Three Groups of Tenses
Georgian tenses form three groups, and each group sets the cases of the subject and the object.
How It Works
| Group | Tenses in it | Subject | Object |
|---|---|---|---|
| the present group | present, imperfect, future, conditional, present and future subjunctive | nominative | dative |
| the past group | aorist (the simple past), optative | ergative | nominative |
| the perfect group | perfect, pluperfect, perfect subjunctive | dative | nominative |
This pattern belongs to doing verbs and activity verbs. Becoming verbs such as მოდის (comes) keep a nominative subject in every tense: ნინო მოვიდა (Nino came). Feeling verbs such as უყვარს (loves) always have a dative subject.
At Level 1 you only need the present group. The past group arrives with the ergative at Level 3, and the perfect group at Level 5.
Examples (4)
- ნინო წერილს წერს.
Nino is writing a letter.
The present group: ნინო is nominative, წერილს is dative.
- ნინო წერილს დაწერს.
Nino will write a letter.
The future belongs to the present group, with the same cases.
- ნინომ წერილი დაწერა.
Nino wrote a letter.
The past group: ნინომ is ergative, წერილი is nominative.
- ნინოს წერილი დაუწერია.
Nino has apparently written a letter.
The perfect group: ნინოს is dative, წერილი is nominative.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Tense groups build on the idea that the verb changes its form.
Related Patterns
- Seven Noun Cases
The cases the three groups use.
Foundations - Four Kinds of Verbs
Which verbs follow the pattern.
Foundations - The Present Tense
The first tense of the present group.
Level 1 - The Simple Past
The main tense of the past group.
Level 3 - The Perfect: Apparently
The main tense of the perfect group.
Level 5
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Practice Three Groups of Tenses in Bubblegum
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