Bulgarian grammar

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Contents 1 Nouns 2 Adjectives 3 Pronouns 4 Verbs 4.1 Conjugations 4.2 Aspect 4.2.1 Secondary incompletive verbs 4.3 Present Тense 4.4 Past Imperfect Tense 4.5 Past Aorist Tense 4.5.1 Imperfective and perfective verbs 4.6 Past Imperfect or Past Aorist 4.7 Participles 4.7.1 Past active aorist participle 5 Word order 6 External links

[edit] Nouns

Main article: Bulgarian nouns

Bulgarian nouns have the categories grammatical gender, number, case (only vocative) and definiteness. A noun has one of three specific grammatical genders (masculine, feminine, neuter) and two numbers (singular and plural), With cardinal numbers and some adverbs, masculine nouns use a separate count form. Definiteness is expressed by a definite article which is postfixed to the noun.

[edit] Adjectives

Main article: Bulgarian adjectives

A Bulgarian adjective agrees in gender, number and definiteness with the noun it is appended to and is put usually before it. The comparative and the superlative form (unlike most other Slavic languages) are formed analytically.

[edit] Pronouns

Main article: Bulgarian pronouns

Bulgarian pronouns vary in gender, number, definiteness and case. They, more than any other part of speech, have preserved the proto-Slavic case system. The distinguishable types of pronouns include the following: personal, possessive, interrogative, demonstrative, reflexive, summative, negative, indefinite and relative.

[edit] Verbs

Bulgarian verbs are inflected for person, number and sometimes gender. They also have lexical aspect, voice, tense and mood. Because the subject of the verb can be inferred from the verb ending, it is often omitted. As there is no infinitive in the contemporary Bulgarian language the basic form of a verb is its persent simple tense first person singular form.

[edit] Conjugations

There are three conjugations. Of which conjugation a verb is is determined by the final vowel, in which the verb ends in the third person singular present simple tense. Verbs of the first conjugation end in e, of the second in и and of the third in а or я.

[edit] Aspect

Bulgarian verbs express lexical aspect (вид). The verbs are either of incompletive (глаголи от несвръшен вид) or completive (глаголи от свършен вид). The former describe actions in progress (uncompleted actions) and the latter whole completed actions (actions which have a beginnig and an end). So in Bulgarian an English verb is usually translated by two verbs (or sometimes by even three, see below). Perfective verbs can be usually formed from imperfective ones by suffixation or prefixation, but when prefixes (or very rarely suffixes) are used the resultant verb often deviates in meaning from the original. It is better to learn the pairs of verbs by heart because there are not any strict rules and irregularities are very common. Nevertheless many verbs can be grouped according to their stem change:

Completive	Incompletive	Completive	Incompletive	Completive	Incompletive
предложа	предлагам	отговоря	отговарям	кажа	казвам
изложа	излагам	изговоря	изговарям	накажа	наказвам
сложа	слагам	преговоря	преговарям	предскажа	предсказвам
възложа	възлагам	договоря	договарям	докажа	доказвам

It should be noted that the verbs from one pair are of different conjugations, for example кажа is from the first conjugation and казвам form the third.

In the past imperfect and the present tense completive verbs can't stand alone in an independent clause, in these tenses such verbs are used only in subordinate clauses.

[edit] Secondary incompletive verbs

Very often when a completive verb is formed from an incompletive one by means of a prefix (or rarely a suffix) this verb can be made again incompletive using a suffix. The resultant verb is called secondary incompletive verb (вторичен несвършен глагол). Here are some examples of such verbs:

Initial imperfective verb	Perfective verb	Secondary imperfective verb	Meaning
мета	измета	измитам	to sweep
вадя	извадя	изваждам	to take out
лъжа	излъжа	излъгвам	to tell a lie
мажа	намажа	намазвам	to spread, to smear
уча	науча	научавам	to learn
пиша	напиша	написвам	to write
чета	прочета	прочитам	to read
мърдам	мръдна	мръдвам	to move
топя	топна	топвам	to dip

In English there is no difference in meaning between the three types of verbs (they are all translated by one verb), but in Bulgarian there is. Verbs from the first type describe uncomplited actions (for example the verb мета could be roughly translated in English as to be sweeping), verbs form the second describe whole, completed actions. Verbs from the third type are a combination between the first two. Although they are imperfective as the initial ones, they preserve the perfective meaning of the second verbs, they are only grammatically imperfective.

Secondary imperfective verbs are used because, as mentioned above, perfective verbs can't stand alone in an independent clause in the present simple tense. So when one wants to use the meaning of a perfective verb in such sentences first they have to transform it into an imperfective verb. Here' s an example:

Всеки ден мете двора.	Всеки ден измете двора. (incorrect)	Всеки ден измита двора.

All sentences are translated in English as "He (or she) sweeps the yard every day", but in Bulgarian there is a difference between them. The first one doesn't necessarily mean that the whole work is done, that the whole yard is clean after he/she has swept. If we want to emphasize that the whole action is completed, that first he/she begins to sweep, then he/she sweeps and in the end when he/she has swept the whole yard he/she stops sweeping, we have to use a perfective verb (as in the second sentence). But since in present simple tense perfective verbs can't be used alone in independent clauses (which means that the second sentence is incorrect), we have to use a verb, which has perfective meaning but is grammatically imperfective, in other words we have to use a secondary imperfective verb.

This use of secondary imperfective verbs is not restricted only for the present tense. It is common in the other tenses too. Here is an example in the future simple tense:

Ще измета двора.	Всеки ден ще мета двора.	Всеки ден ще измета двора. (incorrect)	Всеки ден ще измитам двора.

The first sentence means "I'll sweep the yard" (but just once), the other three mean "I will sweep the yard every day". As can be seen from the first sentence the perfective verb describes a whole, completed action, which will be done only once, so we can't use this verb in a sentence which suggests that the activity will be done more than once. Such sentences are the other three, they contain the phrase Всеки ден ("Every day"). That's why the third sentence isn't correct. The difference between the second and the fourth sentence is the same as between the first and the third sentence from the previous example.

[edit] Present Тense

The present tense is used to:

• describe an action that is happening at the moment of speaking;
• talk about things that are always true;
• talk about habits or things that happen on a regular basis;

Imperfective and perfective verbs are conjugated in the same way, but perfective verbs take the particle да before them, because they can't be used alone in independent clauses. This form of the verb (the one with да) is actually the subjunctive mood.

Verbs form the present tense according to their conjugation. They take the following personal endings:

Personal endings
Person	1st and 2nd conjugation		3rd conjuation
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
1st	-а/я	-м	-м	-ме
2nd	-ш	-те	-ш	-те
3rd	-	-ат/ят	-	-т

These endings are placed directly after the form of the verb in third person singular (that is why it has no ending - it just ends in e, и, а or я), except for -а, -я, -ат and -ят. Before these endings are added, the final е/и is removed.

First conjugation verbs which in third person singular end in:

• a vowel + е or in -пе (also including дремя, скубя and their cognates) take the endings -я and -ят (играе - играя/играят, къпя/къпят, скубе - скубя/скубят) - I type;
• a consonant (different from п) + е take the endings -а and -ат (изплете - изплета/изплетат - II type;
• -чѐ (notice that the final syllable is stressed) take the endings -а and -ат and in first person singular and third person plural they change the ч into к — речѐ - река̀/река̀т - III type;

Second conjugation verbs that in third person singular end in:

• -жи, -чи or -ши take the endings -а and -ат (кръжи - кръжа/кръжат, мълчи - мълча/мълчат, греши - греша/грешат) - IV type;
• anything else take the endings -я and -ят (види - видя/видят) - V type

VI type verbs are all the verbs or the third conjugation.

Here are examples of some verbs. Each verb is given with its main form (first person singular present tense) and conjugation determiner (third person singular present tense):

Type	Main form	Conjugation determiner	Present Tense
			First person singular	Second person singular	Third person singular	First person plural	Second person plural	Third person plural
I	игра̀я	игра̀е	аз игра̀я	ти игра̀еш	той игра̀е	ние игра̀ем	вие игра̀ете	те игра̀ят
	къ̀пя	къ̀пе	аз къ̀пя	ти къ̀пеш	той къ̀пе	ние къ̀пем	вие къ̀пете	те къ̀пят
	дрѐмя	дрѐме	аз дрѐмя	ти дрѐмеш	той дрѐме	ние дрѐмем	вие дрѐмете	те дрѐмят
	ску̀бя	ску̀бе	аз ску̀бя	ти ску̀беш	той ску̀бе	ние ску̀бем	вие ску̀бете	те ску̀бят
II	изплета̀	изплетѐ	аз да* изплета̀	ти да* изплетѐш	той да* изплетѐ	ние да* изплетѐм	вие да* изплетѐте	те да* изплета̀т
III	река̀	речѐ	аз да* река̀	ти да* речѐш	той да* речѐ	ние да* речѐм	вие да* речѐте	те да* река̀т
IV	кръжа̀	кръжѝ	аз кръжа̀	ти кръжѝш	той кръжѝ	ние кръжѝм	вие кръжѝте	те кръжа̀т
	мълча̀	мълчѝ	аз мълча̀	ти мълчѝш	той мълчѝ	ние мълчѝм	вие мълчѝте	те мълча̀т
	греша̀	грешѝ	аз греша̀	ти грешѝш	той грешѝ	ние грешѝм	вие грешѝте	те греша̀т
V	вѝдя	вѝди	аз да* вѝдя	ти да* вѝдиш	той да* вѝди	ние да* вѝдим	вие да* вѝдите	те да* вѝдят
VI	ка̀звам	ка̀зва	аз ка̀звам	ти ка̀зваш	той ка̀зва	ние ка̀зваме	вие ка̀звате	те ка̀зват
Irregular verbs
-	съм	е	аз съм	ти си	той е	ние сме	вие сте	те са
-	дам	дадѐ	аз да* дам	ти да* дадѐш	той да* дадѐ	ние да* дадѐм	вие да* дадѐте	те да* дада̀т
-	знам/зна̀я	зна̀е	аз знам/зна̀я	ти зна̀еш	той зна̀е	ние зна̀ем	вие зна̀ете	те зна̀ят
-	мо̀га	мо̀же	аз мо̀га	ти мо̀жеш	той мо̀же	ние мо̀жем	вие мо̀жете	те мо̀гат
-	ям	ядѐ	аз ям	ти ядѐш	той ядѐ	ние ядѐм	вие ядѐте	те яда̀т

* да is used because the verbs are perfective.

[edit] Past Imperfect Tense

Past Imperfect Tense (Минало несвършено време) is used to talk about a temporary situation that existed at or around a particular time in the past. It also expresses past actions that were frequent, repeated, permanent or always true. Its most common use is in story telling to provide a background to other actions which are usually expressed with verbs in the past aorist. In this use it means that the action had begun and was in progress when the other action(s) happened, we don't know whether it stopped or not.

Both imperfective and perfective verbs have past imperfect tense. They are conjugated in the same way, with the little difference that perfective verbs take the particle да before them, because they can't be used alone in independent clauses.

In order to conjugate a verb in this tense, one has to know the verb's past imperfect basis, to which the following personal endings are added (they are the same for all conjugations):

Personal endings Past Imperfect Tense
Person	Number
	Singular	Plural
First	-х	-хме
Second	-ше	-хте
Third	-ше	-ха

The basis is formed from the determiner of the verb's conjugation (its third person singular form in the present simple tense). Here are the rules for forming the basis (there are also a very few irregular verbs):

• Verbs of the first and second conjugation:
  • the stress of the conjugation determiner falls on the last syllable (or the verb is monosyllabic) — these verbs change the final е/и into я (плета̀ - плетѐ - плетя̀+х, твърдя̀ - твръдѝ - твърдя̀+х, спя - спи - спя+х);
  • the stress of the conjutation determiner falls on the last syllable and the letter preceding the final е/и is ж, ч or ш — the final е/и changes into а (пека̀ - печѐ -печа̀+х, троша̀ - трошѝ - троша̀+х);
  • the stress of the conjugation determiner doesn't fall on the last syllable - the final e/и changes into e, which means that the basis of some first conjugation verbs coincides with their determiner (игра̀я - игра̀е - игра̀е+х, ва̀рдя - ва̀рди - ва̀рде+х);
• verbs of the third conjugation - the basis always coincides with the conjugation determiner (казвам - казва - казва+х).

Here are examples of some verbs (in order to make the above explanations clear the verbs are given together with their third person singular form):

• игра̀я - игра̀е (an imperfective verb of the first conjugation whose stress is not on the last syllable);
• плета̀ - плетѐ (an imperfective verb of the first conjugation whose stress is on the last syllable);
• измета̀ - изметѐ (a perfective verb of the first conjugation whose stress is on the last syllable);
• ва̀рдя - ва̀рди (to guard - an imperfective verb of the second conjugation whose stress is not on the last syllable);
• вѝдя - вѝди (a perfective verb of the second conjugation whose stress is not on the last syllable);
• твърдя̀ - твръдѝ (to claim - an imperfective verb of the second conjugation whose stress is on the last syllable);
• троша̀ - трошѝ (to crush - an imperfective verb of the second conjugation whose stress is on the last syllable and which has ш before the и);
• казвам - казва (an imperfective verb of the third conjugation).
• умра̀ - умрѐ (to die - an irregular perfective verb; although the stress is on the last syllable the final е doesn't change)

Past Imperfect Tense
Person and Number	игра̀я	плета̀	измета̀	ва̀рдя	вѝдя	твърдя̀	троша̀	казвам	умра̀
First person singular	аз играех	аз плетях	аз да изметях	аз вардех	аз да видех	аз твърдях	аз трошах	аз казвах	аз да умрех
Second person singular	ти играеше	ти плетеше*	ти да изметеше*	ти вардеше	ти да видеше	ти твърдеше*	ти трошеше*	ти казваше	ти да умреше
Third person singular	той играеше	той плетеше*	той да изметеше*	той вардеше	той да видеше	той твърдеше*	той трошеше*	той казваше	той да умреше
First person plural	ние играехме	ние плетяхме	ние да изметяхме	ние вардехме	ние да видехме	ние твърдяхме	ние трошахме	ние казвахме	ние да умрехме
Second person plural	вие играехте	вие плетяхте	вие да изметяхте	вие вардехте	вие да видехте	вие твърдяхте	вие трошахте	вие казвахте	вие да умрехте
Third person plural	те играеха	те плетяха	те да изметяха	те вардеха	те да видеха	те твърдяха	те трошаха	те казваха	те да умреха

*Verbs of the first and the second conjugation in second and third person singular always change the я or а to e (this is actually an umlaut).

[edit] Past Aorist Tense

Past aorist tense (Минало свършено време) expresses an action that happened at a specific time in the past. Both imperfective and perfective verbs have such tense (there is no difference in their conjugation).

Similarly, as in past imperfect tense, verbs have past aorist basis to which the following personal endings are added (they are the same for all conjugations):

Personal endings Past Aorist Tense
Person	Number
	Singular	Plural
First	-х	-хме
Second	-	-хте
Third	-	-ха

Rules for forming the basis:

Present Tense	Past Aorist Tense
ти четѐш	ти чѐте
той четѐ	той чѐте
ти да до̀йдеш	ти дойдѐ
той да до̀йде	той дойдѐ
аз да река̀	аз рекох̀
той да речѐ	ти/той рѐче
аз сека̀	аз ся̀кох
той сечѐ	ти/той сѐче

• first conjugation verbs which in third person singular present tense end in:
  • -те, -де, -се or -езе (except отида, ида, везя, бъда and their cognates) — these verbs change the final е into о (плета - плете - плето+х, дада - даде - дадо+х, донеса - донесе - донесо+х, вляза - влезе - влязо+х), except in second and third person singular. These forms preserve the е. Nevertheless they still differ from the present forms in stress position (see the table to the right) - I type;
  • -рече, -тече or - пече — че changes into ко (река - рече - реко+х, изтека - изтече - изтеко+х, опека - опече - опеко+х), except in second and third person singular. These forms preserve the че, but still differ in stress. (see the table) - II type;
  • -сече or -лече — ече changes into яко (сека - сече - сяко+х, облека - облече - обляко+х) except in second and third person singular. These forms preserve the ече, but still differ in stress. (see the table) - III type;
  • a consonant + ре — the final е changes into я (умра - умре - умря+х, спра - спре - спря+х) - IV type;
  • -бе, -ве, -не, -пе, -оре (including веза, гриза and their cognates) — the final е changes into а (скубя - скубе - скуба+х, падна - падне - падна+х, ухапя - ухапе - ухапа+х) - V type;
  • -че (different from II and III type) — че changes into ка (плача - плаче - плака+х, дъвча - дъвче - дъвка+х) - VI type;
  • -еже (including verbs of the second conjugation ending in -ежи) — еже changes into яза (режа - реже - ряза+х, бележа - бележи - беляза+х) - VII type;
  • -ъже, -рже (except вържа and its cognates) and -риже (except харижа and its cognates) — же changes into га (лъжа - лъже - лъга+х, стържа - стърже - стърга+х, стрижа - стриже - стрига+х) - VIII type;
  • -иже (different from VIII type) and -аже (including вържа, харижа and their cognates) — же changes into за (кажа - каже - каза+х, ближа - ближе - близа+х) - IX type;
  • -ше — ше changes into са (пиша - пише - писа+х, бърша - бърше - бърса+х) - X type;
  • -жее, -чее, -шее — ее changes into а (възмъжея - възмъжее - възмъжа+х, закопчея - закопчее - закопча+х, вършея - вършее - върша+х) - XI type;
  • -ее (different from XI type) — ее changes into я (живея - живее - живя+х, пея - пее - пя+х) - XII type;
  • -ае — these verbs are irregular, some of them change the ае into а, others change it into ая (желая - желае - жела+х, омая - омае - омая+х) - XIII type;
  • -ие and -уе — the final е is left out (гния - гние - гни+х, чуя - чуе - чу+х) - XIV type;
  • -ере — ере changes into ра (пера - пере - пра+х, разбере - разбра+х) - XV type;
  • -ме (except дремя and its cognates) — ме is left out (взема - вземе - взе+х, приема - приеме - прие+х) - XVI type;
• second conjugation verbs: the basis of these verbs ends in и, я or a (only verbs that have ж or ч before the final и in third person singular present tense), but most of them are irregular because one can't be absolutely sure which of the three letters to use. Here are the rules:
  • verbs that in third person singualr present tense end in ши — the basis is the same as the form of the verbs in third person singular present tense (their conjugation determiner) (реша - реши - реши+х, довърша - довърши - довърши+х) - XVII type;
  • verbse whose stress doesn't fall on the last syllable (except видя and its cognates) — the basis is the same as the conjugation determiner (рабо̀тя - рабо̀ти - рабòти+х, мѝсля - мѝсли - мѝсли+х) - XVIII type;
  • verbs whose stress falls on the last syllable and:
    • are transitive — the basis coincides with the conjugation determiner but there are many exceptions (изгоря̀ - изгорѝ - изгорѝ+х - "to burn something", вманиача̀ - вманиачѝ - вманиачѝ+х, умножа̀ - умножѝ - умножѝ+х) - XIX type;
    • are intransitive and:
      • don't have ж or ч before the final и in the conjugation determiner — the final и changes into я but there are many exceptions (изгоря̀ -изгорѝ - изгоря̀+х - "to burn", излетя̀ - излетѝ -излетя̀+х, изкипя̀ - изкипѝ - изкипя̀+х) - XX type;
      • have ж or ч before the final и in the conjugation determiner — the final и changes into а but there are also exceptions (мълча̀ - мълчѝ - мълча̀+х, лежа̀ - лежѝ - лежа̀+х) - XXI type;
  • verbs that in third person singular present tense end in ои (except стоя and its cognates) — the basis coincides with the conjugation determiner (напоя - напои - напои+х, броя - брои - брои+х) - XXII type;
• third conjugation verbs — the basis always coincides with the conjugation determiner (ядосам - ядоса - ядоса+х) - XXIII type;

Here are the conjugations of some verbs:

Type	Main form	Conjugation determiner	Past Aorist Tense
			First person singular	Second person singular	Third person singular	First person plural	Second person plural	Third person plural
I	чета̀	четѐ	аз чѐтох	ти чѐте	той чѐте	ние чѐтохме	вие чѐтохте	те чѐтоха
	до̀йда	до̀йде	аз дойдо̀х	ти дойдѐ	той дойдѐ	ние дойдо̀хме	вие дойдо̀хте	те дойдо̀ха
	паса̀	пасѐ	аз па̀сох	ти па̀се	той па̀се	ние па̀сохме	вие па̀сохте	те па̀соха
	вля̀за*	взѐзе*	аз взля̀зох*	ти влѐзе*	той влѐзе*	ние вля̀зохме*	вие вля̀зохте*	те вля̀зоха*
II	река̀	речѐ	аз рѐкох	ти рѐче	той рѐче	ние рѐкохме	вие рѐкохте	те рѐкоха
	изтека̀	изтечѐ	аз изтѐкох	ти изтѐче	той изтѐче	ние изтѐкохме	вие изтѐкохте	те изтѐкоха
	опека̀	опечѐ	аз опѐкох	ти опѐче	той опѐче	ние опѐкохме	вие опѐкохте	те опѐкоха
III	сека̀*	сечѐ*	аз ся̀к'ох*'	ти сѐче*	той сѐче*	ние ся̀кохме*	вие ся̀кохте*	те ся̀коха*
	облека̀*	облечѐ*	аз обля̀кох*	ти облѐче*	той облѐче*	ние обля̀кохме*	вие обля̀кохте*	те обля̀коха*
IV	умра̀	умрѐ	аз умря̀х	ти умря̀	той умря̀	ние умря̀хме	вие умря̀хте	те умря̀ха
V	ску̀бя	ску̀бе	аз ску̀бах	ти ску̀ба	той ску̀ба	ние ску̀бахме	вие ску̀бахте	те ску̀баха
	зова̀	зовѐ	аз зова̀х	ти зова̀	той зова̀	ние зова̀хме	вие зова̀хте	те зова̀ха
	па̀дна	па̀дне	аз па̀днах	ти па̀дна	той па̀дна	ние па̀днахме	вие па̀днахте	те па̀днаха
	къ̀пя	къ̀пе	аз къ̀пах	ти къ̀па	той къ̀па	ние къ̀пахме	вие къ̀пахте	те къ̀паха
	ора̀	орѐ	аз ора̀х	ти ора̀	той ора̀	ние ора̀хме	вие ора̀хте	те ора̀ха
VI	пла̀ча	пла̀че	аз пла̀ках	ти пла̀ка	той пла̀ка	ние пла̀кахме	вие пла̀кахте	те пла̀каха
VII	рѐжа	рѐже	аз ря̀зах	ти ря̀за	той ря̀за	ние ря̀захме	вие ря̀захте	те ря̀заха
	белѐжа	белѐжи	аз беля̀зах	ти беля̀за	той беля̀за	ние беля̀захме	вие беля̀захте	те беля̀заха
VIII	лъ̀жа	лъ̀же	аз лъ̀гах	ти лъ̀га	той лъ̀га	ние лъ̀гахме	вие лъ̀гахте	те лъ̀гаха
	стъ̀ржа	стъ̀рже	аз стъ̀ргах	ти стъ̀рга	той стъ̀рга	ние стъ̀ргахме	вие стъ̀ргахте	те стъ̀ргаха
	стрѝжа	стрѝже	аз стрѝгах	ти стрѝга	той стрѝга	ние стрѝгахме	вие стрѝгахте	те стрѝгаха
IX	блѝжа	блѝже	аз блѝзах	ти блѝза	той блѝза	ние блѝзахме	вие блѝзахте	те блѝзаха
	ка̀жа	ка̀же	аз ка̀зах	ти ка̀за	той ка̀за	ние ка̀захме	вие ка̀захте	те ка̀заха
X	пѝша	пѝше	аз пѝсах	ти пѝса	той пѝса	ние пѝсахме	вие пѝсахте	те пѝсаха
XI	възмъжѐя	възмъжѐе	аз възмъжа̀х	ти възмъжа̀	той възмъжа̀	ние възмъжа̀хме	вие възмъжа̀хте	те възмъжа̀ха
	закопчѐя	закопчѐе	аз закопча̀х	ти закопча̀	той закопча̀	ние закопча̀хме	вие закопчаа̀хте	те закопчаа̀ха
	вършѐя	вършѐе	аз върша̀х	ти върша̀	той върша̀	ние върша̀хме	вие върша̀хте	те върша̀ха
XII	живѐя	живѐе	аз живя̀х	ти живя̀	той живя̀	ние живя̀хме	вие живя̀хте	те живя̀ха
XIII	жела̀я	жела̀е	аз жела̀х	ти жела̀	той жела̀	ние жела̀хме	вие жела̀хте	те жела̀ха
	ома̀я	ома̀е	аз омая̀х	ти омая̀	той омая̀	ние омая̀хме	вие омая̀хте	те омая̀ха
XIV	гнѝя	гнѝе	аз гнѝх	ти гнѝ	той гнѝ	ние гнѝхме	вие гнѝхте	те гнѝха
	чу̀я	чу̀е	аз чух	ти чу	той чу	ние чу̀хме	вие чу̀хте	те чу̀ха
XV	пера̀	перѐ	аз прах	ти пра	той пра	ние пра̀хме	вие пра̀хте	те пра̀ха
XVI	взѐма	взѐме	аз взех	ти взе	той взе	ние взѐхме	вие взѐхте	те взѐха
XVII	реша̀	решѝ	аз решѝх	ти решѝ	той решѝ	ние решѝхме	вие решѝхте	те решѝха
XVIII	рабо̀тя	рабо̀ти	аз рабо̀тих	ти рабо̀ти	той рабо̀ти	ние рабо̀тихме	вие рабо̀тихте	те рабо̀тиха
XIX	изгоря̀	изгорѝ	аз изгорѝх	ти изгорѝ	той изгорѝ	ние изгорѝхме	вие изгорѝхте	те изгорѝха
XX	изгоря̀	изгорѝ	аз изгоря̀х	ти изгоря̀	той изгоря̀	ние изгоря̀хме	вие изгоря̀хте	те изгоря̀ха
XXI	лежа̀	лежѝ	аз лежа̀х	ти лежа̀	той лежа̀	ние лежа̀хме	вие лежа̀хте	те лежа̀ха
	мълча̀	мълчѝ	аз мълча̀х	ти мълча̀	той мълча̀	ние мълча̀хме	вие мълча̀хте	те мълча̀ха
XXII	напоя̀	напоѝ	аз напоѝх	ти напоѝ	той напоѝ	ние напоѝхме	вие напоѝхте	те напоѝха
XXIII	ядо̀сам	ядо̀са	аз ядо̀сах	ти ядо̀са	той ядо̀са	ние ядо̀сахме	вие ядо̀сахте	те ядо̀саха
Irregular verbs
-	съм	е	аз бях	ти бе(ше)	той бе(ше)	ние бяхме	вие бяхте	те бяха
-	бъ̀да	бъ̀де	аз бих/бѝдох	ти би/бѝде	той би/бѝде	ние бѝхме/бѝдохме	вие бѝхте/бѝдохте	те бѝха/бѝдоха
-	ща	ще	аз щях	ти щя/щѐше*	той щя/щѐше*	ние щя̀хме	вие щя̀хте	те щяха
-	кълна̀	кълнѐ	аз клех	ти кле	той кле	ние клѐхме	вие клѐхте	те клѐха
-	дрѐмя*	дрѐме*	аз дря̀мах*	ти дря̀ма*	той дря̀ма*	ние дря̀махме*	вие дря̀махте*	те дря̀маха*
-	стоя̀	стоѝ	аз стоя̀х	ти стоя̀	той стоя̀	ние стоя̀хме	вие стоя̀хте	те стоя̀ха
-	вѝдя	вѝди	аз видя̀х	ти видя̀	той видя̀	ние видя̀хме	вие видя̀хте	те видя̀ха
-	спя	спи	аз спах	ти спа	той спа	ние спа̀хме	вие спа̀хте	те спа̀ха
-	мѐля	мѐли	аз млях	ти мля	той мля	ние мля̀хме	вие мля̀хте	те мля̀ха
-	ко̀ля	ко̀ли	аз клах	ти кла	той кла	ние кла̀хме	вие кла̀хте	те кла̀ха

*This is a regular umlaut

[edit] Imperfective and perfective verbs

Although imperfective and perfective verbs are conjugated in the same way in the past aorist tense, there is difference in their meaning. Compare the sentences:

With an imperfective verb	Meaning	With a pefective verb	Meaning
Вчера четох една книга	Yesterday, I read a book but I didn't finish it	Вчера прочетох една книга	Yesterday, I finished reading a book/I read a whole book.

[edit] Past Imperfect or Past Aorist

Usually the difference between the two tenses is very clear:

• past imperfect is used for habits, things that were always true, actions that happened many times or for background for other actions.
• past aorist is used for single actions that have a beginning and an end.

But imperfective verbs both in past imperfect and past aorist can express actions that have long duration and therefore both tenses can be used to say that one action happened at the same time as another. One should always keep in mind that past aorist means that the action began and stopped, and past imperfect that the action was in progress. Compare the sentences (they all contain the imperfective verb играя that expresses an action with some duration, but depending on the tense the sentences have different meaning):

Sentence	Meaning
Докато децата играеха навън, едно от тях си счупи крака.	While the kids were playing outside one of them broke his/her leg. (играеха is in past imperfect and счупи is a perfective verb in past aorist. This means that at a single moment of their play the kid broke his/her leg)
Децата си прекараха чудесно, докато играха навън.	The kids had a great time playing outside. Literal translation: The kids had a great time while they played outside. (прекараха is a perfective verb in past aorist and играха is in past aorist. Since играха is not in past imperfect the sentence means that the kids had a great time during the whole time they played outside, not just at a single moment)
Децата играха навън, докато не заваля.	The kids played outside until it started raining. (The action ended that's why играха is in the past aorist, not in the past imperfect)
Децата играеха навън. Изведнъж заваля, но продължиха да играят.	The kids were playing outside. Suddenly, it started raining but they continued to play. (The action didn't end so играеха can't be in the past aorist)

[edit] Participles

[edit] Past active aorist participle

Past active aorist participle (минало свършено деятелно причастие) is used to form the present perfect tense, in the renarrative and conditional mood and as an adjective. It is formed by adding -л (this is its masculine indefinite form) to the past aorist basis (first person singular past aorist tensе but without the final х), but additional alterations of the basis are also possible. The indefinite feminine, neuter and plural forms take respectively the endings -а, -о and -и after the masculine form, but if it ends in -ъл, the ъ is removed before adding the endings. The definite forms are formed from the indefinite by adding the definite articles -ят/я for masculine participles, та for feminine participles, то for neuter participles and те for plural participles (note that before adding -ят/я to a masculine participle it gets an additional и after the л and if the participle ends in -ъл, the ъ is left out).

The participle is formed according to the ending of the basis. If it ends in:

• a vowel + то/до, the то/до is removed and the л is added (четох - чето - чел, дадох - дадо - дал) - I type;
• a consonant + то, the то is removed and ъл is added (растох - расто - расъл) - II type;
• -зо, -ко or -со, the о is removed and ъл is added (влязох - влязо - влязъл, рекох - реко - рекъл) - III type;
• anything else, л is added without any additional changes (спрях - спря - спрял, пих - пи - пил) - IV type;

Here are some examples:

Type	First person singular past aorist tense	Past aorist basis	Past active aorist participle
			Masculine		Feminine		Neuter		Plural
			Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
I	чѐтох	чѐто	чел	чѐлия(т)	чѐла	чѐлата	чѐло	чѐлото	чѐли	чѐлите
	да̀дох	да̀до	дал	да̀лия(т)	да̀ла	да̀лата	да̀ло	да̀лото	да̀ли	да̀лите
II	ра̀стох	ра̀сто	ра̀съл	ра̀слия(т)	ра̀сла	ра̀слата	ра̀сло	ра̀слото	ра̀сли	ра̀слите
III	вля̀зох	вля̀зо*	вля̀зъл*	влѐзлия(т)	вля̀зла*	вля̀злата*	вля̀зло*	вля̀злото*	влѐзли*	влѐзлите*
	рѐкох	рѐко	рѐкъл	рѐклия(т)	рѐкла	рѐклата	рѐкло	рѐклото	рѐкли	рѐклите
	па̀сох	па̀со	па̀съл	па̀слия(т)	па̀сла	па̀слата	па̀сло	па̀слото	па̀сли	па̀слите
IV	умря̀х*	умря̀*	умря̀л*	умрѐлия(т)	умря̀ла*	умря̀лата*	умря̀ло*	умря̀лото*	умрѐли*	умрѐлите*
	пих	пи	пил	пѝлия(т)	пѝла	пѝлата	пѝло	пѝлото	пѝли	пѝлите
Irregular participles
-	бях	бя	бил	билѝя(т)	била̀	била̀та	било̀	било̀то	билѝ	билѝте
-	дойдо̀х	дойдо̀	дошъ̀л	дошлѝя(т)	дошла̀	дошла̀та	дошло̀	дошло̀то	дошлѝ	дошлѝте
-	можа̀х	можа̀	могъ̀л	моглѝя(т)	могла̀	могла̀та	могло̀	могло̀то	моглѝ	моглѝте
-	отѝдох	отѝдо	отѝшъл	отѝшлия(т)	отѝшла	отѝшлата	отѝшло	отѝшлото	отѝшли	отѝшлите

* this is a regular umlaut.

[edit] Word order

Although Bulgarian has almost no noun cases its word order is rather free. It is even freer than the word order of some languages that have cases, for example German. This is due to the agreement between the subject and the verb of a sentence. So in Bulgarian the sentence "I saw Lubomir" can be expressed thus:

• Видях Любомир.
• Любомир (го) видях.

It is clear that the subject is "аз" ("I"), because the verb "видях" ends in x.

Other examples - Ivan greeted the girls:

• Иван поздрави момичетата.
• Момичетата (ги) поздрави Иван.
• Иван момичетата поздрави.
• Момичетата Иван (ги) поздрави.
• Поздрави Иван момичетата.
• Поздрави (ги) момичетата Иван.

Theoretically all permutations are possible but the last one sounds rather odd.

The girls greeted Ivan:

• Момичетата поздравиха Иван.
• Иван (го) поздравиха момичетата.
• Момичетата Иван поздравиха.
• Иван момичетата (го) поздравиха.
• Поздравиха момичетата Иван.
• Поздравиха (го) Иван момичетата.

The clitic doubling (го/ги) is obligatory only when the subject and the object are both in third person, and they are either both singular or both plural, but when the meaning is clear from the context it can be omitted. Examples:

• Иван го поздрави Мария. - Maria greeted Ivan.
• Мария я поздрави Иван. - Ivan greeted Maria.

but

• Ролите озвучиха артистите... - The artists...(enumerating their names) sound-screened the roles. (They made the soundtrack for the film.)

In the compound tenses, when a participle is used, and when the subject and the object are of different gender or number, the clitic doubling can also be left out. So the first two of the above examples can be expressed in a compound tense thus:

• Иван (го) е поздравила Мария. - Maria has greeted Ivan.
• Мария (я) е поздравил Иван. - Ivan has greeted Maria.

Although they sound odd without the doubling, the meaning is clear.

[edit] External links

• Bulgarian Wiktionary