си имало едно време

Once Upon a Time

Level 5Sounds Like si imalo edno vreme

Macedonian fairy tales begin with Си имало едно време... (Once upon a time there was...) and keep using the l-form: имал, отишол, рекла.

How It Works

The opening. Си имало едно време еден цар. (Once upon a time there was a king.) Here има means "there is", as in saying there is, so it has no real subject and always stays in the neuter form имало, whatever follows: имало еден цар, имало една царица, имало три браќа. The little word си gives a cosy storytelling tone (compare the reflexive си); Имало едно време... without it is also fine. Another common opening is Си живееле некогаш...

The whole story in the l-form. After the opening, the events keep the reported form, because the teller did not see them (see reported forms):

  • Еден ден најмладиот син тргнал на долг пат. (One day the youngest son set off on a long journey.)
  • Лисицата го видела грозјето, ама не можела да го дофати. (The fox saw the grapes but could not reach them.)

The l-form agrees with the subject: тргнал (he), видела (she), живееле (they). The difference between the aorist and imperfect, explained in aorist and imperfect in a story, still shows through the l-form: тргнал (one event) but одел (was going, used to go).

The ending. A usual closing line is И така живееле долго и среќно. (And so they lived long and happily.)

Not only fairy tales. Any story you heard but did not see works the same way: family history, local legends, what happened before you were born. When a storyteller wants a scene to feel close and vivid, they may also switch to the present, as in present tense in a past story.

Examples (6)

  1. Си имало едно време еден цар, и тој имал три сина.

    Once upon a time there was a king, and he had three sons.

    Word by Word: Self had-N one time one king, and he had three sons.

    Имало is impersonal "there was"; имал agrees with тој and means "he had".

  2. Си живееле некогаш еден старец и една старица.

    Once there lived an old man and an old woman.

    Word by Word: Self lived once one old-man and one old-woman.

  3. Еден ден најмладиот син тргнал на долг пат.

    One day the youngest son set off on a long journey.

    Word by Word: One day youngest-the son set-off on long road.

  4. Лисицата го видела грозјето, ама не можела да го дофати.

    The fox saw the grapes but could not reach them.

    Word by Word: Fox-the it seen grapes-the, but not could to it reach.

  5. Дедо ми, кога бил млад, пешки одел до Охрид.

    When my grandfather was young, he walked all the way to Ohrid, so the story goes.

    Word by Word: Grandpa my, when been young, on-foot gone to Ohrid.

    A family story the speaker did not see is told in the l-form too.

  6. И така живееле долго и среќно.

    And so they lived long and happily.

    Word by Word: And so lived long and happily.

Common Mistakes

  • Making the "there was" verb masculine to match the king.

    Си имал едно време еден цар.
    Си имало едно време еден цар.

    In the opening, има means "there is" and has no subject, so it always takes the neuter l-form имало. Имал means "he had", as in тој имал три сина.

How It Connects

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

си имало едно времеLevel 5Once Upon a Time

Learn This First

Once upon a time follows reported forms.