მომწონს, მტკივა, მენატრება: a subject that stands in the dative
You have been saying მიყვარს (I love) and მინდა (I want) for a long time without asking why there is მ- inside — the same prefix as in მქვია (I am called). Time to sort it out: this is not an accident but a whole class of verbs, and without it you can say neither 'I like it', nor 'it hurts', nor 'I miss you'. For example: “ეს სპექტაკლი ძალიან მომწონს” — I like this play very much. A rule from the Georgian course…
How it works
You have been saying მიყვარს (I love) and მინდა (I want) for a long time without asking why there is მ- inside — the same prefix as in მქვია (I am called). Time to sort it out: this is not an accident but a whole class of verbs, and without it you can say neither 'I like it', nor 'it hurts', nor 'I miss you'.
What happens. With an ordinary verb, the one who acts stands in the nominative and is marked inside the verb by the prefix ვ-: ვწერ (vtser) — I write. With verbs of feeling and state everything is reversed: the one who feels stands in the dative case and is marked by the prefix მ- (to me), გ- (to you), ს-/ჰ- (to him, her). And the thing that is liked or hurts becomes the subject.
From there comes the order that looks strange at first — and is in fact familiar. ეს ფილმი მომწონს (es pilmi momtsons) — 'this film pleases me', and English matches with 'I like this film'. But თავი მტკივა (tavi mtkiva) is 'the head hurts to me': it is the head that does the hurting, not I. მენატრები (menatrebi) — 'you are longed-for by me', that is, I miss you: the subject here is you.
Who is in this class. მომწონს (I like), მიყვარს (I love), მინდა (I want), მჭირდება (I need), მტკივა (it hurts), მენატრება (I miss), მეშინია (I am afraid), მრცხვენია (I am ashamed), მცივა (I am cold), მცხელა (I am hot), მეკუთვნის (belongs to me), მაინტერესებს (interests me). The list is closed, and it is easier to learn it whole than to derive it by a rule.
Person changes by prefix, not by ending. მომწონს — I like it, გომწონს — you like it, მოწონს — he likes it. The verb itself does not budge; only what stands in front changes. მაქვს (makvs) — გაქვს (gakvs) — აქვს (akvs) behave in exactly the same way, and you have known them since the fourth unit.
And a trap on paper. English 'I' is not rendered here by the nominative word მე (me): 'მე მომწონს (me momtsons)' is possible, but that მე stands in the dative and sounds no different from the nominative. It is simpler not to put it at all — the prefix მ- has already said everything.
Table
| form | literally | in English | what is the subject |
|---|---|---|---|
| მომწონს | pleases me | I like it | the thing that is liked |
| გომწონს | pleases you | you like it | the thing that is liked |
| მტკივა | hurts to me | it hurts, I have pain | the place that hurts |
| მენატრება | is longed-for by me | I miss | the one who is missed |
| მჭირდება | is needed by me | I need it | the thing that is needed |
| მეშინია | is feared by me | I am afraid | — |
| მეკუთვნის | belongs to me | it belongs to me | the thing |
| მაინტერესებს | interests me | I am interested | the thing that interests |
By example
- ეს სპექტაკლი ძალიან მომწონსes spektakli dzalian momtsonsI like this play very much
- ვარჯიშის შემდეგ ზურგი მტკივაvarjishis shemdeg zurgi mtkivaAfter the workout my back hurts
- ბავშვობის მეგობარი მენატრებაbavshvobis megobari menatrebaI miss my childhood friend
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 to say I like it in Georgian?
You have been saying მიყვარს (I love) and მინდა (I want) for a long time without asking why there is მ- inside — the same prefix as in მქვია (I am called). Time to sort it out: this is not an accident but a whole class of verbs, and without it you can say neither 'I like it', nor 'it hurts', nor 'I…
What მომწონს means?
What happens. With an ordinary verb, the one who acts stands in the nominative and is marked inside the verb by the prefix ვ-: ვწერ — I write. With verbs of feeling and state everything is reversed: the one who feels stands in the dative case and is marked by the prefix მ- (to me), გ- (to you)…
Why Georgian says the head hurts to me?
From there comes the order that looks strange at first — and is in fact familiar. ეს ფილმი მომწონს — 'this film pleases me', and English matches with 'I like this film'. But თავი მტკივა is 'the head hurts to me': it is the head that does the hurting, not I. მენატრები — 'you are longed-for by me'…
Georgian verbs that begin with მ?
Who is in this class. მომწონს (I like), მიყვარს (I love), მინდა (I want), მჭირდება (I need), მტკივა (it hurts), მენატრება (I miss), მეშინია (I am afraid), მრცხვენია (I am ashamed), მცივა (I am cold), მცხელა (I am hot), მეკუთვნის (belongs to me), მაინტერესებს (interests me). The list is closed, and…
What does it look like in an example sentence Georgian?
“ეს სპექტაკლი ძალიან მომწონს” (es spektakli dzalian momtsons) — I like this play very much. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.