Adjectives With a Disappearing Vowel
добар ден but добра вечер; тежок куфер but тешка торба. The vowel before the last consonant disappears once an ending is added.
How It Works
How it works: the stem of добар is really добр-. The masculine form has no ending, so an е or о is added to make it easy to say. Once any ending is added, that vowel is not needed:
- добар — добра — добро — добри (good)
- тежок — тешка — тешко — тешки (heavy, difficult)
- краток — кратка — кратко — кратки (short)
- топол — топла — топло — топли (warm)
- сладок — слатка — слатко — слатки (sweet)
- гладен — гладна — гладно — гладни (hungry)
- среќен — среќна — среќно — среќни (happy)
The definite masculine form drops it too: добриот, топлиот, тешкиот (see член кај придавки: новиот; новата). So do the adverbs добро, тешко (see прилози од придавки: брзо; добро).
Spelling: when the vowel drops, a voiced consonant may end up next to a voiceless one and is written as it sounds: тежок → тешка, сладок → слатка, низок → ниска. This is the same sound change as in обеззвучување на крајот на зборот.
Not every adjective does this: висок → висока, зелен → зелена and црвен → црвена keep their vowel. Learn each adjective together with its feminine form.
Examples (6)
- Ова е добра книга.
This is a good book.
Word by Word: This is good book.
- Торбата е многу тешка.
The bag is very heavy.
Word by Word: Bag-the is very heavy.
- Нема топла вода.
There is no hot water.
Word by Word: Not-has warm water.
- Среќна Нова година!
Happy New Year!
Word by Word: Happy New year!
- Денес сум многу гладна.
I am very hungry today.
Word by Word: Today I-am very hungry.
The speaker is a woman, so the feminine form гладна is used.
- Летните ноќи се кратки.
Summer nights are short.
Word by Word: Summer-the nights are short.
Common Mistakes
Keeping the vowel in the feminine form.
Торбата е тежока.Торбата е тешка.The о of тежок drops when -а is added, and ж is written ш before к: тешка.
Keeping the vowel in топол.
Сакам топола вода.Сакам топла вода.The feminine form is топла. Топола is a different word, the poplar tree.
Spelling the stem as it looks instead of as it sounds.
Ова е сладка торта.Ова е слатка торта.Macedonian spelling follows pronunciation, so сладок becomes слатка.
How It Connects
Learn This First
The disappearing vowel needs adjective agreement.
Related Patterns
- новиот / новатаThe Article on Adjectives
The definite forms drop the vowel too: добриот, топлиот.
Level 2 - Final Devoicing
The spelling changes in тешка and слатка come from the same devoicing of consonants.
Level 1 - Adverbs From Adjectives
Adverbs made from these adjectives also drop the vowel: добро, тешко.
Level 2 - по- / нај-Comparing Things
Comparatives drop the vowel the same way: подобар, but подобра.
Level 2 - Nouns With a Disappearing Vowel
Some nouns lose a vowel in the same way: Македонец → Македонци.
Level 3
Practice Adjectives With a Disappearing Vowel in Bubblegum
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