аз – I
ти – you
той – he
тя – she
то -it
ние – we
вие – you
те – they
Note that in Bulgarian, there are two equivalents to the English pronoun you:
-
ти when addressing a single person in an informal situation (e.g. a close friend or a member of your family): Ти си мой приятел – You are my friend;
-
Вие (written with a capital В) when addressing a single person in a formal situation: Вие сте Англичанин – You are English (addressed to one person);
-
вие when addressing more than one person (both in informal and formal situations): Вие сте англичани – You are English (addressed to two or more people).
NB! The personal pronouns (and the doer of the action in general) are usually omitted in Bulgarian, as they can be inferred both from the context and the endings of the verb.
– (Ти) англичанин ли си? – Are you English?
– Не, не съм. – No, I am not.
– Българин съм. – I am Bulgarian.
Case forms of the personal pronouns
There are two case forms of the personal pronouns in Bulgarian, both translated in English with me, you, him, her, it, us, you, them.
The accusative case
The accusative case signifies the direct object of the action.
The direct object is the person or thing directly influenced by the action:
Tim is meeting Tom – Tom is the direct object;
I teach him – him is the direct object;
They like chocolate – chocolate is the direct object.
|
Long forms |
Short forms |
English translation |
|
мене, мен |
ме |
me |
|
тебе, теб |
те |
you |
|
него |
го |
him |
|
нея |
я |
her |
|
него |
го |
it |
|
нас |
ни |
us |
|
вас |
ви |
you |
|
тях |
ги |
them |
The dative case
The so called dative case signifies the indirect object of the action.
When there are two objects, the person is usually the indirect object and the thing is usually the direct object:
Tom is writing Tim a letter – Tim is the indirect object and the letter is the direct object.
Tom is giving her the money – her is the indirect object and the money is the direct object.
Take the glasses to your father – your father is the indirect object and the glasses are the direct object.
|
Long forms |
Short forms |
Prepositional form |
English translation |
|
|
мене |
ми |
на мене |
me |
|
|
тебе |
ти |
на тебе |
you |
|
|
нему* |
му |
на него |
him |
|
|
ней* |
ú |
на нея |
her |
|
|
нему* |
му |
на него |
it |
|
|
нам* |
ни |
на нас |
us |
|
|
вам* |
ви |
на вас |
you |
|
|
тям* |
им |
на тях |
them |
* these form are obsolete and no longer used in everyday Bulgarian
Examples:
Notice the change in the position of the long and short form in the sentence – the long form usually follows the verb while the short form usually precedes it.
Accusative case:
|
Той обича мене/мен. Той ме обича. |
He loves me. |
|
Те харесват тебе/теб. Те те харесват. |
They like you. |
|
Децата обичат шоколад/него*. Децата го обичат. |
The children love chocolate/it. |
|
Том харесва музика/нея. Том я харесва. |
Tom likes music/ it. (BG – her) |
|
Джони предпочита кино/него. Джони го предпочита. |
Johnny prefers cinema/it. |
|
Съседите харесват нас. Съседите ни харесват. |
The neighbours like us. |
|
Комшиите харесват вас. Комшиите ви харесват. |
The neighbours like you. |
|
Англичаните харесват котките/тях. Англичаните ги харесват. |
The English people like the cats/them. |
*in Bulgarian, the nouns denoting inanimate objects have gender, hence chocolate = he (masculine), water = she (feminine), bike = it (neutral).
Dative case:
|
Той помага на мен. Той ми помага. |
He helps me. |
|
Те помагат на теб. Те ти помагат. |
They help you. |
|
Джони помага на Иван/него. |
Johnny helps Ivan/him. |
|
Том помага на Мария/нея. |
Tom helps Maria/her. |
|
Родителите помагат на детето/него*. Родителите му помагат. |
The parents help the child/it. |
|
Съседите помагат на нас. Съседите ни помагат. |
The neighbours help us. |
|
Съседите помагат на вас. Съседите ви помагат. |
The neighbours help you. |
|
Англичаните помагат на децата/тях. Англичаните им помагат. |
The English people help the children/them. |
* In Bulgarian, child is neutral (gender).