Section 1
What is the aorist?
When to use it and what it expresses.
Bulgarian has several past tenses, but the aorist is the one you need first. It expresses a completed action at a specific point in the past — equivalent to the English simple past ("I ate", "she left", "we arrived"). It is formed by adding a set of endings to the verb stem, which changes slightly from the present tense stem.
💡 Three past tenses — but start with one
Bulgarian has the aorist (completed, specific past), the imperfect (ongoing/habitual past — Day 36), and the perfect (past with present relevance — rare at A2). For now, every past story you tell will use the aorist. It covers 80% of everyday past tense usage.
Section 2
Aorist endings — Group 1 verbs
Verbs like чета, гледам, чакам.
Group 1 verbs (those with -а/-я in the present аз form) take the following aorist endings. The stem vowel often shifts: Group 1 verbs with stem -е- change to -я- in the aorist (чет- → чет-, but пия → пих).
| Person | чета → четох (read) | гледам → гледах (watch) | чакам → чаках (wait) |
|---|---|---|---|
| аз | чет-ох | гледа-х | чака-х |
| ти | чет-е | гледа | чака |
| той/тя/то | чет-е | гледа | чака |
| ние | чет-охме | гледа-хме | чака-хме |
| вие | чет-охте | гледа-хте | чака-хте |
| те | чет-оха | гледа-ха | чака-ха |
💡 Ти and той are identical in the aorist
Both ти and той/тя/то take the same ending in the aorist — the bare stem for Group 1 (-а verbs): гледа, чака, купи. This means context or a stated subject is needed to distinguish "you watched" from "he watched". This is one of the trickiest patterns at A2 — be aware.
Section 3
Aorist endings — Group 2 verbs
Verbs like говоря, работя, обичам.
Group 2 verbs (аз: -я in the present) use -и- as the aorist stem vowel, giving endings in -их, -и, -и, -ихме, -ихте, -иха.
| Person | говоря → говорих (speak) | работя → работих (work) | купя → купих (buy) |
|---|---|---|---|
| аз | говор-их | работ-их | куп-их |
| ти | говор-и | работ-и | куп-и |
| той/тя/то | говор-и | работ-и | куп-и |
| ние | говор-ихме | работ-ихме | куп-ихме |
| вие | говор-ихте | работ-ихте | куп-ихте |
| те | говор-иха | работ-иха | куп-иха |
Section 4
Essential irregular aorists
The most common verbs have irregular past forms — learn these by heart.
The most frequent Bulgarian verbs — съм, ида/отида, дойда, взема, дам, кажа, видя — all have irregular aorists. These forms are so common that you will hear them constantly. Memorise them as vocabulary rather than trying to derive them from rules.
| Verb | Meaning | Аз (aorist) | Той/тя (aorist) | Те (aorist) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| съм | be | бях | беше | бяха |
| имам | have | имах | имаше | имаха |
| ида / отида | go | отидох | отиде | отидоха |
| дойда | come | дойдох | дойде | дойдоха |
| взема | take | взех | взе | взеха |
| дам | give | дадох | даде | дадоха |
| кажа | say / tell | казах | каза | казаха |
| видя | see | видях | видя | видяха |
| пия | drink | пих | пи | пиха |
| ям | eat | ядох | яде | ядоха |
| дойда | arrive/come | дойдох | дойде | дойдоха |
| намеря | find | намерих | намери | намериха |
Section 5
Time expressions for the aorist
The words that signal the aorist is needed.
| Bulgarian | Romanised | English |
|---|---|---|
| вчера | vchera | yesterday |
| снощи | snoshti | last night |
| миналата седмица | minalata sedmitsa | last week |
| миналия месец | minaliya mesets | last month |
| миналата година | minalata godina | last year |
| преди три дни | predi tri dni | three days ago |
| преди малко | predi malko | a little while ago / just now |
| тогава | togava | then / at that time |
| в понеделник | v ponedelnik | on Monday (past) |
| в... часа | v... chasa | at... o'clock |
Section 6
Dialogue — talking about yesterday
A full conversation using the aorist.
— Какво направи вчера?
— Отидох на пазара сутринта, после обядвах с приятел.
— Накъде отидохте?
— В един ресторант в центъра. Ядохме мусака и пихме червено вино.
— Беше ли вкусно?
— Много вкусно! После видяхме нов филм в киното.
— Хареса ли ти?
— Да, много. Прибрах се вкъщи около единадесет и веднага легнах.
— Kakvo napravi vchera?
— Otidoh na pazara sutrintа, posle obyadvah s priyatel.
— Nakade otidohte?
— V edin restorant v tsentara. Yadohme musaka i pihme cherveno vino.
— Beshe li vkusno?
— Mnogo vkusno! Posle vidyahme nov film v kinoto.
— Haresa li ti?
— Da, mnogo. Pribrah se vkashti okolo edinadeset i vednaga legnah.
— What did you do yesterday?
— I went to the market in the morning, then had lunch with a friend.
— Where did you go?
— To a restaurant in the centre. We ate moussaka and drank red wine.
— Was it tasty?
— Very tasty! Then we saw a new film at the cinema.
— Did you like it?
— Yes, very much. I came home at around eleven and went straight to bed.
Section 7
Writing task
✏️ Writing task — Day 23
- Put these verbs into the aorist аз form: гледам, работя, казвам, отивам, виждам.
- Write 5 sentences about what you did yesterday using the aorist.
- Translate: "Yesterday she went to the doctor. He said she had flu. She took medicine and stayed at home."
- What is the difference between the aorist and the present tense? When do you use each?
Show answers
1. гледах, работих, казах, отидох, видях
2. Free answer — use вчера + aorist verbs: отидох, ядох, пих, видях, работих etc.
3. Вчера тя отиде при лекаря. Той каза, че има грип. Тя взе лекарство и остана вкъщи.
4. Present = ongoing/habitual: Работя в офис. Aorist = completed, specific past: Работих вчера.
Day 23 Quiz
8 questions · score 6+ to mark day complete
Question 1 of 8
What does the aorist express?
Question 2 of 8
"I watched" (гледам) in the aorist:
Question 3 of 8
"She spoke" (говоря) in the aorist:
Question 4 of 8
"We ate" (ям → irregular) in the aorist:
Question 5 of 8
"He went" (отида) — irregular aorist:
Question 6 of 8
"I was" (съм) — irregular aorist:
Question 7 of 8
Which time word signals the aorist?
Question 8 of 8
Ти and той/тя/то in the aorist for Group 1 verbs:
Day 23 Recap
Review before Day 24. Every point builds on the last.
| Topic | Key point | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Aorist = simple past | Used for completed actions at a specific time in the past. | Вчера отидох на пазара. |
| Group 1 endings | аз: -х · ти/той: stem · ние: -хме · вие: -хте · те: -ха | гледах/гледа/гледа/гледахме/гледахте/гледаха |
| Group 2 endings | аз: -их · ти/той: -и · ние: -ихме · вие: -ихте · те: -иха | говорих/говори/говори/говорихме/говорихте/говориха |
| Key irregulars | бях (was) · отидох (went) · дойдох (came) · взех (took) · казах (said) · видях (saw) | Learn these 6 first — most frequent |
| Ям/пия | ядох/яде/ядоха · пих/пи/пиха — both irregular | Very common in food/social contexts |
| Time words | вчера · снощи · миналата седмица · миналата година · преди X дни · тогава | These trigger the aorist automatically |