Month 18. The big verb table
Tamar covers the whole board with one enormous table. After a year and a half of Georgian, it's time to see the whole verb system at once.
Today: the three series of tenses.
LIMBA audio course · Georgian
Hear it, then say it: learn to speak Georgian
- 37 audio lessons
- about 13 minutes each
- explained in simple English
This written course gives you the grammar, the words and the script. The LIMBA audio course trains your ear and your mouth: you listen, you repeat, you answer — the perfect complement to these lessons.
Download the Georgian audio courseOrder form · your download link arrives by email▶ Listen to lesson 1 for free
1Sam’s diary
2Dialogue
Tamar
სემ, დღეს ყველა მწკრივს ერთ ცხრილში ჩავსვამთ.sem, dghes q'vela mts'k'rivs ert tskhrilshi chavsvamt.Sam, today we'll put all the tenses in one table.
Sam
ყველას? რამდენი მწკრივია ქართულში?q'velas? ramdeni mts'k'rivia kartulshi?All of them? How many tenses are there in Georgian?
Tamar
ათზე მეტი! მაგრამ ისინი სამ ჯგუფად, სამ სერიად იყოფა.atze met'i! magram isini sam jgupad, sam seriad iq'opa.More than ten! But they fall into three groups, three series.
Sam
პირველი სერია?p'irveli seria?The first series?
Tamar
აწმყო და მყოფადი: წერს, წერდა, დაწერს, დაწერდა.ats'mq'o da mq'opadi: ts'ers, ts'erda, dats'ers, dats'erda.Present and future: წერსts'ers, წერდაts'erda, დაწერსdats'ers, დაწერდაdats'erda.
Sam
მეორე?meore?And the second?
Tamar
წარსულის ერთი მომენტი: დაწერა, დაწეროს. მესამე კი — დაუწერია და დაეწერა.ts'arsulis erti moment'i: dats'era, dats'eros. mesame k'i — dauts'eria da daets'era.One moment in the past: დაწერაdats'era, დაწეროსdats'eros. And the third: დაუწერიაdauts'eria and დაეწერაdaets'era.
Sam
ახლა გასაგებია! სერია ბრუნვასაც ცვლის, არა?akhla gasagebia! seria brunvasats tsvlis, ara?Now it's clear! The series changes the case too, doesn't it?
Tamar
ზუსტად! ეს შემდეგი გაკვეთილია.zust'ad! es shemdegi gak'vetilia.Exactly! That's the next lesson.
3New words
| Georgian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| მწკრივი | mts'k'rivi | "screeve", a tense form of the verb (literally "row") |
| ცხრილი | tskhrili | table, chart |
| ჩავსვამთ | chavsvamt | we'll put (it) in |
| სერია | seria | series |
| იყოფა | iq'opa | is divided |
| ბრუნვა | brunva | (grammatical) case |
| ცვლის | tsvlis | changes |
How to read the pronunciation
The pronunciation is written in English letters, following Georgia’s official romanization. Say every letter: a as in father, e as in pet, i as in machine, o as in port, u as in rule; r is rolled; g is always hard; kh as in Scottish loch; gh a soft gargled g, like a French r; sh as in shop; zh like the s in pleasure; ch as in church; ts as in cats; dz as in adze; j as in jam. An apostrophe marks a “popped” consonant, said with a little click in the throat and no puff of air: k’, p’, t’, ts’, ch’, q’ (q’ is made deep in the throat). Without an apostrophe, k, p, t, ts, ch have a small puff of air. Use the Pronunciation button at the top to hide or show it.
4Grammar and explanations
Three series
Georgian grammars call each tense form a მწკრივიmts'k'rivi ("row", in English "screeve"). There are eleven, grouped into three series:
| series | screeves | "write" |
|---|---|---|
| I | present, imperfect, future, conditional (and two subjunctives) | წერს, წერდა, დაწერს, დაწერდაts'ers, ts'erda, dats'ers, dats'erda |
| II | aorist, optative | დაწერა, დაწეროსdats'era, dats'eros |
| III | perfect, pluperfect (and a subjunctive) | დაუწერია, დაეწერაdauts'eria, daets'era |
What each series is for
- Series I: now (წერსts'ers), the future (დაწერსdats'ers), the past as a process (წერდაts'erda) and "would" (დაწერდაdats'erda).
- Series II: a completed past action (დაწერაdats'era), commands (დაწერეdats'ere!), wishes and "should" (უნდა დაწეროსunda dats'eros).
- Series III: experience and hearsay (დაუწერიაdauts'eria), and the earlier past (დაეწერაdaets'era, "had written", lesson 161).
The official B2 examples
The official grammar shows the three series with one sentence each: > ნანა დავალებას წერდაnana davalebas ts'erda. | Nana was writing her homework. (series I: Nana in the nominative) > ნანამ დავალება დაწერაnanam davaleba dats'era. | Nana wrote her homework. (series II: ergative) > ნანას დავალება დაუწერიაnanas davaleba dauts'eria. | Nana has written her homework. (series III: dative)
And the preverb that turns the present into the future: > გურამი წერილს წერსgurami ts'erils ts'ers. გურამმა წერილი გუშინ დაწერაguramma ts'erili gushin dats'era. გურამი ხვალ დაწერს წერილსgurami khval dats'ers ts'erils. | Guram is writing a letter. Guram wrote the letter yesterday. Guram will write the letter tomorrow.
5Good to know
Learn every new verb with its principal parts, as the official learner's dictionary does: present, future, aorist and perfect. წერსts'ers – დაწერსdats'ers – დაწერაdats'era – დაუწერიაdauts'eria. With these four forms, you can build all eleven screeves.
6Exercises
Choose an answer for each question, then press Check my answers. Score 70% or more and the lesson is ticked on your course map.
- How many screeves (tense forms) does Georgian have?
- Which form belongs to series II?
- Which form belongs to series III?
- "Nana was writing her homework" (official example) is…
- "Nana wrote her homework" is…
- "Nana has written her homework" is…
- What turns წერსts'ers (writes) into დაწერსdats'ers (will write)?
- Commands like დაწერეdats'ere! come from…
- "He would write" is…
- What is a მწკრივიmts'k'rivi?
Well done! Lesson 151 is ticked on your course map.
Say it, then write it
Say your answer out loud, write it down, then open the model answer.
- Give the principal parts of "write".
Show the answer
წერს – დაწერს – დაწერა – დაუწერიაts'ers – dats'ers – dats'era – dauts'eria - Say "Guram will write the letter tomorrow."
Show the answer
გურამი ხვალ დაწერს წერილს.gurami khval dats'ers ts'erils. - Say "Nana wrote the homework."
Show the answer
ნანამ დავალება დაწერა.nanam davaleba dats'era. - Say "Nana has (apparently) written the homework."
Show the answer
ნანას დავალება დაუწერია.nanas davaleba dauts'eria. - Say "Write it!"
Show the answer
დაწერე!dats'ere!
Lesson finished? Now train your ear
Speak Georgian with the 37 LIMBA audio lessons
- 37 audio lessons
- about 13 minutes each
- explained in simple English
This written course gives you the grammar, the words and the script. The LIMBA audio course trains your ear and your mouth: you listen, you repeat, you answer — the perfect complement to these lessons.
Download the Georgian audio courseOrder form · your download link arrives by email▶ Listen to lesson 1 for free
Unit 16: The verb system in full B2
- 151The three series of tenses
- 152Who takes -მაma? Verb classes and cases
- 153Dance, play, cry: medial verbs
- 154Love, want, have: inversion verbs in all tenses
- 155Go and come: the complete verb
- 156To be: the complete verb
- 157Say and tell: the complete verbs
- 158Eat, drink, see: verbs that change root
- 159Plural subjects that change the verb
- 160Review: the verb system