Declining Question Words: vin and ra
Case forms of vin (who) and ra (what): vis, visi, ras, rit, ram - the question word matches the answer's case.
I can ask whose, whom, and by what means using correctly cased question words.
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
ვის ელოდები მეტროსთან?
Whom are you waiting for by the metro?
ეს ვისი ჩანთაა?
Whose bag is this?
რით მიდიხარ - მეტროთი თუ ტაქსით?
How are you going - by metro or by taxi?
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
Question words decline too
Like nouns, ვინ (who) and რა (what) take case endings: dative ვის/რას, genitive ვისი/რისი, instrumental რით, ergative რამ. The question word mirrors the case of the expected answer: ვის ელოდები? - ნინოს. (Whom are you waiting for? - For Nino.)
Keeping vin/ra uninflected (vin elodebi? instead of vis elodebi?) and answering a vis question with a nominative noun - the answer must echo the case of the question.
Common Error Patterns
Using bare vin/ra where a case form (vis, visi, ras, rit) is required
Question-answer drills: answer with a cased noun, then form the matching cased question word.
ვის ელოდები მეტროსთან?
Whom are you waiting for by the metro?
vin takes the dative vis when the verb wants a dative object.
ეს ვისი ჩანთაა?
Whose bag is this?
visi is the genitive of vin - 'whose'.
რით მიდიხარ - მეტროთი თუ ტაქსით?
How are you going - by metro or by taxi?
rit is the instrumental of ra - 'by what means'.
Practice in course
Apply this grammar in A2 course exercises