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NOUNS Classification of the nouns In Bulgarian a noun (съществително име) is a word thar refers to an object, phenomenon, person, animal, plant etc. It is one of the two most important words in the language. The other one is the verb. According to their meaning the nouns are divided into six groups: common nouns(съществителни нарицателни), proper nouns(съществителни собствени), concrete nouns(конкретни съществителни), abstract nouns(абстрактни съществителни), single nouns(обикновени/единични съществителни) and collective nouns(събирателни/колективни съществителни). According to their origin the nouns are divided into two groups: original(първични/непроизводни) and derivative(производни). According to their form the nouns are simple(прости) and compound(сложни). Nouns are formed from other words by means of suffixes. Some important suffixes that are used to form nouns are:
Nouns change their form to show their different , Number , Definiteness and Case (to a very limited extent). Gender of the nouns In Bulgarian nouns have three genders: Masculine, Feminine And Neuter . The gender is an inherent characteristic of every noun. This means that each noun is masculine, feminine or neuter. Only nouns referring to people or animals can change their gender. In most cases the gender of the noun can be determined according to its ending, but there aren't any strict rules. Masculines are all the nouns which refer to male people or animals, and many more. Masculine nouns end in:
Feminines are all the nouns which refer to female people or animals, and many more. Feminine nouns end in:
Neuter nouns always end in a vowel:
Nouns referring to people or animals can change their gender (from masculine to feminine) by adding the suffixes: -ка, -'''ица''', -'''а''', -'''иня''': : ''учител - учителка : цар - царица : лъв - лъвица : дебелан - дебелана : бог - богиня Some masculine nouns (mostly loanwords) referring to people's professions don't have feminine forms: ''професор, министър, шофьор''. The gender of nouns that have no singular form can't be determined: ''финанси, очила, обуща''. Number of the nouns A noun has Singular (единствено) and Plural (множествено) number (число). Unlike in English, where almost all nouns add -s in the plural, in Bulgarian there are many endings and despite of the rules listed below one cannot be absolutely sure which ending to use with which noun. Besides, when forming the plural some nouns alter additionally. That's why a noun should always be learnt together with its plural form. Generally if the noun ends in a vowel, it is removed before adding the plural suffix. Sometimes the stress changes position. Masculine nouns form the plural with the following endings: # -и (most of the nouns having two or more syllables and a few monosyllabic nouns): ''народ - народи, баща - бащи, съдия - съдии, герой - герои, зъб - зъби(the stress falls on the first syllable), лъч - лъчи(the stress falls on the last syllable), гост - гости.'' When forming the plural with the ending -и, some nouns alter. The possible changes are: ## a change from the Velar consonants к, г, х, which are exactly before the ending -'''и''', to '''ц, з, с''' respectively (ези'''к''' - ези'''''ц''и''', подло'''г''' -подло'''''з''и''', кожу'''х''' - кожу'''''с''и'''). This happens always, except for Loanwords from English and German ending in -'''ng'''. In this case it is much better not to change '''г'''(g), although some people change it, but pronounced in this way, the words do not sound very well - митинг - митинг'''и'''(meeting), лозунг - лозунг'''и'''(Losung); ## losing the sound е in the final part of the word (''чужденец - чужде'''нц'''и''); ## losing the sound ъ in the final part of the word (''театър - теа'''тр'''и''). This happens almost always and not only when adding '''и''' (there are very few exceptions ''подарък - подаръци''); ## losing the sound е in the final part of the word and inserting '''ъ''' before '''л''', or '''р''' (''беглец - бег'''ълц'''и''); ## losing the suffix -ин (''българин - българ'''и'''''); ## a change from е(if it is after a vowel) to '''й''' (''боец - бо'''й'''ци''); ## a combination of the above alterations, for example losing the sound ъ in the final part of the word and a change from '''к''' to '''ц''' (''мом'''ък''' - мо'''мц'''и''). # -ове (most of the monosyllabic nouns and a few disyllabic nouns): ''град - град'''овè''', стол - стол'''òве''', блок - блок'''òве''', вятър - ветр'''овè'''.'' When forming the plural with the ending -ове some nouns alter. The possible changes are: ## a change of the stress position (''грàд - градов'''è''', ст'''ò'''л - стол'''ò'''ве''); ## a change from я to '''е''' ( Umlaut ): (''бряг - бр'''е'''говè''); ## Metathesis of ъ in the letter group '''ръ''' (''в'''ръ'''х - в'''ър'''ховè''); ## Palatalization of the preceding consonant, indicated by the letter ь (''зет - зèтьове''); ## a combination of the above alterations, for example a change from я to '''е''', and losing '''ъ''' in the final part of the word (''вят'''ъ'''р - в'''етр'''овè''), palatalization of the preceding consonant and losing '''ъ''' in the final part of the word (''ог'''ъ'''н - о'''гнь'''òве''). # -еве (most of the nouns ending in '''й'''): ''бро'''й''' - бро'''евè'''''. # -е (only a few nouns): ''мъж - мъж'''è''', кòн - кон'''è''', цàр - цар'''è''', княз - княз'''è''', крàл - крал'''è'''.'' In this case the stress always falls on the ending -е. # -а (only a few nouns): ''крàк - крак'''à''', рòг - рог'''à''', лист - лист'''à'''.'' In this case the stress always falls on the ending -а. The noun ''господин'' also belongs to this group, but it loses the suffix -'''ин''' in the plural (''господ'''ин''' - господ'''à'''''). # -я (only one noun): ''брат - брàтя''. # -ища (only a few nouns): ''път - пътища, край - крàища, сън - сънища.'' # -чета (some diminutives formed with the suffix -'''ец'''): ''град'''ец''' - градчета. # -овци (nouns referring to people): ''чичо - чичовци, дядо - дядовци, мързелан - мързелановци.'' The noun човек (person), has an irregular plural form - хора (people). Masculine nouns which end in a consonant have another plural form, besides their usual one. This form is called count form (бройна форма), and is only used after cardinal numbers and the adverbs ''колко''(how many), '''''толкова'''''(this/that/so many), '''''няколко'''''(several/a few/some). The count form is formed with the endings -а and -'''я'''. The rules which one to use are the same as those for the definite articles -а and -'''я''' with some minor differences. (''език - езика, брой - бро'''я''', учител - учител'''я''')''. This form is not used with nouns denoting persons and in such cases the usual plural form is much more preferred (''колко ученици'' - how many students, ''осем ученици - eight students). The usual form is also used after masculine numbers (in Bulgarian some cardinal numbers have gender), ending in -ма (these forms of the numbers are used only with male persons, not with other masculine nouns denoting inanimate objects) - ''двама ученици''(two students), ''петима ученици''(five students). Nouns do not lose the sounds -ъ and -'''е''' in their count form, unlike they do in their usual plural form театър - театри - три театъра, скакалец - скакалци - три скакалеца. Exceptions are the nouns литър(litre) and метър(metre), when they mean measures of volume and length - ''литър - литри - четири литра, метър - метри - четири метра''. But when ''метър'' means meter (a device that measures and records the amount of electricity, gas, water, etc.) it does not lose the ъ. Therefore one should distinguish between ''два метра''(as a unit of length) and ''два метъра''(as a device that measures something). The stress in the count form never falls on the last syllable (on the ending). The noun ''път'' (road) has а usual plural form and a count form (''път - пътища - пътя''). In Bulgarian it has a homonym ''път''(time - an occasion, an instance) and it has only one plural form: ''път - пъти'' (''Колко пъти'' - How many times, ''много пъти'' - many times, ''един път, два пъти, сто пъти'' - once, two times, a hundred times). The most common count form in Bulgarian is this of the noun лев(lev - the Bulgarian currency) - ''два лева, три лева, сто лева''(two levs, three levs, one hundred levs). Its usual plural form is ''левове''. The usual plural of the noun ден(day) can be used instead of its count form, but not vice versa. The combinations of words ''два дни'' and ''два дена'' are both correct, but the sentence ''Зимните дена са студени'' (Winter days are cold) is incorrect. The form '''дни''' must be used, not '''дена''' - ''Зимните '''дни''' са студени.'' Feminine nouns form the plural with the following endings: # -и (almoust all nouns): ''жена - жени, цел - цели, стая - стаи''. When forming the plural with the ending -и some nouns alter. The possible changes are: ## a change from я to '''е''' ( Umlaut ) (''вяра - в'''е'''ри''); ## losing е and '''ъ''' in the final part of the word (''песен - пе'''сн'''и, мис'''ъ'''л - ми'''сл'''и); ## Metathesis of ъ in the letter group '''ръ''' (''к'''ръ'''в - к'''ър'''ви); # -е (only the following nouns): ''овца - овце, свиня - свине''. The nouns ''ръка'' and ''нога'' have an additional change in the plural - ''ръ'''ц'''е, но'''з'''е''. Neuter nouns form the plural with the following endings: # -а (nouns, ending in -'''о''', -'''це''', -'''ща'''): ''дърво - дърва, петънце - петънца, училище - училища''. The noun '''дете''' also forms the plural with -а (дете - де'''ца'''), which is actually derived from the archaic form ''детца''. When forming the plural with the ending -а some nouns alter. The possible changes are: ## a change of the stress position (''сèло - сел'''à'''''); ## a change from я to '''е''' ( Umlaut ) (''тяло (the stress falls on the first syllable) - т'''е'''лà''); # -та (nouns ending in -'''ле''', -'''е''', -'''че''', and the Loanwords ending in -'''у''', -'''ю''', -'''и'''): ''носле - нослета, море - морета, братче - братчета, бижу - бижута, меню - менюта, такси - таксита''. # -я (nouns ending in -'''ие''', the '''e''' is removed before adding -я): ''изключение - изключения, допълнение - допълнения''. The nouns ''цвете, лозе'' аlso form the plural with the ending -я (''цветя, лозя''). The variants ''моря'' (from ''море''), ''поля'' (from ''поле'') are found only in the poetry. # -на (only a few nouns ending in -'''ме'''): ''име - имена, време - времена, знаме - знамена''. # -са (veru few nouns): ''чудо - чудеса'' ('''о''' changes into '''е'''), ''небе - небеса''. # -и (not a large amount of nouns, ending in -'''о'''): ''животно - животни, насекомо - насекоми, око - о'''чи''''' (with an additional change of '''к'''), ''ухо - у'''ши''''' (with an additional change of '''х'''). Some neuter nouns have two or more plural forms (most of them with no difference in meaning). For example: ''кълбо - кълба and кълбета, крило - крила and криле, рамо - рамена and рамене, коляно - колена and колене, море - морета and моря, дърво - дървета, дърва and дървеса, четене - четения and четенета''. Sometimes these plural forms refer to different meanings (for example ''дърва'' - fuel wood, ''дървета'' - trees). In Bulgarian there are some nouns that are only in the singular, they are uncountable. Such nouns are some abstract words (''материализъм'' - materialism, ''сигурност'' - security, любов - love), some collective words (''студентство'' - students), chemical elements and some other substances (''водород'' - hydrogen, ''въглерод'' - carbon, ''грис'' - semolina, ''ориз'' - rice, etc.). There are also words which have only plural forms. These are nouns referring to objects, composed of two identical parts (''очила'' - glasses, ''ножици'' - scissors), and some concepts and objects, consisting of many elements (''въглища'' - coal, ''финанси'' - finances, ''пари'' - money). Definiteness of the nouns In Bulgarian nouns have the grammatical category Definiteness (определеност). The morphological indicator of definiteness is the presence of a special Morpheme , called Definite аrticle (определителен член). The definite article is placed after the noun and is written together with it. The using of the definite article in Bulgarian is called членуване. A noun used with the definite article denotes а known, definte object. Examples: Среща на ръководители на правителства в Париж (literal translation: A meeting of leaders of governments in Paris) (This is a headline in a newspaper, containing initial information - the reader doesn't know anything about the meeting. Срещата на ръководители'''те''' на правителствата в Париж (literal translation: The meeting of the leaders of the governments in Paris) (This is a headline in the newspaper on the other day, the reader now knows about the meeting). Това е книга (This is a book) - an unknown object, because it's the first time the speaker talks about it. Книгата има черна корица (The book has a black cover) - now the object is known and definite. Masculine nouns are used with the definite article in the following ways: 1. By adding -ът or -'''а''' at the end of the word (most of the nouns ending in a consonant): ''мъж - мъжът, мъж'''а'''; вятър - вятърът, вятър'''а'''''. The article -ът ('''ят''') is called full article (пълен член). It is used when the noun is the subject of the verb or a predicate nominal (Вятърът духа - The wind is blowing; Това е мъжът - This is the man). The article -а ('''я''') is called short article (кратък член). It is used when the noun is the object of the verb. The rule which article to use is observed only in writing. There is no differentiation between them when speaking. The two articles are both correct. Speakers show tendency to use the short article more often than the full one. When adding the definite article to some monosyllabic nouns the stress changes position and falls on the article (мъж - мъжът, мъж'''à'''). When this happens there is discrepancy between the pronunciation of the short article and its spelling. It is spelt -'''а''', but pronounced -ъ. When adding the article to nouns ending in -изъм, the sound '''ъ''' is left out in the suffix (идеализ'''ъ'''м - идеали'''зм'''ът, идеали'''зм'''а). 2. By adding -ят or -'''я'''. Nouns used with the definite article in this way are: # nouns formed with the suffix -тел (учител - учител'''ят''', учител'''я'''; предавател - предавател'''ят''', предавател'''я'''). # nouns formed with the suffix -ар (рибар - рибар'''ят''', рибар'''я'''). # masculine nouns ending in -й, the -й is left out (бой - бо'''ят''', бо'''я'''). # about ten nouns, which in a past state of the language ended in a soft consonant (цар - царят, цар'''я'''; път - пътят, път'''я'''; огън - огънят, огън'''я'''; крал - кралят, крал'''я'''; сън - сънят, сън'''я'''; кон - конят, кон'''я'''; ден - денят, ден'''я'''; also - лакът, зет, нокът). When adding the definite article to some monosyllabic nouns the stress changes position and falls on the article. When this happens there is discrepancy between the pronunciation of the articles and their spelling. They are spelt -ят and -'''я''', but pronounced -'''йът''' and -'''йъ'''. Masculine nouns which end in -я, -'''а''', -'''е''', -'''о''', and denote persons (баща, съдия, дядо, аташе) are used with the definite articles -'''та''' and -'''то''', which are articles for feminine and neuter nouns (баща'''та''', съдия'''та''', дядо'''то''', аташе'''то'''), i. e. in these cases the article is determined not according to the gender of the nouns, but according to the stem-final vowel of the words. Feminine singular nouns are used with the definite article -та (жана - жената, земя - земята, любов - любовта, старост - старостта). When adding the definite article to feminine nouns ending in a consonant, the stress changes postion and falls on the article (любòв - любовтà, стàрост - старосттà). Note: When used with the definite article feminine nouns enging in '''т''' are often pronounced with only one '''т''' (старос'''т'''а). But in writing there must be two '''т''' (старос'''тт'''а). The presence of only one '''т''' is considered to be a gross error. Neuter singular nouns are used with the definite article -то (дете - детето, око - окото, бижу - бижуто, такси - таксито, меню - менюто). Plural nouns are used with the following definite articles: # -те all plural nouns which end in -'''е''' or -'''и''', regardless of their gender. # -та all plural nouns which end in -'''а''' or -'''я''', regardless of their gender. Case of the nouns. The Vocative In Bulgarian masculine and feminine nouns have two cases (падежи) ''' Nominative ''' ('''Именителен падеж''') and ''' Vocative ''' ('''Звателен падеж'''). The vocative is used when addressing a person or a thing, in all other cases the nominative is used. Theoretically, all masculine and feminine nouns can be declined in the vocative but vocative forms are used mainly with personal names and with nouns denoting people. Masculine nouns are declined in the vocative by adding the following endings: # -е - most of the nouns (Иване, господине). # -ю - all nouns ending in -'''тел''' and -'''ар''' (приятелю, лекарю), and the very same nouns which are used with the definite article -'''я(т)''' (царю, кралю) # -о - nouns ending in: ## -ин (except for господин). With such nouns the ending -'''e''' is also used, but rarely - българин'''о''' and българин'''е''', граджанин'''о''' and гражданин'''е'''. ## -ик - виновник'''о''', кръстник'''о'''. ## -ач - носач'''о''', продавач'''о'''. ## -ец - мързеливец'''о''', хубавец'''о'''. ## -ник - нахалник'''о''', измамник'''о'''. ## -ак - тъпак'''о''', глупак'''о'''. ## and some other nouns - мъжо. # -и - only one noun - Господи. When forming the vocative some nouns alter additionally. For example: # sound changes - Бог - Бо'''ж'''е, съпруг - съпру'''ж'''е, юна'''к''' - юна'''ч'''е. # losing sounds - Петър - Пе'''тр'''е, стар'''ец''' - ста'''рч'''е. Feminine nouns are declined in the vocative by removing -a or -'''я''' and adding the following endings: # - о - most of the nouns (жено, сестро, птицо) and nouns ending in: ## -телкa - with such nouns the ending -'''e''' is also used, but very rarely (учителк'''о''' and учителк'''е''', приятелк'''о''' and приятелк'''е'''). ## -я - if я stands after a vowel, it is transformed into '''й''' and into '''ь''' if it is after a consonant (България - Българи'''йо''', леля - лел'''ьо'''). # -е - nouns ending in: ## -кa - with such nouns, which are not personal names, the ending -'''o''' is also used, but very rarely - лекарк'''е''' and лекарк'''о''', but Здравк'''е''' not Здравк'''о''' (Здравка is a personal name and the form Здравко sounds like a male name). ## -ица (except for птица) - вещиц'''е''', цариц'''е'''. Feminine nouns which end in a consonant do not have vocative forms. Feminine vocative forms which end in -о are often avoided in the contemporary Bulgarian language, because they are considered by some to be rude (Елено, Богдано). The nominative forms or nicknames are used instead (Елена or Ели, Богдана or Боби). However, feminine vocative forms ending in -'''е''' are regularly used (Иванке, Стефке). ADJECTIVES According to their origin Adjective s ('''прилагателни имена''') are '''original''' (not derived from other words) - добър, зъл, нов, стар, and '''derivative''' (derived from other words) - книжен, селски, космат. According to their form adjectives are simple (containing only one Morpheme ) - добър, нов, стар, and '''compound''' (containing two or more Morphemes - тъмнозелен, коравосърдечен, широкоплещест. Forming adjectives Adjectives can be formed from other words by means of Suffixes and Prefixes . Some important suffixes are:
Some important prefixes are:
Alteration of the adjectives In Bulgarian adjectives change their form to show their different , Number , and Definiteness . Gender and Number Adjectives agree in gender and number with the nouns they qualify, therefore they have masculine, feminine, neuter and plural forms. In the contemporary Bulgarian language the three genders have the same plural form. The adjective usually stands before the noun, but it can be put after it, when emphasizing or in the poetry. The basic form of an adjective is its masculine singular form, used without the Definite Article (for example нов). This form is called simple form (проста форма). There is another form called extended form (разширена форма). It is formed by adding -и(й) (actually it is identical to the plural form) to the end of the word (нов - нови(й)). Some adjectives alter additionally in their extended form. In the contemporary language the exended form cannot be used on its own, but there are some adjectives that have only extended form - птичи, вълчи, лисичи. It is used when making the definite form of the adjective and with masculine Vocative forms (in such cases the extended form can't be replaced by the simple one). For example: уважаеми господине not уважаем господине. The feminine form is made by adding -'''а''' to the simple form (млад - млад'''а'''). The adjective ''син'' (blue) is an exception (син - син'''я'''). The neuter form is made by adding -'''о''' to the simple form (млад - млад'''о'''), or rarely by adding -'''e''' (висш - висш'''е'''). The adjective ''син'' is an exception (син - син'''ьо'''). The plural form is made by adding -'''и''' to the simple form (млад - млад'''и'''). When inflecting adjectives, some changes might occur. For example:
Definiteness When a noun is accompanied by an adjective or by more than one, only the first adjective is used with the definite article (just like in English) - добрият мъж (the good man) not добрият мъжът (the good the man). The masculine definite form is made with the article -'''ят''', -'''я'''. If the adjective ends in -'''и''', the definte article is added directly to it (мъжк'''и''' - мъжки'''ят''', мъжки'''я'''). If not, the article is added to the extended form, which ends in -'''и''' (велик'''и''' - велики'''ят''', велики'''я'''). The usage of the full article -'''ят''' and the short - -'''я''' is determined by the same rules as those for the definite articles used with masculine nouns. The feminine definite form is made with the article -'''та''', which is added to the feminine form (добра - добра'''та''', синя - синя'''та'''). The neuter definite form is made with the article -'''то''', which is added to the neuter form (добро - добро'''то''', висше - висшето). The plural definite form is made with the article -'''те''', which is added to the plural form (добри - добри'''те''', бели - бели'''те'''). Definite adjective forms can be used on their own when the meaning is clear: : Новият пристигна (The new has arrived) meaning Новият ученик пристигна (The new student has arrived) : Ще купя розовата (I'll buy the red one) meaning Ще купя розовата рокля (I'll buy the red dress) Comparison Adjectives have three degrees of ('''положителна'''), ''' Comparative ''' ('''сравнителна''') and ''' Superlative ''' ('''превъзходна'''). The Positive form is expressed using all the aforementioned forms of an adfective добър, добра, добро, добри (good), добрият, добрия, добрата, доброто, добрите (the good). The Comparative form is made with the Particle '''пò''', which is put in front of the positive form of the adjective and is separated from it by a hyphen: '''пò-'''добър, '''пò-'''добра, '''пò-'''добро, '''пò-'''дорби (better), '''пò-'''добрият, '''пò-'''добрия, '''пò-'''добрата, '''пò-'''доброто, '''пò-'''добрите (the better). The particle '''пò''' has its own stress. The Superlative form is made with the Particle '''нàй''', which is put in front of the positive form of the adjective and is separated from it by a hyphen: '''нàй-'''добър, '''нàй-'''добра, '''нàй-'''добро, '''нàй-'''дорби (best), '''нàй-'''добрият, '''нàй-'''добрия, '''нàй-'''добрата, '''нàй-'''доброто, '''нàй-'''добрите (the best). The particle '''нàй''' has its own stress. PRONOUNS Personal pronouns In Bulgarian, there are two types of personal pronouns (лични местоимения): full (stressed, free) and short (unstressed, clitic). As in English, personal pronouns change depending on their function within the sentence (as a (Именителен), Accusative ''' (Винителен) and ''' Dative ''' (Дателен). The full direct object forms are used also with all the prepositions. The possessive and object forms can be definite or indefinite, depending on whether the noun they modify is definite or indefinite. The subject forms are always strong and are used as subjects only when special emphasis is intended, since unstressed subjects recoverable from context are not overtly expressed anyway. The possessive forms follow the modified noun, with which they have to agree with in gender, number and definiteness. Interrogative pronouns Interrogative Pronouns (въпросителни местоимения) refer to an unknown person, object, quality or quantity and agree with the noun they denote in gender and number. Personal interrogative pronouns have two cases Nominative and ''' Genitive ''' ('''кой''', when it refers to a person and is used without a noun, also has ''' Accusative ''' and ''' Dative ''' forms - '''кого''' and '''кому''' respectively). They are also used with nonhuman beings (animals and objects). Quality interrogative pronouns are used for asking one to specify the word in question. They are translated in English as '''what/what kind of/what sort of'''. There is only one interrogative pronoun for quantity - колко and it doesn't have any gender or number forms. It is used before plural nouns to ask about their quantity (then it is translated as '''how much/how many'''), and before an adjective or adverb to ask about the extent, degree, age, etc of something or somebody (thanslated as '''how'''). Demonstrative pronouns Demonstrative Pronouns (показателни местоимения) agree in number and gender with the noun they refer to (except for this for quantity). There are three types of demonstrative pronouns: for persons and objects, for quality and for quantity. Each demonstrative can not only modify a noun, but also be used on its own. Personal demonstrative pronouns have two forms: for nouns that are close to the speaker or writer and for far nouns. Quality pronouns also have two forms: positive, that specifies that the noun has a particular quality (this kind of/this sort of/of that type) and negative, that specifies that the noun doesn't have a particular quality or has a different one ('''not this kind of/not this sort of/not of that type'''). The domonstrative pronoun for quantity толкова is used with nouns and adjectives. It both specifies the exact quantity of something - '''this many/this much''', and indicates the large extent or degree of something - '''so(many/much)'''. Reflexive pronouns There are two kinds of . Personal reflexive pronouns have Accusative and Dative forms. Possessive reflexive pronouns agree in gender, number and definiteness only with the owned nown, not with the possessor. They are used when the subject of the verb owns the object. For example: "Аз виждам своя брат" (I see '''my''' brother). Summative pronouns There are three types of summative pronouns (обобщителни местоимения): personal, for quality and for quantity. They all agree in gender and number with the noun they modify. Personal summative pronouns are used with both singular and plural nouns or on their own and mean all the things or people belonging to a group of one or more - each/every(body). When the personal summative pronoun '''всеки/всякой''' refers to a person and is used without a noun, it has accusative and dative forms - '''всекиго/всякого''' and '''всекиму/всякиму''' respectively. Quality summative nouns are used for specifying that the noun they refer to possesses all kinds of qualities - '''all kinds/sorts/types of'''. Quantity summative pronouns are always definite (except for the plural and the neuter form which can also be indefinite, when they are not used with a noun but on their own) and mean the whole number/amount of something - '''all (the)'''. The indefinte neuter form also means '''everything'''. Negative pronouns There are three kinds of negative pronouns (отрицателни местоимения): personal (no(body)/none), for quality('''no/none/no kind of/no type of''') and for quantity('''none/not any'''). The personal negative pronouns have ''' Nominative ''' and ''' Genitive ''' forms (the masculine form, when it is used on its own and refers to a person, has also ''' Accusative ''' and ''' Dative ''' forms - '''никого''' and '''никому''' respectively). The quantity negative pronoun '''николко''' has neither gender nor plural forms. Unlike in English, in Bulgarian the word for '''nothing''' is not a negative pronoun, but a neuter noun - '''нищо''', and is closer in meaning to '''nothingness'''. Indefinite pronouns There are three types of indefinite pronouns (неопределителни местоимения): personal (some(one)), for quality ('''some(kind of)''') and for quantity. ('''several/a few/some'''). The personal indefinite pronouns have ''' Nominative ''' and ''' Genitive ''' forms (again the masculine form has also ''' Accusative ''' - '''някого''' and ''' Dative ''' - '''някому''' forms). Unlike in English, in Bulgarian the word for '''something''' is not an indefinite pronoun, but a neuter noun -'''нещо'''. The indefinite pronoun for quantity ('''няколко''') has no gender and plural forms. Relative pronouns The relative pronouns (относителни местоимения) are formed from the corresponding interrogative pronouns by adding -то to the end of the word. They are used for introducing a relative clause. For quantity - колко''то'' 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. 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'''. Present simple tense The present simple is used to:
Verbs form the present simple according to their conjugation. Verbs of the first conjugation take the following endings: As you see in third person singular the verb takes no ending (it just ends in e). The above endings are placed directly after that e except for these for first person singular and third person plural (for which you have to remove the e). If the letter beforе the e is a vowel, the verb takes the ending -'''я''' in the first person singular and -'''ят''' in the third person plural. If it is a consonant, the verbs takes the endings -'''а''' and '''ат'''. Here is an example of the verb '''играя''' (to play), which has a vowel before the e and then of the verb '''плета''' (to knit), which has a consonant before the e: The verb знам - той знае (to know) is an exception. It has two forms in the first person singular (there's no difference between them, both are correct): '''аз знам/аз зная'''. Verbs of the second conjugation have tha same endings, and the rules for adding them are also the same. The difference is that the verb takes the endings -а and '''ат''', if the letter before the '''и''' is '''ж''', '''ч''' or '''ш'''. In all other cases the endings are '''я''' and '''ят'''. Here is an example of the verb '''кръжа''' (to circle), which has '''ж''' before '''и''' and of '''вървя''' (to walk), which has '''в''' before '''и''': Verbs of the third conjugation take the following endings: These endings are placed directly after the a or '''я''' (without removing any letters, and it doesn't matter whether the verb ends in a or '''я'''). Here is an example of the verb '''казвам''' (to say): The verb съм (to be) doesn't belong to any of the three conjugations. It has its own conjugation: 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. Past Imperfect Tense is formed from imperfective and perfective verbs. In order to conjugate a verb in this tense, one has to know the verb's past imperfect basis, to which the personal endings are added. This basis is formed from the determiner of the verb's conjugation (its third person singular form in the present simple tense). Verbs of the first and the second conjugation form the basis very similarly: first the final e or '''и''' of the conjugation determiner is removed and then according to the stress of the determiner and some other factors the following letters are added:
The past imperfect basis of third conjugation verbs always coincides with their conjugation determiner. The personal endings which are placed after the basis are the same for all conjugations: Here are examples of some verbs: игрàя-той игрàе (a first conjugation verb whose stress is not on the last syllable), плетà-той плетè (a first conjugation verb whose stress is on the last syllable), вàрдя-той вàрди (to guard - a second conjugation verb whose stress is not on the last syllable), твърд''я''-той твръд''и'' (to claim - a second conjugation verb whose stress is on the last syllable), трошà-той трош''и'' (to crush - a second conjugation verb whose stress is on the last syllable and which has ш before the '''и'''), казвам-той казва (a third conjugation verb):
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