Armenian verbs and how to conjugate them

Armenian verbs are more regular than they look. Almost every verb ends in -ել or -ալ, and most tenses are built the same way for all of them. Here is how it works, and the full tables for 53 of the verbs you’ll use most.

Two conjugations

Verbs ending in -ել (գրել, “to write”) form the past with -եցի: գրեցի. Verbs ending in -ալ (խաղալ, “to play”) form it with -ացի: խաղացի. Irregular verbs — the most common ones, like գալ, “to come” (past եկա) — have their own stems for some tenses.

Seven tenses

  • Present · գրում եմ
  • Negative present · չեմ գրում
  • Past continuous · գրում էի
  • Past · գրեցի
  • Present perfect · գրել եմ
  • Future · կգրեմ
  • Imperative · գրի՛ր

Quiz

Armenian verbs quiz

8 quick questions and three hearts. Answer fast for bonus points.

  • 8 questions
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53 common verbs

Questions

How many conjugations does Armenian have?

Two: verbs ending in -ել and verbs ending in -ալ. They differ mainly in the past, the future and the imperative.

How is the present tense formed in Armenian?

With a participle and a helper verb: գրում եմ, “I write” — literally “writing I am”. To make it negative, the չ goes on the helper: չեմ գրում.

Which Armenian is this?

Standard Eastern Armenian, as spoken in Armenia, in modern spelling.

Use these verbs in real sentences

Haylingua’s lessons practise every tense with audio and speaking. Start free, no card needed.