доколкото

Insofar as

Level 5Sounds Like dokolkoto

Доколкото знам, той е в чужбина. (As far as I know, he is abroad.) Ще помогна, доколкото мога. (I'll help as much as I can.)

How It Works

1. Hedging what you know. Put доколкото before a verb of knowing, remembering or understanding:

  • Доколкото знам, той е в чужбина. (As far as I know, he is abroad.)
  • Доколкото си спомням, срещата беше в петък. (As far as I remember, the meeting was on Friday.)
  • Доколкото разбрах, влакът е отменен. (From what I understood, the train is cancelled.)

This is different from както: Както знаеш, ... (As you know, ...) presents the fact as shared and certain, while доколкото знам admits that you may be wrong. Compare also според мен and май.

2. As much as possible. After the main clause, доколкото мога means as much as I can: Ще ти помогна, доколкото мога.

3. Insofar as. In formal style, доколкото limits a claim to one respect: Въпросът ме интересува, доколкото засяга и моята работа. (The issue interests me insofar as it also affects my work.) The correlative дотолкова, доколкото stresses the limit: Ще участвам дотолкова, доколкото ми позволява времето. (I'll take part only as far as my time allows.) Compare колкото ..., толкова, which links two growing degrees.

4. Spelling and commas. Доколкото is written as one word. Its clause is separated from the main clause by a comma, as in other subordinate clauses.

Examples (6)

  1. Доколкото знам, той е в чужбина.

    As far as I know, he is abroad.

  2. Доколкото си спомням, срещата беше в петък.

    As far as I remember, the meeting was on Friday.

  3. Ще ти помогна, доколкото мога.

    I'll help you as much as I can.

  4. Доколкото разбрах, влакът е отменен.

    From what I understood, the train is cancelled.

  5. Въпросът ме интересува, доколкото засяга и моята работа.

    The issue interests me insofar as it also affects my work.

    A formal use: the interest is limited to one respect.

  6. Ще участвам дотолкова, доколкото ми позволява времето.

    I'll take part only as far as my time allows.

    Дотолкова, доколкото stresses the limit.

Common Mistakes

  • Writing доколкото as two words.

    До колкото знам, той е в чужбина.
    Доколкото знам, той е в чужбина.

    Доколкото is a single word.

  • Leaving out the comma after the доколкото clause.

    Доколкото знам той е в чужбина.
    Доколкото знам, той е в чужбина.

    A clause with доколкото is a subordinate clause, so a comma separates it from the main clause.

How It Connects

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

доколкотоLevel 5Insofar as

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Insofar as follows as ... as.

Words in This Pattern

доколкото