Lesson 4
Daily Activities
Ամենօրյա գործողություններ
Amenorya gortsoghutyunner
This lesson will introduce you to:
- How to ask for and tell time
- Typical daily activities in Armenian
- The verbs “to go,” “to study,” “to play,” “to work,” “to watch,” “to read,” “to eat,” and
“to get up”
- The past tense of the verbs.
Time: Armenians like talking about time past, present and future; relating the past to their history
and the future to their dreams and plans. Armenians respect time in their long-term relationships
and friendships.However, the everyday interpretation of time in Armenia can vary.
In formal
settings (e.g. business meetings, etc) absolute punctuality and a ten-fifteen minute grace period is
expected. However, the same people can show up from one-half hour to an hour late to an
informal gathering (e.g. birthday party, party). The difference in behavior is not intented to
offend. To differentiate 2:00 a.m. from 2:00 p.m. in Armenian, you would say “two o’clock at
night,” or “two o’clock daytime.” Armenians use “to” and “after” to talk about minutes before or
after the hour. For example. 3:45 can be stated as “three-forty-five” or “fifteen to four.” Because
during conversations part of the meaning is implied, Armenians do not always emphasize AM or
PM. For instance, if someone is invited to dinner at 3:00 PM, the person may be simply asked to
come at three. However, schedules run in a different way. One could expect to see 14:00 for 2:00
p.m., and 2:00 for 2:00 a.m. During informal discussions it is very unlikely that an Armenian
will use thirteen o’clock or fourteen o’clock.
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