Doubling a Definite Object

Level 2Sounds Like udvoǰuvan̂e na opredelen obǰekt

Say the definite object twice, once as го/ја/ги before the verb: Ја читам книгата. (I am reading the book.) An indefinite object is said once: Читам книга.

How It Works

In Macedonian a definite direct object appears twice: as a noun and as a short pronoun before the verb.

  • Го видов Марко. — I saw Marko.
  • Ја читам книгата. — I am reading the book.
  • Ги знам децата. — I know the children.

What counts as definite: a noun with the article (книгата, лебот, децата), a name (Марко, Охрид), a noun with овој / тој (овој филм), and a full pronoun (неа). See определен член: -от; -та; -то; -те and кога се користи членот.

Choosing the pronoun: го for masculine and neuter singular (лебот, езерото), ја for feminine singular (книгата), ги for every plural (децата, клучевите).

Indefinite objects are not doubled: Купив леб. (I bought bread.) versus Го купив лебот. (I bought the bread.) So the same noun can go either way: with the article it gets the pronoun, and without it, it does not.

Where the pronoun goes: right before the verb, after не, ќе and да: Не го видов Марко. · Ќе ја прочитам книгата. After a command it follows: Донеси го лебот. Putting the object first keeps the doubling (предмет пред глаголот со удвојување), and a to-someone object with на is doubled too (на + лице за индиректен објект).

Examples (6)

  1. Го видов Марко.

    I saw Marko.

    Word by Word: Him saw-I Marko.

  2. Ја читам книгата.

    I am reading the book.

    Word by Word: It I-read the-book.

  3. Ги знам децата.

    I know the children.

    Word by Word: Them I-know the-children.

  4. Купив леб.

    I bought bread.

    Word by Word: Bought-I bread.

    Леб has no article, so there is no pronoun.

  5. Го купив лебот.

    I bought the bread.

    Word by Word: It bought-I the-bread.

    With the article, го appears before the verb.

  6. Го сакам овој филм.

    I love this film.

    Word by Word: It I-love this film.

Common Mistakes

  • Leaving out the short pronoun with a definite object.

    Видов Марко.
    Го видов Марко.

    Marko is a specific person, so standard Macedonian needs го before the verb as well.

  • Doubling an object that is not definite.

    Ја читам книга.
    Читам книга.

    Книга without the article means "a book", so there is nothing to repeat. Either drop ја or say Ја читам книгата.

  • Choosing the wrong pronoun for the object.

    Го читам книгата.
    Ја читам книгата.

    Книгата is feminine, so the matching pronoun is ја. Use го only for masculine or neuter singular objects.

How It Connects

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Doubling a Definite ObjectLevel 2

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Doubling needs short pronouns and the article.

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