Declension of Nouns and Adjectives
Խոնարհումն անուանց բայից եւ ածականաց

Inflection

Classical Armenian is an inflected language, whereby nouns and adjectives (including participles and infinitives acting as nouns or adjectives) are declined with case endings to indicate the word’s specific function within the grammatical structure of a phrase or sentence. Since the function of a word is determined by its inflected case, the meaning of a sentence is largely independent of word order, and the words themselves are usually sufficient to express relationships with other words, often without the need for an actual preposition. By comparison, Eng­lish is not an inflected language, and the meaning of a sentence is largely dependent upon word order (subject – verb – direct object), with prepositions that are needed to express the relationships between certain words. In the example below, word order and the preposition “to” (which designates the following word as an indirect object) determine the meaning of the sentence:

A change in the word order that switches the nouns/adjectives of the subject and direct object would completely change the meaning of the sentence, or even make it unintelligible: “Our everyday bread gives you to us today.”

Compare the same sentence from the Lord’s Prayer in Clas­sical Arme­nian:

Changing the word order of this sentence does not change its meaning:

Case System

Classical Armenian essentially utilizes seven inflected cases:

1. The nominative case is used to indicate the subject of a sentence, and also the predicate in an “is” (being or becoming) sentence. The nominative form of a noun or adjective is its basic form, and does not have a case ending (apart from a plural marker).
2. The accusative case is used to indicate the direct object receiving the action of a verb. In Classical Armenian, the accusative form is usually the same as the nominative form (although it uses a different plural marker), which occasionally results in ambiguity in distinguishing the subject and the direct object. Accusative direct objects that are definite objects are marked with the prefix զ-. The accusative case is also used for the object of certain prepositions.
3. The genitive case is used to indicate relationships of possession, origin or association between nouns and adjectives or other nouns in an attributive or adjectival role. Words in the genitive case are often translated into English with the preposition “of”, or with a possessive marker. A word in the genitive case can also act as the subject of a phrase or sentence which uses an aorist participle as the verb. The genitive case is also used for the object of certain prepositions.
4. The dative case is used to indicate the indirect object of a verb, often denoting the recipient or beneficiary involved in the verbal action. In Classical Armenian, the dative form is usually the same as the genitive form. Words in the dative case are often translated into English with the preposition “to” or “for”. The dative case is also used for the object of certain prepositions.
5. The locative case is used, always with a preposition, to indicate spatial or temporal location. In Classical Armenian, the locative singular form is often the same as the dative singular form, and the locative plural form is usually the same as the accusative plural form. Words in the locative case are often translated into English with the preposition “in”, “at” or “on”.
6. The ablative case is used, always with a preposition, to indicate action, motion or separation away from somewhere or something, as the object of certain prepositions, or as the agent in a passive sentence. Words in the ablatave case are often translated into English with the preposition “from” or “out of”, or with “by” in a passive sentence (e.g., Այս հայե­րէն գիրք թարգ­մանեալ էր ՚ի Մատ­թէոսէ Սար­գիսեանէ։, “This Arme­nian text was translated by Matthew Sar­kisian.”).
7. The instrumental case is used to indicate the means or method (instrument) by which an action is performed. Words in the instrumental case are often translated into English with the preposition “by”, “with” or “through”, or with “in” having the same sense. A noun or adjective in the instrumental case can also be used as an adverb (e.g., Զբե­րան իւր եբաց չա­փով եւ իմաս­տու­թեամբ, եւ կարգ եդ լեզ­ուի իւրում։, “She opens her mouth moderately (with moderation) and wisely (with wisdom), and imposes order to her tongue.” (Prov. 31:25)). The instrumental case is also used for the object of certain prepositions.

Declension Paradigms

Nouns & adjectives with invariable stems that end in a consonant

Infinitives use the ո-type declension:

Some proper nouns use a variation of the ա-type:

Nouns & adjectives with invariable stems that end with the vowel -ի

Nouns and adjectives ending in -ացի:

Nouns & adjectives with variable stems that end with the consonant -ր or -ղ

ն-Stem declensions

Anomalous Nouns