Lesson 4: This, That, These, Those (First Forms)
In this lesson we’ll look at the words this, that, these, and those. For the grammar nerds, these are called demonstrative pronouns. Here we’ll only look at the first form, or what might be called the nominative form. In Kurmanji these can be a little confusing at first because they are exactly the same as the personal pronouns for he, she, it, and they.
ev = this, these |
ew = that, those |
You’ll also notice that the singular and plural are the same in the first form. When we look at the second forms you’ll see that they are different. So, how do you know if it’s singular or plural? Context.
Examples
| ev law | this boy, these boys |
| ew law | that boy, those boys |
| ev keç | this girl, these girls |
| ew keç | that girl, those girls |
| ev pirtûk | this book, these books |
| ew pirtûk | that book, those books |
| ev sêv | this apple, these apples |
| ew sêv | that apple, those apples |
| ev xanî | this house, these houses |
| ew xanî | that house, those houses |
Of course, Kurmanji has a plural form of the noun, but in the first form (nominative form), nouns are normally not made plural after demonstrative pronouns. This seems strange for English speakers, but it’s correct in Kurmanji. Demonstrative pronouns are also used in sentences to identify and descrıbe objects, etc. For example, note these sample sentences:
| This is a telephone. | Ev telefon e. |
| That is a door. | Ew derî ye. |
| These are apples. | Ev sêv in. |
| Those are houses. | Ew xanî ne. |
| This book is red. | Ev pirtûk sor e. |
| That book is black. | Ew pirtûk reş e. |
| These women are young. | Ev jin ciwan in. |
| Those women are old. | Ew jin pîr in. |
Remember that these Quizlet sets allow for lots of study and test options. For an explanation of these options, see this page.
Vocabulary Lesson 04 Vocabulary Lesson 04 Audio
Remember that these Quizlet sets allow for lots of study and test options. For an explanation of these options, see this page.
Exercise 1
Exercise 2