-მდე, -ის შემდეგ, -ის წინ: how Georgian places an event in time
The unit u55 is all about time, and Georgian has no prepositions at all: their work is done by endings and postpositions — words that stand AFTER the noun. Here are the ones a story needs. For example: “საღამომდე მოვიცდი, ორი წლის წინ კი აღარ დაველოდებოდი” — I will wait until evening, but two years ago I wouldn't have waited. A rule from the Georgian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
The unit u55 is all about time, and Georgian has no prepositions at all: their work is done by endings and postpositions — words that stand AFTER the noun. Here are the ones a story needs.
-მდე — 'until, up to'. It glues straight onto the noun: საღამომდე (saghamomde) — until evening, ბოლომდე (bolomde) — to the end, ხუთ საათამდე (khut saatamde) — until five o'clock. From there also მანამდე (manamde) — until then.
-ის შემდეგ (-is shemdeg) and -ის წინ (-is tsin) — 'after' and 'ago'. Both demand the genitive in front of them: კვირის შემდეგ (kviris shemdeg) — a week later, ორი წლის წინ (ori tslis tsin) — two years ago. Note that 'ago' is here expressed by the word for 'in front', not 'after'.
-ში — 'within' a span. ორ საათში (or saatshi) means both 'within two hours' and 'in two hours': ორ საათში დავამთავრებ (or saatshi davamtavreb) — I will finish within two hours. The same -ში in რამდენიმე წუთში (ramdenime tsutshi) — within minutes.
The instrumental -ით (-it) answers 'how often' and 'how'. დროგამოშვებით (drogamoshvebit) — once in a while, თანმიმდევრობით (tanmimdevrobit) — in order, სიტყვასიტყვით (sitqvasitqvit) — word for word. English puts a preposition here; Georgian, an ending.
And two 'again's that are not the same. ხელახლა (khelakhla) — once more, a second time: ხელახლა დავწერე (khelakhla davtsere) — I rewrote it. თავიდან (tavidan) — from the very beginning, from scratch: ცხოვრება თავიდან დაიწყო (tskhovreba tavidan daitsqo) — he started his life over. The difference is exactly the one between 'redo' and 'start anew', and they should not be mixed: the first is about the action, the second about the whole path.
Table
| ending | what it means | example | in English |
|---|---|---|---|
| -მდე | until | საღამომდე | until evening |
| -მდე | until | ბოლომდე | to the end |
| -ის შემდეგ | after, later | კვირის შემდეგ | a week later |
| -ის წინ | ago | ორი წლის წინ | two years ago |
| -ში | within (a span) | ორ საათში | within two hours |
| -ით | how | თანმიმდევრობით | in order |
| -ით | how | დროგამოშვებით | once in a while |
| -ჯერ | times | ყოველ მეორეჯერ | every other time |
| ხელახლა | once more | ხელახლა დავწერე | rewrote it |
| თავიდან | from the start | თავიდან დაიწყო | started over |
By example
- საღამომდე მოვიცდი, ორი წლის წინ კი აღარ დაველოდებოდიsaghamomde movitsdi, ori tslis tsin ki aghar davelodebodiI will wait until evening, but two years ago I wouldn't have waited
- რამდენიმე წუთში მოვალ, კვირის შემდეგ კი გავემგზავრებიramdenime tsutshi moval, kviris shemdeg ki gavemgzavrebiI will come within a few minutes, and a week later I will set off
- წერილი ხელახლა დავწერე, ცხოვრება კი თავიდან არ დამიწყიაtserili khelakhla davtsere, tskhovreba ki tavidan ar damitsqiaI rewrote the letter, but I never started my life over
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
how Georgian places an event in time: how does it work in Georgian?
The unit u55 is all about time, and Georgian has no prepositions at all: their work is done by endings and postpositions — words that stand AFTER the noun. Here are the ones a story needs.
What does it look like in an example sentence Georgian?
“საღამომდე მოვიცდი, ორი წლის წინ კი აღარ დაველოდებოდი” (saghamomde movitsdi, ori tslis tsin ki aghar davelodebodi) — I will wait until evening, but two years ago I wouldn't have waited. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.