Future & conditional
Georgian usually makes the future not with a new tense but with a preverb: a little prefix (და-, გა-, წა-, მო-…) snapped onto the present. ვწერ vts'er "I write" → დავწერ davts'er "I will write".
Future = preverb + present
| present | future |
|---|---|
| ვწერ vts'er — "I write" | დავწერ davts'er — "I will write" |
| წერს ts'ers — "he/she writes" | დაწერს dats'ers — "he/she will write" |
| ვაკეთებ vak'eteb — "I do/make" | გავაკეთებ gavak'eteb — "I will do" |
| ვკითხულობ vk'itkhulob — "I read" | წავიკითხავ ts'avik'itkhav — "I will read" |
The person endings don't change at all — the whole present-tense pattern (ვ-, -ს, -თ, -ენ) carries over. Each verb has its own preverb (და-, გა-, წა-, მო-, შე-…), so learn verb + preverb as a pair, the way you'd learn a German separable verb.
Two things preverbs do at once: point to the future, and add the "completely/once" flavour — the same preverbs build the aorist (past-tenses chapter). ხვალ დავწერ khval davts'er — "I'll write it tomorrow."
The irregular pair you can't avoid
| to be | to have (thing) | to have (living) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| present | ვარ var — "I am" | მაქვს makvs | მყავს mq'avs |
| future | ვიქნები viknebi — "I will be" | მექნება mekneba — "I will have" | მეყოლება meq'oleba |
| 3rd person future | იქნება ikneba — "will be" | ექნება ekneba | ეყოლება eq'oleba |
იქნება ikneba is worth learning early — it's also how Georgians say "OK, that will do": კარგი იქნება k'argi ikneba — "that'll be good."
Conditional: future + -დი = "would"
Take the future form and add the imperfect's -დ- endings. The result means "would":
| future | conditional |
|---|---|
| დავწერ davts'er — "I will write" | დავწერდი davts'erdi — "I would write" |
| გავაკეთებ gavak'eteb — "I will do" | გავაკეთებდი gavak'etebdi — "I would do" |
| ვიქნები viknebi — "I will be" | ვიქნებოდი viknebodi — "I would be" |
| იქნება ikneba — "it will be" | იქნებოდა ikneboda — "it would be" |
Verbs whose stem ends in a vowelish element take the ending as -ოდ-: ვიქნებოდი viknebodi, მოვიდოდა movidoda "he/she would come". Same idea, slightly padded.
Everyday politeness runs on these forms: მინდოდა mindoda — "I wanted / I'd like…", a softer მინდა.
"If" sentences
- Real condition — თუ tu + future: თუ დრო მექნება, დავწერ tu dro mekneba, davts'er — "if I have time, I'll write."
- Hypothetical — conditional in both halves, often with რომ rom: დრო რომ მქონდეს, დავწერდი — "if I had time, I would write." (Recognise this pattern; producing it can wait.)
Takeaway
- Future = the verb's preverb + present. Learn preverbs with their verbs.
- ვიქნები / მექნება / მეყოლება cover "will be / will have".
- Conditional = future + -დი/-ოდი; მინდოდა makes any request polite.
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