4Grammar and explanations
Doing two things at once
To say that you do one thing while doing another, put the first verb in –нгаа and let the second verb finish the sentence. Like –ж and –аад (lessons 83 and 84), this is a converb: a verb form that hangs one action on the next and can never end a sentence by itself.
Бид хуушуур идэнгээ ярилцсан.we khuushuur eat-CONV chat-PAST"We chatted while eating khuushuur."
Хүүхдүүд дуулангаа явсан.child-PL sing-CONV go-PAST"The children rode off singing."
The four forms
The ending follows vowel harmony: –нгаа / –нгоо / –нгээ / –нгөө.
| Stem | Vowel | "while…" |
|---|
| уна- (ride) | а, у | унангаа |
| сонс- (listen) | о | сонсонгоо |
| ид- (eat) | э, и | идэнгээ |
| хөөрөлд- (chat) | ө | хөөрөлдөнгөө |
After a consonant, a linking vowel of the same family comes first: ид- → идэнгээ, ав- → авангаа, сонс- → сонсонгоо. After a vowel, nothing is added: уна- → унангаа, уу- → уунгаа.
One person, two actions
–нгаа joins two actions done by the same person, side by side. The converb has no tense: the last verb gives it.
Тэмүүлэн тоглонгоо гурван хуушуур идсэн.Temuulen play-CONV three khuushuur eat-PAST"Temuulen ate three khuushuur while playing."
Би цай уунгаа ном уншдаг.I tea drink-CONV book read-HAB"I read while drinking tea."
Идэнгээ битгий гүй!eat-CONV don't run"Don't run while you're eating!"
In the last sentence, битгий belongs to the final verb гүй: what is forbidden is running, and идэнгээ only says when.
–нгаа or –ж?
–ж links actions loosely, as one event (lesson 84). –нгаа insists that the two actions run at the same time, and it is the form to choose when English says "while" or "as": Тэд морь унангаа гийнгоо дуулдаг. "They sing the гийнгоо as they ride."
Go deeper in the grammar guide: Mongolian converbs · The four-form suffix table
5Good to know
Naadam is khuushuur season. The Naadam khuushuur is large, flat and fried in the tents around the stadium and the racing ground, and people eat it with their hands, folded in a paper napkin. Careful with the first bite: the meat inside is full of hot juice. Mongolians say you should eat it халуун дээр нь, "while it is hot", which is exactly what Bold tells Limba.
