Leaving Out Known Words

Level 5Sounds Like izostavuvan̂e vo odgovori

Answer with just the new part: Дали дојде Ана? — Дојде. (Did Ana come? — She did.) · Кој ќе плати? — Јас. (Who will pay? — Me.)

How It Works

Answering yes or no. English answers with a helper verb: Yes, I do. No, she did not. Macedonian has no such helper. It repeats the verb from the question, in the right person and tense, with or without да or не (see дали; ли):

  • Дали дојде Ана? — Дојде. (Did Ana come? — She did.)
  • Зборуваш ли македонски? — Да, зборувам. (Do you speak Macedonian? — Yes, I do.)
  • Имаш ли време? — Немам. (Do you have time? — I do not.)
  • Ќе дојдеш ли? — Ќе дојдам. (Will you come? — I will.)
A bare Да or Не is also possible.

The verb keeps its little words. Short pronouns, ќе and не belong to the verb and cannot stand on their own, so they stay with it in the answer (see ред пред глаголот: не; ќе; ми; го): Го виде ли филмот? — Го видов. (Did you see the film? — I did.) · Не го видов. (I did not.) Because филмот is definite, the short pronoun го now stands for it (see удвојување на определен објект). With an indefinite object there is no pronoun to keep: Купи ли леб? — Купив. (Did you buy bread? — I did.)

Answering a question word. A question with кој, што, каде, кога is usually answered with just the new information (see кој; што; каде; кога; како; зошто; колку):

  • Кој ќе плати? — Јас. (Who will pay? — Me.)
  • Каде одиш? — На пазар. (Where are you going? — To the market.)
  • Кога заминувате? — Утре. (When are you leaving? — Tomorrow.)
  • Кого чекаш? — Тебе. (Who are you waiting for? — You.)
A one-word answer must be a full word. Short pronouns such as те or го never stand alone, so the answer uses the full pronoun тебе or него (see долги заменки: мене; тебе; него; неа).

Leaving out the subject and a repeated verb. Subject pronouns are already left out in ordinary sentences, because the verb ending shows the person: Дојдов. (I came.) They appear for contrast or as one-word answers (see лични заменки: јас; ти; тој; таа). In two linked clauses, a verb that would be repeated can also be left out: Јас пијам кафе, а таа чај. (I drink coffee, and she drinks tea.) · Ана оди во Скопје, а Марко во Битола. (Ana is going to Skopje, and Marko to Bitola.)

Examples (6)

  1. Дали дојде Ана? — Дојде.

    Did Ana come? — She did.

    Word by Word: Q came Ana? — Came.

  2. Зборуваш ли македонски? — Да, зборувам.

    Do you speak Macedonian? — Yes, I do.

    Word by Word: You-speak Q Macedonian? — Yes, I-speak.

    Macedonian repeats the verb where English says do.

  3. Го виде ли филмот? — Не го видов.

    Did you see the film? — No, I did not.

    Word by Word: It you-saw Q film-the? — Not it I-saw.

    The short pronoun го stays with the verb and stands for филмот.

  4. Кој ќе плати? — Јас.

    Who will pay? — Me.

    Word by Word: Who will pay? — I.

  5. Кого чекаш? — Тебе.

    Who are you waiting for? — You.

    Word by Word: Whom you-wait? — You.

  6. Јас пијам кафе, а таа чај.

    I drink coffee, and she drinks tea.

    Word by Word: I drink coffee, and she tea.

    The second пие is left out because it would only repeat the first verb.

Common Mistakes

  • Answering with a verb for English "do".

    Зборуваш ли македонски? — Да, правам.
    Зборуваш ли македонски? — Да, зборувам.

    Прави means to make or do something. It cannot stand in for another verb, so repeat the verb from the question.

  • Answering with a short pronoun on its own.

    Кого чекаш? — Те.
    Кого чекаш? — Тебе.

    Short pronouns always lean on a verb. A one-word answer needs the full pronoun тебе.

How It Connects

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Leaving Out Known WordsLevel 5

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Leaving out known words builds on question-and-answer patterns.