ნეტავ + Pluperfect
If Only
ნეტავ with the pluperfect wishes the past had gone differently: if only.
How It Works
ნეტავ (net'av) has three jobs, and the verb form tells them apart:
| ნეტავ with | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| a question | I wonder | ნეტავ სად არის? (I wonder where he is.) |
| the optative | a wish for the future | ნეტავ მალე მოვიდეს! (If only he would come soon!) |
| the pluperfect | a regret about the past | ნეტავ ადრე მცოდნოდა! (If only I had known earlier!) |
With the pluperfect, the wish is about the past, so it cannot come true. Add არ to wish that something had not happened: ნეტავ ის ფილმი არ მენახა (I wish I hadn't seen that film).
The pluperfect keeps its usual cases. A doing verb has its doer in the dative: ნეტავ ბავშვობაში ქართული მესწავლა (if only I had learned Georgian as a child). A becoming verb has a nominative subject: ნეტავ შენც წამოსულიყავი (I wish you had come too).
In conversation you will also hear the short form ნეტა.
Examples (5)
- ნეტავ ადრე მცოდნოდა!
If only I had known earlier!
მცოდნოდა is the pluperfect of ვიცი.
- ნეტავ ბავშვობაში ქართული მესწავლა!
If only I had learned Georgian as a child!
The object, ქართული, is in the nominative.
- ნეტავ ის ფილმი არ მენახა.
I wish I hadn't seen that film.
With არ, the wish is that it had not happened.
- ნეტავ შენც ჩვენთან ერთად წამოსულიყავი!
I wish you had come with us too!
A becoming verb: the pluperfect is built on the participle.
- ნეტავ სიღნაღში მეტი დრო გვქონოდა.
If only we had had more time in Sighnaghi.
გვქონოდა is the pluperfect of გვაქვს.
Common Mistakes
Using the simple past for a past wish.
ნეტავ ადრე გავიგე!ნეტავ ადრე გამეგო!A wish about the past needs the pluperfect. With the simple past, ნეტავ only wonders: ნეტავ სად წავიდა? (I wonder where he went.)
How It Connects
Learn This First
If only uses ნეტავ with the pluperfect.
Related Patterns
Words in This Pattern
Practice ნეტავ + Pluperfect in Bubblegum
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