Untitled

saxelmwifo enis swavlebis sakiTxebi:
problemebi da gamowvevebi
Issues of State Language Teaching;
Problems and Challenges
b) Verbs with 0 – a / e alternation:
Past
Present
Infinitive Past participle
შლ-ი-ს [shl-i-s] გა-შალ-ა [ga-shal-a] შლ-ა [shl-a]
გა-შლ-ილ-ი [ga-shl-il-i]
“spreads” “spread”
“to spread”
“spread”
ვ-ცრ-ი [v-cr-i] გა-ვ-ცერ-ი [ga-v-cer-i] ცრა [cr-a]
გა-ცრ-ილ-ი [ga-cr-il-i]
“I am drizzling” “I drizzled”
“to drizzle”
“drizzled”
Somehow similar formation can be found in English as well. Namely, the part of irregular verbs in English
in past participle presents the stem that is used in the infinitive of the same form:
a) Verbs form their past by means of alternation. Past participle form has the same stem that can be seen in
infinitive form and it is added -en suffix. In this case all three forms are different.
Infinitive Past Past participle
to give gave given
to eat ate eaten
to see saw seen
b) Verbs form their past form by means of alternation. Past participle has the same vowel stem that can be
seen in infinitive form, but does not add -en suffix. In this case two forms: infinitive and past participle are
identical:
Infinitive
Past
Past participle
to become became become
to come came came
to run ran run
It’s interesting that in English there are past participle forms of irregular verbs with the vowel stem that
are applied in past, not in infinitive. These types of past participles can be presented with or without -en suffix:
speak- spoke- spoken; wear - wore - worn.
The similar examples can be drawn from Georgian vowel alternated verbs if these verbs have parallel
versions in present forms: კრეფ-ს [k’rep h -s], კრეფ-ავ-ს [k’rep h -av-s], კრიფ-ავ-ს [k’rip h -av-s] “picks”.
Later verbal noun (infinitive) and past participle can be based on it: according to Georgian dialects, there are ი
[i] vowel stem past participle forms of this type vowel alternated verbs: გა-კრიფ-ულ-ი [ga-k’rip h -ul-i]
“picked”, compare to past: მოკრიფ-ა (Mo)k’rip h -a “picked” etc (Kurdadze, 2005, 114).
It’s worth noting that in Georgian as well as in English languages various vowel stems of main forms of
vowel alternated verbs are used with the function of noun formation.
Namely, nouns that are formed from present stems of vowel alternated verbs, ე [e] vowel stems:
დენ-ი [den-i] “current” (from the verb to flow. Present: ადენ-ს [aden-s] – past: ადინ-ა [adin-a]),
ზნექ-ი [zneq h -i “bending” (from the verb to bend. Present: ზნექ-ს [zneq h -s] – past: ზნიქ-ა [zniq h- a]),
წნეხ-ი [ts’nex-i] “press” (from the verb to pressure. Present: წნეხ-ს [ts’nex-s] “press” – past: წნიხ-ა
[ts’nix-a] “pressed) etc.
Nouns that are formed from past stems of vowel alternated verbs, ი [i] vowel stems:
ბზიკ-ი [bzik’-i] “wasp” (from the verb to perk. Present: ბზეკ-ს [bzek’-s] – past: ბზიკ-ა [bzik’-a]),
ლხინ-ი [lxin-i] (from the verb to feast. Present: ალხენ-ს [alxen-s] – past: ალხინ-ა [alxin-a]),
ცქვიტ-ი [cq h vit’-i] (meaning – frisky. Present: ცქვეტ-ს [cq h vet’s] – past: ცქვიტ-ა [cq h vit’a]) etc.
399