(+) positive sentences
I am…. – Аз съм….
You are…. – Ти си….
He is…. – Той е….
She is… – Тя е….
It is…. – То е….
We are…. – Ние сме…
You are… – Вие сте….
They are ….– Те са…
(-) negative sentences
I am not…. – Аз не съм…
You are not …– Ти не си ….
He is not ….– Той не е…
She is not …– Тя не е…
It is not ….– То не е…
We are not ….– Ние не сме…
You are not…. – Вие не сте…
They are not …– Те не са…
(?) general questions
Am I …? – Аз ли съм …?
Are you…? – Ти ли си …?
Is he…? – Той ли е …?
Is she…? – Тя ли е …?
Is it…? – То ли е …?
Are we…? – Ние ли сме …?
Are you…? – Вие ли сте …?
Are they…? – Те ли са ….?
(?) special questions
Where аm I? – Къде съм аз?
Where аre you? – Къде си ти?
Where is he? – Къде е той?
Where is she? – Къде е тя?
Where is it? – Къде е то?
Where are we? – Къде сме ние?
Where are you? – Къде сте вие?
Where are they? – Къде са те?
NB! The personal pronouns (and the doer of the action – the subject of the sentence – 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.
Note the usual positions of the verb TO BE in the cases when the pronouns (subjects/doers of the action) are present in the sentence and when they are not:
Аз съм англичанин/англичанка. I am English.
Англичанин/англичанка съм. I am English.
Question patterns of TO BE in Bulgarian (general questions – when the answer we seek is yes/no)
The naturally sounding patterns would be:
Is Tom English? = Том англичанин ли е?
Том ли е англичанин?
Англичанин ли е Том?
Colour scheme:
the person or object you are talking about
the thing you are saying about that person/object
the question forming particle
the verb to be
Question patterns of TO BE in Bulgarian (special questions – contain question words)
The naturally sounding patterns would be:
When is Tom here? = Кога Том е тук?
Кога е тук Том?
Why is Tom here? = Защо Том е тук?
Защо е тук Том?
Colour scheme:
the question word or phrase
the person or object you are talking about
the thing you are saying about that person/object
the verb to be
With the question word WHERE you usually have only one naturally sounding pattern: Where is Tom? = Къде е Том?
NB! While all the question patterns have the same basic meaning, the emphasis in each of them is different. It is fairly easy to distinguish between the nuances though, as word order is almost never used on its own to convey meaning – changes in word order will always be accompanied by changes in intonation, so you will find it very easy to understand. Besides, it is possible to change the meaning (and the emphasis of the sentence) by just altering the intonation while preserving the word order.