Ukrainian grammar
Encyclopedia
The Ukrainian language
possesses an extremely rich grammatical structure inherited from Indo-European
:
Furthermore, many verbs show traces of Indo-European gradation (ablaut
). This often explains the difference between the infinitive and its present root form of the verbs.
The spoken language has been influenced by the literary, but continues to preserve characteristic forms. The dialects show various non-standard grammatical features, some of which are archaisms or descendants of old forms since discarded by the literary language.
Note 1: For an introductory overview, please see the discussion in the Ukrainian language article.
Note 2: In the discussion below, various terms are used in the meaning they have in the standard Ukrainian discussions of historical grammar. In particular, aorist
, imperfect, etc. are considered verbal tenses
rather than aspects
, because ancient examples of them are attested for both perfective and imperfective verbs.
Note 3: Cyrillic letters in this article are romanized using scientific transliteration
.
s can be made: a historical perspective and a modern perspective. From a historical perspective, the Ukrainian vowels can be divided into two categories:
From a modern perspective, the Ukrainian vowels can be divided into two categories:
s can be categorised as follows:
occur:
is encountered in the infinitive of verbs, where {д, т} + т dissimilates to ст, for example, крад + ти gives красти and плет + ти gives плести.
has seven cases
(nominative, genitive, dative
, accusative
, instrumental
, locative
, and vocative), in two numbers (singular
and plural
), and absolutely obeying grammatical gender
(masculine, feminine and neuter). Adjectives, pronouns, and the first two cardinal numbers have gender specific forms.
A third number, the dual, also existed in Old East Slavic, but except for its use in the nominative and accusative cases with the numbers two, three and four, e.g. dvi hryvni/дві гривні vs. dvoje hryven' /двоє гривень, (recategorised today as a nominative plural), it has been lost. Other traces of the dual can be found when referring to objects of which there are commonly two: eyes, shoulders, ears, e.g. plečyma. Occasionally, dual forms can distinguish between meanings.
In Ukrainian, there are 4 declension types. The first declension is used for most feminine nouns. The second declension is used for most masculine and neuter nouns. The third declension is used for feminine nouns ending in ь or a post-alveolar sibilant. The fourth declension is used for neuter nouns ending in я/а (Common Slavic *ę).
Most of the types consist of 3 different subgroups: hard, mixed, and soft. The soft subgroup consists of nouns whose roots end in a soft letter (followed by iotified vowel or soft vowel). The mixed subgroup consists of the nouns whose roots end in a post-alveolar sibilant or occasionally r. The hard group consists of all other nouns.
If the hard group endings are taken as the basis, then the following rules can be used to derived the corresponding mixed and soft endings:
Nouns ending in a consonant are marked in the following tables with -0- (thus no ending).
This declension consists of nouns that end in а or я. It consists primarily of feminine nouns, but a few nouns with these ending referring to professions can be either masculine or feminine. In these cases, the genitive plural is often formed by adding -ів. Nouns referring to people can also take this ending.
The second declension consists of masculine and neuter nouns.
Masculine Nouns: This group consists primarily of nouns, which end in a consonant, a soft sign, ь, or й. In the masculine declension, nouns that end in р can belong to any of the three declension subgroups: hard, mixed, and soft. There is no way of knowing from the nominative form, to which group the noun belongs.
Notes:
Neuter Nouns
In this category belong neuter nouns ending in о, е, and those substantives ending in я, preceded by either a double consonant, apostrophe, or two consonants, which primarily are derived from verbs. This last category once did end in *ĭjе, but due to the sound change given above developed an я ending.
This declension consists solely of feminine nouns that end in a consonant. This declension has only 2 subgroups: a mixed and soft group.
This declension consists of solely neuter nouns that are derived from Common Slavic *ę. There are two subgroups: those with an н insert, and those with a т insert.
In Ukrainian, there exist a small number of adjectives, primarily possessives, which exist in the masculine in the so-called short form. This "short" form is a relic of the indefinite declension of adjectives in Common Slavic. Common examples of this anomalous declension are бабин (masculine) compared to бабина (feminine); братів (masculine) compared to братова (feminine); and повинен (masculine) compared to повинна. This short form only exists in the masculine nominative form. All other forms are regular.
In Ukrainian, 2 different declension types: hard and soft. The soft type can be further subdivided into two types. Unlike for the nouns, the post-alveolar sibilants are counted as hard.
Note about the declensions:
In Ukrainian adjectives also have a comparative and superlative forms.
The comparative
form is created by dropping ий and adding the ending -(і)ший. The resulting form is declined like a regular hard stem adjective. As usual, some adjectives have irregular forms.
The superlative
form is created by prefixing най- to the comparative form. Words associated with religion often prefix пре- (very) to the comparative form. As usual, some adjectives have irregular forms.
For example, гарний gives гарно.
Adverbs can also be derived from the locative or instrumental singular of a noun, for example, ввечері (from в plus the locative of вечера), нагорі (from на plus the locative of гора).
The personal pronouns are declined as follows.
The demonstrative pronoun, той, is declined as follows.
The first (мій) and second person (твій) singular possessive pronouns are declined similarly as can be seen from the table below.
The first (наш) and second (ваш) person plural possessive pronouns are declined as below. The masculine nominative forms are the short forms.
The third person plural possessive pronoun, їхній, is declined as a normal soft adjective.
The interrogative pronouns, хто and що, are declined as follows.
The interrogative pronoun, чий, is declined as given in the table below.
Comments:
In general, the following rules are used to determine agreement between the cardinal number and a noun. In the nominative case, the nouns agree with the last number in any compound number. Nouns that must agree with a number ending in 2, 3, or 4 are in the nominative plural, but retain the stress of the dual, that is the genitive singular. Nouns, which must agree with a number ending in 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0, and all the teens are in the genitive plural. In any other case, the nouns and numbers are in the same case.
is subject to three persons
in two numbers and three simple tenses
(present/future, future, and past), with periphrastic
forms for the future and Conditional
, as well as imperative
forms and present/past participle
s, distinguished by adjectival
and adverb
ial usage. There are two voices, active
and middle/passive
, which is constructed by the addition of a reflexive suffix
-ся/сь to the active form. An interesting feature is that the past tense is actually made to agree in gender with the subject
, for it is the participle
in an originally periphrastic perfect formed with the present of быть /bɨtʲ/,"to be." Verbal inflection today is considerably simpler than in Common Slavic. The ancient aorist
, imperfect, and (periphrastic) pluperfect have been lost. The loss of three of the former six tenses has been offset by the reliance, as in other Slavic languages, on verbal aspect
. Most verbs come in pairs, one with imperfective
or continuous connotation, the other with perfective
or completed, usually formed with a (prepositional) prefix, but occasionally using a different root.
The present tense of the verb бути, "to be", today normally has the form, є used for all persons and numbers. Previously and occasionally in liturgical settings, aspects of the full conjugation, can be found. The paradigm shows as well as anything else the Indo-European affinity of Ukrainian:
Note: Ukrainian forms followed by * are considered archaic and are replaced by є.
The traditional classification of verbs subdivides the verbs into two categories based on the form of the 3rd person singular present indicative form of the verb.
The historical/linguistic classification of verbs subdivides the verbs into 5 categories. Classes 1,2 and 3 correspond to the е stems of the traditional classification, while class 4 corresponds to the и stems. Class 5 consists of the athematic verbs.
and (2) passive voice
. The active voice is the only voice with a complete set of conjugations. The active voice, in general, shows a direct effect of the verb on its subject.
Historically, this is derived from the Indo-European present tense. In Common Slavic and later Ukrainian, it retained its present meaning only for imperfective verbs and developed a future meaning for perfective verbs.
For the е stems (Classes 1, 2, and 3), the endings are:
All verbs whose roots end in a velar undergo the first palatalisation in all forms of the present (even though historically speaking the first person singular should not). The endings in є are used for roots whose stem ends in a vowel. All verbs in Class 3 and those that end in a vowel use -ю and -ють. Furthermore, Class 3 verbs undergo iotification in those forms that use -ю-. For reflexive verbs, in the third person singular, the ending has its historical -ть restored before the participle -ся / -сь is affixed. Thus, the ending becomes -еться.
For the и stems (Class 4), the endings are:
All Class 4 verbs undergo iotification in the first person singular. Thus, there is really only one ending, which due to orthographic reasons is given 2 different forms. Verbs ending in a vowel take the endings in the second column. In the third person plural, verbs ending in a labial insert an л before the ending, -ять. The ending -ать is used after the sibilants ж, ш, щ, or ч.
Ukrainian inherited from Indo-European through Common Slavic, the following 3 athematic verbs. These verbs have their own conjugation in the present. Everywhere else they are regular.
The past tense in Ukrainian has the peculiarity of being originally an adjective, since it derives from the original compound perfect. Thus, the past tense agrees in number and gender with the subject of the verb. The following endings are added to the infinitive with the ending -ти removed (Most root final д and т are dropped):
These forms are often called the active past participle I.
In Ukrainian, there are 2 different future tenses for imperfective verbs. The first form formed by adding to the infinitive of the verb the following endings, which are derived from the Common Slavic verb *jĭmati (Ukrainian мати):
The second form, more commonly used, is to take the present tense conjugation of the verb бути and use it with the infinitive of the verb. Thus,
This will translate as will eat with the appropriate personal pronoun.
is used to give commands. It exists in only the present tense in Ukrainian. There are no forms for the 1st person singular.
In Ukrainian, the imperative mood is formed from the stem of the verb plus the following endings (The example is based on Ukrainian пити):
The first set of endings is to be used for stems that end in a dentals (з, д, т, с, н, and л). The second set of ending is used for stems that end in a vowel. The third set of endings is used for stems that end in labials or post-alveolar sibilants (б, в, м, п, ф, ш, щ, ч, ж, and р). The fourth set of endings is used with verbs whose unaffixed form (no prefixes or suffixes) have the stress on the ending in the first person singular of the present tense. Thus for example, бери and вибери.
Finally note that all verbs with stems that end in к and г undergo the first palatalisation. Class 3 verbs with stems in к, г, and с undergo iotification (as do their present conjugation).
The present conditional is formed in Ukrainian from the participle би, which is derived from the archaic aorist conjugation of the verb, бути, and the active past participle I, which is the same as the past indicative participle. Thus, there is agreement between the subject and the participle. An example of this construction would be я би хотів... (I would like...).
The past conditional is formed in Ukrainian from the participle би followed by the active past participle I form of the verb бути (був, була, було, були) and then the active past participle I of the verb. Both participles must agree with the subject. An example of this construction would be як я би був знав... (had I (had) known...).
has 2 different functions. It can either show that the subject had something done to itself or that something indeteminate occurred to the subject.
In Ukrainian, the passive voice is formed as follows:
This participle is formed by taking the third person plural form, dropping the ть, and adding чи(й). Most commonly this participle is used as gerund with the form чи with a meaning approaching the equivalent English construction with -ing. Occasionally, it is used as an adjective. In this case its form is чий. Examples of this particple are несучи, знаючи, and хвалячи.
This participle does not exist in Ukrainian as a separate form. However, it is commonly encountered as an adjective in -мий. Common examples of this participle are відомий and знайомий.
This participle is encountered in forming the past tense in Ukrainian. Occasionally, it is found as an adjective for intransitive verbs. It is formed by taking the infinitive stem and adding the ending -в, -ла, -ло, and -ли to form the past tense participle (in reality the indefinite form of the adjective) and the ending -лий to form the regular adjective. An example of the adjectival form is почорнілий.
This participle is most commonly encondered as a gerund, while it is only used occasionally as an adjective. It is formed by taking the masculine past participle I and adding the ending -ши(й). An example of the gerund is знавши, while a common (dialectical) adjective would be the word бувший.
This participle is the only participle that is commonly used as an adjective. It has 2 different methods of formation. Take the infinitive stem, add а/е, and then either add -тий or -ний. Class 4 verbs undergo iotification. There does not seem to be any difference between the 2 methods of forming the participles. This participle can roughly be translated using the English past participle. Examples of this participle are жатий, посланий, печений, and лишений.
The verbal noun is created by taking the past passive participle, dropping ий, doubling the consonant if permitted by the rules under -ĭjV, and adding a я. This will be a neuter noun declined like all neuter nouns in *ĭjе. It should be noted that if the -е- of the past passive participle is stressed then the е will mutate into an і. Examples include питання from питати and носіння from носити.
The verbal noun in Ukrainian is derived from the Common Slavic verbal noun, where it was formed by adding *-ĭjе to the past passive participle without the *ŭ ending. Thus, in Ukrainian, the consonant is doubled if possible.
ial in nature, as well as diminutive
, augmentative
, and frequentative
suffix
es. All of these can be stacked one upon the other, to produce multiple derivatives of a given word. Participles and other inflexional forms may also have a special connotation
. For example, the word напіввідкритий can be split into the following prefixes and suffixes:
на + пів + від + кри (root) + тий.
(1) The multitude of forms in Ukrainian for the Common Slavic *sŭ(n) (*съ(н)) is a result of the fact that the initial s could assimilate (or dissimilate) with the root's initial consonants. As well, since a ь followed there was the potential for further sound changes. Finally, words entered Ukrainian from different Slavic languages with their own peculiarities or that the original origin of the word was lost. The following are examples of all the given possibilities:
In Ukrainian, the normal form is з except before the velars (г, к, and х) where the normal form is с.
(2) This is a more formally prefix, encountered often in liturgical works.
The following rules are followed when adding a prefix to the root:
are:
, both in conversation and the written language, is subject–verb–object. However, because the relations are marked by inflexion, considerable latitude in word order is allowed, and all the permutations can be used. The word order expresses the logical stress, and the degree of definiteness
.
, as in “nixto nikoly nikomu ničoho ne proščaje” (‘no-one ever forgives anyone anything’, literally ‘no-one never to no-one nothing does not forgive’).
Objects of a negated verb are placed in the genitive case, where they would be accusative if the verb were not negated.
in Ukrainian can be very complicated. In general, the nominative, genitive, accusative, and vocative cases can be used without a preposition. On the other hand, the locative and instrumental
cases are used primarily with a preposition. Furthermore, and much like in Latin
, different prepositions can be followed by nouns in different cases, resulting in different meanings.
: imperfective and perfective. The imperfective form denotes an action that is taking place in the present, is ongoing, is repetitive, or is habitual. The perfective form indicates an action that is completed, is the result of an action, is the beginning of an action, or is shorter or longer than usual. For example, spaty (спати) is imperfective, while pospaty (поспати) is perfective.
Abbreviations used:
Ukrainian language
Ukrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
possesses an extremely rich grammatical structure inherited from Indo-European
Proto-Indo-European language
The Proto-Indo-European language is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European languages, spoken by the Proto-Indo-Europeans...
:
- Nouns have grammatical gender, number, and are declined for 7 cases;
- Adjectives agree with the noun in case, number, and gender;
- Verbs have 2 aspects, 3 tenses, 3 moods, and 2 voices.
Furthermore, many verbs show traces of Indo-European gradation (ablaut
Indo-European ablaut
In linguistics, ablaut is a system of apophony in Proto-Indo-European and its far-reaching consequences in all of the modern Indo-European languages...
). This often explains the difference between the infinitive and its present root form of the verbs.
The spoken language has been influenced by the literary, but continues to preserve characteristic forms. The dialects show various non-standard grammatical features, some of which are archaisms or descendants of old forms since discarded by the literary language.
Note 1: For an introductory overview, please see the discussion in the Ukrainian language article.
Note 2: In the discussion below, various terms are used in the meaning they have in the standard Ukrainian discussions of historical grammar. In particular, aorist
Aorist
Aorist is a philological term originally from Indo-European studies, referring to verb forms of various languages that are not necessarily related or similar in meaning...
, imperfect, etc. are considered verbal tenses
Grammatical tense
A tense is a grammatical category that locates a situation in time, to indicate when the situation takes place.Bernard Comrie, Aspect, 1976:6:...
rather than aspects
Grammatical aspect
In linguistics, the grammatical aspect of a verb is a grammatical category that defines the temporal flow in a given action, event, or state, from the point of view of the speaker...
, because ancient examples of them are attested for both perfective and imperfective verbs.
Note 3: Cyrillic letters in this article are romanized using scientific transliteration
Scientific transliteration
Scientific transliteration, variously called academic, linguistic, or scholarly transliteration, is an international system for transliteration of text from the Cyrillic to the Latin alphabet...
.
Phonology
The following points of Ukrainian phonology need to be considered in order to properly understand the grammar of Ukrainian.Classification of vowels
Two different classification of vowelVowel
In phonetics, a vowel is a sound in spoken language, such as English ah! or oh! , pronounced with an open vocal tract so that there is no build-up of air pressure at any point above the glottis. This contrasts with consonants, such as English sh! , where there is a constriction or closure at some...
s can be made: a historical perspective and a modern perspective. From a historical perspective, the Ukrainian vowels can be divided into two categories:
- Hard vowels (in Cyrillic: а, и (from Common Slavic *ы), о, and у or transliterated as a, y (from Common Slavic *y), o, and u; )
- Soft vowels (in Cyrillic: е, і and и (from Common Slavic *и) or transliterated as e, i and y (from Common Slavic *i)). The iotified vowels are considered to be soft vowels
From a modern perspective, the Ukrainian vowels can be divided into two categories:
- Hard Vowels (In Cyrillic: а, е, и, і, о, and у or transliterated as a, e, y, i, o, and u). This category as can be seen from the table is different from the historical hard category
- Iotified Vowel (In Cyrillic: я, є, ї, and ю or transliterated as ja, je, ji, and ju). To this category can also be added the combination of letters йо (transliterated as jo)
Classification of consonants
In Ukrainian, consonantConsonant
In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract. Examples are , pronounced with the lips; , pronounced with the front of the tongue; , pronounced with the back of the tongue; , pronounced in the throat; and ,...
s can be categorised as follows:
- Labials (in Cyrillic: б, в, м, п, and ф or transliterated as b, v, m, p, and f): These letters are almost always hard in Ukrainian (there are orthographic exceptions), can never be doubled, nor can they in general be followed by an iotified vowel (exception: in combinations CL where C is a dental and L is a labialLabial consonantLabial consonants are consonants in which one or both lips are the active articulator. This precludes linguolabials, in which the tip of the tongue reaches for the posterior side of the upper lip and which are considered coronals...
, a soft vowel can follow, e.g., svjato/свято). - Post-alveolar sibilants (in Cyrillic: ж, ч, and ш or transliterated as ž, č, and š. The digraph щ (šč) should also be included). These letters were in Common Slavic all palatal (soft). In Ukrainian, these harden, leading to the creation of the mixed declensionDeclensionIn linguistics, declension is the inflection of nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and articles to indicate number , case , and gender...
of nouns. None of them can be followed by a soft sign (in Cyrillic: ь; transliterated as apostrophe (’)) or any iotified vowel. All but the digraph can be doubled, in which case they can be followed by a soft vowel, e.g., zbižžja/збіжжя. - Dentals (in Cyrillic: д, з, л, н, с, т and ц or transliterated as d, z, l, n, s, t, and c): In Ukrainian, as in Common Slavic, these letters can be both hard and soft. These letters can never (unless they are the last letter in a prefix) be followed by an apostrophe. Furthermore, these letters can be doubled.
- Alveolar (in Cyrillic: р or transliterated as r): This letter can be either hard or soft. It is always hard at the end of a syllable. Therefore, r is always hard at the end of a word and is never followed by a soft sign. r can never be doubled, except in foreign words (such as сюрреалізм).
- Velars (in Cyrillic: г, ґ, к, and х or transliterated as h, g, k, and x): In both Ukrainian and Common Slavic, these letters are always hard. Should they ever be followed by an iotified or soft vowel, then they undergo the first and second palatalisations. Hence, these letters can never be doubled or followed by an apostrophe.
Historical phonological changes
In the Ukrainian language, the following sound changes have occurred between the Common Slavic period and current Ukrainian:- In a newly closed syllableSyllableA syllable is a unit of organization for a sequence of speech sounds. For example, the word water is composed of two syllables: wa and ter. A syllable is typically made up of a syllable nucleus with optional initial and final margins .Syllables are often considered the phonological "building...
, that is, a syllable that ends in a consonantConsonantIn articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract. Examples are , pronounced with the lips; , pronounced with the front of the tongue; , pronounced with the back of the tongue; , pronounced in the throat; and ,...
, Common Slavic o and e mutate into i if the next vowelVowelIn phonetics, a vowel is a sound in spoken language, such as English ah! or oh! , pronounced with an open vocal tract so that there is no build-up of air pressure at any point above the glottis. This contrasts with consonants, such as English sh! , where there is a constriction or closure at some...
in Common Slavic was one of the yerYerThe letter yer of the Cyrillic alphabet, also spelled jer or er, is known as the hard sign in the modern Russian and Rusyn alphabets and as er golyam in the Bulgarian alphabet...
s (ǐ (ь) or ǔ (ъ)). - Pleophony: The Common Slavic combinations, ToRT and TeRT, where T is any consonant and R is either r or l become in Ukrainian
- TorT gives ToroT (Common Slavic *borda gives Ukrainian boroda)
- TolT gives ToloT (Common Slavic *bolto gives Ukrainian boloto)
- TerT gives TereT (Common Slavic *berza gives Ukrainian bereza)
- TelT gives ToloT (Common Slavic *melko gives Ukrainian moloko)
- The Common Slavic nasal vowel ę is reflected as ja except after a single labialLabial consonantLabial consonants are consonants in which one or both lips are the active articulator. This precludes linguolabials, in which the tip of the tongue reaches for the posterior side of the upper lip and which are considered coronals...
where it is reflected as "ja (’я), or after a post-alveolar sibilant where it is reflected as a. Examples: Common Slavic *pętĭ gives in Ukrainian p"jat (п’ять); Common Slavic *telę gives in Ukrainian telja; and Common Slavic kyrčę gives in Ukrainian kyrča. This Common Slavic nasal vowel is derived from an Indo-European *-en, *-em, or one of the sonants n and m. - The Common Slavic letter, ě (ѣ), is reflected in Ukrainian generally as i except:
- word-initially, where it is reflected as ji: Common Slavic *ěsti gives the Ukrainian jisty
- after the post-alveolar sibilants where it is reflected as a: Common Slavic *ležěti gives the Ukrainian ležaty
- Common Slavic i and y are both reflected in Ukrainian as y
- The Common Slavic combination -CǐjV, where C is any consonant and V is any vowel, becomes in Ukrainian the following combination -CCjV, except
- if C is labial or 'r' where it becomes -C"jV
- if V is the Common Slavic e, then the vowel in Ukrainian mutates to a, e.g., Common Slavic *žitĭje gives the Ukrainian žyttja
- if V is the Common Slavic ĭ, then the combination becomes ej, e.g., genitive plural in Common Slavic *myšĭjĭ give in Ukrainian myšej
- if one or more consonants precede the 'C' then there is no doubling of the consonants in Ukrainian
- Common Slavic combinations dl and tl are simplified to l, for example, Common Slavic *mydlo gives Ukrainian mylo
- Common Slavic ǔl (voicedVOICEDVirtual Organization for Innovative Conceptual Engineering Design is a virtual organization that promotes innovation in engineering design. This project is the collaborative work of researchers at five universities across the United States, and is funded by the National Science Foundation...
l̥) and ǐl (voiced ĺ̥) became ov, while word final *lǔ became v. For example, Common Slavic *vĺ̥kǔ becomes vovk in Ukrainian
Current phonological changes
- The first palatalisation concerns the velars and the following vowels: e, y from Common Slavic i, a/i from Common Slavic ě, that is derived from the Indo-EuropeanProto-Indo-European languageThe Proto-Indo-European language is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European languages, spoken by the Proto-Indo-Europeans...
ē:- h/g before these vowels mutates into ž
- k before these vowels mutates into č
- x before these vowels mutates into š
- The second palatalisation concerns the velars and the following vowels: y from Common Slavic i that is derived from an Indo-European diphthong and a/i from Common Slavic ě that is derived from an Indo-European diphthong:
- h/g before these vowels mutates into z
- k before these vowels mutates into c
- x before these vowels mutates into s
- The iotification concerns all consonants and the semi-vowel j (й). The following changes occur:
- The labialsLabial consonantLabial consonants are consonants in which one or both lips are the active articulator. This precludes linguolabials, in which the tip of the tongue reaches for the posterior side of the upper lip and which are considered coronals...
insert an l between the labial and the semivowelSemivowelIn phonetics and phonology, a semivowel is a sound, such as English or , that is phonetically similar to a vowel sound but functions as the syllable boundary rather than as the nucleus of a syllable.-Classification:...
: Common Slavic *zemja give Ukrainian zemlja. - The velars followed by a semivowel mutate as in the first palatalisation. The semivowel is dropped. This change can be traced back to Common Slavic.
- ktj becomes č
- tj becomes č
- dj becomes ž, except in verbs where it becomes dž
- sj becomes š
- stj and skj become šč (щ)
- zdj and zhj become ždž
- zkj becomes žč
- lj, nj, rj becomes l, n, r (that is, ль, нь, рь)
- The labials
- In Ukrainian, when two or more consonants occur word-finally, then a float vowel is inserted under the following conditions. Given a consonantal grouping C1(ь)C2(ь), where C is any Ukrainian consonant. The fill vowel is inserted between the two consonants and after the ь. A fill vowel is only inserted if C2 is one of the following consonants: k, v, l, m, r, n, and c. In this case:
- If C1 is one of the following h, k, or x, then the fill vowel is always o
- If C2 is k or v, then the fill vowel is o. No fill vowel is inserted if the v is derived from a voicedVOICEDVirtual Organization for Innovative Conceptual Engineering Design is a virtual organization that promotes innovation in engineering design. This project is the collaborative work of researchers at five universities across the United States, and is funded by the National Science Foundation...
l, for example, vovk - If C2 is l, m, r, or c, then the fill vowel is e
- The only known exception is vid’om, which should take e as the fill vowel, but instead adds an o.
- The combinations, -stv and -s’k are not broken up
- If the C1 is j (й), then the above rules can apply. However, both forms (with and without the fill vowel) often exist
Assimilation
The following assimilationsAssimilation (linguistics)
Assimilation is a common phonological process by which the sound of the ending of one word blends into the sound of the beginning of the following word. This occurs when the parts of the mouth and vocal cords start to form the beginning sounds of the next word before the last sound has been...
occur:
- Before the с of a suffix (-ський or -ство)
- If the root ends in г(ґ), ж, or з, then it mutates to з and the с of the suffix is lost.
- If the root ends in к, ч, or ц, then it mutates to ц and the с of the suffix is lost.
- If the root ends in х, с, or ш, then it mutates to с and the с of the suffix is lost (or the last letter of the root drops out).
- The following combinations of letters are changes:
- {ж, з} + дн is contracted to {ж, з} + н.
- ст + {л, н} is contracted to с + {л, н}.
- {п, р} + тн is contracted to {п, р} + н.
- {с, к} + кн is contracted to {с, к} + н.
Dissimilation
The most common dissimilationDissimilation
In phonology, particularly within historical linguistics, dissimilation is a phenomenon whereby similar consonant or vowel sounds in a word become less similar...
is encountered in the infinitive of verbs, where {д, т} + т dissimilates to ст, for example, крад + ти gives красти and плет + ти gives плести.
Nouns
The nominal declensionDeclension
In linguistics, declension is the inflection of nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and articles to indicate number , case , and gender...
has seven cases
Declension
In linguistics, declension is the inflection of nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and articles to indicate number , case , and gender...
(nominative, genitive, dative
Dative case
The dative case is a grammatical case generally used to indicate the noun to whom something is given, as in "George gave Jamie a drink"....
, accusative
Accusative case
The accusative case of a noun is the grammatical case used to mark the direct object of a transitive verb. The same case is used in many languages for the objects of prepositions...
, instrumental
Instrumental case
The instrumental case is a grammatical case used to indicate that a noun is the instrument or means by or with which the subject achieves or accomplishes an action...
, locative
Locative case
Locative is a grammatical case which indicates a location. It corresponds vaguely to the English prepositions "in", "on", "at", and "by"...
, and vocative), in two numbers (singular
Grammatical number
In linguistics, grammatical number is a grammatical category of nouns, pronouns, and adjective and verb agreement that expresses count distinctions ....
and plural
Plural
In linguistics, plurality or [a] plural is a concept of quantity representing a value of more-than-one. Typically applied to nouns, a plural word or marker is used to distinguish a value other than the default quantity of a noun, which is typically one...
), and absolutely obeying grammatical gender
Grammatical gender
Grammatical gender is defined linguistically as a system of classes of nouns which trigger specific types of inflections in associated words, such as adjectives, verbs and others. For a system of noun classes to be a gender system, every noun must belong to one of the classes and there should be...
(masculine, feminine and neuter). Adjectives, pronouns, and the first two cardinal numbers have gender specific forms.
A third number, the dual, also existed in Old East Slavic, but except for its use in the nominative and accusative cases with the numbers two, three and four, e.g. dvi hryvni/дві гривні vs. dvoje hryven' /двоє гривень, (recategorised today as a nominative plural), it has been lost. Other traces of the dual can be found when referring to objects of which there are commonly two: eyes, shoulders, ears, e.g. plečyma. Occasionally, dual forms can distinguish between meanings.
In Ukrainian, there are 4 declension types. The first declension is used for most feminine nouns. The second declension is used for most masculine and neuter nouns. The third declension is used for feminine nouns ending in ь or a post-alveolar sibilant. The fourth declension is used for neuter nouns ending in я/а (Common Slavic *ę).
Most of the types consist of 3 different subgroups: hard, mixed, and soft. The soft subgroup consists of nouns whose roots end in a soft letter (followed by iotified vowel or soft vowel). The mixed subgroup consists of the nouns whose roots end in a post-alveolar sibilant or occasionally r. The hard group consists of all other nouns.
If the hard group endings are taken as the basis, then the following rules can be used to derived the corresponding mixed and soft endings:
- Mixed subgroup
- All o following a post-alveolar sibilant change to e.
- All и following a post-alveolar sibilant change to i.
- Soft subgroup: Whenever a soft sign or the semi-vowel encounters the vowel of the ending, the following changes occur (These are mainly orthographic changes, but same can be traced to similar changes in Common Slavic):
- ьа and йа gives я
- ьо gives е
- йе gives є
- ьи gives і
- йи gives ї
- ьу and йу gives ю
- ьі gives і
- йі gives ї
Nouns ending in a consonant are marked in the following tables with -0- (thus no ending).
First declension
This declension consists of nouns that end in а or я. It consists primarily of feminine nouns, but a few nouns with these ending referring to professions can be either masculine or feminine. In these cases, the genitive plural is often formed by adding -ів. Nouns referring to people can also take this ending.
| Singular | ||||
| Hard | Mixed | Soft (ь) | Soft (й) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | -а | -а | -я | -я |
| Genitive | -и | -і | -і | -ї |
| Dative (1) | -і | -і | -і | -ї |
| Accusative | -у | -у | -ю | -ю |
| Instrumental | -ою | -ею | -ею | -єю |
| Locative (1) | -і | -і | -і | -ї |
| Vocative | -о | -е | -е | -є |
| Plural | ||||
| Hard | Mixed | Soft (ь) | Soft (й) | |
| Nominative | -и | -і | -і | -ї |
| Genitive (2) | -0- | -0- | -ь | -й |
| Dative | -ам | -ам | -ям | |
| Accusative (3) | -и /-0- | -і / -0- | -і /-ь | -ї / -й |
| Instrumental | -ами | -ами | -ями | -ями |
| Locative | -ах | -ах | -ях | -ях |
| Vocative | -и | -і | -і | -ї |
- (1) A velar consonant undergoes the appropriate second palatalisation changes
- (2) If two or more consonants are left at the end of the word, then a fill vowel may be inserted.
- (3) The genitive form is used for all animate nouns, while inanimate nouns take the nominative form.
Second declension
The second declension consists of masculine and neuter nouns.
Masculine Nouns: This group consists primarily of nouns, which end in a consonant, a soft sign, ь, or й. In the masculine declension, nouns that end in р can belong to any of the three declension subgroups: hard, mixed, and soft. There is no way of knowing from the nominative form, to which group the noun belongs.
| Singular | ||||
| Hard | Mixed | Soft (ь) | Soft (й) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | -0- | -0- | -ь /-0- (1) | -й |
| Genitive (2) | -а / -у | -а / -у | -я / -ю | -я / -ю |
| Dative (3) | -ові/-у | -еві/-у | -еві/-ю | -єві/-ю |
| Accusative (4) | -0- / -а | -0- /-а | -ь / -я | -й / -я |
| Instrumental | -ом | -ем | -ем | -єм |
| Locative (5) | -ові /-і/ -у | -еві /-і | -еві /-і | -єві /-ї |
| Vocative (6) | -у/-е | -е/ -у | -ю | -ю |
| Plural | ||||
| Hard | Mixed | Soft (ь) | Soft (й) | |
| Nominative | -и | -і | -і | -ї |
| Genitive | -ів | -ів | -ів / -ей (7) | -їв |
| Dative | -ам | -ам | -ям | |
| Accusative (8) | -и/ -ів | -і / -ів | -і / -ів | -ї / -їв |
| Instrumental | -ами | -ами | -ями | -ями |
| Locative | -ах | -ах | -ях | -ях |
| Vocative | -и | -і | -і | -ї |
Notes:
- (1) Only with soft nouns ending in р.
- (2) The ending to be used depends on the nature of the noun. The following rules are given in Ukrainian Orthography :
- Use the ending -а with
- Names of professions, people's names (first and last)
- Names of plants and animals
- Names of objects
- Names of settlements and geographic places
- Names of measuring units
- Names of machines
- Words of foreign origin, which describe geometric parts, concrete objects.
- Use the ending -у with
- Chemical elements, materials (note a few exceptions)
- Collective nouns
- Names of buildings and their parts
- Names of organisations and their places
- Natural phenomena
- Feelings
- Names of processes, states, phenomena of social life (both concrete and abstract)
- Names of foreign origin that denote physical or chemical processes
- Names of games and dances
- Use the ending -а with
- (3) The ending in -ові is preferred.
- (4) The accusative case for animate nouns is identical to the genitive case; for inanimate nouns, it is identical to the nominative.
- (5) In order to avoid the palatalisation, velar root nouns take the -у ending. The other forms are all acceptable. Nouns that take the -і ending undergo the first palatalisation.
- (6) If the ending -е is used, then the first palatalisation occurs. However, it can be avoided by using the -о form.
- (7) The second ending occurs is a small group of nouns.
- (8) The genitive form is used with animate objects, while inanimate objects take the nominative forms.
Neuter Nouns
In this category belong neuter nouns ending in о, е, and those substantives ending in я, preceded by either a double consonant, apostrophe, or two consonants, which primarily are derived from verbs. This last category once did end in *ĭjе, but due to the sound change given above developed an я ending.
| Singular | ||||
| Hard | Mixed | Soft | Soft (*ĭjе) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | -о | -е | -е | -я |
| Genitive | -а | -а | -я | -я |
| Dative | -у | -у | -ю | -ю |
| Accusative | -о | -е | -е | -я |
| Instrumental | -ом | -ем | -ем | -ям |
| Locative (1) | -і | -і | -і | -і |
| Vocative | -о | -е | -е | |
| Plural | ||||
| Hard | Mixed | Soft | Soft (*ĭjе) | |
| Nominative | -а | -а | -я | -я |
| Genitive | -0- | -0- | -ь | -ь / -0- (2) |
| Dative | -ам | -ам | -ям | -ям |
| Accusative | -а | -а | -я | -я |
| Instrumental | -ами | -ами | -ями | -ями |
| Locative | -ах | -ах | -ях | -ях |
| Vocative | -а | -а | -я | -я |
- (1) As necessary, the second palatalisation occurs, except for the *ĭjе nouns.
- (2) The double consonant is made single if the ь is used. However, if a post-alveolar sibilant is the last consonant, then no ь is used, but a single consonant is also written. Finally, for a labial final consonant, the ending is -'їв. Finally, monosyllabic nouns take the ending -ів. If two or more consonants appear word finally, then it is possible that a fill vowel must be inserted.
Third declension
This declension consists solely of feminine nouns that end in a consonant. This declension has only 2 subgroups: a mixed and soft group.
| Singular | ||||
| Soft | Mixed | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | -ь | -0- | ||
| Genitive | -і | -і | ||
| Dative | -і | -і | ||
| Accusative | -ь | -0- | ||
| Instrumental (1) | -ю | -ю | ||
| Locative | -і | -і | ||
| Vocative | -ь | -0- | ||
| Plural | ||||
| Soft | Mixed | |||
| Nominative | -і | -і | ||
| Genitive | -ей | -ей | ||
| Dative | -ям | -ям | ||
| Accusative | -і | -і | ||
| Instrumental | -ями | -ями | ||
| Locative | -ях | -ях | ||
| Vocative | -і | -і | ||
- (1) Since this ending is derived from the Common Slavic ending *-ĭjǫ, doubling of the consonant occurs as per the rules outlined above. Furthermore, if in the nominative form the noun has an -і for an -о, then so will the instrumental form, for example, ніччю (instrumental singular) and ніч (nominative singular)
Fourth declension
This declension consists of solely neuter nouns that are derived from Common Slavic *ę. There are two subgroups: those with an н insert, and those with a т insert.
| Singular | ||
| (н) | (т) | |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | ім'я | теля |
| Genitive | імені | теляти |
| Dative | імені | теляті |
| Accusative | ім'я | теля |
| Instrumental (1) | ім'ям | телям |
| Locative | імені | теляті |
| Vocative | ім'я | теля |
| Plural | ||
| (н) | (т) | |
| Nominative | імена | телята |
| Genitive | імен | телят |
| Dative | іменам | телятам |
| Accusative | імена | телята (телят) |
| Instrumental | іменами | телятами |
| Locative | іменах | телятах |
| Vocative | імена | телята |
Adjectives
Ukrainian adjectives agree with the nouns they modify in gender, number, and case.In Ukrainian, there exist a small number of adjectives, primarily possessives, which exist in the masculine in the so-called short form. This "short" form is a relic of the indefinite declension of adjectives in Common Slavic. Common examples of this anomalous declension are бабин (masculine) compared to бабина (feminine); братів (masculine) compared to братова (feminine); and повинен (masculine) compared to повинна. This short form only exists in the masculine nominative form. All other forms are regular.
Declension
In Ukrainian, 2 different declension types: hard and soft. The soft type can be further subdivided into two types. Unlike for the nouns, the post-alveolar sibilants are counted as hard.
| Singular | Plural | |||
| Masculine | Neuter | Feminine | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | -ий | -е | -а | -і |
| Genitive | -ого | -ого | -ої | -их |
| Dative | -ому | -ому | -ій | -им |
| Accusative (1) | -ий / -ого | -е | -у | -і / -их |
| Instrumental | -им | -им | -ою | -ими |
| Locative (2) | -ім / -ому | -ім / -ому | -ій | -их |
| Singular | Plural | |||
| Masculine | Neuter | Feminine | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | -ій | -є | -я | -і |
| Genitive | -ього | -ього | -ьої | -іх |
| Dative | -ьому | -ьому | -ій | -ім |
| Accusative (1) | -ій / -ього | -є | -ю | -і / -іх |
| Instrumental | -ім | -ім | -ьою | -іми |
| Locative (2) | -ім / -ьому | -ім / -ьому | -ій | -іх |
| Singular | Plural | |||
| Masculine | Neuter | Feminine | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | -їй | -є | -я | -ї |
| Genitive | -його | -його | -йої | -їх |
| Dative | -йому | -йому | -їй | -їм |
| Accusative (1) | -їй / -його | -є | -ю | -ї / -їх |
| Instrumental | -їм | -їм | -йою | -їми |
| Locative (2) | -їм / -йому | -їм / -йому | -їй | -їх |
Note about the declensions:
- (1) In the accusative case (except the feminine singular), a difference is made between animate (=genitive) and inanimate (=nominative) adjectives.
- (2) The ending in -ому is more often encountered. The other form is a relic of the indefinite declension of adjectives in Common Slavic.
Other forms of the adjective
In Ukrainian adjectives also have a comparative and superlative forms.
The comparative
Comparative
In grammar, the comparative is the form of an adjective or adverb which denotes the degree or grade by which a person, thing, or other entity has a property or quality greater or less in extent than that of another, and is used in this context with a subordinating conjunction, such as than,...
form is created by dropping ий and adding the ending -(і)ший. The resulting form is declined like a regular hard stem adjective. As usual, some adjectives have irregular forms.
The superlative
Superlative
In grammar, the superlative is the form of an adjective that indicates that the person or thing modified has the quality of the adjective to a degree greater than that of anything it is being compared to in a given context. English superlatives are typically formed with the suffix -est In...
form is created by prefixing най- to the comparative form. Words associated with religion often prefix пре- (very) to the comparative form. As usual, some adjectives have irregular forms.
Adverbs
In Ukrainian, adverbs are formed by taking the stem of the adjective and adding the ending- -о, if the stem is hard,
- -е, if the stem is a soft consonant, and
- -є, if the stem is a vowel.
For example, гарний gives гарно.
Adverbs can also be derived from the locative or instrumental singular of a noun, for example, ввечері (from в plus the locative of вечера), нагорі (from на plus the locative of гора).
Personal pronouns
The personal pronouns are declined as follows.
| 1st sing | 2nd sing | 3rd sing masc | 3rd sing fem | 3rd sing neut | 1st pl | 2nd pl | 3rd pl | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | я | ти | він | вона | воно | ми | ви | вони |
| Genitive | мене | тебе | його / нього | її / неї | його / нього | нас | вас | їх / них |
| Dative | мені | тобі | йому | їй | йому | нам | вам | їм |
| Accusative | мене | тебе | його | її | його | нас | вас | їх / них |
| Instrumental | мною | тобою | ним | нею | ним | нами | вами | ними |
| Locative | мені | тобі | ньому / нім | ній | ньому / нім | наc | вас | них |
Demonstrative pronouns
The demonstrative pronoun, той, is declined as follows.
| masculine | neuter | feminine | plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | той | те | та | ті |
| Genitive | того | того | тієї | тих |
| Dative | тому | тому | тій | тим |
| Accusative | N or G | те | ту | N or G |
| Instrumental | тим | тим | тією | тими |
| Locative | тому / тім | тому / тім | тій | тих |
Possessive pronouns
The first (мій) and second person (твій) singular possessive pronouns are declined similarly as can be seen from the table below.
| masculine | neuter | feminine | plural | masculine | neuter | feminine | plural | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | мій | моє | моя | мої | твій | твоє | твоя | твої | |
| Genitive | мого | мого | моєї | моїх | твого | твого | твоєї | твоїх | |
| Dative | моєму | моєму | моїй | моїм | твоєму | твоєму | твоїй | твоїм | |
| Accusative | N or G | моє | мою | N or G | N or G | твоє | твою | N or G | |
| Instrumental | моїм | моїм | моєю | моїми | твоїм | твоїм | твоєю | твоїми | |
| Locative | моєму | моєму | моїй | моїх | твоєму | твоєму | твоїй | о твоїх |
The first (наш) and second (ваш) person plural possessive pronouns are declined as below. The masculine nominative forms are the short forms.
| masculine | neuter | feminine | plural | masculine | neuter | feminine | plural | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | наш | наше | наша | наші | ваш | ваше | ваша | ваші | |
| Genitive | нашого | нашого | нашої | наших | вашого | вашого | вашої | ваших | |
| Dative | нашому | нашому | нашій | нашим | вашому | вашому | вашій | вашим | |
| Accusative | N or G | наше | нашу | N or G | N or G | ваше | вашу | N or G | |
| Instrumental | нашим | нашим | нашою | нашими | вашим | вашим | вашою | вашими | |
| Locative | нашому | нашому | нашій | наших | вашому | вашому | вашій | ваших |
The third person plural possessive pronoun, їхній, is declined as a normal soft adjective.
Interrogative pronouns
The interrogative pronouns, хто and що, are declined as follows.
| Nom. | Gen. | Dat. | Acc. | Inst. | Loc. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| хто | кого | кому | кого | ким | кому |
| що | чого | чому | що | чим | чому |
The interrogative pronoun, чий, is declined as given in the table below.
| masculine | neuter | feminine | plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | чий | чиє | чия | чиї |
| Genitive | чийого | чийого | чиєї | чиїх |
| Dative | чиєму | чиєму | чиїй | чиїм |
| Accusative | N or G | чиє | чию | N or G |
| Instrumental | чиїм | чиїм | чиїй | чиїми |
| Locative | чийому | чийому | чиїй | чиїх |
Numbers
| Symbol | Cardinal | Ordinal | Counting |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | нуль | нульовий | -- |
| 1 | один, одна, одне | перший | раз |
| 2 | два, дві | другий | двічі |
| 3 | три | третій | тричі |
| 4 | чотири | четвертий | чотири рази |
| 5 | п'ять | п'ятий | п'ять разів |
| 6 | шість | шостий | шість разів |
| 7 | сім | сьомий | сім разів |
| 8 | вісім | восьмий | вісім разів |
| 9 | дев'ять | дев'ятий | дев'ять разів |
| 10 | десять | десятий | десять разів |
| teens (1) | cardinal+надцять | cardinal+надцятий | cardinal+надцять разів |
| 20 | двадцять | двадцятий | двадцять разів |
| 21 | двадцять один | двадцять перший | двадцять один раз |
| 30 | тридцять | тридцятий | тридцять разів |
| 40 | сорок | сороковий | сорок разів |
| 50 | п'ятдесят | п'ятдесятий | п'ятдесят разів |
| 60 | шістдесят | шістдесятий | шістдесят разів |
| 70 | сімдесят | сімдесятий | сімдесят разів |
| 80 | вісімдесят | вісімдесятий | вісімдесят разів |
| 90 | дев'яносто | дев'яностий | дев'яносто разів |
| 100 | сто | сотий | сто разів |
| 200 | двісті | двохсотий | двісті разів |
| 300 | триста | трьохсотий | триста разів |
| 400 | чотириста | чотирьохсотий | чотириста разів |
| 500 | п'ятсот | п’ятисотий | п'ятсот разів |
| 600 | шістсот | шестисотий | шістсот разів |
| 700 | сімсот | семисотий | сімсот разів |
| 800 | вісімсот | восьмисотий | вісімсот разів |
| 900 | дев'ятсот | дев’ятисотий | дев'ятсот разів |
| 1000 | тисяча | тисячний | тисяча разів |
Comments:
- (1) Any soft signs are dropped if they occur word finally in the original cardinal number.
- (2) This is a dual construction.
- (3) This is a plural nominative construction.
- (4) This is the genitive plural construction (All hundreds after 500 are so created.).
In general, the following rules are used to determine agreement between the cardinal number and a noun. In the nominative case, the nouns agree with the last number in any compound number. Nouns that must agree with a number ending in 2, 3, or 4 are in the nominative plural, but retain the stress of the dual, that is the genitive singular. Nouns, which must agree with a number ending in 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0, and all the teens are in the genitive plural. In any other case, the nouns and numbers are in the same case.
Verbs
Grammatical conjugationGrammatical conjugation
In linguistics, conjugation is the creation of derived forms of a verb from its principal parts by inflection . Conjugation may be affected by person, number, gender, tense, aspect, mood, voice, or other grammatical categories...
is subject to three persons
Grammatical person
Grammatical person, in linguistics, is deictic reference to a participant in an event; such as the speaker, the addressee, or others. Grammatical person typically defines a language's set of personal pronouns...
in two numbers and three simple tenses
Grammatical tense
A tense is a grammatical category that locates a situation in time, to indicate when the situation takes place.Bernard Comrie, Aspect, 1976:6:...
(present/future, future, and past), with periphrastic
Periphrasis
In linguistics, periphrasis is a device by which a grammatical category or grammatical relationship is expressed by a free morpheme , instead of being shown by inflection or derivation...
forms for the future and Conditional
Conditional mood
In linguistics, the conditional mood is the inflectional form of the verb used in the independent clause of a conditional sentence to refer to a hypothetical state of affairs, or an uncertain event, that is contingent on another set of circumstances...
, as well as imperative
Imperative mood
The imperative mood expresses commands or requests as a grammatical mood. These commands or requests urge the audience to act a certain way. It also may signal a prohibition, permission, or any other kind of exhortation.- Morphology :...
forms and present/past participle
Participle
In linguistics, a participle is a word that shares some characteristics of both verbs and adjectives. It can be used in compound verb tenses or voices , or as a modifier...
s, distinguished by adjectival
Adjective
In grammar, an adjective is a 'describing' word; the main syntactic role of which is to qualify a noun or noun phrase, giving more information about the object signified....
and adverb
Adverb
An adverb is a part of speech that modifies verbs or any part of speech other than a noun . Adverbs can modify verbs, adjectives , clauses, sentences, and other adverbs....
ial usage. There are two voices, active
Active voice
Active voice is a grammatical voice common in many of the world's languages. It is the unmarked voice for clauses featuring a transitive verb in nominative–accusative languages, including English and most other Indo-European languages....
and middle/passive
Passive voice
Passive voice is a grammatical voice common in many of the world's languages. Passive is used in a clause whose subject expresses the theme or patient of the main verb. That is, the subject undergoes an action or has its state changed. A sentence whose theme is marked as grammatical subject is...
, which is constructed by the addition of a reflexive suffix
Suffix
In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns or adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs...
-ся/сь to the active form. An interesting feature is that the past tense is actually made to agree in gender with the subject
Subject (grammar)
The subject is one of the two main constituents of a clause, according to a tradition that can be tracked back to Aristotle and that is associated with phrase structure grammars; the other constituent is the predicate. According to another tradition, i.e...
, for it is the participle
Participle
In linguistics, a participle is a word that shares some characteristics of both verbs and adjectives. It can be used in compound verb tenses or voices , or as a modifier...
in an originally periphrastic perfect formed with the present of быть /bɨtʲ/,"to be." Verbal inflection today is considerably simpler than in Common Slavic. The ancient aorist
Aorist
Aorist is a philological term originally from Indo-European studies, referring to verb forms of various languages that are not necessarily related or similar in meaning...
, imperfect, and (periphrastic) pluperfect have been lost. The loss of three of the former six tenses has been offset by the reliance, as in other Slavic languages, on verbal aspect
Grammatical aspect
In linguistics, the grammatical aspect of a verb is a grammatical category that defines the temporal flow in a given action, event, or state, from the point of view of the speaker...
. Most verbs come in pairs, one with imperfective
Imperfective aspect
The imperfective is a grammatical aspect used to describe a situation viewed with internal structure, such as ongoing, habitual, repeated, and similar semantic roles, whether that situation occurs in the past, present, or future...
or continuous connotation, the other with perfective
Perfective aspect
The perfective aspect , sometimes called the aoristic aspect, is a grammatical aspect used to describe a situation viewed as a simple whole, whether that situation occurs in the past, present, or future. The perfective aspect is equivalent to the aspectual component of past perfective forms...
or completed, usually formed with a (prepositional) prefix, but occasionally using a different root.
The present tense of the verb бути, "to be", today normally has the form, є used for all persons and numbers. Previously and occasionally in liturgical settings, aspects of the full conjugation, can be found. The paradigm shows as well as anything else the Indo-European affinity of Ukrainian:
| English | Ukrainian | IPA | Latin | PIE Proto-Indo-European language The Proto-Indo-European language is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European languages, spoken by the Proto-Indo-Europeans... |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "I am" | я єсьм* | /jesm/ | sum | éǵh₂om H₁ésmi |
| "you are" (sing.) | ти єси | /jesɪ/ | es | túh₂ H₁ési |
| "he, she, it is" | він, вона, воно єсть | /jestʲ/ | est | khī H₁ésti |
| "we are" | ми (є)сьми/(є)сьмо* | /(je)sʲmɪ/, /(je)sʲmo/ | sumus | wéy H₁smés |
| "you are" (plur.) | ви (є)сьте* | /je/ | estis | ju H₁ste |
| "they are" | вони суть / вони є | /sutʲ/ | sunt | tō H₁sónti |
Note: Ukrainian forms followed by * are considered archaic and are replaced by є.
Classification of verbs
There exist two different classification of verbs: traditional and historical/linguistic.The traditional classification of verbs subdivides the verbs into two categories based on the form of the 3rd person singular present indicative form of the verb.
- The е stems, which have the ending -е or -є in the 3rd person singular.
- The и stems, which have the ending -ить in the 3rd person singular.
The historical/linguistic classification of verbs subdivides the verbs into 5 categories. Classes 1,2 and 3 correspond to the е stems of the traditional classification, while class 4 corresponds to the и stems. Class 5 consists of the athematic verbs.
- Class 1: Stems in -е
- The same stem in the Present and the Infinitive
- The same consonantal stem (the last three examples do not quite resemble the first example or the classification name due to various sound changes (palatalisation) in Ukrainian):
-
- нести / несе
- пекти / пече
- умерти / умре
- почати / почне
-
- The same vowel stem
-
- плисти / пливе
-
- The same consonantal stem (the last three examples do not quite resemble the first example or the classification name due to various sound changes (palatalisation) in Ukrainian):
- Infinitive in -ати
- Consonantal stem
- брати / бере
- Vowel stems
- рвати / рве
- Consonantal stem
- The same stem in the Present and the Infinitive
- Class 2: "n" verbs (mostly perfective verbs)
- двигнути / двигне
- Class 3: Presents in є (undergo changes associated with iotification)
- Primary verbs
- Same stem in the Present and Infinitive
- Same vowel stem
- знати / знає
- Same consonantal stem (these stem often have a pleophonic form for the infinitive)
- молоти (Common Slavic *melti) / меле (мелю)
- полоти (Common Slavic *polti) / поле (полю)
- Same vowel stem
- Infinitive in -ати
- Same vowel stem (-я)
- сіяти / сіє
- Same consonantal stem
- орати / оре (орю)
- Stems that undergo the changes associated with the doubling of the consonants (the result is slightlt regularised in that -ĭje does not mutate into -я as would be expected)
- бити: б'ю, б'єш ... (Common Slavic: *biti: bĭjǫ, bĭješĭ ...)
- пити
- лити: ллю, ллєш ...
- Same vowel stem (-я)
- Same stem in the Present and Infinitive
- Derived Verbs (all vowel stems)
- a-stems
- думати / думає
- i-stems
- жовтіти / жовтіє
- uva-stems
- купувати / купує
- a-stems
- Primary verbs
- Class 4: i-stems in the Present (undergo changes associated with iotification)
- i-stems in both the Present and Infinitive
- хвалити / хвалить
- ě-stems
- i-stems
- вертіти / вертить
- a-stems
- лежати / лежить
- i-stems
- i-stems in both the Present and Infinitive
- Class 5: Athematic Verbs (-m presents)
- їсти
- дати
- -вісти
- бути
Voices
Ukrainian had 2 voices: (1) active voiceActive voice
Active voice is a grammatical voice common in many of the world's languages. It is the unmarked voice for clauses featuring a transitive verb in nominative–accusative languages, including English and most other Indo-European languages....
and (2) passive voice
Passive voice
Passive voice is a grammatical voice common in many of the world's languages. Passive is used in a clause whose subject expresses the theme or patient of the main verb. That is, the subject undergoes an action or has its state changed. A sentence whose theme is marked as grammatical subject is...
. The active voice is the only voice with a complete set of conjugations. The active voice, in general, shows a direct effect of the verb on its subject.
Indicative active mood
The indicative mood is used to describe events, which have, are, or will occur. In Ukrainian, the indicative mood contains a present, future, and past tenses.Present tense
Historically, this is derived from the Indo-European present tense. In Common Slavic and later Ukrainian, it retained its present meaning only for imperfective verbs and developed a future meaning for perfective verbs.
For the е stems (Classes 1, 2, and 3), the endings are:
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| First Person | -у / -ю | -емо / -ємо |
| Second Person | -еш / -єш | |
| Third Person | -е / -є | -уть / -ють |
All verbs whose roots end in a velar undergo the first palatalisation in all forms of the present (even though historically speaking the first person singular should not). The endings in є are used for roots whose stem ends in a vowel. All verbs in Class 3 and those that end in a vowel use -ю and -ють. Furthermore, Class 3 verbs undergo iotification in those forms that use -ю-. For reflexive verbs, in the third person singular, the ending has its historical -ть restored before the participle -ся / -сь is affixed. Thus, the ending becomes -еться.
For the и stems (Class 4), the endings are:
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| First Person | -ю / (-у) | -имо / -їмо |
| Second Person | -иш / -їш | |
| Third Person | -ить / -їть | -ать / -ять |
All Class 4 verbs undergo iotification in the first person singular. Thus, there is really only one ending, which due to orthographic reasons is given 2 different forms. Verbs ending in a vowel take the endings in the second column. In the third person plural, verbs ending in a labial insert an л before the ending, -ять. The ending -ать is used after the sibilants ж, ш, щ, or ч.
Examples
| singular | plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ukrainian | English | Ukrainian | English | |
| First Person | несу | I am carrying | несемо | We are carrying |
| Second Person | несеш | You (sing.) are carrying | несете | You (pl.) are carrying |
| Third Person | несе | He/She/It is carrying | несуть | They are carrying |
| singular | plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ukrainian | English | Ukrainian | English | |
| First Person | верну | I will return | вернемо | We will return |
| Second Person | вернеш | You (sing.) will return | вернете | You (pl.) will return |
| Third Person | верне | He/She/It will return | вернуть | They will return |
| singular | plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ukrainian | English | Ukrainian | English | |
| First Person | читаю | I read | читаємо | We read |
| Second Person | читаєш | You (sing.) read | читаєте | You (pl.) read |
| Third Person | читає | He/She/It reads | читають | They read |
| singular | plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ukrainian | English | Ukrainian | English | |
| First Person | говорю | I talk | говоримо | We talk |
| Second Person | говориш | You (sing.) talk | говорите | You (pl.) talk |
| Third Person | говорить | He/She/It talks | говорять | They talk |
Athematic verbs
Ukrainian inherited from Indo-European through Common Slavic, the following 3 athematic verbs. These verbs have their own conjugation in the present. Everywhere else they are regular.
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| First Person | дам | дамо |
| Second Person | даси | дасте |
| Third Person | дасть | дадуть |
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| First Person | їм | їмо |
| Second Person | їси | їсте |
| Third Person | їсть | їдять |
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| First Person | -вім | -вімо |
| Second Person | -віси | |
| Third Person | -вість | -відять |
Past active tense
The past tense in Ukrainian has the peculiarity of being originally an adjective, since it derives from the original compound perfect. Thus, the past tense agrees in number and gender with the subject of the verb. The following endings are added to the infinitive with the ending -ти removed (Most root final д and т are dropped):
- masculine singular: -в
- Note: It is lost after с, з, к, г, б, р.
- feminine singular: -ла
- neuter singular: -ло
- plural: -ли
These forms are often called the active past participle I.
Future active tense
In Ukrainian, there are 2 different future tenses for imperfective verbs. The first form formed by adding to the infinitive of the verb the following endings, which are derived from the Common Slavic verb *jĭmati (Ukrainian мати):
| singular | plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ending | Example | Ending | Example | |
| First Person | -му | їстиму | -мо | їстимо |
| Second Person | -меш | їстимеш | ||
| їстимете | ||||
| Third Person | -ме | їстиме | -муть | їстимуть |
The second form, more commonly used, is to take the present tense conjugation of the verb бути and use it with the infinitive of the verb. Thus,
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| First Person | буду їсти | будемо їсти |
| Second Person | будеш їсти | будете їсти |
| Third Person | буде їсти | будуть їсти |
This will translate as will eat with the appropriate personal pronoun.
Imperative active mood
The imperative moodImperative mood
The imperative mood expresses commands or requests as a grammatical mood. These commands or requests urge the audience to act a certain way. It also may signal a prohibition, permission, or any other kind of exhortation.- Morphology :...
is used to give commands. It exists in only the present tense in Ukrainian. There are no forms for the 1st person singular.
In Ukrainian, the imperative mood is formed from the stem of the verb plus the following endings (The example is based on Ukrainian пити):
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| First Person | none | -ьмо / -ймо / -мо / -імо (пиймо) |
| Second Person | -ь / -й / -0- / -и (пий) | |
| Third Person | хай or нехай + 3rd person present singular (хай п'є or нехай п'є) | хай or нехай + 3rd person present plural (хай п'ють or нехай п'ють) |
The first set of endings is to be used for stems that end in a dentals (з, д, т, с, н, and л). The second set of ending is used for stems that end in a vowel. The third set of endings is used for stems that end in labials or post-alveolar sibilants (б, в, м, п, ф, ш, щ, ч, ж, and р). The fourth set of endings is used with verbs whose unaffixed form (no prefixes or suffixes) have the stress on the ending in the first person singular of the present tense. Thus for example, бери and вибери.
Finally note that all verbs with stems that end in к and г undergo the first palatalisation. Class 3 verbs with stems in к, г, and с undergo iotification (as do their present conjugation).
Conditional active mood
The conditional mood is used to state hypothetical states, wishes, and desires. It has 2 tenses in Ukrainian: a present and a past.Present tense
The present conditional is formed in Ukrainian from the participle би, which is derived from the archaic aorist conjugation of the verb, бути, and the active past participle I, which is the same as the past indicative participle. Thus, there is agreement between the subject and the participle. An example of this construction would be я би хотів... (I would like...).
Past tense
The past conditional is formed in Ukrainian from the participle би followed by the active past participle I form of the verb бути (був, була, було, були) and then the active past participle I of the verb. Both participles must agree with the subject. An example of this construction would be як я би був знав... (had I (had) known...).
Passive voice
The passive voicePassive voice
Passive voice is a grammatical voice common in many of the world's languages. Passive is used in a clause whose subject expresses the theme or patient of the main verb. That is, the subject undergoes an action or has its state changed. A sentence whose theme is marked as grammatical subject is...
has 2 different functions. It can either show that the subject had something done to itself or that something indeteminate occurred to the subject.
In Ukrainian, the passive voice is formed as follows:
- Use of a reflexive verb: митися (to wash oneself or in French se laver)
- Use of the verb to be and the past passive participle: Він був вбитий (He was killed).
- An impersonal use of the third person plural past active participle I: Його вбили (He was killed).
- The following construction: Було + neuter singular of past passive participle, the "-но/-то" form: Місто було захоплене (The town was captured.)
Participles and verbal nouns
In Ukrainian, there exist traces of all five Common Slavic participles.Present active participle
This participle is formed by taking the third person plural form, dropping the ть, and adding чи(й). Most commonly this participle is used as gerund with the form чи with a meaning approaching the equivalent English construction with -ing. Occasionally, it is used as an adjective. In this case its form is чий. Examples of this particple are несучи, знаючи, and хвалячи.
Present passive participle
This participle does not exist in Ukrainian as a separate form. However, it is commonly encountered as an adjective in -мий. Common examples of this participle are відомий and знайомий.
Past active participle I
This participle is encountered in forming the past tense in Ukrainian. Occasionally, it is found as an adjective for intransitive verbs. It is formed by taking the infinitive stem and adding the ending -в, -ла, -ло, and -ли to form the past tense participle (in reality the indefinite form of the adjective) and the ending -лий to form the regular adjective. An example of the adjectival form is почорнілий.
Past active participle II
This participle is most commonly encondered as a gerund, while it is only used occasionally as an adjective. It is formed by taking the masculine past participle I and adding the ending -ши(й). An example of the gerund is знавши, while a common (dialectical) adjective would be the word бувший.
Past passive participle
This participle is the only participle that is commonly used as an adjective. It has 2 different methods of formation. Take the infinitive stem, add а/е, and then either add -тий or -ний. Class 4 verbs undergo iotification. There does not seem to be any difference between the 2 methods of forming the participles. This participle can roughly be translated using the English past participle. Examples of this participle are жатий, посланий, печений, and лишений.
Verbal noun
The verbal noun is created by taking the past passive participle, dropping ий, doubling the consonant if permitted by the rules under -ĭjV, and adding a я. This will be a neuter noun declined like all neuter nouns in *ĭjе. It should be noted that if the -е- of the past passive participle is stressed then the е will mutate into an і. Examples include питання from питати and носіння from носити.
The verbal noun in Ukrainian is derived from the Common Slavic verbal noun, where it was formed by adding *-ĭjе to the past passive participle without the *ŭ ending. Thus, in Ukrainian, the consonant is doubled if possible.
Word formation
Ukrainian has a rich set of prefixes, both prepositional and adverbAdverb
An adverb is a part of speech that modifies verbs or any part of speech other than a noun . Adverbs can modify verbs, adjectives , clauses, sentences, and other adverbs....
ial in nature, as well as diminutive
Diminutive
In language structure, a diminutive, or diminutive form , is a formation of a word used to convey a slight degree of the root meaning, smallness of the object or quality named, encapsulation, intimacy, or endearment...
, augmentative
Augmentative
An augmentative is a morphological form of a word which expresses greater intensity, often in size, but also in other attributes...
, and frequentative
Frequentative
In grammar, a frequentative form of a word is one which indicates repeated action. The frequentative form can be considered a separate, but not completely independent word, called a frequentative...
suffix
Suffix
In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns or adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs...
es. All of these can be stacked one upon the other, to produce multiple derivatives of a given word. Participles and other inflexional forms may also have a special connotation
Connotation
A connotation is a commonly understood subjective cultural or emotional association that some word or phrase carries, in addition to the word's or phrase's explicit or literal meaning, which is its denotation....
. For example, the word напіввідкритий can be split into the following prefixes and suffixes:
Prefixes
In Ukrainian, prefixes can be added to a root and stacked on top of each as in the above example. The most common prefixes are given in the table below. Although the prefixes have the given meaning, when attached to a root, it is possible that the resulting new word will have a unique meaning that is distantly related to the original meaning of the prefix. If possible the example is given using the verbal root ходити or the nominal root хід.| Prefix | English Translation | Example |
|---|---|---|
| пере- | again, re- | переходити |
| в-/у-, во- | into, in, en- | входити, вхід |
| ви- | out, ex- | вихід, виходити |
| з-, зі-, зу-, с-, со-, су-, із-, іс- (1) | together (with), con- | зходи |
| за- | beyond, trans- | заходити, захід, Закарпаття |
| спів- | co- | співробітник |
| пів- | half, mid- | південь |
| под- | under-, sub- | підходити |
| від-/од- | away from | відходити |
| проти- | against, contra- | протилежний |
| не- | not, un-, non-, in- | неходити |
| об- | circum-, around | обходити, обв'язковий |
| про- | about | проходити, продати |
| при- | closer, cis- | приходити, Придністров'я |
| без- | without | безробітник |
| до- | to, ad- | доходити, додати |
| на- | on | надати |
| роз- | across | роздати, розходити |
| перво- (2) | first- | первонароджений |
| пра- | before, pre-, fore- | прадід |
| над- | on, above, extra- | надзвичайний |
| між- | between, inter- | міжнародний |
(1) The multitude of forms in Ukrainian for the Common Slavic *sŭ(n) (*съ(н)) is a result of the fact that the initial s could assimilate (or dissimilate) with the root's initial consonants. As well, since a ь followed there was the potential for further sound changes. Finally, words entered Ukrainian from different Slavic languages with their own peculiarities or that the original origin of the word was lost. The following are examples of all the given possibilities:
- збирати < *събирати
- зіприти
- ізнов
- зошит < *съшитъ = bound/sown together
- зустріч < *състрѣчь
- сусід < *сѫсѣдъ < *сънсѣдъ = sit together
- союз < *съюзь = yoke together
- спекти < *съпекти
- ісп'яти < *съпѧти
In Ukrainian, the normal form is з except before the velars (г, к, and х) where the normal form is с.
(2) This is a more formally prefix, encountered often in liturgical works.
The following rules are followed when adding a prefix to the root:
- If the prefix ends in a consonant and the root starts with a iotified vowel, then an apostrophe is added between the prefix and the root, for example, з'їсти.
- If a prefix ends in a consonant and the root starts with two or more consonants, then the vowel і is inserted between the prefix and the root, for example, розібрати.
Suffixes
In Ukrainian, suffixes can be added to a root and stacked on top of each to produce a family of words. The most common suffixes are given in the table below. The curly brackets {} denote the various possible different suffixes with a similar meaning| Root Type + Suffix = Resulting Word Type | English Translation | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun + {-ар(ь), -ач, -ць, -ак, -ик, -аль, -ист (from Latin -ist), -ух} = Noun | one who does, -er, often male | школяр, ткач, коваль, бандурист, пастух |
| Noun + {-иця, -иня, -(а)ха, -аля, -ка} = Noun | female version of a noun | княгиня |
| Adjective + {-ець, -ак, -ик, -ко, -ун} = Noun | a male with the given attribute of the adjective | грішник |
| Noun of a city/nation + {-ин(я), -як(а), -ець/-ця} = Noun | citizen/inhabitant of the city/nation (male/female) | українець |
| Noun + {-енко, -ич, -юк, -чук, -івна} = Noun | descendant of, son/daughter of | |
| Noun + -иха | often a negative female noun (female pejoratives) | сторожиха |
| Noun + -ня | place where noun can be done/found | читальня, книгарня |
| Adjective + -ота | being in the state described by the noun | біднота |
| Noun/Verb Stem + -ство | abstract form of the noun, -dom, -ship, -edness | царство, товариство, жіноцтво |
| Adjective + -ість | possessing the qualities expressed by the adjective, -ness | радість, старість |
| Any Word + {-ок/-ка/-ко, -енько, -ць/-ця/-це, -ятко (< Common Slavic *-ętko/*-ятко)} = Noun | diminutive, of various shades of positive meaning (masculine/feminine/neuter forms given) | млиночок, телятко, вітрець |
| Any word + {-ака, -сько, -ище, -ура, -уга, -ука} = Noun | diminutive of various shades of negative meaning | хлопчисько, дідище |
| Masculine Noun + -ів = Possessive Adjective | Possessive adjective | братів |
| Feminine Noun + -ин = Possessive Adjective | Possessive adjective | бабин |
| Nouns + {-овий/-ський} = Adjective | belonging to, containing the noun | дубовий, сільський |
| Nouns + -ячий (< Common Slavic *-ętjĭ/*-ѧтйь) = Adjective | belonging to | курячий, риб'ячий |
| Nouns + -яний (< Common Slavic *-ęnjĭ/*-ѧнйь) = Adjective | made of, consisting of | дерев'яний, гречаний |
| Nouns + -ний = Adjective | made of | молочний |
| Adjective + -ісінький/-есенький = Adjective | absolutely, most highly | чистесенький/чистісінький |
| Adjective + -нький = Adjectival Noun | diminutive | чорненький |
| Adjective in -ський + -щина (drop -ський) = Noun | The noun refers to the region | Київщина |
| (Foreign) Word + -увати = Verb | creates a verb from any other word | купувати |
Adjectives
Two or more adjectives can be combined into a single word using an о as the linking vowel, for example, сільськогосподарський, which consists of the adjectives сільський and господарський. If the second adjective starts with a vowel, then a dash can be used to separate the linking vowel and the second adjective, for example, середньо-європеський.Verbs
In addition to the suffixes and prefixes that can be added to verbs, Ukrainian verbs have inherited occasional traces of the Indo-European ablaut. The primary ablaut is the difference between long and short Indo-European vowels. In Ukrainian, due to the fact that the long and short vowels experienced different reflexes, this ablaut is reflected as a change in vowels. The resulting verbs are often imperfect-perfect pairs. For example, we have скочити and скакати (simpified Indo-European *skoki- and *skōka-).Coordination
The common Ukrainian coordinations are:- і (and)
- та (and, but)
- а (whereas)
- але (but)
Subordination
Common Ukrainian subordinationsComplementizer
In linguistics , a complementizer is a syntactic category roughly equivalent to the term subordinating conjunction in traditional grammar. For example, the word that is generally called a complementizer in English sentences like Mary believes that it is raining...
are:
- як (how, if)
- коли (when)
- якщо (if)
Syntax
The basic word orderWord order
In linguistics, word order typology refers to the study of the order of the syntactic constituents of a language, and how different languages can employ different orders. Correlations between orders found in different syntactic subdomains are also of interest...
, both in conversation and the written language, is subject–verb–object. However, because the relations are marked by inflexion, considerable latitude in word order is allowed, and all the permutations can be used. The word order expresses the logical stress, and the degree of definiteness
Definiteness
In grammatical theory, definiteness is a feature of noun phrases, distinguishing between entities which are specific and identifiable in a given context and entities which are not ....
.
Negation
Unlike English, Latin, and various other languages, Ukrainian allows multiple negativesDouble negative
A double negative occurs when two forms of negation are used in the same sentence. Multiple negation is the more general term referring to the occurrence of more than one negative in a clause....
, as in “nixto nikoly nikomu ničoho ne proščaje” (‘no-one ever forgives anyone anything’, literally ‘no-one never to no-one nothing does not forgive’).
Objects of a negated verb are placed in the genitive case, where they would be accusative if the verb were not negated.
Case
The use of casesGrammatical case
In grammar, the case of a noun or pronoun is an inflectional form that indicates its grammatical function in a phrase, clause, or sentence. For example, a pronoun may play the role of subject , of direct object , or of possessor...
in Ukrainian can be very complicated. In general, the nominative, genitive, accusative, and vocative cases can be used without a preposition. On the other hand, the locative and instrumental
Instrumental case
The instrumental case is a grammatical case used to indicate that a noun is the instrument or means by or with which the subject achieves or accomplishes an action...
cases are used primarily with a preposition. Furthermore, and much like in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
, different prepositions can be followed by nouns in different cases, resulting in different meanings.
Aspect
Ukrainian verbs can have one of two aspectsGrammatical aspect
In linguistics, the grammatical aspect of a verb is a grammatical category that defines the temporal flow in a given action, event, or state, from the point of view of the speaker...
: imperfective and perfective. The imperfective form denotes an action that is taking place in the present, is ongoing, is repetitive, or is habitual. The perfective form indicates an action that is completed, is the result of an action, is the beginning of an action, or is shorter or longer than usual. For example, spaty (спати) is imperfective, while pospaty (поспати) is perfective.
Translation of words
Note: All Common Slavic words quoted are translated faithfully by their Ukrainian forms.Abbreviations used:
- m: masculine noun
- f: feminine noun
- nt: neuter noun
- n: noun declined like an adjective, with different forms for each gender
- v: verb
- adj: adjective
- adv: adverb
- ger: gerund
- pr: pronoun
- co: conjunction
- бабин (babyn): (adj) belonging to a grandmother (masculine nominative form)
- бабина (babyna): (adj) belonging to a grandmother (feminine nominative form)
- бандурист (banduryst): (m) a banduraBanduraBandura refers to a Ukrainian plucked string folk instrument. It combines elements of a box zither and lute, as well as its lute-like predecessor, the kobza...
player - безробітник (bezrobitnyk): (m) unemployed, someone without work
- береза (bereza): (f) birch
- бити (byty): (v) to hit
- біднота (bidnota): (f) poverty
- болото (boloto): (nt) mud, swamp
- борода (boroda): (f) beard
- брати (braty): (nt) to take
- братів (brativ): (adj) belonging to a brother (masculine nominative form)
- братова (bratova): (adj) belong to a brother (feminine nominative form)
- бувший (buvšyj): (adj) (dialectical) former, ex- (that which once was)
- бути (buty): (v) to be
- ваш (vaš): (adj) yours (pl)
- вернути (vernuty): (v) to return something
- вертіти (vertity): (v) to turn about repeatedly
- ввечері (vvečeri): (adv.) during the evening
- вечера (večera): (f) evening
- вибрати (vybraty): (v) to choose, elect
- вихід (vyxid): (m) exit
- відомий (vidomyj): (adj) well-known
- відьом (vid'om): (f) witches (genitive plural)
- відходити (vidxodyty): (v) to go further away (imperfective)
- вітрець (vitrec'): (m) a light wind
- вовк (vovk): (m) wolf
- вхід (vxid): (m) entrance
- виходити (vyxodyty): (v) to be in the process of exiting, leaving
- входити (vxodyty): (v) to enter, go in
- гарний (harnyj): (adj) nice
- гарно (harno): (adv) nicely
- грішник (hrišnyk): (m) sinner
- говорити (hovoryty): (v) to speak
- гора (hora): (f) mountain
- гречаний (hrečanyj): (adj) made of buckwheat
- гривня (hryvnia): (f) Ukrainian currency
- двигнути (dvyhnyty): (v) to exert
- дерев'яний (derev"janyj): (adj) made of wood
- дідище (didyšče): (nt) grandfathers (collective pejorative)
- додати (dodaty): (v) to add
- доходити (doxodyty): (v) to approach, get nearer
- дубовий (dybovyj): (adj) made of oak
- думати (dumaty): (v) to think
- жатий (žatyj): (adj) harvested
- жіноцтво (žinoctvo): (nt) womanhood
- жовтіти (žovtity): (v) to turn yellow
- Закарпаття (Zakarnattja): (nt) Transcarpathia
- захід (zaxid): (m) sunset
- заходити (zaxodyty): (v) to set (literally, to go beyond the horizon)
- збирати (zbyraty): (v) to gather
- збіжжя (zbižžja): (nt) bread, grain
- з'їсти (z"jicty): (v) to eat (perfective)
- земля (zemlja): (f) earth
- знати (znaty): (v) to know
- знайомий (znajomyj): (adj) friendly (known); (n) friend
- знавши (znavšy): (ger) having known
- знаючи (znajučy): (ger) knowing
- зошит (zošyt): (m) notebook
- зходи (zxody): (m) gatherings (nominative plural)
- зустріч (zustrič): (f) meeting
- ім'я (im"ja): (nt) name
- їсти (jisty): (v) to eat
- їхній (jixnij): (adj) theirs
- Київщина (Kyjivščyna): (f) the region around KievKievKiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, Kiev oblastKiev OblastKyiv Oblast, sometimes written as Kiev Oblast is an oblast in central Ukraine.The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Kyiv , also being the capital of Ukraine...
. - книгарня (knyharnja): (f) bookstore
- княгиня (knjahynja): (m) queen, grand duchess, female counterpart to a knjaz
- коваль (koval'): (m) blacksmith
- красти (krasty): (v) to steal
- купувати (kupuvaty): (v) to buy
- курча (kurča): (nt) baby chicken
- курячий (kurjačyj): (adj) made of a chicken
- лежати (ležaty): (v) to lie in some given place
- лити (lyty): (v) to pour
- лишений (lyšenyj): (adj) left
- мати (maty): (v) to have
- мило (mylo): (nt) soap
- міжнародний (mižnarodnyj): (adj) international
- мій (mij): (adj) mine
- млиночок (mlynočok): (m) a little mill
- молоко (moloko): (nt) milk
- молоти (moloty): (v) to grind
- молочний (moločnyj): (adj) made/containing of milk
- нагорі (nahori): (adv) on top
- надати (nadaty): (v) to send mail
- надзвичайний (nadzvyčajnyj): (adj.) extraordinary
- напіввідкритий (navpivvidkrytyj): (adj.) in a half-open state
- наш (naš): (adj) ours
- насіння (nasinnja) (nt) grain
- нести (necty): (v) to carry
- несучи(й) (nesučy(j)): (ger) carrying; (adj) that which is being carried
- ніч (nič): (f) night
- носити (nosyty): (v) to carry
- носіння (nosinnja): (nt) act of carrying
- неходити (nexodyty): (v) to not walk
- обв'язковий (obv"jazkovyj): (adj) obligatory
- обходити (obxodyty): (v) to walk around, circumabulate
- орати (oraty): (v) to plow
- пастух (pastyx): (m) shepherd
- пекти (pekty): (v) to bake
- первонароджений (pervonarodženyj): (adj) first-born
- переходити (perexodyty): (v) to check, go over
- печений (pečehyj): (adj) baked
- питати (pytaty): (v) to ask
- питання (pytannja): (nt) question
- пити (pyty): (v) to drink
- південь (pivden'): (m) midday, south
- підходити (pidxodyty): (v) to come closer (imperfective)
- плести (plesty): (v) to weave
- плечима (plečyma): (nt) shoulders (instrumental plural form)
- плисти (plysty): (v) to float
- повинен (povynen): (adj) required to be done (often translated using the verb, should) (masculine nominative form)
- повинна (povynna): (adj) required to be done (feminine nominative form)
- полоти (poloty): (v) to weed
- посланий (poslanyj): (adj) sent
- попросити (poprosyty): (v) to ask for something
- поспати (pospaty): (v) to nap
- почати (počaty): (v) to start
- почорнілий (počorhilyj): (adj) having been blackened
- прадід (pradid): (m) forefathers, ancestors (literally fore-grandfathers)
- приходити (pryxodyty): (v) to come closer
- Придністров'я (Pridnistrov"ja): (nt) TransnistriaTransnistriaTransnistria is a breakaway territory located mostly on a strip of land between the Dniester River and the eastern Moldovan border to Ukraine...
, which from the Ukrainian prospective is on this side of the Dnister. - продати (prodaty): (v) to sell
- протилежний (protyležnyj): (adj) laying opposite
- проходити (proxodyty): (v) to cross something (ocean)
- радість (radist'): (f) happiness
- рвати (rvaty): (v) to rip
- риб'ячий (ryb"jačyj): (adj) made of fish
- роздати (rozdaty): (v) to give out
- розібрати (rozibraty): (v) to take apart
- розходити (rozxodyty): (v) to wear out
- свято (svjato): (nt) holiday
- середньо-європеський (serednjo-jevropes'kyj): (adj) central European
- сільський (sil'c'kyj): (adj) of a village
- сільськогосподарський (cil's'korosnodars'kyj): (adj) agricultural
- сіяти (sijaty): (v) to plant / seed
- скакати (skakaty): (v) to jump repeatedly (imperfective)
- скочити (skočyty): (v) to jump once (perfective)
- союз (sojuz): (n) union
- спати (spaty): (v) to sleep
- спекти (spekty): (v) to bake
- співробітник (spivrobitnyk): (m) coworker
- старість (starist'): (f) old age
- сторожиха (storožyxa): (f) a rude guard
- сусід (susid): (m) neighbour
- твій (tvij): (adj) yours (sing.)
- теля (telja): (nt) calf
- телятко (teljatko): (nt) calf (diminutive)
- ткач (tkač): (m) weaver
- товариство (tovarystvo): (nt) friendship
- українець (ukrajinec'): (m) a male Ukrainian person
- умерти (umerty): (v) to die (animate)
- хвалити (xvalyty): (v) to praise
- хвалячи (xvaljačy): (ger) praising
- хлопчисько (xlončys'ko): (nt) guy (pejorative)
- хотіти (xotity): (v) to want, desire
- хто (xto): (pr) who
- царство (carstvo): (nt) empire/kingdom
- чий (čyj): (adj) whose
- чистесенький (čystesen'kyj): (adj) extremely clean
- чистісінький (čystisin'kyj): (adj) extremely clean
- читальня (čytal'nja): (f) reading room
- читати (čytaty): (v) to read
- чорненький (čornen'kyj): (n) black one (diminutive)
- школяр (školjar): (m) scholar
- що (ščo): (pr) what
- як (jak): (co) when
- якщо (jakščo): (co) if
External links
- Guide to Ukrainian grammar (not always on line) http://ulif.org.ua/ulp/dict_all/index.php?key_reestr=53915&dict=paradigm
- Guide to Ukrainian orthography http://rozum.org.ua/index.php?a=srch&d=21&id_srch=4370e04265734957b6001b0b7608d9cd&il=ru&p=1