Reported Forms Expressing Surprise
Usually reported forms retell what others said. In an exclamation they express surprise at a discovery: Ти си бил много умен! (Why, you turn out to be really clever!) Колко хубаво пеела! (How beautifully she sings! I had no idea!)
How It Works
1. Surprise at a discovery. The speaker has just seen or learned something they did not expect. The knowledge is new, so the form marks it as not part of what they already knew:
- Ти си бил много умен! (Why, you turn out to be really clever!)
- Колко хубаво пеела! (How beautifully she sings!), said on hearing her for the first time
- Ти си говорел български! (Oh, you speak Bulgarian!)
- Ама навън валяло! (Oh, it's raining outside!), said on opening the door
2. Present meaning. These forms look like past forms, but here they describe what is true now. Exclamation words like ама and колко often introduce them (see възклицания с колко и какъв).
3. Irony. The same forms can mock a claim: Той пък бил голям герой! (Oh, so now he's a big hero!) The tone then shows doubt rather than admiration, close to дубитативни форми.
4. Telling the uses apart. Without the exclamation, Тя пеела хубаво. is a plain report: She sings well, they say. Intonation and the situation make it admirative. Keeping е in the third person, as in Тя е пеела хубаво, turns it into a conclusion about the past instead.
Examples (6)
- Ти си бил много умен!
Why, you turn out to be really clever!
- Колко хубаво пеела!
How beautifully she sings! I had no idea!
Пеела is the imperfect participle: the singing is happening now.
- Ти си говорел български!
Oh, you speak Bulgarian!
- Той можел да готви!
He can cook! Who knew?
- Ама навън валяло!
Oh, it's raining outside!
Said on opening the door and seeing the rain.
- Той пък бил голям герой!
Oh, so now he's a big hero!
Ironic: the speaker doubts the claim.
Common Mistakes
Keeping е in the third person.
Колко хубаво е пеела!Колко хубаво пеела!With е, the form states a conclusion about the past: "she must have sung beautifully". For surprise at what you are hearing now, drop е in the third person.
Dropping си in the second person.
Ти бил много умен!Ти си бил много умен!Only the third person drops the auxiliary. With ти keep си, and with Вие keep сте: Вие сте говорели български!
How It Connects
Learn This First
The admirative use follows reported forms in all persons.
Related Patterns
- Witnessed, Reported and Inferred Forms
The system of reported forms whose shapes the admirative uses.
Level 3 - Reported Forms in the Third Person
Explains why the third person has no е in these exclamations.
Level 3 - Reported Present and Imperfect
The present/imperfect reported forms that carry the surprise.
Level 4 - Conclusive Forms
Keeping е turns the sentence into a conclusion instead of surprise.
Level 5 - Dubitative Forms
The ironic use shades into doubt, which dubitative forms express.
Level 6 - колко/какъв in ExclamationsExclamations with Колко and Какъв
Exclamations with колко often introduce admirative forms.
Level 3
Practice Reported Forms Expressing Surprise in Bubblegum
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