Lingofly'Must' and 'can': უნდა and შემიძლია
Two words no day goes without: უნდა (unda) — must, have to, and შემიძლია (shemidzlia) — I can. For example: “ხვალ (khval) ადრე (adre) უნდა (unda) ავდგე” — Tomorrow I have to get up early. A rule from the Georgian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Two words no day goes without: უნდა (unda) — must, have to, and შემიძლია (shemidzlia) — I can.
უნდა (unda) never changes and always stands before the verb. უნდა (unda) წავიდე (tsavide) (unda tsavide) — I have to go, უნდა (unda) ვიყიდო — I have to buy. Who must do it is told by the verb after it. One trap: უნდა (unda) is spelled like 'he wants' (მას (mas) უნდა (unda) (mas unda)). The whole sentence tells them apart.
შემიძლია (shemidzlia) is personal, and a person marker sits inside it: შე-მ-იძლია — I can, შე-გ-იძლია — you can. Impersonal 'one may' is შეიძლება (sheidzleba): აქ (ak) შეიძლება (sheidzleba) (ak sheidzleba)? — is it allowed here?
Negation is simple: არ (ar) უნდა (unda) (ar unda) — need not, არ (ar) შემიძლია (shemidzlia) (ar shemidzlia) — I cannot. Where circumstances get in the way, ვერ (ver) steps in: ვერ (ver) მოვდივარ (movdivar) (ver movdivar) — I can't make it.
Table
| expression | means | example |
|---|---|---|
| უნდა (unda) + verb | must, have to | უნდა (unda) წავიდე (tsavide) — I have to go |
| შემიძლია (shemidzlia) | I can | შემიძლია (shemidzlia) დაგელოდო — I can wait for you |
| შეგიძლია (shegidzlia) | you can | შეგიძლია (shegidzlia) დამელოდო? — can you wait for me? |
| შეიძლება (sheidzleba) | one may | აქ (ak) შეიძლება (sheidzleba)? — is it allowed here? |
| ვერ (ver) + verb | can't, it won't work out | ვერ (ver) მოვდივარ (movdivar) — I can't make it |
By example
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
'Must' and 'can': how does it work in Georgian?
Two words no day goes without: უნდა (unda) — must, have to, and შემიძლია (shemidzlia) — I can.
What does it look like in a Georgian example sentence?
“ხვალ (khval) ადრე (adre) უნდა (unda) ავდგე” (khval adre unda avdge) — Tomorrow I have to get up early. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.