Aspect Pairs Formed With a Suffix

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Many Bulgarian verbs come in pairs that differ by an ending, not a prefix: купувам (I buy, I am buying) and купя (buy once, completely). Learn both verbs together.

How It Works

1. What the pair means. Both verbs have the same basic meaning, but they look at the action differently (see perfective and imperfective aspect):

  • Всеки ден купувам хляб. (I buy bread every day.) Imperfective: a repeated action.
  • Искам да купя хляб. (I want to buy some bread.) Perfective: one complete purchase.

2. Common pairs (imperfective — perfective).

  • A suffix makes the imperfective: купувам — купя (buy), давам — дам (give), продавам — продам (sell), получавам — получа (receive), решавам — реша (decide, solve).
  • The vowel of the stem changes too: отговарям — отговоря (answer), отварям — отворя (open), затварям — затворя (close).
  • The perfective has -н-: ставам — стана (get up, become), връщам — върна (return), започвам — започна (begin), помагам — помогна (help).
  • The consonant changes: казвам — кажа (say, tell), изпращам — изпратя (send), обличам — облека (dress, put on).

3. How to tell them apart. The imperfective is normally the longer verb and belongs to the third conjugation (купувам, купуваш). The perfective is shorter and often belongs to the first or second conjugation (купя, купиш; кажа, кажеш).

4. Where the perfective goes. A perfective present form does not stand alone as a main verb for "now". Use it after да, after ще, or in a clause with ако or когато: Ще ти кажа утре (I will tell you tomorrow). For what you are doing right now or do regularly, use the imperfective.

Tip: dictionaries and good word lists give both verbs. Memorize them as one unit: казвам/кажа.

Examples (6)

  1. Всеки ден купувам вестник.

    I buy a newspaper every day.

    Купувам is imperfective because the action repeats.

  2. Искам да купя нова чанта.

    I want to buy a new bag.

    Купя is perfective: one complete purchase, after да.

  3. Кажи ми истината!

    Tell me the truth!

    The perfective imperative кажи asks for one complete act of telling.

  4. Той винаги ми казва истината.

    He always tells me the truth.

    Казва is imperfective because the action is habitual.

  5. Ще ти дам ключа утре.

    I will give you the key tomorrow.

    Дам is perfective and follows ще.

  6. Кога ставаш сутрин?

    When do you get up in the morning?

    Ставаш is imperfective: a daily routine. Its perfective partner is стана.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the perfective as the main verb for an action happening now.

    Сега купя хляб.
    Сега купувам хляб.

    A perfective present form such as купя needs да, ще, ако or когато before it. For an action in progress, use the imperfective купувам.

  • Using the perfective for a habit.

    Често му кажа истината.
    Често му казвам истината.

    Words like често, винаги and всеки ден describe repeated actions, so the verb must be imperfective.

How It Connects

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

Aspect Pairs Formed With a SuffixLevel 2

Learn This First

Aspect pairs with a suffix need the idea of aspect.