Of the Georgian Conjugation Classes, Conjugation Class I includes all verbs for which is true: (1) in the present indicative the subject is in nominative and the object is in dative: ის წერს წერილს; and (2) in the aorist indicative the subject is in ergative and the object is in nominative: მან დაწერა წერილი (more on this below).
In some grammars the verbs in this class are called 'transitive verbs' (Tschenkeli 1958) even though not all of them are transitive - most medial verbs for example - or can be used intransitively, e.g. მე ვწერ - I am writing.

Page Content

1. Root Verbs
2. Medial Verbs
3. Using Objects and Subjects with Class-I Verbs
   • Examples for the Present Group
   • Examples for Aorist and Optative
   • Examples for Perfect and PluPerfect

Root Verbs

So-called root verbs in Class I consist mostly of one syllable and end with a consonant. The other verbs end on -ი, -ავ, -ამ, -ებ and -ობ. An exeption is ჭამს, which is considered a root verb with ამ being considered as part of the verb root. Likewise, some verbs on -ავ come in a short version as well which looks similar to a root verb: ტეხავს/ტეხს, ხვეჭავს/ხვეჭს and are not considered root verbs. More on root verbs in Tschenkeli 1958) p. 68.

The conjugations in Class I are grouped according to their suffixes (-ი, -ობ, -ავ ...). Check out the overview and examples on this page.

Medial Verbs

Just as in other languages, some verbs share characteristics of two conjugation classes, hence the name medial verb (in German: Mittelverb, Mischtyp). Since their subject stand in nominative in the present indicative and in ergative in the aorist indicative, they belong to Conjugation Class I, even though they form the future indicative quite differently from the other Class-I verbs. Read more ...

The medial verbs are considered a separate verb category in most Georgian grammars, mostly based on morphological characteristics, e.g. the future indicative is derived by adding ი--ებ to the verb root: წყალი დუღს - the water is boiling. წყალი იდუღებს - the water is going to boil. Most medial verbs are intransitive and often describe actions of motion and nature sounds. More on medial verbs in Tschenkeli (1958) 28. Lektion, p. 291.

The Georgian verbs use markers for the direct object and the markers ჰ- and ს- for the indirect object.

Marking Objects and Subjects with Class-I Verbs

Compared to class-II and class-III verbs, using class-I verbs can be a bit confusing, when it comes to marking the subject and the direct and indirect objects – is it in nominative or dative ... or ergative?

One simple rule to memorize is:

"In all verb classs I-III the indirect object is most often marked with dative or the preposition -ისთვის."

For all verbs with the indirect object markers: უ-, ს- or ე-, the indirect object is marked with dative, e. g. უწერს დედას - writes for mother.

When using verbs without special indirect object markers, the indirect object is expressed by paraphrases using the prepositions -ისთვის: e.g. წერს დედისთვის - writes for mother.

For the subject and direct object, things are a bit more complicated because the use of nominative, dative and ergative depends on the specific moods and tenses used. This has to be memorized by heart. Here is a quick reference for how to mark subjects and objects in a Georgian sentence using class-I verbs:

*Present Indicative, Future Indicative, Imperfect Indicative, Conditional Mood and the Subjunctive Mood

Read more here: Abuladze & Ludden (2006): § 95, p. 232.

Examples for the Present Group using the verb დაწერს:

Present Indicative

Present Indicative

Imperfect Indicative

Present Subjunctive

Examples for Aorist and Optative:

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