4.2 The Verb “To Be”

Forms of the Verb “To Be” in Georgian

In Georgian, the verb “to be” is very common and very important. It is used to say things like “I am a student” or “She is at home.” In this chapter you will meet only the present tense forms that you need as a beginner.

Georgian separates “to be” into:

• Existential “there is / there are”
• Copula “am / is / are” attached as an ending

This chapter focuses on the basic personal forms, what you actually say for “I am, you are, he is,” and so on, and how to use them in simple sentences.

Personal Forms: I am, you are, etc.

The most common present forms of “to be” are short words that stand alone. Use these when you simply say what or where someone is.

Pronunciation notes in Latin:

• me var = “meh var”
• shen xar = “shen khar” (the x is a harsh “kh” sound)
• aris = “ah-ris”
• vart = “vart”
• xart = “khart”
• arian = “ah-ree-an”

Saying Who or What Someone Is

Use “to be” to identify people or things, like “She is a teacher” or “I am a student.”

Examples:

• me studenti var
  მე სტუდენტი ვარ
  “I am a student.”
• shen maswavlebeli xar
  შენ მასწავლებელი ხარ
  “You are a teacher.”
• is dægægida aris
  ის დალაქი არის
  “He is a barber.”
• chven moswavlebi vart
  ჩვენ მოსწავლეები ვართ
  “We are pupils / students.”
• tkven turist-eb-i xart
  თქვენ ტურისტები ხართ
  “You (plural) are tourists.”
• isini musikos-eb-i arian
  ისინი მუსიკოსები არიან
  “They are musicians.”

Observe that the noun (student, teacher, etc.) is placed before the verb form.

You can also omit the subject pronoun when it is clear from context. The verb ending itself shows the person.

• studenti var
  სტუდენტი ვარ
  “I am a student.” (literally “student am”)
• maswavlebeli xar?
  მასწავლებელი ხარ?
  “Are you a teacher?”

Saying Where Someone or Something Is

Use the same personal forms of “to be” for location, similar to English “is at / in.”

You need a place word, often with a postposition like “in, at,” before the verb. At this stage, focus on simple fixed phrases.

Common place words:

Examples:

• me saxlshi var
  მე სახლში ვარ
  “I am at home.”
• shen aq xar
  შენ აქ ხარ
  “You are here.”
• is iq aris
  ის იქ არის
  “He / she is there.”
• chven samushavoze vart
  ჩვენ სამსახურზე ვართ
  “We are at work.”
• tkven saxlshi xart?
  თქვენ სახლში ხართ?
  “Are you at home?”
• isini aq arian
  ისინი აქ არიან
  “They are here.”

Using “This” and “That” with “To Be”

Very often you want to say “This is a book” or “That is a house.” For this, Georgian uses demonstratives:

With the verb “to be,” you can say:

• es wigni aris
  ეს წიგნი არის
  “This is a book.”
• is saxl-i aris
  ის სახლი არის
  “That is a house.”

You can drop aris in very simple identifications, especially in speaking, but as a beginner, it is good to keep it:

• es wigni aris (full)
• es wignia (more advanced fused form, do not worry yet)

For now, stay with the separate verb:

• es kalami aris
  ეს კალამი არის
  “This is a pen.”
• is zegi aris
  ის ზღი არის
  “That is a belt.”

Simple Yes–No Questions with “To Be”

Forming questions with “to be” is very easy. Georgian usually does not change the word order. You just use question intonation, and often add the question particle tu or ra in more complex patterns, but as a beginner you can rely on intonation alone.

Compare:

• shen studenti xar.
  შენ სტუდენტი ხარ.
  “You are a student.”
• shen studenti xar?
  შენ სტუდენტი ხარ?
  “Are you a student?”

More examples:

• is maswavlebeli aris?
  ის მასწავლებელი არის?
  “Is he / she a teacher?”
• chven aq vart?
  ჩვენ აქ ვართ?
  “Are we here?” (checking location)
• tkven turist-eb-i xart?
  თქვენ ტურისტები ხართ?
  “Are you tourists?”
• es wigni aris?
  ეს წიგნი არის?
  “Is this a book?”

You can also add a question word like tu later, but that belongs in the chapter on yes–no questions. For now, practice making questions only by changing intonation.

Short Answers with “To Be”

To answer yes–no questions, you can use:

You can answer with only ki or ara, or you can add the verb.

Examples:

• shen studenti xar?
  შენ სტუდენტი ხარ?
  “Are you a student?”
• ki, studenti var.
  კი, სტუდენტი ვარ.
  “Yes, I am a student.”
• ara, maswavlebeli var.
  არა, მასწავლებელი ვარ.
  “No, I am a teacher.”
• is aq aris?
  ის აქ არის?
  “Is he / she here?”
• ki, aq aris.
  კი, აქ არის.
  “Yes, he / she is here.”
• ara, iq aris.
  არა, იქ არის.
  “No, he / she is there.”

Negation: Saying “Is not / am not”

To say “not,” Georgian uses ar before the verb.

Examples with “to be”:

• me studenti ar var
  მე სტუდენტი არ ვარ
  “I am not a student.”
• shen maswavlebeli ar xar
  შენ მასწავლებელი არ ხარ
  “You are not a teacher.”
• is aq ar aris
  ის აქ არ არის
  “He / she is not here.”
• chven turist-eb-i ar vart
  ჩვენ ტურისტები არ ვართ
  “We are not tourists.”
• tkven saxlshi ar xart
  თქვენ სახლში არ ხართ
  “You are not at home.”
• isini aq arian? → ara, aq ar arian.
  ისინი აქ არიან? → არა, აქ არ არიან.
  “Are they here?” → “No, they are not here.”

Practicing Useful Fixed Sentences

Here are some very common and useful patterns with “to be.” Practice reading them out loud.

Identity:

• me Giorgi var
  მე გიორგი ვარ
  “I am Giorgi.”
• me Nino var
  მე ნინო ვარ
  “I am Nino.”
• is Tamari aris
  ის თამარი არის
  “She is Tamar.”
• isini chveni megobrebi arian
  ისინი ჩვენი მეგობრები არიან
  “They are our friends.”

Location:

• me Sakartveloshi var
  მე საქართველოში ვარ
  “I am in Georgia.”
• is Tbilisshi aris
  ის თბილისში არის
  “He / she is in Tbilisi.”
• chveni suli aq aris
  ჩვენი სკოლა აქ არის
  “Our school is here.”

Situation or state:

• me mdzlavari var
  მე მძინარი ვარ
  “I am sleepy.”
• shen kargi xar
  შენ კარგი ხარ
  “You are good.” (can also mean “you are kind / nice” in context)
• es dzalian kargi aris
  ეს ძალიან კარგი არის
  “This is very good.”

You do not need to worry about the detailed grammar of adjectives here. Focus only on recognizing the pattern:

[subject] [description word] [form of “to be”]

Boxed Summary of the Verb “To Be” (Present, basic)

New Vocabulary from This Chapter