The Instrumental -it: By Bus, By Hand
The instrumental ending -it for means and tools: avtobusit (by bus), pekhit (on foot), khelit (by hand) - no preposition needed.
I can say by what transport I travel and with what tool I do things using -it.
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
სამსახურში ავტობუსით მივდივარ.
I go to work by bus.
ხინკალს ხელით ჭამენ.
Khinkali is eaten with the hands.
ბათუმში მატარებლით წავედით.
We went to Batumi by train.
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
By what? With what?
The ending -ით marks means and instruments: ავტობუსით (by bus), ფეხით (on foot), ხელით (by hand), კალმით (with a pen). No preposition is needed - the ending does all the work. It answers the question რით? (by what?).
Inserting a preposition by analogy with English/German (with avtobusit) and missing the vowel syncope in longer stems (matarebelit instead of matareblit).
Common Error Patterns
Adding a preposition before -it or using bare nominative for transport
Transport and tool drills: answer rit? questions with -it forms only.
სამსახურში ავტობუსით მივდივარ.
I go to work by bus.
Transport takes -it with no preposition: avtobusit.
ხინკალს ხელით ჭამენ.
Khinkali is eaten with the hands.
The instrument of an action: khelit (with the hand) - a supra rule worth knowing!
ბათუმში მატარებლით წავედით.
We went to Batumi by train.
matarebeli (train) syncopates before -it: matareblit.
Practice in course
Apply this grammar in A2 course exercises