The imperfect paints the past as a background or a habit: what was going on, what used to happen.
"Като дете живеех на село."
— As a child I lived in a village."Валеше, когато излязох."
— It was raining when I went out.
Spot it by -ше in the "ти"
/ "той"
form: "чакаше"
, "работеше"
, "пишеше"
.
Endings: аз -х, ти / той -ше, ни́е -хме, ви́е -хте, те -ха. Learn the stem too: "чаках"
, "работех"
, "пишех"
, but "четях"
.
Aorist or imperfect? The aorist is an event, a step in the story. The imperfect is the scene around it: "Той гледаше телевизия, когато телефонът звънна."
— He was watching TV when the phone rang.
| чакам | работя | пиша | |
|---|---|---|---|
| аз | чакамчаках | работяработех | пишапишех |
| ти | чакамчакаше | работяработеше | пишапишеше |
| той / тя | чакамчакаше | работяработеше | пишапишеше |
| ние | чакамчакахме | работяработехме | пишапишехме |
| вие | чакамчакахте | работяработехте | пишапишехте |
| те | чакамчакаха | работяработеха | пишапишеха |
Examples
Като дете живеех на село.
As a child I lived in a village.
Валеше, когато излязох от вкъщи.
It was raining when I left home.
Всеки ден баба ми правеше баница.
My grandma used to make banitsa every day.
Какво правеше, когато ти се обадих?
What were you doing when I called you?
Беше топло и хората се разхождаха в парка.
It was warm and people were strolling in the park.
For speakers of your language
In English this is "was doing" or "used to do". In Bulgarian it's one form: "пишех"
= I was writing / I used to write.
Quick quiz
Когато бяхме малки, ___ на плажа всеки ден.
ходехме
A past habit → imperfect:"ходехме".
Той ___ книга, когато влязох.
четеше
An action in progress, background to another event →"четеше".
Which form is the imperfect?
чакаше
-ше in the"ти"/
"той"form is the imperfect's trademark.
___ дъжд, затова останахме вкъщи.
Валеше
Background in the past → imperfect"валеше".
The imperfect is for background and habits in the past; the aorist is for completed events.
True
Yes:"Валеше"(background),
"когато излязох"(event).