Bulgarian Verbs

Learning the Bulgarian language takes a comprehensive approach that requires more than memorizing vocabulary words. In order to gain a firmer grasp on the conversational components of the language, in addition to understanding written Bulgarian, it is important to learn about Bulgarian verbs.

Most people who have learned Bulgarian as a second language will agree that Bulgarian verbs are the most difficult part of the language’s grammar. The verbs are inflected for number and for person, and, at times, for gender. There are nine tenses, lexical aspect (perfective and imperfective), three moods, voice forms, six non-finite verbal forms, and four evidentials. All of these variations of verbs mean that a Bulgarian verb can take on about 3,000 unique forms.

While learning all of the nuances of the verbs will take time and effort, the endeavor will be well worth it as you gain a deeper understanding of the Bulgarian language as a result. If your goal is to speak and comprehend Bulgarian, there is no getting around learning the basics of Bulgarian verbs. With practice, you will learn to more effectively communicate and improve your comprehension skills.

Unlike the main form of English verbs, which are called infinitives, verbs in Bulgarian do not have an infinitive form. The primary form of Bulgarian verbs is first person singular. When you are looking up verbs in an English-Bulgarian dictionary, you will find them in the first person singular form. The verbs will then need to be conjugated correctly in order to place them in proper context and to convey your meaning in a sentence.

Verbs in first person singular will typically end in a vowel plus –ам or –ям. To conjugate a verb, it is necessary to remove the ending (–ам or –ям) and to then add on the appropriate ending. For example, искам is a verb that means “to want.” To conjugate this verb, you’ll need to remove the –ам from the end of the verb and then add on the ending that helps you to convey your meaning. For example, to say “we want,” you would need to conjugate the verb like this: ние иск + аме = ние искаме.

As you begin to pick up on patterns in Bulgarian grammar, including the proper use of verbs, you will be able to comprehend much more when listening to conversations. Learning the Bulgarian Language will then become a much more feasible task.