Reported Forms in the Third Person

Level 3Sounds Like preizkazni formi v treto lice

Bulgarian can mark hearsay in the verb itself. In the third person, use the л-participle without е: Той бил болен (He was ill, I am told).

How It Works

1. One event, three ways to tell it.

  • Той дойде. (He came.) You saw it, or you present it as a plain fact.
  • Той дошъл. (He came, I am told.) Someone told you.
  • Той е дошъл. (He has come.) This is the ordinary perfect. It can also mean you worked it out from signs: his coat is on the hook.

2. Building the form. Take the л-participle and make it agree with the subject. Leave out е and са:

  • той дошъл, тя дошла, то дошло, те дошли
  • той бил болен, тя била болна, те били болни

3. Two participles, two time meanings. A participle from the aorist reports a finished event: Той живял в Париж две години (He lived in Paris for two years, they say). A participle from the imperfect reports something going on now or back then: Той сега живеел в Пловдив (He lives in Plovdiv now, I hear). For съм, бил covers both: Той бил болен can mean he is ill or he was ill, reportedly. The full sets are in the reported aorist and the reported present and imperfect.

4. When speakers use it. Reported forms are very common in everyday speech for news, gossip and messages: Мария се омъжила! (Maria got married, I heard!) They often come with казват, че (they say that) or според (according to), but the verb alone is enough to show hearsay. Well-known facts from history or school are told with the ordinary past: Ботев загина през 1876 година.

5. First and second person. Only the third person drops the auxiliary. With аз, ти, ние, вие the forms keep съм, си, сме, сте and look like the perfect. See reported forms in the first and second person.

Examples (6)

  1. Той бил болен и затова не дошъл на работа.

    He was ill, reportedly, and that is why he did not come to work.

    Both бил and дошъл come without е: the speaker is passing on what someone else said.

  2. Казват, че тя заминала за Германия.

    They say she has left for Germany.

  3. Иван сега живеел в Пловдив.

    Ivan lives in Plovdiv now, I hear.

    Живеел comes from the imperfect, so it reports a present state.

  4. Децата изяли цялата торта.

    The children ate the whole cake, I am told.

  5. Мария се омъжила!

    Maria got married, I heard!

  6. Куфарът ѝ липсва. Тя е заминала.

    Her suitcase is missing. She has left.

    With е: the speaker has not been told, but draws a conclusion from the missing suitcase.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the reported form for something you saw yourself.

    Видях го с очите си: той паднал.
    Видях го с очите си: той падна.

    The reported form tells the listener you only heard about it. That clashes with "I saw it with my own eyes", so use the ordinary past падна.

  • Not matching the participle to the subject.

    Тя бил болна.
    Тя била болна.

    The л-participle agrees in gender and number, like an adjective: той бил, тя била, те били.

  • Using the aorist participle for something true now.

    Казват, че сега работил в Лондон.
    Казват, че сега работел в Лондон.

    Работил reports a finished past event. For a present state, use the participle made from the imperfect: работел.

How It Connects

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Reported Forms in the Third PersonLevel 3

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Reported forms in the third person follow the overview of evidential forms.

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