Goal: Say what you must do.
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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's visa must be extended
My visa runs out at the end of November, and I am staying until next September. So this morning I take my passport, two photos and a lot of courage to the immigration office.
The official is polite and very precise. Almost every sentence she says has the same shape: you must do this, you must do that. By the end I know exactly what to do, and I have learnt one new construction.
| Mongolian | English |
|---|---|
| ёстой | must, have to |
| виз | visa |
| сунгах | to extend |
| паспорт | passport |
| маягт | form (to fill in) |
| бөглөх | to fill in |
| хураамж | fee |
| төлөх | to pay |
| давхар | floor, storey; нэгдүгээр давхар the ground floor |
| ирэх даваа гараг | next Monday |
| хүчинтэй | valid |
| сүүлч | end |
For a firm obligation, such as a rule, a law or a duty, put the verb in its –х form and add ёстой. Like хэрэгтэй, ёстой is not a verb but a word in –той: it is built on ёс "custom, rule", so it means something like "as the rule says".
Both can translate "have to". The difference is where the obligation comes from.
| Pattern | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| –х ёстой | a rule or a duty imposed from outside | Та хураамж төлөх ёстой. |
| –х хэрэгтэй | a practical need | Бид эрт явах хэрэгтэй. |
An official tells you what you ёстой do; a friend tells you what you хэрэгтэй do. That is why Limba says Би виз сунгах хэрэгтэй "I need to extend my visa", and the official answers with ёстой.
With a question word: Хэзээ ирэх ёстой вэ? "When must I come?" For a yes/no question, remember that ёстой ends in a diphthong and has back vowels, so the particle is юу: Би маргааш ирэх ёстой юу? "Must I come tomorrow?"
For "you must not", Mongolians usually use the construction of lesson 65: Энд зураг авч болохгүй. "You mustn't take photos here." You will also read –х ёсгүй, the negative of ёстой, in rules and notices.
Go deeper in the grammar guide: Can, must, want, like · Wanting and needing
ёс "custom, rule" is a useful little word. Монгол ёсоор means "the Mongolian way", and ёс заншил means "customs and traditions". Notice its vowel: ё belongs with the back vowels, so the endings are back too, as in ёстой, ёсоор and ёсны, even though the letter looks like е.
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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