Lesson 108: As soon as: -магц

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1Limba’s diary

The race starts

Eleven o'clock. Somewhere twenty kilometres away the race is about to start, and from the finish line we see nothing at all: only the empty steppe and the heat shaking above the grass.

Then Bold's phone rings, and the whole crowd seems to hear the news at the same moment: they are off. Half an hour later a small cloud of dust appears on the horizon. As soon as people see it, everybody stands up and starts shouting.

The first horse arrives alone, its little rider flat on its neck. As soon as it crosses the line, a hundred hands reach out to touch it.

2Dialogue

LimbaУралдаан эхэлсэн үү?Has the race started?
БолдХараахан эхлээгүй. Уралдаан эхэлмэгц миний найз над руу залгана.Not yet. As soon as the race starts, my friend will call me.
ТэмүүлэнБолд ах, утас чинь дуугарч байна!Bold, your phone is ringing!
БолдЭхэллээ! Морьд гараанаас гарлаа.It's started! The horses have left the start.
LimbaТэд энд хэзээ ирэх вэ?When will they get here?
БолдХагас цагийн дараа.In half an hour.
ТэмүүлэнТоос харагдмагц би хашгирна!As soon as the dust appears, I'll shout!
LimbaХар! Тэнд тоос байна!Look! There's dust over there!
БолдМорьд ирж байна! Түрүү морь барианд ормогц хүмүүс түүн рүү гүйнэ.The horses are coming! As soon as the leading horse crosses the line, people will run to it.
LimbaЯагаад?Why?
БолдТүрүү морины хөлс аз авчирдаг.The sweat of the winning horse brings luck.
ТэмүүлэнТэмүүжин! Тэмүүжин гуравдугаар байранд орлоо!Temuujin! Temuujin came third!
LimbaГайхалтай! Тэр мориноос буумагц бид түүнд баяр хүргэе.Wonderful! As soon as he gets off his horse, let's congratulate him.

3Words in this lesson

Mongolian	English
хараахан	not yet (with a negative verb)
залгах	to phone, to call (над руу залгах, to call me)
дуугарах	to ring, to make a sound
гараа	the start of a race
тоос	dust
харагдах	to appear, to be seen
хашгирах	to shout
түрүү	first place (түрүү морь, the winning horse)
хөлс	sweat
аз	luck
авчрах	to bring
буух	to get off, to come down
баяр хүргэх	to congratulate
байранд орох	to take a place (гуравдугаар байранд орох, to come third)

4Grammar and explanations

As soon as: –магц

To say that one thing happens immediately after another, put the first verb in –магц. Like –нгаа in lesson 107, it is a converb: it never ends a sentence, and the last verb gives the tense.

Уралдаан эхэлмэгц миний найз залгана.race begin-CONV my friend call-PRES-FUT"As soon as the race starts, my friend will call."

Тоос харагдмагц хүмүүс хашгирав.dust appear-CONV people shout-PAST"As soon as the dust appeared, people shouted."

The forms

The suffix goes straight onto the stem, with no linking vowel, and its vowel follows harmony:

Stem	Vowel	"as soon as…"
хар- (see)	а, у	хармагц
ор- (enter)	о	ормогц
ир- (come)	э, и	ирмэгц

So: дуус- → дуусмагц, буу- → буумагц, бос- → босмогц, эхэл- → эхэлмэгц. The rare verbs whose only vowel is ө take –мөгц: өг- → өгмөгц.

Two subjects are fine

With –нгаа both actions belong to the same person. With –магц the two events can have different subjects:

Түрүү морь барианд ормогц хүмүүс түүн рүү гүйдэг.first horse finish-DAT enter-CONV people it towards run-HAB"As soon as the winning horse crosses the line, people run to it."

Тэр мориноос буумагц бид түүнд баяр хүргэе.he horse-ABL get.off-CONV we he-DAT congratulations deliver-IMP"As soon as he gets off his horse, let's congratulate him."

–аад or –магц?

–аад (lesson 83) simply puts two actions in order: "and then". –магц adds speed: "and at once, without a pause".

Гэртээ ирээд би унтсан.home-DAT-REFL come-CONV I sleep-PAST"I came home and went to bed."

Гэртээ ирмэгц би унтсан.home-DAT-REFL come-CONV I sleep-PAST"I went to bed as soon as I got home."

In English, "as soon as" opens the sentence or sits in the middle. In Mongolian the signal arrives at the end of the first clause, on the verb, so read to the verb before you decide what the clause means.

Go deeper in the grammar guide: Mongolian converbs · The four-form suffix table

5Good to know

The five fastest horses of each race are honoured as айргийн тав, "the five of airag": airag is sprinkled on their heads and backs, and a praise song is sung for them. Everyone tries to touch the sweat of the winning horse, which is believed to bring luck. The jockey of the winner is celebrated too, and the horse's trainer, the уяач, becomes famous for a year.

6Exercises

Choose the right answer, then press Check my answers. Score 70% or more and the lesson is ticked on your course map.

–магц means…
Choose the "as soon as" form of ир- (come):
Choose the "as soon as" form of хар- (see):
Choose the "as soon as" form of ор- (enter):
Тоос харагдмагц хүмүүс хашгирав. means…
Choose: Уралдаан ___ миний найз над руу залгана. (As soon as the race starts…)
What does the sweat of the winning horse bring?
In the dialogue, Temuujin came…
"I went to bed as soon as I got home.":
Which statement about –магц is true?

Well done! Lesson 108 is ticked on your course map.

Write it yourself

Write your answer on paper or in your head first, then reveal the model answer.

Say "As soon as I arrive, I'll call you."
Show answer
Би ирмэгц чам руу залгана.
Say "As soon as the lesson ended, we went home."
Show answer
Хичээл дуусмагц бид гэртээ харьсан.
Say "As soon as the horses appeared, everyone stood up."
Show answer
Морьд харагдмагц бүгд бослоо.
Say "As soon as he saw me, he laughed."
Show answer
Тэр намайг хармагц инээлээ.
Say "As soon as the plane lands, call me."
Show answer
Онгоц буумагц над руу залгаарай.

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