Lesson 110: Review: Naadam day | Learn Mongolian B1

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1Limba’s diary

Limba writes about Naadam

13 July. Naadam is over and the city is quiet again; half of Ulaanbaatar seems to be asleep. I sit at the kitchen table and write about these three days for Oyuunaa, my teacher. She wants it in Mongolian, of course.

I try to use everything this week has given me: the wrestler who won, the horses that were going to race, the children who ride, the spectators, the judges, the waiting until the final.

Nomin reads over my shoulder and corrects only two words. I am prouder of that than of anything else this summer.

2Dialogue

НоминЮу бичиж байна вэ?What are you writing?
LimbaНаадмын тухай. Энэ бол Оюунаа багшийн өгсөн даалгавар.About Naadam. It's the assignment teacher Oyuunaa gave us.
НоминУншаад өгөөч!Read it to me!
Limba"Би наадмын нээлтэд очсон. Нээлтэд оролцсон хүмүүс маш олон байсан.""I went to the Naadam opening. A great many people took part in the opening."
НоминСайн байна. Цааш нь уншаач.Good. Read on.
Limba"Би уралдах морьдыг харсан. Морь унадаг хүүхдүүд маш зоригтой.""I saw the horses that were going to race. The children who ride horses are very brave."
Номин"Уралдах морьдыг" гэж зөв бичсэн байна.You've written "уралдах морьдыг" correctly.
Limba"Намайг хамгийн их гайхшруулсан нь сур харваа. Үзэгчид шүүгчидтэй хамт уухай гэж дуулсан.""What amazed me most was the archery. The spectators sang уухай with the judges."
НоминХуушуурын тухай бичсэн үү?Did you write about the khuushuur?
LimbaМэдээж. "Бид хуушуур идэнгээ морьдыг хүлээсэн. Морьд харагдмагц бүгд хашгирсан."Of course. "We waited for the horses while eating khuushuur. As soon as the horses appeared, everybody shouted."
НоминФиналын тухай юу гэж бичсэн бэ?What did you write about the final?
Limba"Тэмүүлэн финал дуустал гэртээ харихгүй гэж хэлсэн.""Temuulen said he would not go home until the final was over."
НоминМаш сайн! Багшид таалагдана гэж бодож байна.Very good! I think the teacher will like it.

3Words in this lesson

Mongolian	English
даалгавар	assignment, task (гэрийн даалгавар, homework)
оролцох	to take part
цааш нь	further, on (цааш нь уншаач, read on)
мэдээж	of course
тухай	about (after the genitive: наадмын тухай, about Naadam)
түрүүлсэн бөх	the wrestler who came first
уралдах морь	a horse that will race
морь унадаг хүүхэд	a child who rides horses
үзэгч, шүүгч, уралдагч	spectator, judge, competitor
гайхшруулах	to amaze
хуушуур идэнгээ	while eating khuushuur
харагдмагц	as soon as it appeared
дуустал	until it ended

4Grammar and explanations

What this unit taught

Two families of verb forms carried the whole week. Participles turn a verb into a describing word that stands in front of a noun, or into a noun. Converbs hang one action on the next and leave the tense to the last verb.

Form	Meaning	Example
–сан + noun	who did, which was done	ялсан бөх, the wrestler who won
–х + noun	who will, which is to be	уралдах морь, a horse that will race
–даг + noun	who usually does	морь унадаг хүүхэд, a child who rides
–гч	the doer	үзэгч, шүүгч, уралдагч
–сан нь / –х нь	what happened / doing it	Чиний хэлсэн нь зөв.
–нгаа	while	идэнгээ, while eating
–магц	as soon as	ирмэгц, as soon as he came
–тал	until	дуустал, until it ended

Participles: the description goes first

Whatever describes the noun comes before it, with no word for "who" or "which". The doer, if there is one, goes in the genitive.

Өчигдөр түрүүлсэн бөх өнөөдөр дахиад барилдана.yesterday come.first-PART wrestler today again wrestle-PRES-FUT"The wrestler who won yesterday will wrestle again today."

Сур харвадаг эмэгтэйчүүд их мэргэн.archery shoot-HAB woman-PL very skilled"The women who do archery are very skilled."

Миний найзын унах морь бор.my friend-GEN ride-PART horse brown"The horse my friend will ride is brown."

Converbs: one verb hangs on the next

Only the last verb carries the tense. You can even use two converbs in one sentence:

Бид айраг уунгаа морьд иртэл хүлээсэн.we airag drink-CONV horse-PL come-CONV wait-PAST"Drinking airag, we waited until the horses arrived."

Финал дуусмагц бид гэртээ харьсан.final end-CONV we home-DAT-REFL go.home-PAST"As soon as the final was over, we went home."

Choosing between the three new converbs

–нгаа: two actions at the same time, by the same person.
–магц: the second event follows at once; the subjects may differ.
–тал: the first action lasts up to the moment of the second.

All three follow vowel harmony: –нгаа / –нгоо / –нгээ / –нгөө, –магц / –могц / –мэгц / –мөгц, –тал / –тол / –тэл / –төл.

Go deeper in the grammar guide: Mongolian participles · Mongolian converbs

5Good to know

During the festival, Mongolians greet each other with Наадмын баярын мэнд хүргэе! "Happy Naadam!" and wish each other Сайхан наадаарай! "Have a good Naadam!", from the verb наадах, to play, to enjoy the games. Use them from early July: everybody will smile.

6Exercises

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

түрүүлсэн бөх means…
маргааш уралдах морьд are…
"a child who rides horses":
үзэгч is…
The plural of шүүгч (judge) is…
Чиний хэлсэн нь зөв. means…
Choose: Хүлээх ___ уйтгартай. (Waiting is boring.)
Choose the "while" form of ид- (eat):
Тоос харагдмагц… means…
Финал дуустал means…
Choose: Намайг ___ хүлээгээрэй. (Wait until I come.)
Which form is a converb, one that cannot end a sentence?
When is the national Naadam?
Who rides the horses in the Naadam races?
"the horse my friend will ride":

Well done! Lesson 110 is ticked on your course map.

Write it yourself

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

Translate: "the wrestler who won yesterday"
Show answer
өчигдөр түрүүлсэн бөх / өчигдөр ялсан бөх
Translate: "the horses that will race tomorrow"
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маргааш уралдах морьд
Translate: "people who live in the countryside"
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хөдөө амьдардаг хүмүүс
Give the Mongolian for "spectators".
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үзэгчид
Say "It's good that it didn't rain."
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Бороо ороогүй нь сайн байна.
Say "We watched the wrestling while eating khuushuur."
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Бид хуушуур идэнгээ бөх үзсэн.
Say "As soon as the race ended, we went home."
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Уралдаан дуусмагц бид гэртээ харьсан.
Say "Wait until the final is over."
Show answer
Финал дуустал хүлээгээрэй.

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