Where, and where to: location lives at the end of the word
Georgian has none of the little prepositions English leans on — location is glued onto the word itself. It flashed by in the first units already; here it deserves a proper look, because the whole conversation about the house, the pharmacy and the doctors rests on these endings. For example: “აფთიაქში მივდივარ” — I am going to the pharmacy. A rule from the Georgian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a…
How it works
Georgian has none of the little prepositions English leans on — location is glued onto the word itself. It flashed by in the first units already; here it deserves a proper look, because the whole conversation about the house, the pharmacy and the doctors rests on these endings.
There are four main ones: -ში (inside something), -ზე (on the surface), -თან (at, next to, over at a person), -იდან (from). აფთიაქში (aptiakshi) — at the pharmacy, მაგიდაზე (magidaze) — on the table, ექიმთან (ekimtan) — at the doctor's, სახლიდან (sakhlidan) — from home.
The first snag: the final -ი falls off before the ending. სახლი (sakhli) → სახლში (sakhlshi), ოთახი (otakhi) → ოთახში (otakhshi). The second is pleasant: 'where' and 'where to' are the same form. აფთიაქში ვარ (aptiakshi var) — I am at the pharmacy, აფთიაქში მივდივარ (aptiakshi mivdivar) — I am going to the pharmacy. The verb carries the direction, not the ending.
What remains is small change worth recognizing on signs: -ქვეშ (under), -კენ (toward), -მდე (up to). სახლამდე (sakhlamde) — up to the house.
Table
| word | in it | on it | at it |
|---|---|---|---|
| ოთახი — room | ოთახში | ოთახზე | ოთახთან |
| სახლი — house | სახლში | სახლზე | სახლთან |
| მაგიდა — table | მაგიდაში | მაგიდაზე | მაგიდასთან |
| ბაზარი — market | ბაზარში | ბაზარზე | ბაზართან |
By example
- აფთიაქში მივდივარaptiakshi mivdivarI am going to the pharmacy
- ექიმთან ვარekimtan varI am at the doctor's
- წამალი მაგიდაზეაtsamali magidazeaThe medicine is on the table
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
Where, and where to: how does it work in Georgian?
Georgian has none of the little prepositions English leans on — location is glued onto the word itself. It flashed by in the first units already; here it deserves a proper look, because the whole conversation about the house, the pharmacy and the doctors rests on these endings.
What does it look like in an example sentence Georgian?
“აფთიაქში მივდივარ” (aptiakshi mivdivar) — I am going to the pharmacy. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.