сам / самият

Alone and Oneself with Сам and Самият

Level 4Sounds Like sam i samiât

Сам means alone or without help: Живея сам. (I live alone.) Направих го сама. (I did it myself, a woman says.) Самият adds emphasis before a noun: самият президент (the president himself).

How It Works

1. Сам: alone, by oneself. It agrees with the person, not with the verb:

  • Той живее сам. Тя живее сама. (He lives alone. She lives alone.)
  • Децата са сами вкъщи. (The children are home alone.)
  • Сами ли сте? (Are you all alone?) With polite Вие to one person, сам stays singular, like any adjective: Господине, сам ли сте? Госпожо, сама ли сте? (see ти and Вие).

It also means without help: Ще се справя сам. (I'll manage on my own.) Вратата се отвори сама. (The door opened by itself.) Сам-самичък means all alone, and сам по себе си means in itself.

The neuter само looks like the adverb само (only), but word order and context separate them: Детето е само вкъщи. (The child is home alone.) Само детето е вкъщи. (Only the child is at home.)

2. Самият: the very one, oneself. Before a noun or pronoun it stresses that you mean exactly this person or thing:

  • Самият директор ми се обади. (The director himself called me.)
  • Самата тя не знае. (She herself doesn't know.)
  • в самия център (right in the centre), в самото начало (at the very beginning)

Masculine самият follows the full and short article rule: Самият директор дойде (subject), but Говорих със самия директор (after a preposition).

3. Сам versus себе си. For myself as an object, use себе си: Купих го за себе си. (I bought it for myself.) Сам describes the doer: Купих го сам. (I bought it myself, with no help.)

4. Самият is not същият. Същият means the same: същата кола (the same car), but самата кола (the car itself).

Examples (6)

  1. Живея сам в малък апартамент.

    I live alone in a small flat.

    A man speaking; a woman would say сама.

  2. Тя сама направи тази торта.

    She made this cake herself.

    Сама means without help and agrees with тя.

  3. Децата са сами вкъщи.

    The children are home alone.

    Сами is the plural form.

  4. Самият президент откри изложбата.

    The president himself opened the exhibition.

    Самият adds emphasis before the noun.

  5. Хотелът е в самия център на града.

    The hotel is right in the city centre.

    After a preposition the masculine takes the short article: самия.

  6. Самата тя не знае какво иска.

    She herself doesn't know what she wants.

    Самата can also stress a pronoun.

Common Mistakes

  • Forgetting that сам agrees with the person.

    Тя живее сам.
    Тя живее сама.

    Сам changes for gender and number: сам, сама, само, сами.

  • Using самият to mean alone.

    Живея самият.
    Живея сам.

    Самият adds emphasis to a noun or pronoun and can follow a personal pronoun, as in аз самият. Alone is сам, with no article.

  • Confusing самият with същият.

    Имаме самата кола като вас.
    Имаме същата кола като вас.

    Същата means the same. Самата would mean the car itself.

How It Connects

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сам / самиятLevel 4Alone and Oneself with Сам and Самият

Learn This First

Сам and самият build on articles and себе си.

Words in This Pattern