9.2 Expressing Ability and Possibility

Understanding Ability and Possibility in Georgian

In this chapter you will learn how to say that something is possible or impossible, and that someone can or cannot do something. You will also see some basic ways to express permission and prohibition. This chapter builds on earlier verb knowledge, but focuses only on the special structures for ability and possibility.

Core Idea: “Can” and “Possible”

Georgian does not have one simple verb that exactly matches English “can.” Instead, beginners most often use a handy adjective:

შეიძლება sheidzleba “it is possible, one can”

This word is grammatically an impersonal form, so it does not change for person. You keep sheidzleba the same, and then add other words to show:

• who can do something
• what they can do
• whether it is really possible in reality, or just theoretically possible

We will not go deeply into verb forms here. Just try to recognize the patterns and use a few useful formula sentences.

Using “sheidzleba” for General Possibility

Basic pattern without a subject

Sometimes you only want to say that something in general is possible, without saying who does it. For example, “It is possible to park here” or “You can buy bread here” in a general sense.

Structure:

• შეიძლება + verbal noun (or verb phrase)

Examples:

• შეიძლება შესვლა.
  sheidzleba shesvla.
  “Entrance is possible.” / “You can enter.”
• შეიძლება დარეკვა.
  sheidzleba darekva.
  “It is possible to call.” / “You can make a phone call.”
• აქ შეიძლება სიგარეტის მოწევა.
  ak sheidzleba sigareṭis mots’eva.
  “Here it is possible to smoke cigarettes.” / “You can smoke here.”
• თბილისში შეიძლება იპოვო კარგი კაფე.
  ṭbilisshi sheidzleba ipovo k’argi kafe.
  “In Tbilisi it is possible to find a good café.”

You see sheidzleba first, then the action word (often in verbal noun or simple form for now).

Saying “I can / you can / he can” with “sheidzleba”

To say that a specific person can do something, beginners very often keep the same impersonal sheidzleba and simply add a phrase with for me, for you, for him and so on.

The typical structure is:

• ჩემთვის შეიძლება … “for me it is possible …” → “I can …”
• შენთვის შეიძლება … “for you it is possible …” → “you can …”

These phrases literally mean “it is possible for me / for you,” but they work very naturally as “I can / you can.”

“For someone” phrases

Now combine with sheidzleba.

Examples:

• ჩემთვის შეიძლება წერა.
  chemtvis sheidzleba ts’era.
  “I can write.” (Literally “for me writing is possible.”)
• შენთვის შეიძლება კითხვა.
  shentvis sheidzleba kitkhva.
  “You can read.”
• მისთვის შეიძლება ქართულად ლაპარაკი.
  misiṭvis sheidzleba kartulad laparaki.
  “He / she can speak Georgian.”
• ჩვენთვის შეიძლება აქ ყოფნა.
  chventvis sheidzleba ak khovna.
  “We can be here.”

You will later learn more compact verb forms that include the subject in the verb itself. For now, this pattern is very useful and easy.

Using “sheidzleba” with Full Clauses

Often you want to say that it is possible that something happens. In English: “It is possible that he will come,” “Maybe it will rain,” and so on.

In Georgian, a very common pattern is:

• შეიძლება, რომ + clause

You can translate it as “it is possible that …” or often just “maybe …”.

Examples:

• შეიძლება, რომ ის დღეს არ მოვიდეს.
  sheidzleba, rom is dghes ar movides.
  “It is possible that he will not come today.” / “Maybe he will not come today.”
• შეიძლება, რომ მოგვიანებით წავიდეთ.
  sheidzleba, rom mogvianebit ts’avidet.
  “It is possible that we will go later.”
• შეიძლება, რომ ხვალ წვიმა იყოს.
  sheidzleba, rom khval tsvima ik’os.
  “It is possible that it will rain tomorrow.” / “Maybe it will rain tomorrow.”

You can also drop რომ in very casual speech, but for beginners, it is better to keep რომ after sheidzleba when you use a full sentence.

Saying “Maybe” in Everyday Speech

In everyday Georgian, sheidzleba by itself often works like English “maybe.” Speakers may even shorten it in pronunciation.

So sheidzleba at the beginning of a sentence can often be translated simply as “maybe.”

Examples:

• შეიძლება დავაგვიანო.
  sheidzleba davagviano.
  “Maybe I will be late.”
• შეიძლება ხვალ ვერ მოვიდე.
  sheidzleba khval ver movide.
  “Maybe I cannot come tomorrow.”
• შეიძლება ისიც მოვიდეს.
  sheidzleba isits movides.
  “Maybe she / he will come too.”

So you can think of sheidzleba as both “it is possible” and “maybe,” depending on context.

Expressing Inability: “Cannot” and “Impossible”

To say that something is not possible, simply negate sheidzleba with არ ar.

Structure:

• არ შეიძლება … “it is not possible to …”

Examples:

• აქ არ შეიძლება მოწევა.
  ak ar sheidzleba mots’eva.
  “It is not allowed to smoke here.” / “You cannot smoke here.”
• საღამოს ხმაური არ შეიძლება.
  saghamos khmaueri ar sheidzleba.
  “Noise in the evening is not allowed.”
• არ შეიძლება შესვლა ამ მხარიდან.
  ar sheidzleba shesvla am mkharidan.
  “It is not possible to enter from this side.”

If you want to emphasize that I cannot or you cannot do something, you can still use the “for me / for you” construction:

• ჩემთვის არ შეიძლება სირბილი.
  chemtvis ar sheidzleba sirbili.
  “I cannot run.” (For example, because of health.)
• შენთვის არ შეიძლება დიდი ყავა.
  shentvis ar sheidzleba didi qava.
  “You cannot have a large coffee.” (Doctor or parent speaking.)

Notice that არ comes before შეიძლება.

Ability vs Permission

In English, “can” can mean both ability and permission.

• “I can swim” ability
• “You can go now” permission

In Georgian, sheidzleba plus verbal noun or clause can express both, and the meaning depends on context.

Examples of “can” as permission

• აქ შეიძლება დაჯდა.
  ak sheidzleba dajḋa.
  “You can sit here.” / “It is allowed to sit here.”
• შეიძლება შევიდე?
  sheidzleba shevide?
  “May I come in?” / “Can I come in?”
• შეიძლება კითხვა?
  sheidzleba kitkhva?
  “May I ask a question?”

The question form is very simple. You just use sheidzleba and raise your voice at the end, or include a small phrase like რომ or kitkhva.

In daily life, sheidzleba at the beginning of a sentence is already polite and sounds like “may I … ?” or “is it possible to … ?”

“Can I … ?” Question Patterns

Here are some very useful ready-made patterns for asking permission or possibility.

Pattern 1: “sheidzleba + verb?”

• შეიძლება დავჯდე?
  sheidzleba davjḋe?
  “Can I sit down?”
• შეიძლება შევიდე?
  sheidzleba shevide?
  “Can I come in?”
• შეიძლება გავხსნა ფანჯარა?
  sheidzleba gavkhssna panjara?
  “Can I open the window?”
• შეიძლება გამოვიტანო ეს წიგნი?
  sheidzleba gamovitano es ts’igṇi?
  “Can I take out this book?” (for example from a library)

Pattern 2: “sheidzleba + ჩათვლით ‘for me’”

If you want to be even more explicit or polite, add “for me.”

• ჩემთვის შეიძლება, რომ გავიდე?
  chemtvis sheidzleba, rom gavide?
  “Is it possible for me to go out?” / “May I leave?”
• ჩემთვის შეიძლება ყავის დალევა?
  chemtvis sheidzleba qavis daleva?
  “Is it OK for me to drink coffee?”
• ჩვენთვის შეიძლება ფოტოს გადაღება?
  chventvis sheidzleba fotos gadageba?
  “Is it allowed for us to take a photo?”

These sentences sound polite and are useful in shops, museums, offices, and homes.

Using “ugebrot sheidzleba” for “Sure, you can”

When someone asks you, “Can I … ?” you can answer positively with short phrases.

Common positive responses:

Example dialogues:

A: შეიძლება დავსხდე?
sheidzleba davskhde?
“Can I sit?”

B: კი, შეიძლება.
ki, sheidzleba.
“Yes, you can.”

A Glimpse of “Knowing How”: “I know how to …”

Sometimes “can” in English means “know how.” For example, “I can play the piano” often really means “I know how to play the piano.”

In Georgian, to express this sense, you often use the verb იცოდნა “to know” with another verb. The exact structure can be complex, so here we only show simple patterns you can recognize.

Examples (for recognition and simple use):

• მე ვიცი ცურვა.
  me vitsi tsurva.
  “I know how to swim.” / “I can swim.”
• ის იცის სვლა ქართულად.
  is itsis sḳvla kartulad.
  “He / she knows how to speak Georgian.”
• ჩვენ ვიცით მანქანის მართვა.
  chven vitsit mankhanis martva.
  “We know how to drive a car.”

In daily speech, you can choose:

• ჩემთვის შეიძლება ცურვა. “I can swim”
  or
• მე ვიცი ცურვა. “I know how to swim”

Both are understandable, but the vitsi pattern focuses on knowledge/skill, and the sheidzleba pattern is more neutral “it is possible for me.”

Expressing Possibility in the Past or Future

At beginner level you will often want to say:

• “I could not come yesterday.”
• “I will be able to do it tomorrow.”

In full Georgian grammar, these ideas can use special verb forms. However, with the sheidzleba pattern you can already express a lot, simply by adding time words and past or future verbs in the rest of the sentence.

Talking about possibility in the past

Use a past time word, and then a clause with sheidzleba.

• გუშინ შეიძლებოდა მოსვლა, მაგრამ ვერ მოვედი.
  gushin sheidzleboDa mosvla, magram ver movedi.
  “Yesterday it was possible to come, but I could not come.”
• მანამდე არ შეიძლებოდა ფოტოაპარატის გამოყენება.
  manamde ar sheidzleboDa fotoaparatis gamoyeneba.
  “Before it was not allowed to use a camera.”

At this level, you do not need to produce the older past form შეიძლებოდა sheidzleboDa yourself, but you should be able to recognize it as “it was possible.” To speak simply, you can also say:

• გუშინ ჩემთვის არ შეიძლება იყო აქ.
  gushin chemtvis ar sheidzleba iko ak.
  “Yesterday it was not possible for me to be here.”

This is not always perfect stylistically, but it will be understood.

Talking about future possibility

Use sheidzleba plus a time expression like “tomorrow,” “later,” and future verbs in the clause.

• ხვალ შეიძლება გავიდე.
  khval sheidzleba gavide.
  “Tomorrow I may go out.” / “Maybe I can go out tomorrow.”
• მოგვიანებით შეიძლება შევხვდეთ.
  mogvianebit sheidzleba shevkhdet.
  “Later we might meet.”

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Short Practice Dialogues

Read these short dialogues and notice how sheidzleba works.

Dialogue 1: At the door

A: შეიძლება, რომ შემოვიდე?
sheidzleba, rom shemovide?
“May I come in?”

B: კი, შეიძლება.
ki, sheidzleba.
“Yes, you can.”

Dialogue 2: At a café

Customer: აქ შეიძლება მოწევა?
ak sheidzleba mots’eva?
“Can one smoke here?”

Waiter: არა, აქ მოწევა არ შეიძლება.
ara, ak mots’eva ar sheidzleba.
“No, smoking is not allowed here.”

Dialogue 3: Making plans

Friend 1: ხვალ შეიძლება киноში წავიდეთ?
khval sheidzleba kinoshi ts’avidet?
“Can we go to the cinema tomorrow?” / “Is it possible to go to the cinema tomorrow?”

Friend 2: შეიძლება, მაგრამ გვიან.
sheidzleba, magram gvian.
“Maybe, but late.”

Dialogue 4: Ability and health

Patient: ექიმო, ჩემთვის შეიძლება ყავის დალევა?
ek’imo, chemtvis sheidzleba qavis daleva?
“Doctor, can I drink coffee?”

Doctor: დღეში ერთი ფინჯანი შეიძლება.
dgheshi ert’i pinjani sheidzleba.
“One cup per day is possible.”

Summary of Key Patterns

Try to build your own sentences with these patterns, using verbs and vocabulary you already know.

Vocabulary List for This Chapter