Do you ask yourself, how many tenses are there in Georgian? This is exactly what you are going to learn from this post. You’ll also know which are the most popular and what are the 5 forms the most used in Georgian language.
Are there 3 tenses in Georgian?
Yes, exactly like this. There are 3 tenses in Georgian language: present, past and future. Quite similar to majority of other languages (at least the ones which have tenses). However you might have seen in some study books that there are more forms. What is it related with?
There is something like screeves in Georgian language. Those are the Georgian verbs forms that show several pieces of information like: the tense, who is acting, type of conjugation and more. To make it easier and not to burden you with complex linguistical terms we call it “forms” in our articles. There are 11 forms in general but half of them is not used as often as the 5 main ones.
In addition, all those 11 forms are being divided into 3 series. So, to sum up we have 3 tenses, 3 series (not equal to the tenses) and in each of those there are different verb forms also known as screeves. You’ll use 1st and 2nd series the most, because there are forms one uses most often in daily life.
What’s worth to know in Georgian language?
There are 5 forms knowing of which will be quite useful, if you want to be fluent in Georgian on A2/B1 levels. Those are exactly the ones we’ll tell you more about today.
The first one is the present tense – ახლანდელი დრო – which you’ll use talking about present, your habits and general statements. This is probably the first tense you’ll learn in Georgian. The grammatical name of the tense is აწმყო, but it seems to be much harder to learn for the foreigners. That is why the first version we showed you, will be the one you’ll find it the majority of study materials.
Examples would be ბანკში ვმუშაობ – I work in a bank. მე ასია მქვია – My name is Asia.
The second one is the imperfect sometimes being introduces as past continuous, so in Georgian უწყვეტელი წარსული დრო. One uses it when talking about past, but we do not know whether the action is completed or this was a process or a habit (“used to do something”).
The examples may be ოფისში მანქანით მივდიოდი – I was going to the office by car. მთელ საღამოს ვსწავლობდი ქართულს. – Whole evening I was studying Georgian.
The third one is the future tense – მომავალი დრო – which similarly to English we use when describing future. Something that we know will take place and has not happened yet . The grammatical name is მყოფადი, but it seems to be much harder to learn for the foreigners. That is why the first one we gave you will be the one you’ll find it the majority of study materials.
The sentences in future tense are for example ხვალ ბანკში არ ვიმუშავებ. – Tomorrow I will not work in a bank. მაზეგ შენს ტელეფონს შევაკეთებ. – In 2 days I will repair this phone.
The fourth form of the verb (4th screeve) that is quite useful is aorist also known as past simple, so წყვეტილი წარსული დრო. You’ll use it when talking about past. Something that happened and was completed in the past. Some verbs have only one past form, e.g. verb to be or verbs to have. You won’t be able to distinguish whether it has been a continuous or completed action. Additionally, some verbs use this form for imperative mode.
Examples with this form would be ბევრი ყავა დავლიე.- I drank lots of coffee. მოგეწონა ეს ოთახი? – Didi you like this room?
The last but not least form is optative – მეორე კავშირებითი. It’s the screeve hard to find in other European languages. One of it’s uses is when talking about wishes or assumptions. Also you’ll find it in the phrases with verbs like: “want to do something”, “have to do something “or “to plan to do something”. Some verbs use this form also to crate negative imperative mode, e.g. “do not do it”.
The examples may be მინდა ვიყიდო ორი ვაშლი. – I want to buy 2 apples. არ გააკეთო! – Do not do it!
How to learn Georgian tenses?
Let’s complete this article with an advice. The order in which we have provided you with those forms is not random. It will be much easier for you if you learn those forms exactly in this order because of how the forms transform one into another. Some of the study materials introduce you to the past simple just after the present tense which makes the Georgian study much more complicated. That is why the above order is much more useful!