DEFINITE AND INDEFINITE ARTICLES OF THE NOUN – ОПРЕДЕЛИТЕЛЕН И НЕОПРЕДЕЛИТЕЛЕН ЧЛЕН ПРИ СЪЩЕСТВИТЕЛНИТЕ
I. The indefinite article
In English the words
a and an are the indefinite articles. For example - a house, a table, an exercise, an option.In Bulgarian there are no special words for indefinite article. Its purpose is served by the four forms of the cardinal number one, depending on whether the noun is masculine, feminine, neuter or in plural.
For
masculine - единfor feminine - една
for neuter - едно
for plural - едни
Usually in the sentence the indefinite article is omitted. Actually it is used only when it is under the logical stress or when the meaning is not clear without it.
Той е един човек с късмет. = Той е човек с късмет. /He’s a lucky man.
Това е една ябълка. = Това е ябълка. /This is an apple.
Имам едно яке. = Имам яке. / I have a jacket.
But
В хладилника има една бира (не две). /There is a (one) beer in the refrigerator (not two).
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II. The definite article
In English the word
the is the definite article.The definite article in Bulgarian is not a separate word, but an ending, which is spelt together with the noun.
1. Definite article of feminine nouns
Feminine nouns add the ending
-та.| жена (a woman) | жената (the woman) |
| идея (an idea) | идеята (the idea) |
| песен (a song) | песента (the song) |
| пролет (a spring) | пролетта* (the spring) |
| радост (a joy) | радостта* (the joy) |
| Note that when the feminine noun ends in –т, the form with the definite article is spelt with double т. |
2. Definite article of neuter nouns
Neuter nouns add the ending
-тo.| село (a village) | селото (the village) |
| море (a sea) | морето (the sea) |
| изменение (a change) | изменението (the change) |
| такси (a taxi) | таксито (the taxi) |
| бижу (a jewel) | бижуто (the jewel) |
| меню (a menu) | менюто (the menu) |
3. Definite article of masculine nouns
Masculine nouns ending in consonant add the endings
-а, -ът, -я, -ят.| The articles -ът and -ят are called complete articles and are used only when the noun is a subject in the sentence. |
The articles -a and -я are called incomplete articles and are used in all other cases.
For example:
| Конят спечели надбягването. | The horse won the race. | |
The horse commits the action, so it is the subject and takes the complete article ят. But,
| Ездачът язди коня. | The rider rides the horse. |
The rider commits the action, so it is the subject and takes the complete article ът and the horse is the direct complement, so it takes the incomplete article я.
Normally in the colloquial language, people pronounce only the incomplete article in all cases. So, you probably ask yourselves why do I torture you by introducing this rule :-) It is important for the written language. Plus, sometimes the meaning of the sentence might not be clear if we can't tell the subject from the direct compliment.
Some nouns take the articles -я or -ят – these are the nouns which end in -тел, -ар, -й
| учител (teacher) | учителя | учителят |
| лекар (doctor) | лекаря | лекарят |
| край (end) | края | краят |
And some exceptions, which also take the articles -я, -ят: ден (day) - деня, кон (horse) - коня, зет (son-in-law) - зетя, крал (king) - краля, цар (tzar) - цаля, сън (dream) - съня, път (road) - пътя, огън (fire) - огъня, нокът (nail) - нокътя, лакът (elbow) - лакътя.
The rest of the masculine nouns, ending in consonant take the endings
-а or -ът.| град (city, town) | града | градът |
| молив (pencil) | молива | моливът |
| компютър (computer) | компютъра | компютърът |
| Masculine nouns ending in -a or -я add the ending for feminine gender -та. They don’t have different forms for complete or incomplete article. |
| баща (father) | бащата |
| съдия (judge) | съдията |
| Masculine nouns in -o or -e add the ending for neuter gender –тo. They don’t have different forms for complete or incomplete article. |
| чичо (uncle) | чичото |
| аташе (attache) | аташето |
4. The definite article of plural nouns
| The nouns in plural add the definite article phonetically, despite of their gender! |
Nouns which in plural end in -и or -e - add the ending -тe
| sing. masculine | plural | членувана форма |
| град (city, town) | градове | градовете |
| народ (population) | народи | народите |
| баща (father) | бащи | бащите |
| sing. feminine | plural | членувана форма |
| жена (woman) | жени | жените |
| вечер (evening) | вечери | вечерите |
| ръка (hand, arm) | ръце | ръцете |
| sing. neuter | plural | членувана форма |
| животно (animal) | животни | животните |
| насекомо (insect) | насекоми | насекомите |
| ухо (ear) | уши | ушите |
| око (eye) | очи | очите |
Nouns which in plural end in -а or -я - add the ending -та
| sing. masculine | plural | членувана форма |
| крак (leg) | крака | краката |
| господин (mister, sir) | господа | господата |
| брат (brother) | братя | братята |
| sing. neuter | plural | членувана форма |
| село (village) | села | селата |
| море (sea) | морета | моретата |
| цвете (flower) | цветя | цветята |
|
изречение (sentence) |
изречения | изреченията |