The Article on the First Word

Level 2Sounds Like člen na pʺrvata duma

Bulgarian marks "the" once per noun phrase, on the first word: голямата бяла къща (the big white house), not голямата бялата къщата.

How It Works

1. Moving the article forward.

  • къщата (the house)
  • голямата къща (the big house)
  • голямата бяла къща (the big white house)

2. Possessives. A full possessive comes first and takes the article: моят приятел (my friend), твоята стая (your room), нашите деца (our children). See possessives with the article. A short possessive follows the articled first word: новият ми телефон (my new phone). See short possessive forms.

3. Numbers. двете деца (the two children), първият ден (the first day). See articles on numbers.

4. No article after this and that. Този already makes the phrase definite: тази голяма къща (this big house).

5. Which ending. The first word takes the article that fits its own ending: новият учител, новата кола, новото палто, новите книги. See articles on adjectives. Masculine words still choose between the full and short article; see full versus short article.

Examples (6)

  1. Хубавото време ще продължи до неделя.

    The nice weather will last until Sunday.

    The article is on хубавото, not on време.

  2. Голямата бяла къща е на моите родители.

    The big white house belongs to my parents.

    Only the first adjective has the article.

  3. Моят приятел живее във Варна.

    My friend lives in Varna.

  4. Новият ми телефон е много бърз.

    My new phone is very fast.

    The short possessive ми follows the articled adjective.

  5. Двете деца играят в парка.

    The two children are playing in the park.

  6. Тази стара книга е на дядо ми.

    This old book is my grandfather's.

    After тази there is no article.

Common Mistakes

  • Putting the article on every word.

    Голямата бялата къщата е наша.
    Голямата бяла къща е наша.

    The article appears only once, on the first word of the phrase.

  • Putting the article on the noun instead of the adjective.

    Нова колата е червена.
    Новата кола е червена.

    When an adjective comes first, it takes the article and the noun stays bare.

  • Adding an article after този or тази.

    Тази книгата е интересна.
    Тази книга е интересна.

    A demonstrative already makes the phrase definite, so no word takes the article.

How It Connects

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The Article on the First WordLevel 2

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The article on the first word needs the article and adjectives.

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