Goal: Say who you go with.
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Download the Mongolian audio course24 audio lessons · MP3 · yours to keepLimba travels with Nomin and Bold
Hour three on the road. Nomin and I share the back seat with the presents, and Bold drives with one hand and tells stories with the other. He wants to know who I came to Mongolia with, and he is amazed by my answer.
I learn that Mongolian "with" is two different endings: one for the car you travel in, and one for the people who travel with you.
| Mongolian | English |
|---|---|
| хэнтэй | with whom? |
| ганцаараа | alone, on your own |
| зоригтой | brave |
| хамт | together (with) |
| ах | older brother; a polite way to address a man older than you |
| утас | phone; утсаар by phone |
| ярих | to talk, to speak |
| уулзах | to meet |
| өөр | other, another |
| ойрхон | close by, quite near |
| надтай | with me |
You know –тай / –той / –тэй as "having": Би ахтай "I have an older brother" (lesson 26). The same ending also means "with" for company: the person you are with, or go, talk or meet with. This case is called the comitative.
It has only three forms; there is no form with ө.
| Stem vowels | Ending | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| а, у | –тай | Баттай, Сараатай, Оюунаатай |
| о | –той | Номинтой, Болдтой |
| э, и, ү, ө | –тэй | эмээтэй, Цэцэгтэй, Тэмүүлэнтэй, өрөөтэй |
In Номин the и is neutral, so the о decides: Номинтой. The ending never changes the word it joins: no linking letter, no dropped vowel.
хамт after the comitative stresses doing something jointly: Номинтой хамт, надтай хамт.
| Pronoun | With… |
|---|---|
| би | надтай (with me) |
| чи | чамтай (with you) |
| та | тантай (with you, polite) |
| тэр | түүнтэй (with him, with her) |
| бид | бидэнтэй (with us) |
| тэд | тэдэнтэй (with them) |
Some verbs take the comitative where English has a plain object. With уулзах "to meet": Би Оюунаатай уулзсан "I met Oyuunaa". With ярих "to talk": Номин эмээтэй ярьсан "Nomin talked with Grandma".
The comitative is for company; the instrumental (lesson 71) is for the means.
Go deeper in the grammar guide: The comitative case · The instrumental case
Mongolians are often surprised to meet someone who travels ганцаараа, "alone": in a country of long distances and few roads, travelling in company is the sensible thing to do. Expect the question Ганцаараа юу? "On your own?", and expect people to look after you once you answer yes.
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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