Nouns and Number

With the sounds in place (Quenya Grammar 1, Chapter 2), the grammar proper begins with the noun. English marks "more than one" with -s and little else. Quenya has four numbers, not two, and each is shown by an ending added to the end of the word. This chapter covers those endings and the small word i "the". Cases, which are also endings on the noun, come in Chapters 4 and 5.

The Four Numbers

The table shows the late-Quenya forms as Wikipedia gives them in the everyday style (Tarquesta; see the box on registers below). The glosses are Wikipedia's.

The general plural: -i or -r

This is the ordinary "more than one". Which ending a noun takes depends on the type of the noun. In the examples, nouns ending in -ë take -i (lassë, lassi), while nouns ending in -a such as alda and Elda take -r (aldar, Eldar). Wikipedia says only that the choice depends on "the type of the noun" without a full rule, so this is a pattern in the examples, not a stated rule.

The partitive plural: -li

The partitive plural means "some" or "several", not "all". Wikipedia's example set is:

• Eldar (no article): Elves in general.
• i Eldar: the Elves already named, sometimes in contrast to other creatures.
• Eldali: some Elves. The definite article is seldom used with this form.

The dual: -t

The dual means two, usually a natural pair (hands, eyes, ships in company). Its main ending is -t: ciryat from cirya "ship", and lasset from lassë. Some other nouns have forms with -u in particular cases, but -u is not a general dual ending, so this course does not teach it as one.

The Article: i

Quenya has one article, i, meaning "the". There is no word for "a": a noun with no article is indefinite or general, as in Eldar "Elves". Wikipedia gives only usage notes for the article, so this course does not state full rules for it.

Words With Limited Number

• armar "goods" is a plural-only word with no singular.
• Short, one-syllable nouns often use only one plural: má "hand" has only máli.
• tó "wool" has neither dual nor plural, according to Tolkien.

Stems and Types

Quenya nouns come in types according to how the word ends. Wikipedia does not define formal classes, but mentions vowel-ending words (cirya "ship", lassë "leaf"), words from an earlier period such as ondo "stone", nér "man" and cas "head", and a set of consonant-ending words that take an -i- before possessive endings (atarinya "my father"). The type matters later, because the case endings attach slightly differently to each.

Hands-On Exercises