Comitative case: -тай / -тэй / -той (with, having)

A1 — Тийн ялгал

The comitative ending -тай/-тэй/-той for 'with' a person or thing and for 'having' something, as in машинтай (has a car).

Examples

Би найзтай явна. — I will go with a friend.
Сүүтэй цай уу. — Drink tea with milk.
Би машинтай. — I have a car. (lit. I am with a car.)

CasesA1

Comitative case: -тай / -тэй / -той (with, having)

The comitative ending -тай/-тэй/-той for 'with' a person or thing and for 'having' something, as in машинтай (has a car).

Exam Skills:ListeningReadingWritingSpeaking

Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?

Би найзтай явна.

I will go with a friend.

Сүүтэй цай уу.

Drink tea with milk.

Би машинтай.

I have a car. (lit. I am with a car.)

Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?

The comitative: "with" and "having"

The comitative ending means "with". It has three forms, chosen by vowel harmony:

Word's vowels	Ending	Example
а, у	-тай	найз → найзтай (with a friend)
о	-той	ном → номтой (with a book)
э, ү, ө, и	-тэй	сүү → сүүтэй (with milk), мөнгө → мөнгөтэй (with money)

Together with

Би найзтайгаа явна. - I'm going with my friend.
Сүүтэй цай уух уу? - Will you have tea with milk? (the classic сүүтэй цай, salted milk tea)
Ээжтэйгээ ярьсан. - I talked with my mum.

Having

The same ending describes what someone or something has. It turns a noun into something like an adjective:

Би машинтай. - I have a car. (literally "I am with-car")
Тэр гурван хүүхэдтэй. - She has three children.
Мөнгөтэй юу? - Have you got money?
давстай - salty ("with salt"), сонирхолтой - interesting ("with interest")

The opposite is -гүй ("without"): Би машингүй - I don't have a car; элсэнчихэргүй кофе - coffee without sugar.

For English speakers

"With" as a tool ("write with a pen") is a different case, the instrumental: үзгээр бичих. The comitative is for company and possession. The other common slip is splitting the ending off as if it were a preposition: *тай найз. It is a suffix, and it goes on the last word of the phrase: миний сайн найзтай - with my good friend.

Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises

Practice Exercises

Common Error Patterns

Wrong vowel harmony in comitative (e.g., *найзтэй instead of найзтай).

Using байна instead of -тай/-тэй/-той for possession (e.g., *Машин надад байна vs. Би машинтай).

Би найзтай явна.

I will go with a friend.

найз + тай = 'friend-with'. Back vowel а → -тай.

Сүүтэй цай уу.

Drink tea with milk.

сүү + тэй = 'milk-with'. Front vowel ү → -тэй.

Би машинтай.

I have a car. (lit. I am with a car.)

Comitative doubles as possession: Noun-тай/тэй/той = 'have noun'.

The check for this topic is still being prepared

Ask Sofi

Ready-made hints are free

Practice in course

Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises

A1 Course

← Back to topics

Put it into practice

Try a free exercise from the course

4. Food and drink

Frequently asked questions

When do you use Comitative case: -тай / -тэй / -той (with, having)?: The comitative ending means "with". It has three forms, chosen by vowel harmony:
How do you form Comitative case: -тай / -тэй / -той (with, having)?: The same ending describes what someone or something has. It turns a noun into something like an adjective: The opposite is -гүй ("without"): Би машингүй - I don't have a car; элсэнчихэргүй кофе - coffee without sugar. "With" as a tool ("write with a pen") is a different case, the instrumental: үзгээр бичих . The comitative is for company and possession. The other common slip is splitting the ending off as if it were a preposition: *тай найз . It is a suffix, and it goes on the last word of the phrase: миний сайн найзтай - with my good friend.

The comitative: "with" and "having"

The comitative ending means "with". It has three forms, chosen by vowel harmony:

Word's vowels

Ending

Example

а, у

-тай

найз → найзтай (with a friend)

-той

ном → номтой (with a book)

э, ү, ө, и

-тэй

сүү → сүүтэй (with milk), мөнгө → мөнгөтэй (with money)

Together with

Би найзтайгаа явна. - I'm going with my friend.

Сүүтэй цай уух уу? - Will you have tea with milk? (the classic сүүтэй цай, salted milk tea)

Ээжтэйгээ ярьсан. - I talked with my mum.

Having

The same ending describes what someone or something has. It turns a noun into something like an adjective:

Би машинтай. - I have a car. (literally "I am with-car")

Тэр гурван хүүхэдтэй. - She has three children.

Мөнгөтэй юу? - Have you got money?

давстай - salty ("with salt"), сонирхолтой - interesting ("with interest")

The opposite is -гүй ("without"): Би машингүй - I don't have a car; элсэнчихэргүй кофе - coffee without sugar.

For English speakers

Frequently asked questions

When do you use Comitative case: -тай / -тэй / -той (with, having)?

The comitative ending means "with". It has three forms, chosen by vowel harmony:

How do you form Comitative case: -тай / -тэй / -той (with, having)?

The same ending describes what someone or something has. It turns a noun into something like an adjective: The opposite is -гүй ("without"): Би машингүй - I don't have a car; элсэнчихэргүй кофе - coffee without sugar. "With" as a tool ("write with a pen") is a different case, the instrumental: үзгээр бичих . The comitative is for company and possession. The other common slip is splitting the ending off as if it were a preposition: *тай найз . It is a suffix, and it goes on the last word of the phrase: миний сайн найзтай - with my good friend.