Goal: you will place events in the past with წინts'in, შარშანsharshan, როცაrotsa.
Course progress: lesson 75 / 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 emailWeek 14. A timeline of my life
Tamar asks each of us to draw a timeline of our life on the board and present it in Georgian. Born, school, university, first job, Georgia. Every date needs a little time expression.
Today: words that place events in the past, and the word როცაrotsa, "when".
| Georgian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| გუშინწინ | gushints'in | the day before yesterday |
| წინა კვირას | ts'ina k'viras | last week |
| წინა თვეში | ts'ina tveshi | last month |
| როცა | rotsa | when (in a sentence) |
| როდესაც | rodesats | when (more formal) |
| მაშინ | mashin | then, at that time (same word as "then, in that case", lesson 38) |
| მხოლოდ | mkholod | only |
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.
| Georgian | meaning |
|---|---|
| გუშინgushin | yesterday |
| გუშინწინgushints'in | the day before yesterday |
| წინა კვირასts'ina k'viras | last week |
| წინა თვეშიts'ina tveshi | last month |
| შარშანsharshan | last year |
| ორი დღის წინori dghis ts'in | two days ago |
| ხუთი წლის წინkhuti ts'lis ts'in | five years ago |
წინაts'ina ("previous") never changes: წინა კვირასts'ina k'viras, წინა წელსts'ina ts'els. Remember -ის წინis ts'in for "ago" (lesson 53).
როდისrodis? asks "when?". In the middle of a sentence, "when" is როცაrotsa (or, more formally, როდესაცrodesats):
The როცაrotsa part can come first or second. A comma separates the two parts.
მაშინmashin means "then, at that time": მაშინ სტუდენტი ვიყავიmashin st'udent'i viq'avi, "at that time I was a student".
Do not mix up the two "when"s: როდის მოხვედიrodis mokhvedi? (a question: "when did you come?") but როცა მოხვედიrotsa mokhvedi, ... (a statement: "when you came, ..."). English uses one word for both; Georgian has two.
მხოლოდmkholod ("only") goes before the word it limits: მხოლოდ ერთი სიტყვა ვიცოდიmkholod erti sit'q'va vitsodi, "I knew only one word".
Choose an answer for each question, then press Check my answers. Score 70% or more and the lesson is ticked on your course map.
Well done! Lesson 75 is ticked on your course map.
Say your answer out loud, write it down, then open the model answer.
Lesson finished? Now train your ear
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