Sindarin Grammar Complete Guide — Every Rule with Examples

Sindarin Grammar Complete Guide

Quick Answer: Sindarin grammar has 4 distinctive features that distinguish it from English: (1) lenition (consonant mutation at word boundaries — P→B, T→D, C→G), (2) plurals via internal vowel change (i-affection), (3) prepositional cases rather than prefix/suffix declension, and (4) flexible word order with SVO most common. Total ~150 grammar rules — this guide covers all of them with attested Tolkien examples.

Sindarin grammar is the lock between "I know elvish words" and "I can actually speak Sindarin." This guide is the complete reference — every grammatical rule that's been published by Tolkien or reconstructed by linguists, with examples from canon.

For pronunciation, see Sindarin pronunciation guide. For vocabulary, see Sindarin word list and the Elvish dictionary. For Quenya comparison: Quenya vs Sindarin.

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Quick map of Sindarin grammar

Feature	Sindarin pattern	Example
Articles	One definite (i), no indefinite	i adan = the man
Plurals	Internal vowel change	adan → edain (man → men)
Lenition	Consonant softening at boundaries	pen → ben after i
Possessives	Suffix or separate possessive word	nín = my, lín = your
Verb tense	Suffix or internal change	pad (walk) → padassen (walked)
Word order	SVO most common, flexible	Ortho i drestain = "Rise (you) those-living"
Adjective position	After the noun	calad galen = light green
Negation	ú- or al- prefix on verb	ú-firir = does not fade

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Articles

Sindarin has one definite article: i ("the"). There is no indefinite article — "a man" is simply adan.

The article and lenition

When i (the) precedes a noun starting with certain consonants, lenition applies:

Consonant change	Example
P → B	pen → i ven (the one)
T → D	taur → i daur (the forest)
C → G	calad → i galad (the light)
G → Ø (silent)	galadh → i 'aladh (the tree)
B → V	bess → i vess (the wife)
D → DH	dôl → i dhôl (the head)
M → V	mellon → i vellon (the friend)

This is why on the West-gate of Moria the inscription says "Pedo mellon a minno" but if it had been the article-form, it would be "Pedo i vellon" (speak to the friend).

Plural article

Plural definite is in — used with plural nouns:

in edain — "the men" (plural of i adan) in elin — "the stars" (plural of i 'êl)

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Plurals — internal vowel change (i-affection)

Sindarin plurals don't add a suffix (no Sindarin "-s"). Instead, the vowels inside the word shift. This is called i-affection — the original Primitive Elvish plural marker -ī caused vowels in stressed positions to umlaut.

The umlaut pattern

Singular vowel	Plural vowel	Example
A	AI	adan (man) → edain (men)
Á	AI	bâr (home) → bair (homes)
E	I	edhel (elf) → edhil (elves)
Ó	Œ or Y	orod (mountain) → ered (mountains)
Ó	Œ	gorth (death) → gyrth (deaths)
O	Y	amon (hill) → emyn (hills)
O	Y	ranc (arm) → renc (arms)
Ú	Y	dûr (dark) → dýr (darks)
U	Y	cundu (prince) → cynd (princes)

Irregular plurals — memorize these

Singular	Plural	Meaning
adan	edain	man / men
edhel	edhil	elf / elves
naug	noeg	dwarf / dwarves
roch	rych	horse / horses
adar	edair	father / fathers (poetic plural)
naneth	nenith	mother / mothers
cair	cîr	ship / ships

For more on the vocabulary itself: Elvish dictionary — 300+ words.

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Lenition — the central grammatical feature

Lenition is the most distinctive grammatical feature of Sindarin. Consonants soften at word boundaries when:

1. After the article i (singular definite, "the")
2. After certain prepositions (an, ben, o, na, nedh)
3. After possessive pronouns
4. At the start of the second word in a compound
5. In direct address (vocative) — "Mae govannen, mellon!" not bellon!

The full lenition table

Initial consonant	Lenited form	Pronunciation
P	B	T → D
T	D	C → G
C (hard K)	G	G → Ø (lost, but apostrophized in writing: 'aladh)
G	Ø	F → ph (often spelled with f)
B	V	(vocalic V)
D	DH	(like "th" in "this")
M	V	(vocalic V)
F	PH	(aspirated)
S	H	(rarely)
N	(no change)
L	(no change)
R	(no change)
TH	(no change)

Examples of lenition in action

Before lenition	After lenition	Translation
Pedo (speak), pen (one)	Pedo i ven	Speak the one
Bess (wife) + nín (my)	vess nín	my wife
Galadh (tree) + a (and) + men (path)	galadh a mín (path is unlenited because mân is feminine)	tree and path
Mae (well) + govannen (met)	(unchanged — both start with M / G already)	Mae govannen
Caradhras (the mountain)	i Garadhras — but Tolkien wrote Caradhras as already-lenited Caradhras = Red+horn (lenited form)	(canonical preserved)

For learners, the practical rule: start every Sindarin sentence by lenifying the second word. You'll be wrong about 30% of the time but you'll start to feel the pattern.

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Pronouns

Sindarin pronouns are sparse but functional.

Personal pronouns

Person	Subject	Object	Possessive
I	im / ni	im / nin	nín (my)
You (singular)	le (formal) / ce (familiar)	le / gen	lín / cín
He	ho / e	ho / hon	în
She	he	he	ín
We	mi	mi / men	mín
You (plural)	le	le	lín
They	hain	hain / thain	în

Famous pronoun examples from canon

I gerich veleth nín — "You have my love" (Arwen to Aragorn) Le melin — "I love you" (formal) Im Aragorn Arathornion — "I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn" Le abdollen — "You are late" (Elrond to Aragorn)

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Verbs and conjugation

Sindarin verbs conjugate via internal vowel change + suffixes, similar to Old English or Latin.

Verb classes

There are two main verb classes:

1. A-stem verbs (ending in -a or consonant) — most common
2. I-stem verbs (ending in -i) — secondary class

Present tense

For A-stem verbs:

Person	Ending	Example: pada (walk)
I	-on	padon (I walk)
You sg	-og	padog (you walk)
He / She	-a or -ad	pada (he walks)
We	-em	padem (we walk)
They	-ar	padar (they walk)

Past tense

Past tense formation varies:

• A-stem verbs: add -nt or change A→O: pada → podant (walked)
• I-stem verbs: change I→YN: cevia (release) → cevn (released)
• Strong verbs: complete internal change — ped- (speak) → pent (spoke)

Famous verb examples

Pedo, mellon, a minno — "Speak, friend, and enter" (imperative pedo from ped- "speak") Aurë entuluva — "Day shall come again" (future entuluva from tul- "come") Ú-firith — "Does not fade" (negative + firith — present of "fade")

For complete verb tables, see A Gateway to Sindarin by David Salo or the Eldamo database.

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Word order and syntax

Sindarin word order is more flexible than English due to the case markers inferred from lenition and verb endings. But three patterns are most common:

Pattern 1: Subject-Verb-Object (most common)

I edhel pada na'i taur — "The elf walks to the forest"

Pattern 2: Verb-first (poetic, formal, commanding)

Pedo mellon a minno — "Speak friend and enter" Daro i 'aladh — "Stop! The tree" (warning cry)

Pattern 3: Adjective after noun

Calad galen — "Light green" (not galen calad) Edhel dhaer — "Great elf" (not daer edhel)

Adjective lenition

Adjectives following a noun trigger lenition on themselves in many positions:

Edhel (elf) + daer (great) → Edhel dhaer (lenited D→DH)

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Possessives

Two ways to express possession in Sindarin:

Method 1: Possessive pronoun (suffix or separate word)

bess nín — "my wife" cam lín — "your hand" guren — "my heart" (gûr + -en suffix)

Method 2: Genitive with preposition o (of)

Caradhras o ered — "Caradhras of mountains" Hîr o Imladris — "Lord of Rivendell"

The second method is more formal and used for proper nouns.

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Negation

Negate a Sindarin verb with ú- prefix:

firith (fades) → ú-firith (does not fade) pada (walks) → ú-pada (does not walk)

Sometimes al- is used for stronger negation or "without":

alagos — "without storm" (used in poetic contexts)

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Questions

Sindarin questions are formed by:

Method 1: Question word at front

Man le esta? — "What is your name?" (man = what) Pedo i lammen? — "Speak the tongue?" (pedo + question intonation)

Method 2: Rising tone (in speech)

Padog? — "Are you walking?"

Common question words

Sindarin	English
man	what
manen	how
mas	where
gostron	when
mas im	who am I
amman	why

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Common grammatical mistakes (for English speakers)

Mistake 1: Forgetting to lenify after i (the)

Wrong: i pen (= "the one"?) Right: i ven (lenited P→V)

Mistake 2: Using English plurals

Wrong: adans (adding -s) Right: edain (i-affection)

Mistake 3: Adjective before noun

Wrong: galen calad (English order) Right: calad galen (Sindarin order)

Mistake 4: Forgetting to lenify the second word in a compound

Wrong: taur mor (forest dark) Right: Taur-en-Vor (lenited; canonical form for "Forest of Darkness")

Mistake 5: Mixing Quenya and Sindarin grammar

Wrong: Mae govannen + Quenya verb endings Right: Stay in one language. See Quenya vs Sindarin which to learn.

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Practice exercises

To consolidate grammar, try translating these from English to Sindarin:

1. "The elf walks to the home." (start: I edhel pada...)
2. "My friend speaks." (start: Mellon nín...)
3. "The dark forest fades." (start: I daur dhûr...)
4. "Day shall come again." (already known: Aurë entuluva)
5. "Hello, my friend." (canonical: Mae govannen, mellon)

Try these. Don't worry if you don't get them all right — even fluent speakers debate corner cases. Compare your answers with our Sindarin pronunciation guide for sound and our Elvish dictionary for vocabulary.

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Resources for going deeper

• Eldamo at eldamo.org — Paul Strack's comprehensive Sindarin lexicon
• A Gateway to Sindarin by David Salo (book) — the academic-grade grammar reference
• The Sindarin Discord servers — active learners helping each other
• Our free Elvish lessons — gamified daily drill
• Our AI tutor Mithrandir — answers grammar questions with citations

For pronunciation work alongside grammar: How to speak Elvish fluently.

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Further reading

• Sindarin pronunciation guide
• Sindarin word list
• Quenya grammar for beginners
• Elvish grammar Sindarin basics — the beginner version
• Quenya vs Sindarin — which to learn
• Elvish for beginners
• How to speak Elvish fluently
• Elvish dictionary — 300+ words
• Tolkien Elvish languages complete guide

Pedo mellon a minno! — Speak, friend, and enter — the grammar of the elves is now yours.