Tense/aspect/mood forms (screeves) in Georgian Screeves (a short repetition)
The forms of the verb, changed by the person and number, form one group, one paradigm; e. g.:

Present:
 
v-xatav xatav xatav-s v-xatav-T xatav-T xatav-en
v-xat'av xat'av xat'av-s v-xat'av-t xat'av-t xat'av-en
I paint you paint he/she paints we paint you paint they paint

The name of such a paradigm is "mc'k'rivi", which may be translated into English by "a row". The simplified form of the Georgian term "mc'k'rivi" "screeve" is used in English. A "screeve" (a row) has approximately the same functions as the tense forms in English. There are fewer rows in Georgian than in English: 16 rows (tense forms) in English and 11 rows (screeves) in Georgian. The main features distinguishing the screeves from one another are tense, aspect, and mood.

All eleven rows (the tense/aspect/mood forms) are grouped into three large groups, or series.
 

Three series (eleven screeves)

In the table below only the first subject person forms  (v-xatav vxat'av  I paint) are presented:
 

The first series
Present v-xat-av   v-xat'-av I paint
Imperfect v-xat-av-d-i  v-xat'-av-d-i I was painting
Present subjunctive v-xat-av-d-e  v-xat'-av-d-e If I painted now




Future da-v-xat-av  da-v-xat'-av I shall paint
Conditional (//I Iterative) da-v-xat-av-d-i  da-v-xat'-av-d-i I would paint*
Future subjunctive da-v-xat-av-d-e  da-v-xat'-av-d-e If I painted in the future
* This form (davxatavdi davxat'avdi) can express different meanings (both the indicative mood and the subjunctive mood):

1. davxatavdi  // davxatavdi xolme davxat'avdi  // davxat'avdi xolme I used to paint (This is the indicative mood)

2. fanqari rom mqonoda, davxatavdi pankari rom mkonoda, davxat'avdi If I had had a pen, I would have painted (This is the subjunctive mood)

The morphological elements of the forms of the first series are presented in the table below. Some of these affixes have already been introduced in the previous lectures:
Morphological segmentation of the form davxatavdi:
Preverb
Personal marker
root
Thematic suffix
Augment
Screeve marker
da-
-v-
-xat-
-av-
-d-
-i
da-
-v-
-xat'-
-av-
-d-
-i

Please, note: The terms used here are taken from the Georgian traditional grammar, in particular from the linguistic school of Ak'ak'i Shanidze, and they do not always coincide with the terms used in other linguistic schools.
 

The second series
Aorist (//Past complete) da-v-xat-e da-v-xat'-e I (have) painted*
Optative (Subjunctive 2) da-v-xat-o da-v-xat'-o If I painted 

*The imperative mood (a command, a request) is expresssed in the aorist form (past complete tense) in Georgian.
The second subject person form of the verb is the same in the aorist and in the imperative:

 
me da-v-xate
Sen da-xate		 me da-v-xat'e
shen da-xat'e		 I painted
you painted		 Aorist (past complete tense)
da-xate! da-xat'e! paint! Imperative (a command, a request)
me ga-v-aRe
Sen ga-aRe		 me ga-v-aghe
shen ga-aghe		 I opened
you opened		 Aorist (past complete tense)
ga-aRe! ga-aghe! open! Imperative (a command, a request)
me da-v-xure
Sen da-xure		 me da-v-xure
shen da-xure		 I closed
you closed		 Aorist (past complete tense)
da-xure! da-xure! close! Imperative (a command, a request)
Sen me mo-m-eci
me Sen mo-g-eci		 shen me mo-m-eci
me shen mo-g-eci		 you gave me
I gave you		 Aorist (past complete tense)
mo-m-eci! momeci give me! Imperative (a command, a request)
Morphological structure of the second series is simple:
 
Morphological segmentation of the form davxate
Preverb
Person marker
Root
Screeve marker
da-
-v-
-xat-
-e
da-
-v-
-xat'-
-e

 
The third series
Perfect (//Present resultative) da-m-i-xat-av-s// da-m-i-xat-ia da-m-i-xat'-av-s // da-m-i-xat'-ia Apparently I have painted
Pluperfect (//Past resultative) da-m-e-xat-a da-m-e-xat'-a Apparently I had painted
Subjunctive 3 (//Perfect subjunctive) da-m-e-xat-o-s da-m-e-xat'-o-s I wish that I would have painted

The meaning of verb forms by screeves

These tables show the meaning of verb forms by screeves. The meaning of each form and the rules  of their distribution in sentences will be discussed more particularly in the sections regarding clouses.

Forms of the verb v-xat-av  "I paint" and their translation

The first series

Group 1


Present v-xat-av v-xat'-av I am painting; I paint
Imperfect v-xat-av-d-i v-xat'-av-d-i I was painting;
I used to paint
(aspect is not completed)
Present subjunctive
 v-xat-av-d-e v-xat'-av-d-e 1. (Condition in the present) together with the conjunction romrom (that): rom vxatavde rom vxat'avde If I painted (in the present):
axla rom vxatavde, kargi iqneboda
axla rom vxat'avde, k'argi ikneboda
If I painted now, if I were painting now, it would be good.

2. (Obligation in the present) together with the modal word unda unda: 
axla unda vxatavde
axla unda vxat'avde
I would paint now, I would be painting now. 

3. (Wish in the present) together with the word netavi net'avi (if, I wish): netavi vxatavde
net'avi vxat'avde
I wish that I painted (in the present).




Group 2


Future da-v-xat-av da-v-xat'-av I shall paint
Conditional da-v-xat-av-d-i da-v-xat'-av-d-i  1. Together with the modal word xolme xolme (expressing the repetition of the action) or without this modal word:
davxatavdi xolme // davxatavdi.
davxat'avdi xolme // davxat'avdi. 
I used to paint (The indicative mood)

2. (Expected result in the past in case of the certain conditions in the past) with the conjunction rom rom (that, if): 
fanqari rom mqonoda, davxatavdi.
pankari rom mkonoda, davxat'avdi.
If I had had a pen, I would have painted.

3. (Expected result in the future in case of the certain conditions in the present) with the conjunction rom rom (that, if): 
fanqari rom mqondes, davxatavdi.
pankari rom mkondes, davxat'avdi.
If I had a pen, I would paint.
Future subjunctive
 da-v-xat-av-d-e da-v-xat'-av-d-e 1. (Condition in the future) together with the conjunction rom rom (that, if): 
rom davxatavde rom davxat'avde If I painted (in the future)
xval rom davxatavde, kargi iqneboda.
xval rom davxat'avde, k'argi ikneboda.
If I painted this tomorrow,  it would be good

2. (Wish in the future) together with the word netavi net'avi (if, I wish):
netavi davxatavde
net'avi davxat'avde
I wish that I could paint (in the future).

The second series

Aorist da-v-xat-e da-v-xat'-e I have painted; I painted; paint it!

es ukve davxate
es uk've davxat'e
I have already painted this.

es guSin davxate
es gushin davxat'e
I painted this yesterday.

The second person form of the aorist is used to express a command or a request (the imperative mood):
es daxate es daxat'e Paint this! 
Optative da-v-xat-o da-v-xat'-o 1. (Obligation in the future) together with the modal
word unda unda: unda davxato unda davxat'o:
I must paint, I have to paint.

2. (Condition in the future) together with the conjunction
rom rom (that, if): rom davxato rom davxat'o

If I were to paint (in the future):
xval rom es davxato, kargi iqneba.
xval rom es davxat'o, k'argi ikneba.
If I painted this tomorrow, it would be good. 

3. (Goal / aim /purpose that demands certain conditions in order to be fulfilled): 
es rom davxato, fanqari mWirdeba.
es rom davxat'o, pankari mch'irdeba 
In order to paint this, I need a pen.

4. (Wish in the future) together with the word netavi net'avi (if, I wish): netavi davxato
net'avi davxat'o
I wish that I could paint (in the future)

The third series

Perfect (Present resultative) da-m-i-xat-ia da-m-i-xat'-ia (Result in the present) It turns out that I have painted. Apparently I have painted.
Pluperfect (Past resultative) da-m-e-xat-a da-m-e-xat'-a 1. (Result in the past) It turned out that I had painted. 
is rom movida, me ukve damexata
is rom movida, me uk've damexat'a
When he came I had already painted.

 2. (Condition in the past) together with the conjunction rom rom (that, if) If I had painted:
rom damexata, kargi iqneboda
rom damexat'a, k'argi ikneboda
If I had painted it would have been good.

3. (Obligation in the past) together with the modal word unda unda I had to paint:
unda damexata
unda damexat'a
I had to paint.

4. (Wish in the past) together with the word netavi net'avi (if, I wish):
netavi damexata
net'avi damexat'a
I wish that I had painted
Subjunctive 3 (Perfect subjunctive) da-m-e-xat-o-s da-m-e-xat'-o-s (I wish that) I should paint.

The characteristic morphological features of (transitive) verbs in the three series

 The forms in each series share certain morphological features. The characteristic morphological features of (transitive) verbs in the three series are:
 

The first series Presence of a thematic suffix: -av, -am, -ob, -eb, -ev, -i, -ø  (-av, -am, -ob, -eb, -ev, -i, -ø) e. g.:
davxat-av davxat'-av I will paint; avaSen-eb avashen-eb I will build
The second series Absence of a thematic suffix davxat-e davxat'-e I painted; avaSen-e avashen-e I built
The third series Marking of the subject by the object person marker: v- > m- v- > m- da-v-xate > da-m-ixatia da-m-ixat'ia Apparently, I have painted; 
a-v-aSene > amiSenebia amishenebia Apparently, I have built

Cf. the morphological structure of the verb.
Inversion.

Syntactic patterns in the three groups (series) of the tense forms

Three different syntactic patterns are found in Georgian:
 

A. The name of the acting person is always in the nominative case regardless of the tense form of the verb.
B. The name of the acting person is either in the nominative or in the ergative or in the dative case, depending on the tense form of the verb.
C. The name of the acting person is always in the dative case regardless of the tense form of the verb.
Note:
The intransitive direct verbs (the verbs where the subject is marked by the v-set markers and, at the same time, an action expressed by the verb does not involve any direct object), usually belong to the syntactic pattern A.
The transitive direct verbs (the verbs where the subject is marked by the v-set markers and, at the same time, an action expressed by the verb involves a direct object or an optional direct object), usually belong to the syntactic pattern B.
All inversive verbs (the verbs expressing possession and emotions, and, at the same time, where the subject is marked by the m-set markers) usually belong to the the syntactic pattern C.
Syntactic pattern A:
The subject of one large group of the Georgian verbs is always marked by the nominative (regardless of the tense form of the verb),
Usually, when the verb is intransitive, the acting person always remains in the nominative, e. g.
 
The verb has no direct object:
The subject is marked by the nominative regardless of the tense form of the verb:

Present tense
is aris saxlSi (// kac-i aris saxlSi) - He is at home (//The man is at home)
is aris saxlshi (//k'ac-i aris saxlshi)
he.Nominative is home-in  (man-Nominative is at home)

Past tense (Aorist):
is iyo saxlSi (// kac-i iyo saxlSi) - He was at home (//The man was at home)
is iq'o saxlshi (//k'ac-i  iq'o saxlshi)
he.Nominative was home-in (man-Nominative was at home)

Perfect (Resultative 1):
is yofila saxlSi (// kac-i yofila saxlSi) - Apparently he was at home (//Apparently the man was at home)
is q'opila saxlshi (//k'ac-i q'opila saxlshi)
he.Nominative apparently was home-in (man-Nominative apparently was at home)

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Syntactic pattern B:

When the verb is transitive, the acting person acts towards something (towards a house, in the example below), and both subject (k'aci - man) and object (saxli - house) change their case forms depending on the tense of the verb form (Conjugation type 1):
Verb - Present tense
Subject - Nominative
Direct object - Dative
kaci aSenebs saxls - k'aci ashenebs saxls - A man is building a house
Subject Verb - Present tense Direct object - dative
kaci
k'ac-i 		 aSenebs
ashenebs		 saxls
saxl-s
man-nominative is building house-dative



Verb - Aorist (Past completed action)
Subject - Ergative
Direct object - Nominative
kacma aaSena saxli - k'acma aashena saxli - A man built a house
Subject Verb - Present tense Direct object - dative
kacma
k'ac-ma		 aaSena
aashena		 saxli
saxl-i
man-ergative built house-nominative



Verb - Perfect (Past unwitnessed action)
Subject - Dative
Direct object - Nominative
kacs auSenebia saxli - k'acs aushenebia saxli - Apparently a man has built a house
Subject Verb - Present tense Direct object - dative
kacs
k'ac-s		 auSenebia
aushenebia		 saxli
saxl-i
man-dative Apparently he has built house-nominative



Thus, both the subject (k'aci) and the object (saxli) change the case forms when the tense form of the verb (ashebnebs) changes:
In the present tense (ashenebs - is building):

Nominative - Dative (k'ac-i saxl-s)
In the past tense (aahena - built):
Ergative - Nominative (k'ac-ma saxl-i)
In so-called evidential (resultative) tense (aushenebia - has built):
Dative - Nominative (k'ac-s saxl-i)
Transitive verbs (conjugation type 1) (e.g. aSenebs ashenebs he is building it, xatav-s xat'av-s he paints it/him) are associated with the syntactic pattern B:
The subject is marked by the nominative in series 1 (present tense, future tense, past continuous tense), by the ergative in another group of the tense forms -- series 2 (past indefinite tense and optative), and by the dative in series 3 (evidential/resultative tenses).

Another example (the object is also presented, and it changes the case form):

Present (the first series)
A man paints a picture
kac-i xatav-s suraT-s
k'ac-i xat'av-s surat-s
man-Nom (Subject) paint-III Subj. Sing. (Present) picture-Dat  (Direct object)

Aorist (the second series)
A man painted a picture
kac-ma da-xat-a suraT-i
k'ac-ma da-xat'-a  surat-i
man-Ergative  (Subject) Preverb-paint-III Subj. Sing. (Aorist) picture-Nom (Direct object)

Evidential (Resultative 1) (the third series)
Apparently, a man has painted a picture
kac-s da-u-xat-ia suraT-i
k'ac-s da-u-xat'-ia surat-i
man-Dat  (Subject) Preverb-Relation marker-paint-Them. suffix picture-Nom. (Direct object)
Thus, the inversion occurs in the third series of the transitive verbs.
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Syntactic pattern C:
Inversive (indirect) verbs: There are certain types of verbs, the so-called inversive or indirect verbs (expressing the feelings, emotions, and possession). Their subject is always marked by the dative. These verbs are I have, I want, I love, I like, I hate, I am hungry, etc. (Inversion):
 
Present tense - Subject is
marked by the dative
(Tense form belonging to
the Series 1)
Aorist (Past complete) - Subject is
marked by the dative
(Tense form belonging to
 the Series 2)
Perfect - Subject is
marked by the dative
(Tense form belonging to
the Series 3)
mas sZinavs (// kac-s sZinavs) mas eZina (// kac-s eZina) mas sZinebia (// kac-s sZinebia)
mas sdzinavs (//k'ac-s sdzinavs) mas edzina (//k'ac-s edzina) mas sdzinebia (//k'ac-s sdzinebia)
he.Dative is sleeping  (man-Dative is sleeping) he.Dative slept  (man-Dative slept) he.Dative apparently slept  (man-Dative apparently slept)
He is sleeping  (//The man is sleeping) He slept (//The man slept) Apparently he slept  (//Apparently the man slept)
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Inversion.
Syntactic patterns of Georgian verbs

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© Manana Kock Kobaidze & Karina Vamling