The Imperfect for Past Habits
To talk about past habits, use the imperfect of an imperfective verb: Всяка сутрин пиех кафе. (Every morning I would drink coffee.)
How It Works
1. The use. The imperfect of an imperfective verb describes what happened regularly in the past: things you used to do or would do. English often says used to or would, or just uses the simple past.
- Всяка сутрин пиех кафе. (Every morning I would drink coffee.)
- Като малък често ходех на село. (As a child I often went to the village.)
2. Signal words. Habits usually come with words of frequency and repetition: всеки ден, всяка сутрин, винаги, често, обикновено, понякога, рядко, никога, като малък. See how often.
3. Imperfect or aorist? Use the aorist for a completed event or a counted number of times: Три пъти ходих в Париж. (I went to Paris three times.) Use the imperfect for an open, repeated habit: Всяко лято ходехме на море. (Every summer we went to the seaside.) The aorist can also sum up repetitions inside a closed, finished period, but the imperfect is the usual way to describe a habit. See aorist versus imperfect.
4. Choose an imperfective verb. For a habit in the main clause, use an imperfective verb: Всяка сутрин изпивах по едно кафе (Every morning I would drink a cup of coffee), not изпиех. Perfective verbs appear in the imperfect only in certain dependent clauses: Щом станех, пиех кафе. (As soon as I got up, I would drink coffee.) See the perfective imperfect.
5. Forms reminder. The imperfect endings are -х, -ше, -ше, -хме, -хте, -ха: пиех, пиеше, пиехме; четях, четеше; играех, играеше; живеехме (we lived).
Examples (6)
- Всяка сутрин пиех кафе на терасата.
Every morning I would drink coffee on the terrace.
Всяка сутрин marks a habit, so the verb is in the imperfect.
- Като малък често ходех на село при баба си.
As a child I often went to my grandmother's in the village.
- Всяко лято ходехме на море.
Every summer we went to the seaside.
A repeated trip, not one counted trip.
- Баща ми работеше до късно и рядко вечеряше с нас.
My father used to work late and rarely had dinner with us.
- Като ученик винаги пишех домашните си вечер.
As a schoolboy I always did my homework in the evening.
Пишех is clearly imperfect; the aorist would be писах.
- Всяка неделя баба ни правеше баница.
Every Sunday our grandmother would make banitsa.
Common Mistakes
Translating English used to word for word.
Използвах да пия кафе всяка сутрин.Пиех кафе всяка сутрин.Използвам means to use, so it cannot express a past habit. Bulgarian shows used to with the imperfect of the verb itself: пиех.
Using a perfective verb in the imperfect for a habit in a main clause.
Всяка сутрин изпиех едно кафе.Всяка сутрин изпивах по едно кафе.In a main clause, a habit needs an imperfective verb. Use изпивам, not the perfective изпия.
Using the imperfect for a counted number of times.
Три пъти ходех в Париж.Три пъти ходих в Париж.A counted number of events is a completed whole, so it takes the aorist.
How It Connects
Learn This First
The imperfect for habits follows the imperfect.
Related Patterns
- Aorist Versus Imperfect
The broader contrast between completed events and background or repeated actions.
Level 3 - The Aorist (Simple Past)
The aorist is used for single or counted completed events.
Level 2 - Perfective and Imperfective Aspect
Habits need an imperfective verb.
Level 2 - The Perfective Imperfect
The special case where a perfective verb takes imperfect endings in a habitual clause.
Level 6 - винаги/често/понякога/никогаHow Often
Frequency words that often signal a past habit.
Level 2
Practice The Imperfect for Past Habits in Bubblegum
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