უნდა + Pluperfect

Should Have

Level 6Sounds Like unda

უნდა with the pluperfect looks back at the past: should have, was supposed to, or had to: უნდა მეთქვა (I should have said it).

How It Works

At Level 4 you learned უნდა (unda) with the optative: უნდა ვთქვა (I must say it). To look back at the past, keep უნდა and put the verb in the pluperfect:

Now or laterIn the past
უნდა ვთქვა. (I must say it.)უნდა მეთქვა. (I should have said it.)
უნდა წავიდეს. (He must leave.)უნდა წასულიყო. (He should have left.)
უნდა წამოიღო. (You must bring it.)უნდა წამოგეღო. (You should have brought it.)

The pluperfect keeps its cases: a doing verb has its doer in the dative (ნინოს უნდა ეთქვა, Nino should have said it), and a becoming verb has a nominative subject (ავტობუსი უნდა მოსულიყო).

The phrase covers three meanings, and the context tells them apart:

  • a regret or a reproach: ეს არ უნდა გეთქვა (you shouldn't have said that);
  • a plan that did not work out: სტუმრები შვიდზე უნდა მოსულიყვნენ (the guests were supposed to come at seven);
  • something you had to do: მატარებელი არ იყო, ამიტომ ტაქსით უნდა წავსულიყავით (there was no train, so we had to take a taxi).

Here უნდა does not change for the person or the tense; the verb after it does.

Examples (5)

  1. უნდა მეთქვა.

    I should have said it.

    მეთქვა is the pluperfect of ვთქვი.

  2. ეს არ უნდა გეთქვა.

    You shouldn't have said that.

    With არ: should not have.

  3. ქოლგა უნდა წამოგეღო.

    You should have brought an umbrella.

    The object, ქოლგა, is in the nominative.

  4. მატარებელი არ იყო, ამიტომ ტაქსით უნდა წავსულიყავით.

    There was no train, so we had to take a taxi.

    Here the phrase means had to: it did happen.

  5. სტუმრები შვიდზე უნდა მოსულიყვნენ, მაგრამ დააგვიანეს.

    The guests were supposed to come at seven, but they were late.

    A becoming verb keeps a nominative subject: სტუმრები.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the optative for the past.

    გუშინ უნდა ვთქვა.
    გუშინ უნდა მეთქვა.

    უნდა with the optative is about now or later. For the past, use the pluperfect: მეთქვა.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

უნდა + PluperfectLevel 6Should Have

Learn This First

Should have uses უნდა with the pluperfect.

Words in This Pattern

უნდა