Georgian verb paradigm

This article is about the conjugation of verbs in the Georgian language (focused on examples). The reader is advised to see Georgian grammar, especially if not familiar with the language, before attempting to read this article.

Georgian verb conjugation remains a difficult subject even for those who have been studying the language for a while. Even after studying over hundreds of verbs, one may still encounter a new verb whose conjugation deviates from what the person has learnt. This is not to say that the verbs are irregular, rather, to state that verbs in Georgian do not tend to conform to a "universal" conjugation system like in most other languages. Even native speakers may disagree on some verbs' conjugations. In verb conjugation, there are some important factors to keep track of:

  1. Georgian has four classes of verbs: transitive, intransitive, medial and indirect verbs. Each class has its own set of rules of conjugation for all screeves. What makes it even more difficult is that there are numerous verbs in Georgian that do not seem to conform to the conjugation of one class (see irregular verbs below).
  2. Preverb. Although preverbs may have directional meanings, most of the time it is totally arbitrary which verb takes which preverb. In addition, there are many verbs in Georgian that have a common verb stem. Since preverbs are absent in the present screeves, these verbs are identical in the present series, and differ in the rest of the series, because different preverbs are prefixed to the verb stem. A learner of the language has no choice but to learn the preverb of each verb.
  3. Versions. The versioners in Georgian establish the language's polypersonalism. Although each version vowel has a specific meaning, most of the time, like preverbs, they have arbitrary meanings. Therefore when learning a new verb, the version vowel the verb employs should also be learnt.
  4. Thematic suffix. Thematic suffixes are the stems that follow the root of the verb. They are used in the present and future screeves and are mostly (though not always) absent in the aorist and perfective screeves. Like preverbs and versions, thematic suffixes are not only arbitrary, but they also determine the conjugation in the aorist and perfective screeves for transitive (class 1) verbs. There are nine thematic suffixes in Georgian, and almost all the verbs have a specific thematic suffix. Again, when learning a new verb, the thematic suffix has to be learnt together with the other elements.
  5. In addition, one also has to take into account which suffixal nominal marker is to be used for each verb. This is, however, not arbitrary. The use of appropriate suffixal nominal marker depends on the thematic suffix (as stated above). For each thematic suffix, there are set of rules whether the conjugation is strong or weak for the aorist series and the perfective series of screeves. These set of rules for each thematic suffix have to be mastered.
  6. Georgian has many irregular verbs. It is not possible to give an exact number, because there are different levels of irregularities. Some verbs have different verb roots in different screeves and, thus, are considered irregular. Some other verbs use the same verb root throughout all the screeves, but their conjugations deviate from the normal paradigm of the verb class that they belong to. In addition, some indirect verbs (class 4) are also considered irregular, because they only behave like indirect verbs in the present screeves, and behave like transitive verbs (class 1) in the rest of the screeves.

Class 1 (transitive verbs)

Here is a full conjugation of a verb with all persons in all screeves:

Verb root

shen; infinite form asheneba (to build)

Present subseries

The thematic suffix -eb is present, but without the preverb:

  Present indicative Imperfect ¹ Present subjunctive ²
1s v-a-shen-eb v-a-shen-eb-d-i v-a-shen-eb-d-e
2s a-shen-eb a-shen-eb-d-i a-shen-eb-d-e
3s a-shen-eb-s a-shen-eb-d-a a-shen-eb-d-e-s
1pl v-a-shen-eb-t v-a-shen-eb-d-i-t v-a-shen-eb-d-e-t
2pl a-shen-eb-t a-shen-eb-d-i-t a-shen-eb-d-e-t
3pl a-shen-eb-en a-shen-eb-d-nen a-shen-eb-d-nen

Future subseries

The preverb a- emerges:

  Future indicative Conditional Future subjunctive
1s a-v-a-shen-eb a-v-a-shen-eb-d-i a-v-a-shen-eb-d-e
2s a-a-shen-eb a-a-shen-eb-d-i a-a-shen-eb-d-e
3s a-a-shen-eb-s a-a-shen-eb-d-a a-a-shen-eb-d-e-s
1pl a-v-a-shen-eb-t a-v-a-shen-eb-d-i-t a-v-a-shen-eb-d-e-t
2pl a-a-shen-eb-t a-a-shen-eb-d-i-t a-a-shen-eb-d-e-t
3pl a-a-shen-eb-en a-a-shen-eb-d-nen a-a-shen-eb-d-nen

Aorist series

The preverb is present; the thematic suffix is lost:

  Aorist indicative ³ Optative
1s a-v-a-shen-e a-v-a-shen-o
2s a-a-shen-e a-a-shen-o
3s a-a-shen-a a-a-shen-o-s
1pl a-v-a-shen-e-t a-v-a-shen-o-t
2pl a-a-shen-e-t a-a-shen-o-t
3pl a-a-shen-es a-a-shen-o-n

Perfective series

The preverb is present; the thematic suffix is present (due to vowel in root). N.B. subject is marked with the m- set, and the verb form here assumes a 3rd person singular direct object:

  Perfect † Pluperfect ‡ Perfect subjunctive
1s a-m-i-shen-eb-i-a a-m-e-shen-eb-in-a a-m-e-shen-eb-in-o-s
2s a-g-i-shen-eb-i-a a-g-e-shen-eb-in-a a-g-e-shen-eb-in-o-s
3s a-u-shen-eb-i-a a-e-shen-eb-in-a a-e-shen-eb-in-o-s
1pl a-gv-i-shen-eb-i-a a-gv-e-shen-eb-in-a a-gv-e-shen-eb-in-o-s
2pl a-g-i-shen-eb-i-a-t a-g-e-shen-eb-in-a-t a-g-e-shen-eb-in-o-t
3pl a-u-shen-eb-i-a-t a-e-shen-eb-in-a-t a-e-shen-eb-in-o-t

Notes

¹ The imperfective screeve of class 1 verbs always takes the strong suffixal nominal marker -i

² The present subjunctive screeve of class 1 verbs always takes the weak suffixal nominal marker -e

³ Class 1 verbs which take the weak suffixal nominal marker in the aorist screeve, take the -o- nominal marker in the optative screeve, and verbs which take the strong suffixal nominal marker in the aorist screeve, take the -a- nominal marker in the optative screeve.

† The perfective screeve of class 1 verbs always uses the -i- versioner.

‡ The pluperfect and the perfect subjunctive screeves of class 1 verbs always employ the -e- versioner.

Class 2 (intransitive verbs)

  1. prefixal: i- appears immediately before the verb root
  2. suffixal: -d appears immediately after the verb root
  3. markerless: no affixes appear

Below is a full conjugation of an intransitive verb:

Verb root

bad; infinite form dabadeba (to be born)

This verb exhibits the prefixal intransitive pattern; i- is placed immediately before the verb root in all series apart from the perfective.

Present subseries

The thematic suffix -eb is present, without the preverb:

  Present indicative Imperfect Present subjunctive
1s v-i-bad-eb-i v-i-bad-eb-od-i v-i-bad-eb-od-e
2s i-bad-eb-i i-bad-eb-od-i i-bad-eb-od-e
3s i-bad-eb-a i-bad-eb-od-a i-bad-eb-od-e-s
1pl v-i-bad-eb-i-t v-i-bad-eb-od-i-t v-i-bad-eb-od-e-t
2pl i-bad-eb-i-t i-bad-eb-od-i-t i-bad-eb-od-e-t
3pl i-bad-eb-i-an i-bad-eb-od-nen i-bad-eb-od-nen

Future subseries

The preverb da- emerges:

  Future indicative Conditional Future subjunctive
1s da-v-i-bad-eb-i da-v-i-bad-eb-od-i da-v-i-bad-eb-od-e
2s da-i-bad-eb-i da-i-bad-eb-od-i da-i-bad-eb-od-e
3s da-i-bad-eb-a da-i-bad-eb-od-a da-i-bad-eb-od-e-s
1pl da-v-i-bad-eb-i-t da-v-i-bad-eb-od-i-t da-v-i-bad-eb-od-e-t
2pl da-i-bad-eb-i-t da-i-bad-eb-od-i-t da-i-bad-eb-od-e-t
3pl da-i-bad-eb-i-an da-i-bad-eb-od-nen da-i-bad-eb-od-nen

Aorist series

The preverb is present; the thematic suffix is lost:

  Aorist indicative Optative
1s da-v-i-bad-e da-v-i-bad-o
2s da-i-bad-e da-i-bad-o
3s da-i-bad-a da-i-bad-o-s
1pl da-v-i-bad-e-t da-v-i-bad-o-t
2pl da-i-bad-e-t da-i-bad-o-t
3pl da-i-bad-nen da-i-bad-o-n

Perfective series

Formation comprises the past participle (da-(v)-bad-eb-ul-i), followed by a form of the copula:

  Perfect Pluperfect Perfect subjunctive
1s da-v-bad-eb-ul-v-a-r da-v-bad-eb-ul-i-q'av-i da-v-bad-eb-ul-i-q'-o
2s da-bad-eb-ul-x-a-r da-bad-eb-ul-i-q'av-i da-bad-eb-ul-i-q'-o
3s da-bad-eb-ul-a da-bad-eb-ul-i-q'-o da-bad-eb-ul-i-q'-o-s
1pl da-v-bad-eb-ul-v-a-r-t da-v-bad-eb-ul-i-q'av-i-t da-v-bad-eb-ul-i-q'-o-t
2pl da-bad-eb-ul-x-a-r-t da-bad-eb-ul-i-q'av-i-t da-bad-eb-ul-i-q'-o-t
3pl da-bad-eb-ul-an da-bad-eb-ul-i-q'v-nen da-bad-eb-ul-i-q'-o-n

Class 3 (medial verbs)

Full conjugation follows:

Verb root

tamash; infinite form tamashob (to play)

Present subseries

The thematic suffix -ob is present:

  Present indicative Imperfect Present subjunctive
1s v-tamash-ob v-tamash-ob-d-i v-tamash-ob-d-e
2s tamash-ob tamash-ob-d-i tamash-ob-d-e
3s tamash-ob-s tamash-ob-d-a tamash-ob-d-e-s
1pl v-tamash-ob-t v-tamash-ob-d-i-t v-tamash-ob-d-e-t
2pl tamash-ob-t tamash-ob-d-i-t tamash-ob-d-e-t
3pl tamash-ob-en tamash-ob-d-nen tamash-ob-d-nen

Future subseries

A type of preverb i- emerges, in combination with the thematic suffix -eb which replaces -ob (or any thematic suffix):

  Future indicative Conditional Future subjunctive
1s v-i-tamash-eb v-i-tamash-eb-d-i v-i-tamash-eb-d-e
2s i-tamash-eb i-tamash-eb-d-i i-tamash-eb-d-e
3s i-tamash-eb-s i-tamash-eb-d-a i-tamash-eb-d-e-s
1pl v-i-tamash-eb-t v-i-tamash-eb-d-i-t v-i-tamash-eb-d-e-t
2pl i-tamash-eb-t i-tamash-eb-d-i-t i-tamash-eb-d-e-t
3pl i-tamash-eb-en i-tamash-eb-d-nen i-tamash-eb-d-nen

Aorist series

Based on the future form with prefix, but with the loss of the thematic suffix:

  Aorist indicative Optative
1s v-i-tamash-e v-i-tamash-o
2s i-tamash-e i-tamash-o
3s i-tamash-a i-tamash-o-s
1pl v-i-tamash-e-t v-i-tamash-o-t
2pl i-tamash-e-t i-tamash-o-t
3pl i-tamash-es i-tamash-o-n

Perfect series

There is no preverb or thematic suffix; subjects are marked in the same way as in class 1 (i.e. with the m- set and appropriate formant vowels). The object (if present in context) is assumed to be 3rd person singular. N.B in this series, for some unknown reason, all screeves allow an optional -n- directly after the stem.

  Perfect Pluperfect Perfect subjunctive
1s m-i-tamash-(n-)i-a m-e-tamash-(n-)a m-e-tamash-(n-)o-s
2s g-i-tamash-(n-)i-a g-e-tamash-(n-)a g-e-tamash-(n-)-o-s
3s u-tamash-(n-)i-a e-tamash-(n-)a e-tamash-(n-)-o-s
1pl gv-i-tamash-(n-)-i-a gv-e-tamash-(n-)a gv-e-tamash-(n-)-o-s
2pl g-i-tamash-(n-)i-a-t g-e-tamash-(n-)a-t g-e-tamash-(n-)-o-t
3pl u-tamash-(n-)i-a-t e-tamash-(n-)a-t e-tamash-(n-)-o-t

Class 4 (indirect or 'inversion' verbs)

The verb paradigm follows. For simplicity, the verb form always assumes a 3rd person singular object:

Verb root

q'var - to love

Present subseries

The verb takes the 'subjective' versioniser i- in the 1st and 2nd persons, 'objective' u- in the 3rd person. Note the ending of the 2nd and 3rd person plural (subject) marker -t takes precedence over the 3rd person singular (object) marker -s:

  Present indicative Imperfect Present subjunctive
1s m-i-q'var-s m-i-q'var-d-a m-i-q'var-d-e-s
2s g-i-q'var-s g-i-q'var-d-a g-i-q'var-d-e-s
3s u-q'var-s u-q'var-d-a u-q'var-d-e-s
1pl gv-i-q'var-s gv-i-q'var-d-a gv-i-q'var-d-e-s
2pl g-i-q'var-t g-i-q'var-d-a-t g-i-q'var-d-e-t
3pl u-q'var-t u-q'var-d-a-t u-q'var-d-e-t

Future subseries

Here the verb forms its screeves by using a pre-radical vowel e-, and the thematic suffix -eb, in a way similar to the class 2 verbs (but without the preverb):

  Future indicative Conditional Future subjunctive
1s m-e-q'var-eb-a m-e-q'var-eb-od-a m-e-q'var-eb-od-e-s
2s g-e-q'var-eb-a g-e-q'var-eb-od-a g-e-q'var-eb-od-e-s
3s e-q'var-eb-a e-q'var-eb-od-a e-q'var-eb-od-e-s
1pl gv-e-q'var-eb-a gv-e-q'var-eb-od-a gv-e-q'var-eb-od-e-s
2pl g-e-q'var-eb-a-t g-e-q'var-eb-od-a-t g-e-q'var-eb-od-e-t
3pl e-q'var-eb-a-t e-q'var-eb-od-a-t e-q'var-eb-od-e-t

Aorist series

Since the verb does not have an aorist form, and uses the imperfect instead (as many other class 4 verbs), the aorist forms of shegiq'vardeba 'you'll fall in love with X' are substituted:

  Aorist indicative Optative
1s she-m-i-q'var-d-a she-m-i-q'var-d-e-s
2s she-g-i-q'var-d-a she-g-i-q'var-d-e-s
3s she-u-q'var-d-a she-u-q'var-d-e-s
1pl she-gv-i-q'var-d-a she-gv-i-q'var-d-e-s
2pl she-g-i-q'var-d-a-t she-g-i-q'var-d-e-t
3pl she-u-q'var-d-a-t she-u-q'var-d-e-t

Perfect series

This series is not especially consistent: the perfect screeve uses versionisers before the root, whereas the pluperfect and perfect subjunctive screeves take no versioniser. The series forms using the suffix -eb, with -od as a further suffix in the pluperfect and perfect subjunctive screeves.

  Perfect Pluperfect Perfect subjunctive
1s m-q'var-eb-i-a m-q'var-eb-od-i-a m-q'var-eb-od-e-s
2s g-q'var-eb-i-a g-q'var-eb-od-i-a g-q'var-eb-od-e-s
3s q'var-eb-i-a (h-)q'var-eb-od-i-a (h-)q'var-eb-od-e-s
1pl gv-q'var-eb-i-a gv-q'var-eb-od-i-a gv-q'var-eb-od-e-s
2pl g-q'var-eb-i-a-t g-q'var-eb-od-i-a-t g-q'var-eb-od-e-t
3pl q'var-eb-i-a-t (h-)q'var-eb-od-i-a-t (h-)q'var-eb-od-e-t

N.B. It is important to bear in mind that each verb form given in the tables has a further five forms corresponding to the 1st and 2nd person singular direct objects, and the 1st, 2nd and 3rd person plural direct objects, giving a theoretical total of 396 bi-personal forms! In practice however these forms are not always distinct (for example the plurality of the 3rd person is not always present in the form). For further discussion, see 'Direct and indirect objects'.

Direct and indirect objects

Preverbs

Preverbs in Georgian can either add directionality to a verb, or can change the meaning of the verb entirely. It is also important to the use the appropriate versioner in each case.

Since preverbs are absent in the present series, it is important to consider the role of the verb in the context of the entire sentence as the verb by itself could convey any meaning in the present screeves.

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