Three of Ukrainian's busiest prepositions — че́рез, за, and про — all govern the accusative, and each one spreads across several English meanings. Че́рез is "across," "after (a future interval)," and "because of." За is "within," "for / in exchange," "than," and "by." Про is the everyday "about." The point where learners most often slip is time: че́рез годи́ну and за годи́ну both come out in English as "in an hour," but they mean different things. This page sorts each preposition's senses and nails that contrast.
Через + accusative
'Across / through' — physical crossing
The literal core of че́рез is movement across or through something: across the road, through the forest, over a bridge.
Перехо́дь че́рез доро́гу ті́льки на зеле́не сві́тло.
Only cross the road on a green light.
Ми йшли́ додо́му че́рез парк, бо так коро́тше.
We walked home through the park because it's shorter that way.
'After / in' a future interval — че́рез годи́ну
This is the time use to fix carefully. Че́рез + accusative of a time-span means "after that interval has passed" — i.e. a point measured forward from now. Че́рез годи́ну = "an hour from now"; че́рез ти́ждень = "in a week"; че́рез рік = "a year from now."
Я передзвоню́ тобі́ че́рез годи́ну, за́раз на зу́стрічі.
I'll call you back in an hour, I'm in a meeting right now.
По́тяг прибува́є че́рез два́дцять хвили́н, ще встигнемо ка́ву.
The train arrives in twenty minutes, we've still got time for a coffee.
'Because of' — че́рез дощ, че́рез те́бе
A very common, very useful sense: че́рез + accusative = "because of, owing to" — naming the cause, usually a negative or neutral one.
Матч скасува́ли че́рез си́льний дощ.
They cancelled the match because of heavy rain.
Че́рез те́бе ми спізни́лися на по́тяг!
Because of you we missed the train!
За + accusative
За is a two-case preposition with a large range; its full map (including the instrumental senses) is on the за-preposition page. Here are its accusative uses, the ones that matter for this comparison.
'Within / in' a span — за годи́ну
За + accusative of a time-span means "within / in the course of" that span — the time it takes to complete something, or the window by the end of which it happens. За годи́ну = "within an hour / in an hour's time"; за день = "in a day."
Він ви́вчив усю́ те́му за оди́н ве́чір — я б так не зміг.
He learned the whole topic in a single evening — I couldn't do that.
Ми впо́раємося з ці́єю робо́тою за годи́ну, не бі́льше.
We'll get this work done within an hour, no more.
'For / in exchange for' — дя́кую за, плати́ти за
The high-frequency transactional "for": thank for, pay for, vote for, apologise for.
Дя́кую за допомо́гу — без те́бе я б не впо́рався.
Thanks for the help — I couldn't have managed without you.
Скі́льки з ме́не за ка́ву й тісте́чко?
How much do I owe for the coffee and the pastry?
'Than' — the comparative
After a comparative, за + accusative is one of the two standard ways to say "than" (ста́рший за ме́не "older than me"). This use surprises every English speaker; the full treatment is on the comparative-constructions page.
Молодша сестра́ ви́ща за ме́не на ці́лу го́лову.
My younger sister is a whole head taller than me.
'By' — holding a part or handle
Ма́ма взяла́ дити́ну за́ руку й повела́ через доро́гу.
Mum took the child by the hand and led it across the road.
Про + accusative: 'about'
Про is the everyday word for "about / concerning" a topic — and, crucially, it takes the accusative, not the genitive. Think about something, tell a story about something, a book about war.
Розкажи́ мені́ про свою́ по́дорож — як вам Карпа́ти?
Tell me about your trip — how did you like the Carpathians?
Я ве́сь день ду́мав про на́шу розмо́ву.
I thought about our conversation all day.
Це кни́жка про війну́, але́ по су́ті — про люде́й.
It's a book about war, but really it's about people.
The verbs that chain naturally with про are розповіда́ти про (tell about), ду́мати про (think about), писа́ти про (write about), and чита́ти про (read about) — all accusative.
The headline contrast: че́рез годи́ну vs за годи́ну
Both translate as "in an hour," and this is the distinction worth memorising:
| Phrase | Meaning | Reference point |
|---|---|---|
| че́рез годи́ну | an hour from now (after the hour passes) | a future point |
| за годи́ну | within an hour / in the course of an hour | a span to fill or complete |
So передзвоню́ че́рез годи́ну = "I'll call you back in an hour" (I'll do it once an hour has elapsed — the event sits at the far end of the interval), while зроблю́ це за годи́ну = "I'll get it done within an hour" (the doing fills the hour, or finishes by its end). When the focus is when something will happen → че́рез; when the focus is how long it takes / by when → за.
Я ви́йду з до́му за п’ять хвили́н і бу́ду в те́бе че́рез пів годи́ни.
I'll leave the house in (within) five minutes and be at yours in half an hour.
This one sentence holds both: за п’ять хвили́н (it'll take me five minutes to get out the door) and че́рез пів годи́ни (arrival is a point half an hour from now). Once you feel the difference here, you have the contrast.
Source-language comparison
For an English speaker, the three traps are clear. (1) "In an hour" is ambiguous in English but not in Ukrainian: future point = че́рез, span/deadline = за — you must decide which you mean. (2) "Because of" is че́рез + a noun (че́рез дощ), where the English word "because" tempts you toward a clause-joining conjunction (use тому́ що / бо for clauses). (3) "About" is про + accusative — English "about" hides the case, so make a habit of the accusative (про війну́, про те́бе). All three prepositions govern the accusative, which at least keeps the case constant across them.
For a learner from Russian, через/за/про are broadly parallel, but watch the time nuance (it works the same way, че́рез = forward point, за = span) and keep the Ukrainian forms — про is the standard everyday "about" in Ukrainian (far more so than any "о/об"-style alternative), and it is firmly accusative.
Common Mistakes
❌ Зроблю́ це через годи́ну. (when you mean 'within an hour, by deadline')
Ambiguous/incorrect — for 'within an hour' use за годи́ну; че́рез годи́ну means 'an hour from now'.
✅ Зроблю́ це за годи́ну.
I'll get it done within an hour — за + accusative, span.
❌ Ми спізни́лися тому́ що дощ. (conjunction with a bare noun)
Incorrect — 'because of' + a noun is че́рез + accusative: че́рез дощ. (тому́ що needs a full clause.)
✅ Ми спізни́лися че́рез дощ.
We were late because of the rain — че́рез + accusative.
❌ кни́жка про війни́ (genitive after про)
Incorrect — про governs the accusative: про війну́.
✅ кни́жка про війну́
a book about war — про + accusative.
❌ ста́рший за мно́ю (instrumental for 'than me')
Incorrect — the comparative 'than' is за + accusative: ста́рший за ме́не.
✅ ста́рший за ме́не
older than me — за + accusative.
❌ Перехо́дь через доро́ги. (motion across — wrong number/case)
Incorrect — 'across the road' is че́рез + accusative singular: че́рез доро́гу.
✅ Перехо́дь че́рез доро́гу.
Cross the road — че́рез + accusative.
Key Takeaways
- Че́рез, за, про all govern the accusative, and each spans several English meanings.
- Че́рез = "across" (че́рез доро́гу), "after a future interval" (че́рез годи́ну = an hour from now), and "because of" + a noun (че́рез дощ).
- За (accusative side) = "within a span" (за годи́ну), "for / in exchange" (дя́кую за), "than" (ста́рший за ме́не), and "by" (за́ руку).
- Про = "about / concerning" — and it takes the accusative (про війну́, про те́бе), not the genitive.
- The headline contrast: че́рез годи́ну "an hour from now" vs за годи́ну "within an hour" — when = че́рез, how long / by when = за.
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- Prepositions Governing the AccusativeA2 — The accusative is the case of topic, crossing, exchange, and direction. Always-accusative prepositions: про 'about', че́рез 'through/across/because of/in (a time)', за 'in exchange / within (a time)', по 'for/to fetch', попри 'in spite of', понад 'over (a quantity)'. Plus the alternating spatial set в/у, на, за, під, над — which take the accusative ONLY for motion-toward (куди?) and switch to the locative or instrumental for static location. The insight English speakers miss: 'about' is про + ACCUSATIVE (думаю про тебе — no genitive!), direction always pulls the accusative, and 'thanks for' is дякую за + accusative.
- The Many Uses of ЗаB1 — За is a two-case preposition whose meaning is read off the case. With the INSTRUMENTAL it is static: 'behind / beyond' (за до́мом, за кордо́ном), 'at' a table or task (за столо́м, за робо́тою), 'after / following' (оди́н за о́дним), and 'to fetch' (піти́ за хлі́бом). With the ACCUSATIVE it is dynamic or transactional: motion 'behind' (за ріг), 'for / in exchange for' (дя́кую за допомо́гу, плати́ти за ка́ву), 'within' a future time-span (за годи́ну, за ти́ждень), 'by' a body part (за́ руку), and — crucially — the comparative 'than' (ста́рший за ме́не). With the GENITIVE it means 'in the era of' (за часі́в, за Шевче́нка). The split за стіл (motion) vs за столо́м (location) is the same motion-vs-location switch that runs through the whole preposition system.
- Cases in Time ExpressionsB1 — The grid for telling time in Ukrainian, because each kind of time-reference takes a different case: clock time uses о + locative (о тре́тій), weekdays use у/в + accusative (у понеді́лок), months/years/periods use у/в + locative (у бе́резні, у 2024 ро́ці), calendar dates use the bare genitive (пе́ршого тра́вня), duration uses the bare accusative (ці́лий день), 'within/after X' uses за/че́рез + accusative (за годи́ну), seasons-as-when use instrumental adverbs (взи́мку, навесні́), and frequency uses що- (щодня́) or раз на + accusative (раз на ти́ждень).
- Talking About Time and DatesA2 — Everyday Ukrainian time and date talk. Котра́ годи́на? 'what time?' (see telling-time), Яке́ сього́дні число́? 'what's the date?' answered with ordinal + month-in-GENITIVE (Сього́дні п’я́те тра́вня), and 'on' a date drops to bare genitive (народи́вся пе́ршого сі́чня). Weekdays (понеді́лок…неді́ля) and months (сі́чень…гру́день) are LOWERCASE; 'on Monday' is у понеді́лок (у + accusative) but recurring 'on Mondays' is по понеді́лках (по + locative). Time-ago/in: ти́ждень тому 'a week ago', че́рез ти́ждень 'in a week'. Frequency: щодня́, дві́чі на ти́ждень. The insight English speakers miss: each time concept selects a specific case/preposition — the date is an ordinal + genitive month, 'on Monday' is у + accusative, recurring is по + locative.
- Accusative: Uses Beyond the Direct ObjectB1 — The accusative does more than mark the object — with в/у, на, за, під, через it marks motion TOWARD a target (іду в школу), it expresses bare-preposition duration (чекав годину 'waited an hour'), and it stands in a pivotal contrast with the locative: the same prepositions в/у and на take the accusative for direction (куди? в школу) but the locative for static location (де? в школі).
- Prepositions and Case Government: OverviewA2 — The founding principle of the Ukrainian prepositional system: every preposition GOVERNS a case — you cannot use a preposition without putting its noun in the case it demands. Only five of the seven cases are governable (gen/dat/acc/instr/loc); some prepositions take different cases for different meanings (на + acc motion vs на + loc location; з + gen 'from' vs з + instr 'with'); and the relationship lives in the preposition AND the ending together, with euphonic variants (з/із/зі, у/в, від/од) chosen for sound.