-та

The Feminine Article -та

Level 1Sounds Like členuvane -ta

Add -та to a feminine noun to say "the": жена → жената (the woman), нощ → нощта (the night).

How It Works

One ending for all feminine nouns

  • nouns in -а: жена → жената (the woman), книга → книгата (the book)
  • nouns in -я: земя → земята (the earth), стая → стаята (the room)
  • nouns ending in a consonant: нощ → нощта (the night), сол → солта (the salt), радост → радостта (the joy)

The article is written as part of the word, never as a separate word before it. See The Article as an Ending and Feminine Nouns Ending in a Consonant.

Spelling: keep both т's

When the noun already ends in т, you still add the whole -та, so two т's meet: пролет → пролетта (the spring), смърт → смъртта (the death), радост → радостта.

Stress

With many short consonant-final feminine nouns, the stress moves onto the article: нощта́, солта́, пролетта́.

Masculine nouns in -а

A few masculine nouns end in -а or -я, such as баща (father) and съдия (judge). They follow their ending and take -та: бащата, съдията. See Masculine Nouns Ending in А, Я or О.

With an adjective

Only the first word of the phrase takes the article: новата книга (the new book). See The Article on the First Word. In the plural, feminine nouns take -те: книгите.

Examples (5)

  1. Жената чете вестник.

    The woman is reading a newspaper.

  2. Книгата е на масата.

    The book is on the table.

    Both книга and маса end in -а and take -та.

  3. Нощта е тиха.

    The night is quiet.

    Нощ ends in a consonant but is feminine, so it takes -та.

  4. Пролетта идва.

    Spring is coming.

    Пролет ends in т, so the article gives two т's: пролетта.

  5. Бащата на Мария е лекар.

    Maria's father is a doctor.

    Баща is masculine, but it ends in -а, so it takes -та.

Common Mistakes

  • Giving a consonant-final feminine noun the masculine article.

    Нощът е тиха.
    Нощта е тиха.

    Нощ looks like a masculine noun because it ends in a consonant, but it is feminine. Feminine nouns always take -та.

  • Dropping one т when the noun ends in т.

    Пролета идва.
    Пролетта идва.

    The article is the whole ending -та. Add it to пролет without removing anything: пролет + та = пролетта.

  • Giving a masculine noun in -а the masculine article.

    Бащът на Мария е лекар.
    Бащата на Мария е лекар.

    Баща is masculine, but nouns that end in -а take -та no matter what their gender is.

How It Connects

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

-таLevel 1The Feminine Article -та

Learn This First

The feminine article needs the article idea and feminine nouns.

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Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

-та