The imperfect for ongoing and habitual past vs the aorist for completed events - the Georgian aspect pair.
I can tell layered past stories - background in the imperfect, events in the aorist.
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
როცა შენ დარეკე, ვახშამს ვამზადებდი.
When you called, I was making dinner.
ბავშვობაში ყოველ ზაფხულს სოფელში მივდიოდი.
In childhood I used to go to the village every summer.
მთელი ღამე წვიმდა და დილით ქალაქი სუფთა იყო.
It rained all night, and in the morning the city was clean.
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
The imperfect (ვწერდი - I was writing, მივდიოდი - I used to go) paints ongoing or habitual past; the aorist reports completed events. Story formula: imperfect sets the scene, aorist moves the plot - ვახშამს ვამზადებდი, როცა შენ დარეკე.
Apply this grammar in B1 course exercises
Practice ExercisesAll-aorist storytelling (sounds like a police report) and ergative subjects with the imperfect - the imperfect keeps nominative subjects!
Aorist for backgrounds/habits or imperfect for completed events
Story-grid drills: assign each clause to background (imperfect) or event (aorist).
როცა შენ დარეკე, ვახშამს ვამზადებდი.
When you called, I was making dinner.
The imperfect vamzadebdi paints the background; the aorist darek'e is the event.
ბავშვობაში ყოველ ზაფხულს სოფელში მივდიოდი.
In childhood I used to go to the village every summer.
Repeated past habits live in the imperfect: mivdiodi 'I used to go'.
მთელი ღამე წვიმდა და დილით ქალაქი სუფთა იყო.
It rained all night, and in the morning the city was clean.
Durations (mteli ghame - all night) prefer the imperfect ts'vimda.
Practice in course
Apply this grammar in B1 course exercises