Wishing formulas
Sometimes you want to express a wish or a hope that something would happen. In Quenya this is expressed by a sentence beginning with the word nai (“be it that”).
In English this is expressed by sentences beginning with “may”, but this is not used very frequently used in modern English: nai hiruvalyes (may you find it)
In modern English we would rather use:
nai tiruvantes (I hope (that) they see it) or (I wish (that) they see it)

Note: the verb following “nai” is always in the future tense. In this way, we can make any sentence with a future tense into a wish.

Examples:
hiruvan i malta (I shall find the gold)
-> nai hiruvan i malta (I hope I shall find the gold)

caruvantes (they will do it)
-> nai caruvantes (I hope they will do it)

Elda tuluva (an Elf will come)
-> nai Elda tuluva (I hope an Elf will come)

The word “nai” has an additional meaning of “probably”, so when you use it, you assume that something will very likely happen.
There also exists a word cé that is very similar to “nai”, but it has the additional meaning “maybe”. It is also used with a future tense:
cé caruvantes (I hope they will maybe do it)
So by using “cé”, we express that we have strong doubts whether they will actually do it.

Conditional sentences
In English, a conditional sentence begins with “when” or “if”.
The Quenya conjunction írë means “when”, so a conditional sentence with “írë” expresses a certainty that something will happen:
Example: írë ceninyel, nan alassëa (when I see you, I am happy)

When we are not so sure, we use qui  to express “if”.
Example: qui ceninyel, nan alassëa (if I see you, I am happy)
So in this sentence it is not sure that I will see you.

It is also possible to express doubts over the other part of the sentence, but in this case we use “nai” or “cé” as the first word of the part of the sentence without “qui” or “írë”.
Examples:
írë ëar lumbor, nai liptuva (when there are clouds, it will probably rain)
cé tuluvan, qui ëalyë coalyassë (I shall maybe come, if you are home)

The Elvish calendar

In lesson 23 we met the word yén “year” but in fact this is a so called Elvish long year. It consists of 144 ordinary years and such an ordinary year is called loa.

A loa is divided into 12 months or astar of 30 days each (except Yavannië has 31 days in a leap year):

Víressë: 18 March (17) – 16 April (15) (the youthful one)
Lótessë: 17 April (16) – 16 May (15) (the flowering one)
Nárië: 17 May (16) – 15 June (14) (the fiery one)
Cermië: 16 June (15) – 15 July (14) (the renewed one)
Úrimë: 16 July (15) – 14 August (13) (the hot one)
Yavannië: 15 August (14) – 13 September (the fruity one)
Narquelië: 17 September – 16 October (the fading one)
Hísimë: 17 October – 15 November (the misty one)
Ringarë: 16 November – 15 December (the cold one)
Narvinyë: 16 December – 14 January (the new sun)
Nénimë: 15 January – 13 February (the watery one)
Súlimë: 14 February – 15 March (14) (the windy one)
The numbers between parentheses are valid in leap years.

The elves also divide the year into 6 seasons:

Coirë (early spring) (54 days)
Tuilë (late spring) (54 days)
Lairë (summer) (72 days)
Yávië (early autumn) (54 days)
Quellë (late autumn) (54 days)
Hrívë (winter) (72 days)

Five days are special and don’t belong to any month or season:

Vinyarië 17 (16) March (first day of the year)
Tuilérë 14 September
Loëndë 15 September (mid year’s day)
Yáviérë 16 September
Quantarië 16 (15) March (last day of the year)

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Vocabulary list 24

írë “when”
qui “if”
nai “may it be, I hope that”
cé “maybe”
hya “or”
loa “year”
asta “month”
otsola “week”
ré “day” (of 24 hours)
corma “ring”
colindo “bearer”
nosta “birthday”
esta- “name”
mornië “darkness”
tar- “stand”
imbë “between”
ambë “more”
Arda “Earth” (never has the article “i”)
meren (merend-) “feast”
ilquen “everyone, everybody”
sana- “think”

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