Macedonian Grammar

Welcome to the 8th lesson about Macedonian grammar. We will first learn about prepositions, negation, questions, adverbs, and pronouns including: personal, object and possessive pronouns. To hear the pronunciation, just click on the sound icon.

We will start with prepositions. In general, they are used to link words to other words. For example: I speak Macedonian and English the preposition is [and] because it connects both words Macedonian and English. The following is a list of the most used prepositions in Macedonian.

Prepositions	Macedonian	Pronunciation
and	и	[i]
above	над	[nad]
under	под	[pod]
before	пред	[pryed]
after	по	[po]
in front of	пред	[pryed]
behind	зад	[zad]
far from	далеку од	[dalyekoo od]
near	во близина на	[vo blizina na]
in	во	[vo]
inside	внатре	[vnatrye]
outside	надвор (од)	[nadvor (od)]
with	со	[so]
without	без	[byez]
about	за, во врска со	[za, vo vrska so]
between	меѓу, помеѓу	[myeѓoo, pomyeѓoo]
but	но, ама	[no, ama]
for	за	[za]
from	од	[od]
to	кон, накај, за	[kon, nakaј, za]

Preposition Grammar Rules

The following examples use prepositions in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence.

Prepositions + Rules	Macedonian + Pronunciation
I eat without a knife [preposition + noun]	јадам без нож [јadam byez noʐ]
she lives near the church [verb + preposition]	таа живее во близина на црквата [taa ʐivyeye vo blizina na tzrkvata]
he is taller than her [adjective + preposition]	тој е повисок од неа [toј ye povisok od nyea]
he came with his small dog [preposition + pronoun]	тој дојде со неговото мало куче (кученце) [toј doјdye so nyeguovoto malo koochye (koochyentzye)]
can you come with me? [preposition + pronoun]	може да дојдете со мене? [moʐye da doјdyetye so myenye?]

Negation in Macedonian

Now let's learn how to make a negative sentence (negation). For example: Saying no, I can't, I don't ... The following examples use negation in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence.

Negation + Rules	Macedonian + Pronunciation
I understand you [affirmative form]	јас ве разбирам [јas vye razbiram]
I don't understand you [negation + verb]	јас не ве разбирам [јas nye vye razbiram]
this is not the correct word [negation + adjective]	ова не е точниот збор [ova nye ye tochniot zbor]
don't leave me [imperative negation]	не оставајте ме [nye ostavaјtye mye]
no problem [negation + noun]	нема проблем [nyema problyem]

Negative Sentences	Macedonian + Pronunciation
I don't speak French [negation + present tense]	јас не зборувам француски [јas nye zboroovam frantzooski]
she didn't visit Germany [negation + past tense]	таа не ја посети германија [taa nye јa posyeti guyermaniјa]
he cannot see us [negative modal verb]	тој не може да нè види [toј nye moʐye da nè vidi]
can't she play chess? [interrogative negation]	зарем таа не може да игра шах? [zaryem taa nye moʐye da igura shakh?]
we will not come late [negation + future tense]	ние нема да задоцниме [niye nyema da zadotznimye]

Questions in Macedonian

Now let's learn how to ask questions (interrogative). Such as: what, why, can you ...? Here are some common examples:

English	Macedonian	Pronunciation
how?	како?	[kako?]
what?	што?	[shto?]
who?	кој?	[koј?]
why?	зошто?	[zoshto?]
where?	каде?	[kadye?]

More of the interrogative form, now in a sentence:

Questions + Rules	Macedonian + Pronunciation
where do you live? [interrogative + verb]	каде живеете? [kadye ʐivyeyetye?]
does she speak Chinese? [interrogative verb]	дали таа зборува кинески? [dali taa zboroova kinyeski?]
how much is this? [interrogative preposition]	колку е ова? [kolkoo ye ova?]
can I help you? [interrogative modal verb]	може ли да ви помогнам? [moʐye li da vi pomogunam?]
what is your name? [interrogative preposition]	како е вашето име? [kako ye vashyeto imye?]

Adverbs in Macedonian

It's time to learn the adverbs in Macedonian. But what is an adverb? In general, adverbs modify verbs and adjectives. For example: You speak fast. The adverb is [fast] because it describes the verb and answers the question how do you speak?. Here is a list of the most common ones:

Adverbs	Macedonian	Pronunciation
now	сега	[syegua]
yesterday	вчера	[vchyera]
today	денес	[dyenyes]
tonight	вечерва	[vyechyerva]
tomorrow	утре	[ootrye]
soon	наскоро	[naskoro]
quickly	брзо	[brzo]
slowly	бавно	[bavno]
together	заедно	[zayedno]
very	многу	[mnoguoo]
almost	речиси	[ryechisi]
always	секогаш	[syekoguash]
usually	обично	[obichno]
sometimes	понекогаш	[ponyekoguash]
rarely	ретко	[ryetko]
never	никогаш	[nikoguash]

The following examples use the adverbs in different ways and places to demonstrate how it behaves in a sentence.

Adverbs + Rules	Macedonian + Pronunciation
do you understand me now? [pronoun + adverb]	дали сега ме разбирате? [dali syegua mye razbiratye?]
I need help immediately [noun + adverb]	ми треба помош веднаш [mi tryeba pomosh vyednash]
she is very intelligent [adverb + adjective]	таа е многу интелигентна [taa ye mnoguoo intyeliguyentna]
I will always love you [verb + adverb]	јас секогаш ќе те сакам [јas syekoguash kjye tye sakam]
can we learn German together? [adverb in a question]	може ли заедно да учиме германски? [moʐye li zayedno da oochimye guyermanski?]

Pronouns in Macedonian

We're almost done! This time we will learn the pronouns in Macedonian. In general, a pronoun can be used instead of a noun. For example instead of saying my teacher speaks 3 languages, you can use the pronoun he, and say he speaks 3 languages. Here is a list of the most common ones:

Personal Pronouns	Macedonian	Pronunciation
I	јас	[јas]
you	ти / вие	[ti / viye]
he	тој	[toј]
she	таа	[taa]
we	ние	[niye]
they	тие	[tiye]

Object Pronouns	Macedonian	Pronunciation
me	мене/мене ме; мене ми	[myenye/myenye mye; myenye mi]
you	тебе/тебе те; тебе ти; вас/вас ве; вам ви	[tyebye/tyebye tye; tyebye ti; vas/vas vye; vam vi]
him	него/него го; нему/нему му	[nyeguo/nyeguo guo; nyemoo/nyemoo moo]
her	неа/неа ја; нејзе ѝ	[nyea/nyea јa; nyeјzye ì]
us	нас/нас нè; нам/нам ни	[nas/nas nè; nam/nam ni]
them	нив /нив ги; ним/ним им	[niv /niv gui; nim/nim im]

Possessive Pronouns	Macedonian	Pronunciation
my	мој	[moј]
your	твој / ваш	[tvoј / vash]
his	негов	[nyeguov]
her	нејзин	[nyeјzin]
our	наш	[nash]
their	нивен	[nivyen]

I think it's better to put the above example in a sentence to better assist you. The following examples use pronouns in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence. We will start with the personal pronouns.

Personal Pronouns	Macedonian + Pronunciation
I am your friend [1st pronoun + verb]	јас сум ви пријател [јas soom vi priјatyel]
you speak very fast [2nd pronoun + adverb]	вие зборувате многу брзо [viye zboroovatye mnoguoo brzo]
he has three dogs [3rd pronoun + verb]	тој има три кучиња [toј ima tri koochiњa]
she can speak German [3rd pronoun + verb]	таа зборува германски [taa zboroova guyermanski]
we will not come late [1st plural pronoun]	ние нема да задоцниме [niye nyema da zadotznimye]
they bought milk and bread [3rd plural pronoun]	тие купија млеко и леб [tiye koopiјa mlyeko i lyeb]

The object pronoun is used as a target by a verb, and usually come after that verb. For example: I gave him my book. The object pronoun here is him. Here are more examples:

Object Pronouns	Macedonian + Pronunciation
can you tell me your name? [1st object pronoun]	може ли да ми го кажете вашето име? [moʐye li da mi guo kaʐyetye vashyeto imye?]
I will give you money [2nd object pronoun]	јас ќе ви дадам пари [јas kjye vi dadam pari]
she wrote him a letter [3rd object pronoun]	таа му напиша писмо [taa moo napisha pismo]
they visited her yesterday [3rd object pronoun]	тие ја посетија неа вчера [tiye јa posyetiјa nyea vchyera]
can she help us? [1st pl. object pronoun]	може ли таа да ни помогне? [moʐye li taa da ni pomogunye?]
he gave them food [3rd pl. object pronoun]	тој им даде храна [toј im dadye khrana]

Possessive Pronouns	Macedonian + Pronunciation
my name is Maya [1st possessive pronoun]	моето име е маја [moyeto imye ye maјa]
your brother lives here [2nd possessive pronoun]	брат ти живее тука [brat ti ʐivyeye tooka]
her mother cooks for us [3rd possessive pronoun]	мајка ѝ готви за нас [maјka ì guotvi za nas]
his hobby is reading books [3rd possessive pronoun]	неговото хоби е читање книги [nyeguovoto khobi ye chitaњye knigui]
our dream is to visit Paris [1st pl. possessive pronoun]	нашиот сон е да го посетиме париз [nashiot son ye da guo posyetimye pariz]
their house is not far [3rd pl. possessive pronoun]	нивната куќа не е далеку [nivnata kookja nye ye dalyekoo]

One more thing you need to know is the demonstrative pronouns. They're very easy to learn.

Demonstrative Pronouns	Macedonian	Pronunciation
this is my house	ова е мојата куќа	[ova ye moјata kookja]
that restaurant is far	тој ресторан е далеку	[toј ryestoran ye dalyekoo]
these apples are delicious	овие јаболка се многу вкусни	[oviye јabolka sye mnoguoo vkoosni]
those stars are shiny	оние ѕвезди се сјајни	[oniye dzvyezdi sye sјaјni]

I hope you learned a lot about the Macedonian grammar in this lesson. If you have any question about this lesson please contact me here. The next lesson is below, have fun!

Macedonian Phrases

Macedonian Vocabulary

Inspirational Quote: First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do. Epictetus