Full Versus Short Masculine Article

Level 2Sounds Like pʺlen i kratʺk člen

Masculine words have two articles: the full -ът/-ят and the short -а/-я. Столът е нов. (The chair is new.) Седя на стола. (I am sitting on the chair.)

How It Works

1. Which words it affects. Only masculine singular words that end in a consonant when they have no article: nouns (стол, учител), adjectives (новият, новия), possessives (моят, моя), ordinal numbers (първият, първия) and participles (see the articles -ът and -а and -ят and -я). Feminine, neuter and plural articles have only one form.

2. The full article -ът/-ят. Use it when the word or its phrase is:

  • the subject: Учителят говори бавно. (The teacher speaks slowly.)
  • part of the subject: Новият филм ми харесва. (I like the new film. Literally, the new film pleases me, so the film is the subject.)
  • after съм, бъда, ставам, оказвам се or казвам се: Иван е най-добрият ученик. (Ivan is the best student.)

3. The short article -а/-я. Use it everywhere else:

  • for an object: Питай учителя! (Ask the teacher!)
  • after a preposition: на стола (on the chair), за филма (about the film)

4. The той / него test. Replace the word with a pronoun. Столът е нов → Той е нов, so write the full article. Виждам стола → Виждам него, so write the short one.

5. Speech versus writing. In everyday speech the full article is often pronounced like the short one, so many Bulgarians say стола е нов. In writing, the rule is required, so learn it for writing and do not worry much about it when speaking.

Examples (6)

  1. Столът е нов.

    The chair is new.

    Столът is the subject, so it takes the full article.

  2. Седя на стола.

    I am sitting on the chair.

    After a preposition, use the short article.

  3. Учителят говори бавно.

    The teacher speaks slowly.

  4. Питай учителя!

    Ask the teacher!

    Учителя is the object, so it takes the short article.

  5. Новият филм ми харесва.

    I like the new film.

    With харесва ми, the thing you like is the subject, so it takes the full article.

  6. Иван е най-добрият ученик в класа.

    Ivan is the best student in the class.

    After е, use the full article.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the full article on an object.

    Купих хлябът.
    Купих хляба.

    Хляб is the object here (Купих него), so it takes the short article.

  • Using the short article on the subject in writing.

    Влака закъснява.
    Влакът закъснява.

    Влак is the subject (Той закъснява), so the written standard needs the full article.

  • Using the full article after a preposition.

    Книгата е на столът.
    Книгата е на стола.

    A masculine noun after a preposition always takes the short article.

How It Connects

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Full Versus Short Masculine ArticleLevel 2

Learn This First

The full and short article rule needs the masculine articles.

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Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

-ът-ят-а-я