Understanding the Near Future in Georgian

In Georgian, there are a few simple and very common ways to talk about actions that will happen soon. In this chapter you will learn how beginners can express the near future without studying the full future tense system.

We will focus on patterns you can start using right away, especially with verbs you already know, like “to be” and “to have,” and with common action verbs such as to go, to come, to eat.

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Using “now” and “today” with the present

For very near future, Georgian speakers often use the present tense with time words. Context tells listeners that it is about the future.

Common time words:

When you add these words, a present tense verb can mean “I am going to …” or “I will … soon.”

Examples:

• ახლა მივდივარ.
  akhla mivdivar.
  “I am leaving now / I am about to leave.”
• დღეს ვხვდებივარ მეგობარს.
  dghes vkhvdebivar megobars.
  “Today I am meeting a friend.” (near future plan)
• მალე ვიწყებ მუშაობას.
  male vitskheb mushaobas.
  “Soon I start work / I am going to start work soon.”

The same pattern works with many verbs:

• ახლა ვჭამ.
  akhla vcham.
  “I am eating now / I am about to eat.”
• დღეს ვსწავლობ ქართულს.
  dghes vstsvlob kartulss.
  “Today I study Georgian / I am going to study Georgian today.”

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“I am going to …” with intention

Very often, Georgians express a near future intention simply by combining a time word plus a present tense verb, and sometimes adding an extra word that shows intention.

Some useful intention words:

At beginner level, you can already use მინდა and ვაპირებ with a verb in the masdar / verbal noun form (the basic dictionary form, like “to go,” “to eat”).

Common masdar forms:

Pattern:

• მინდა + masdar
  “I want to …” (often about near future)
• ვაპირებ + masdar
  “I plan to …”, “I am going to …”

Examples:

• მინდა წავიდე სახლში.
  minda tsavide sakhlshi.
  “I want to go home / I am going to go home.”
• ვაპირებ წავიდე სახლში.
  vapireb tsavide sakhlshi.
  “I plan to go home / I am going to go home.”
• ვაპირებ წავიკითხო ეს წიგნი დღეს.
  vapireb tsavikitkho es ts’igni dghes.
  “I am going to read this book today.”
• მინდა ვჭამო რაღაცა.
  minda vchamo ragts’a.
  “I want to eat something / I am going to eat something (soon).”

If you add a near future time word, the meaning is clearly near future:

• ახლა მინდა დავლიო კავა.
  akhla minda davlio kava.
  “Now I want to drink coffee / I am going to drink coffee now.”
• დღეს ვაპირებ ვიმუშაო სახლში.
  dghes vapireb vimushao sakhlshi.
  “Today I am going to work at home.”

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Very near future with “now I will …”

Sometimes you want to say “I will do it right now,” like when you respond to a request. Georgian often uses the future form of the verb. At this level, you can learn a few very common ready phrases.

Useful fixed expressions for near future:

Example dialogue:

• A: გთხოვ, გააღე კარი.
  gtkhov, gaaɣe kari.
  “Please open the door.”
• B: ახლავე გავაღებ.
  akhlave gavaɣeb.
  “I will open it right now.”

Here, ახლავე means “right now” and shows that the action is in the very near future.

You can add ახლავე in front of many future or “response” expressions:

• ახლავე მოვდივარ.
  akhlave movdivar.
  “I am coming right away.”
• ახლავე მოვიტან წყალს.
  akhlave movitan ts’qals.
  “I will bring water right now.”

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Near future with “to be” and “to have”

You already know basic present forms of to be and to have. With time words, they can also express near future states.

“To be” in the near future

Present of “to be”:

If you add a future time word like ხვალ or მალე, it becomes near future:

• დღეს სახლში ვარ.
  dghes sakhlshi var.
  “Today I am at home.”
• ხვალ სახლში ვარ.
  khval sakhlshi var.
  “Tomorrow I am at home / I will be at home tomorrow.”
• მალე თავისუფალი ვარ.
  male tavisuplebi var.
  “Soon I am free / I will be free soon.”

This is very natural for planned states or simple schedules.

“To have” in the near future

Simple present forms of “to have” (for things, not family):

With time words:

• ხვალ დრო მაქვს.
  khval dro makvs.
  “Tomorrow I have time / I will have time tomorrow.”
• მალე ფული მაქვს.
  male p’uli makvs.
  “Soon I have money / I will have money soon.”
• დღეს თავისუფალი დრო არ მაქვს.
  dghes tavisupali dro ar makvs.
  “Today I do not have free time.”

If you want, you can add მინდა + masdar to talk about what you plan to do when you “will have” time:

• ხვალ დრო მაქვს, მინდა წავიდე კინოში.
  khval dro makvs, minda tsavide kinoši.
  “Tomorrow I have time, I want to go to the cinema / I am going to go to the cinema.”

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Simple patterns for near future plans

Here are a few very useful sentence patterns you can copy and change.

Pattern 1: “Today I am going to …”

Structure:
დღეს + present tense verb + object / place

Examples:

• დღეს ვსწავლობ ქართულს.
  dghes vstsvlob kartulss.
  “Today I am going to study Georgian.”
• დღეს ვმუშაობ ოფისში.
  dghes vmushaob opisshi.
  “Today I am going to work at the office.”
• დღეს ვხვდები მეგობრებს.
  dghes vkhvdebi megobrebs.
  “Today I am going to meet friends.”

You can make your own sentences:

• “Today I am going to cook.”
  → დღეს ვამზადებ საჭმელს.
  dghes vamzadeb sachmels.
• “Today I am going to clean the house.”
  → დღეს ვალაგებ სახლს.
  dghes valageb sakhs.

Pattern 2: “Tomorrow I will be … / I will have …”

Structure:

1. ხვალ + place + ვარ (for “I will be …”)
2. ხვალ + noun + მაქვს (for “I will have …”)

Examples:

• ხვალ სახლში ვარ.
  khval sakhlshi var.
  “Tomorrow I will be at home.”
• ხვალ უნივერსიტეტში ვარ.
  khval universitetshi var.
  “Tomorrow I will be at the university.”
• ხვალ დრო მაქვს.
  khval dro makvs.
  “Tomorrow I will have time.”
• ხვალ შეხვედრა მაქვს.
  khval shekhvedra makvs.
  “Tomorrow I will have a meeting.”

You can combine this with Pattern 1:

• ხვალ დრო მაქვს, დღეს არა.
  khval dro makvs, dghes ara.
  “Tomorrow I have time, today not.”

Pattern 3: “I am going to (plan, intention)”

Structure:
ვაპირებ + masdar + time word

Examples:

• ვაპირებ წასვლას დღეს საღამოს.
  vapireb ts’asvlas dghes saghamos.
  “I am going to go this evening.”
• ვაპირებ სწავლას ხვალ დილით.
  vapireb sts’vlas khval dilit.
  “I am going to study tomorrow morning.”
• ვაპირებ ყიდვას მალე.
  vapireb qidvas male.
  “I am going to buy it soon.”

If you know how to say “I am going to Tbilisi,” you can say:

• ვაპირებ თბილისში წასვლას ხვალ.
  vapireb t’bilisshi ts’asvlas khval.
  “I am going to go to Tbilisi tomorrow.”

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Asking about someone’s near future plans

You can ask about plans with time words and present tense, or with რას აპირებ “what are you going to do / what do you intend.”

Useful question patterns:

Example dialogues:

• A: რას აკეთებ დღეს?
  ras aketeb dghes?
  “What are you doing today?”
• B: დღეს ვმუშაობ, ხვალ ვარ თავისუფალი.
  dghes vmushaob, khval var tavisupali.
  “Today I am working, tomorrow I am free.”

• A: რას აპირებ ხვალ დილით?
  ras apireb khval dilit?
  “What are you going to do tomorrow morning?”
• B: ვაპირებ ვსწავლო ქართული.
  vapireb vstsvlo kartuli.
  “I am going to study Georgian.”

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Talking about “soon”

The word მალე is very helpful for near future. You can place it at the beginning or before the verb.

You can also combine მალე with ვაპირებ:

• მალე ვაპირებ წასვლას.
  male vapireb ts’asvlas.
  “I am going to leave soon.”
• მალე ვაპირებ დარეკვას.
  male vapireb darekvas.
  “I am going to call soon.”

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Short practice examples

Here are some simple English sentences about the near future and natural Georgian translations. Try to see which pattern is used.

1. “I am going to study today.”
   → დღეს ვსწავლობ.
   dghes vstsvlob.
2. “Tomorrow I will be at home.”
   → ხვალ სახლში ვარ.
   khval sakhlshi var.
3. “I am going to drink coffee now.”
   → ახლა ვსვამ კავას.
   akhla vsvam kavas.
4. “I am going to call you soon.”
   → მალე დაგირეკავ.
   male dagirekav.
5. “Today I am going to meet my friend.”
   → დღეს ვხვდები ჩემს მეგობარს.
   dghes vkhvdebi chems megobars.
6. “What are you going to do tomorrow?”
   → რას აკეთებ ხვალ?
   ras aketeb khval?
   or
   → რას აპირებ ხვალ?
   ras apireb khval?
7. “I plan to go to the cinema this evening.”
   → ვაპირებ წავიდე კინოში დღეს საღამოს.
   vapireb tsavide kinoshi dghes saghamos.
8. “I will bring it right now.”
   → ახლავე მოვიტან.
   akhlave movitan.

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New vocabulary for this chapter

Use these patterns often when you speak or write, and you will already sound natural when you talk about your near future in Georgian.

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