Long possessive pronouns
In a previous lesson, we saw the short possessive pronouns: ми (my), ти (your), му (his/its), ѝ (her), ни (our), ви (your) and им (their).
In this lesson, we will see the long possessive pronouns. These can be used either as an alternative to the short possessive pronouns or when you would use the English possessive pronouns mine, hers, theirs…
In Bulgarian, these pronouns will vary depending on the gender and plural of the word they refer to (the owned object).
| English | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| my/mine | мой | моя | мое | мои |
| your/yours | твой | твоя | твое | твои |
| his/its | негов | негова | негово | негови |
| her/hers | неин | нейна | нейно | нейни |
| our/ours | наш | наша | наше | наши |
| your/yours | ваш | ваша | вашe | ваши |
| their/theirs | техен | тяхна | тяхно | техни |
| one's own | свой | своя | свое | свои |
The different forms of ваш are used for the plural or polite "you". As usual, they will take a capital letter when used for politeness.
Examples:
"Котката е моя" - The cat is mine
"Това Ваше ли е?" - Is this yours?
Definite articles
You probably remember that with short possessive pronouns, the noun takes a definite article:
"Кучето ми е черно" - My dog is black
With long possessive pronouns, the definite particle goes on the pronoun, not the noun:
"Моето куче е черно" - My dog is black
"Не харесвам това яке. Искам моето!" – I don't like this jacket. I want mine!
The definite articles for the long possessive pronouns are:
| English | Definite Article |
|---|---|
| Masculine | -ият/-ия* |
| Feminine | -та |
| Neuter | -то |
| Plural | -те |
* For masculine pronouns, the long definite article is used for the subject of the sentence, and the short one for the object.
A few of the masculine pronouns change slightly when adding the definite article:
- мой ➜ моя(т)
- твой ➜ твоя(т)
- неин ➜ нейния(т)
- техен ➜ техния(т)
- свой ➜ своя(т)
Note how the short definite forms of the masculine pronouns мой, твой and свой are the same as the non-definite feminine forms моя, твоя and своя. Don't get confused!
Example
"Моят син живее в София, a твоят - в Лондон." - My son lives in Sofia, and yours, in London.
Note the use of "а" to mean "and" in this sentence. In Bulgarian, there are two words for "and": "и" means "and also", whereas "а" marks a difference, an opposition (almost like "but").
The reflexive pronoun
The "свой" pronoun is the long form equivalent of the short possessive reflexive pronoun "си", indicating that the object belongs to the subject of the sentence:
"Той обича своите родители" - He loves his (own) parents
If you used негови in this sentence, it would refer to someone else's parents. Check back on the lesson on short possessive pronouns for more details.