който и да
Whoever and Whatever with И Да
Който и да дойде, кажи му да почака. (Whoever comes, tell him to wait.) Каквото и да правиш, не се отказвай. (Whatever you do, don't give up.)
How It Works
1. The set.
- който / която / което / които и да: whoever, whichever
- каквото и да: whatever
- където и да: wherever
- когато и да: whenever
- както и да: however, in whatever way
- колкото и да: however much (see колкото и да)
Standard Bulgarian uses the relative forms here (където, каквото). Forms with the question words, such as къде и да, are colloquial.
2. Tense. Use the present after да, usually perfective for a single event, and never ще. For the past, use the imperfect: Каквото и да правеше, не успяваше да заспи. (Whatever he did, he couldn't fall asleep.)
3. Agreement. Който changes for gender and number, and the object form is когото: Които и да дойдат, ще ги посрещнем. (Whoever comes, we will welcome them.) Не отваряй вратата на когото и да е. (Don't open the door to anyone at all.)
4. Anyone at all. With е or било the phrase means any ... at all: каквото и да е (anything at all), който и да е (anyone at all). Както и да е has become a set phrase meaning anyway. Compare кой да е.
5. Without и да. The same words without и да form ordinary free relatives: Прави каквото искаш. (Do what you want.)
Examples (6)
- Който и да дойде, кажи му да почака.
Whoever comes, tell him to wait.
- Каквото и да правиш, не се отказвай.
Whatever you do, don't give up.
- Където и да отидеш, ще мисля за теб.
Wherever you go, I'll think of you.
- Когато и да се обадиш, ще ти отговоря.
Whenever you call, I'll answer.
- Каквото и да правеше, не успяваше да заспи.
Whatever he did, he couldn't fall asleep.
For the past, the imperfect follows да.
- Не отваряй вратата на когото и да е.
Don't open the door to anyone at all.
Когото и да е: anyone at all, in the object form.
Common Mistakes
Using the object form когото as the subject.
Когото и да дойде, кажи му да почака.Който и да дойде, кажи му да почака.The person who comes is the subject, so the form is който. Когото is only for an object: на когото и да е, когото и да видиш.
Adding ще after да.
Каквото и да ще правиш, не се отказвай.Каквото и да правиш, не се отказвай.After да the verb stays in the present tense. Ще is not used after да.
Leaving out да.
Който и дойде, кажи му да почака.Който и да дойде, кажи му да почака.The pattern needs both words: и да.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Whoever with и да builds on free relatives.
- каквото / колкотоFree Relatives with Каквото and Колкото
It extends free relatives.
Level 3 - кого/когото/комутоObject Forms Кого, Когото and Комуто
Object relative forms explain когото in phrases such as на когото и да е.
Level 3 - дори и даEven if
Дори и да supplies the concessive и да pattern extended to relative words.
Level 4
Related Patterns
- кой да еAny at All with Кой Да Е
Any at all: a related way to show that the choice does not matter.
Level 5 - колкото и даNo Matter How Much
No matter how much: the same pattern with колкото.
Level 5 - Place or Time + където/когатоRelative Където and Когато
The relative forms където and когато used here.
Level 3 - който/която/което/коитоRelative Clauses with Който
The relative pronoun and its gender and number forms.
Level 3
Words in This Pattern
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