NegWh.html

Questions and negative sentences

Negation

Negation in Georgian is marked by the particles: ar ar, ver ver or nu nu. As shown below, they have slightly different meanings and uses. The most neutral negation is ar ar, whereas ver ver is connected with inability and nu nu is used in warnings and requests not to do something. The negation is placed immediately before the verb.

1 (a)	რატომ არ ჭამ? -- არ მინდა. rat'om ar �-ch'am? -- ar m-ind-a why NEG 2Subj-eat.PRES -- NEG 1Obj-want-3Subj.PRES.INVERS. Why do you not eat it? -- I don't want to.
(b)	ვერ ჭამ. კბილი მტკივა. ver v-ch'am. k'bili m-t'k'iv-a NEG 1Subj.-eat.PRES. tooth-NOM 1Obj-pain-3Subj.PRES.INVERS. -- I can't eat. My tooth is aching.
(c)	ამდენს ნუ ჭამ! ავად გახდები. amdens nu �-ch'am! avad ga-�-xdebi so.much-DAT NEG 2Subj-eat.PRES sick Preverb-2Subj-become.FUT Don't eat so much. You will be sick.

Double negation often occurs with negating pronouns such as არავინ aravin nobody, არასდროს arasdros never, არსად arsad nowhere:

2.	არავინ არ მოვიდა aravin ar mo-vid-a nobody NEG(not) Preverb-.come-3Subj.AOR Nobody came.

Negation and inversion

Forms of the third series (particularly, of the perfect //the first resultative) are used in negative clauses too when the speaker wants to mention only the result, but not about his or her own part in or attitude toward the process that caused these consequences, e. g.

არ დავწერე ar davc'ere (the verb is in the aorist) means that I have not written because I did not want to write.

ვერ დავწერე ver davc'ere (the verb is still in the aorist but another particle of negation occurs) means that I have not written because I did not manage to write; this nuance is expressed by the particle ver ver.

არ დამიწერია ar damic'eria (the verb is in the perfect) denotes just the result (that I have not written) without showing the reason or my own attitude to this fact.

Questions

Yes- and no-questions are recognized by a special intonation pattern with a marked rise at the end of the question. Example (3) illustrates this intonation pattern. Word order changes are not used in forming questions.

3.	ვანო, სად არის ჩემი ქართულ-ინგლისური ლექსიკონი? ნახე? vano, sad aris chemi kartul-inglisuri leksik'oni? naxe? Vano, where is my Georgian-English dictionary. Have you seen it?

In wh-questions (question word questions, i.e. questions with question words such as what, where, who, when etc) the wh-word is usually found in initial position, followed by the verb, although other sequences are also possible.

ვინ	vin	Who
რა	ra	What
სად	sad	Where
როდის	rodis	When
რატომ	rat'om	Why
საიდან	saidan	Where from
როგორ	rogor	How
რამდენი	ramdeni	How many, how much
რანაირი	ranairi	What kind
საითკენ	saitk'en	In what direction
როდემდე	rodemde	to what time, until when

Note that the wh-word is placed immediately before the verb:

4. a	სად დაავიწყდა ნიკოს თავისი ქაღალდები? sad da-a-vic'q'd-a nik'o-s tavis-i kaghald-eb-i? where Preverb-Neutr.vers-.forget.-3Subj.AOR Nik'o-DAT his(REFL)-NOM. paper-Pl-NOM Where did Niko forget his papers?
b.	ნიკოს სად დაავიწყდა თავისი ქაღალდები? nik'os sad daavic'q'da* tavisi kaghaldebi? Nik'o-DAT where Preverb-Neutr.vers-.forget.-3Subj.AOR his(REFL)-NOM. paper*-Pl-NOM Where did Niko forget his papers?
c.	თავისი ქაღალდები სად დაავიწყდა ნიკოს ? tavisi kaghaldebi sad daavic'q'da* nik'os?* his(REFL)-NOM. paper-Pl-NOM where Preverb-Neutr.vers-.forget.-3Subj.AOR Nik'o-DAT Where did Niko forget his papers?
d.	ნიკოს თავისი ქაღალდები სად დაავიწყდა? nik'os tavisi kaghaldebi sad daavic'q'da? Nik'o-DAT his(REFL)-NOM. paper-Pl-NOM where Preverb-Neutr.vers-.forget.-3Subj.AOR Where did Niko forget his papers?

� Karina Vamling and Manana Kobaidze