Order of Short Forms

Level 3Sounds Like red na kratkite formi

Short words go in a fixed line before the verb: да → не → ще → съм/си → ми/ти/му → ме/те/го → е → verb. Ще ти го дам. (I will give it to you.)

How It Works

1. The fixed order.

  1. да
  2. не
  3. ще
  4. the auxiliary съм, си, сме, сте, са
  5. the indirect object: ми, ти, му, ѝ, ни, ви, им, си
  6. the direct object: ме, те, го, я, ни, ви, ги, се
  7. the auxiliary е
  8. the verb

2. Examples.

  • Ще ти го дам. (I will give it to you.)
  • Не съм ти го казал. (I have not told you that.)
  • Те са ми го обещали. (They have promised it to me.)
  • Той ѝ го е дал. (He has given it to her.)
  • Тя ми се е обадила. (She has called me.) Reflexive се takes the direct object slot.
  • Ще си го купя. (I will buy it for myself.) Reflexive си takes the indirect object slot.

Да comes before не: Моля те да не ми се сърдиш. (Please do not be angry with me.) In today's Bulgarian не and ще rarely meet, because the negative future is няма да: Няма да ти го дам. (I will not give it to you.)

3. Why е is different. In the perfect, съм, си, сме, сте, са come before the pronouns, but third-person е comes after them: Не сме му го казали but Той му го е казал.

4. Unstressed clitics at the start. The short pronoun and auxiliary clitics here cannot normally open a sentence; particles such as да, не and ще can. When nothing comes before them, the verb goes first and the whole cluster follows it in the same order: Дай ми го! (Give it to me!), Казах ти го (I told you so), Дал ѝ го е (He has given it to her). See placement of short pronouns.

5. With ли. The question word ли follows the verb or the stressed word: Даде ли ми го? (Did you give it to me?), Ще ми го дадеш ли? (Will you give it to me?)

Examples (6)

  1. Ще ти го дам утре.

    I will give it to you tomorrow.

  2. Не съм ти го казал.

    I have not told you that.

    Не, then the auxiliary съм, then ти (to you), then го (it).

  3. Той ѝ го е дал.

    He has given it to her.

    Е comes after the pronouns, not before them.

  4. Дай ми го, моля те.

    Give it to me, please.

    The verb comes first, so the short words follow it.

  5. Те са ми го обещали.

    They have promised it to me.

  6. Тя ми се е обадила два пъти.

    She has called me twice.

Common Mistakes

  • Putting the direct object before the indirect object.

    Ще го ти дам.
    Ще ти го дам.

    The to-whom pronoun (ти) always comes before the what pronoun (го).

  • Putting е before the pronouns.

    Той е ѝ го дал.
    Той ѝ го е дал.

    Unlike съм, си, сме, сте and са, third-person е comes after the pronouns.

  • Starting a sentence with an unstressed short pronoun or auxiliary clitic.

    Го видях вчера.
    Видях го вчера.

    The unstressed short pronoun and auxiliary clitics here cannot normally begin a sentence. When nothing precedes them, they follow the verb. Particles да, не and ще can start a sentence.

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Order of Short FormsLevel 3

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Order of short forms needs pronouns, their placement and the perfect.

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