Term
| Use of personal pronouns. |
|
Definition
| Personal pronouns are generally omitted in Macedonian because the verb signals who is the subject of the verb. The pronouns are used if the pronoun is being stressed in some way or in the third person if it is not clear from the context who is the subject of the verb. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Macedonian verbs must agree with their subject gender and number. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Nouns have grammatical gender; each noun is considered masculine, feminine or neuter. The gender of each noun helps determine the form of the definite article (the), the form of the plural, the shape of adjectives, pronouns and some verb forms. Gender of the noun is determined by the final letter of the word, with most exceptions being masculine nouns ending in a vowel designating male relations, male proper names, or occupations. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Questions begin with a question word which typically comes at the beginning of the sentence, unlike English where it can come at the end of a question. The preposition MUST precede the question word. (Who-Кој, what-Што, when-Кога, where-Каде.) |
|
|
Term
| Use of the interrogative particles "Дале" and "ли" |
|
Definition
| Actively used in Macedonian with no English equivalents. They can be used to emphasize a particular sentence element and can change the word order. If a particular element in the sentence is questioned the part of the sentence emphasized will be put at the beginning of the sentence followed by the interrogative particle "ли". Во Торонто ли е Бранко? (Is Branko in Toronto?) |
|
|
Term
| Negative answers - use of the word no (не). |
|
Definition
When a yes-no question is answered negatively, the negative word "не" (no) is used, followed by a short pause, then the negative particle "не" is placed before the verb. (The word no (не) is used twice.)
Бранко ли се века?
Не, не се бика Бранко. Се вика Стојан. |
|
|
Term
| Use of the conjunction "and" |
|
Definition
There are two conjunctions that express the idea of and in Macedonian:
- If the two things to be conjoined are considered to be equivalent, the conjunction и is used.
- If there is some sort of contrast, the conjunction а is used. A comma always preceds the conjunction а. The conjunction а can also be interperted as but, the context will determine its translation. In addition, а is used to introduce a question:
Јас се векам Стојан, а ти? (I am called Stojan, and you?) |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Adjectives mucs agree with the gender and number (singular or plural) of the noun they modify.
- Masculine - will end in a consonant
- Feminine - will end in а
- Neuter - will end in о
|
|
|
Term
|
Definition
The number one (еден) agrees in gender with the noun it modifys:
еден брат (m)
една сестра (f)
едно дете (n) |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| There is no distinction in gender with plural adjectives. The same plural form is used with masculine, feminine, and neuter adjectives. |
|
|
