Present Tense Conjugation Patterns

In this chapter you will see how present tense forms are built in Georgian, and how to recognize some very common patterns. We will not cover every verb class in detail, only the most useful and regular types for beginners and some very frequent irregularities.

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The Idea of Verb “Series” and the Present

Georgian verbs have a complex system, but for now you only need one key idea:

The present tense forms you meet most often will look like:

• prefix (sometimes)
• verb root
• “series” vowel (often $a$, $e$, or $i$)
• personal ending

Example, verb v-khed-av “I see”:

• $v$ (1st person prefix)
• $khed$ (root, “see”)
• $a$ (series vowel)
• $v$ (1st person ending)

So: ვხედავ vkhedav “I see.”

You will see this pattern again and again, with different roots.

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Personal Endings in the Present

Focus on the endings that come at the very end of the present tense verb. These are extremely important.

For many active present tense forms you can start with this simple pattern:

You will meet both “short” and “longer” variants in real Georgian. For beginners, focus on these three that are most visible:

You will often guess the subject just from this ending.

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Subject Markers Before the Root

In many present tense verbs you also have a subject prefix before the root.

Common ones in active verbs:

So in many verbs you can recognize:

• ვ- at the beginning for “I / we”
• -ვ / -თ at the end for “I / we / you plural”

Together they make the person very clear.

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A Very Common Pattern: Root + -av

Many everyday action verbs in the present tense show this pattern with the series vowel -a- and an ending:

• root + -a- + personal ending

For some verbs, the combination with the root gives a clear -av or -ev form in the 1st person.

Example 1: *khedav-* “to see”

Example 2: *ts’er-* “to write” (present root often *ts’er*)

Notice that some verbs, like vts’er, do not have a clear -av/-ev in the present tense, but the endings are still similar: -v, -s, -t, -en.

Example 3: *it’s’av-* “to study, to learn”

The spellings are complicated, but you can still see the personal endings -v, -s, -t, -en.

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Pattern with -eb- in the Present

Many verbs have -eb- in the present series forms. A lot of verbs with -eb- form their present like this:

• root + -eb- + personal ending

Example: *minda* type verbs, *vtsxovrob* etc.

Look at tsxovr- “to live, to reside,” which often shows up as vtsxovrob in the 1 sg:

You still see: ვ- for “I, we,” and endings -v, -s, -t, -en.

Another verb with -ob- / -eb-: mushaob- “to work”

Again the same endings pattern.

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The Verb “To Do” as a Model: *aketebs*

The verb aketebs “does, makes” is extremely common and helps you see -eb- clearly.

Present series of aketeb- “to do, to make”:

This pattern, root + -eb- + ending, repeats in many verbs.

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The Present of “To Have” as a Pattern

You already saw to have in its own chapter, but its pattern is special and useful.

Singular of gaqvs “has”:

Plural:

Here the subject is marked by a prefix:

• მ- m- for “I”
• გ- g- for “you”
• გვ- gv- for “we”
• გ- plus plural ending for “you (pl)”
• ა- a- for “he / she / they”

The endings here are not the same as with verbs like vdekhi or vts’er, so this is a different pattern you must memorize. It is common with verbs where the thing possessed is actually the “subject” grammatically, but for now simply remember the forms.

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The Present of “To Be” as a Unique Pattern

“To be” in Georgian has very special forms. You saw the basic forms already. Here we look at them as a pattern.

Important things about this pattern:

• It does not use ვ- at the beginning.
• It uses its own roots: ვარ / ხარ / არს-.
• The endings -თ (-t) in ვართ, ხართ again show plural.

So, even if “to be” is irregular, it still shares some person signals with other verbs, especially the plural -თ.

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Present Tense of Common Motion Verbs

Some common motion verbs also show helpful patterns, even if they are more irregular. Here is a brief look, without full explanation of their system.

Verb *modis* “comes”

Note the endings -ვარ, -ხარ, -ს, -ვართ, -ხართ, -იან. Some of these look closer to “to be,” because this is a continuous type form.

Verb *midis* “goes”

For now, simply notice that the 3rd singular has a simple ending -ს: მოდის, მიდის.

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Present Tense with Objects: Basic “v-…-s” Pattern

Many verbs with a direct object in the present show this useful pattern:

Examples:

Verb *kvirav-* “to buy”

Verb *vts’er* with an object

• ვწერ წერილს vts’er ts’erils “I am writing a letter.”
• წერ წერილს ts’er ts’erils “you are writing a letter.”
• წერს წერილს ts’ers ts’erils “he / she is writing a letter.”

The main present tense pattern stays the same. The object is in the noun phrase, not in the verb ending at this level of description.

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Typical Present Patterns: Mini Summary

You will meet many special cases later, but for now you can recognize these very common shapes:

1. ვ-ROOT-ა/-ე/-ი-ვ for “I …”
• ვხედავ, ვწერ, ვმუშაობ, ვცხოვრობ
2. ROOT-ა/-ე/-ი-ხ for “you (sg) …”
• ხედავ, წერ, მუშაობ
3. ROOT-ა/-ე/-ი-ს for “he / she …”
• ხედავს, წერს, მუშაობს
4. ვ-ROOT-ა/-ე/-ი-თ for “we …”
• ვხედავთ, ვწერთ, ვმუშაობთ
5. ROOT-ა/-ე/-ი-თ for “you (pl) …”
• ხედავთ, წერთ, მუშაობთ
6. ROOT-ა/-ე/-ი-ენ for “they …”
• ხედავენ, წერენ, მუშაობენ

If you see a verb starting with ვ and ending in -ვ, it is very likely a 1st person singular present of an active verb:

• ვხედავ “I see”
• ვკითხულობ “I read”
• ვმუშაობ “I work”
• ვსწავლობ “I study”

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Practice Examples with Common Roots

Here are a few more common verbs in the present, collected for you to see the patterns.

Verb *kitxul-* “to read”

Verb *saobrob-* “to talk, speak”

Verb *ch’am-* “to eat” (present *vcham*)

Again, 1 sg has ვ- and ends in a consonant, 2 sg often has no prefix, 3 sg has -ს, plurals usually end in -თ or -ენ.

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Vocabulary List

New and key vocabulary from this chapter:

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