бил + L-Form

The Reported Past Perfect

Level 5Sounds Like bil + l-forma

Бил + l-form is the reported partner of беше заминал: Кога стигнале, возот веќе бил заминал. (When they arrived, the train had already left, they say.)

How It Works

The job. Бил + l-form tells about an event that happened before another past event, when you know about both only from someone else. It is the reported partner of the past perfect with бев.

Form. Бил agrees with the subject, and so does the l-form after it:

  • тој бил заминал · таа била заминала · тоа било заминало · тие биле заминале

It is used mostly for he, she, it and they, and the l-form usually comes from a perfective verb: заминал, легнала, избегал.

Compare.

  • Кога стигнавме, возот веќе беше заминал. When we arrived, the train had already left. (I was there.)
  • Кога стигнале, возот веќе бил заминал. When they arrived, the train had already left. (They told me.)

Negative. Не comes before бил: Децата уште не биле дошле од училиште. (The children had not come back from school yet, they say.)

How common is it? Many speakers simply use the plain l-form for both events and let words like веќе show the order: Кога стигнале, возот веќе заминал. Бил + l-form is more exact, and you meet it in retold stories, memoirs and folk tales. Older grammars described it as rare in written Macedonian. For the other reported tenses, see reported forms across tenses. With сум бил about yourself, the form has a different use; see сум бил + л-форма.

Examples (5)

  1. Кога стигнале, возот веќе бил заминал.

    When they arrived, the train had already left, they say.

    Word by Word: When they-arrived, the-train already been left.

  2. Кога полицијата дошла, крадецот веќе бил избегал.

    When the police came, the thief had already run away, reportedly.

    Word by Word: When the-police came, the-thief already been run-away.

  3. Кога ѝ се јавил, таа веќе била легнала.

    When he called her, she had already gone to bed, apparently.

    Word by Word: When to-her self he-called, she already been lain-down.

  4. Децата уште не биле дошле од училиште.

    The children had not come back from school yet, they say.

    Word by Word: The-children still not been come from school.

  5. Кога стигнавме, возот веќе беше заминал.

    When we arrived, the train had already left.

    Word by Word: When we-arrived, the-train already was left.

    Беше заминал: the speaker was there and vouches for it, so there is no бил.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the aorist after бил.

    Возот веќе бил замина.
    Возот веќе бил заминал.

    After бил comes the l-form, which ends in -л, -ла, -ло or -ле.

  • Leaving бил in the masculine for a woman.

    Таа веќе бил легнала.
    Таа веќе била легнала.

    Both parts agree with the subject: била легнала for a woman.

How It Connects

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

бил + L-FormLevel 5The Reported Past Perfect

Learn This First

The reported past perfect combines reported tenses and the past perfect.