Impersonal Verbs

Level 3Sounds Like bezlični glagoli

It is raining is just Вали. Bulgarian needs no word for it: the verb alone makes the sentence.

How It Works

1. Common impersonal verbs.

  • Вали. (It is raining.) Вали сняг. (It is snowing.)
  • Ръми. (It is drizzling.) Гърми. (It is thundering.)
  • Застудява. (It is getting cold.) Захладнява. (It is getting cooler.)
  • Съмва се. (Day is breaking.) Стъмва се. (It is getting dark.)

2. Only one form in each tense. Always use the той/тя/то form:

  • Future: Утре ще вали.
  • Aorist: Цяла нощ валя сняг. Imperfect: Когато излязох, валеше. (See aorist versus imperfect.)
  • Perfect, with a neuter participle: През нощта е застудяло.

3. With a noun. Some of these verbs can take a noun that names what falls: Вали дъжд. Вали сняг. That noun is the subject, so a plural noun makes the verb plural: Цяла седмица валяха дъждове. Without a noun, the verb is always singular.

4. About то. In relaxed speech you may hear То вали, with то used as a filler word. The neutral form is simply Вали.

5. Related patterns. States like Студено е (It is cold) use е with an adverb, and Студено ми е adds the person who feels it. Ordinary verbs can also become impersonal with се: Тук не се пуши.

Examples (6)

  1. Вали.

    It is raining.

  2. Застудява.

    It is getting cold.

  3. Съмва се.

    Day is breaking.

  4. Цяла нощ валя сняг.

    It snowed all night.

    Валя is the aorist, and it stays singular.

  5. Гърми, затова няма да излизаме.

    It is thundering, so we will not go out.

  6. През нощта е застудяло.

    It got cold during the night.

    The perfect uses the neuter participle застудяло.

Common Mistakes

  • Making the verb plural.

    Валяха цяла нощ.
    Валя цяла нощ.

    With no noun such as дъждове, a weather verb has no subject and uses the singular form.

  • Using a masculine participle in the perfect.

    През нощта е застудял.
    През нощта е застудяло.

    With no subject, the participle takes the neuter form ending in -о.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Impersonal VerbsLevel 3

Learn This First

Impersonal verbs follow sentences without a stated subject.

Words in This Pattern

валясъмва се