Language/Georgian/Grammar/Adjective-Agreement

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Georgian → Grammar → 0 to A1 Course → Adjective Agreement

Welcome to another exciting lesson in our "Complete 0 to A1 Georgian Course"! Today, we're diving into the world of Adjective Agreement. This topic is essential for anyone wanting to speak Georgian fluently, as it helps you create clear and accurate sentences. Think of adjectives as the colorful brushstrokes that bring your sentences to life. They describe nouns, and in Georgian, they must agree with those nouns in gender, number, and case.

In this lesson, we'll explore:

• The basics of adjective agreement in Georgian

• How gender affects adjectives

• The role of number (singular vs. plural)

• Understanding cases and how they change adjectives

• Practical examples and exercises to reinforce your learning

By the end of this lesson, you'll be equipped to use adjectives correctly in your sentences, making your Georgian conversations much richer and more engaging. So, let’s get started!

Understanding Adjective Agreement

In Georgian, adjectives must agree with the nouns they modify. This means that if a noun is masculine, feminine, or neuter, the adjective must reflect that. Similarly, adjectives change form depending on whether the noun is singular or plural and the grammatical case in which the noun is used.

Gender

Georgian nouns are categorized into three genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter. Adjectives must match the gender of the noun they describe.

• Masculine nouns often end in consonants.

• Feminine nouns frequently end in the vowel -ა (-a).

• Neuter nouns can end in -ო (-o) or -ე (-e).

Here’s a quick table to illustrate some examples:

Georgian	Pronunciation	English
ბიჭი (bich'i)	/biʧ'i/	boy
გოგონა (gogona)	/ɡoɡonɑ/	girl
ბავშვი (bavshvi)	/bɑvʃvi/	child

Now, let's look at how adjectives change based on gender:

Georgian (Masculine)	Pronunciation	English	Georgian (Feminine)	Pronunciation	English
სქელი (sk'eli)	/sk'ɛli/	thick	სქელი (sk'eli)	/sk'ɛli/	thick
ლამაზი (lamazi)	/lɑmɑzi/	beautiful	ლამაზი (lamazi)	/lɑmɑzi/	beautiful
ახალგაზრდა (akhali)	/ɑxɑli/	young	ახალგაზრდა (akhali)	/ɑxɑli/	young

In Georgian, the masculine and feminine forms of the adjective are the same in many cases, but they may have different endings depending on the adjective itself.

Number

In Georgian, adjectives also change based on whether the noun is singular or plural.

• Singular adjectives typically have one form.

• Plural adjectives often take on a different ending.

Here’s a small table to help clarify this:

Georgian (Singular)	Pronunciation	English	Georgian (Plural)	Pronunciation	English
დიდი (didi)	/didi/	big	დიდი (didi)	/didi/	big
ახალი (akhali)	/ɑxɑli/	new	ახალი (akhali)	/ɑxɑli/	new
სუსტი (susti)	/susti/	weak	სუსტები (sustebi)	/sus'tɛbi/	weak (plural)

Notice how the adjective "სუსტი" (susti) changes to "სუსტები" (sustebi) in the plural form.

Case

In Georgian, the case of a noun indicates its grammatical function in a sentence (subject, object, etc.). Adjectives must also be in the correct case, which can change their form. Here’s how adjectives change across different cases:

1. Nominative Case (subject)

2. Genitive Case (possession)

3. Dative Case (indirect object)

4. Accusative Case (direct object)

5. Locative Case (location)

Let’s look at a few examples across different cases:

Case	Singular (Masculine)	Pronunciation	Singular (Feminine)	Pronunciation	Plural	Pronunciation
Nominative	ლამაზი (lamazi)	/lɑmɑzi/	ლამაზი (lamazi)	/lɑmɑzi/	ლამაზები (lamazebi)	/lɑmɑzɛbi/
Genitive	ლამაზის (lamazis)	/lɑmɑzis/	ლამაზის (lamazis)	/lɑmɑzis/	ლამაზების (lamazebis)	/lɑmɑzɛbis/
Dative	ლამაზს (lamazs)	/lɑmɑz/	ლამაზს (lamazs)	/lɑmɑz/	ლამაზებს (lamazebs)	/lɑmɑzɛbs/

As you can see, the adjective changes not only for gender and number but also based on the grammatical case.

Practical Examples

Now, let’s look at some complete sentences to see how all of this comes together.

1. The big boy:

• Georgian: დიდი ბიჭი (didi bich'i)

• Pronunciation: /didi biʧ'i/

2. The beautiful girl:

• Georgian: ლამაზი გოგონა (lamazi gogona)

• Pronunciation: /lɑmɑzi ɡoɡonɑ/

3. The young child:

• Georgian: ახალგაზრდა ბავშვი (akhali bavshvi)

• Pronunciation: /ɑxɑli bɑvʃvi/

4. The thick book:

• Georgian: სქელი წიგნი (sk'eli ts'igni)

• Pronunciation: /sk'ɛli ts'igni/

5. The new chairs:

• Georgian: ახალი სკამები (akhali sk'amebi)

• Pronunciation: /ɑxɑli sk'amebi/

6. The weak students:

• Georgian: სუსტები სტუდენტები (sustebi studentebi)

• Pronunciation: /sus'tɛbi studɛntɛbi/

7. The beautiful flowers:

• Georgian: ლამაზ ყვავილები (lamazi q'vavilebi)

• Pronunciation: /lɑmɑzi q'vɑvilɛbi/

8. The big houses:

• Georgian: დიდი სახლები (didi sak'lebi)

• Pronunciation: /didi sɑxlɛbi/

9. The thick walls:

• Georgian: სქელი კედლები (sk'eli kedlebi)

• Pronunciation: /sk'ɛli k'ɛdlebi/

10. The young teachers:

• Georgian: ახალგაზრდა მასწავლებლები (akhali masts'avlebeli)

• Pronunciation: /ɑxɑli mɑts'ɑvlɛbɛli/

This gives you a flavor of how adjectives work in context, creating vivid imagery and meaning in your sentences.

Exercises

Now that you understand adjective agreement, let’s solidify your learning with some exercises.

1. Translate the following sentences into Georgian:

• The big dog.

• The beautiful car.

• The new phone.

• The thick sweater.

• The young friends.

2. Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the adjective:

• ეს არის _______ (big) წიგნი.

• მე ვხედავ _______ (beautiful) გოგონას.

• ჩვენ გვაქვს _______ (new) მანქანა.

• ისინი არიან _______ (young) სტუდენტები.

• მას აქვს _______ (thick) ქურთუკი.

3. Match the adjectives with the correct nouns:

• 1. ლამაზი (beautiful)

• 2. სქელი (thick)

• 3. ახალგაზრდა (young)

• 4. ახალი (new)

a. ბავშვი (child)

b. წიგნი (book)

c. გოგონა (girl)

d. სკამი (chair)

4. Rewrite the sentences using the plural form of adjectives:

• The big houses.

• The beautiful flowers.

• The young teachers.

5. Write three sentences using different adjectives for each gender (male, female, neuter).

Solutions:

1.

• დიდი ძაღლი (didi dzaghli)

• ლამაზი მანქანა (lamazi manqana)

• ახალი ტელეფონი (akhali telephoni)

• სქელი მარხილი (sk'eli marghili)

• ახალგაზრდა მეგობრები (akhali megobrebi)

2.

• ეს არის დიდი (didi) წიგნი.

• მე ვხედავ ლამაზ (lamazi) გოგონას.

• ჩვენ გვაქვს ახალი (akhali) მანქანა.

• ისინი არიან ახალგაზრდა (akhali) სტუდენტები.

• მას აქვს სქელი (sk'eli) ქურთუკი.

3.

• 1 - c

• 2 - b

• 3 - a

• 4 - d

4.

• დიდი სახლები (didi sak'lebi)

• ლამაზ ყვავილები (lamazi q'vavilebi)

• ახალგაზრდა მასწავლებლები (akhali masts'avlebeli)

5.

• ეს ლამაზი გოგონა (female).

• ეს სქელი ბიჭი (male).

• ეს ახალი წიგნი (neuter).

Congratulations! You have completed the lesson on Adjective Agreement. Keep practicing, and soon you'll be using adjectives like a pro!

Table of Contents - Georgian Course - 0 to A1

• Course Presentation

  ---

Alphabet and Sounds

• Consonants and Vowels
• Pronunciation Rules
• Word Order

  ---

Greetings and Introductions

• Greetings and Responses
• Introducing Yourself
• Polite Phrases

  ---

Nouns and Cases

• Noun Gender
• Nominative Case
• Genitive Case
• Dative Case
• Accusative Case
• Locative Case

  ---

Family and Relationships

• Family Members
• Relationships and Titles

  ---

Food and Drink

• Traditional Dishes
• Wine and Spirits
• Table Manners

  ---

Verbs and Tenses

• Present Tense
• Past Tense
• Future Tense
• Conditional and Imperative

  ---

Transportation and Directions

• Public Transportation
• Asking for and Giving Directions

  ---

Holidays and Celebrations

• New Year's and Christmas
• Easter
• Independence Day

  ---

Adjectives and Adverbs

• Adjective Agreement
• Comparison

  ---

Shopping and Services

• Money and Currency
• Shopping Vocabulary
• Services and Emergencies

  ---

Arts and Entertainment

• Music and Dance
• Theater and Film
• Literature and Poetry

  ---

Prepositions

• Simple Prepositions
• Compound Prepositions

  ---

Work and Employment

• Job Titles and Professions
• Applying for a Job

  ---

Georgian History and Geography

• Ancient Kingdoms
• Recent History
• Geographic Regions

Sources

• Georgian grammar - Wikipedia
• Georgian Grammar, Introduction to Lexical Categories

Other Lessons

• Adverbs of Time
• Future Tense
• Adverbs produced from Adjectives
• Negative imperatives with “ნუ”
• Adverbs of purpose, reason, measure and interrogative adverbs
• Cases of the subject and direct object with transitive verbs
• Word Order
• Pronouns
• Noun Gender
• Conditional Mood

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