A2 · Grundkenntnisse Kapitel 21

The Ergative Mystery

3 Gesamtregeln
1 Min.
Regeln in diesem Kapitel Schnelle Übung

Chapter in 30 Seconds

Master the unique Georgian past tense by learning how the subject changes in transitive sentences.

  • Identify when to use the Ergative case.
  • Apply the -ma suffix correctly to nouns.
  • Conjugate transitive verbs in the Aorist Series II.
Unlock the secret of the Georgian past.

Was du lernen wirst

Introduction to the Ergative case (Motkhrobiti). Learn the unique subject marking for transitive verbs in the past.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:

  1. 1
    By the end you will be able to: Construct simple past tense sentences with transitive verbs using the Ergative case.

Tipps & Tricks (2)

💡

Check the Tense

Always ask: is this the past?
frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: The Ergative Suffix -ma
💡

Check Transitivity

Only use the Ergative case for transitive verbs in Series II.
frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Series II Verb Structure

Wichtige Vokabeln (5)

კაცი (katsi) man ქალმა (khalma) the woman (ergative) წერს (tsers) writes დაწერა (dats'era) wrote წიგნი (tsigni) book

Real-World Preview

shopping-bag

At the Bookstore

Review Summary

  • Subject(Erg) + Object(Nom) + Verb
  • Noun + ma
  • Aorist stem + endings

Häufige Fehler

You forgot the ergative suffix -ma on the subject.

Wrong: კაცი დაწერა წიგნი (Katsi dats'era tsigni)
Richtig: კაცმა წიგნი დაწერა (Katsma tsigni dats'era)

Word order is flexible but usually Subject-Object-Verb.

Wrong: მე დავწერე წიგნი (Me davts'ere tsigni)
Richtig: მე წიგნი დავწერე (Me tsigni davts'ere)

Incorrect verb form for the past tense.

Wrong: გოგო წერა (Gogo ts'era)
Richtig: გოგომ დაწერა (Gogom dats'era)

Next Steps

You have mastered a very difficult part of Georgian grammar. Keep practicing!

Write 5 sentences about your yesterday using the Ergative case.

Continue to: The Aorist: Simple Past

Schnelle Übung (10)

Choose the correct sentence.

Which sentence is correct?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: მე დავწერე წერილი
Subject is Ergative, object is Nominative.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Series II Verb Structure

Fill in the blank.

___ დაწერა წერილი.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: კაცმა
Transitive past subject.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Introduction to Ergativity

Fix the sentence.

Find and fix the mistake:

დედა დაწერა წერილი.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: დედამ დაწერა წერილი
Suffix needed.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Introduction to Ergativity

Fill in the blank with the correct Ergative form.

___ (კაცი) იყიდა პური.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: კაცმა
The subject must be in the Ergative case.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Series II Verb Structure

Fill in the correct suffix.

კაც___ იყიდა პური.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: ma
Katsi ends in a consonant.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: The Ergative Suffix -ma

Correct the error.

Find and fix the mistake:

სტუდენტი წაიკითხა წიგნი.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: სტუდენტმა წაიკითხა წიგნი
Subject must be Ergative.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Series II Verb Structure

Fix the error.

Find and fix the mistake:

დედა დაწერა წერილი.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: დედამ დაწერა წერილი
Deda ends in a vowel, so add -m.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: The Ergative Suffix -ma

Choose the correct sentence.

Which is correct?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: კაცმა დაწერა წერილი
Aorist tense requires -ma.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: The Ergative Suffix -ma

Choose the correct object case.

მან იყიდა ___.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: პური
Direct object in Series II is Nominative.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Series II Verb Structure

Choose the correct sentence.

Which is correct?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: კაცი წავიდა
Intransitive verb.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Introduction to Ergativity

Score: /10

Häufige Fragen (6)

It's a linguistic term for this specific case alignment.
No, only transitive verbs in the Aorist.
No, only for transitive verbs in the Aorist tense.
Use -m instead of -ma.
It marks the completion of a transitive action.
No, only transitive verbs in Series II.
Vorheriges Kapitel
The Power of Preverbs
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The Aorist: Simple Past
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