The Caucasus for its size can boast more languages than any other region on earth. Of the 40 or so native tongues Georgian is the most widely spoken (by up to 5 million, of whom 3 million are ethnic Georgians). With its own unique script, Georgian has been written since the 4th century and has a rich literature of all genres. Outside Georgia, however, it has remained virtually unknown and unstudied, its grammatical intricacies being discussed by a small but ever growing succession of foreign specialists. The present work represents the first Reference Grammar of this challenging language to appear in English and is the summation of 20 years of intensive study by its author.