кога

Asking When

Level 1Sounds Like koga

Кога means "when" in a question: Кога е концертът? (When is the concert?)

How It Works

Asking about time:
Кога е концертът? – В събота. (When is the concert? – On Saturday.)
Кога ставаш? – В седем. (When do you get up? – At seven.)
Кога тръгва влакът? (When does the train leave?)

Word order: The subject usually comes after the verb: Кога тръгва влакът?

Useful answers: сега (now), днес (today), утре (tomorrow), вчера (yesterday), в понеделник (on Monday), в пет часа (at five o'clock). Days and dates are in дни, месеци и дати, and clock times in колко е часът.

Since when? Until when? These are written as one word: Откога учиш български? (How long have you been learning Bulgarian?) Докога си тук? (Until when are you here?)

кога or когато? Кога asks. Когато links a time clause to the rest of a sentence: Обади ми се, когато стигнеш. (Call me when you arrive.) In casual speech some people also use кога this way, but standard Bulgarian uses когато. After verbs like знам (know), a reported question keeps кога: Не знам кога е концертът. (I don't know when the concert is.)

Examples (5)

  1. Кога е концертът?

    When is the concert?

    Word by Word: When is concert-the?

  2. Кога ставаш сутрин?

    When do you get up in the morning?

    Word by Word: When you-get-up morning?

  3. Кога тръгва влакът за Варна?

    When does the train to Varna leave?

    Word by Word: When leaves train-the for Varna?

    The subject влакът comes after the verb.

  4. Кога ще се видим?

    When will we see each other?

    Word by Word: When will ourselves we-see?

  5. Откога учиш български?

    How long have you been learning Bulgarian?

    Word by Word: Since-when you-learn Bulgarian?

    Откога is one word. Bulgarian uses the present tense for something still going on.

Common Mistakes

  • Translating "what time" word for word as какво време.

    Какво време е концертът?
    Кога е концертът?

    Какво време asks what the weather is like. To ask about time, use кога, or в колко часа for a clock time.

  • Using когато in a direct question.

    Когато е концертът?
    Кога е концертът?

    A question about time starts with кога.

  • Writing откога as two words.

    От кога учиш български?
    Откога учиш български?

    The question word откога (since when) is written as one word.

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когаLevel 1Asking When

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кога