Ukrainian Grammar

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

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

Prepositions - Ukrainian - Pronunciation
and і [і]
above над [nad]
under під [pіd]
before до [do]
after після [pіslya]
in front of перед [pyeryed]
behind за [za]
far from далеко від [dalyeko vіd]
near близько [blizʲko]
in в [v]
inside всередині [vsyeryedinі]
outside за межами [za myeʐami]
with з [z]
without без [byez]
about про [pro]
between між [mіʐ]
but але [alye]
for для [dlya]
from від [vіd]
to до [do]

Preposition Grammar Rules

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

Prepositions + Rules - Ukrainian + Pronunciation
I eat without a knife [preposition + noun] я їм без ножа [ya yim byez noʐa]
she lives near the church [verb + preposition] вона живе біля церкви [vona ʐivye bіlya tzyerkvi]
he is taller than her [adjective + preposition] він вищий за неї [vіn vishtiy za nyeyi]
he came with his small dog [preposition + pronoun] він прийшов зі своєю маленькою собачкою [vіn priyshov zі svoyeyo malyenʲkoyo sobachkoyo]
can you come with me? [preposition + pronoun] ви можете піти зі мною? [vi moʐyetye pіti zі mnoyo?]

Negation in Ukrainian

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

Negation + Rules - Ukrainian + Pronunciation
I understand you [affirmative form] я вас розумію [ya vas rozoomіyo]
I don't understand you [negation + verb] я вас не розумію [ya vas nye rozoomіyo]
this is not the correct word [negation + adjective] це неправильне слово [tzye nyepravilʲnye slovo]
don't leave me [imperative negation] не залишай мене [nye zalishay myenye]
no problem [negation + noun] немає проблем [nyemaye problyem]

Negative Sentences - Ukrainian + Pronunciation
I don't speak French [negation + present tense] я не говорю по-французьки [ya nye guovoryo po-frantzoozʲki]
she didn't visit Germany [negation + past tense] вона не відвідала німеччину [vona nye vіdvіdala nіmyechchinoo]
he cannot see us [negative modal verb] він не може бачити нас [vіn nye moʐye bachiti nas]
can't she play chess? [interrogative negation] вона не може грати в шахи? [vona nye moʐye gurati v shakhi?]
we will not come late [negation + future tense] ми не прийдемо пізно [mi nye priydyemo pіzno]

Questions in Ukrainian

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

English - Ukrainian - Pronunciation
how? як? [yak?]
what? що? [shto?]
who? хто? [khto?]
why? чому? [chomoo?]
where? де? [dye?]

More of the interrogative form, now in a sentence:

Questions + Rules - Ukrainian + Pronunciation
where do you live? [interrogative + verb] де ти живеш? [dye ti ʐivyesh?]
does she speak Chinese? [interrogative verb] чи вона говорить по-китайськи? [chi vona guovoritʲ po-kitaysʲki?]
how much is this? [interrogative preposition] скільки це коштує? [skіlʲki tzye koshtooye?]
can I help you? [interrogative modal verb] я можу вам допомогти? [ya moʐoo vam dopomoguti?]
what is your name? [interrogative preposition] як тебе звати? [yak tyebye zvati?]

Adverbs in Ukrainian

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

Adverbs - Ukrainian - Pronunciation
now зараз [zaraz]
yesterday вчора [vchora]
today сьогодні [sʲoguodnі]
tonight сьогодні ввечері [sʲoguodnі vvyechyerі]
tomorrow завтра [zavtra]
soon скоро [skoro]
quickly швидко [shvidko]
slowly повільно [povіlʲno]
together разом [razom]
very дуже [dooʐye]
almost майже [mayʐye]
always завжди [zavʐdi]
usually зазвичай [zazvichay]
sometimes іноді [іnodі]
rarely рідко [rіdko]
never ніколи [nіkoli]

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

Adverbs + Rules - Ukrainian + Pronunciation
do you understand me now? [pronoun + adverb] ви розумієте мене? [vi rozoomіyetye myenye?]
I need help immediately [noun + adverb] мені потрібна допомога негайно [myenі potrіbna dopomogua nyeguayno]
she is very intelligent [adverb + adjective] вона дуже розумна [vona dooʐye rozoomna]
I will always love you [verb + adverb] я завжди кохатиму тебе [ya zavʐdi kokhatimoo tyebye]
can we learn German together? [adverb in a question] ми можемо вчити німецьку мову разом? [mi moʐyemo vchiti nіmyetzʲkoo movoo razom?]

Pronouns in Ukrainian

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

Personal Pronouns - Ukrainian - Pronunciation
I я [ya]
you ви [vi]
he він [vіn]
she вона [vona]
we ми [mi]
they вони [voni]

Object Pronouns - Ukrainian - Pronunciation
me я, мені, мене [ya, myenі, myenye]
you ви [vi]
him його [yoguo]
her її [yiyi]
us ми, нас [mi, nas]
them вони, їх [voni, yikh]

Possessive Pronouns - Ukrainian - Pronunciation
my мій [mіy]
your ваш, твій [vash, tvіy]
his його [yoguo]
her її [yiyi]
our наш [nash]
their їх [yikh]

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

Personal Pronouns - Ukrainian + Pronunciation
I am your friend [1st pronoun + verb] я твій друг [ya tvіy droogu]
you speak very fast [2nd pronoun + adverb] ви говорите дуже швидко [vi guovoritye dooʐye shvidko]
he has three dogs [3rd pronoun + verb] він має трьох собак [vіn maye trʲokh sobak]
she can speak German [3rd pronoun + verb] вона розмовляє німецькою [vona rozmovlyaye nіmyetzʲkoyo]
we will not come late [1st plural pronoun] ми не прийдемо пізно [mi nye priydyemo pіzno]
they bought milk and bread [3rd plural pronoun] вони купили молока і хліба [voni koopili moloka і khlіba]

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

Object Pronouns - Ukrainian + Pronunciation
can you tell me your name? [1st object pronoun] як вас звати? [yak vas zvati?]
I will give you money [2nd object pronoun] я дам вам грошей [ya dam vam guroshyey]
she wrote him a letter [3rd object pronoun] вона написала йому листа [vona napisala yomoo lista]
they visited her yesterday [3rd object pronoun] вони відвідали її вчора [voni vіdvіdali yiyi vchora]
can she help us? [1st pl. object pronoun] вона може нам допомогти? [vona moʐye nam dopomoguti?]
he gave them food [3rd pl. object pronoun] він дав їм поїсти [vіn dav yim poyisti]

Possessive Pronouns - Ukrainian + Pronunciation
my name is Maya [1st possessive pronoun] мене звуть майя [myenye zvootʲ mayya]
your brother lives here [2nd possessive pronoun] ваш брат живе тут [vash brat ʐivye toot]
her mother cooks for us [3rd possessive pronoun] її мати готує для нас [yiyi mati guotooye dlya nas]
his hobby is reading books [3rd possessive pronoun] він захоплюється читанням книг [vіn zakhoplyoyetʲsya chitannyam knigu]
our dream is to visit Paris [1st pl. possessive pronoun] ми мріємо побувати в парижі [mi mrіyemo poboovati v pariʐі]
their house is not far [3rd pl. possessive pronoun] їх будинок знаходиться недалеко [yikh boodinok znakhoditʲsya nyedalyeko]

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

Demonstrative Pronouns - Ukrainian - Pronunciation
this is my house це мій будинок [tzye mіy boodinok]
that restaurant is far той ресторан далеко [toy ryestoran dalyeko]
these apples are delicious ці яблука дуже смачні [tzі yablooka dooʐye smachnі]
those stars are shiny ті зірки блистять [tі zіrki blistyatʲ]

I hope you learned a lot about the Ukrainian grammar in this lesson. Please check out our main menu here for more lessons: homepage. The next lesson is below, have fun!