The cases

Formation

The accusative answers що? (what?). A feminine noun in -а takes -у, and one in -я takes -ю: кни́га, кни́гу; ка́ва, ка́ву; ву́лиця, ву́лицю. A masculine noun naming a thing, and a neuter noun, do not change: Я ба́чу буди́нок, мі́сто. In a few nouns the stress moves: вода́, во́ду.

Use

The accusative is the case of the direct object, the thing an action is done to: Я п’ю ка́ву. It also follows ма́ти: Я ма́ю маши́ну.

Formation

A masculine noun naming a person or an animal (an animate noun) takes -а after a hard consonant and -я after a soft consonant or -й: брат, бра́та; Іва́н, Іва́на; вчи́тель, вчи́теля; лі́кар, лі́каря; Андрі́й, Андрі́я. A masculine noun in -о also takes -а: та́то, та́та; Петро́, Петра́. In кіт the і becomes о: кота́. A masculine noun in -а takes -у, as a feminine one does: соба́ка, соба́ку. The question is кого́? (whom?).

Formation

An adjective agrees with its noun in the accusative. Before a feminine noun it ends in -у (-ю for a soft adjective); before a masculine person or animal, in -ого; before a masculine thing or a neuter noun it has its nominative form. The possessives and цей, той take the same endings.

Formation

The personal pronouns have accusative forms of their own: я, мене́; ти, тебе́; ми, нас; ви, вас. The question word хто has the accusative кого́; що does not change.

Use

An object pronoun usually stands before the verb: Вона́ нас зна́є. After the verb it is stressed: Вона́ зна́є нас. After a preposition мене́ and тебе́ are stressed on their first syllable: у ме́не, про те́бе.

Formation

Where someone goes is said with у (в) or на followed by the accusative: у шко́лу, на робо́ту, в Полта́ву. A masculine place does not change: у парк, на вокза́л. The question is куди́? (where to?).

Use

У means “into” a building, a town or a country; на is used with work, events, open places and some buildings, and each has to be learnt with its noun. The same choice holds for where someone is, as described in Choosing у or на: в о́фісі, на робо́ті, на по́шті, в Украї́ні.

Use

The day on which something happens is said with у (в) and the accusative: у понеді́лок, у вівто́рок, у четве́р, у п’я́тницю, у субо́ту, у неді́лю; середа́ moves its stress: у се́реду. The preposition про (about) is also followed by the accusative: ду́мати про робо́ту, говори́ти про Іва́на.

Formation

The locative is used after у (в) and на to say where someone or something is. Its endings in the singular:

• -і: most masculine nouns in a consonant, the neuters in -о or -е, and the feminines in -а or -я: о́фіс, в о́фісі; мі́сто, у мі́сті; шко́ла, у шко́лі; ку́хня, на ку́хні;
• -ї: a masculine noun in -й (музе́й, у музе́ї), and -ії for a feminine noun in -ія (Фра́нція, у Фра́нції);
• -у: a masculine noun in к, г, х, and a neuter in -ко: парк, у па́рку; банк, у ба́нку; лі́жко, на лі́жку;
• -ові (-еві after a soft consonant): a masculine noun naming a person: на бра́тові, на вчи́телеві; the shorter на бра́ті, на вчи́телі are also correct.

Use

The locative answers де? (where?). It is never used without a preposition. The person form in -ові is met in на + a person, for what someone is wearing: На бра́тові си́ня ку́ртка (“My brother is wearing a blue jacket”).

Formation

When the last syllable of a masculine noun has і, that і usually becomes о (or е) as soon as an ending is added, in the locative as in the plural: стіл, на столі́, столи́; Львів, у Льво́ві; Ха́рків, у Ха́ркові. In Ки́їв the ї becomes є: у Ки́єві. A town in -ів takes -ові in the locative.

Use

The і of these nouns appears only in the form with no ending, the nominative; every form with an ending has о or е. The plural shows the same change, as described in A vowel that changes or drops in the plural: стіл — столи́, день — дні.

Use

English in and at do not match у and на.

• У (в) is used with a country, a town and most buildings and rooms: в Украї́ні, у Льво́ві, в о́фісі, у шко́лі, в магази́ні, у кімна́ті.
• На is used with work, events, open places and a few buildings, which have to be learnt: на робо́ті, на конце́рті, на вечі́рці, на ву́лиці, на пля́жі, на по́шті, на вокза́лі, на ку́хні.

The same preposition is used for where someone goes, with the accusative: на робо́ті, на робо́ту.

Formation

An adjective before a masculine or neuter noun in the locative takes -ому (the shorter -ім is also correct); before a feminine noun it takes -ій. The possessives and цей take the same endings.

Use

English where is two words in Ukrainian: де asks where someone or something is, куди́ where someone goes. The answers split the same way:

Use

In January is у сі́чні (or в сі́чні): the month after у / в is in the locative, learnt as a set form. Лю́тий has the form of an adjective: у лю́тому.

Formation

У and в are one preposition, written according to the sounds around it, so that two consonants or two vowels do not meet:

• у between two consonants (Іва́н у Полта́ві), at the start of a sentence before a consonant (У Ха́ркові…), and before в, ф or льв (Сестра́ у Льво́ві);
• в between two vowels (Ма́ма в о́фісі), at the start of a sentence before a vowel (В Іта́лії…), and after a vowel before a consonant (Петро́ в па́рку).

І (and) alternates with й in the same way: й between two vowels and after a vowel before a consonant (Марі́я й О́ля, Окса́на й Петро́); і after a consonant (брат і сестра́) and before й, є, ї, ю, я (О́ля і Я́на).

Use

Both forms are the same word with the same meaning; у or в written against the rule is a spelling slip, not a change of sense. Іти́ follows the same pattern: Я йду, Він іде́.

Formation

The vocative is the form of a name or noun used to call or address someone.

• A feminine name in -а takes -о: Оле́на, Оле́но; Окса́на, Окса́но; ма́ма, ма́мо.
• A name in -я takes -ю after a consonant (Га́ля, Га́лю; О́ля, О́лю) and -є after a vowel (Марі́я, Марі́є).
• A masculine name in a hard consonant takes -е: Оста́п, Оста́пе; Іва́н, Іва́не; Тара́с, Тара́се; a name in -о also takes -е, with the stress moved back: Петро́, Пе́тре.
• A name in -й or a soft -ь takes -ю: Андрі́й, Андрі́ю; Васи́ль, Васи́лю; so does І́гор, І́горю.
• A name in г, к, х takes -у: Оле́г, Оле́гу.

Use

An adult who is not a close friend is addressed with пан (to a man) or па́ні (to a woman) and the first name, both in the vocative: Па́не Іва́не!, Па́ні Окса́но! Па́ні does not change, but the name after it does. The vocative is set off by commas; the rest of the sentence is not affected.