Lenguia | B1 Bulgarian Grammar: 60 Topics & Examples

When you add a prefix to a simple imperfective verb, you usually get a perfective verb: пиша (write, imperfective) → запиша (write down, perfective). But then you often need an imperfective verb that still means 'write down' as a process or habit. Bulgarian builds it by adding the suffix -ва- (or -ава-/-ява-) to the perfective stem: запиша → записвам, подпиша → подписвам, прочета → прочитам, дам → давам. This new verb is imperfective again, but it keeps the prefix's meaning. So you end up with a three-step chain: пиша (plain) → запиша (perfective) → записвам (imperfective with the new meaning). Use the -ва- form for repeated, habitual or ongoing actions: Всеки ден записвам новите думи.

Key rule

Add -ва-/-ава-/-ява- to a prefixed perfective to get a new imperfective that keeps the prefix's meaning: запиша → записвам, прочета → прочитам.

Examples

Всеки ден записвам новите думи в тетрадката.
Всеки ден запиша новите думи в тетрадката.
A daily, repeated action needs the secondary imperfective записвам, not the perfective запиша, which marks a single completed act.
Обикновено подписвам документите сутрин.
Обикновено подпиша документите сутрин.
'Usually' signals habit, so the imperfective подписвам is required; подпиша is a one-time completed signing.
Сега прочитам последната глава.
Сега прочета последната глава.
An action happening right now is imperfective прочитам; прочета (perfective) cannot stand alone in the present with this meaning.

Common mistakes

Using the perfective for a habitual action
Всеки ден запиша домашното.
Всеки ден записвам домашното.
Habitual and repeated actions require the secondary imperfective in -ва-, not the bare perfective.
Forgetting the stem change in -ва- forms
Аз прочетвам книгата всяка нощ.
Аз прочитам книгата всяка нощ.
Прочета re-imperfectivizes with a stem vowel shift to прочитам, not *прочетвам.

B1Aspect

Prefixes that Change Meaning + Perfectivise (пиша→препиша/подпиша)

Представки — вид и значение

A prefix on a Bulgarian verb does two things at once: it makes the verb perfective, and it often adds new meaning. From пиша ('write') you can build напиша ('write [it] up', just perfective, same basic meaning), but also препиша ('copy out'), подпиша ('sign'), опиша ('describe'), запиша ('write down / record'). Each prefix changes the meaning differently. Some prefixes are 'pure' — they only perfectivize and keep the meaning (напиша = the perfective of пиша). Others add a clear new sense (под- 'under/sign', пре- 'across/copy', о- 'about/describe'). Learning the verb means learning which prefix gives which meaning, and remembering that all of them are perfective.

Key rule

Every prefix makes the verb perfective; some only perfectivize (напиша), while most also add a distinct meaning (препиша 'copy', подпиша 'sign', опиша 'describe').

Examples

Трябва да подпиша договора днес.
Трябва да напиша договора, за да го подпиша на края.
Подпиша means 'sign'; напиша means 'write up'. The second sentence confuses 'write' with 'sign'.
Учителят ме помоли да препиша текста на чисто.
Учителят ме помоли да опиша текста на чисто.
Препиша = 'copy out'; опиша = 'describe'. 'Copy onto a clean sheet' needs препиша.
В съчинението трябва да опишеш стаята си.
В съчинението трябва да запишеш стаята си.
Опиша = 'describe'; запиша = 'write down/record'. You describe a room, you do not 'record' it here.

Common mistakes

Confusing подпиша (sign) with напиша (write)
Трябва да напиша чека, преди да го дам.
Трябва да подпиша чека, преди да го дам.
A cheque is signed (подпиша), not merely written; the prefix под- carries the 'sign' meaning.
Confusing опиша (describe) with препиша (copy)
Опиши изречението в тетрадката си дума по дума.
Препиши изречението в тетрадката си дума по дума.
Copying word for word is препиша; опиша means to describe, not to copy.

B1Aspect

The Aspect × Tense Matrix — Overview

Видово-времева матрица — преглед

Bulgarian has something most Slavic languages do not: aspect and the past tense are two separate choices. There are two aspects (imperfective несвършен / perfective свършен) and two simple past tenses (aorist минало свършено / imperfect минало несвършено). That gives FOUR combinations, all real and all used: четох (imperfective + aorist), прочетох (perfective + aorist), четях (imperfective + imperfect), прочетях (perfective + imperfect — the imperfect built on the perfective stem of прочета, NOT the ordinary прочитах). In Russian, aspect and past tense are fused, so you cannot do this. In Bulgarian you pick aspect for the kind of action (bounded vs unbounded) AND a past tense for the viewpoint (single event vs background/repeated). This tag is the map; the following tags walk through the unusual cells one by one.

Key rule

Aspect (свършен/несвършен) and past tense (аорист/имперфект) are two independent choices, yielding four combinations: четох, прочетох, четях, прочетях.

Examples

Вчера четох цял ден.
Вчера четях цял ден и накрая свърших книгата.
Четох (imperfective aorist) views a whole day of reading as completed; for a bounded result use прочетох instead, and четях would leave it open-ended.
Снощи прочетох книгата.
Снощи прочетях книгата.
A single finished reading is the perfective aorist прочетох; прочетях (perfective imperfect, built on the perfective stem) means a repeated action and clashes with 'last night'.
Докато готвех, той четеше.
Докато готвех, той прочете.
Background, ongoing action in the past uses the imperfective imperfect четеше; the perfective aorist прочете marks one finished event.

Common mistakes

Assuming aspect and past tense are one choice (Russian habit)
Вчера прочетях цял ден.
Вчера четох цял ден.
Bulgarian separates the two axes; an unbounded day of reading is the imperfective aorist четох, not a perfective imperfect.
Using the perfective imperfect for a single event
Снощи прочетях книгата.
Снощи прочетох книгата.
A single completed reading is the perfective aorist прочетох; the perfective imperfect прочетях means a repeated action.

B1Aspect

Imperfective Aorist (четох цял ден)

Несвършен вид в минало свършено време

This is one of Bulgarian's special cells: an imperfective verb in the aorist (минало свършено време). It looks like a contradiction — imperfective means 'unbounded', aorist means 'completed' — but it has a clear use: a stretch of an unbounded action that you now view as finished, usually with a duration. Четох цял ден means 'I read all day (and then stopped)' — you read, the activity went on, and now it is over, but you do NOT say you finished a particular book. Compare прочетох книгата ('I read the book through', a result). The imperfective aorist answers 'I did X for a while and stopped', the perfective aorist answers 'I completed X'. Typical signals: цял ден, два часа, дълго, известно време.

Key rule

An imperfective verb in the aorist (четох цял ден) marks a bounded stretch of an unbounded action — it happened for a while and stopped, with no inherent result.

Examples

Четох цял ден, но не свърших книгата.
Прочетох цял ден, но не свърших книгата.
An unbounded day of reading with no result is the imperfective aorist четох; прочетох implies completion and clashes with 'did not finish'.
Писах писмото два часа.
Написах писмото два часа.
A duration without completion takes the imperfective aorist писах; написах would mean the letter was finished, which 'two hours' as a process contradicts.
Снощи спах само пет часа.
Снощи поспах само пет часа.
Сън for a measured stretch is the imperfective aorist спах; the perfective поспах means 'had a short nap' and changes the meaning.

Common mistakes

Using the perfective for a duration with no result
Прочетох цял ден.
Четох цял ден.
'All day' marks an unbounded stretch with no completion, so the imperfective aorist четох is needed.
Using the imperfect instead of the aorist for a closed stretch
Вчера четях два часа и спрях.
Вчера четох два часа и спрях.
When the stretch is presented as a finished whole ('and stopped'), Bulgarian uses the imperfective aorist четох, not the ongoing имперфект.

B1Aspect

Perfective Imperfect (всеки ден прочетях по една глава)

Свършен вид в минало несвършено време

This is Bulgarian's other special cell: a perfective verb in the imperfect (минало несвършено време). On its own a perfective verb means one completed action, and the imperfect means an ongoing/repeated past — so together they mean a completed action that REPEATED. Всеки ден прочетях по една глава means 'every day I would read one chapter through (and finish it)'. The form прочетях is the imperfect built on the PERFECTIVE stem of прочета, not the ordinary прочитах. Each individual reading was completed (perfective), but the whole thing happened again and again (imperfect). You use it for habitual or iterative completed actions in the past: всяка сутрин ставах рано и изпиех едно кафе ('every morning I would get up early and drink a coffee [up]'). Signals: всеки ден, всяка сутрин, обикновено, понякога, винаги.

Key rule

A perfective verb in the imperfect (всеки ден прочетях, built on the perfective stem of прочета) means a completed action that repeated — each instance was finished, and it happened again and again.

Examples

Всеки ден прочетях по една глава.
Всеки ден прочетох по една глава.
Repetition over a past period takes the perfective imperfect прочетях (imperfect on the perfective stem of прочета); the perfective aorist прочетох marks just one single completion.
Всяка сутрин изпиех кафето си и тръгвах.
Всяка сутрин изпих кафето си и тръгвах.
A repeated completed action 'every morning' is the perfective imperfect изпиех (from the perfective изпия); изпих (aorist) is a single completed drinking.
Понякога ѝ напишех по едно писмо.
Понякога ѝ написах по едно писмо.
An occasional repeated completed act is the perfective imperfect напишех; написах marks one finished letter.

Common mistakes

Using the perfective aorist for a repeated completed action
Всеки ден прочетох по една глава.
Всеки ден прочетях по една глава.
Repetition over time needs the imperfect; with a perfective verb that is the perfective imperfect прочетях (built on the perfective stem).
Using the perfective aorist with 'every morning'
Всяка сутрин изпих кафето си.
Всяка сутрин изпиех кафето си.
A habit of completed actions takes the perfective imperfect изпиех, not the single-event aorist.

B1Aspect

Aspect Choice across Aorist & Imperfect

Избор на вид в минало свършено и минало несвършено

Now that you know the four cells, this tag is about CHOOSING the right one in real sentences. With one root (чета/прочета) you have four past forms: четох (imperfective aorist — read for a while, stopped), прочетох (perfective aorist — finished it once), четях (imperfective imperfect — was reading / used to read, unfinished), прочетях (perfective imperfect — finished it again and again; the imperfect built on the perfective stem of прочета, NOT прочитах). Ask two questions: (1) Is the action seen as a closed whole or as ongoing/background? → aorist vs imperfect. (2) Did it reach its result / is it a single bounded event, or is it open / repeated-but-each-finished? → perfective vs imperfective. The two answers pick one of the four cells. Time words help: цял ден → four-cell decision; всеки ден → imperfect; накрая/веднъж → often aorist.

Key rule

Pick the past form on two axes: aorist vs imperfect (closed whole vs ongoing/repeated) and perfective vs imperfective (bounded result vs open), giving четох, прочетох, четях or прочетях.

Examples

Снощи прочетох книгата за два часа.
Снощи четях книгата за два часа.
A single completed reading with a result is the perfective aorist прочетох; четях leaves it ongoing and clashes with the result.
Вчера четох цял ден, без да свърша нищо.
Вчера прочетох цял ден, без да свърша нищо.
A bounded but result-less stretch is the imperfective aorist четох; прочетох implies completion.
Докато аз готвех, децата четяха.
Докато аз готвех, децата прочетоха.
Simultaneous background actions take the imperfective imperfect четяха; the aorist прочетоха marks a single completed event.

Common mistakes

Imperfect for a single completed result
Снощи четях книгата за два часа.
Снощи прочетох книгата за два часа.
A finished reading with a result is the perfective aorist прочетох.
Perfective for a result-less stretch
Вчера прочетох цял ден, без да свърша нищо.
Вчера четох цял ден, без да свърша нищо.
A bounded stretch without a result is the imperfective aorist четох.

B1Aspect

Biaspectual Verbs (телефонирам, обядвам)

Двувидови глаголи

Most Bulgarian verbs are either perfective or imperfective, and you choose between two partners. But some verbs are BOTH at once — they are 'biaspectual' (двувидови). The same form can mean a completed action or an ongoing/repeated one, and only the context tells you which. Many are borrowed verbs ending in -ирам: телефонирам ('phone'), информирам ('inform'), гарантирам ('guarantee'), организирам ('organize'), and a few native ones like обядвам ('have lunch'), вечерям ('have dinner'). Because one form covers both aspects, you do not perfectivize them with a prefix; you just rely on context: Вчера телефонирах два пъти (completed, two calls) vs Обикновено телефонирам сутрин (habitual). When in doubt, time words and the situation disambiguate.

Key rule

Biaspectual verbs (телефонирам, обядвам, информирам) have one form for both aspects; context — tense and adverbials — decides whether the reading is completed or ongoing.

Examples

Вчера телефонирах на майка си.
Вчера протелефонирах на майка си.
Телефонирам is biaspectual and already covers the completed reading in the aorist; the invented prefixed *протелефонирах is non-standard.
Обикновено обядвам в един часа.
Обикновено пообядвам в един часа.
Обядвам is biaspectual; for the habitual present reading the plain form is correct, not a prefixed perfective.
Директорът ни информира за промените вчера.
Директорът ни наинформира за промените вчера.
Информирам is biaspectual; the aorist already reads as completed, so no perfectivizing prefix is needed.

Common mistakes

Adding a perfectivizing prefix to a biaspectual verb
Вчера протелефонирах на брат си.
Вчера телефонирах на брат си.
Biaspectual verbs have no separate perfective partner; телефонирам already covers the completed meaning.
Inventing a secondary imperfective for a biaspectual verb
Обикновено организирвам срещите.
Обикновено организирам срещите.
Организирам is already biaspectual; there is no *организирвам.

B1Aspect

Aspect with Phase Verbs (започвам/спирам да + impf)

Вид при фазови глаголи

Phase verbs describe the start, continuation or end of an action: започвам ('begin'), продължавам ('continue'), спирам / преставам ('stop'). In Bulgarian they take a да-clause, and the verb in that clause must be IMPERFECTIVE: започвам да чета (never *да прочета), продължавам да работя, спирам да пуша. The logic is simple — you cannot 'begin' or 'stop' a completed, one-shot action; you begin and end a PROCESS, which is exactly what the imperfective expresses. This is one of the most reliable aspect rules in the language: after a phase verb, always pick the imperfective да-form. So you say започвам да пиша (process) and never *започвам да напиша.

Key rule

Phase verbs (започвам, продължавам, спирам) always take an IMPERFECTIVE да-complement: започвам да чета, never *започвам да прочета.

Examples

Започвам да чета нова книга.
Започвам да прочета нова книга.
After започвам the да-complement must be imperfective чета; the perfective прочета has no process to begin.
Продължавам да работя по проекта.
Продължавам да поработя по проекта.
Продължавам requires an imperfective complement работя; the perfective поработя is ungrammatical here.
Спрях да пуша преди година.
Спрях да изпуша преди година.
Спирам/спрях takes the imperfective пуша; изпуша (perfective, 'smoke up') cannot be 'stopped'.

Common mistakes

Perfective complement after започвам
Започвам да прочета книгата.
Започвам да чета книгата.
Phase verbs require an imperfective complement; a perfective has no process to begin.
Perfective complement after спирам
Спрях да изпуша.
Спрях да пуша.
You stop an ongoing process, so the complement must be imperfective пуша.

B1Aspect

Aspect in the Imperative (Прочети! vs Чети!)

Вид в повелително наклонение

When you give a command, aspect changes the meaning. A perfective imperative tells someone to do one thing and complete it: Прочети това! ('Read this [through]!'), Затвори вратата! ('Close the door!'). An imperfective imperative tells someone to do something generally, repeatedly or as an ongoing activity: Чети всеки ден! ('Read every day!'), Не бързай! ('Don't rush!'). A big practical point: the NEGATIVE imperative strongly prefers the imperfective. You say Не чети това! ('Don't read this!'), not *Не прочети това!; Не затваряй вратата! ('Don't close the door!'), not *Не затвори вратата! So: positive one-off command → perfective; general/repeated command → imperfective; negative command → almost always imperfective.

Key rule

Perfective imperative = do it once and complete it (Прочети!); imperfective = do it generally/keep doing it (Чети!); the negative imperative almost always uses the imperfective (Не чети!).

Examples

Прочети това писмо веднага!
Чети това писмо веднага!
A single command to read one letter through is perfective Прочети; чети would mean 'read [generally]', which clashes with 'this letter right now'.
Чети по малко всеки ден!
Прочети по малко всеки ден!
A general, repeated habit takes the imperfective чети; the perfective прочети marks one completed reading and clashes with 'every day'.
Не чети това! Не е за теб.
Не прочети това! Не е за теб.
A prohibition takes the imperfective чети; the negative perfective *не прочети is ungrammatical.

Common mistakes

Imperfective for a single completed command
Чети това писмо веднага!
Прочети това писмо веднага!
A one-off command to finish reading one letter needs the perfective прочети.
Perfective for a general/repeated command
Прочети по малко всеки ден!
Чети по малко всеки ден!
A habit ('every day') requires the imperfective чети.

B1Determiners

Full vs Short Article in the Predicate (Той е учителят / Той е учител)

Пълен и кратък член в сказуемното определение

By now you know that a masculine noun uses the full article -ът/-ят when it is the subject and the short -а/-я elsewhere. This tag deepens that rule for the predicate after the verb 'to be'. When the predicate noun after съм identifies the subject as a known, unique thing, it takes the FULL article even though it is not the grammatical subject: Иван е директорът на фирмата ('Ivan is the director of the company'), Той е учителят. This is the identifying use — there is exactly one director, one teacher, and the subject equals it. If the predicate noun is just a class or a job ('a teacher', 'a director' — one of many), there is NO article at all: Иван е директор, Той е учител. The masculine full ending here marks 'the one and only', not the subject role.

Key rule

A definite (identifying) masculine predicate noun after съм takes the FULL article -ът/-ят (Той е учителят); an indefinite predicate naming a class or profession takes NO article (Той е учител).

Examples

Иван е директорът на фирмата.
Иван е директора на фирмата.
The identifying predicate noun equates Ivan with the one unique director, so it takes the full article директорът, not the short директора.
Той е учителят на нашия клас.
Той е учителя на нашия клас.
An identifying masculine predicate after съм uses the full form учителят; the short учителя would be wrong here.
Иван е лекар, а брат му е инженер.
Иван е лекарят, а брат му е инженерът.
Here the predicates name professions (a doctor, an engineer), so they carry NO article at all.

Common mistakes

Short article on an identifying predicate
Той е учителя.
Той е учителят.
A definite predicate that identifies the subject as a unique referent takes the full -ят, not the short -я.
Adding an article to a profession predicate
Брат ми е инженерът.
Брат ми е инженер.
Naming a profession is indefinite ('an engineer'), so no article is used; the article would falsely mean 'the one specific engineer'.

B1Determiners

Definiteness with Demonstratives (този стол — NO article)

Членуване при показателни местоимения

A demonstrative — този ('this'), онзи ('that'), тази, онази, това, онова, тези, онези — already makes a noun phrase definite. Because of that, you do NOT add the postposed article on top of it. So you say този стол ('this chair'), not *този столът; онези книги ('those books'), not *онези книгите. The demonstrative does the job of 'the' and blocks the suffix article. This is the opposite of what many learners expect: they see the noun is definite and want to glue -ът/-та/-те onto it as well, producing a double-marking error. One pointer is enough — either the demonstrative или the article, never both. The demonstrative also already agrees in gender and number, so the noun keeps its plain base or plural form.

Key rule

A demonstrative (този, онзи…) already makes the phrase definite, so the noun takes NO postposed article: този стол, never *този столът.

Examples

Този стол е удобен.
Този столът е удобен.
The demonstrative този already marks definiteness, so the noun стол must not also take the article -ът.
Дай ми тази книга.
Дай ми тази книгата.
Тази makes the phrase definite; adding -та to книга is double marking.
Това дете е много умно.
Това детето е много умно.
Това supplies definiteness, so дете stays in its base form without -то.

Common mistakes

Article added on top of the demonstrative
Този столът е нов.
Този стол е нов.
The demonstrative already makes the NP definite, so the postposed article is redundant and wrong.
Double marking on a feminine noun
Тази масата е чиста.
Тази маса е чиста.
One definiteness marker per phrase: тази does it, so маса stays unarticled.

B1Determiners

Definiteness with Possessives (моята книга / книгата ми)

Членуване при притежателни местоимения

Bulgarian has two ways to say 'my book', and they handle the article differently. With a LONG possessive (мой, твой, наш…), the possessive comes before the noun and TAKES the article on itself: моята книга, твоят син, нашата къща. The article goes on the first element of the phrase, which here is the possessive. With a SHORT possessive clitic (ми, ти, му, ѝ…), the clitic comes after a noun that MUST be articled: книгата ми, синът ти, къщата ни. So the two patterns are: моята книга = книгата ми (both mean 'my book'). If an adjective is added, the article still sits on the first element: новата ми книга, моята нова книга. The mistake to avoid is forgetting the article in the clitic pattern (*книга ми) or doubling it in the long pattern.

Key rule

Long possessive: article on the possessive (моята книга); short clitic possessive: article on the noun + clitic after (книгата ми) — never both, never neither.

Examples

Моята книга е на масата.
Моята книгата е на масата.
With a long possessive the article goes on моята; the noun книга stays unarticled — no second -та.
Книгата ми е на масата.
Книга ми е на масата.
The clitic ми needs a definite host, so the noun must be articled: книгата ми.
Твоят син учи в София.
Твоя син учи в София.
As the subject, the long masculine possessive takes the full article твоят; твоя is the short (object) form.

Common mistakes

Double article in the long pattern
Моята книгата е тук.
Моята книга е тук.
The article belongs to the first element (the possessive); the noun must not be articled too.
Missing article in the clitic pattern
Книга ми е тук.
Книгата ми е тук.
A short possessive clitic requires a definite host, so the noun must take its article.

B1Determiners

Definiteness with Quantifiers (всички, двата, повечето)

Членуване при количествени думи

When you say 'the two chairs', 'all the people' or 'most of the students', Bulgarian puts definiteness on the quantifier or the numeral, not separately on the noun. With a numeral you get a special definite form: двата стола ('the two chairs'), трите книги ('the three books'), двете деца ('the two children'). With всички ('all') the noun normally stays plain (всички хора = 'all people'), but with the article всичките хора means 'all the (specific) people'. Повечето ('most') and малцината are already definite in form (повечето студенти = 'most of the students'). For 'both' you use двамата (men), двете (others): и двамата мъже, и двете жени. The key idea: one definiteness marker per phrase, and with a counted set it lands on the numeral.

Key rule

Definiteness in a counted phrase rides the numeral/quantifier (двата стола, двете книги, всичките хора, повечето студенти) — the noun itself stays unarticled.

Examples

Двата стола са счупени.
Двата столове са счупени.
The masculine non-person noun keeps the counting form стола after a numeral; двата carries the definiteness.
Двете книги са на масата.
Двете книгите са на масата.
The feminine numeral двете takes the article; the noun книги stays plain — no -те on the noun too.
Всички студенти дойдоха.
Всичките студентите дойдоха.
With всички the noun stays plain; if you articled to всичките, the noun still stays plain (всичките студенти).

Common mistakes

Article doubled on the noun after a numeral
Двата столът е тук.
Двата стола са тук.
The numeral двата carries the definiteness; the masculine noun stays in the plain counting form стола and is plural in meaning.
Plural instead of counting form after a numeral
Двата столове са нови.
Двата стола са нови.
Masculine non-person nouns take the counting form -а after a numeral, not the plain plural -ове.

B1Agreement

Participle–Subject Agreement in Compound Tenses (дошъл/дошла/дошли)

Съгласуване на причастието с подлога

Many Bulgarian tenses are built with a participle (the -л form, or the passive -н/-т form) plus an auxiliary. That participle must AGREE with the subject in gender and number, like an adjective. So 'I came' is дошъл for a man (Аз съм дошъл), дошла for a woman (Аз съм дошла), and дошли for a group (Ние сме дошли). The same happens in the pluperfect (бях дошъл / дошла), the conditional (бих дошъл / дошла), the renarrative (той дошъл / тя дошла), and the съм-passive (Книгата е написана, Книгите са написани). The endings are: masc -Ø (дошъл), fem -ла (дошла), neut -ло (дошло), plural -ли (дошли). The auxiliary съм changes for person; the participle changes for gender and number. Forgetting this and using one fixed form is a very common error.

Key rule

The participle in any compound tense agrees with the subject in gender and number (-Ø masc, -ла fem, -ло neut, -ли plural): Той е дошъл, Тя е дошла, Те са дошли.

Examples

Тя е дошла рано.
Тя е дошъл рано.
The subject тя is feminine, so the л-participle must be дошла, not the masculine дошъл.
Те са дошли вчера.
Те са дошъл вчера.
A plural subject takes the plural participle дошли; дошъл is masculine singular.
Книгата е написана на български.
Книгата е написан на български.
The passive participle agrees with the feminine subject книгата, so it is написана, not написан.

Common mistakes

Masculine participle with a feminine subject
Тя е дошъл.
Тя е дошла.
The participle agrees with the subject's gender, so a feminine subject needs -ла.
Singular participle with a plural subject
Те са дошъл.
Те са дошли.
A plural subject requires the plural participle -ли.

B1Orthography

The Full-Article Spelling Rule — Introduction (-ът/-ят when subject)

Правилото за пълния член — въведение

Masculine nouns and adjectives that end in a consonant have two written forms of 'the': the full article -ът/-ят and the short article -а/-я. They sound the same in speech, so this is purely a spelling rule. You write the full form -ът/-ят only when the word is the grammatical subject — the doer of the action (Студентът чете 'the student reads'). Everywhere else — as a direct object or after a preposition — you write the short form -а/-я (Виждам студента 'I see the student'; на студента 'to the student'). A simple test helps: if you can replace the word with той ('he'), use the full article; if you would say него or го ('him'), use the short one. This rule applies only to masculine words; feminine, neuter and plural articles never change.

Key rule

Write the masculine full article -ът/-ят only when the word is the grammatical subject (replaceable by той); write the short -а/-я everywhere else (object or after a preposition, replaceable by него/го).

Examples

Студентът чете книга.
Студента чете книга.
Студентът is the subject (it does the reading; replaceable by той), so it takes the full article -ът.
Виждам студента в библиотеката.
Виждам студентът в библиотеката.
Here студента is the direct object (replaceable by него/го), so it takes the short article -а.
Говоря с лекаря.
Говоря с лекарят.
After a preposition (с) the masculine noun is never the subject, so it always takes the short form -я.

Common mistakes

Full article on a direct object
Прочетох вестникът.
Прочетох вестника.
Вестника is the object of прочетох (replaceable by него/го), so it needs the short article -а.
Short article on the subject
Влака закъсня с час.
Влакът закъсня с час.
Влакът is the subject — what did the delaying — and the subject takes the full article -ът.

B1Orthography

Comma Rules — Subordinate Clauses (че, да, защото, който)

Запетая пред подчинени изречения

Bulgarian punctuates complex sentences with commas in a fairly predictable way. You put a comma before a subordinate clause that begins with че ('that'), защото / понеже ('because'), ако ('if'), който / която ('who, which'), когато ('when') and similar conjunctions: Знам, че идваш; Радвам се, защото си тук; Човекът, който дойде, е лекар. The big exception is да: you do NOT write a comma before a да-clause that completes a verb directly, especially after a modal — Искам да дойда, Трябва да работя (no comma). You do write a comma when да follows за ('за да' = in order to) or another full clause. A comma also closes a subordinate clause embedded in the middle of a sentence, so relative clauses are fenced off on both sides.

Key rule

Put a comma before subordinate clauses introduced by че, защото, ако, който, когато and similar — but NOT before a bare да-clause that completes a verb (искам да дойда), only before за да and после a full clause.

Examples

Знам, че утре ще вали.
Знам че утре ще вали.
A че-clause is subordinate, so a comma is required before че.
Искам да дойда с теб.
Искам, да дойда с теб.
A bare да-clause completing a verb (искам) takes no comma before да.
Уча усилено, за да изкарам изпита.
Уча усилено за да изкарам изпита.
When да is preceded by the purpose marker за, a comma is required before за да.

Common mistakes

Missing comma before че
Мисля че имаш право.
Мисля, че имаш право.
A че-clause is subordinate and is always separated by a comma.
Wrong comma before a bare да
Трябва, да тръгваме.
Трябва да тръгваме.
A да-clause directly completing a modal takes no comma; трябва да is written as one unit.

B1Vocabulary usage

Confusable Word Pairs (сватба/свадба, неделя/седмица)

Лесно бъркащи се думи

Some Bulgarian words look or sound almost the same but mean very different things, and mixing them up changes your meaning completely. The classic pair is сватба ('wedding') versus свадба ('quarrel, row') — one letter apart, opposite mood. Another trap, especially for speakers of other Slavic languages, is седмица ('week') versus неделя, which in Bulgarian means ONLY 'Sunday', never the whole week. Watch also пръст ('finger' / 'soil') versus прът ('rod'), стол ('chair') versus маса ('table'), and врата ('door') versus врата ('neck' — same spelling, different stress). Learning these pairs as fixed contrasts, with a clear example for each, stops the small slip that produces a big misunderstanding.

Key rule

Treat look-alike pairs as fixed contrasts anchored in context: сватба = wedding (свадба = quarrel), седмица = week, but неделя = Sunday only.

Examples

Бяхме на сватба миналата събота.
Бяхме на свадба миналата събота.
Сватба is a wedding; свадба means a quarrel, which is not what you attend joyfully.
Цялата седмица бях на работа.
Цялата неделя бях на работа.
Седмица means 'week'; неделя in Bulgarian is only 'Sunday', so it cannot mean a whole week.
В неделя си почивам.
В седмица си почивам.
Here we mean the day Sunday (неделя); седмица would wrongly say 'in a week'.

Common mistakes

Wedding written as quarrel
Поканиха ни на свадба.
Поканиха ни на сватба.
Сватба is a wedding; свадба means a quarrel and would invert the meaning of the invitation.
неделя used for the whole week
Работих през цялата неделя.
Работих през цялата седмица.
Неделя in Bulgarian is only Sunday; the seven-day span is седмица.

B1Vocabulary usage

False Friends vs Russian & Serbian

Лъжливи приятели спрямо руски и сръбски

False friends are words that look like a word in another language but mean something different. For learners coming from Russian or Serbian this is a frequent trap, because the words look familiar. In Bulgarian булка means 'bride', not a bread roll (as the similar Russian word suggests). Гора means 'forest', not 'mountain' (which is планина). Направо means 'straight ahead', not 'to the right'. Стол means 'chair', while the table is маса. Майка means 'mother', but the Serbian-sounding мајка should not be written with ј — Bulgarian uses й. Знай that these words feel safe but betray you: learn the Bulgarian meaning directly, anchored in a short sentence, rather than trusting the resemblance.

Key rule

Distrust Slavic look-alikes: in Bulgarian булка = bride, гора = forest (not mountain), стол = chair (not table), направо = straight ahead, неделя = Sunday only — learn the Bulgarian sense, not the cognate's.

Examples

Булката беше с бяла рокля.
Невестата беше с бяла рокля, защото е булка за ядене.
Булка in Bulgarian means 'bride'; it is not any kind of food, unlike the similar Russian word.
Разходихме се в гората.
Изкачихме гората до върха.
Гора means 'forest', so you walk in it; you climb a планина (mountain), which is the Serbian sense of gora.
Върви направо, после завий наляво.
Върви направо, тоест надясно.
Направо means 'straight ahead', not 'to the right'; 'right' is надясно.

Common mistakes

гора taken to mean 'mountain'
Качихме се на гората.
Качихме се на планината.
Bulgarian гора is 'forest'; 'mountain' is планина, so you climb планината, not гората.
стол taken to mean 'table'
Сложи яденето на стола.
Сложи яденето на масата.
Bulgarian стол is a 'chair'; the surface for food is маса (table).

B1Register

Register — Renarrative as Distancing/Politeness

Преизказното като дистанциране и учтивост

Bulgarian's renarrative forms (the ones that drop the auxiliary е in the third person: той дошъл, тя била болна) are not only for repeating hearsay. Native speakers also use them to keep a polite or sceptical distance from a claim. When you say Той бил много зает instead of Той е много зает, you signal 'so they say / supposedly he's busy' — you report the reason without vouching for it. This is a soft, non-committal register: useful for relaying gossip you don't endorse, for politely doubting an excuse, or for not taking responsibility for someone else's words. The form is the ordinary renarrative; what changes is the pragmatic colour — distance, caution, mild irony — rather than a new tense.

Key rule

Use the aux-dropped renarrative (Той бил зает, not Той е зает) to report a claim at a polite or sceptical distance, signalling 'supposedly / so they say' without vouching for it.

Examples

Той бил много зает тези дни.
Той бил много зает тези дни, видях го лично.
The renarrative бил signals reported, non-vouched information, so it clashes with claiming you saw it yourself.
Казват, че новият шеф бил много строг.
Казват, че новият шеф е много строг.
After казват ('they say'), the distancing renarrative бил fits better than the committed perfect/present е.
Бил болен, затова не дошъл.
Беше болен, затова не дошъл.
For a sceptical 'supposedly ill', keep the renarrative бил; mixing the witnessed беше breaks the distancing stance.

Common mistakes

Keeping the 3rd-person aux е in a distancing report
Той е бил зает, така казват.
Той бил зает, така казват.
The distancing renarrative drops the 3rd-person auxiliary е; with е it reads as a witnessed inference, not a non-vouched report.
Using the witnessed past for hearsay
Той беше болен, поне така твърди.
Той бил болен, поне така твърди.
For a claim you are merely relaying, the renarrative бил marks distance; беше asserts you witnessed it.

B1Register

Register — Formal & Polite Imperatives (Заповядайте; Бихте ли…)

Учтиви форми на повелителното наклонение

When you give an instruction or make a request politely in Bulgarian, you switch from the familiar ти-imperative to forms that fit the Вие register. The simplest move is the plural imperative, which doubles as the polite-singular form: Заповядайте ('here you are / come in'), Извинете ('excuse me'), Кажете ('tell me, do say'). For a softer request, use бихте ли ('would you…') + present: Бихте ли затворили вратата? Adding моля ('please') softens further: Моля, изчакайте малко. With these tools a direct command (Затвори вратата!) becomes a courteous request (Бихте ли затворили вратата?, моля). The plain ти-imperative stays for friends, children and intimates; with strangers, customers and superiors, the polite forms are expected.

Key rule

For polite requests use the Вие-imperative (Заповядайте, Извинете, Кажете) or бихте ли + present (Бихте ли затворили вратата?), softened with моля, instead of the bare ти-imperative.

Examples

Бихте ли затворили вратата, моля?
Бихте ли затвориш вратата, моля?
After бихте ли the verb takes the л-participle (затворили), not a 2nd-singular present (затвориш).
Заповядайте, седнете тук.
Заповядай, седни тук, господин Иванов.
Addressing someone formally (господин Иванов) calls for the Вие-imperative заповядайте/седнете, not the familiar ти-forms.
Извинете, бихте ли ми помогнали?
Извини, би ли ми помогнал, господине.
To a stranger you address with Вие, so the polite извинете and бихте ли (plural) fit, not the ти-forms.

Common mistakes

Present tense after бихте ли
Бихте ли затворите вратата?
Бихте ли затворили вратата?
Бихте ли is the conditional and takes the л-participle (затворили), not a present-tense form.
Familiar ти-imperative to a formal addressee
Извини, седни тук, господине.
Извинете, седнете тук, господине.
A formally addressed person (господине, Вие) needs the polite Вие-imperative извинете/седнете.

B1Pronouns

Relative Pronoun който — Inflected (човекът, който…)

Относително местоимение който

който is the relative pronoun used to join a relative clause to a noun, like English 'who', 'which' or 'that'. It is one of the rare Bulgarian words that still changes its form: който (masculine), която (feminine), което (neuter) and които (plural). You pick the form that matches the noun in front of it (the antecedent) in gender and number: човекът, който дойде; жената, която видях; детето, което плаче; хората, които работят. When the relative pronoun is a direct object referring to a person, the masculine becomes когото, and after a preposition you get на когото, с когото, за когото. Always put a comma before който.

Key rule

който agrees with its antecedent in gender/number (който/която/което/които), but takes the personal object form когото / preposition + когото when it is the object inside its own clause.

Examples

Човекът, който дойде, е лекар.
Човекът, която дойде, е лекар.
човек is masculine, so the relative pronoun is който, not the feminine която.
Жената, която видях, е учителка.
Жената, който видях, е учителка.
жена is feminine, so the matching relative form is която.
Детето, което плаче, е гладно.
Детето, който плаче, е гладно.
дете is neuter, so the relative pronoun is което.

Common mistakes

Not matching gender of the antecedent
Колата, който купих, е нова.
Колата, която купих, е нова.
кола is feminine, so the relative pronoun must be която to agree with it.
Using subject form for a personal object
Мъжът, който поканих, не дойде.
Мъжът, когото поканих, не дойде.
As a direct object referring to a male person, който becomes когото.

B1Pronouns

Relative чийто & каквото (whose / what)

Относителни чийто и каквото

чийто means 'whose' and introduces a relative clause that says who owns something: студентът, чийто проект спечели ('the student whose project won'). The tricky part is that чийто agrees with the thing that is OWNED, not with the owner — so it is чийто проект (masc), чиято кола (fem), чието дете (neut), чиито книги (plural). The pronoun каквото means '(that) which / what' and refers to a whole idea rather than a single noun: Каквото каза, е вярно ('What he said is true'); Прави каквото искаш ('Do what you want'). Both are everyday relative words used to link clauses smoothly.

Key rule

чийто ('whose') agrees with the POSSESSED noun (чийто проект, чиято кола, чието дете, чиито книги), while каквото means '(that) which / what' and refers to a whole clause, not a single noun.

Examples

Студентът, чийто проект спечели, е щастлив.
Студентът, чиято проект спечели, е щастлив.
чийто agrees with проект (masculine), the thing possessed, not with студент.
Момчето, чиято майка дойде, се усмихна.
Момчето, чието майка дойде, се усмихна.
Although момче is neuter, чиято agrees with майка (feminine), the possessed noun.
Писателят, чиито книги чета, е известен.
Писателят, чийто книги чета, е известен.
книги is plural, so the possessive relative is чиито, not the singular чийто.

Common mistakes

Agreeing чийто with the possessor
Жената, чийто кола е нова, е моята съседка.
Жената, чиято кола е нова, е моята съседка.
чийто agrees with the possessed noun кола (feminine), not with the female owner.
Using singular чийто with a plural possession
Авторът, чийто романи харесвам, идва тук.
Авторът, чиито романи харесвам, идва тук.
романи is plural, so the possessive relative must be чиити → чиито.

B1Pronouns

Indefinite Pronouns (някой, нещо, някакъв, някъде)

Неопределителни местоимения

Bulgarian builds 'some-' words with the prefix ня-: някой ('someone'), нещо ('something'), някакъв ('some kind of'), някъде ('somewhere'), някога ('sometime'), някак ('somehow'). They refer to a person, thing or place without naming it. някой inflects a little: някой (he), някоя (she), някое (it), някои ('some' as in several). някакъв agrees like an adjective: някакъв проблем, някаква жена, някакво дете, някакви хора. In neutral statements you usually use the ня- forms; in many questions and after 'if' you can also use the same forms, so Bulgarian does not need a separate 'any' word the way English does: Има ли някой? ('Is anyone there?').

Key rule

Indefinite pronouns are built with ня- (някой, нещо, някакъв, някъде); they cover both English 'some' and 'any', and the same forms appear in statements and questions — only negation switches to the ни- series.

Examples

Някой чука на вратата.
Никой чука на вратата.
An affirmative statement 'someone is knocking' uses the positive некой → някой; никой would need negation.
Искаш ли нещо за пиене?
Искаш ли нищо за пиене?
In an open question 'anything to drink' Bulgarian uses нещо, not the negative нищо.
Имам някакъв проблем с колата.
Имам някаква проблем с колата.
проблем is masculine, so the agreeing form is някакъв.

Common mistakes

Using the negative form in an affirmative sentence
Нещо няма да объркам — никой ми помага.
Няма да объркам нищо — някой ми помага.
An affirmative 'someone is helping me' needs the positive някой, not никой.
Wrong agreement on някакъв
Имам някакъв идея.
Имам някаква идея.
идея is feminine, so the agreeing indefinite is някаква.

B1Pronouns

Negative Pronouns & Concord (никой не дойде)

Отрицателни местоимения и двойно отрицание

Bulgarian negative pronouns are built with the prefix ни-: никой ('no one'), нищо ('nothing'), никакъв ('no kind of'), никъде ('nowhere'), никога ('never'), никак ('not at all'). The key rule is that they REQUIRE не on the verb — Bulgarian uses double negation: Никой не дойде ('No one came'); Нищо не разбрах ('I understood nothing'); Никога не закъснявам ('I am never late'). Unlike English, you must keep both negatives. You can even stack several ни- words and they all agree with the single не: Никой никога нищо не казва. When a preposition is involved, it splits the word: за никого ('for no one'), с нищо ('with nothing').

Key rule

Negative ни- pronouns (никой, нищо, никъде, никога) obligatorily co-occur with не on the verb (Никой НЕ дойде), and a preposition splits the word (за никого, с нищо).

Examples

Никой не дойде на срещата.
Никой дойде на срещата.
A ни- word requires не on the verb; without не the sentence is ungrammatical.
Нищо не разбрах от лекцията.
Нищо разбрах от лекцията.
Negative concord demands не even though нищо is already negative.
Никога не закъснявам за работа.
Никога закъснявам за работа.
никога ('never') still needs не on the verb.

Common mistakes

Dropping не with a negative pronoun
Нищо знам за това.
Нищо не знам за това.
Bulgarian requires negative concord; нищо must be paired with не on the verb.
Using a positive ня- form under negation
Не видях някого.
Не видях никого.
When the verb is negated, the indefinite switches to the negative никого.

B1Pronouns

Reflexive Possessive свой/си (взе своята книга)

Възвратно притежателно местоимение свой/си

свой means 'one's own' and always points back to the subject of the clause. Its forms are свой/своя (masc), своя/своята (fem), свое/своето (neut) and свои/своите (plural). There is also a short clitic version си. Compare: Той взе своята книга / Той си взе книгата = 'He took his (own) book'; but Той взе неговата книга = 'He took his (= someone else's) book'. So свой/си removes the ambiguity that неговия leaves. Use свой/си whenever the owner is the same as the subject; use неговия/нейната/техния when the owner is someone other than the subject. The clitic си is by far the most common everyday choice.

Key rule

свой/си means 'one's OWN' and always refers back to the clause subject; with a 3rd-person subject it contrasts with неговия/нейната/техния, which point to someone OTHER than the subject.

Examples

Иван обича жена си.
Иван обича жена му.
си refers to the subject Иван — his own wife; жена му would mean another man's wife.
Тя взе своята чанта и излезе.
Тя взе нейната чанта и излезе.
своята points to the subject Тя — her own bag; нейната suggests someone else's.
Децата играят със своите играчки.
Децата играят с техните играчки.
своите refers back to the subject децата — their own toys; техните implies other children's.

Common mistakes

Using неговия for the subject's own thing
Петър паркира неговата кола пред къщата.
Петър паркира своята кола / колата си пред къщата.
When the owner is the subject Петър, Bulgarian requires свой/си; неговата points to a different man.
Using техните instead of своите
Родителите обичат техните деца.
Родителите обичат своите деца / децата си.
With the subject родителите as the owner, the reflexive своите/си is correct, not техните.

B1Prepositions

The Preposition на — Functions Review (possession / dative / location)

Предлогът на — функции (обобщение)

на is the most important preposition in Bulgarian because it does the work that case endings do in other Slavic languages. Three core functions: (1) possession — книгата на Иван ('Ivan's book'), the 'of/'s' relation; (2) indirect object — давам книгата на Иван ('I give the book to Ivan'), the recipient or 'to/for' relation; (3) location and direction — на масата ('on the table'), отивам на работа ('I go to work'). The same little word covers what English splits into 'of', 'to', 'for' and 'on'. With an indirect object that is a person, на often pairs with a doubling clitic: На Иван му казах ('I told Ivan').

Key rule

на is the single analytic carrier of possession (книгата на Иван), the indirect object (давам на Иван), and location/direction (на масата, на работа) — the relation is read from context, not from any noun ending.

Examples

Това е колата на брат ми.
Това е колата от брат ми.
Possession ('my brother's car') is expressed with на, not от.
Дадох подарък на майка си.
Дадох подарък за майка си.
The recipient of giving takes на (the dative function); за would mean 'intended for'.
Книгата е на масата.
Книгата е в масата.
Location 'on the table' is на; в would mean 'inside the table'.

Common mistakes

Using от for possession
Това е книгата от учителя.
Това е книгата на учителя.
The 'of/'s' possessive relation in Bulgarian is на, while от means 'from/source'.
Using за for the recipient of giving
Дадох цветя за нея.
Дадох цветя на нея. / Дадох ѝ цветя.
The recipient (dative) of a giving verb is marked with на, not за.

B1Prepositions

The Preposition от — Agent, Source & Partitive

Предлогът от — деятел, източник, част

от means 'from / out of / by', and at B1 you meet its richer uses. It marks: the agent of a passive — романът е написан от автора ('the novel was written by the author'); origin and source — идвам от София, подарък от майка ми; material — масата е направена от дърво ('made of wood'); cause — треперя от студ ('I shiver from cold'), плача от радост; and the partitive 'one of' — един от тях, някои от учениците. The key contrast for learners is the passive agent: where English uses 'by', Bulgarian uses от, not с (which means 'with' as an instrument).

Key rule

от marks the passive agent (написан от автора), source/origin (от София), material (от дърво), cause (от студ) and the partitive (един от тях) — crucially the passive 'by' is от, never с.

Examples

Романът е написан от млад автор.
Романът е написан с млад автор.
The passive agent ('by the author') is от; с would wrongly mean 'with' as an instrument.
Получих писмо от баба ми.
Получих писмо на баба ми.
Source/origin ('a letter from grandma') is от; на here would mark possession instead.
Масата е направена от дърво.
Масата е направена с дърво.
Material ('made of wood') is от; с would mean 'using wood as a tool'.

Common mistakes

Using с for the passive agent
Картината е нарисувана с известен художник.
Картината е нарисувана от известен художник.
The passive 'by'-agent is от; с marks the instrument, not the doer.
Using на instead of от for source
Получих имейл на колега.
Получих имейл от колега.
'From a colleague' is от; на would express possession ('a colleague's email').

B1Prepositions

Prepositions за & по — Nuances

Предлозите за и по — нюанси

за and по are two very common prepositions whose meanings spread out at B1. за covers: purpose or goal — билет за София ('a ticket to Sofia'), уча за изпит ('I study for an exam'); beneficiary — това е за теб ('this is for you'); topic — говорим за политика ('we talk about politics'); and a future-looking duration — заминавам за две седмици ('I'm leaving for two weeks'). по covers: motion along — вървя по улицата ('I walk along the street'); distribution — по един на човек ('one each'); criterion — по име, по азбучен ред ('by name', 'in alphabetical order'); and means/medium — по телефона, по телевизията ('by phone', 'on TV'). Choosing between them is mostly about meaning, not grammar.

Key rule

за carries purpose/goal, beneficiary, topic and planned duration (билет за София, говоря за, за две седмици), while по carries motion-along, distribution, criterion and medium (по улицата, по един, по име, по телефона).

Examples

Купих билет за София.
Купих билет по София.
Destination/goal of the ticket is за, not по.
Говорим за новия филм.
Говорим по новия филм.
The topic of conversation ('about the film') is за; по cannot mark a topic here.
Вървяхме по брега цял час.
Вървяхме за брега цял час.
Motion along a surface ('along the shore') is по, not за.

Common mistakes

Using по for a topic
Четох статия по климата.
Четох статия за климата.
The topic ('an article about the climate') is за; по does not introduce a topic in everyday usage.
Using за for motion along
Разхождам се за парка.
Разхождам се по парка / из парка.
Motion along/around a surface is по (or из); за would mean a destination 'to the park'.

B1Prepositions

Compound & Less-Common Prepositions (заради, освен, поради, относно)

Сложни и по-редки предлози

Beyond the basic one-syllable prepositions, Bulgarian has a layer of longer, more specific ones used a lot in writing and careful speech. The most useful at B1: заради ('because of', often a person or motive) and поради ('due to', a more formal cause); освен ('except / besides'); относно and спрямо ('regarding / towards'); въпреки ('despite'); благодарение на ('thanks to'); според ('according to'); покрай ('past / alongside'). Some of these are more formal than others — поради and относно belong to written, official style, while заради is everyday. Watch the difference: заради and поради both mean a cause, but поради is neutral/formal and заради can also mean 'for the sake of'.

Key rule

B1 adds compound prepositions for cause (заради everyday, поради formal), concession (въпреки), exception (освен), regard (относно/спрямо), opinion (според) and thanks (благодарение на) — choose them by both meaning and register.

Examples

Закъснях заради задръстването.
Закъснях за задръстването.
Cause ('because of the traffic jam') is заради; за would mean 'for/about'.
Полетът е отменен поради лошото време.
Полетът е отменен заради лошото време.
Both can mean cause, but in formal/written notices поради is the expected register.
Всички дойдоха освен Иван.
Всички дойдоха без Иван.
'Everyone except Ivan' is освен; без would simply mean 'without Ivan'.

Common mistakes

Using за instead of заради for cause
Не дойдох за болестта си.
Не дойдох заради болестта си.
A cause is заради; за would read as 'for/about the illness'.
Using заради in a formal notice
Магазинът не работи заради ремонт. (на официална табела)
Магазинът не работи поради ремонт.
In formal/written notices the neutral cause preposition is поради; заради is colloquial there.

B1Connectors

Complement Clauses with че (Казвам, че…)

Подчинени изречения с че

The connector че ("that") introduces a clause that reports a fact — what someone says, knows, sees or thinks. After verbs like знам, казвам, мисля, виждам, чувам, разбирам you attach a whole statement with че: Знам, че идваш ("I know that you are coming"). The clause after че keeps its own normal finite verb in the tense it would have on its own; nothing is turned into an infinitive (Bulgarian has none). Unlike English, where "that" is often dropped, че is almost always written, and Bulgarian puts a comma before it. Do not confuse че (a reported fact) with да, which introduces something wished, aimed at or not-yet-real.

Key rule

Use че to attach a clause that reports a fact, keep the inner verb in its natural finite tense, and write a comma before че.

Examples

Знам, че идваш утре.
Знам, да идваш утре.
Reporting a fact ("I know that you are coming") takes че; да would wrongly turn it into a wish/command.
Каза, че е уморен.
Каза че е уморен.
A comma is required before че introducing a subordinate clause; omitting it is a punctuation error.
Виждам, че работиш много.
Виждам, че да работиш много.
After че the verb is a plain finite present (работиш); inserting да is ungrammatical.

Common mistakes

Using да instead of че to report a fact
Знам, да той работи тук.
Знам, че той работи тук.
A reported fact (knowing that something is the case) takes че; да marks wishes, purpose or commands, not assertions.
Dropping che as English drops 'that'
Каза е болен.
Каза, че е болен.
Unlike English, Bulgarian does not omit че; the subordinate fact must be introduced by it.

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B1Connectors

че vs да — Factual Statement vs Desired/Purpose

че срещу да — съобщение или намерение

че and да both translate the English "that", but they split the work. че introduces a fact you assert as real (Видях, че работи — "I saw that he is working"). да introduces something wanted, aimed at, ordered or not-yet-real (Искам да работи — "I want him to work"). The test: ask whether the clause states a fact (use че) or names a goal/wish (use да). Many verbs allow both, and the choice changes the meaning: Казвам, че идва = I say he is coming (a report); Казвам да дойде = I tell him to come (a directive). After да the verb is always a finite, agreeing present, never an infinitive.

Key rule

Choose че when the clause asserts a fact and да when it names a wish, purpose, command or unrealised situation, always with a finite verb after да.

Examples

Видях, че работи.
Видях, да работи.
Perception of an actual fact takes че; да would wrongly imply purpose ('I saw in order to work').
Искам да работиш повече.
Искам, че работиш повече.
A wish names an unrealised goal, so да is required; че reports a fact and clashes with искам.
Казвам, че идва влакът.
Казвам, да идва влакът.
Reporting that the train is coming is factual (че); да would turn it into a strange command to the train.

Common mistakes

Using че after a modal or volition verb
Искам, че отидеш.
Искам да отидеш.
Verbs of wanting, needing and ability select да + finite present, never че.
Using да to report a perceived fact
Чувам, да пее някой.
Чувам, че пее някой.
Perceiving an actual fact takes че; да would express purpose, which is wrong here.

B1Connectors

Indirect Questions with дали (Питам дали…)

Косвен въпрос с дали

When you embed a yes/no question inside another sentence, Bulgarian uses дали ("whether/if"). A direct question like Идва ли? ("Is he coming?") becomes Не знам дали идва ("I don't know whether he is coming"). дали is the embedded twin of the polar particle ли. Use it after verbs of asking, knowing, wondering and doubting: Питам дали…, Не съм сигурен дали…, Чудя се дали… The verb after дали stays a normal finite form. A frequent mistake is using ако ("if" = condition) for the English "if" of an indirect question — but for "whether" you must use дали, never ако.

Key rule

Embed a yes/no question with дали (whether), keeping the verb finite, and never use ако for this 'whether'.

Examples

Не знам дали ще дойде.
Не знам ако ще дойде.
An embedded yes/no question uses дали; ако only introduces a real condition, not 'whether'.
Питам дали е готово.
Питам ли е готово.
Inside a subordinate clause the particle ли is replaced by дали; ли stays only in direct questions.
Чудя се дали си струва.
Чудя се че си струва.
Wondering is an open question, so дали is needed; че would assert it as a fact.

Common mistakes

Using ако for the 'if' of an indirect question
Не знам ако той идва.
Не знам дали той идва.
English 'if' meaning 'whether' is дали; ако is only the conditional 'if'.
Keeping ли inside the embedded clause
Питам идва ли.
Питам дали идва.
In a subordinate clause the polar particle ли is replaced by the complementiser дали.

B1Connectors

че / да / дали — Choosing the Subordinator

Избор между че, да и дали

Bulgarian splits the English "that/to/whether" across three subordinators. Use че for an asserted fact (Знам, че идва). Use да for a wish, purpose, command or anything after a modal (Искам да дойде; Трябва да тръгна). Use дали for an embedded yes/no question (Не знам дали идва). A quick decision tree: Is the clause a yes/no question? → дали. Is it a wish/goal/non-fact (or after a modal)? → да. Otherwise, an asserted fact? → че. After all three the verb stays finite and agreeing — there is no infinitive. Getting this three-way split right is one of the defining B1 milestones.

Key rule

Apply the tree — yes/no question → дали, wish/purpose/modal → да, asserted fact → че — with a finite verb every time.

Examples

Знам, че работи в болница.
Знам да работи в болница.
An asserted fact about where someone works takes че; да would name a non-existent goal.
Искам да работи по-малко.
Искам, че работи по-малко.
A wish is non-factual and takes да; че asserts a fact and clashes with искам.
Не знам дали работи днес.
Не знам че работи днес.
An open yes/no question is дали; че would wrongly assert the fact you say you don't know.

Common mistakes

че after a modal/volition verb
Трябва, че платя.
Трябва да платя.
Modals and verbs of wanting select да; че is impossible after them.
ако instead of дали in an embedded question
Не знам ако ще успея.
Не знам дали ще успея.
Embedded 'whether' is дали; ако only marks a real conditional.

B1Connectors

Causal Clauses with защото & понеже (because/since)

Причинни изречения със защото и понеже

To give a reason, Bulgarian mainly uses защото ("because"). It answers the question защо? ("why?") and normally follows the main clause: Закъснях, защото имаше задръстване ("I was late because there was traffic"). A more bookish synonym is понеже (also тъй като), "since/as"; понеже often goes first, before the main clause: Понеже валеше, останахме вкъщи. One key difference: защото cannot begin the sentence that answers a why-question, but понеже/тъй като can front the known reason. A comma is written before защото and after a fronted понеже-clause.

Key rule

Use защото for a post-posed reason (with a comma before it) and понеже/тъй като when you front a known cause before the main clause.

Examples

Закъснях, защото имаше задръстване.
Закъснях защото имаше задръстване.
A comma is required before защото introducing the reason clause.
Понеже валеше, останахме вкъщи.
Защото валеше, останахме вкъщи.
To front a known cause before the main clause, use понеже/тъй като; защото does not naturally open such a sentence.
Не ям месо, защото съм вегетарианец.
Не ям месо, понеже съм вегетарианец вкъщи останахме.
защото cleanly post-poses the reason; the incorrect version mangles word order and clause structure.

Common mistakes

No comma before защото
Тъжен съм защото загубих.
Тъжен съм, защото загубих.
A subordinate reason clause with защото is set off by a comma.
Fronting a reason with защото
Защото валеше, не излязох.
Понеже валеше, не излязох.
A reason placed before the main clause uses понеже/тъй като; защото normally follows.

B1Connectors

Conditional Clauses with ако (if)

Условни изречения с ако

ако means "if" for real, open conditions — situations that may or may not happen. The ако-clause states the condition and usually takes a present or future-meaning verb; the main clause often has ще: Ако имаш време, ела ("If you have time, come"); Ако дойдеш, ще се радвам ("If you come, I'll be glad"). The clauses can go in either order; when ако comes first, a comma separates the two. Important: ако is conditional "if" only. The English "if" meaning "whether" inside a question ("I don't know if he'll come") is NOT ако — that is дали.

Key rule

Use ако for real conditions with present/future verbs, put a comma after a fronted ако-clause, and never use ако for the 'whether' of an indirect question.

Examples

Ако имаш време, ела.
Ако имаш време ела.
A fronted ако-clause is followed by a comma before the main clause.
Ако дойдеш, ще се радвам.
Ако ще дойдеш, ще се радвам.
The condition takes a plain (perfective) present дойдеш; ще belongs in the main clause, not the ако-clause.
Ще остана вкъщи, ако завали.
Ще остана вкъщи, дали завали.
A real condition is ако; дали would mean 'whether' and is wrong here.

Common mistakes

Using ако for an indirect 'whether' question
Не знам ако ще дойде.
Не знам дали ще дойде.
ако is conditional only; embedded 'whether' is дали.
Putting ще inside the ако-clause
Ако ще имаш време, ела.
Ако имаш време, ела.
The condition uses a plain present; the future ще belongs to the result clause.

B1Connectors

Conditional/Temporal щом & в случай че

Условно-временни щом и в случай че

щом is a flexible connector that sits between time and cause. With a future event it means "as soon as": Щом пристигнеш, обади ми се ("As soon as you arrive, call me"). With a known fact it means "since/seeing that": Щом казваш, ще ти повярвам ("Since you say so, I'll believe you"). The verb after щом is a normal finite form; the temporal use often takes a perfective present for a future completion. A more formal connector is в случай че ("in case / if"), used for precautions: Вземи чадър, в случай че завали. A comma sets off the subordinate clause.

Key rule

Use щом for 'as soon as' (perfective present) or 'since/given that', and в случай че for a formal precautionary 'in case', each set off by a comma.

Examples

Щом пристигнеш, обади ми се.
Щом ще пристигнеш, обади ми се.
The temporal щом-clause uses a perfective present (пристигнеш); ще does not belong inside it.
Щом казваш, ще ти повярвам.
Щом казваш ще ти повярвам.
A comma separates the fronted щом-clause from the main clause.
Щом не искаш, няма да настоявам.
Щом не искаш, не ще настоявам.
The negative future is няма да + present; *не ще does not exist in Bulgarian.

Common mistakes

Putting ще inside the щом-clause
Щом ще се прибереш, обади се.
Щом се прибереш, обади се.
The temporal щом-clause takes a perfective present; the future is expressed in the main clause.
Using да instead of че in в случай че
Носи пари, в случай да трябва.
Носи пари, в случай че трябва.
The fixed connector is в случай че; it uses че plus a finite verb.

B1Connectors

Concessive Clauses (въпреки че, макар че, макар да)

Отстъпителни изречения — въпреки че, макар че

Concessive clauses say "although / even though" — the main thing happens despite an obstacle. The everyday connector is въпреки че ("although"): Въпреки че е късно, излизам ("Although it's late, I'm going out"). A slightly more literary synonym is макар че, and there is also макар да + finite present. The main clause stays a plain affirmative statement (no "but" is added — English often doubles up with "but", Bulgarian does not). Don't confuse the connector въпреки че (+ a clause) with the preposition въпреки (+ a noun): Въпреки дъжда, излязох ("Despite the rain…").

Key rule

Use въпреки че / макар че (+ clause) for 'although' with a single concessive marker and a clean affirmative main clause, and въпреки (+ noun) for 'despite'.

Examples

Въпреки че е късно, излизам.
Въпреки че е късно, но излизам.
Bulgarian uses one concessive marker; adding но ('but') in the main clause is redundant and wrong.
Макар че валеше, отидохме на разходка.
Макар да валеше, отидохме на разходка.
макар да normally takes a present; for a past background fact use макар че + the past tense.
Въпреки дъжда продължихме напред.
Въпреки че дъжда продължихме напред.
Before a noun phrase use the preposition въпреки; въпреки че needs a finite clause, not just a noun.

Common mistakes

Adding но after a concessive clause
Въпреки че е скъпо, но ще го купя.
Въпреки че е скъпо, ще го купя.
One concessive marker is enough; the main clause must not also start with но.
Using въпреки че before a noun
Въпреки че студа излязохме.
Въпреки студа излязохме.
Before a noun phrase use the preposition въпреки; въпреки че requires a full clause.

B1Connectors

Temporal Clauses (когато, докато, преди да, след като)

Времеви изречения — когато, докато, преди да

Bulgarian links events in time with several connectors. когато = "when" (Когато се прибера, ще ти се обадя). докато = "while" or "until" (Чакай, докато свърша). преди да = "before", always with да + a finite present (Преди да тръгнеш, провери всичко). след като = "after" (След като ядохме, излязохме). Aspect matters: a single completed action takes the perfective (когато прочета), a background or ongoing one the imperfective (докато четях). When the temporal clause comes first, it is set off by a comma. Note that преди да uses да, but the others take a plain finite verb.

Key rule

Use когато (when), докато (while/until), преди да + finite present (before) and след като (after), choosing aspect by meaning and setting off a fronted temporal clause with a comma.

Examples

Когато се прибера, ще ти се обадя.
Когато ще се прибера, ще ти се обадя.
The когато-clause for a future point takes a perfective present (прибера); ще belongs in the main clause.
Преди да тръгнеш, провери всичко.
Преди тръгнеш, провери всичко.
преди да always needs да before the finite verb; преди + bare verb is wrong.
Докато готвех, той четеше вестник.
Докато готвя, той четеше вестник.
Two simultaneous past background actions both take the imperfect (готвех / четеше).

Common mistakes

преди without да
Преди тръгнеш, обади се.
Преди да тръгнеш, обади се.
'Before' is преди да + finite present; преди alone cannot head a verbal clause.
Putting ще in the когато-clause
Когато ще дойдеш, кажи ми.
Когато дойдеш, кажи ми.
A future временно clause uses a perfective present; ще stays in the main clause.

B1Syntax

Reported Speech (Каза, че идва)

Пряка и непряка реч

To report what someone said, Bulgarian turns direct speech into an indirect clause with че: „Идвам“ → Каза, че идва ("He said that he is coming"). Two big differences from English: (1) Bulgarian does NOT backshift the tense — the present stays present even after a past reporting verb (Каза, че идва, not *идваше). (2) You still shift pronouns and time/place words to fit the new speaker's viewpoint (мен → него, тук → там). Questions are reported with дали (yes/no) or the wh-word. Bulgarian also has a special non-witnessed reporting strategy — the renarrative (той дошъл) — but the plain че-version is the basic tool.

Key rule

Report statements with че and NO tense backshift, shifting pronouns and deixis, and report questions with дали (yes/no) or the wh-word.

Examples

Каза, че идва утре.
Каза, че идваше утре.
Bulgarian keeps the original present idва; there is no English-style backshift to the past.
Попита дали съм готов.
Попита, че съм готов.
A reported yes/no question uses дали; че would assert a fact instead of reporting a question.
Каза да дойда веднага.
Каза, че дойда веднага.
A reported command becomes a да-clause; че would (wrongly) report it as a fact.

Common mistakes

Backshifting the present to a past
Каза, че работеше там.
Каза, че работи там.
Bulgarian keeps the original tense; a present statement stays present in the report.
Reporting a yes/no question with че
Попита, че идвам ли.
Попита дали идвам.
A reported yes/no question is introduced by дали, not че, and ли is dropped.

B1Syntax

Object Fronting with Clitic Doubling (Книгата я прочетох)

Изнасяне на допълнението с удвояване

Bulgarian word order is flexible: you can move a known (topical) object to the front of the sentence to highlight it. When you do, the object leaves behind a short pronoun copy — a resumptive clitic — next to the verb. So Прочетох книгата becomes, with the book fronted, Книгата я прочетох ("The book, I read it"). The clitic agrees with the fronted object: книгата → я, Иван → го, на Иван → му, мен → ме. This doubling is obligatory when a definite object is topicalised. It creates a topic–comment structure used constantly in natural speech to mark what the sentence is about.

Key rule

When you front a definite object as the topic, add an agreeing resumptive clitic next to the verb (книгата → я, на Иван → му).

Examples

Книгата я прочетох вчера.
Книгата прочетох вчера.
A fronted definite object requires a resumptive clitic (я); without it the sentence is ungrammatical.
Иван го видях на пазара.
Иван видях на пазара.
The fronted accusative object Иван needs the doubling clitic го.
На Мария ѝ казах истината.
На Мария казах истината.
A fronted dative (на Мария) is doubled by the dative clitic ѝ.

Common mistakes

Fronting an object without the resumptive clitic
Книгата прочетох.
Книгата я прочетох.
A topicalised definite object is obligatorily doubled by an agreeing clitic.
Wrong agreement of the doubling clitic
Книгата го прочетох.
Книгата я прочетох.
The clitic must match the fronted object's gender/number: feminine книгата → я, not the masculine го.

B1Verb tenses

Perfect — Formation (съм + л-participle)

Минало неопределено време — образуване

The Bulgarian perfect (минало неопределено време) is built with two parts: the present tense of the verb съм (съм, си, е, сме, сте, са) plus the past active participle ending in -л. The participle is formed from the aorist stem: чета → чел, пиша → писал, дойда → дошъл. It must agree with the subject in gender and number: чел (he), чела (she), чело (it), чели (they/plural). The auxiliary съм changes for person, just like in the present. So 'I have read' is чел съм (a man speaking) or чела съм (a woman speaking). This is the 'have done' tense — a present form of съм plus a frozen-looking but agreeing л-participle.

Key rule

The perfect = present of съм (съм/си/е/сме/сте/са) + the past active participle in -л, which agrees with the subject in gender and number (чел съм, чела съм, чели сме).

Examples

Чел съм тази книга.
Чел съм е тази книга.
First person uses съм as the auxiliary; е is the third-person form and cannot be added on top.
Тя е писала писмо.
Тя е писал писмо.
With a feminine subject the participle takes -ла: писала, not the masculine писал.
Ние сме дошли по-рано.
Ние сме дошъл по-рано.
A plural subject needs the plural participle дошли; дошъл is masculine singular.

Common mistakes

Auxiliary does not agree in person
Ние е работили цял ден.
Ние сме работили цял ден.
The auxiliary съм agrees in person and number; first plural is сме, never the third-person е.
Participle does not agree in gender
Тя е чел книгата.
Тя е чела книгата.
The -л participle agrees with the subject in gender; a feminine subject needs -ла (чела).

B1Verb tenses

Perfect — Usage (result/experience, no time anchor)

Минало неопределено време — употреба

The perfect (минало неопределено време) is the past tense you use when the moment of the action is NOT important — what matters is the result now or the fact that something has happened at some point in your life. Use it for life experience (Бил съм в Гърция — 'I have been to Greece'), for a result that still holds (Изгубил съм си ключовете — 'I have lost my keys'), and when there is no specific time word. Compare it with the aorist (минало свършено), which you use when the action is anchored to a definite past moment: вчера ходих на кино ('yesterday I went to the cinema'). If you can add 'вчера, в 5 часа, миналата година', use the aorist; if the point is 'ever / already / still relevant', use the perfect.

Key rule

Use the perfect for experience or a still-relevant result with no time anchor (Бил съм там), and switch to the aorist when the action is tied to a definite past moment (вчера бях там).

Examples

Бил съм в София няколко пъти.
Бях в София няколко пъти вчера.
Experience without a fixed time takes the perfect; 'вчера' would force the aorist and clashes with 'several times'.
Никога не съм опитвал суши.
Никога не опитах суши.
With 'никога' (life experience) the perfect is natural; the aorist опитах sounds like a single anchored event.
Вчера гледах този филм.
Вчера съм гледал този филм.
A definite time word (вчера) requires the time-anchored aorist гледах, not the perfect.

Common mistakes

Perfect used with a definite time adverbial
Вчера съм ходил на работа.
Вчера ходих на работа.
A specific time word (вчера) anchors the action, so Bulgarian uses the aorist, not the perfect.
Aorist used for general life experience
Никога не отидох в Италия.
Никога не съм ходил в Италия.
'Никога' marks experience over a lifetime; the perfect (не съм ходил) is the natural choice.

B1Verb tenses

Perfect — Auxiliary Placement & Clitic Order (чел съм / не съм чел)

Минало неопределено време — словоред на спомагателния глагол

In the perfect, the auxiliary съм is a clitic — a little unstressed word that cannot start a sentence. If the participle comes first, съм follows it: Чел съм книгата. But if a stressed word (the subject, an object, an adverb) opens the clause, съм comes right after it and before the participle: Аз съм чел книгата; Вече съм чел книгата. In negation, не takes the front position and съм follows it: Не съм чел книгата. The exception is the third person singular е, which stays even when negated: той не е чел. When other short pronouns join in, the съм-form comes LAST in the cluster: Дал съм му я ('I have given it to him'). So the rule is: съм never starts the clause, не goes first when present, and съм/си/сме… end the clitic chain.

Key rule

Съм cannot open a clause: it sits after the participle (Чел съм) or after a fronted host (Аз съм чел / Не съм чел), and in a clitic cluster it comes last (Дал съм му я); 3sg не е is kept.

Examples

Чел съм тази книга.
Съм чел тази книга.
The clitic съм cannot start a clause; the participle hosts it, so съм follows чел.
Аз съм чел тази книга.
Аз чел съм тази книга.
When the subject opens the clause, съм comes right after it and before the participle.
Не съм чел тази книга.
Чел не съм тази книга.
The negator не hosts the cluster and comes first; съм follows не.

Common mistakes

Starting the clause with съм
Съм видял този филм.
Видял съм този филм. / Аз съм видял този филм.
Съм is a clitic and cannot be the first word; either the participle or the subject must host it.
Auxiliary placed after the participle when a host precedes
Аз чел съм книгата.
Аз съм чел книгата.
Once the subject opens the clause, съм attaches to it and stands before the participle.

B1Verb tenses

Pluperfect — Formation (бях + л-participle)

Минало предварително време — образуване

The pluperfect (минало предварително време) is the 'had done' tense. You build it just like the perfect, but instead of the PRESENT of съм you use its IMPERFECT: бях, беше, беше, бяхме, бяхте, бяха — plus the same -л participle. So 'I had read' is бях чел (man) or бях чела (woman); 'they had arrived' is бяха дошли. The auxiliary бях changes for person and number; the participle agrees in gender and number, exactly as in the perfect. Compare: чел съм ('I have read', perfect) vs бях чел ('I had read', pluperfect). The only difference between the two tenses is which form of съм you put in front — present (съм) for the perfect, imperfect (бях) for the pluperfect.

Key rule

The pluperfect = the imperfect of съм (бях/беше/беше/бяхме/бяхте/бяха) + the -л participle agreeing in gender and number (бях чел, бяхме дошли).

Examples

Бях чел книгата, преди да я върна.
Съм чел книгата, преди да я върна.
Anteriority to a past point needs the imperfect auxiliary бях, not the present съм (which gives the perfect).
Тя беше написала писмото.
Тя беше написал писмото.
The participle agrees in gender: a feminine subject takes написала, not написал.
Бяхме дошли по-рано от вас.
Беше дошли по-рано от вас.
First plural needs бяхме; беше is singular and clashes with the plural participle дошли.

Common mistakes

Using present съм instead of imperfect бях
Съм чел писмото, преди да го изхвърля.
Бях чел писмото, преди да го изхвърля.
The pluperfect requires the imperfect of съм (бях); съм yields the perfect, not anteriority.
Auxiliary does not agree in number
Те беше тръгнали.
Те бяха тръгнали.
The imperfect auxiliary agrees in person and number; third plural is бяха, not singular беше.

B1Verb tenses

Pluperfect — Usage (earlier-than-a-past-point)

Минало предварително време — употреба

Use the pluperfect (минало предварително време) for an action that was already finished BEFORE another moment in the past. The classic pattern is two past actions: one happens, but by then the other was already over. Когато дойдох, той вече беше излязъл — 'When I arrived, he had already left' (he left first, I arrived later). The pluperfect (беше излязъл) marks the earlier action; the aorist (дойдох) marks the later one. You will often see it with вече ('already'), още не ('not yet'), and time clauses with когато ('when'), преди да ('before'), след като ('after'). It pushes one event into the 'background' that was complete before the main, foreground past event.

Key rule

Use the pluperfect for an action already completed before another past moment (Когато дойдох, той вече беше излязъл), pairing it with the aorist that marks the later event.

Examples

Когато дойдох, той вече беше излязъл.
Когато дойдох, той вече излезе.
The earlier of two past actions takes the pluperfect беше излязъл; the aorist излезе would put both at the same time.
Влакът беше тръгнал, преди да стигна гарата.
Влакът тръгна, преди да стигна гарата.
The train's departure precedes my arrival, so the pluperfect беше тръгнал marks the anterior event.
Тя беше приготвила вечеря, когато се прибрахме.
Тя приготви вечеря, когато се прибрахме.
Dinner was ready before the homecoming; the pluperfect marks the completed earlier action.

Common mistakes

Aorist for the earlier of two past actions
Когато дойдох, той вече излезе.
Когато дойдох, той вече беше излязъл.
The action that happened first needs the pluperfect (беше излязъл) to show anteriority.
Pluperfect for a single past event with no reference point
Вчера бях ходил на работа.
Вчера ходих на работа.
Without an earlier-than-a-past-point reading, a plain past event takes the aorist, not the pluperfect.

B1Verb tenses

Future-in-the-Past — Formation (щях да + present)

Бъдеще време в миналото — образуване

The future-in-the-past (бъдеще време в миналото) is the 'was going to / would' tense. You build it with щях + да + the present tense of the verb. Unlike the plain future, where ще never changes, here щях DOES change for person and number: щях, щеше, щеше, щяхме, щяхте, щяха. The main verb stays in the present and agrees too: Щях да дойда ('I was going to come'), Щеше да каже ('he was going to say'), Щяхме да тръгнем ('we were going to leave'). So you have two agreeing parts: щях for the subject's person/number, and the present verb after да. Think of it as the past version of ще: future ще + present → past щях + да + present.

Key rule

The future-in-the-past = щях/щеше/щеше/щяхме/щяхте/щяха (conjugated, unlike invariant ще) + да + a finite present verb (Щях да дойда, Те щяха да тръгнат).

Examples

Щях да дойда, но се разболях.
Ще да дойда, но се разболях.
The past-prospective auxiliary is the conjugated щях; the invariant ще belongs to the plain future.
Той щеше да каже нещо.
Той щях да каже нещо.
The auxiliary agrees in person: third singular is щеше, not the first-person щях.
Щяхме да тръгнем рано.
Щях да тръгнем рано.
A first-plural subject needs щяхме; щях is singular and clashes with тръгнем.

Common mistakes

Leaving the auxiliary invariant like ще
Той ще да дойде вчера.
Той щеше да дойде.
Unlike the plain future, the past-prospective auxiliary conjugates: third singular is щеше.
Wrong person of щях
Ние щях да помогнем.
Ние щяхме да помогнем.
Щях must agree with the subject; first plural is щяхме.

B1Verb tenses

Future-in-the-Past — Usage (intention/unrealised future from a past viewpoint)

Бъдеще време в миналото — употреба

Use the future-in-the-past (бъдеще време в миналото) to talk about a future seen from a point in the PAST. It has three common jobs. (1) Reported or remembered intention: Каза, че щеше да дойде ('He said he would come'). (2) An unrealised plan — something you were going to do but didn't: Щях да ти се обадя, но забравих ('I was going to call you, but I forgot'). (3) A 'would'-like meaning close to a conditional: На твое място щях да откажа ('In your place I would refuse'). The thread is the same: a future projected backward in time. It often signals that the planned action did NOT happen, especially with 'но' (but).

Key rule

Use the future-in-the-past for a future viewed from a past point: reported intention (Каза, че щеше да дойде), an unrealised plan (Щях да дойда, но…), or a 'would'-like hypothetical (На твое място щях да откажа).

Examples

Каза, че щеше да дойде довечера.
Каза, че ще дойде довечера.
After a past main verb (каза) the embedded future shifts to the future-in-the-past щеше да дойде.
Щях да ти се обадя, но изгубих телефона.
Ще ти се обадя, но изгубих телефона.
An unrealised past plan needs щях да; the plain future ще would describe a real future, clashing with 'изгубих'.
На твое място щях да откажа.
На твое място ще откажа.
A hypothetical 'would' from a past/irrealis stance uses щях да; the plain future is a real prediction.

Common mistakes

Plain future after a past reporting verb
Каза, че ще дойде.
Каза, че щеше да дойде.
When the main verb is past, the embedded future shifts to the future-in-the-past (щеше да дойде).
Plain future for an unrealised past plan
Ще дойда, но не успях.
Щях да дойда, но не успях.
An intention that failed in the past needs щях да; the plain future describes a real future.

B1Verb tenses

Future-in-the-Past — Negative (нямаше да + present)

Отрицание на бъдеще време в миналото

To make the future-in-the-past negative, you do NOT just put не in front of щях. Instead you use нямаше да + the present verb — exactly parallel to how the plain negative future is няма да + present. So 'I was going to come' (Щях да дойда) becomes 'I was not going to come' = Нямаше да дойда. The form нямаше is the same for all persons here (it does not change), and the verb after да stays a finite present and agrees with the subject: Нямаше да дойда / да дойдеш / да дойде / да дойдем. Never say *не щях. Just as the present future loses ще under negation and uses няма да, the past future loses щях and uses нямаше да.

Key rule

Negate the future-in-the-past with invariant нямаше да + a finite present verb (Нямаше да дойда), parallel to няма да for the plain future — never *не щях.

Examples

Нямаше да дойда без покана.
Не щях да дойда без покана.
The negative future-in-the-past uses нямаше да; *не щях is never correct.
Каза, че нямаше да закъснее.
Каза, че не щеше да закъснее.
Even in reported speech the negative is нямаше да, not *не щеше.
Нямаше да тръгнем толкова рано.
Нямахме да тръгнем толкова рано.
Нямаше is invariant here; the verb тръгнем marks the first plural, not the auxiliary.

Common mistakes

Negating with не щях / не щеше
Не щях да дойда.
Нямаше да дойда.
The future-in-the-past negates with нямаше да + present, never with *не щях/не щеше.
Conjugating нямаше for person like an ordinary verb
Ние нямахме да дойдем.
Ние нямаше да дойдем.
In this construction нямаше is invariant; the present verb (дойдем) carries person and number.

B1Verb usage

The Participle System — Overview (5 participles)

Причастна система — преглед

Bulgarian has five verb forms made from the verb that behave like adjectives or adverbs. This tag is your map of all five before you study each one in detail. They are: the present active participle (-ещ/-ащ/-ящ, e.g. пишещ 'writing'), the past aorist active participle (-л, e.g. писал 'having written'), the past imperfect active participle (-ел/-ял, e.g. пишел), the passive participle (-н/-т, e.g. написан 'written'), and the adverbial participle or gerund (-ейки/-айки, e.g. пишейки 'while writing'). Four of them change for gender and number like adjectives; only the gerund stays the same. The -л participle is the most important because it builds the perfect, pluperfect, conditional and renarrative. At B1 the goal is to recognise each form and know roughly what it is for.

Key rule

Bulgarian has five participles — present active (-ещ), past aorist active (-л), past imperfect active (-ел), passive (-н/-т) and the gerund (-ейки) — and only the gerund does not agree in gender and number.

Examples

Пишещият студент вдигна глава.
Пишейки студент вдигна глава.
An attribute describing a noun needs the present active participle пишещ (agreeing), not the invariant gerund пишейки.
Той е написал писмото.
Той е пишещ писмото.
The perfect uses the past aorist active (-л) participle написал; the present active пишещ cannot build the perfect.
Писмото е написано.
Писмото е писал.
The passive uses the passive participle написано, agreeing with писмото; the -л participle is active, not passive.

Common mistakes

Using the gerund as an adjective
четейки човек
четящ човек
The gerund -ейки is invariant and adverbial; an attribute of a noun needs the agreeing present active participle четящ.
Building the perfect with the wrong participle
Той е пишещ книгата.
Той е написал книгата.
The perfect is built only with the past aorist active (-л) participle, never with the present active participle.

B1Verb usage

Present Active Participle (-ещ/-ащ/-ящ)

Сегашно деятелно причастие (-ещ/-ащ/-ящ)

The present active participle describes someone or something that is doing an action — like English '-ing' used as an adjective: 'the reading student', 'the running water'. You build it from the imperfective present stem and add -ещ, -ащ or -ящ: чета → четящ, пиша → пишещ, спя → спящ. It works exactly like an adjective: it agrees in gender and number (четящ, четяща, четящо, четящи) and can take the definite article (четящият студент 'the reading student'). The soft endings -ящ/-ящи appear after soft stems. You use this participle mostly to describe a noun: бягащото дете 'the running child', живеещите тук хора 'the people living here'. It belongs to a slightly literary, written style, but it is common in good Bulgarian.

Key rule

Form the present active participle from the imperfective present stem with -ещ/-ащ/-ящ; it agrees in gender and number and takes the article like an adjective (четящият студент).

Examples

Четящият студент не чу звънеца.
Четейки студент не чу звънеца.
An attribute of a noun is the agreeing participle четящ(ият), not the invariant gerund четейки.
Плачещото дете беше гладно.
Плачещият дете беше гладно.
The participle agrees with the neuter noun дете, so it is плачещото, not the masculine плачещият.
Хората, живеещи тук, са мили.
Хората, живеещ тук, са мили.
Хората is plural, so the participle is the plural живеещи, not the singular живеещ.

Common mistakes

Using the gerund instead of the participle as an attribute
четейки човек
четящ човек
An adjective-like attribute of a noun needs the agreeing present active participle четящ, not the invariant adverbial gerund.
Not agreeing the participle with the noun's gender
плачещият дете
плачещото дете
Дете is neuter, so the participle and its article must be neuter: плачещото.

B1Verb usage

Past Aorist Active Participle (-л: чел, дошъл)

Минало свършено деятелно причастие (-л)

The -л participle is the most useful participle in Bulgarian. You build it from the aorist (past) stem and add -л for masculine, -ла for feminine, -ло for neuter and -ли for plural: чета → чел, чела, чело, чели; пиша → писал; дойда → дошъл, дошла, дошло, дошли. On its own it means roughly 'having V-ed', but its real job is to build whole tenses and moods together with the auxiliary съм: the perfect (чел съм 'I have read'), the pluperfect (бях чел), the conditional (бих чел) and the renarrative (той чел 'reportedly read'). Because it agrees with the subject in gender and number, you must choose чел / чела / чело / чели to match who is speaking or being described.

Key rule

Form the -л participle from the aorist stem (чел, писал, дошъл) and agree it with the subject (чел/чела/чело/чели); it builds the perfect, pluperfect, conditional and renarrative.

Examples

Тя е чела тази книга.
Тя е чел тази книга.
The participle agrees with the feminine subject тя, so it is чела, not the masculine чел.
Те са дошли вчера.
Те са дошъл вчера.
The plural subject те takes the plural participle дошли, not the masculine singular дошъл.
Иван е дошъл навреме.
Иван е дойдъл навреме.
The masculine participle of дойда is дошъл (with stem change), not *дойдъл.

Common mistakes

Not agreeing the -л participle with a feminine subject
Тя е чел книгата.
Тя е чела книгата.
The participle agrees in gender, so a feminine subject takes чела.
Masculine singular with a plural subject
Те са дошъл.
Те са дошли.
A plural subject requires the plural participle дошли.

B1Verb usage

Past Imperfect Active Participle (-ел/-ял)

Минало несвършено деятелно причастие (-ел/-ял)

This is the rarest of Bulgarian's active participles. You build it from the imperfect (ongoing-past) stem, adding -ел or -ял: чета → четял, пиша → пишел, държа → държал, стоя → стоял. By itself it means roughly 'who was V-ing'. In everyday Bulgarian you almost never use it alone; its main job is to build the imperfect-based renarrative — the form that reports an ongoing or repeated action you did not witness: той четял 'reportedly he used to read / was reading'. At B1 the goal is mainly to recognise this participle and tell it apart from the aorist -л participle (четял 'was reading' vs чел 'has read'), which signal the imperfect vs the aorist behind the form. You will produce it fully when you study the renarrative in detail.

Key rule

The past imperfect active participle (-ел/-ял: четял, пишел) is built on the imperfect stem and chiefly forms the imperfect-based renarrative, contrasting with the aorist -л participle (четял 'was reading' vs чел 'has read').

Examples

Казват, че той четял много.
Казват, че той чел много.
The imperfect-based renarrative for a habitual action uses четял (imperfect participle); чел would carry the completed-aorist sense.
Разправят, че тя пишела стихове.
Разправят, че тя писала стихове.
Reporting an ongoing/habitual activity needs the imperfect participle пишела, not the aorist писала.
Според него децата играели навън всеки ден.
Според него децата играли навън всеки ден.
A repeated background action in reported speech takes the imperfect participle играели, not the aorist играли.

Common mistakes

Using the aorist -л participle for an ongoing reported action
Казват, че той чел много.
Казват, че той четял много.
An ongoing or habitual reported action needs the imperfect participle четял, which carries the imperfect meaning.
Using the imperfect participle for a completed reported event
Разказват, че той написвал писмото.
Разказват, че той написал писмото.
A single completed event in the renarrative takes the aorist participle написал, not the imperfect form.

B1Verb usage

Passive Participle (-н/-т: написан, изпит)

Страдателно причастие (-н/-т)

The passive participle means something has been done to the noun — like English '-ed/-en': written, opened, broken. Most passive participles end in -н: пиша → написан, чета → прочетен, отворя → отворен. A small closed group ends in -т instead: пия → изпит, скрия → скрит, мия → измит, взема → взет. The participle works like an adjective: it agrees in gender and number (написан, написана, написано, написани) and takes the definite article (написаното писмо 'the written letter'). You use it in two ways: as an attribute before a noun (счупената чаша 'the broken glass') and together with съм to form the passive (Писмото е написано 'The letter is/has been written'). Choosing -н vs -т just has to be learned for the small -т group.

Key rule

Form the passive participle with -н (написан, отворен) or, for a small closed set, -т (изпит, скрит); it agrees like an adjective and builds the съм-passive (Писмото е написано).

Examples

Писмото е написано.
Писмото е написан.
The participle agrees with the neuter noun писмо, so it is написано, not the masculine написан.
Книгите са продадени.
Книгите са продаден.
The plural subject книгите takes the plural participle продадени, not the masculine singular.
Чашата е счупена.
Чашата е счупен.
The feminine subject чашата needs the feminine participle счупена.

Common mistakes

Not agreeing the passive participle with the subject
Писмото е написан.
Писмото е написано.
The participle agrees in gender and number, so a neuter subject takes написано.
Using a -н form for a -т-class verb
Водата е изпина.
Водата е изпита.
Verbs like пия form the passive participle with -т: изпит/изпита.

B1Verb usage

Adverbial Participle / Gerund (-ейки/-айки)

Деепричастие (-ейки/-айки)

The gerund (деепричастие) describes a second action done at the same time as the main verb, by the same subject — like English 'while V-ing': Вървейки, той пееше 'Walking, he was singing'. You build it from the imperfective present stem: -ейки after e- and и-stems (четейки, вървейки) and -айки after a-stems (гледайки, имайки, играейки). The most important thing is that it never changes form — no gender, no number, no person. It also keeps any reflexive се: усмихвайки се 'smiling'. The gerund belongs to written and slightly literary Bulgarian; in casual speech people often use 'and' or 'while' instead (вървеше и пееше). The standard spelling is четейки, not the substandard *четеики.

Key rule

The gerund -ейки/-айки (четейки, гледайки) is invariable and expresses a simultaneous action by the same subject; it never agrees and belongs to written style.

Examples

Вървейки по улицата, той си тананикаше.
Вървящ по улицата, той си тананикаше.
A simultaneous action is the gerund вървейки; вървящ is the present active participle (an adjective).
Гледайки телевизия, тя заспа.
Гледайки телевизия, той заспа, а тя четеше.
The gerund's subject must match the main clause; here the gerund and main verb share one subject.
Усмихвайки се, детето подаде ръка.
Усмихвайки детето подаде ръка.
The reflexive verb keeps се after the gerund: усмихвайки се.

Common mistakes

Using the present active participle instead of the gerund
Вървящ по улицата, той пееше.
Вървейки по улицата, той пееше.
A simultaneous adverbial action needs the invariable gerund вървейки, not the agreeing participle вървящ.
Dropping the reflexive се
Усмихвайки детето подаде ръка.
Усмихвайки се, детето подаде ръка.
Reflexive verbs keep се after the gerund: усмихвайки се.

B1Verb usage

Passive with съм + Passive Participle (Писмото е написано)

Страдателен залог със съм

One way to make a passive in Bulgarian is съм + the passive participle: Писмото е написано 'The letter is/has been written', Вратата е отворена 'The door is open(ed)', Книгите са продадени 'The books are sold'. The participle agrees with the subject in gender and number, exactly like an adjective, and съм conjugates for person and tense (е, са; беше, бяха). This passive describes a result or a state — the door is now in an opened state. If you want to name who did it, you use от: Писмото е написано от учителя 'The letter was written by the teacher'. You can also put it in the past (Вратата беше отворена) or future (Вратата ще бъде отворена).

Key rule

The съм-passive = съм (conjugated for person/tense) + the passive participle agreeing with the subject (Писмото е написано); the agent appears with от.

Examples

Писмото е написано.
Писмото е написан.
The passive participle agrees with the neuter subject писмо: написано.
Вратата е отворена.
Вратата е отворен.
The feminine subject вратата needs the feminine participle отворена.
Книгите са продадени.
Книгите е продадени.
A plural subject takes the plural auxiliary са, not the singular е.

Common mistakes

Participle not agreeing with the subject
Вратата е отворен.
Вратата е отворена.
In the съм-passive the participle agrees with the subject, here feminine: отворена.
Wrong agent preposition
Книгата е написана на автора.
Книгата е написана от автора.
The agent of a passive is introduced by от, not на.

B1Verb usage

se-Passive (Тук се говори български)

Възвратен страдателен залог (се-пасив)

The most common passive in everyday Bulgarian uses the clitic се with an ordinary, finite verb: Тук се говори български 'Bulgarian is spoken here', Къщата се строи 'The house is being built', Хлябът се продава тук 'Bread is sold here'. The verb still agrees with the subject (singular се продава, plural се продават) and you usually do NOT name who does it — that is its whole point, an agentless passive. It often describes a general practice, a rule, or an ongoing process: Така не се прави 'That is not how it's done', Билети се купуват на касата 'Tickets are bought at the counter'. The се goes in the verb cluster, after не and before the verb: не се говори.

Key rule

The се-passive = се + a finite verb agreeing with the patient-subject (Хлябът се продава тук); it is agentless and expresses an ongoing process or a general practice.

Examples

Тук се говори български.
Тук се говорят български.
The subject български is singular, so the verb is the singular говори, not the plural говорят.
Книгите се продават евтино.
Книгите се продава евтино.
The plural subject книгите needs the plural verb продават.
Къщата се строи в момента.
Къщата строи се в момента.
The clitic се stands before the verb in the cluster (се строи), not after it.

Common mistakes

Verb not agreeing with the patient-subject
Книгите се продава евтино.
Книгите се продават евтино.
The verb agrees with the subject in number, so a plural subject takes продават.
Wrong order of не and се
Така се не прави.
Така не се прави.
In the cluster не comes before се: не се прави.

B1Verb usage

Passive — Choosing съм-passive vs se-passive

Избор между двата страдателни залога

Bulgarian has two everyday passives and you have to pick the right one. Use съм + participle for a finished result or a state: Вратата е затворена 'The door is closed (now)', Писмото е написано 'The letter is written'. Use се + verb for an ongoing process or a general practice, usually with no named doer: Вратата се затваря автоматично 'The door closes automatically', Тук се говори български 'Bulgarian is spoken here'. A quick test: if you mean 'it is in this state now', choose съм; if you mean 'this is how it happens / it's happening', choose се. If you want to name who did it (with от), you almost always need the съм-passive. There is also a third, бива-passive, but it is literary — do not overuse it.

Key rule

Use the съм-passive for a result/state and a named agent (Вратата е затворена, написано от…) and the се-passive for an ongoing process or general agentless practice (Вратата се затваря, тук се говори).

Examples

Вратата е затворена.
Вратата се затворена.
A finished state uses съм + participle (е затворена); *се затворена is not a valid form.
Вратата се затваря автоматично.
Вратата е затваря автоматично.
An ongoing process uses the se-passive (се затваря); съм cannot combine with a finite verb like this.
Писмото е написано от учителя.
Писмото се пише от учителя.
A named agent goes with the съм-passive; the agentless se-passive does not idiomatically take от + a specific doer.

Common mistakes

Using съм where an ongoing process needs се
Вратата е затваря автоматично.
Вратата се затваря автоматично.
An ongoing, automatic process is the se-passive (се затваря), not съм + a finite verb.
Forcing an agent into the se-passive
Писмото се пише от учителя.
Писмото е написано от учителя.
A named agent belongs with the съм-passive; the se-passive is agentless.

B1Verb usage

Renarrative — Introduction (преизказно наклонение)

Преизказно наклонение — въведение

Bulgarian has a special verb mood, the renarrative (преизказно наклонение), that marks information you did NOT witness yourself — things you heard from someone else, read in the news, or know from folklore. English has no such grammar; we add words like 'reportedly' or 'they say'. In Bulgarian the verb itself changes: Той дошъл вчера means 'He came yesterday (so I'm told)'. The form looks like the perfect (Той е дошъл 'he has come') but in the 3rd person it drops the little auxiliary е/са: Той дошъл, not Той е дошъл. You use the renarrative for second-hand reports, news, rumours and fairy tales (Имало едно време… 'Once upon a time…'). At B1 the goal is to understand what it means and recognise the basic forms.

Key rule

The renarrative (преизказно) marks unwitnessed, reported information; it looks like the perfect but in the 3rd person drops the auxiliary е/са (Той дошъл, not Той е дошъл).

Examples

Той дошъл вчера, така казват.
Той е дошъл вчера, така казват.
Reported (unwitnessed) information uses the renarrative, which drops е in the 3rd person: той дошъл.
Тя била болна миналата седмица.
Тя е била болна миналата седмица, чух аз.
For hearsay the 3rd-person renarrative drops е: тя била, not тя е била.
Имало едно време един цар.
Имало е едно време един цар.
The fairy-tale opening is renarrative with no auxiliary: имало, not имало е.

Common mistakes

Keeping the auxiliary е in a 3rd-person renarrative
Той е дошъл вчера, така казват.
Той дошъл вчера, така казват.
In the 3rd-person renarrative the auxiliary е/са is dropped: той дошъл.
Using the perfect for hearsay
Тя е била болна, чух от хората.
Тя била болна, чух от хората.
Second-hand information takes the renarrative (била), not the witnessed perfect (е била).

B1Verb usage

Renarrative — 3rd-Person Auxiliary Drop (той дошъл vs той е дошъл)

Преизказно — изпускане на спомагателния глагол е

This is the single most important feature of the renarrative. In the 3rd person, the witnessed perfect keeps the auxiliary е/са, but the reported renarrative DROPS it. Compare: Той е дошъл (perfect — 'he has come', you know it) vs Той дошъл (renarrative — 'he came, so I'm told'). The same for plural: Те са дошли (perfect) vs Те дошли (renarrative). This dropping happens ONLY in the 3rd person. In the 1st and 2nd person the auxiliary съм stays: Аз съм дошъл, Ти си дошъл look the same in both, and the renarrative meaning comes from context (Казвам, че съм дошъл). So the giveaway of a 3rd-person renarrative is the missing е/са — that one little word tells the listener you did not see it happen.

Key rule

In the 3rd person, drop the auxiliary е/са to mark the renarrative (той дошъл, те дошли) versus the witnessed perfect (той е дошъл, те са дошли); the 1st/2nd-person съм stays.

Examples

Той дошъл вчера. (разказват)
Той е дошъл вчера. (разказват)
The 3rd-person singular renarrative drops е: той дошъл, not той е дошъл.
Те дошли късно. (така чух)
Те са дошли късно. (така чух)
The 3rd-person plural renarrative drops са: те дошли, not те са дошли.
Тя написала писмото. (казват)
Тя е написала писмото. (казват)
Reported 3rd-person singular drops е: тя написала.

Common mistakes

Keeping е in a 3rd-person renarrative
Той е дошъл вчера, така разправят.
Той дошъл вчера, така разправят.
The 3rd-person renarrative drops the auxiliary е: той дошъл.
Keeping са in a plural renarrative
Те са заминали, чух аз.
Те заминали, чух аз.
The 3rd-person plural renarrative drops са: те заминали.

B1Verb usage

Renarrative — Present & Aorist Basics (той пишел / той писал)

Преизказно — сегашно и минало (основи)

At B1 you meet the two everyday renarrative tenses. The PRESENT renarrative reports an ongoing or habitual action ('reportedly he writes / is writing') and uses the imperfect participle: Той пишел. The PAST renarrative reports a completed past action ('reportedly he wrote') and uses the aorist participle: Той писал. So the choice того пишел vs писал mirrors the ordinary imperfect-vs-aorist contrast, just inside reported speech. Both drop the 3rd-person auxiliary е/са, like all renarratives. Quick guide: present renarrative (он пишел) = a current or habitual reported state; past renarrative (той писал) = a reported finished event. The fuller aorist/imperfect system and the dubitative/conclusive forms come at B2/C1; here you just need these two basics.

Key rule

Use the present renarrative (imperfect participle: той пишел) for a reported ongoing/habitual action and the past renarrative (aorist participle: той писал) for a reported completed event; both drop the 3rd-person auxiliary.

Examples

Казват, че той пишел роман.
Казват, че той писал роман сега.
An ongoing reported action ('is writing') is the present renarrative пишел (imperfect participle); писал would mark a completed event.
Чух, че той писал писмото вчера.
Чух, че той пишел писмото вчера.
A completed reported past event ('wrote it yesterday') is the past renarrative писал (aorist participle).
Разправят, че тя живеела в София.
Разправят, че тя е живеела в София.
The present renarrative drops е: тя живеела, not тя е живеела.

Common mistakes

Using the past renarrative for an ongoing reported action
Казват, че той писал роман сега.
Казват, че той пишел роман сега.
An ongoing/habitual reported action is the present renarrative (imperfect participle): пишел.
Using the present renarrative for a single completed event
Чух, че той пишел писмото вчера.
Чух, че той писал писмото вчера.
A completed reported event is the past renarrative (aorist participle): писал.

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B1 Bulgarian Grammar — 60 Topics & Common Mistakes

Secondary Imperfectivization (-ва-: запиша→записвам)

Prefixes that Change Meaning + Perfectivise (пиша→препиша/подпиша)

The Aspect × Tense Matrix — Overview

Imperfective Aorist (четох цял ден)

Perfective Imperfect (всеки ден прочетях по една глава)

Aspect Choice across Aorist & Imperfect

Biaspectual Verbs (телефонирам, обядвам)

Aspect with Phase Verbs (започвам/спирам да + impf)

Aspect in the Imperative (Прочети! vs Чети!)

Full vs Short Article in the Predicate (Той е учителят / Той е учител)

Definiteness with Demonstratives (този стол — NO article)

Definiteness with Possessives (моята книга / книгата ми)

Definiteness with Quantifiers (всички, двата, повечето)

Participle–Subject Agreement in Compound Tenses (дошъл/дошла/дошли)

The Full-Article Spelling Rule — Introduction (-ът/-ят when subject)

Comma Rules — Subordinate Clauses (че, да, защото, който)

Confusable Word Pairs (сватба/свадба, неделя/седмица)

False Friends vs Russian & Serbian

Register — Renarrative as Distancing/Politeness

Register — Formal & Polite Imperatives (Заповядайте; Бихте ли…)

Relative Pronoun който — Inflected (човекът, който…)

Relative чийто & каквото (whose / what)

Indefinite Pronouns (някой, нещо, някакъв, някъде)

Negative Pronouns & Concord (никой не дойде)

Reflexive Possessive свой/си (взе своята книга)

The Preposition на — Functions Review (possession / dative / location)

The Preposition от — Agent, Source & Partitive

Prepositions за & по — Nuances

Compound & Less-Common Prepositions (заради, освен, поради, относно)

Complement Clauses with че (Казвам, че…)

че vs да — Factual Statement vs Desired/Purpose

Indirect Questions with дали (Питам дали…)

че / да / дали — Choosing the Subordinator

Causal Clauses with защото & понеже (because/since)

Conditional Clauses with ако (if)

Conditional/Temporal щом & в случай че

Concessive Clauses (въпреки че, макар че, макар да)

Temporal Clauses (когато, докато, преди да, след като)

Reported Speech (Каза, че идва)

Object Fronting with Clitic Doubling (Книгата я прочетох)

Perfect — Formation (съм + л-participle)

Perfect — Usage (result/experience, no time anchor)

Perfect — Auxiliary Placement & Clitic Order (чел съм / не съм чел)

Pluperfect — Formation (бях + л-participle)

Pluperfect — Usage (earlier-than-a-past-point)

Future-in-the-Past — Formation (щях да + present)

Future-in-the-Past — Usage (intention/unrealised future from a past viewpoint)

Future-in-the-Past — Negative (нямаше да + present)

The Participle System — Overview (5 participles)

Present Active Participle (-ещ/-ащ/-ящ)

Past Aorist Active Participle (-л: чел, дошъл)

Past Imperfect Active Participle (-ел/-ял)

Passive Participle (-н/-т: написан, изпит)

Adverbial Participle / Gerund (-ейки/-айки)

Passive with съм + Passive Participle (Писмото е написано)

se-Passive (Тук се говори български)

Passive — Choosing съм-passive vs se-passive

Renarrative — Introduction (преизказно наклонение)

Renarrative — 3rd-Person Auxiliary Drop (той дошъл vs той е дошъл)

Renarrative — Present & Aorist Basics (той пишел / той писал)