Nouns - "A", "The"

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Quenya has no word for “a” or “an”.   You don't say “a flower”, just “flower”.

Quenya seldom uses the word for “the”, especially when it is obvious which one is referred to.  You would just say “close door”, rather than “close the door”.

Á holta fenda!     Close (the) door!       á (do it!) holta (close) fenda (door)

Á ulya limpë!       Pour (the) wine!      á (do it!) ulya (pour) limpë (wine)

Using the word for “the”gives special emphasis:  The Book, The Forest , as opposed to just a book, a forest.

The word for “the” is “i” (often transcribed with a hyphen “i-”).

parma     a book           i-parma     The Book

taurë        a forest         i-taurë        The Forest

Extra material for geeks:

Sometimes “i” becomes “in” or “'n” before a word starting in a vowel; the usage is inconsistent.

“i” can also be used before a verb, to mean “the one who is (doing)” or “the ones who are (doing)”.

            hára    (he/she sits)       i-hára    (the one who is sitting)

            antar  (they give)           i-antar   (the ones who are giving)

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