The L-Form
A man says Би сакал кафе and a woman says Би сакала кафе (I would like a coffee). The l-form shows the gender and number of the subject, not the person.
How It Works
What it is. The l-form is a verb form with no person endings. Instead it agrees with the subject in gender and number, like an adjective:
- -л masculine: читал
- -ла feminine: читала
- -ло neuter: читало
- -ле plural, all genders: читале
How to build it. Start from the I-form of the past tense and swap -в for -л:
- imperfective verbs use the imperfect: читав → читал, носев → носел, пиев → пиел
- perfective verbs use the aorist: прочитав → прочитал, купив → купил, напишав → напишал
See The Imperfect Past and The Aorist Past.
Aorists in -ов. Verbs whose aorist ends in -ов take -ол in the masculine and drop the о elsewhere, and some change the consonant before it:
- донесе: донесол, донесла, донесло, донесле
- рече: рекол, рекла, рекло, рекле
- дојде: дошол, дошла, дошло, дошле
- отиде: отишол, отишла, отишло, отишле
Сум gives бил, била, било, биле, and има gives имал, имала, имало, имале.
What it builds. On its own it is only part of a tense. You will use it in:
- the perfect with сум: Сум бил во Охрид. (The Perfect With Сум)
- the conditional with би: Би сакала кафе. (The Conditional With Би)
- the past perfect with бев (The Past Perfect)
- reported forms: in the he, she and they forms сум is dropped, so Марко рекол… often signals that you heard it rather than saw it (Reported Forms)
A second l-form. Some perfective verbs also have an l-form from the imperfect stem, such as дојдел beside дошол. It appears after words such as ќе and да, and you will meet it later.
Examples (6)
- Би сакал едно кафе.
I would like a coffee.
Word by Word: Would liked one coffee.
A man is speaking, so the l-form is masculine: сакал.
- Би сакала едно кафе.
I would like a coffee.
Word by Word: Would liked one coffee.
A woman is speaking, so the l-form is feminine: сакала.
- Детето би сакало сладолед.
The child would like some ice cream.
Word by Word: Child-the would liked ice-cream.
Дете is neuter, so the l-form ends in -ло.
- Сум бил во Охрид.
I have been to Ohrid.
Word by Word: I-am been in Ohrid.
Бил is the masculine l-form of сум; a woman says Сум била во Охрид.
- Дали си ја прочитала книгата?
Have you read the book?
Word by Word: Whether you-are it read-through book-the?
Addressed to a woman; a man would hear прочитал.
- Би дошле, но немаме време.
We would come, but we do not have time.
Word by Word: Would come-PL, but we-don't-have time.
Plural subjects take -ле; дојде has the special l-form дошле.
Common Mistakes
A woman using the masculine l-form about herself.
Јас би сакал кафе.Јас би сакала кафе.The l-form agrees with the speaker or subject. A woman uses -ла: сакала, била, дошла.
Using a singular ending with a plural subject.
Ние би сакала да дојдеме.Ние би сакале да дојдеме.Plural subjects, of any gender, take -ле.
How It Connects
Learn This First
The l-form follows the past tenses.
Related Patterns
- сум + L-FormThe Perfect with Сум
The perfect is built from сум and the l-form.
Level 3 - би + L-FormThe Conditional with Би
The conditional is built from би and the l-form.
Level 3 - Reported Forms
In the he, she and they forms the bare l-form often marks reported information.
Level 4 - The Aorist Past
Perfective verbs build the l-form from the aorist.
Level 2 - The Verbal Adjective
The verbal adjective is a different form that also agrees in gender and number.
Level 3
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Practice The L-Form in Bubblegum
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