիր | siretsir | you loved / liked |
| he / she | սիրեց | sirets | he / she loved / liked |
| we | սիրեցինք | siretsink’ | we loved / liked |
| you, plural / polite | սիրեցիք | siretsik’ | you loved / liked |
| they | սիրեցին | siretsin | they loved / liked |
Frequent first-person forms
| Infinitive | Past form | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| գնալ | գնացի | gnal → gnatsi | to go → I went |
| գալ | եկա | gal → yeka | to come → I came |
| տեսնել | տեսա | tesnel → tesa | to see → I saw |
| ուտել | կերա | utel → kera | to eat → I ate |
| խմել | խմեցի | khmel → khmetsi | to drink → I drank |
| անել | արեցի | anel → aretsi | to do → I did |
Negative past pattern
| Person | Armenian | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | չսիրեցի | ch’siretsi | I did not like |
| you, informal | չսիրեցիր | ch’siretsir | you did not like |
| he / she | չսիրեց | ch’sirets | he / she did not like |
| we | չսիրեցինք | ch’siretsink’ | we did not like |
| you, plural / polite | չսիրեցիք | ch’siretsik’ | you did not like |
| they | չսիրեցին | ch’siretsin | they did not like |
Examples
Երեկ գնացի Երևան։Yerek gnatsi Yerevan.Yesterday I went to Yerevan.Pronunciation: ts is one blended sound.
Ես սուրճ խմեցի։Yes surch khmetsi.I drank coffee.Pronunciation: ch is unaspirated; kh is throaty; ts is blended.
Ես չգնացի։Yes ch’gnatsi.I did not go.Pronunciation: ch’ is aspirated; ts is blended.
Use it now
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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.