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Алгоритъм за работа при превод на изречения от български на английски език

1. Анализирайте българското изречение. Отговорете си на въпроса кога става действието в него.

Например:

„Том гледа телевизия вечер” – действието е обичайно, тъй като се повтаря всяка вечер.
„Къде е Том? – Гледа телевизия в хола.” – действието се извършва в момента на говорене.
„Вчера ходихме на кино.” – действието е станало в точно определен минал момент.
„Ще ти помогна.” – бъдеще действие.
„Том е ходил в Америка.” – действието е станало в неопределен минал момент.
„Том работи тук от 10 години.” – действието е започнало в миналото и продължава да се извършва и в момента.
„Том спеше, когато влязох.” – действието (спеше) е в процес на извършване в определен минал момент (когато влязох).
„Том беше гледал филма, когато прочете книгата.” – действието (беше гледал) се е случило преди определен минал момент (когато прочете).

2. Въз основа на момента на извършване на действието, определете глаголното време, което ще използвате на английски език:

• обичайно, повтарящо се действие: сегашно просто време
• действие, което се извършва в момента на говоренето: сегашно продължително време
• действие, станало в точно определен минал момент: минало просто време
• действие, станало в неопределен минал момент: сегашно перфектно време
• действие, което е започнало в миналото и продължава и в момента на говорене: сегашно перфектно време
• действие, което е било в процес на извършване в даден минал момент: минало продължително време
• действие, което е било извършено преди определен минал момент: минало перфектно време
• бъдеще действие: бъдеще просто време

3. Преценете дали изречението е положително, отрицателно или въпросително.

4. Преценете кой е вършителят на действието и изберете съответстващото му местоимение:

Например:
Учениците – те (they)
Ученикът – той (he)
Сестра им – тя (she)
Баща ми – той (he)
Дядо им – той (he)

5. Съставете английското изречение, като се съобразите с правилата за словореда, спомагателните глаголи и окончанията за съответното време.

Positive sentences

The positive sentences are formed with the future particle ще and the present tense forms of the verb:

аз ще работя (I will work)
ти ще работиш (you will work)
той ще работи (he will work)
тя ще работи (she will work)
то ще работи (it will work)
ние ще работим (we will work)
вие ще работите (you will work)
те ще работят (they will work)

Negative sentences

The negative sentences are formed with the negative particle няма да and the present tense forms of the verb.

аз няма да работя (I won’t work)
ти няма да работиш (you won’t work)
той няма да работи (he won’t work)
тя няма да работи (she won’t work)
то няма да работи (it won’t work)
ние няма да работим (we won’t work)
вие няма да работите (you won’t work)
те няма да работят (they won’t work)

Questions

The general questions are formed with the interrogative particle ли:

аз ще работя ли (will I work)
ти ще работиш ли (will you work)
той ще работи ли (will he work)
тя ще работи ли (will she work)
то ще работи ли (will it work)
ние ще работим ли (will we work)
вие ще работите ли (will you work)
те ще работят ли (will they work)

Тhe special questions are formed by adding a question word to the positive sentence:

кога аз ще работя (when will I work)
кога ти ще работиш (when will you work)
кога той ще работи (when will he work)
кога тя ще работи (when will she work)
кога то ще работи (when will it work)
кога ние ще работим (when will we work)
кога вие ще работите (when will you work)
кога те ще работят (when will they work)

The verb to be has two conjugation variants:

аз ще съм = аз ще бъда (I will be)
ти ще си = ти ще бъдеш (you will be)
той/тя/то ще е = той/тя/то ще бъде (he/she/it will be)
ние ще сме = ние ще бъдем (we will be)
вие ще сте = вие ще бъдете (you will be)
те ще са = те ще бъдат (they will be)

аз няма да съм = аз няма да бъда (I won’t be)
ти няма да си = ти няма да бъдеш (you won’t be)
той/тя/то няма да е = той/тя/то няма да бъде (he/she/it won’t be)
ние няма да сме = ние няма да бъдем (we won’t be)
вие няма да сте = вие няма да бъдете (you won’t be)
те няма да са = те няма да бъдат (they won’t be)

аз ли ще съм = аз ли ще бъда (Will I be)
ти ли ще си = ти ли ще бъдеш (Will you be)
той/тя/то ли ще е = той/тя/то ли ще бъде (will he/she/it be)
ние ли ще сме = ние ли ще бъдем (Will we be)
вие ли ще сте = вие ли ще бъдете (Will you be)
те ли ще са = те ли ще бъдат (Will they be)

Къде ще съм аз? = Къде ще бъда аз? (Where will I be)
Къде ще си ти? = Къде ще бъдеш ти? (Where will you be)
Къде ще е той/тя/то? = Къде ще бъде той/тя/то? (Where will he/she/it be)
Къде ще сме ние? = Къде ще бъдем ние? (Where will we be)
Къде ще сте вие? = Къде ще бъдете вие? (Where will you be)
Къде ще са те? = Къде ще бъдат те? (Where will they be)

The letters я and ю

The letters я and ю can signify a single sound or a diphthong, depending on their position within the word:

In an initial position, they signify the diphthongs йа and йу respectively:
я = йа as in ясен (clear), боя (paint), броя (to count)
ю = йу as in юни (June), каюта ( a ship cabin)

When placed after a consonant though, they signify the vowels а and у and are used to signal that the preceding consonant is softened:
люляк /ljuljak/ (lilac) – pronounced with a soft л

The letter combinations йо and ьо

The letter combination йо is used at the beginning of a word or after a vowel:
йод (iodine), Йордан (a male name), майор (a major)

When this sound combination follows a consonant, it is written as ьо:
Кольо (a male name), миньор (miner)

Stress

The stress of Bulgarian words is not fixed (does not fall on a specific syllable) and is marked like this:
главà – head
магазùн – shop

The vowels that are not stressed are less clearly pronounced and the vowels in the following pairs begin to resemble each other when unstressed:
a – ъ (the most frequent case of vowel reduction)
баща (father) is pronounced like бъща
о – у (less frequent and less acceptable)
очила (glasses) is pronounced like учила
е – и (unacceptable – characteristic of dialects)
зеле (cabbage) is pronounced like зели

Changes Я/Е

These changes in some of the forms of a word are based on old phonetic laws and principles (the so called mutating Я):
лято – летни
звяр – зверове

Those spelling and pronunciation changes are due to a vowel that existed in Old Bulgarian (ѣ). Where this old vowel used to be, contemporary Bulgarian uses either я, or е (лято, but летни).

The rule is that for я to appear in place of the old vowel ѣ, two conditions must be simultaneously met:

1. The old vowel should be stressed.

2. The old vowel should be located before a “hard” syllable (the syllable is said to be “hard” when it contains one of the following vowels: а, ъ, о, у, while the “soft” syllables contain the vowels e and u), or in the final syllable.

Examples:

лято – the old vowel is stressed and the following syllable is “hard”, so we use я

летни – the old vowel is stressed but the following syllable is not “hard”, so we use e

звяр – the old vowel is stressed and it is in the final syllable, so we use я

зверове – the old vowel is not stressed and even though the following syllable is “hard”, we use e

There are, however, numerous exceptions:

We use e instead of я in words that originate from the western dialects or are Russian loan words: човек, век,съсед, дело, употреба, etc.

We use e instead of я in words where ж, ч, or ш are located after the old vowel: снежна, пречка, грешка.

We use я instead of е in the plural past forms of the verbs for 1^st and 2^nd person: търпяхме, търпяхте

Omitting letters in some forms of a word

These vowels appear or are omitted to facilitate pronunciation:
театър – театри (a theatre – theatres)
добър – добра (good – masculine and feminine)
косъм – косми (a hair – hairs)
осем – осми (eight – eighth)
песен – песни (a song – songs)

Pronunciation of voiced and unvoiced consonants at specific positions within the word

At the end of the word, voiced consonants sound like their voiceless counterparts, although their spelling is preserved:
кораб – pronounced as корап (ship)
молив – pronounced as молиф (pencil)
подвиг – pronounced as подвик (feat)
проход – pronounced as прохот (passage, thoroughfare) гараж – pronounced as гараш (garage)
нож – pronounced as нош (knife)
залез – pronounced as залес (sunset)

The same happens when a voiced consonant is positioned directly before an unvoiced one:
покривка – pronounced as покрифка (tablecloth)
градски – pronounced as гратски (urban)
бележка – pronounced as белешка (note)

When an unvoiced consonant is positioned directly before a voiced one, it is pronounced like its voiced counterpart:
сватба – pronounced as свадба (wedding)
сграда – pronounced as зграда (building)

Omission of sounds when pronouncing some words

Omissions of т and д:

шест – pronounced as шес
мост – pronounced as мос
грозд – pronounced as грос
нощ – pronounced as нош
дъжд – pronounced as дъш
вестник – pronounced as весник
хищник – pronounced as хишник

Occasional changes in spelling

These changes are dues to old phonetic laws and principles:
мога – може
пека – пече
страх – страшен
диалог – диалози
ученик – ученици
стомах – стомаси

The Bulgarian equivalent of the possessive ‘s

Bulgarian uses the preposition на to indicate possession (unlike English, in Bulgarian the object that someone owns comes first, then the preposition, and, finally, the owner):

колите на Том = Tom’s cars

играчката на детето = the kid’s toy

играчките на децата = the kids’ toys

The equivalent of the preposition ‘of’

The same preposition is used in place of the English of when talking about one inanimate object being a part of another:

началото на филма = the beginning of the film

краката на масата = the legs of the table

The past tense for completed actions denotes actions completed at a particular time in the past and is roughly equivalent to the English past simple tense.

Unfortunately, it (as do all Bulgarian tenses) has two variants – one denoting an action the speaker witnessed and another denoting an action the speaker didn’t witness.

Describing actions that we witnessed in the past:

Positive sentences

Type 1 verbs:

аз писах (I wrote)
ти писа (you wrote)
той писа (he wrote)
тя писа (she wrote)
то писа (it wrote)
ние писахме (we wrote)
вие писахте (you wrote)
те писаха (they wrote)

Type 2 verbs:

аз работих (I worked)
ти работи (you worked)
той работи (he worked)
тя работи (she worked)
то работи (it worked)
ние работихме (we worked)
вие работихте (you worked)
те работиха (they worked)

Type 3 verbs:

аз исках (I wanted)
ти иска (you wanted)
той иска (he wanted)
тя иска (she wanted)
то иска (it wanted)
ние искахме (we wanted)
вие искахте (you wanted)
те искаха (they wanted)

Note that some of the past tense forms, especially for type 2 and 3 verbs may coincide with some present tense forms:
Той рабoти в банка. – He works in a bank.
Ти/той работи в банка миналата година. – You/he worked in a bank last year.
Той иска кафе. – He wants coffee.
Ти/той иска кафе вчера. – You/he wanted coffee yesterday.

Negative sentences

The negative sentences are formed by adding the negative particle не in front of the past tense form of the verb:
аз не писах (I didn’t write)
ти не писа (you didn’t write)
той не писа (he didn’t write)
тя не писа (she didn’t write)
то не писа (it didn’t write)
ние не писахме (we didn’t write)
вие не писахте (you didn’t write)
те не писаха (they didn’t write)

General questions

The general questions are formed by adding the interrogative particle ли which can be positioned differently in the sentences without any major changes in their meaning:
аз работих ли (did I work)
ти работи ли (did you work)
той работи ли ( did he work)
тя работи ли (did she work)
то работи ли (did it work)
ние работихме ли (did we work)
вие работихте ли (did you work)
те работиха ли (did they work)

Special questions

To form special questions you add a question word to the positive sentence:
аз четох → Какво четох (аз)? – What did I read?
ти чете → Къде чете (ти)? – Where did you read?
той чете → Кога чете (той)? – When did he read?
тя чете → Защо чете (тя)? – Why did she read?
то чете → Колко чете (то)? – How much did it read?
ние четохме → В колко часа четохме (ние)? – What time did we read?
вие четохте → Колко често четохте (вие)? – How often did you read?
те четоха → Кога четоха (те)? – When did they read?

The past tense of the
verb TO BE

Positive sentences:

аз бях – I was
ти беше – you were
той беше – he was
тя беше – she was
то беше – it was
ние бяхме – we were
вие бяхте – you were
те бяха – they were

Negative sentences:

аз не бях – I was not
ти не беше – You were not
той не беше – he was not
тя не беше – she was not
то не беше – it was not
ние не бяхме – we were not
вие не бяхте – you were not
те не бяха – they were not

General questions:

аз бях ли – was I
ти беше ли – were you
той беше ли – was he
тя беше ли – was she
то беше ли – was it
ние бяхме ли – were we
вие бяхте ли – were you
те бяха ли – were they

Special questions:

Защо аз бях тук? – Why was I here?
Защо ти беше тук? – Why were you here?
Защо той беше тук? – Why was he here?
Защо тя беше тук? – Why was she here?
Защо то беше тук? – Why was it here?
Защо ние бяхме тук? – Why were we here?
Защо вие бяхте тук? – Why were you here?
Защо те бяха тук? – Why were they here?

Describing actions that we didn’t witness

We use special forms of the past tense for completed actions to describe past actions that we didn’t witness:

аз съм писал/ писал съм
ти си писал/ писал си
той е писал/ писал е
тя е писала/ писала е
то е писало/ писало е
ние сме писали/ писали сме
вие сте писали/ писали сте
те са писали/ писали са

аз съм работил/ работил съм
ти си работил/ работил си
той е работил/ работил е
тя е работила/ работила е
то е работило/ работило е
ние сме работили/работили сме
вие сте работили/ работили сте
те са работили/работили са

аз съм искал/ искал съм
ти си искал/искал си
той е искал/искал е
тя е искала/искала е
то е искало/искало е
ние сме искали/искали сме
вие сте искали/искали сте
те са искали/искали са

Reflexive pronouns

One type of the reflexive pronouns is used to signify that the action returns to the doer – the usage is quite similar to the usage of the English reflexive pronouns.

There are only two forms, resembling the usage of the accusative and dative personal pronouns:
Храня се. – I am eating (literally – I am feeding myself)
Казвам си. – I am telling myself.

When we mention the doer explicitly, we change the word order and the position of the reflexive pronoun:
Аз се храня.
Аз си казвам.

Ти се обличаш. /Обличаш се. – You are dressing yourself.
Те си говорят. / Говорят си. – They are talking to each other.

The second type of reflexive pronouns signifies possession and is similar in usage to the possessive pronouns, but it only changes according to the gender and number of the possession. It only has one short form that is universal.

The definite forms of the possessive reflexive pronouns are more widely used than the indefinite forms.

In the third person singular though, the “regular” possessive pronouns have a different meaning compared to the reflexive possessive pronouns.

Той обича своята жена/ жена си. = He loves his (own) wife.
Той обича неговата жена/ жена му. = He loves his (someone else’s) wife.

Demonstrative pronouns

The Bulgarian demonstrative pronouns have similar meaning and usage to the English demonstrative pronouns, but besides changing in number, they also change to agree with the gender of the noun they are used with:

this:
този – masculine
тази – feminine
това – neutral

that:
онзи – masculine
онази – feminine
онова – neutral

these – тези

those – онези

Този/онзи мъж е англичанин. – This/that man is English.
Тази/онази жена е българка. – This/that woman is Bulgarian.
Това/онова дете е на 5 години. – This/that child is 5 years old.
Тези/онези хора са наши съседи. – These/those people are our neighbours.

You can also use the demonstrative pronouns without an accompanying noun:
Това е мъжът ми. This is my husband.

In this case the most widely used form is това and it can substitute a single word or a whole phrase:
Остави това. (Leave that.)
Това е добра идея. (That‘s a good idea)

Indefinite pronouns

Masculine forms:

някой:
Някой ме търси. = Somebody is looking for me.
Някой мъж трябва да ми помогне. = A man has to help me. (it doesn’t matter which man)

някакъв:
Дай ми някакъв молив. = Give me a pencil. (but някакъв signifies that it doesn’t matter which pencil you will give me)
Имам някакъв компютър. = I have a computer. (but някакъв signifies that I am not sure about the type or condition of the computer)

Feminine forms:

някоя:
Кажи на някоя жена = Tell some woman (the implication is that it doesn’t matter which woman you will tell)

някаква:
Дай ми някаква лъжица = Give me a spoon. (but някаква signifies that it doesn’t matter which spoon you will give me)
Имам някаква рокля = I have a dress. (but някаква signifies that I am not sure about the type or condition of the dress)

Neutral forms:

някое:
Някое дете ще ти каже. = A kid will tell you. (some kid, one of the kids)

някакво:
Дай ми някаквo цвете. = Give me a flower. (but някаквo signifies that it doesn’t matter which flower you will give me)
Имам някаквo бюро = I have a desk. (but някаквo signifies that I am not sure about the type or condition of the desk)

Plural forms:

някои:
Дай го на някои хора. – Give it to some people.

някакви:
Дай ми някакви химикали. = Give me some pens. (but някакви signifies that it doesn’t matter which pens you will give me)
Имам някакви пари. = I have some money. (but някакви signifies that I am not sure about the quantity of the money)
Имам някакви дрехи. = I have some clothes. (but някакви signifies that I am not sure about the type or condition of the clothes)

Forms for indefinite quantity:

няколко – several
Имам няколко компютъра. = I have several computers.

Other forms:

every:
всеки – masculine (всеки мъж = every man)
всяка – feminine (всяка жена = every woman)
всяко – neutral (всяко дете = every child)

всички/всичките – all
всички/всичките хора = all (the ) people

Negative pronouns

For people: the Bulgarian equivalent of nobody OR any/no + noun

masculine:
никой
Никой не ми помага. = Nobody helps me.
Никой човек не знае. = No person knows.

feminine:
никоя
Никоя жена няма да дойде. = No woman will come.

neutral:
никое
Никое дете не обича лекарства. = No child likes medicines.

plural:
никои – none (relatively rarely used on its own)

For attributes:

masculine:
никакъв
Нямам никакъв компютър. = I have no computer.

feminine:
никаква
Нямам никаква рокля. = I have no dress.

neutral:
никакво
Нямам никакво куче. = I have no dog.

plural:
никкави
Не искам никакви подаръци. = I want no gifts.

For quantity:

николко – any/no
николко писма – no letters

Note that double negation is widely used and acceptable in Bulgarian:

Нямам никакви приятели. = I don’t have no friends.

Definite and indefinite possessive pronouns

The Bulgarian possessive pronouns have two forms: indefinite – roughly corresponding to the English possessive pronouns (This book is mine), and definite – roughly corresponding to the English possessive adjectives (This is my book).

The indefinite forms indicate that we are talking about an object or a person as a representative of a whole group of similar objects, and the definite forms indicate that we are talking about a particular object or person.

Gender forms of the singular possessive pronouns

Both the indefinite and the definite singular possessive pronouns in Bulgarian have different forms for the various the genders of the possession:

Plural forms of the possessive pronouns

The plural forms do not make gender distinctions:

Examples:

Indefinite singular

Този компютър е мой/твой/негов/неин/негов/наш/ваш/техен. = This is a computer of mine/yours/his/hers/its/ours/yours/theirs. (indefinite masculine possession: I have many computers and this is one of them.)

Тази книга е моя/твоя/негова/нейна/негова/наша/ваша/тяхна. = This is a book of mine/yours/his/hers/its/ours/yours/theirs. (indefinite feminine possession: I have many books and this is one of them.)

Това куче е моe/твоe/неговo/нейно/негово/наше/ваше/тяхно. = This is a dog of mine/yours/his/hers/its/ours/yours/theirs. (indefinite neutral possession: I have many dogs and this is one of them.)

Definite singular

Това е моят/твоят/неговият/нейният/неговият/нашият/вашият/техният компютър. = This is my/your/his/her/its/our/your/their computer. (definite masculine possession: I either have only one computer or you know which particular computer of mine I am talking about.)

Това е моятa/твоятa/неговaтa/нейнaтa/неговaтa/нашaтa/вашaтa/тяхната книга. = This is my/your/his/her/its/our/your/their book. (definite feminine possession: I either have only one book or you know which particular book of mine I am talking about.)

Това е моето/твоето/неговото/нейното/неговото/нашето/вашето/тяхното куче. = This is my/your/his/her/its/our/your/their dog. (definite neutral possession: I either have only one dog or you know which particular dog of mine I am talking about.)

Indefinite plural

Тeзи компютри/книги/кучета са мои/твои/негови/нейни/негови/наши/ваши/техни. = Thеsе are some computers/books/dogs of mine/yours/his/hers/its/ours/yours/theirs. (indefinite possession, plural: I have many computers/books/dogs and these are some of them.)

Definite plural

Това са моите/твоите/неговите/нейните/неговите/нашите/вашите/техните компютри/книги/кучета. = These are my/your/his/her/its/our/your/their computers/books/dogs. (definite possession, plural: I either have only these computers/books/dogs or you know which particular group of computers/books/dogs I am talking about.)

Other examples:

Това куче мое ли е ? – Is this one of my dogs/Is this dog mine?

Това куче моето ли е? – Is this my dog?

Това куче твое ли е? – Is this one of your dogs/Is this dog yours?

Това куче твоето ли е? – Is this your dog?

Този компютър негов ли е? – Is this one of his computers/Is this computer his?

Това неговият компютър ли е? – Is this his computer?

Тази книга нейна ли е? – Is this one of her books/Is this book hers?

Това нейната книга ли е? – Is this her book?

Тази чаша негова ли е? – Is this one of its cups/Is this cup its?

Това неговата чаша ли е? – Is this its cup?

Тази кола наша ли е? – Is this one of our cars/Is this car ours?

Това нашата кола ли е? – Is this our car?

Тази къща ваша ли е? – Is this one of your houses/Is this house yours?

Това вашата къща ли е? – Is this your house?

Този апартамент техен ли е? – Is this one of their flats/Is this flat theirs?

Това техният апартамент ли е? – Is this their flat?

Нашата кола е в гаража. – Our car is in the garage.

Нейният син е инженер. – Her son is an engineer.

Неговата дъщеря е учителка. – His daughter is a teacher.

Моите синове са близнаци. – My sons are twins.

Short forms of the possessive pronouns

Notice the change in word order and the word bearing the definite article when we use the long and when we use the short forms of the possessive pronouns:

моят компютър = компютърът ми
моята книга = книгата ми
моето куче = кучето ми

Reflexive possessive pronouns

There is a type of reflexive pronouns that signifies possession and is similar is usage to the possessive pronouns, but is more universal, meaning that it only changes according to the gender and number of the possession. It only has one short form that is used for all genders and numbers.

The definite forms of the possessive reflexive pronouns are more widely used than the indefinite forms.

Examples:

In the third person singular though, the “regular” possessive pronouns have a different meaning compared to the reflexive possessive pronouns:

Той обича своята жена/ жена си. = He loves his (own) wife.
Той обича неговата жена/ жена му. = He loves his (someone else’s) wife.

Uses of the Present Tense

There is only one present tense in Bulgarian, corresponding to quite a few of the English tenses:

• Universal truths: the English equivalent is the Present simple tense – Слънцето изгрява от изток. (The Sun rises in the east.)
• Habitual activities: the English equivalent is the Present simple tense – Уча български в сряда. (I study Bulgarian on Wednesday.);
• Activities taking place at the moment of speaking: the English equivalent is the Present continuous tense – Какво правиш? – Уча български. (What are you doing? – I am studying Bulgarian.);
• Activities that began in the past and continue up to the present moment: the English equivalent is the Present perfect/perfect continuous tense – Уча български от две години. (I have studied/have been studying Bulgarian for two years);
• Planned future activities: the English equivalent is The Present Continuous tense in its futurity use – Утре пътувам за Пловдив. (I am travelling to Plovdiv tomorrow.)
• Past activities (especially historic events): the English equivalent is the Past Simple tense – Хан Аспарух основава българската държава през 681. (Khan Asparuh founded the Bulgarian state in 681.)

Types of verbs according to conjugation:

All Bulgarian verbs fall into one of three categories depending on the way they are conjugated:

Type 1: gets the ending –e in the third person singular in the Present Tense:
аз чета (I read) аз пея (I sing)
ти четеш (you read) ти пееш (you sing)
той чете (he reads) той пее (he sings)
тя чете (she reads) тя пее (she sings)
то чете (it reads) то пее (it sings)
ние четем (we read) ние пеем (we sing)
вие четете (you read) вие пеете (you sing)
те четат (they read) те пеят (they sing)

Type 2: gets the ending -и in the third person singular in the Present Tense:
аз работя (I work)
ти работиш (you work)
той работи (he works)
тя работи (she works)
то работи (it works)
ние работим (we work)
вие работите (you work)
те работят (they work)

Type 3: gets the ending -а in the third person singular in the Present Tense:
аз казвам (I say)
ти казваш (you say)
той казва (he says)
тя казва (she says)
то казва (it says)
ние казваме (we say)
вие казвате (you say)
те казват (they say)

Negative sentences

The negative sentences in the present tense in Bulgarian are formed by adding the negative particle не to the positive form of the verb, e.g.:

аз не чета (I don’t read)
ти не четеш (you don’t read)
той не чете (he doesn’t read)
тя не чете (she doesn’t read)
то не чете (it doesn’t read)
ние не четем (we don’t read)
вие не четете (you don’t read)
те не четат (they don’t read)

Тhe negative particle is placed BEFORE the verb and there are no auxiliary verbs in the sentences.

In Bulgarian, you can have more than one negation in a single sentence, which sounds perfectly natural:
Никой не идва. Nobody is(n’t) coming.

Questions

General (yes/no) questions

The general questions are formed by adding the interrogative particle ли which can be positioned differently in the sentences without any major changes in their meaning:
аз чета ли/ аз ли чета (do I read)
ти четеш ли/ ти ли четеш (do you read)
той чете ли/ той ли чете (does he read)
тя чете ли/ тя ли чете (does she read)
то чете ли/ то ли чете (does it read)
ние четем ли/ ние ли четем (do we read)
вие четете ли/ вие ли четете (do you read)
те четат ли/ те ли четат (do they read)

The greater the number of words in a sentence, the more possible positions for the particle ли there are:

Той гледа ли телевизия в стаята?
Той ли гледа телевизия в стаята?
Той телевизия ли гледа в стаята?
Той в стаята ли гледа телевизия?

The general meaning of all these questions is: Does he watch TV in the room?, but the variations in the word order emphasize different parts of the sentence:

Той гледа ли телевизия в стаята? – the most neutral sounding sentence – the emphasis is on the action itself

Той ли гледа телевизия в стаята? – Is it he (and not someone else) who watches TV in the room?

Той телевизия ли гледа в стаята? – Is it TV (and not something else) that he watches in the room?

Той в стаята ли гледа телевизия? – It is in the room (and not somewhere else) that he watches TV?

Special questions

To form special questions you add a question word to the positive sentence:

аз чета → Какво чета (аз)? – What do I read?
ти четеш → Къде четеш (ти)? – Where do you read?
той чете → Кога чете (той)? – When does he read?
тя чете → Защо чете (тя)? – Why does she read?
то чете → Колко чете (то)? – How much does it read?
ние четем → В колко часа четем (ние)? – What time do we read?
вие четете → Колко често четете (вие)? – How often do you read?
те четат → От кога четат (те)? – How long have they been reading?

Since the question word is sufficient to form the question, you can add it almost anywhere in the sentence, although some variations will sound more natural than others:

(Той) чете книга в стаята всеки ден. He reads a book in the room every day.

Защо (той) чете книга в стаята всеки ден?
(Той) защо чете книга в стаята всеки ден?
(Той) защо всеки ден чете книга в стаята?
(Той) чете защо книга в стаята всеки ден ?
(Той) чете книга защо в стаята всеки ден?
(Той) чете книга в стаята защо всеки ден?

The Bulgarian equivalent to the English present simple and present continuous tenses

In Bulgarian, there is only one present tense which can denote both actions happening at the moment of speaking and habitual actions, which means that both I am watching TV and I watch TV would be rendered in Bulgarian by (Аз) гледам телевизия. The difference in meaning would be determined by the context or by words denoting the time of the action (which, however, do not change the form of the verb in the sentences), for example: сега (now) or всеки ден (every day).

The same holds true for the present perfect and the present perfect continuous tenses: both I have lived here for ten years and I have been living here for ten years will be rendered as (Аз) живея тук от десет години.

One-time action verbs

One-time action verbs cannot be used on their own in the present tense. Therefore, we cannot say:
аз купя
аз прочета

They can be used in clauses, especially after the conjunction да:
Искам да купя книга. (I want to buy a book.)
Мога да прочета книгата днес. (I can read the book today.)

Conjugation types

There are three types of verbs in Bulgarian, depending on the endings they get when they are conjugated. These groups are based on the endings the verbs get in the thrird person singular in the present tense:

Group 1: the verbs get the ending –e: чета, пея (той чете, той пее)
Group 2: the verbs get the ending –и: работя (той работи)
Group 3: the verbs get the ending –а (or -я): казвам (той казва)

The conjugation endings can be easily remembered using the mnemonic летища which contains all the verb endings in the relevant order.

Infinitive

There is no infinitive in Bulgarian, so the dictionary uses the first person singular form to list the verbs: (аз) чета, (аз) работя, (аз) казвам.

As the verbs have unique endings for the different persons and numbers, in Bulgarian you can omit the subject of the sentence (the doer of the action) without distorting the meaning:
Аз имам компютър. = Имам компютър. – I have a computer.
Те гледат телевизия. = Гледат телевизия. – They watch TV.

Sentences without a subject

Some verbs don’t even require a subject to be present in the sentence – they usually denote natural phenomena and are used in the third person singular:
Вали. – It is raining.
Вали сняг. – It is sowing.
Късно е. – It is late.
Рано е. – It is early.
Студено е. – It is cold. (Студено ми е. – I am cold)
Топло е. – It is hot. (Топло му е. – He is hot)
Има малко домати. – There are some tomatoes.
Няма хляб. – There isn’t any bread.

Reflexive verbs

The reflexive verbs denote an action that, when performed, affects the doer. This is signalled by the reflexive particles се and си:
Мия се. – I am washing myself.
Говоря си. – I am talking to myself.

Note that the position of the particles changes when the sentence explicitly mentions the subject (the doer of the action):
Аз се мия. = Мия се.
Аз си говоря. = Говоря си.

Some other reflexive verbs (most of these are not reflexive in English but in Bulgarian they must be accompanied by the reflexive particle се):
усмихвам се – smile
страхувам се – to be afraid
съгласявам се – agree (also съгласен съм)
гордея се – to be proud
надявам се – hope

A lot of verbs can be used as both non-reflexive and reflexive:
обличам – обличам се (dress – dress myself)
Момичето облича куклата. (The girl is dressing the doll.)
Момичето се облича. (The girl is dressing herself.)
играя – играя си (play – no change in meaning)
Децата играят с играчките. = Децата си играят с играчките. (The children are playing with the toys.)
бия – бия се (beat – fight with someone)

Verbs denoting completeness and incompleteness of the action

This is a very important feature of the Bulgarian verbs as most of them have forms for denoting completeness and incompleteness of the action which roughly resemble the distinction between the simple and the continuous tenses in English, but are not equivalent to it.*

Verbs denoting incompleteness or repeated actions:	Verbs denoting completeness or one-time actions:
чета (read)	прочета (read)
седя (sit)	седна (sit)
пиша (write)	напиша (write)
заключвам (lock)	заключа (lock)
разбирам (understand)	разбера (understand)
излизам (go out)	изляза (go out)
правя (do, make)	направя (do, make)

Тhe verbs denoting incompleteness can:
either be translated with the continuous forms:
Какво правиш? – Заключвам вратата. (What are you doing? – I am locking the door.)
or be used to denote a habitual action:
Винаги заключвам вратата, когато излизам. (I always lock the door when I go out.)

The verbs denoting complete actions are usually used in the past and future tenses – in the present tense, they are used only in subordinate clauses:
Когато разбера урока, пиша своето домашно. (When I understand the lesson, I do my homework. -> a habitual action)
Когато разбера урока, ще напиша своето домашно. (When I understand the lesson, I will do my homework. -> a future one-time completed action)

Note that you cannot use a complete action verb on its own in the present tense:
Какво правиш? – Направя кафе. (The correct answer is: Правя кафе.)

By adding another suffix to the verbs denoting completed action, secondary habitual action verbs can be produced:
прочета – прочитам
напиша – написвам
седна – сядам

Therefore almost every action can be expressed in three ways:
1) with a habitual action verb:
Чета книги почти всеки ден. (I read books almost every day.)
2) with a one-time action verb:
Когато прочета книгата, ше ти я дам. (When I finish reading the book, I will give it to you.)
3) with a secondary habitual action verb:
Прочитам по поне една книга седмично. (I read at least one book a week.)

Some verbs (especially some more recent borrowings) with the suffix -ира are unmarked as to completeness or incompleteness:
цитирам
блокирам
апелирам

Verb patterns

When you have to use one verb after another, you connect them with the particle да, and conjugate the first verb in the necessary tense while using the present tense forms of the second verb:
аз искам да пия кафе – I want to drink coffee
той може да плува – he can swim
децата обичаха да четат – the children liked reading

*For further reading on the grammatical category of aspect, you can read the relevant Wikipedia articles:
Grammatical aspect