-ի-

Probably from Proto-Armenian *ēs-, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁é-h₁es-, the old imperfect (past indicative) stem of *h₁ésti (“to be”).

-ի- • (-i-)

1. a vowel characterizing most of the imperfect endings of verbs

   որսայ-ի ― orsay-i ― I was hunting

   որսայ-ի-ն ― orsay-i-n ― they were hunting

   գրե-ի ― gre-i ― I was writing

   գրե-ի-ր ― gre-i-r ― you were writing

   արգելու-ի ― argelu-i ― I was hindering

   արգելու-ի-ր ― argelu-i-r ― you were hindering

• -յր (-yr)

• Fortson, Benjamin W. (2010) Indo-European Language and Culture: An Introduction, second edition, Oxford: Blackwell, page 391