да + Verb + да + Verb

Chains of Да-Clauses

Level 3Sounds Like verigi ot da-izrečeniâ

Where English strings verbs together with "to", Bulgarian repeats да and conjugates each verb: Искам да мога да плувам. (I want to be able to swim.)

How It Works

1. One да per verb. Verbs such as искам, мога, трябва, започвам, спирам, опитвам се and уча се are followed by да and a personal verb. Each new verb brings its own да:

  • Искам да мога да плувам. (I want to be able to swim.)
  • Опитвам се да спра да пия кафе. (I'm trying to stop drinking coffee.)

2. Every verb has a person. With one subject, all the verbs match it: Искаме да можем да плуваме. (We want to be able to swim.) Трябва itself never changes, so the verb after it carries the person: Трябва да започна да уча (I need to start studying), Трябва да започнеш да учиш (you need to start studying).

3. The subject can change. Each да-clause can have a different doer: Искам да те помоля да ми помогнеш. (I want to ask you to help me.) Here искам and помоля are "I", and помогнеш is "you". See wanting someone else to act.

4. Aspect in the chain. After verbs of starting, stopping and continuing, such as започвам/започна, спирам/спра and продължавам, the next verb is imperfective: започна да уча, not *започна да науча. Elsewhere, choose aspect as usual (see perfective verbs after да).

5. Short pronouns and не stay with the verb they belong to: Искам да мога да ти помогна. (I want to be able to help you.) Реших да не започвам да пуша. (I decided not to start smoking.)

Examples (6)

  1. Искам да мога да плувам.

    I want to be able to swim.

    Three verbs, all first person singular.

  2. Трябва да започна да уча.

    I need to start studying.

    Трябва does not change; започна and уча carry the person.

  3. Опитвам се да спра да пия кафе.

    I'm trying to stop drinking coffee.

    After спра, the imperfective пия is used.

  4. Искам да те помоля да ми помогнеш.

    I want to ask you to help me.

    The last verb switches to ти.

  5. Трябва да се научиш да караш кола.

    You need to learn to drive a car.

  6. Той не успя да започне да пише книгата.

    He didn't manage to start writing the book.

Common Mistakes

  • Dropping да before the second verb.

    Искам да мога плувам.
    Искам да мога да плувам.

    Each verb in the chain needs its own да. Bulgarian has no infinitive to use instead.

  • Forgetting to give the last verb its person.

    Искаме да можем да плува.
    Искаме да можем да плуваме.

    When the same people do all the actions, every verb has the same person. Here all three verbs are ние.

  • Using a perfective verb after a verb of starting or stopping.

    Трябва да започна да науча думите.
    Трябва да започна да уча думите.

    After започвам/започна and спирам/спра, the next verb is imperfective, because it describes an ongoing activity.

How It Connects

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

да + Verb + да + VerbLevel 3Chains of Да-Clauses

Learn This First

Chains of да clauses combine several да verbs.

Words in This Pattern