Old Case Forms in Set Phrases

Level 6Sounds Like ostatʺci ot padežni formi

Old case endings survive only in fixed phrases: Слава Богу! (Thank God!), Никому не казвай! (Don't tell anyone!), денем и нощем (day and night).

How It Works

1. Old dative forms.

  • Слава Богу (Thank God, literally "glory to God")
  • никому (to nobody), всекиму (to everyone), някому (to someone) and кому (to whom), a bookish alternative to на никого, на всеки, на някого, на кого. The relative комуто belongs here too (see кого/когото/комуто).
  • Set sayings: Всекиму своето. (To each his own.)

2. Old accusative and genitive forms. за Бога (for God's sake), вярвам в Бога (I believe in God), Бога ми (by God, I swear), Христа ради (for Christ's sake). The same history explains кого and мене, тебе.

3. Old vocatives. Господи! and Боже! belong to the vocative, which is still partly alive (see книжовни звателни форми).

4. Frozen adverbs. Some adverbs are old case forms of nouns: денем (by day), нощем (at night), сбогом (farewell, literally "with God"), мигом (in an instant), редом (in a row), цифром и словом (in figures and in words, on forms and receipts), снощи (last night), лятос (last summer).

5. Do not extend them. These endings are not productive. Use the ordinary noun with a preposition everywhere else: на Иван, not an invented dative. Do not combine an old dative with на: say всекиму or на всеки.

Examples (6)

  1. Слава Богу, всички са живи и здрави.

    Thank God, everyone is safe and sound.

    Богу is an old dative.

  2. Никому не казвай!

    Don't tell anyone!

    Никому = на никого.

  3. Кажи ми, за Бога, какво стана!

    For God's sake, tell me what happened!

  4. Той работи денем и нощем.

    He works day and night.

    Old instrumental forms used as adverbs.

  5. Сбогом, приятелю!

    Farewell, my friend!

  6. Всекиму своето.

    To each his own.

    A saying with the old dative всекиму.

Common Mistakes

  • Adding a dative ending to an ordinary noun.

    Дадох книгата Ивану.
    Дадох книгата на Иван.

    The old dative survives only in fixed words and phrases. With ordinary nouns and names, use на.

  • Using the plain form inside a fixed phrase.

    Слава Бог, че дойде!
    Слава Богу, че дойде!

    Fixed phrases keep their old endings: Слава Богу, за Бога.

  • Combining на with an old dative.

    Кажи го на всекиму.
    Кажи го на всеки.

    Всекиму already means "to everyone". Use either всекиму alone or на всеки.

How It Connects

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

Old Case Forms in Set PhrasesLevel 6

Learn This First

Old case forms build on кого/комуто and vocatives.

Words in This Pattern

нощемГосподБогбоггосподгоспод