"трябва да си" with different usages

M

mchatin

Member
Turkish
Hello Bulgarian speakers;

Here I am again with another confusion. I recently met two different usages of the same pattern.

You use "трябва да си отивам" which means I must go and the verm "отивам" ends with the usual "-м" in order to express first singular person which is "I".
On the other hand, I met a sentence "трябва да си купя обувки" ( I must buy shoes ) while usage of verb "купувам" is with "-м" for first singular person.

Since I am still a beginner, I am unable to figure out what is the difference. Can anyone tell me why there is different usages for the same subject ?

Thanks in advance.
 
    • купя is a perfective form. You will see it more often in the future when you cover that aspect. Roughly, the perfective means that something is done to its completion, and the imperfective (купувам) emphasizes the process and its non-completion.
     
    jazyk said:
    купя is a perfective form. You will see it more often in the future when you cover that aspect. Roughly, the perfective means that something is done to its completion, and the imperfective (купувам) emphasizes the process and its non-completion.
    Click to expand...

    I assumed that it is due to difference of tenses such as future, present, etc. But as you say, perfect aspect states the completion of an action. So, am I mistaken with the meaning of "трябва да си купя обувки" ; does it not mean "I must buy shoes" ? When translated into English, it does not seem to be a completed action. Very confusing indeed.

    As you also mentioned, it will be easier to figure out things in advanced phases when I will know more about all aspects of course.
    And it would be great to get a proper answer from my teacher, but she is not very competent with grammar but only a native Bulgarian speaker.
    Knowing and teaching are totally different from each other although I appreaciate her.
    But as a linguist, I guess I am a bit focused on the details, rather than average learners :)

    Thank you for your reply even though I will need some more information to clarify my mind ;)
    Best regards.
     
    Perfective, not perfect, aspect. The person needs to buy the shoes and get it over and done with.

    Good luck!
     
    jazyk said:
    Perfective, not perfect, aspect. The person needs to buy the shoes and get it over and done with.

    Good luck!
    Click to expand...
    I would write perfective, sorry for my mistake. Thank you for your replies and wish of luck. I guess I will need that ;) Have a good day.
     
    Think of it as simple vs continuous tense in English.

    Трябва да си купя - I have to buy
    Трябва да си купувам - I have to be buying
     
    I don't think your concept is helpful. :(

    Anyway, I hope it can help our readers.
     
    DarkChild said:
    Think of it as simple vs continuous tense in English.

    Трябва да си купя - I have to buy
    Трябва да си купувам - I have to be buying
    Click to expand...

    Great! Thank you for your help. So; both can be used, but in different situations. I understood now.
     
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