The Passive: its'ereba, shendeba, iqideba

B2 — ზმნები

The i-...-eba and -d-eba passives for agentless processes (its'ereba, shendeba, iqideba).

I can describe processes, availability, and rules with passive forms.

Examples

ეს სახლი ას წელზე მეტია შენდება... ხუმრობაა, მაგრამ თბილისში ყველაფერი ნელა შენდება. — This house has been under construction for over a hundred years... a joke, but in Tbilisi everything gets built slowly.
ამ მაღაზიაში კარგი ღვინო იყიდება. — Good wine is sold in this shop.
ქართულში ეს სიტყვა ორნაირად იწერება. — In Georgian this word is written in two ways.

VerbsB2

The Passive: its'ereba, shendeba, iqideba

The i-...-eba and -d-eba passives for agentless processes (its'ereba, shendeba, iqideba).

Learning Goal

I can describe processes, availability, and rules with passive forms.

Exam Skills:NAEC Georgian B2 · ReadingNAEC Georgian B2 · Writing

Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?

ეს სახლი ას წელზე მეტია შენდება... ხუმრობაა, მაგრამ თბილისში ყველაფერი ნელა შენდება.

This house has been under construction for over a hundred years... a joke, but in Tbilisi everything gets built slowly.

ამ მაღაზიაში კარგი ღვინო იყიდება.

Good wine is sold in this shop.

ქართულში ეს სიტყვა ორნაირად იწერება.

In Georgian this word is written in two ways.

Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?

What gets done

Two passive shapes: prefixal ი-...-ება (იწერება is written, იყიდება is sold) and suffixal -დ-ება (შენდება is being built, თბება warms up). They describe processes and states without naming an agent - the voice of shop signs, instructions, and weather reports.

Apply this grammar in B2 course exercises

Practice Exercises

Active calques where the passive is idiomatic (*amas ts'eren orgvarad for 'it is written two ways') and English-style by-agents - Georgian passives rarely name the doer.

Common Error Patterns

Active forms where the i-/-d-eba passive is idiomatic, or inventing agents for agentless passives

Sign-reading drills: iqideba/kiravdeba/its'ereba in real-world contexts.

This house has been under construction for over a hundred years... a joke, but in Tbilisi everything gets built slowly.

shendeba 'is being built' - the -d-eba passive of ashenebs.

ამ მაღაზიაში კარგი ღვინო იყიდება.

Good wine is sold in this shop.

iqideba 'is sold/for sale' - the i- passive, a shop-window staple.

ქართულში ეს სიტყვა ორნაირად იწერება.

In Georgian this word is written in two ways.

its'ereba 'is written' - perfect for talking about the language itself.

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Practice in course

Apply this grammar in B2 course exercises

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Frequently asked questions

When do you use The Passive: its'ereba, shendeba, iqideba?: Two passive shapes: prefixal ი-...-ება ( იწერება is written, იყიდება is sold) and suffixal -დ-ება ( შენდება is being built, თბება warms up). They describe processes and states without naming an agent - the voice of shop signs, instructions, and weather reports.
What are common mistakes with The Passive: its'ereba, shendeba, iqideba?: Active calques where the passive is idiomatic (*amas ts'eren orgvarad for 'it is written two ways') and English-style by-agents - Georgian passives rarely name the doer.