Word order
The default is subject – object – verb: the verb likes the end. But because case endings mark who does what to whom, Georgian word order is flexible — you rearrange for emphasis, not for grammar.
The default: SOV
| Georgian | literally | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| მე წიგნს ვკითხულობ me ts'igns vk'itkhulob | I book-to read | "I'm reading a book" |
| ბავშვი პურს ჭამს bavshvi p'urs ch'ams | child bread-to eats | "the child is eating bread" |
| დათო თბილისში ცხოვრობს dato tbilisshi tskhovrobs | Dato Tbilisi-in lives | "Dato lives in Tbilisi" |
SVO is also perfectly grammatical and common in speech — ბავშვი ჭამს პურს — so you will be understood either way. But verb-final is the neutral rhythm to build your ear on.
Why it can move: the endings carry the roles
In English, the dog bit the man ≠ the man bit the dog — order is meaning. In Georgian the dative -ს marks the object wherever it stands:
- ძაღლმა კაცს უკბინა dzaghlma k'atss uk'bina — "the dog bit the man"
- კაცს ძაღლმა უკბინა k'atss dzaghlma uk'bina — still "the dog bit the man", now stressing the man
Moving words changes emphasis, never who bit whom.
The power position: right before the verb
The slot immediately before the verb holds the newest or most important information. That's why question words sit there (see questions), and why these two differ:
| order | flavour |
|---|---|
| კაცი მოვიდა k'atsi movida | "the man came" — known man, telling you what he did |
| მოვიდა კაცი movida k'atsi | "a man came / in came a man" — new man on the scene |
This is also how Georgian fakes the articles it doesn't have (see articles).
Inside the noun phrase: modifiers first
Everything that describes a noun comes before it, like English:
| pattern | example |
|---|---|
| adjective + noun | ლამაზი ქალაქი lamazi kalaki — "beautiful city" |
| possessive + noun | ჩემი მეგობარი chemi megobari — "my friend" |
| demonstrative + adj + noun | ეს ძველი სახლი es dzveli sakhli — "this old house" |
| genitive + noun | დედის სახლი dedis sakhli — "mother's house" |
Postpositions, not prepositions
The little relational words come after the noun, usually glued on: თბილისში tbilisshi "in Tbilisi", მაგიდაზე magidaze "on the table". Full treatment in the prepositions chapter — for word order, just remember: the "in/on/at" lives at the end of its noun.
A usable recipe
- Subject first, verb last, object just before the verb.
- Adjectives and possessives before their noun.
- Time and place early: ხვალ თბილისში მეგობარს ვნახავ khval tbilisshi megobars vnakhav — "tomorrow in Tbilisi I'll see a friend" (time – place – object – verb).
- When in doubt, put the word you'd stress in English right before the verb.
Flexible, but never random: the endings free the order, and the pre-verb slot is where the spotlight shines.
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