Goal: you will use verbs with an object: ვწერ წერილსvts'er ts'erils.
Course progress: lesson 34 / 200
LIMBA audio course · Georgian
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 emailDay 17. A postcard to Canada
Rainy afternoon. I sit at the kitchen table and write a postcard to my parents in Canada, in Georgian, of course. Giorgi looks over my shoulder.
Today: verbs that do something to something, and the ending -სs on the object.
| Georgian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| ვწერ | vts'er | I write |
| ვკითხულობ | vk'itkhulob | I read |
| ვხატავ | vkhat'av | I draw, I paint |
| ვაკეთებ | vak'eteb | I do, I make |
| ვამზადებ | vamzadeb | I prepare; I cook |
| რას აკეთებ? | ras ak'eteb? | what are you doing? |
| წერილი | ts'erili | letter |
| სურათი | surati | picture, painting |
| გაზეთი | gazeti | newspaper |
| ბარათი | barati | card; postcard |
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.
| person | write | read | draw | do, make |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| მეme | ვწერvts'er | ვკითხულობvk'itkhulob | ვხატავvkhat'av | ვაკეთებvak'eteb |
| შენshen | წერts'er | კითხულობk'itkhulob | ხატავkhat'av | აკეთებak'eteb |
| ისis | წერსts'ers | კითხულობსk'itkhulobs | ხატავსkhat'avs | აკეთებსak'etebs |
| ჩვენchven | ვწერთvts'ert | ვკითხულობთvk'itkhulobt | ვხატავთvkhat'avt | ვაკეთებთvak'etebt |
| თქვენtkven | წერთts'ert | კითხულობთk'itkhulobt | ხატავთkhat'avt | აკეთებთak'etebt |
| ისინიisini | წერენts'eren | კითხულობენk'itkhuloben | ხატავენkhat'aven | აკეთებენak'eteben |
The person markers are always the same: ვv-, -სs, -თt, -ენen.
In the present, the thing you write, read or draw takes the ending -სs: - -იi words: replace -იi with -სs: წერილიts'erili → წერილსts'erils, წიგნიts'igni → წიგნსts'igns - other vowels: add -სs: ჟურნალიzhurnali → ჟურნალსzhurnals, ყავაq'ava → ყავასq'avas
This -სs form is called the dative. Do not confuse it with the -სs at the end of the verb: in სახლს ხატავსsakhls khat'avs, the first -სs marks the object, the second one marks "he, she".
რაra (what) also takes -სs when it is an object: რას აკეთებras ak'eteb? "What are you doing?", რას კითხულობras k'itkhulob? "What are you reading?".
კიk'i after a word can mean "and, on the other hand": ნინო კი სურათს ხატავსnino k'i surats khat'avs, "and Nino (for her part) is drawing". It is the same word as კიk'i (yes), used in a different place.
Georgian has no separate "-ing" form. ვწერvts'er is both "I write" and "I am writing": ყოველ დღე ვწერq'ovel dghe vts'er (I write every day) and ახლა ვწერakhla vts'er (I'm writing now).
ვამზადებvamzadeb means "I prepare", and in the kitchen it means "I cook": სადილს ვამზადებsadils vamzadeb, "I'm cooking lunch".
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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