Giving and Telling: Three-Role Verbs
Three-role verbs (mistsa, utkhra, achuka): series-ruled giver and theme, always-dative recipient, recipient echoed in the verb.
I can build give/tell/send sentences with all three roles correctly cased.
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
ნინომ მეზობელს ცხელი ხაჭაპური მისცა.
Nino gave the neighbor a hot khachapuri.
სიმართლე პირდაპირ მითხარი - გაუგებრობა არ მინდა.
Tell me the truth directly - I don't want a misunderstanding.
პაპამ შვილიშვილს ძველი საათი აჩუქა და თქვა: დროს გაუფრთხილდიო.
Grandfather gifted his grandchild an old watch and said: take care of time.
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
Giver, gift, receiver
Ditransitives (მისცა gave, უთხრა told, აჩუქა gifted, გაუგზავნა sent) juggle three roles: the giver follows the series rule (ergative in the aorist), the receiver is ALWAYS dative, the thing follows the series rule too. The receiver also echoes inside the verb: მი-სცა (to him), მო-მ-ცა (to me).
Nominative recipients (*deda utkhra) and double-marking the receiver with both prefix and a redundant pronoun.
Common Error Patterns
Wrong case on the recipient or theme of give/tell verbs
Gift-chain drills: who gave what to whom across the series.
ნინომ მეზობელს ცხელი ხაჭაპური მისცა.
Nino gave the neighbor a hot khachapuri.
Three roles, three cases: Ninom (ERG) mezobels (DAT) khach'ap'uri (NOM).
სიმართლე პირდაპირ მითხარი - გაუგებრობა არ მინდა.
Tell me the truth directly - I don't want a misunderstanding.
mitkhari 'tell me': the recipient lives inside the verb as m-.
პაპამ შვილიშვილს ძველი საათი აჩუქა და თქვა: დროს გაუფრთხილდიო.
Grandfather gifted his grandchild an old watch and said: take care of time.
achuka (gifted) keeps the same frame; the -o quote tags grandfather's words.
Practice in course
Apply this grammar in B2 course exercises