Grammatical Form Variation within the Paradigm of the Bulgarian Verb

This article examines the variation in the grammatical forms within the verb paradigm of the indicative, conclusive, renarrative and dubitative in present-day Bulgarian. The analysis is focused solely on the indicative mood. Three types of grammatical form variation are identified: a) coexistence of codified forms alongside rare and problematic variants with limited functional potential, remnants of earlier developmental stages of the respective forms; b) coexistence of multiple codified forms within the standard language norm; and c) coexistence of forms indicating an incomplete grammaticalisation process, where some of the variants are not recognised by codifiers, including relatively “new” forms, which, according to some authors, have likely emerged after the establishment of codified forms. Special attention is given to grammatical variants that demonstrate a tendency toward the condensation of (periphrastic) composite verb forms, consisting of multiple micro-elements, or a trend toward the unification of formation patterns within certain micro-paradigms.