4.1 Introduction to Georgian Verbs

Understanding Georgian Verbs at a Beginner Level

In this chapter you will meet Georgian verbs as a group, without going deeply into full conjugation patterns. You will see how verbs are written in dictionaries, what information they carry, and what feels very different from English.

Later chapters in this section will explain the verb “to be,” “to have,” present tense patterns, and sentence building. Here we focus on what is typical and special about Georgian verbs in general.

What a Georgian Verb Looks Like

Most Georgian verbs are written in a way that already includes a subject marker and sometimes an object marker. In other words, one verb form can correspond to a whole English phrase.

Examples:

A few things to notice:

• The verb is one word in Georgian, but it often needs several words in English.
• Georgian likes to “pack” person information inside the verb.
• The exact pattern of endings will be studied in later chapters. Here you just need to see that they exist.

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Dictionary (Masdar) Form of Georgian Verbs

When you look up a verb in a Georgian dictionary, you usually find it in a special form called the masdar. This form often ends in -ა or -ვა, but there are other possibilities.

Some common examples:

You will not usually use the masdar directly in simple present tense sentences, but it is the form you must know to find the verb in resources.

Example memory pair:

• Masdar: წერა “to write”
• Sentence: მე ვწერ. “I am writing.”
• Masdar: კითხვა “to read”
• Sentence: შენ კითხულობ. “You are reading.”

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Subjects Hidden Inside the Verb

Georgian verbs usually show who is doing the action. Pronouns like “I,” “you,” “he” are often not needed in the sentence because the verb already carries that information.

Compare:

You can add the pronouns for clarity or emphasis, but they are often dropped in everyday speech.

Examples:

• მე ვმუშაობ. / ვმუშაობ.
  Both: “I work. / I am working.”
• შენ წერ. / წერ.
  Both: “You write.”

Later, in the chapter on “Personal Pronouns,” you will study these pronouns in detail. Here, remember only that the verb itself usually tells you who.

Verbs and Objects Inside One Word

Some Georgian verbs also show object information. These are “subject–object–verb” ideas inside a single word.

Basic idea:

• English: “I see you.”
• Georgian: “I-you-see” in one verb.

Examples:

You do not need to master these patterns yet. The key point:

This is why Georgian verb forms can look long and complex compared to English, but it also means that Georgian sentences can be very compact and efficient.

Two Very Special Verbs: “To Be” and “To Have”

Georgian has two verbs that are extremely frequent and structurally special:

• ყოფნა “to be”
• ქონა “to have”

They behave a bit differently from many other verbs and are essential for:

• Saying who or what something is:
• მე ვარ სტუდენტი. “I am a student.”
• Saying what someone has:
• მას აქვს წიგნი. “He has a book.”

Both of these verbs get whole chapters in this section, so here you only need to recognize that they are verbs and that they change form:

\*The difference between მაქვს and მყავს belongs to later chapters.

Action Verbs vs State Verbs

As in English, Georgian verbs can describe actions or states.

Action verbs

These describe something you do:

Sample present tense forms (no full explanation yet):

• ვთამაშობ. “I am playing.”
• ვსწავლობ. “I study. / I am studying.”
• ის კითხულობს. “He reads. / She is reading.”

State verbs

These describe something you are or feel:

\*Georgian often uses constructions like “to me it is loved” instead of a simple “I love,” but the idea is similar.

Examples:

• მე ვარ ბედნიერი. “I am happy.”
• მე ვიცი. “I know.”
• ჩვენ გვიჭირავს წიგნი. “We are holding a book.” (state of holding)

You will learn how to conjugate and use these in later chapters. For now, just notice that both action and state ideas are verbs in Georgian.

Typical Verb Position in Simple Sentences

Word order belongs mainly to another section, but at a very basic level:

• In many simple sentences, the verb often comes last or near the end.

Compare:

Sometimes the verb can move for emphasis, but your safest early choice is to put the verb near the end or at the end. Later you will learn more flexible patterns.

Aspects and “Families” of a Verb

Georgian verbs often belong to families of related forms that express different aspects (ways of viewing time, completion, and repetition). You do not need to control these now, but it is good to know they exist.

For example, for an idea like “to write,” you can have:

• A form for ongoing / general action: “is writing / writes”
• A form for completed action: “wrote / has written”
• Other forms for future, wishes, etc.

Later, in “Imperfective and Perfective Aspects” and in “Past and Future Time Reference,” you will explore these systematically.

For the present chapter, just observe:

This is why many grammar books show tables for each verb.

Verb Classes (Only a Simple First Look)

Traditional Georgian grammar divides verbs into types like transitive, intransitive, and an extra group often called indirect verbs (or class 4). The full system is complex, so we only give a taste here.

Transitive verbs

They usually have a direct object.

• Example masdars:
• წერა “to write”
• კითხვა “to read”
• ყიდვა “to buy”

Simple idea:

• მე ვწერ წერილს. “I write a letter.”
• ის კითხულობს წიგნს. “He reads a book.”

Intransitive verbs

They normally do not take a direct object.

• Example masdars:
• სვლა “to go / to walk”
• სიბნელე / ბნელა (impersonal) “it is dark”
• სძინავს (from ძილი “to sleep”) “he/she sleeps”

Simple idea:

• ის მიდის. “He goes.”
• ბავშვი სძინავს. “The child is sleeping.”

Indirect verbs (very simplified introduction)

Some verbs behave in a special way. The “experiencer” may appear in a form that is not the normal subject case. For now, you just need to know that they exist.

Common meanings:

• like / love
• want
• see, hear, feel (in some uses)

Examples you will later analyze:

• მე მინდა. “I want.” (literally “to-me is-wanted.”)
• მე მიყვარს საქართველო. “I love Georgia.” (literally “to-me Georgia is-loved.”)

You will learn the real structure later in the sections on cases and on expanding verb usage.

Verbs Used Without Subject Pronouns

Because subject information is in the verb, many real sentences in Georgian are very short.

Examples:

You can add pronouns:

• მე ვსვამ.
• შენ მოდიხარ.
• ის კითხულობს.

But in normal conversation, short forms without pronouns are extremely common.

Very Common Everyday Verbs to Recognize

Here is a list of very frequent verbs that you will see again and again:

You do not need to memorize them all now. Treat them as friendly faces you will meet later.

Simple Example Sentences with Verbs

Here are some very basic sentences that show verbs in context. Do not worry about every detail, just recognize that a verb is present and carries the main meaning.

1. მე ვსწავლობ ქართულს.
   “I am studying Georgian.”
2. ის მუშაობს ბანკში.
   “He works in a bank.” / “She is working in a bank.”
3. ჩვენ ვკითხულობთ წიგნებს.
   “We are reading books.”
4. შენ თამაშობ ফুটბოლს.
   “You play football.” / “You are playing football.”
5. ისინი მოდიან სახლში.
   “They are coming home.”
6. მე მაქვს კითხვა.
   “I have a question.”
7. მას უყვარს კინო.
   “He loves cinema.” / “She loves movies.”

You will learn step by step how to build such sentences yourself in later chapters of this section.

New Vocabulary from This Chapter

Below is a list of useful words and terms that appeared in this chapter.

Grammar and concept words

Common verb masdars (dictionary forms)

Example finite forms (present tense samples)

You will learn how to form and use these verb shapes systematically in the next chapters about “The Verb ‘To Be’,” “The Verb ‘To Have’,” “Common Action Verbs,” and “Present Tense Conjugation Patterns.”