3.4 Personal Pronouns

Understanding Personal Pronouns in Georgian

In this chapter you focus on Georgian personal pronouns, how they look, how they sound, and how they are used in simple sentences. You will also notice some basic patterns that will help you later with verbs and cases, but we will not fully explain those grammar topics here.

The Core Personal Pronouns

Georgian personal pronouns are usually written with a small letter, just like regular nouns. Here are the basic forms you need to know now.

Subject pronouns (dictionary forms)

These are the forms you will most often meet first. They usually refer to the subject of a sentence.

Notice that Georgian does not have a difference between “he” and “she.” The pronoun ის (is) covers both.

Singular vs plural and informal vs polite

Georgian uses number and also has a polite form of “you.”

• შენ (shen) is informal singular “you.”
  Use it with friends, children, family, and people you know well.
• თქვენ (tkven) is:
• plural “you” for several people, and
• polite “you” to one person, for example a teacher, an older person, or someone you meet for the first time.

Some simple examples:

• მე ვარ ნინო.
  me var nino.
  “I am Nino.”
• შენ ხარ გიორგი.
  shen khar giorgi.
  “You are Giorgi.”
• ის არის ლექტორი.
  is aris lektori.
  “He / She is a lecturer.”
• ჩვენ ვართ სტუდენტები.
  chven vart studente\bi\.
  “We are students.”
• თქვენ ხართ მასწავლებლები.
  tkven khart mastsavleblebi.
  “You are teachers.”
• ისინი არიან მეგობრები.
  isini arian megobrebi.
  “They are friends.”

(The plural noun endings and verb forms will be explained in other chapters. Here you just see them in context.)

When Pronouns Are Used and When They Are Dropped

In Georgian, pronouns are often optional, because verb forms usually show who the subject is. You will practice verb forms in other chapters. For now, notice two patterns.

Pronoun used for clarity or emphasis

• მე ვარ ანა.
  me var ana.
  “I am Ana.”
  The pronoun “I” is clear and can be emphasized.
• შენ ხარ ექიმი.
  shen khar ekimi.
  “You are a doctor.”
• ის არის ჩემს სახლში.
  is aris chems sakhshi.
  “He / She is in my house.”

Here the pronoun can make it very clear who you are talking about, or can add a feeling like “I, specifically,” “you, not someone else.”

Pronoun dropped in natural speech

Very often native speakers simply leave the pronoun out.

Compare:

• მე ვარ სტუდენტი.
  me var studenti.
  “I am a student.”

and

• ვარ სტუდენტი.
  var studenti.
  Literally “am student,” understood as “I am a student.”

Similarly:

• ხარ დაღლილი?
  khar daghlili?
  “Are you tired?” (The “you” is understood.)
• არიან სახლში.
  arian sakhshi.
  “They are at home.”

In early practice you can always keep the pronoun. It is not wrong. Later you will learn when native speakers normally drop it.

Third Person Nuances: ის and ისინი

The third person has one form for singular and one for plural, and there is no gender difference.

Singular third person: ის (is)

ის (is) can mean “he,” “she,” or “it,” depending on context. For example:

• ის არის ჩემი მეგობარი.
  is aris chemi megobari.
  “He / She is my friend.”
• ეს არის წიგნი. ის არის ახალი.
  es aris ts’igni. is aris akhali.
  “This is a book. It is new.”

Here, in the second sentence, ის (is) refers to the book.

Plural third person: ისინი (isini)

ისინი (isini) refers to “they,” people or sometimes things.

• ისინი არიან ქართველები.
  isini arian kartvelebi.
  “They are Georgians.”
• ისინი არიან კლასში.
  isini arian klasshi.
  “They are in the classroom.”

In spoken Georgian native speakers sometimes simply say ისე (ise) or ისენი (iseni) in some dialects, but for a beginner you should learn and use ისინი (isini).

Pronouns with Basic Word Order

Georgian basic neutral word order is subject, object, verb, but it is flexible. Here you only need to see how pronouns typically appear in very simple sentences.

Pronoun as a clear subject

• მე ვარ აქ.
  me var ak.
  “I am here.”
• შენ ხარ იქ.
  shen khar ik.
  “You are there.”
• ის არის სახლში.
  is aris sakhshi.
  “He / She is at home.”
• ჩვენ ვართ ერთად.
  chven vart ertad.
  “We are together.”
• თქვენ ხართ უნივერსიტეტში.
  tkven khart universitetshi.
  “You are at the university.”
• ისინი არიან მუშაობაზე.
  isini arian mushavobaze.
  “They are at work.”

The pronoun usually comes at the beginning in these neutral sentences, but it can move for emphasis, which you will see later.

Polite “You”: Using თქვენ (tkven)

The pronoun თქვენ (tkven) is very important for polite speech.

You use tkven:

• with one person, when you want to be polite,
• with several people, whether polite or neutral.

Examples in singular polite use:

• თქვენ ხართ ექიმი?
  tkven khart ekimi?
  “Are you a doctor?” (polite)
• დიახ, მე ვარ ექიმი.
  diakh, me var ekimi.
  “Yes, I am a doctor.”
• თქვენ ხართ ნინო?
  tkven khart nino?
  “Are you Nino?” (polite)

Examples in plural:

• თქვენ ხართ სტუდენტები?
  tkven khart studente\bi\?
  “Are you students?” (to a group)
• დიახ, ჩვენ ვართ სტუდენტები.
  diakh, chven vart studente\bi\.
  “Yes, we are students.”

If you are not sure which form to use, tkven is safer, because it cannot be rude. Later you can switch to shen if you become close.

Emphasis with Pronouns

Georgian personal pronouns can be stressed in speech to show contrast or emphasis. In English you might say “I am here, not you.”

In writing you cannot easily show stress, but you can imagine the focus.

• მე ვარ ქალი, ის არის კაცი.
  me var kali, is aris kats’i.
  “I am a woman, he is a man.”
• შენ ხარ სტუდენტი, მე კი მასწავლებელი.
  shen khar studenti, me ki mastsavlebeli.
  “You are a student, but I am a teacher.”
• ისინი არიან ძმები, ჩვენ ვართ მეგობრები.
  isini arian dzmebi, chven vart megobrebi.
  “They are brothers, we are friends.”

Here the presence of pronouns helps express the contrast.

Pronouns in Short Questions and Answers

In everyday conversation, you often use pronouns in short exchanges.

Introducing people

• ეს არის ნიკა. ის არის ჩემი ძმა.
  es aris nika. is aris chemi dzma.
  “This is Nika. He is my brother.”
• ეს არის მარი. ის არის ჩემი და.
  es aris mari. is aris chemi da.
  “This is Mari. She is my sister.”
• ისინი არიან ჩემი მეგობრები.
  isini arian chemi megobrebi.
  “They are my friends.”

Short answers with or without pronouns

Both with and without pronouns are correct. With pronouns, the answer feels more complete or more emphatic.

Question with singular informal “you”:

• შენ ხარ სტუდენტი?
  shen khar studenti?
  “Are you a student?”

Possible answers:

• დიახ, მე ვარ სტუდენტი.
  diakh, me var studenti.
  “Yes, I am a student.”
• დიახ, ვარ სტუდენტი.
  diakh, var studenti.
  “Yes, (I) am a student.”
• არა, მე არ ვარ სტუდენტი.
  ara, me ar var studenti.
  “No, I am not a student.”

Question with plural / polite “you”:

• თქვენ ხართ საქართველოში?
  tkven khart sakartveloshi?
  “Are you in Georgia?”

Answers:

• დიახ, ჩვენ ვართ საქართველოში.
  diakh, chven vart sakartveloshi.
  “Yes, we are in Georgia.”
• არა, ჩვენ არ ვართ საქართველოში.
  ara, chven ar vart sakartveloshi.
  “No, we are not in Georgia.”

Pronouns and Gender

Georgian pronouns are neutral in gender. There is no separate word for “he” and “she.”

Examples:

• ნინო არის ექიმი. ის არის თბილისში.
  nino aris ekimi. is aris t’bilisshi.
  “Nino is a doctor. She is in Tbilisi.”
• ლევანი არის სტუდენტი. ის არის სახლში.
  levani aris studenti. is aris sakhshi.
  “Levan is a student. He is at home.”
• ეს არის მანქანა. ის არის ძველი.
  es aris mankana. is aris dzveli.
  “This is a car. It is old.”

You can only know if ის means “he,” “she,” or “it” from the context.

Practice Sentences with All Pronouns

Here are more simple sentences where you can see each pronoun in action. Try to read them aloud and match each pronoun with the English meaning.

1. მე ვარ საქართველოში.
   me var sakartveloshi.
   “I am in Georgia.”
2. შენ ხარ ჩემს სახლში.
   shen khar chems sakhshi.
   “You are in my house.” (informal)
3. ის არის საქართველოსგან.
   is aris sakartvelosgan.
   “He / She is from Georgia.”
4. ჩვენ ვართ კლასში.
   chven vart klasshi.
   “We are in the classroom.”
5. თქვენ ხართ ქალაქში.
   tkven khart kalakshi.
   “You are in the city.” (plural or polite)
6. ისინი არიან უნივერსიტეტში.
   isini arian universitetshi.
   “They are at the university.”
7. მე აქ ვარ, შენ კი იქ ხარ.
   me ak var, shen ki ik khar.
   “I am here, but you are there.”
8. ის არის მასწავლებელი, ჩვენ ვართ სტუდენტები.
   is aris mastsavlebeli, chven vart studente\bi\.
   “He / She is a teacher, we are students.”
9. ეს არის ჩემი მეგობარი. ის არის ძალიან კარგი.
   es aris chemi megobari. is aris dzalian k’argi.
   “This is my friend. He / She is very good.”
10. ისინი აქ არ არიან, თქვენ კი აქ ხართ.
    isini ak ar arian, tkven ki ak khart.
    “They are not here, but you are here.”

Here you see pronouns working together with names, simple adjectives, and locations, but the central point is to recognize and use მე, შენ, ის, ჩვენ, თქვენ, ისინი correctly.

New Vocabulary from This Chapter

In the next chapters you will see how these pronouns interact with verbs, cases, and more complex sentences.