Goal: you will narrate events with past forms.
Course progress: lesson 80 / 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 15. My diary, three months later
Three months in Georgia. Tamar asks us to write "my first months" as homework, and to read it in class. I write it the evening before, on the balcony, and Nino corrects only two words.
This review lesson brings together unit 8: the first past tenses.
| Georgian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| ვსეირნობ | vseirnob | I go for a walk, I stroll |
| ერთხელ | ertkhel | once, one time |
| არასწორი | arasts'ori | wrong, incorrect |
| მომეწონა | momets'ona | I liked it (one event) |
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.
| verb | past | example |
|---|---|---|
| go, leave | წავედი, წავიდაts'avedi, ts'avida | შაბათს წავედიshabats ts'avedi |
| come | მოვედი, მოვიდაmovedi, movida | სახლში მოვედიsakhlshi movedi |
| arrive | ჩამოვედიchamovedi | სექტემბერში ჩამოვედიsekt'embershi chamovedi |
| be | ვიყავი, იყოviq'avi, iq'o | დაღლილი ვიყავიdaghlili viq'avi |
| have | მქონდა / მყავდაmkonda / mq'avda | დრო არ მქონდაdro ar mkonda |
| want, love, like | მინდოდა, მიყვარდა, მომწონდაmindoda, miq'varda, momts'onda | ჩაი მინდოდაchai mindoda |
| know, understand | ვიცოდი, მესმოდაvitsodi, mesmoda | არ ვიცოდიar vitsodi |
| be born, grow up | დავიბადე, გავიზარდეdavibade, gavizarde | მონრეალში დავიბადეmonrealshi davibade |
| get up, sit down, come back | ავდექი, დავჯექი, დავბრუნდიavdeki, davjeki, davbrundi | გვიან დავბრუნდიgvian davbrundi |
Present + -დd-: ვწერდიvts'erdi, ვცხოვრობდიvtskhovrobdi, ვსეირნობდიvseirnobdi, დავდიოდიdavdiodi. With ხოლმეkholme, clearly a habit.
მომწონდაmomts'onda (imperfect) is "I used to like, I was liking"; მომეწონაmomets'ona is "I liked it" about one event, a trip, a film: ფილმი მომეწონაpilmi momets'ona, "I liked the film". You will meet this kind of past for the "to me" verbs again in unit 13.
ჯერjer (first), მერეmere / შემდეგshemdeg (then), ბოლოსbolos (finally), ერთხელertkhel (once).
ვსეირნობvseirnob (I stroll) is a lovely verb for Tbilisi, a city made for walking: ძველ უბანში ვსეირნობდიdzvel ubanshi vseirnobdi, "I was strolling in the old district".
Three months may seem short, but with A2 you can already tell what you did, where you went and what it was like. The next unit adds the most Georgian thing of all: the case of the doer.
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 80 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