нали

Tag Questions with Нали

Level 2Sounds Like nali

Add нали to ask right?: Ти си Мария, нали? One word covers every English tag: isn't it, aren't you, didn't he, won't you.

How It Works

1. At the end. Put a comma before it:

  • Ти си от София, нали? (You're from Sofia, aren't you?)
  • Вчера беше студено, нали? (It was cold yesterday, wasn't it?)
  • Не си гладен, нали? (You're not hungry, are you?)

2. At the start. Нали ще дойдеш? (You will come, won't you?) Here нали shows you expect agreement and just want to check.

3. As a reminder. In a statement it means "as you know" or "after all": Нали ти казах! (I told you, didn't I!) Нали утре е събота, ще спим до късно. (Tomorrow is Saturday, after all, so we'll sleep late.)

4. No ли needed. Нали already makes a question, so do not add ли. The set phrase Нали така? also means "Right?"

Examples (6)

  1. Ти си Мария, нали?

    You're Maria, right?

  2. Нали ще дойдеш на рождения ми ден?

    You'll come to my birthday, won't you?

    At the start, нали shows you expect a yes.

  3. Вчера беше студено, нали?

    It was cold yesterday, wasn't it?

    Нали does not change for the past tense.

  4. Не си гладен, нали?

    You're not hungry, are you?

    Нали stays the same after a negative sentence.

  5. Нали ти казах!

    I told you, didn't I!

    Here нали is a reminder, not a real question.

  6. Хубаво е тук, нали?

    It's nice here, isn't it?

Common Mistakes

  • Adding ли after нали.

    Нали ли ще дойдеш?
    Нали ще дойдеш?

    Нали already turns the sentence into a question, so ли is not needed.

  • Leaving out the comma before a final нали.

    Ти си Мария нали?
    Ти си Мария, нали?

    When нали comes at the end, a comma separates it from the rest of the sentence.

How It Connects

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

налиLevel 2Tag Questions with Нали

Learn This First

Tag questions follow ли questions.

Words in This Pattern

нали