həm ... həm də

Both and

Level 3

Use həm ... həm də to say 'both ... and' in Azerbaijani. It connects nouns, adjectives, or verbs to show they are all included.

How It Works

The correlative conjunction həm ... həm də is the standard way to express 'both... and'. It is more emphatic than the simple conjunction 'və' (and).

1. Fixed Structure and Punctuation:
The structure is həm [A], həm də [B]. A critical rule in Azerbaijani orthography is that a comma must be placed before the second (and any subsequent) 'həm'.

2. Vowel Harmony:
A common misconception is that 'də' follows vowel harmony with the word [A]. However, in this specific construction, 'də' is grammatically linked to the second 'həm'. Because 'həm' has a front vowel (ə), the particle remains də regardless of the words being connected. Example: Həm alma, həm də armud (Both apple and pear).

3. Usage with Different Parts of Speech:
This pattern can connect various elements:

  • Nouns: Həm ana, həm də ata (Both mother and father).
  • Adjectives: Həm ucuz, həm də keyfiyyətli (Both cheap and high-quality).
  • Verbs/Clauses: Həm oxuyur, həm də işləyir (He both studies and works).

4. Verb Agreement and Person Hierarchy:
When the subjects are human, the verb usually takes a plural suffix. If the subjects are of different persons, the verb follows a hierarchy: 1st person > 2nd person > 3rd person. For example, if the subjects are 'I' (1st) and 'you' (2nd), the verb must be in the 1st person plural (we). For inanimate objects, the verb often remains singular in natural speech.

Examples (5)

  1. Həm çay, həm də kofe var.

    There is both tea and coffee.

    Word by Word: Both tea, both also coffee there-is.

    A simple example connecting two nouns. Note that 'də' is fixed to the second 'həm' and does not change based on the word 'kofe', as 'həm' already contains the front vowel 'ə'.

  2. Bu otaq həm geniş, həm də işıqlıdır.

    This room is both spacious and bright.

    Word by Word: This room both spacious, both also bright-is.

    Here, the pattern connects two adjectives describing the same subject.

  3. O, həm ingilis, həm də fransız dillərini bilir.

    He knows both English and French languages.

    Word by Word: He, both English, both also French languages-his knows.

    The pattern is used here to connect two modifiers of the object 'languages'.

  4. Uşaq həm gülür, həm də ağlayır.

    The child is both laughing and crying.

    Word by Word: Child both laughs, both also cries.

    This demonstrates the pattern connecting two verbs in the present tense.

  5. Həm mən, həm də sən getməliyik.

    Both I and you must go.

    Word by Word: Both I, both also you go-must-we.

    When subjects are of different persons, the verb follows the person hierarchy. Since 'mən' (1st person) is present, the verb takes the first person plural ending.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the pattern with negative verbs to mean 'neither... nor'.

    Həm çay, həm də kofe yoxdur.
    Nə çay, nə də kofe var.

    While 'həm... həm də' with a negative verb is technically understandable, native speakers use the nə ... nə də pattern for negative addition.

  • Changing 'də' to 'da' based on the preceding noun's vowels.

    Həm alma, həm da armud.
    Həm alma, həm də armud.

    In this correlative structure, the particle 'də' follows the word 'həm', not the noun before it. Since 'həm' contains the front vowel 'ə', the particle is fixed as 'də' and does not follow vowel harmony with the preceding noun.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

həm ... həm dəLevel 3Both and

Learn This First

To use 'həm ... həm də' (both... and), you need to understand how the additive particle 'da/də' works to add information. You also need a basic grasp of Azerbaijani sentence structure and how to use nouns in their base form to connect items or actions.

Words in This Pattern

həm