Possessive pronouns in Bulgarian
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Sign up for freePossessive pronouns indicate possession. In Bulgarian there are short and long possessive pronouns.
Lesson outline
Hide1. Short possessive pronouns
As it is in the English language, in Bulgarian there are also short and long possessive pronouns. In this lesson we will discuss them and how to use them correctly. Usually, we use the short forms of the possessive pronouns more frequently than the full forms.
Short possessive pronouns | English equivalent |
|---|---|
| ми | my |
| ти | your |
| му | his |
| й | her |
| му | its |
| ни | our |
| ви/Ви | your |
| им | their |
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When to use the short possessive pronouns?
We use the short possessive pronouns only after nouns, unlike in English, the nouns usually have a definite article.
| Къщата му е красива. | His house is beautiful. |
We use the short possessive pronoun "ви" for both 2nd person singular and 2nd person plural. When used for the 2nd person singular, it is a polite form and it is written with a capital letter - "Ви".
| Сестра Ви ще дойде ли? | Is your sister coming? |
Most nouns that define family members do not add a definite article in singular form when used with a short possessive pronoun:
- майка ми (my mother)
- баща ми (my father)
- брат ми - my brother
- жена ми - my wife
- дъщеря ми - my daughter
- баба ми - my grandma
- дядо ми - my grandpa.
Exceptions:
- мъжът ми/ мъжа ми (my husband)
- синът ми/сина ми (my son)
- детето ми (my child)
| Майка ми и баща ми са тук, а сестрите ми ще дойдат скоро. | My mother and father are here and my sisters are coming soon. |
If there is a adjective before the noun, the short possessive pronoun comes between the adjective and the noun. The adjective always has a definite article.
| Старата ми кола е в гаража. | My old car is in the garage. |
If there is more than one adjective before the noun, the short possessive pronoun goes after the first adjective which always has a definite article.
| Кафето е любимата ми топла напитка. | Coffee is my favorite hot drink. |
2. Long possessive pronouns
Long possessive pronouns are similar to adjectives - they also change in the gender and number.
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural | English equivalent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| мой | моя | мое | мои | my/mine |
| твой | твоя | твое | твои | your/yours |
| негов | негова | негово | негови | his |
| неин | нейна | нейно | нейни | her/hers |
| негов | негова | негово | негови | its |
| наш | наша | нашо | наши | our/ours |
| ваш | ваша | вашо | ваши | your/yours |
| техен | тяхна | тяхно | техни | their/theirs |
We use the long possessive pronouns - "ваш, ваша, вашо, ваши" for both 2nd person singular and 2nd person plural. When used for 2nd person singular, it is polite form and is written with a capital letter - "Ваш, Ваша, Ваше, Ваши".
| Тези чаши ваши ли са, деца? | Children, are these cups yours? |
| Извинете, господине, това Ваше ли е? | Excuse me, sir, is this yours? |
Long possessive pronouns can be used with a definite article.
Masculine +ия(т) | Feminine +та | Neuter +то | Plural +те |
|---|---|---|---|
| мой - моя(т) | моя - моята | мое - моето | мои - моите |
| твой - твоя(т) | твоя - твоята | твое - твоето | твои - твоите |
| негов - неговия(т) | негова - неговата | негово - неговото | негови - неговите |
| неин - нейния(т) | нейна - нейната | нейно - нейното | нейни - нейните |
| негов - неговия(т) | негова - неговата | негово - неговото | негови - неговите |
| наш - нашия(т) | наша - нашата | нашо - нашото | наши - нашите |
| ваш - вашия(т) | ваша - вашата | ваше - вашето | ваши - вашите |
| техен - техния(т) | тяхна - тяхната | тяхно - тяхното | техни - техните |
If the masculine long possessive pronoun defines the subject of the sentence we use the full form of the pronoun - моят, твоят, неговият, нейният, нашият, вашият, техният.
| Моята кола е червена, твоята - синя. | My car is red, and yours - blue. |
| Неговата дъщеря говори английски, а моята - руски. | His daughter speaks english, and mine - russian. |
We can also express possession with the help of the preposition "HA".
| Това е ризата на Иван. | This is Ivan's shirt. |
| Това е ризата му. | This shirt is his. |
| Това е неговата риза. | This is his shirt. |
Practice your knowledge and what you have learnt in the exercises after the lesson!