Old Case Forms

Level 6Sounds Like stari padežni formi: Bogu; Boga mi

Macedonian nouns no longer change for case, but a few old forms survive. You hear them in set phrases like Слава Богу! (Thank God!) and Богами, не знам. (Honestly, I don't know.)

How It Works

Nouns lost their cases. Modern Macedonian shows who does what with word order and with prepositions such as на, not with endings (see nouns without case endings). A few old endings still survive, frozen inside set phrases.

Богу and Бога. The word Бог (God) kept the most old forms:

  • Богу, the old "to" form: Слава Богу! and Фала Богу! (Thank God!), and the old-fashioned Богу душа даде (he died, literally "he gave his soul to God").
  • Бога, the old object form: богами (by God, honestly) grew out of Бога ми, and dictionaries write it as one word. It makes what you say stronger: Богами, не знам. Бога also appears after a preposition, as in Слава на Бога.
  • Боже, the calling form: Боже мој! (My God!) See addressing someone.
  • збогум (farewell), from older со Богом (with God). Today it is one word and sounds like a long or final goodbye: Збогум и среќен пат!

Pronouns kept their cases. Personal and question pronouns still have separate object and "to" forms, and you use them in everyday speech: кого (whom), кому (to whom), мене, него, нему. See кого and кому and full object pronouns.

An optional form on names. The standard language also allows an old object form in -а on some men's names and family words: Го видов Ивана (I saw Ivan). It is always optional and is becoming rare, and Го видов Иван means the same.

Do not build new ones. These forms are fixed. With other nouns, use на for "to": Му пишав писмо на Марко (I wrote Marko a letter), never Марку.

Examples (6)

  1. Слава Богу, сите се живи и здрави.

    Thank God, everyone is alive and well.

    Word by Word: Glory to-God, all are alive and healthy.

    Богу is the old "to" form of Бог.

  2. Фала Богу, стигнавме навреме.

    Thank God, we made it on time.

    Word by Word: Thanks to-God, we-arrived on-time.

    Фала is a casual word for thanks; the phrase itself is fixed.

  3. Богами, не знам што да ти кажам.

    Honestly, I don't know what to tell you.

    Word by Word: By-God, not I-know what to to-you I-tell.

    Богами makes the statement stronger.

  4. Кому му го даде клучот?

    Who did you give the key to?

    Word by Word: To-whom to-him it you-gave key-the?

    Кому is a "to" form that is still alive; му doubles it.

  5. Збогум и среќен пат!

    Farewell, and have a safe trip!

    Word by Word: Farewell and happy road!

    Збогум grew out of со Богом (with God).

  6. Го видов Ивана на пазарот.

    I saw Ivan at the market.

    Word by Word: Him I-saw Ivan at market-the.

    The optional -а on a man's name. Го видов Иван means the same.

Common Mistakes

  • Adding the old -у ending to an ordinary noun.

    Му пишав писмо Марку.
    Му пишав писмо на Марко.

    The -у ending survives only in a few fixed phrases such as Слава Богу. With other nouns, show "to someone" with на.

  • Using кому after a preposition.

    Со кому зборуваше?
    Со кого зборуваше?

    After a preposition, use кого. Кому stands alone and already means to whom.

How It Connects

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Old Case FormsLevel 6

Learn This First

Old case forms build on the vocative and кого/кому.

Words in This Pattern

Богбог