Question
Updated on
NORMgirl
4 Apr 2017

  • English (US)
  • Bulgarian
  • French (France)
  • Korean
Question about Bulgarian

What is the difference between ако and дали ?Feel free to just provide example sentences.

Answers
Read more comments
NORMgirl
4 Apr 2017

  • English (US)
i know they both mean if but when do you use them.
thanks :)
0 likes
Deleted user
4 Apr 2017

"дали" is more like "whether" - so if you CAN say it with "whether" in English, you HAVE TO say it with "дали" in Bulgarian ("ако" in that case would be wrong). Although, it's my own theory, and I often have doubts about usage of the English "if/whether" so please take it with a grain of salt. ;)

Besides, "дали" is often used in completely different grammatical constructions, I can't explain them all, but you could look here:
http://tatoeba.org/eng/sentences/search?query=%...
or here:
http://www.linguee.com/english-bulgarian/search...

and if you have a question on any specific sentence - I'll be happy to answer it.

Enchom
4 Apr 2017

  • Bulgarian

I think @georgi is correct - "дали" is pretty much "whether", while "ако" is used much more strictly only in conditional clauses. So if it's a conditional clause you should be able to go for "ако", and if it is not then you probably can not.

I want to add that the word "дали" means "whether" when used as a conjunction, but it is also very commonly used as a question word, in which case it is not so easy to translate it.

When used as a question word it is used to express doubt, hesitation, uncertainty. The question "Дали?" with just a single word is completely fine, and means something like "Is it really so?" (in a non-sarcastic way). The links @georgi provided give many examples of it being used like that, but I'll still give a simple example I found:

"Дали ще я позная?" - "Will I recognise her?" (expressing uncertainty or doubt that I will)

Good luck with Bulgarian and as @georgi said, feel free to ask follow-up questions or give specific examples so we can explain it better :)

Highly-rated answerer
NORMgirl
4 Apr 2017

  • English (US)
Thanks guys ^_^
[News] Hey you! The one learning a language!

Do you know how to improve your language skills❓ All you have to do is have your writing corrected by a native speaker!
With HiNative, you can have your writing corrected by native speakers for free ✍️✨.
Sign up
Share this question
What is the difference between ако and дали ?
Recommended Questions
Topic Questions
Newest Questions
Previous question/ Next question
hinative app preview balloon background image flying monga
  1. HiNative
  2. What is the difference ...