Last updated 2024-07-20 23:19:20
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Introduction

In all but the eyes of the most savvy of learners, Georgian verbs present a wide variety of challenges and every learner has their own approach to these challenges. My personal approach is to try to lay things out systematically – partially to clarify my thoughts and partially so that I have an easy reference.

When I say systematically, though, I don't mean scholarly or exhaustively. Both have their uses – indeed, I wouldn't have much of what I have below without either scholarly or exhaustivly documented materials – but as a learner, that type of depth and complexity can often serve as a deterrent. Therefore, what this page attempts to accomplish is thus:

1. Describe the parts of the Georgian verb
2. Describe the types of Georgian verbs
3. Document which noun cases are used with which Georgian verbs
4. Document the various cases of Georgian verbs with examples
5. Provide references for those wishing to know more

Much of what I have written below is based off of Shorena Kurtsikidze's Essentials of Georgian Grammar, 2nd ed. and P. J. Hillery's Georgian Language website (backup link). I will use Ⓚ and Ⓗ respectively to mark how something is referenced in those materials. Ⓞ will be used if I have come across other terms for the same phenomenon. It is not always a one-to-one match, but that's just the fun of Georgian verbs!

The path to learning, understanding, and internalizing Georgian verbs is not linear. It's a winding path: much what is written below will be written in multiple places. Hopefully this serves to reinforce your understanding, rather than to confuse you.

Contact Information

This is a constant work in progress, so if you see any errors, want to provide examples (especially if your mother tongue is not English!) or have other suggestions/comments, please email me at parry @ parryc.com.

The Parts of a Georgian Verb

Let's start with the basic parts of the verb. We'll use a verb in the future tense to indicate what each part is.

These parts are:

• preverb: a prefix used in some tenses.
• person markers: can either be before, after, or on both sides of the root, depending on the person. Georgian verbs distinguish between 1st, 2nd, and 3rd person, as well as singular or plural. There is no distinction in gender.
• version: a vowel before the root that can indicate to whom the action is directed, among other things.
• root: the core part of the word that everything is tacked on to.
• PFSF: the "Present Future Stem Format", which is a vowel+consonant syllable (vowel is optional) that appears after the root in some tenses.

Of all these parts, personally, I don't think trying to explicitly remember the PFSF is useful, due to its variability across verbs. Some verbs don't even have one, so there's that too. Thus, in general, when the PFSF is referred to below, think of it as the ობ, ებ, ავ, etc. syllable that ends a verb in the present tense. It is brought up specifically because some tenses drop the PFSF – with practice, you will get a feel for these syllables, especially when you have more verbs in your verb-box.

Preverb

The preverb is affixed to front of the verb, before the person markers. It is used with all tenses, except PRS, IMPERF, PRSSBJV. In most cases, it functions as a perfective marker (versus imperfective, without it), meaning that the action is a complete action with a start and end. If that doesn't make intuitive sense for you, read up on the term to get examples for your language of choice. For verbs of motion, it indicates the direction of motion. It is VERY important as a learner to learn the preverb when learning a new verb. I recommend always learning a preverb form of the verb along with the present tense when learning a new verb. This is often best accomplished by also learning the 3SG AOR form of the verb.

Additionally, the preverb used may change based on the meaning of the verb, even when directionality is not involved. That is, a non-preverb form, such as ქრება:disappears, goes out, will use a preverb of გა- when verb means "goes out (of a light)", but ჩა- when it means "goes out (of a fire)". In tenses where a preverb is not used, context will indicate the meaning.

The list of preverbs is:

• მი – away from the speaker
• მო – towards the speaker
• გა – outwards (e.g. inside to outside)
• შე – inwards (e.g. outside to inside)
• ა – upwards
• ჩა – downwards
• წა – away from the speaker (not used with PRS, IMPERF, PRSSBJVKurts. 164)
• და – general motion, often implies walking

There are also combination preverbs:

• გადა – going over
• გამო - away from the speaker or inside going to outside
• გადმო – going over towards the speaker
• შემო – inside towards the speaker, things done by accident, or around something
• ამო - upwards towards the speaker
• ჩამო – downwards toward the speaker
• წამო – towards the speaker (it is not used with PRS, IMPERF, PRSSBJVKurts. 164). When used with "to go", it indicates the going has not yet compeleted, ex. წამოვა:will set out (but not necessarily reach the destination).
• მიმო – back and forth

The speaker, here, may also be the 2nd person in the conversation. That is, it is often necessary to use the -მო- version of the preverb when responding to a question from someone.

To illustrate this nuance, let's first look at გზავნის:sends. Assume that someone has asked you if you've sent something. The most basic form in the past tense for 1SG would be მე გავგზავნე, I sent it. გა- is the base preverb and there is no recipient. However, if you sent it to the person you're talking to, it's not enough to add the 2SG object marker -გ-. It is also necessary to add -მო- to the preverb since the action is directed , giving მე გამოგიგზავნე, I sent it to you.

This can be further seen in the following dialogues. Pretend your are meeting a friend at a restaurant and friend has called you on the phone as you have reached the door.

• Friend: სალამი, მე ვარ რესტორანში. სად ხარ შენ? (Hello, I'm at the restaurant, where are you?)
• You: მე ახლა შემოვდივარ რესტორანში. (Hello, I'm going into the restaurant now.)

Notice the -მო- infixed above in შევდივარ:I'm going in. The -მო- here is necessary since you are going in towards where your friend is, aka the restaurant.

Compare this 2nd scenario, where your friend is running late.

• Friend: სალამი, მე მაგვიანდება, შენ სად ხარ? (Hello, I'm running late, where are you?)
• You: სალამი, მე ახლა შევდივარ რესტორანში. (Hello, I'm going into the restaurant now).

Note that there is no -მო- necessary here, since the friend you are responding to is not in the restaurant and thus the direction of your action is not towards the speaker.

In addition to what was outlined above, there are also three archaic preverbs that are used in fossilized forms:

• წარ/წარმო - ex. წარმოიდგენს:will imagine something
• გან - ex. განსაზღვრავს:will set the limits on something

Person Markers

Ⓞ: Some resources refer to Georgian verbs as being "polypersonal", i.e. one verb contains person markers for both subject and object.

There are two sets of person markers for Georgian verbs, ვ-class or მ-class. ვ and მ refer to the first person singular person marker. They are listed below. "Stem", in the charts below, refers to both the root and the PFSF, if the PFSF is included for the tense.

ვ-Class Markers

(+ენ becomes +ან after stems that end in ი)

An example, with აკეთებს:does in PRS:

მ-Class Markers

The SG forms and 1PL will have one of two endings: -ა or -ს. There is not a set rule as to which types of verbs have -ა and which have -ს, but generally, those with -ს have an implied object, such as მაქვს:I have (it), whereas those with -ა do not (მშია:I am hungry). It is this ending that is replaced in 2PL and 3PL.

In 3SG and 3PL, one may find an ს or ჰ pre-stem person marker, such as in მოსწონს:s/he likes or ჰქვია:s/he is called. CGED has these marked as superscripts which do not disrupt the alphabetical ordering of the dictionary, but should be learned when memorizing the verb, since they are written in the tenses in the 1st series (as described below). In fast or casual speech, the ს and ჰ are dropped by some speakers.

An example, with აქვს:has (a thing) in PRS:

Personal pronouns can be dropped in Georgian, as markers for person are attached directly to the verb. Verbs take one of two forms of indicating person, either ვ-class or მ-class.

The object of the sentence can also be indicated in the verb construction, too. Comrie 2017 breaks this down into a set of rules that can help clear up when an object indicator is used. When a verb agrees with (or as Comrie puts it "indexes") the object, the მ-class markers are used.

For example:

1. ვ-ხედავ I see it
2. ხედავ You see it
3. ხედავ-ს She sees it
4. მ-ხედავ-ს She sees me
5. გ-ხედავ-ს She sees you
6. მ-ხედავ You see me
7. გ-ხედავ I see you
8. გ-ხედავ-თ We see you

It is clear for when both of the მ/ვ-class markers are used, such as in example 4 (ex. მ- is always 1SG and -ს is always 3SG), but when the person is marked with ∅, it is more difficult. Two few things to keep in mind:

1. If the subject marker does not conflict with the object marker for place (i.e. before the root or after the root), it will be used. Otherwise, the object marker is the only one used. Thus, გ-ხედავ-ს (ex. 5) but not გ-ვ-ხედავ (ex. 7) (which would be interpreted as გვ- which is for 1PL მ-class verbs).
2. The object cannot be the same as or inclusive of the subject, meaning გ-ხედავ cannot be "you saw yourself" and გ-ხედავ-თ cannot be "you all saw you" (since "you" is a part of "you all"). Reflexiveness is indicated in other ways, such as with თავი:head or the ი version (see below).

Therefore, the strangely ambiguous გ-ხედავ would be analyzed as I see you, because of the two principals above: there is no overt subject marker (so it can be either 1SG – before-root person marker and thus obfuscated by the object – or 2SG, which is ∅) and the subject and object can never match. Thus, the subject must be 1SG.

In addition to all of this, many მ-class verbs that can logically take a 1st or 2nd person object (such as "I love you", "We desire y'all", etc.) may also mark the object of the verb with the PRS "to be" form for the person which is the object (1SG = ვარ, 2SG = ხარ, etc.). For example, in "I love you", "I" is the subject and "you" is the object. This gives:

Or in the case where the subject would be marked by ს/ჰ- (i.e. 3rd person), then these prefixed person markers will be replaced by the ვ-class marker if the object is 1SG or 1PL.

One will still often find the pronoun for the object in the sentence. Thus, მე შენ მიყვარხარ ⧸ I love you. This form of marking the object does not occur outside of PRS. In the case where the affixed verb form would have two ვs (such as გყავვარ:you have me), only one ვ is written (გყავარ). Verbs that commonly have this form are those which express interpersonal emotions: უყვარს:loves, სძულს:hates, უნდება:desires, or მოსწონს:likes. However, in theory, any მ-class verb could take this form, if contextually relevant.

Version

Ⓚ: Version
Ⓗ: Pre-radical vowel
Ⓞ: The term version comes from the Georgian ქცევა:change.

Version describes the optional prefixed vowel that comes before the root. These vowels serve a variety of purposes, as listed below. Because of the variability in meaning, there is not always a single name associated with the version and so in this document, I simply refer to the vowel used.

Version ა-

Ⓚ: Neutral version
Ⓗ: Various, Superessive version
Ⓞ: [CGED] Superessive version is marked with v sup

This is the neutral version marker. It is often used to "verbify" a word, such დიდი:big → ადიდებს:makes bigger. Similar to the preverb ა:upwards, it can also mean that the action is done on a surface, such as ახატავს:paints on something. This is what is meant by the term superessive.

Version ი-

Ⓚ: Subjective version
Ⓗ: Various, Benefactive version

This version is a reflexive version, indicating that the object is also the subject. Compare იწონის:he weighs himself versus წონის:he weighs (something).

Version უ-

Ⓚ: Objective version
Ⓗ: Unnamed

This version indicates that the object is for a third party. Compare ვუკეთებ:I'm doing it (for her) versus ვაკეთებ:I'm doing it. -უ- is also seen often when the object of the action is one's self, ex. მე გავუკეთე პიცა ჩემ თავს ⧸ I made the pizza for myself. (Note, here, that if ჩემთვის:for me was used instead -უ- would not be used, since ჩემთვის is not a noun.)

Root

The is the "core" of the verb and is never learned in isolation. It is helpful as a marker to idenfity verbs with similar meaning, such as, ეძახის:calls someone something, მიაძახებს:yells something to someone, and წამოიძახებს:cries out something, which all contain ძახ as their root and contain a vague sense of doing something loudly with your mouth. In my experience, it can be helpful when seeing or hearing words for the first time, to get a sense of the meaning, but more often then not, there are shades of nuance that require explicit learning of the meaning.

PFSF (Present-Future Stem Formant)

Ⓚ: PFSF (Present-Future Stem Formant)
Ⓗ: PSF, thematic suffix

As mentioned above, the PFSF is a vowel consonant pair that is affixed to the root of the verb in the first screeve (e.g. PRS, FUT, etc. – those marked with ① in this document). However, sometimes there is no consonant (ჭრის:cuts) and sometimes there is no PFSF at all (წერს:writes). It is not necessary to memorize the below list, but it is helpful to review them to get a feel for what verbs look and sound like in some of the more common tenses.

• ავ
• ამ
• ან
• ევ
• ებ
• ემ
• ობ
• ოფ
• ი
• ∅

Types of Verbs

There are 5 main types of verbs. Unlike some languages that have clearly defined verb classes, Georgian has vague approximations. The descriptions below should be used as a guide, rather than a strict classification to memorize. As mentioned in the introduction, each teacher, researcher, or reference may have a specific way of refererring to the different types of verbs.

Since this guide mostly follows CGED's simplified classification, be forwarned that mapping to more formal categorizations may seem a bit clunky. If you have any comments about the classification scheme, please let me know at parry@parryc.com.

ვ-class

Ⓚ: Active, Passive, or Medial voice verbs
Ⓗ: Class 1, 2, or 3
Ⓞ: [CGED] default classification

These verbs use ვ-class person markers to mark the subject. Most verbs are this type of verb, however, many common verbs (such as to have) are not ვ-class. It is generally safe to assume a new verb is ვ-class and someone will quickly tell you – or look very confused – if you are wrong.

ვ-class: Transitive vs. Intransitive

Ⓚ: Transitive verbs act on an object, intransitive do not
Ⓗ: Class 1 is transitive, class 2 is intransitive
Ⓞ: [CGED] transitive verbs are unmarked, see below for variations

Following the guidance of CGED (described below), this document does not follow the traditional definition of transitive vs. intransitive, because it is not particularly helpful to the learner. That is, rather than using Ⓚ's description of transitive verbs have an object and intransitive verbs don't, I simply use the designation given in CGED.

The reason for this is because to a learner, knowing which case to use is much more important than formal categorizations. As you will see below, transitive verbs take one set of case markers and intransitive take a different set.

As a quick rule of thumb, intranstive verbs end with -ება in 3SG.PRS and transitive verbs end with something else (-ებს, -ავს etc.).

მ-class

Ⓚ: Passive, Medio-passive
Ⓗ: Class 4
Ⓞ: [CGED] v inv (inverted verb), indirect verbs

მ-class verbs use the მ-class markers listed above to mark the subject in all cases. It is important to remember that in PRS, the subject, if declinable, will be in DAT. This class is referred to as inverted verbs in CGED because they invert the more common subject/object markers found with ვ-class verbs.

Motion Verbs

Ⓚ: Motion verbs
Ⓗ: Basic verbs of motion

These verbs are all based on the core sense of "to go". With prefixes, the meaning changes to indicate going in a specific direction. They are all conjugated the same, regardless of prefix.

Irregular Verbs

You won't be able to count them all on your hands (plus one toe) like in Irish, but surprisingly, not all of Georgian verbs are irregular. That said, there are a number of irregularities, especially for common verbs like ამბობს:says and აქვს:has. Some of the more common ones are listed below.

Using the Dictionary to Look-Up Verbs

My go-to online dictionary is translate.ge because it is a more or less quick way of searching the Comprehensive Georgian-English Dictionary (CGED) edited by Donald Rayfied.

There are, however, some caveats:

1. It doesn't support what CGED has as superscripted ს or ჰ, indicating the, occasionally optional, prefixed 3SG person marker. Examples of this are ჰყავს, where ჰ in the print edition is superscripted (^ჰყავს).
2. Some entries are randomly truncated.
3. Some entries were poorly entered, and contain Latin text that needs to be "transliterated" (aka, pretend you're typing it on a Georgian keyboard), to see what was intended.
4. It doesn't contain any of the very important front-matter that the print edition contains.

I can't fix 1-3, but I can provide what information from the front-matter I found helpful.

Almost all verbs are listed sepatately in their 3SG PRS (unprefixed) form and 3SG FUT (prefixed) form. Future tense definitions are written in the future tense in English (e.g. will write). The present tense form can often be found simply by removing the prefix.

Next to a verb entry, in parentheses, the AOR and EVD forms are listed. Irregular forms or other conjugation notes will be listed afterwards, if they exist. For example, in წერს (დაწერა, დაუწერია) writes sth, წერს is 3SG PRS, დაწერა is 3SG AOR, and დაუწერია is 3SG EVD. If an irregular 2SG form is given, 1SG follows from that form.

Generally speaking, if the definition is for the PRS form, the sense is imperfective. If the definition is for the FUT form, the sense is perfective. In cases where something can be both imperfective or perfective, it is marked with I/O and the English definition indicates the most common usage.

Rayfield writes that "[they] have simplified considerably the classification of Georgian verbs accepted among linguists and used in KEGL" and I would agree. Since this is the dictionary of choice, it is also the classification that will be used across this site.

The classification is as follows:

• Transitive if 2nd screeve is SUBJ=ERG, OBJ=NOM
• Intransitive if 2nd screeve is SUBJ=NOM
• Inverse if მ-class

What this means, then is that some transitive verbs have no object and some intransitive verbs have an object. This will probably rub some of you the wrong way and that's OK – there are plenty of other resources that dive into the minutae of Georgian verbs. As a learner, however, this type of distinction is invaluable, since there is often no other reliable way to know what case the 2nd screeve is in without asking a Georgian speaker. Where necessary, I have clarified what other resources refer to the verbal classes as, so you can map them to your own learning materials.

This type of classification means that the number of "pieces" for the verb must be indicated too. These are listed below.

vt1

transitive verb, just a subject. Ex. ტირის:cries.

vt2

(default marker), transitive verb, subject and direct object. Only marked if not obvious. Ex. აკეთებს:does something.

vt3

transitive verb, subject, direct object, and indirect object. Ex. აძლევს:gives something to someone.

vt4

transitive verb, subject, direct object, indirect object, and the person on whose behalf the action was done. Ex. დაუჭმევს:will let somebody's something be eaten by something. As you can imagine, these types of verbs are rare.

vi1

intransitive verb, just a subject. Ex. ეცლება:has time.

vi2

intransitive verb, subject and indirect object. Ex. ელოდება:waits for someone.

vi3

intransitive verb, subject, direct object, and indirect object. Ex. ეუბნება:says something to someone

v inv

მ-class verbs. Ex. ჰყავს:has a person.

Other markers of interest include:

vo

transitive verb with objective version (უ-), i.e. for someone else.

vs

transitive verb with subjective version (ი-), i.e. for oneself.

Compare უწერს:(vo) writes something for someone, იწერს:(vs) writes something down for oneself, and წერს:writes something.

What is a "screeve" and what is a "series"?

Ⓚ: Present series, Aorist series, Perfect series
Ⓗ: S1 Present, S2 Aorist, S3 Perfect
Ⓞ: სერია (series), მწკრივი (screeve)

A screeve, from the word მწკრივი, meaning "row", is the traditional way of naming a verbal tense for Georgian verbs. This document will use tense, since it is a term a learner is more likely to be familiar with. Of the 11 tenses listed below, there are 3 series, denoted by ①, ②, or ③ before the tense name. Tenses in the same series are often clearly derived from each other (e.g. adding a preverb) and share the same case declensions.

Since as a rule each series' base form cannot be derived by knowing a form in a different series, it is in theory necessary to memorize three different forms when learning a new verb. That is, one form from the 1st series, one from the 2nd series, and one from from the 3rd series. However, the 3rd series, as you will read below, is not very commonly used and no one would fault you for not specifically memorizing a 3rd series form, especially when just starting out. Note that entries from CGED will list the two additional necessary forms after the FUT and PRS entries (in order, ② AOR and ③ EVD).

The series and screeves are, as follows. You will see that under ① series are grouped into two large sections. There are sometimes referred to in literature as the present and future subseries, respectively. They are so grouped because they are derived from each other – PRS > IMPERF > PRSSBJV, FUT > COND > FUTSBJV. This document will use the same grouping to help make patterns more obvious.

Tenses

The following tenses, with the exception of Verbal Noun are broken up into 3 sections

1. A table showing which cases should be used for which part of the sentence. Prep., under Motion verbs, indicates that preposition should be used.
2. How to form the tense. In many cases, it will be derived from a prior tense, and will be indicated as such.
3. How to use the tense. This will explain how the tense is used and any caveats or examples that may be relevant.

For each tense, ვ-class, მ-class, motion verbs, and the verb to be will be listed. You will see a call out marked with ✎ that indicates the most common way to derive the tense.

Verbal Noun

Ⓚ: Verbal Noun
Ⓗ: Masdar
Ⓞ: [CGED] vn, საწყისი ფორმა, სახელმზმნა

Georgian does not have an infinitive in the sense that many languages have it. That is there is no "to go", but rather the "base" form is often the verbal noun, thus "going". It can therefore be confusing how to structure sentences that would normally use the infintive in other languages.

It is important, but not critical, to learn the verbal noun form when learning a new verb. In some cases, there may not be one, or it may not be common enough for a native speaker to recall it to mind right away. However, one trick that often works is to add -ება to the root of the verb.

For example, აკეთებს:does → კეთ → კეთება:doing. This doesn't always work (ex. ლაპარაკი:talking), but will often work in a pinch if you cannot remember (or never knew) the verbanl noun form.

There are more examples about how and when to use the verbal noun below, in the section Using the Verbal Noun. In translations of commands (such as on the computer), the verbal noun is often equivalent to English imparatives.

① Present (PRS)

Ⓚ: Present
Ⓗ: Present
Ⓞ: აწმყო დრო, Präsens (de)

How to Form: PRS

✎ Base form

The present tense is the most likely form you will encounter when learning a new verb. Depending on the source, you may find that the standard form given differs between which person (1st, 2nd, 3rd) is used.

For example, CGED will give all verbs in 3SG (unless 3SG is rarely used), whereas Kiziria gives 2SG as the citation form. As a learner, it is imprtant to pick one citation form and stick with it.

ვ-class transitive and intransitive

PRS is the base form, so the class markers are simply appended.

• აკეთებს, does

+ენ is +ან after stems that end in ი.

მ-class

PRS is the base form, so the class markers are simply appended.

• უხარია, is happy

Motion verbs

In PRS, motion verbs mirror ვ-class person markers, but as you can see in the bolded section, in the 1st and 2nd person, also append the form for to be. That is, in 1st and 2nd person, in addition to the ვ-class person markers, ვარ and ხარ are appended to the root.

• მიდის, is going/goes

to be

This must be memorized as an irregular verb. It is important to note two things:

1. Plurals are indicated by -თ in 1st and 2nd person, like with ვ-class verbs.
2. არის is often abbreviated to -ა and appended to a word in the sentence.

How to Use: PRS

Much like in other languages, the present tense is used to describe presently occuring actions or actions that exist out of time. Ex. I am eating khachapuri and I eat khachapuri would both be in PRS.

As with FUT, the negative imparative (don't!) may be formed with ნუ:don't and the verb in FUT.

① Imperfect (IMPERF)

Ⓚ: Past Continuous
Ⓗ: Imperfect
Ⓞ: წარსული უწყვეტელი დრო, განგრძობითი დრო, [Kiziria] Imperfect, Imperfekt (de)

How to Form: IMPERF

✎ Derived from PRS, no preverb

ვ-class transitive and intransitive

Add -დი to the stem for 1st and 2nd person and then add ვ-class person markers. 3rd person (including person markers) are -და for SG and -დნენ for PL. Note that if the verb adds or changes to -ებ in FUT, it will do so here as well.

• აკეთებს, does → აკეთებდა, was doing

მ-class

Add -ოდა to the stem and then add the მ-class person markers. Sometimes slightly more needs to be done and in these cases (such as for "to have"), one should just memorize the form. Often times, the initial vowel will differ between 1st/2nd forms and 3rd forms, as seen in the example below. Here 1st and 2nd forms have ი, where 3SG and 3PL retain უ.

• უხარია, is happy → უხაროდა, was (being) happy

Motion verbs

This is a novel stem and can't be derived from PRS. It's kind of like a cross between ვ-class and მ-class.

• მიდიოდა, was going

to be

This is the same as AOR.

How to Use: IMPERF

The imperfect, as described by Kiziria, is for "actions in the past that occurred frequently, habitually, or for certain periods of time".Kiziria 142 It may also indicate past actions that were interrupted by another action.Kurtsikidze 129 These interrupted actions often take the form of როცა IMPF, AOR, where the IMPF is the tense for the interrupted action and AOR is the tense for the interrupting action.

As this tense does not have a preverb, it has imperfective aspect.

① Present Subjunctive (PRSSBJV)

Ⓚ: Present Subjunctive
Ⓗ: Present Subjunctive
Ⓞ: აწმყოს კავშირებითი, Present Conjunctive, Konjunktiv Präsens (de)

How to Form: PRSSBJV

✎ Derived from IMPERF, no preverb

ვ-class transitive and intransitive

Change vowels in ending of IMPERF to ე. 3PL in IMPERF and PRSSBJV is the same.

• აკეთებდა, was doing → აკეთებდე, should do (present)

მ-class

Change vowels in ending of IMPERF to ე. Add -ს to SG and 1PL cases.

• უხაროდა, was (being) happy → უხარდეს, should be happy (present)

Motion verbs

Change the ending vowels in IMPERF to ე. Note that 3SG adds -ს and that 3PL is the same as in IMPERF.

• მივდიოდი, was going → მივდიოდე, should go

to be

This is the same form as OPT.

How to Use: PRSSBJV

PRSSBJV is used to express wishes, possibilities, or things that could or should be happening, but aren't at the present moment. If there is a chance that it could happen use the IMPERF instead, otherwise, keep using PRSSBJV. It is found in hypothetical conditions and must be followed by რომ:if or one of უნდა:wants, უნდა:must, იქნებ:perhaps, უნატრის:wishes for something, შეიძლება:it is possible or similar words.

Since it does not contain the preverb, it has imperfective aspect.

When paired with COND, PRSSBJV is often the first clause in the condition, and always marked with რომ:if. For example, რომ ხატავდე, მეც დავხატავდი ⧸ If you were drawing, I would also be drawing.Kurtsikidze, p133

① Future (FUT)

Ⓚ: Future
Ⓗ: Future
Ⓞ: მყოფადი დრო, მომავალი დრო, Futur (de)

How to Form: FUT

✎ Derived from PRS, has preverb

Note that in some cases for ვ-/მ-class verbs, the ending may add -ებ or change to -ებ.

ვ-class transitive and intransitive

Prefix the preverb to the front (before any person markers). Note that some verbs may have different meanings depending on the preverb used.

• აკეთებს, does → გააკეთებს, will do

+ენ is +ან after stems that end in ი. Some verbs, many of which end in -ობ, will have a preverb of ი- and replace ობ with ებ. For example, თამაშობს:plays → ითამაშებს:will play.

მ-class

Prefix the preverb to the front (before any person markers). Note that some verbs may have different meanings depending on the preverb used. Some common მ-class verbs, such as აქვს:to have, are irregular in FUT.

• უხარია, is happy → გაუხარდება, will be happy

Note the ending change for this example verb. It is not always the case that the ending changes, but if it does, it will follow in COND and FUTSBJV as well.

Motion verbs

Motion verbs are not derived from PRS, but rather have a separate stem that is not used in other tenses. Note that the PL forms are the same SG, but with the plural case markers suffixed.

• მიდის, is going/goes

to be

This must be memorized as an irregular verb. It is important to note two things:

1. Plurals are indicated by -თ in 1st and 2nd person, like with ვ-class verbs.
2. არის is often abbreviated to -ა and appended to a word in the sentence.

How to Use: FUT

Similar to other languages, FUT indicates a potential future action. Unlike some languages that have a definite and indefinite future, there is no such distinction in Georgian.

FUT can be used in conditional sentences – if you build it, they will come – but with some nuance.

In most cases, if the conditions are real (or potentially real), then both clauses must be in FUT. One most often uses თუ:if with these types of conditional sentences. When using other common conjunctions, such as რომ and როცა, the conjunctions have a sense of "when" or "after". All three words must come before the verb, however თუ and როცა may also come before the subject, where as რომ may not.

As with PRS, the negative imparative (don't!) may be formed with ნუ:don't and the verb in FUT.

A polite suggestion can be formed with ხომ and FUT. For example, ხომ შეჭამ სენდვიჩს? ⧸ will you eat a sandwich? This is considered more suggestive and less formal than the similar form using COND.

① Conditional (COND)

Ⓚ: Past Frequentive
Ⓗ: Conditional
Ⓞ: ხოლმეობითი დრო, Konditional (de)

How to Form: COND

✎ Derived from FUT, has a preverb. Alternatively, it is IMPERF with a preverb and potentially some adjustments.

ვ-class transitive and intransitive

Add -დი to the stem for 1st and 2nd person and then add ვ-class person markers. 3rd person (including person markers) are -და for SG and -დნენ for PL. Note that if the verb adds or changes to -ებ in FUT, it will do so here as well. Add the same preverb from FUT (if one is used).

• აკეთებს, does → აკეთებდა, would do

მ-class

Add -ოდა to the stem and then add the მ-class person markers. Sometimes slightly more needs to be done and in these cases (such as for "to have"), one should just memorize the form. Often times, the initial vowel will differ between 1st/2nd forms and 3rd forms, as seen in the example below. Here 1st and 2nd forms have ი, where 3SG and 3PL retain უ.

• უხარია, is happy → გაუხარდებოდა, was (being) happy

ოტე

Motion verbs

This is a novel stem and can't be derived from other forms, though it is very similar to IMPERF

• მივიდოდი, would go

to be

This is the same as FUT, but with -ოდ + person markers added.

How to Use: COND

This the "I would do this" tense – hypothetical or desirious scenarios, that are likely or possible to happen, such as describing future scenarios. These types of sentences are often marked with pairs of words such as ალბათ:maybe, perhaps/თუ:if and მაშინ:then. In these types of sentences, the current (PRS) or future clause (FUT) would be marked with თუ:if and the COND clause preceded by მაშინ:then.

COND is also used for frequent actions in the past that are completed. Indeed, due the preverb, this is perfective, and thus refers to whole actions. Compared to IMPERF, which is imperfective, and thus refers to actions that do not yet contain their own end. These types of sentences often contain ხოლმე:normally immediately after the verb.

One can also form a polite suggestion, akin to "won't you...?" with ხომ and the negative COND. For example, ხომ არ შეჭამდი სენდვიჩს? ⧸ Won't you eat a sandwich? This is considered more polite than a similar form with ხომ but with FUT.

① Future Subjunctive (FUTSBJV)

Ⓚ: Future Subjunctive
Ⓗ: Future Subjunctive
Ⓞ: მყოფადის კავშირებითი, Konjunktiv Futur (de)

How to Form: FUTSBJV

✎ Derived from COND with ending changes or derived from PRSSBJV with a preverb or

ვ-class transitive and intransitive

Change vowels in ending of COND to ე. 3PL in COND and FUTSBJV is the same.

• გააკეთებდა, would do → გააკეთებდე, should do (future)

მ-class

Change vowels in ending of COND to ე. Add -ს to SG and 1PL cases.

• გაუხარდებოდა, was (being) happy → გაუხარდებოდეს, should be happy (future)

Motion verbs

Change the ending vowels in COND to ე. Note that 3SG adds -ს and that 3PL is the same as in COND.

• მივდიოდი, was going → მივდიოდე, should go (future)

to be

Change the ending vowels in COND to ე. Note that 3SG adds -ს and that 3PL is the same as in COND.

How to Use: FUTSBJV

FUTSBJV is very similar to PRSSBJV, but as indicated by the existence of the preverb and the word "future", it has a perfective aspect and it cannot be used to refer to actions currently going on, but rather only actions in the future. Compare these two examplesKurtsikidze, p133:

First, in PRSSBJV: ნეტავი ვიოლინოს უკრაფდე ⧸ I wish that you were playing the violin (currently, as I'm speaking). Here is where the idea of imperfective aspect comes in: the action, "playing" does not have an explicit start or end, but rather it is that the sense of wishing is for the violin playing to have been occurring.

Compare this with the FUTSBJV, which has a perfective aspect (indicated by the preverb და-): ნეტავი ვიოლინოს დაუკრაფდე ⧸ I wish you would play the violin. Rather than "I wish you were playing", the "would" in the translation clearly indicates that the desire is for the start, middle, and end of violin playing to occur at some future point.

When paired with COND, FUTSBJV is often the first clause in the condition, and always marked with რომ:if. For example, რომ დახატავდე, მეც დავხატავდი ⧸ If you draw, I will also draw.Kurtsikidze, p133

② Aorist (AOR)

Ⓚ: Aorist
Ⓗ: Aorist
Ⓞ: წარსული დრო, წყვეტილი დრო, Aorist (de)

How to Form: AOR

✎ Has preverb. This is another form where it is recommended to memorize, especially as it is a clear way to learn what the preverb is.

ვ-class transitive and intransitive

This form should be memorized. In general, though, -ებ will be removed if it exists and the ending vowels will follow one of the following patterns (non-3SG – 3SG):

1. ე-ა
2. ი-ო
3. ი-ა
4. იე-ა

That is, 1SG, 1PL, 2SG, 2PL, 3PL will have the same vowel (such as ე) and 3SG will have a different one (ა). ე-ა is more common with transitive verbs and ი-ო is more common with instransitive verbs. ი-ა is most likely with verbs ending in -ავ or -ამ.Kurtsikidze, p137 Verbs ending in -ევ will take the 4th pattern, იე-ა.

Some verbs may change roots in AOR (and those OPT, as well). A common change is the addition of a an ა before a ლ. When this occurs, it almost always only impacts the 1st and 2nd person forms.

• გააკეთა, did

მ-class

This form should be memorized. Generally speaking, the form will always end with ა.

• გაუხარდა, was happy

Motion verbs

This form should be memorized. It is helpful to remember, due to the similarity between 1SG and 3SG that the vowel endings follow the general pattern of ვ-class verbs with non-3SG not ending in ა: 1SG ends in ი and 3SG ends in ა.

• მივიდა, went

to be

This form should be memorized. Given the potential phonetic similarities between ქ and ყ for learners, make sure to pay attention to learning these forms so as not to confuse AOR and FUT!

With the exception of 3SG, the forms are based off a root of იყავი.

How to Use: AOR

The AOR is very similar to what is called the past tense in English. Generally speaking, as it has a preverb, it will indicate a past completed action. Depending on context, it may function similarly to the English past perfect (e.g. "I had done" versus "I did"). When expressing a negative past action (e.g. "I didn't see her"), often EVD is used instead.

There is an uncommon form without the preverb that indicates the action took place in the past and was incomplete, similar to "had been doing" in English. It occurs often in the form of "{AOR without prefix}, {AOR without prefix}, და {AOR with prefix}" to mean that someone or something "did and did and (finally) completed it". This is illustrated in the saying თაგვმა თხარა, თხარაო, კატა გამოთახრაო ⧸ (They say) the mouse dug and dug, and dug up a cat. თხარა:dug is unprefixed and implies that the action of digging was not completed. გადათხარა:dug (up), with the prefix, indicates the action of digging was done and compeleted – in this case because the mouse dug up a cat. The saying is used to warn someone they might get in trouble if they keep doing what they're doing.

AOR also functions as the imperative when in 2SG. Thus, გააკეთე can be either "you did it" or "do it!". The imperative is negated with ნუ.

Note that იყო:was may be affixed to past participles, eliding the last -ი of the past participle, as in გაყინულიყო:it was frozen versus გაყინული იყო.

② Optative (OPT)

Ⓚ: 2nd Subjunctive
Ⓗ: Optative
Ⓞ: ოპტატივი, მეორე კავშირებითი, Aorist Subjunctive, Aorist Conjunctive, [Kiziria] Optative, Optativ (de)

How to Form: OPT

✎ Derived from AOR, has a preverb

Below, each class has two variations on the ending vowel, one with ო and one with a different vowel. This variation is described as "weak" (with ო) or "strong" (without) in Ⓗ.

ვ-class transitive and intransitive

Change the -ე/-ა ending of the AOR to -ო. 3PL person marker is -ნ. If 1SG is -ი in AOR, then the OPT endings change to -ა.

• გააკეთა, did → გააკეთოს, must do

• დაუკრა, played (an instrument) → დაუკრას, must play

Note that the ending vowel has been changed to ა. Here we also see another difference in 1SG and 2SG as compared to their AOR forms. Namely, the 1SG/2SG.AOR is და(ვ)უკარი and the 1SG/2SG.OPT is და(ვ)უკრა (missing an ა). This is because the OPT forms derive from the 3SG.OPT.

მ-class

Change -ა ending of the AOR to -ეს for SG and -ეთ for PL. You may also see ო instead of ე.

• გაუხარდა, was happy → გაუხარდეს, must be happy

Motion verbs

One way of thinking about the formation of this tense is that the vowels in AOR get swapped in OPT. Note that 3SG adds -ს and that 3PL is the same in AOR and OPT.

• მივიდა, went → მივიდეს, must go

to be

The root in AOR gets swapped out for იყო and 3SG adds and -ს.

Regarding the two 3PL forms, Wiktionary, as well as Ⓗ, list იყონ, though Ⓚ does not. Brosset 1837, p73 lists იყვნენ as the colloquial register and იყონ as the literary register. ვლაპარკობთ ქართულად explicitly lists იყვნენ as the preferred term:

იყვნენ და არა იყონ. ([Say] იყვნენ and not იყონ)

Interestingly, as a reverse of Brosset some two hundred odd years later, for some speakers, it appears that იყონ is now the more common spoken form, as opposed to იყვნენ. This may be a regional preference and appears that western dialects prefer იყონ. If you know more, please let me know.

How to Use: OPT

The optative is a very common (and thus, important!) tense as it follows many common verbs: უნდა:wants/should, შეუძლია:is able, მოდი:let's, საჭიროა:it is necessary. It is broadly used to describe action that is done with intention, necessity, possibility, desirability, etc.Kiziria, p180

When used independently in questions, it gives the sense of "should/shall ... ?".

The optative plural is also used in recipes, for example მოვხარშოთ ცოტა ბრინჯი ⧸ Cook a small amount of rice.Kurtsikidze, p147

When expressing past desires, rather than current desires, please see below for more information.

③ Evidential (EVD)

Ⓚ: 1st Resultant
Ⓗ: Perfect
Ⓞ: პირველი თურმეობითი, Perfekt (de)

How to Form: EVD

✎ Derived from FUT, has preverb

ვ-class transitive and intransitive

The key thing to know with EVD is that even ვ-class verbs will use მ-class subject markers. Thus, from FUT, change the subject markers to be the same as მ-class, though with the addition of ი after the marker and უ for 3SG and 3PL. For example, შემიჭამია for 1SG and შეუჭამია for 3SG.

The vowel of the endings will be ია in all cases, except for when the verb ends in ავ or ამ, in which case there are no vowel endings and instead the endings are -ს (and -თ for plural).

Since the object markers have switched, this begs the question, how does one mark the object on the verb? In almost all cases, the object will not be marked on the verb, but rather the standalone pronoun will be used. If the object is an indirect object, then it will have -თვის suffixed.

However, in some cases, where the direct object can be a person, the PRS form of to be is suffixed to the verb (dropping the final -ა). Thus, გამიგზავნიხარ ⧸ I had sent you (to the store, etc.), where -მი-:1SG.SUBJ and -ხარ:2SG.DO. As well as, მინახავხარ ⧸ I have seen you. Compare the first example with გამიგზავნია შენთვის ⧸ I sent to you (a letter), where შენ is standalone, since it is not the direct object of the verb.

Note that Aronson specifies that this occurs with verbs that have a PFSF of ავ or ამ.Aronson, p391 However, Bolkvadze & Kiziria do not make such a distinction, specifying that this occurs with any "bipersonal" verbs.Bolkvadze & Kiziria, p274 This is most obvious in დამიპატიჟებიხარ, which does not have an ავ or ამ PFSF, but clearly has -ხარ suffixed. This form is also referenced on tbiliselebi.ge, further lending credence to it being a valid and expected form.

• გააკეთებს, will do → გაუკეთებია, had (apparently) done

• წაიკითხავს, will read → წაუკითხავს, had (apparently) read

მ-class

From FUT, contrary to ვ-class, drop the vowel if one follows the subject marker (this includes უ for 3SG/3PL). If there is a დ between the root and ებ, it should also be dropped. The ending vowel will be -ია.

• გაუხარდება, will be happy → გახარებია, had (apparently) be happy

Motion verbs

This is a novel root, სულ, that must be memorized. It follows conjugation pattern of PRS (using to be forms). Ⓚ mentions that it comes from the passive participle (მისული:gone).

• მისულა had (apparently) went

to be

This is a novel root, ყოფილ, that must be memorized. It follows the same conjugation pattern of using PRS to be forms as motion verbs.

How to Use: EVD

The most common use of EVD for a beginner, especially in common speech, is expressing a "neutral" negative past action. See the 2nd paragraph for more information.

Ⓗ calls this the Perfect form. Perfect here, contrasted with Perfective, means that the action took place in the past, before the present action which is occurring. This is true, but more importantly, there is a sense that the speaker did not experience the past event first hand. It is akin to English expressions such as "apparently", "evidently", or "it seems s/he has", but without the sense of doubt that is often conveyed in such English suggestions. As such, one often finds this tense paired with თურმე:apparently.

As mentioned above, EVD in the negative is contrasted in everyday speech with AOR in the negative. EVD with the negative would indicate a past action that didn't happen, with a neutral reason. AOR in the negative, however, would imply that the action intentionally did not happen. Compare ის პერანგი არ მიყიდია ⧸ I didn't buy the shirt (EVD) and ის პერანგი არ ვიყიდე ⧸ I didn't buy the shirt (AOR) [because I didn't feel like it].Aronson, p276 Thus, when answering questions about the past, one is more likely to hear EVD as a negative answer to a question and AOR as the positive answer, because in these cases, each has a neutral sense. Some speakers may not make the distinction between EVD and AOR and will default to AOR negative past events. This lack of distinction may be perceived as "uneducated".

It may also be used to express surprise, mirroring loosely the English expression "what a xyz".Aronson and Kiziria, p392 In ფერად შვინდი ბაგე გქონია ⧸ You had lips the color cherries, it's not a neutral statement of fact, but an expression of surprise/admiration/unexpectedness of the fact.

When used with "to be", it is equivalent to "has been" in English. For example, საქართველოში არ ვყოფილვარ ⧸ I have not been to Georgia.

One may also hear the perfect aspect be expressed with a past passive participle and აქვს:has. That is, წაგიკითხავს? and წაკითხული გაქვს? both mean "have you read it?"

③ Past Subjunctive (PSTSBJV)

Ⓚ: 2nd Resultant
Ⓗ: Pluperfect
Ⓞ: მეორე თურმეობითი, Plusquamperfekt (de)

How to Form: PSTSBJV

✎ Derived from EVD, has preverb

There is a lot of variation in how this class is formed. Don't worry, you'll probably be close enough for the listener to understand.

ვ-class transitive and intransitive

The most general way is to change both the person marker and the ending. The person markers change to be the მ-class markers, but with ე- as the version. Thus, მე-, გე- etc. This means that any existing version markers (or generally speaking, initial vowels) will be dropped in favor of ე. The ending vowel is then changed to -ა.

However, there are a number of variations that can occur:

• in some verbs ending with ებ or ევ (most often 3-syllable or more), the suffix is retained and the ending is -ია.

• for verbs that would end with -ო in AOR, they will end with -ო instead of -ა.

• გაუკეთებია, had (apparently) done → გაეკეთა, wanted to do

n.b. Ⓚ gives this ending as -ებინა, but that form is less common than the simpler form, which is just -ა.

მ-class

Drop the ending of EVD and replace with -ოდა.

• გახარებია, had (apparently) be happy → გახარებოდა wanted to be happy

Motion verbs

Rather than use the PRS form of to be, instead use the AOR form of to be as the ending of the verb form. Ⓚ mentions that it comes from the passive participle (მისული:gone).

• მისულა had (apparently) went → მისულიყო, wanted to go

to be

Rather than use the PRS form of to be, instead use the AOR form of to be as the ending of the verb form.

How to Use: PSTSBJV

The PSTSBJV has two main functions:

1. Describing an action that occurs in the past, but prior to a past timeframe already established
2. Expressing wishes of a hypothetical past that cannot be achieved (e.g. I was supposed to do it)

As you may guess from the 1st function and Ⓗ's naming, this could tense could also be called the pluperfect. However, since hypothetical past conditionals is the main place this is used, for the purpose of this document, PSTSBJV will take precedence in naming. Plus, it has nice parallelism with the other subjunctive tenses.

These hypothetical conditionals are often formed with the first clause in IMPERF (hypothetical past result) and the second clause (hypothetical past action) in PSTSBJV. This type of conditional sentence is always marked with რომ in the second clause. More information on expressing past desires can be found below.

If the sentence describes an action that occurred in the past, but prior to some established time frame (function 2), it can appear standalone as the only verb in the sentence. You can think of the sentence as the answer to the question რა მექნა?, which can be thought of as "What had you done (before then)?" or "What did you do (before then)?" In general, though, this requires some context and as such, sentences with single clause and a bare verb in PSTSBJV are uncommon.

③ Drunk Uncle (DU)

Ⓚ: 3rd Subjunctive
Ⓗ: Perfect Subjunctive
Ⓞ: მესამე კავშირებითი, Conjunctive Perfect, Konjunctiv Perfect (de)

This tense named by Corbin Dewitt.

How to Form: DU

✎ Derived from PSTSBJV, has preverb

In my experience, trying to draw out forms of this conjugation from educated native speakers will sometimes result in the PSTSBJV. This is also mentioned by Aronson 1999, p396.

ვ-class transitive and intransitive

Change the ending of PSTSBJV to be -ოს, except for -ოთ for 2PL and 3PL. Some verbs ending in -ებს in the 3SG.PRS will include -ებინ- before the person endings. This is marked in parentheses below, as the more common form for აკეთებს is the longer form (as in the example sentence).

• გაეკეთა, wanted to do → გაეკეთოს, may s/he do it (as in a toast)

მ-class

Change the ending of PSTSBJV to be -ეს, except for -ეთ for 2PL and 3PL.

• გახარებოდა wanted to be happy → გახარდებოდეს may s/he be happy (as in a toast)

Motion verbs

The root becomes სულიყო and follows the standard ვ-class person markers, varying slightly for 3PL with -ნ.

• მისულა had (apparently) went → მისულიყო, wanted to go

to be

The root becomes ყოფილიყო and follows the normal ვ-class endings, varying slightly for 3PL with -ნ. As this is an infrequent tense, there may be some variation in its form, such as -ნეთ as the 1PL and 2PL ending.

How to Use: DU

An uncommonly used tense, restricted mostly to things a drunk uncle would do: talking about past actions the speaker has no memory of doing and giving toasts.

DU is also contrasted with PSTSBJV when talking about past desired actions.

Common Sentence Patterns

Without an infinitive form like in many other languages, mapping sentence structures from your native language to Georgian can be difficult. To help mitigate that, this section is designed to help identify some common sentence patterns and how they are constructed in Georgian. Any comments, questions, or additions are warmly welcomed at parry (ათ) parryc.com

Negation

Verbs can be negated in Georgian in two ways, with არ and ვერ. ვერ implies an inability to complete the action, whereas არ is simply that the action didn't occur. Compare below:

• ვერ მოვდივარ:I'm not able to come
• არ მოვდივარ:I'm not coming

Note also that involuntary/unconscious actions must be negated with ვერ. Thus, ვერ შევამჩნიე ⧸ I didn't notice it, as "to notice something" is an unconscious action (you cannot deliberately not notice something).

There are two modified versions of არ and ვერ, აღარ and ვეღარ respectively, which add the meaning of "any longer" to the negative. For example, მე აღარ ვტირი ⧸ I no longer cry.

Imparatives are negated with ნუ:don't.

Using the Verbal Noun

To help ease the transition to this infinitiveless world, below are some common structures that English speakers would expect to use the infinitive, but instead should use the verbal noun.

It is X to Y

The "It is X" clause is marked with -ა:is and the "to Y" clause is a verbal noun. For example, ზამთარში ძნელია საწოლიდან ადგომა ⧸ It is difficult to get up from the bed in winter. Or, more literally, "Getting up from bed in the winter is difficult".

It is X as it is Y

The first clause is often in the present tense and the second clause is often a vebal noun. For example, კითხულობთ როგორც იწერება ⧸
It is read as it is written. Note that the first clause "it is read" is actually in 2PL.PRS.

I like to X

As with above, X will be a verbal noun. This means that the English equivalent can be rephrased to use a verbal noun as well. For example, rather than "I like to dance", "I like dancing" would work. Thus, you have ცეკვა მომწონს ⧸ I like to dance.

A more complicated example

Here is an example worked in more detail.

შემდებ, ვაპირებ გამოცდების ჩაბარებას მაგისტრატურისთვის.

Next, I plan to pass the exam for the Master's degree.

აპირებს:plans to takes the standard 2 arguments of subject and object. The subject, we can see is 1SG, from ვ- in ვაპირებ:I plan to. That means there are three other words that can be the object – only one of them, ჩაბარებას:passing of the exam.VN.DAT is in the DAT. This is a verbal noun form, thus "passing of (an exam)". That means that გამოცდების:exam.GEN modifies the VN, leaving მაგისტრატურისთვის:master's degree=for as the indirect object of ჩაბარებას.

This is a good example of how to take a common verb form and make a verbal phrase with the object:

1. Decline the verbal noun in the correct object tense (here, DAT).
2. Decline what would be the direct object of the verbal noun in GEN – e.g. "the exam's passing".
3. Suffix any indirect objects with -თვის:for.

Note that you may also hear the form რომ {declined verb}, that is, a sentence like მომწონს, სათამაშობს რომ ვაკეთებ ⧸ I like to make toys, rather than მომწონს, სათამაშობის კეთება.Kurtsikidze, p193

On the verge of doing something (ე- -ებოდეს)

An alternative form of the PRSSBJV which indicates that the subject is on the verge of doing something, it is formed by wrapping the root in ე- -ებოდეს. It can also be though of as "about to" or "going to", i.e. "about to cry". It is only used with emotions or feelings.

For example, from ვანო და ნიკო:

როცა ეტირებოდეს — ტიროდეს, ეცინებოდეს — და იცინოდეს...

When he was about to cry, he would cry, when he was about to laugh, he would laugh...

Thus, ტირის:cries → ეტირებოდეს:about to cry.

Causative verbs / to make/let someone do something (-ებ/ინებ/ევ)

As with most things with Georgian verbs, the suffix used varies, but -ინებ is a safe choice.

This suffix is placed after the PFSF (e.g. after -ავ, -ებ, etc.). It adds the sense of "making/letting the object do the action". For example, ვაკეთებ:I'm doing becomes ვაკეთებინებ ⧸ I'm making/letting her/him do it. Colloquial Georgian may drop the first -ებ, yielding ვაკეთინებ

If the PFSF begins with a vowel other than ე or ო, the vowel is dropped. For example, the ა in -ავ is dropped in ვხატვინებ ⧸ I'm making/letting her/him draw.

Generally speaking, all verbs will have an ა- version marker. For example, ვაჭმევინებ:I made him eat, ვაკითხუბინებ:I made him read, ვაწერინებ:I made her write. This most often manifests with verbs that would not normally have one, such as წერს:s/he writes.

Since it is just the suffix of the verb changing, object markers are the same as with other non-causative forms. Here are the forms in PRS, subject on the left, object along the top.

Note that some verbs cannot be made causitive:

• Verbs of motion
• მ-class verbs
• Verbs that have a required object (vt2+ verbs in CGED)
• Verbs in which the object is implied

Have done (Past Participle + to have)

Depending on the tense of აქვს:to have, there are various equivalent meanings in English. Examples below from Ⓚ.

PRS = I have done:

ეს წიგნი წაკითხული მაქვს ⧸ I have read this book.

FUT = I will have done:

ხვალისათვის ეს წიგნი წაკითხული მექნება ⧸ I will have read this book by tomorrow.

AOR = I had done:

საქართველოში რომ ჩავედი, ეს ლექსები უკვე წავითხული მქონდა ⧸ When I arrived in Georgia, I had already read these poems.

An exception to this is "had been doing", which corresponds to IMPERF or AOR (without a preverb).

Keep doing (მიდი + IMP/გააგრძელებს + VN)

There are two ways of saying "to keep doing something", depending on the meaning. If it is for encouragement, such as "keep going!", it is მიდი:go plus the imperative form of the action (same as AOR). For the other meaning of "to continue doing something", then it is the verb გააგრძელებს:will continue (FUT form) with the verbal noun of the action.

Redoing something (თავიდან + verb)

As you might have noticed, Georgian does not have prefixes that correspond to many of the verbal prefixes in English. One common one is doing an action again. This is indicated with the word თავიდან:from the beginning, such as in თავიდან დაწერა ⧸ S/he rewrote it.

Having wanted to do something (უნდოდა/ნეტავ + verb)

When expressing wanting to have done something in the past there are three situations, depending on the nuance you wish to express.

1. should have: უნდა + PSTSBJV
2. wanted to: უნდოდა + PSTSBJV or masdar
3. if only I had: ნეტავ + DU

should have

When expressing if something should have happened (but didn't), use the bare, undeclined უნდა, paired with PSTSBJV. That is, მე უნდა წავსულიყავი. ⧸ I should have left.

wanted to

First, decline უნდა in AOR. Whether or not you use the masdar of the verb or PSTSBJV appears to be a matter of either dialect or personal preference. I have been told that the masdar form may be considered "colloquial" (or perhaps even grammatically incorrect), whereas others have have insisted the declined form is incorrect.

This form implies that the past action was desired in the past, but did not occur. There is less of an implication that the action was compelled by some external force (e.g. obligation, necessity, etc.) than as implied with უნდა above.

if only I had

The form using DU and ნეტავ:if only implies a certain level of regret or wistfulness that is not implied with either of the two above forms. Thus, ნეტავ მე წავსულიყო would be "If only I had left (sooner, later, on Monday, etc.)". As one might expect, this form is often seen in poetry.

Common Irregular Verbs

To save on typing, only 1SG and 3SG are provided, as the remaining forms can be derived from those. If you would like to provide more irregular forms, please contact me at parry (ათ) parryc.com.

To have (a thing) - აქვს

Note that you may hear shortened versions of the PRS in casual speech, such as მე მაქ, where the -ვს at the end is dropped.

When a prefix is used, the conjugations are different, see below for more information.

To have (a person) - ჰყავს

To say something — ამბობს

To tell someone something — ეუბნება

For IMPERF, you may also (rarely?) see/hear a version where the -ო- is dropped, thus, ვეუბნებდი. I have not seen this alteration attested for PRSSBJV.

Note that one may encounter a form იამბობს, such as in მოდი გიამბობ by Hamlet Gonashvili or in The Knight in the Panther's Skin that also means "I tell you", but it has a more specific sense of telling a story (or similar). You can see this contrasted in the first two lines of the above linked song — the second line does not use the FUT of ამბობს, rather the FUT of ეუბნება: გიამბობ... ამბავს (I am telling you... a story) vs. გეტყვი... განათებას (I will tell you... at dawn).

To give someone something – აძლევს

To bring something to someone - მოაქვს/მიაქვს

მოაქვს and მიაქვს differ in where the "something" is being brought. To help present the differences, assume there are two speakers. With მო-, the object is being brought to the location of the 1st speaker and with მი- the object is being brought to a location different from where either of the speakers are. In the case where the object is being brought is to where the 2nd speaker is, either prefixed form works. If the object is a person or a car, then მოჰყავს and მიჰყავს is used.

To know – იცის

Note that in all tenses except for EVD, PRSSBJV, and DU, the subject is ERG. For EVD, PRSSBJV, and DU, the subject is DAT.

To want, must – უნდა

To be able, can, manages – შეუძლია

In the table below, there are two forms given for AOR and FUT. In these cases, the meaning changes slightly when using the ვ-forms. The standard მ-forms focuse on the opportunity to be able to do/manage something, but does not imply that the action was actually done. The ვ-forms focus on the results and thus implies that the action was done.

Compare:

• შევძელი საქართველოში წასვლა: I managed to go to Georgia (e.g. I was able and also did so).
• შემეძლო საქართველოში წასვლა: I could have gone to Georgia (e.g. I had the opportunity to, but did not do so).

Similarly, since there is no მ-form for OPT, there is a focus on completing the task at hand, rather than on acquiring an opportunity. Thus, მე უნდა შევძლო ⧸ I must manage to do (and complete) it, whereas an English translation of "I must be able to do it", may imply that one must have the permission/opportunity to do it.

Frequently Asked Questions

What about voice?

Ⓚ discusses in some depth (see pgs 118 and 119) and, indeed, derives much of her classification off of the voice of the verb. Although I did not find it helpful when trying to speak (since it does not tell you how to decline the associated nouns), it is useful to summarize it as it is a formal structure that is discussed elswhere.

There are 3 common voices described:

Active

A 2-person or 3-person verb where the subject acts upon an object.

Passive

A 1-person or 2-person verb, where something acts upon the subject. These are futher subdivided into two types: dynamic, describing the process of an action; and static, describing the result of a completed action.

Medial

A 1-person or 2-person verb, where no action is performed on the subject or on an object. Examples include "going" and "sitting".

Some verbs do not belong to a voice, such as იცის:s/he knows.

Why are all the examples in 3SG?

I don't recall where this form was used as the reference form (though I think it may have been Kurtsikidze?), but I continued to use it because I think it more clearly illustrates that it is a verb as compared to using 2SG as the reference form (as in Kirizia). This is because, to me, at least, (s/he) eats is more clearly the PRS rather than (you) eat. Without the English PRS marker, some examples may be more easily confused with nouns.

If you are learning Georgian via a language other than English, you may find that learning a form other than 3SG is useful. Indeed, I also try memorizing the 1SG form as well, since it it may illustrate root changes not seen in 3SG.

Why do some resources say a form doesn't exist, but one is provided anyways?

Usually when a resource says a form doesn't exist, it means that it doesn't have a unique form. It is almost invariably that AOR and OPT don't exist, which are then often the same as the IMPERF and PRSSBJV respectively. I include them since for a learner, it is not useful to know that formally there is no unique form. Rather, it is more important to know "when I mentally think 'use OPT', that I should use the form listed here".

What about the imperative?

The imperative is the same form as AOR. Check there for more information.

Which motion verb should be used for "to go"?

There are two ways to translate the generic act of "going" into Georgian using the წა- form and the მი- form of motion verbs. Here are the two forms, in PRS, FUT, and AOR, for 1SG.

Generally speaking, the წა- form is more common and should be the default, especially for the FUT screeve forms (FUT, COND, FUTSBJV) and AOR. It cannot be used in the PRS or related screeves, as the form simply does not exist.

The მი- form should be used when emphasizing the destination (მივიდა სკოლაში ⧸ He went to the store), in the PRS screeve (PRS, IMPERF, PRSSBJV), or IMP (მიდი მიდი მიდი! ⧸ go, go, go!).

I'm seeing some strange forms of "to be", what are they?

Georgian has two honorific/polite verb forms for "to be". While they are normally used between strangers or colleagues in formal settings (such as a shopkeeper and a customer, or at a conference), they can also be used ironically between friends. Those with the -ხლ- root have a noticable 2nd person object marker (გ-) and as such, don't have a 2nd person form. These ones could more closely be translated as "to you I am/she is" etc. Similarly, while a 2SG form exists, it is more often to hear someone use 2PL, as it has a stronger politeness connotation.

To help illustrate, in the table below the neutral form (as listed in the above sections) is also included.

The AOR forms are ახლდა and ბრძანდებოდა.

Resources

If you know of additional resources that contain good information on Georgian verbs which should be added, please let me know at parry (ათ) parryc.com. Any language is OK!

General Access

• Elements of Georgian Grammar, Shorena Kurtsikidze, 2nd edition, LINCOM Europa, 2014.
• THE GEORGIAN LANGUAGE (backup), PJ Hillery
• Beginner's Georgian, Dodona Kiziria, Hippocrene Books, 2009.
• Georgian: A Reading Grammar, Howard I. Aronson, Corrected Edition, Slavica, 1990.
• Georgian Language and Culture: A Continuing Course, Howard I. Aronson & Dodona Kiziria, Slavica, 1999
• The Georgian Verb, Tamar Makharoblidze, LINCOM Europa, 2012.

Linguistic

• Georgian: A Structural Reference Grammar by B. G. Hewitt, John Benjamins Publishing Company, 1995.
• Georgian Syntax: A Study in Relational Grammar by Alice Harris, Cambridge University Press, 1981.
• Comrie in Endangered Languages of the Caucasus and Beyond, ed. Ramazan Korkmaz and Gürkan Doğan, Brill, 2017.
• Georgian: A Comprehensive Grammar by Tinatin Bolkvadze and Dodona Kiziria, Routledge, 2023.

Dictionaries

• Comprehensive English-Georgian Dictionary, requires subscription, 25₾ per year.
• translate.ge, contains CGED, among other dictionaries of dubious quality.
• Georgian Explanatory Dictionary, Georgian only, but very thorough.
• National Parlimentary Library of Georgia's Dictionary Website, over 50 individual dictionaries, with 600,000+ terms.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank all of my Georgian teachers throughout the years. You have all been kind, patient, and enthusiastic – there's nothing more someone could want in a mentor. You've helped the flower of my interest in the language, culture, and country bloom!

Furthermore, it goes without saying that this page would not be what it is without you, dear reader. Your comments, questions, and suggestions whether to me directly or elsewhere on the internet have been invaluable.

A special and heartfelt thanks to ვესი, for agreeing on a whim to start this crazy journey. დიდი მადლობა, მეგობარო!