4Grammar and explanations
–гч turns a verb into the person who does it
Add –гч to a verb stem and you get the person who does the action, much like English -er: watch, watcher. This is the fourth of the participles, but you will meet it mostly as an ordinary noun.
| Verb | Doer |
|---|
| үзэх, to watch | үзэгч, spectator |
| уралдах, to race, compete | уралдагч, competitor |
| оролцох, to take part | оролцогч, participant |
| шүүх, to judge | шүүгч, judge, referee |
| ялах, to win | ялагч, winner |
| сурах, to learn | сурагч, pupil |
| орчуулах, to translate | орчуулагч, translator |
The vowel in front of –гч follows harmony
After a consonant, a vowel appears before –гч, and it follows the vowels of the stem: уралдагч (а), оролцогч (о), үзэгч (э), ерөнхийлөгч (ө, "president"). After a long vowel nothing is added: шүүгч.
The plural is –ид
Doers in –гч make their plural with –ид: үзэгч → үзэгчид, уралдагч → уралдагчид, шүүгч → шүүгчид, сурагч → сурагчид.
Үзэгчид "уухай" гэж дуулдаг.spectator-PL cheer say-CONV sing-HAB"The spectators sing уухай."
Шүүгчид сурын хажууд зогсдог.judge-PL target-GEN next.to stand-HAB"The judges stand next to the targets."
Уралдагчид бүгд дээл өмссөн байна.competitor-PL all deel wear-PAST be-PRES-FUT"The competitors are all wearing deels."
Тэр сайн сурагч.he good pupil"He is a good pupil."
Another doer ending: –ч
Some words for people end in –ч alone: эмч (doctor), жолооч (driver), малчин (herder, with –чин). At Naadam you hear харваач for an archer, уяач for a horse trainer and унаач for a jockey (lesson 104). The meaning is the same, "a person who does this", but you cannot guess which ending a word takes: learn each word as it comes, and never build a new one by analogy.
So in a crowd at Naadam you can now name everybody: уралдагч, үзэгч, шүүгч, ялагч.
Go deeper in the grammar guide: Building new words · Mongolian participles
