Goal: Place events in time.
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Now hear it and say it
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Download the Mongolian audio course24 audio lessons · MP3 · yours to keepLimba keeps a diary
Oyuunaa says the best homework is a diary, so every night I write five lines in Mongolian in a small blue notebook. It is slow, but my verbs are getting better.
My system is simple: first the time word, then the verb at the very end, with the right ending. Yesterday takes the past, tomorrow takes the present-future. Tonight Nomin catches me at it and wants to know everything I wrote.
| Mongolian | English |
|---|---|
| өдрийн тэмдэглэл | diary |
| бичих | to write |
| өчигдөр | yesterday |
| өнөөдөр | today |
| маргааш | tomorrow |
| уржигдар | the day before yesterday |
| нөгөөдөр | the day after tomorrow |
| өглөө | morning; in the morning |
| орой | evening; in the evening |
| өнөө өглөө | this morning |
| өнөө орой | this evening |
| хийд | monastery |
| кино | film |
| хамт | together |
In English you say "I came yesterday", not "at yesterday", and Mongolian agrees: the everyday time words are used bare, with no case ending at all.
| уржигдар | өчигдөр | өнөөдөр | маргааш | нөгөөдөр |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the day before yesterday | yesterday | today | tomorrow | the day after tomorrow |
өглөө (morning), өдөр (daytime), орой (evening) and шөнө (night) also work bare, meaning "in the morning", "in the evening" and so on. Put them after the day word: өчигдөр орой "yesterday evening", маргааш өглөө "tomorrow morning". For "this morning" and "this evening" Mongolian uses the short form өнөө: өнөө өглөө, өнөө орой.
The time word says when; the ending of the verb must agree with it. Use –сан with уржигдар and өчигдөр, and –на with маргааш and нөгөөдөр.
With өнөөдөр "today", the verb can be past or future: Өнөөдөр би музейд очсон "Today I went to the museum", Өнөөдөр би музейд очно "Today I'll go to the museum".
At the start of the sentence or just after the subject, but never at the end, because the verb always closes a Mongolian sentence. Өчигдөр би кино үзсэн and Би өчигдөр кино үзсэн are both good Mongolian.
Go deeper in the grammar guide: Time expressions and their cases
The names of the meals are built on these time words, with the genitive: өглөөний цай "breakfast" (literally "morning tea"), өдрийн хоол "lunch" ("the meal of the day") and оройн хоол "dinner" ("the evening meal"). In many homes breakfast really is milk tea with bread or boortsog.
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Lesson done? Train your ear
This written course teaches you to read and write. The LIMBA audio course makes you speak: 24 lessons of 12 to 15 minutes, recorded with a native speaker. You listen, you repeat, you answer — the perfect partner for these pages.
Download the Mongolian audio course24 audio lessons · MP3 · yours to keep