The Bulgarian Present Tense
Here's the headline: Bulgarian verbs have no infinitive. There is no "to speak" — the dictionary form говоря already means "I speak". Learn a verb and you've already said your first sentence with it. Everything else in this lesson is sorting verbs into three families by the vowel that links their endings.
No Infinitive, No Problem
| Dictionary entry | Already means |
|---|---|
| говоря | I speak |
| имам | I have |
| искам | I want |
| чета | I read |
Говоря малко български.
I speak a little Bulgarian.
Note: One dictionary lookup, one working sentence. The pronoun аз stays home — the ending says 'I'.
The -ам Family
The friendliest pattern — "I" ends in -м, and most beginner verbs live here:
| Form | Form | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| аз | имам | ние | имаме |
| ти | имаш | вие | имате |
| той/тя | има | те | имат |
Искам (want), обичам (love), гледам (watch), разбирам (understand) — all sing this tune.
Имаме време. Искаш ли кафе?
We have time. Do you want a coffee?
Note: имаме — we have; искаш — you want. The ли question particle gets its own lesson soon.
The И-Family
The linking vowel is и; "I" ends in -я (or -а after certain consonants):
| Form | Form | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| аз | говоря | ние | говорим |
| ти | говориш | вие | говорите |
| той/тя | говори | те | говорят |
Работя (work) and правя (do/make) follow along: Той работи в София — he works in Sofia.
The Е-Family
The linking vowel is е; "I" ends in -а/-я:
| Form | Form | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| аз | чета | ние | четем |
| ти | четеш | вие | четете |
| той/тя | чете | те | четат |
Пия (drink) and живея (live) belong here too: пия, пиеш… — живея, живееш…
Chaining Verbs with да
Where English stacks an infinitive — I want to read — Bulgarian chains two conjugated verbs with да:
| Bulgarian | English |
|---|---|
| Искам да чета. | I want to read. |
| Искаш да четеш. | You want to read. |
| Искам да говоря български. | I want to speak Bulgarian. |
| Обичам да пия кафе. | I love drinking coffee. |
Both verbs carry the person. That's the whole trick: искам да чета, искаш да четеш — the chain agrees end to end.
Искам да говоря български.
I want to speak Bulgarian.
Note: You already used this pattern at the café: Искам да поръчам. Now you own it.
Saying No
Put не in front of the verb, as its own little word:
| Bulgarian | English |
|---|---|
| Не разбирам. | I don't understand. |
| Не искам. | I don't want (it). |
| Не говоря руски. | I don't speak Russian. |
| Тя не пие кафе. | She doesn't drink coffee. |
Common Mistakes
- Hunting for the infinitive. There isn't one. «Искам говоря» is missing its да; «искам да говорити» is imported from somewhere else. It's искам да говоря.
- Freezing the second verb in the chain. Both conjugate: искаш да четеш, not искаш да чета.
- Gluing не to the verb. It stands alone: не разбирам.
- Filing every verb as -ам. Check the ти-form's vowel first — имаш, говориш, четеш sort the three families instantly.
- Translating the English -ing. Пия кафе covers both "I drink coffee" and "I am drinking coffee" — Bulgarian's present does double duty.
What You Can Do Now
You can say what you do, have, want and love; chain any two verbs with да (искам да говоря); refuse things politely with не; and file any new verb into its family with one glance at the ти-form. This is the engine of everyday Bulgarian — practice below until the endings come without thinking.