-от / -та / -то / -те

The Definite Article

Level 1Sounds Like opredelen člen: -ot; -ta; -to; -te

There is no separate word for the. Add an ending to the noun instead: град → градот (the city), жена → жената (the woman).

How It Works

Singular.

  • Masculine -от: град → градот (the city), телефон → телефонот (the phone)
  • Feminine -та: жена → жената (the woman), куќа → куќата (the house)
  • Neuter -то: село → селото (the village), море → морето (the sea)

Plural.

  • Plurals in -и take -те: градовите (the cities), жените (the women)
  • Plurals in -а take -та: селата (the villages), децата (the children)

The ending of the word decides. A feminine noun ending in a consonant still takes -та: ноќта (the night). See Feminine Nouns Ending in a Consonant. A masculine noun ending in -о or -а takes the article that matches its ending: таткото, колегата. See Masculine Nouns in A and O.

Only once. The article goes on the first word of the phrase, so an adjective in front takes it and the noun stays bare: новиот телефон. See The Article on the First Word and The Article on Adjectives.

When to use it. Use the article for something known or already mentioned: Книгата е на масата. See When to Use the Article.

Macedonian also has articles meaning this one here and that one over there: градов, градон. See The Three Articles.

Examples (6)

  1. Градот е голем.

    The city is big.

    Град + -от.

  2. Жената чита книга.

    The woman is reading a book.

    Жена + -та. Книга has no article because it is not a particular book.

  3. Селото е мало.

    The village is small.

    Село + -то.

  4. Морето е топло.

    The sea is warm.

  5. Градовите се стари, а селата се мирни.

    The cities are old, and the villages are quiet.

    Градови + -те and села + -та.

  6. Ноќта е долга.

    The night is long.

    Ноќ is feminine, so it takes -та even though it ends in a consonant.

Common Mistakes

  • Choosing the article by the wrong gender.

    Куќато е голема.
    Куќата е голема.

    Куќа is feminine, so its article is -та.

  • Putting the article on both the possessive and the noun.

    Мојот телефонот е нов.
    Мојот телефон е нов.

    The article goes only on the first word of the phrase.

  • Using -те for a plural that ends in -а.

    Селате се мали.
    Селата се мали.

    Plurals ending in -а take -та: села → селата.

How It Connects

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-от / -та / -то / -теLevel 1The Definite Article

Learn This First

The definite article is chosen by the noun's gender.

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Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

-от-та-то-те