Seven Noun Cases
A Georgian noun has seven case forms, and the ending shows the noun's job in the sentence.
How It Works
| Case | Ending | კაცი (man) | Main job |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | -ი | კაცი | the subject in the present group; the dictionary form |
| ergative | -მა / -მ | კაცმა | the doer in the past group |
| dative | -ს | კაცს | the object in the present group; the person who feels |
| genitive | -ის | კაცის | the owner: of, 's |
| instrumental | -ით | კაცით | with, by means of |
| adverbial | -ად | კაცად | as, in the role of |
| vocative | -ო | კაცო | calling someone |
The words for in, on and from are endings built on these forms: სახლში (in the house) is built on the dative სახლს.
Nouns that end in a vowel take shorter endings: დედა (mother) has დედამ, დედას and დედის. You will learn each case in its own topic, starting with the nominative, the dative and the genitive at Level 1.
Examples (5)
- კაცი მოდის.
A man is coming.
Nominative კაცი: the subject of a present-tense verb.
- კაცს ვხედავ.
I see the man.
Dative კაცს: the object of a present-tense verb.
- კაცმა პური იყიდა.
The man bought bread.
Ergative კაცმა: the doer in the past group.
- ეს კაცის სახლი არის.
This is the man's house.
Genitive კაცის: the owner.
- ავტობუსით მივდივარ.
I'm going by bus.
Instrumental ავტობუსით: by means of.
How It Connects
Learn This First
The case endings are written in Georgian letters, so the alphabet comes first.
Related Patterns
- -ი (Nominative)The Nominative Case
The dictionary form and the present-tense subject.
Level 1 - -ს (Dative)The Dative Case
The object of a present-tense verb.
Level 1 - -ის (Genitive)The Genitive Case
The owner.
Level 1 - -მა/-მ (Ergative)The Ergative Case
The doer in the past group.
Level 3 - Three Groups of Tenses
The tense group decides the subject's case.
Foundations
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Practice Seven Noun Cases in Bubblegum
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