The determinative pronouns (займе́нники озна́чальні) are the quantifying, totalizing words: "all, whole, every, each, oneself, the very, other, the same, not a single." They sit between pronouns and adjectives — they point and quantify like pronouns, but they decline and agree with their noun like adjectives. This page covers the high-frequency core: весь "all/whole," сам "oneself / the very," ко́жен "each/every," і́нший "other," той са́мий "the same," and жо́ден "not a single." Two distinctions trip up English speakers and we'll meet them head-on: все "everything" versus всі "everyone" (two different words, not one), and сам "in person / on one's own" versus the reflexive себе́ "oneself (as an object)" — which can both appear in a single sentence.
весь / вся / все / всі — 'all, whole, everything, everyone'
весь is the big one. It means "all (of)" or "the whole," and it agrees with its noun in gender, number, and case. Its forms shift stem between вес-/вс-/всь- as it declines.
| Case | masc. | neut. | fem. | plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | весь | все | вся | всі |
| Genitive | всьо́го | всьо́го | всіє́ї | всіх |
| Dative | всьо́му | всьо́му | всій | всім |
| Accusative | весь / всьо́го* | все | всю | всі / всіх* |
| Instrumental | всім | всім | всіє́ю | всіма́ |
| Locative | (на) всьо́му / всім | всьо́му / всім | (на) всій | (на) всіх |
*Animate masculine/plural accusative copies the genitive (всьо́го, всіх).
There is a fuller variant уве́сь / уся́ / усе́ / усі́ with an initial у-; it means exactly the same thing and is chosen for euphony (after a consonant: прочита́в уве́сь рома́н sounds smoother). Treat весь and уве́сь as interchangeable spellings of one word.
Він прочита́в усю́ кни́гу за оди́н ве́чір.
He read the whole book in one evening. — усю́ (= всю), feminine accusative, 'the whole'.
Усе́ життя́ вона́ працюва́ла вчи́телькою.
All her life she worked as a teacher. — усе́ життя́, neuter, 'one's whole life'.
The все vs всі split — two different words
Here is the trap. English "everything" and "everyone" both correspond to forms of весь, but they are separate forms:
- все (neuter singular) = "everything" — the catch-all for things, abstractions, situations. Takes singular verb agreement.
- всі (plural) = "everyone, everybody, all (the people)" — the catch-all for people. Takes plural verb agreement.
Choosing the wrong one ("*все love this" for "everyone loves this") is a constant English-speaker error.
Усе́ бу́де до́бре.
Everything will be fine. — все, neuter singular, with singular бу́де.
Усі́ зна́ють цю пі́сню.
Everyone knows this song. — всі, plural, with plural зна́ють.
Я зроби́в усе́, що зміг, і всі це поба́чили.
I did everything I could, and everyone saw it. — все = 'everything' (the things done); всі = 'everyone' (the people).
сам / сама́ / само́ / са́мі — 'oneself, in person, the very, alone'
сам is the intensive/emphatic determinative. It does not mean "self" as an object (that is себе́); it stresses that the named person did it themselves, in person, or alone, with nobody else involved. It agrees with whoever it intensifies.
| Meaning | Example |
|---|---|
| '(by) oneself, in person' | Я сам це зроби́в 'I did it myself' |
| 'the very, the … himself' | сам дире́ктор 'the director himself' |
| 'alone, on one's own' | Вона́ живе́ сама́ 'she lives alone' |
| 'the very (one)' | са́ме тому́ 'for that very reason' |
Я сам усе́ зроби́в, мені́ ніхто́ не допомага́в.
I did it all myself, nobody helped me. — сам = 'on my own, in person'.
На збо́ри прийшо́в сам мі́ністр.
The minister himself came to the meeting. — сам мі́ністр = 'the minister in person', emphasizing the high rank showed up.
Са́ме тому́ я й телефону́ю.
That's exactly why I'm calling. — са́ме (neuter, fixed adverbial) = 'precisely, for that very reason'.
Note the related but distinct той са́мий "the same (one)" — it leans on the same "very" sense. (Avoid the surzhyk "са́мий + adjective" superlative, e.g. са́мий пе́рший — standard Ukrainian builds the superlative with най-: найпе́рший "the very first," найкра́щий "the best.")
сам vs себе́ — the distinction English hides
English "myself" does two completely different jobs: "I did it myself" (intensive, = on my own) and "I see myself" (reflexive object). Ukrainian splits them: сам is the intensive, себе́ is the reflexive object. They can even co-occur:
Я сам себе́ не розумі́ю.
I don't understand myself. — сам = intensive ('I, of all people'); себе́ = the reflexive object ('myself').
Він сам собі́ супере́чить.
He contradicts himself. — сам intensifies the subject; собі́ is the reflexive dative object.
The full nuances of intensive сам have their own page; here the key takeaway is just: сам ≠ себе́. сам adds emphasis to a doer; себе́ is a doer's reflexive object.
ко́жен / ко́жний — 'each, every'
ко́жен (and its slightly more formal twin ко́жний) means "each, every" and crucially takes singular agreement — like English "each," not "all." It agrees in gender and case: ко́жен (masc.), ко́жна (fem.), ко́жне (neut.).
Ко́жен з нас роби́в поми́лки.
Each of us made mistakes. — ко́жен, singular, even though it means 'all of us individually'.
Я бі́гаю ко́жного ра́нку.
I go running every morning. — ко́жного ра́нку, a fixed time expression in the genitive.
Ко́жна дити́на ма́є пра́во на осві́ту.
Every child has the right to an education. — ко́жна дити́на, feminine, singular agreement.
Don't confuse ко́жен "each/every" with всі "all" — ко́жен looks at the members one by one (singular verb), всі sweeps them up together (plural verb). "Every student passed" (one by one) = Ко́жен студе́нт скла́в; "All the students passed" (as a group) = Усі́ студе́нти скла́ли.
Related universals you'll meet: уся́кий / вся́кий "every kind of, all sorts of" and будь-яки́й "any (at all)" — looser quantifiers in the same family.
і́нший — 'other, another'
і́нший means "other, another, a different one." It declines like a regular soft adjective (і́нший, і́нша, і́нше, і́нші) and contrasts with what was already mentioned.
Ця ру́чка не пи́ше — дай мені́ і́ншу.
This pen doesn't write — give me another one. — і́ншу, feminine accusative.
І́нші лю́ди ду́мають іна́кше, і це норма́льно.
Other people think differently, and that's fine. — і́нші лю́ди = 'other people'.
The neat phrase оди́н... і́нший sets up "one... the other," and ре́шта "the rest, the remainder" rounds out the contrast.
Оди́н брат став лі́карем, а і́нший — інжене́ром.
One brother became a doctor, and the other an engineer. — оди́н... і́нший contrast.
той са́мий — 'the same'; жо́ден — 'not a single'
той са́мий (literally "that very") is the standard way to say "the same (identical one)" — the same specific thing referred to again. Be careful: "the same" in the sense of "identical in kind" is одна́ковий, a different word; той са́мий points to one and the same referent, одна́ковий to two things alike. The той-vs-одна́ковий line is drawn fully on the один as determiner page.
Це той са́мий чолові́к, яко́го ми ба́чили вчо́ра.
That's the same man we saw yesterday. — той са́мий = one and the same person.
жо́ден / жо́дний means "not a single, none" and pairs with the negative particle не on the verb (Ukrainian uses double negation as standard, not as an error). It agrees in gender and case.
Жо́ден студе́нт не запізни́вся сього́дні.
Not a single student was late today. — жо́ден... не, the standard double-negative.
Я не чита́в жо́дної з цих книжо́к.
I haven't read a single one of these books. — жо́дної, feminine genitive after the negated verb.
Source-language comparison
For an English speaker, the headline adjustments are: (1) these words decline — весь runs through всьо́го, всім, у всьо́му; you can't use one fixed shape. (2) все ≠ всі: "everything" (neuter, singular verb) and "everyone" (plural, plural verb) are different words; English collapses them onto "every-." (3) сам ≠ себе́: English "myself" covers both intensive ("I did it myself") and reflexive ("I see myself"); Ukrainian uses сам for the first and себе́ for the second — and can stack them (Я сам себе́ не розумі́ю). (4) ко́жен takes singular agreement like "each," while всі takes plural like "all."
For a Russian speaker, the set lines up with весь/сам/ка́ждый/друго́й, but mind the Ukrainian forms: ко́жен (not the Russian cognate), the у-variant уве́сь/уся́/усе́/усі́, the instrumental plural всіма́, той са́мий for "the same," and жо́ден for "not a single." The grammar (declension, double negation with жо́ден, singular agreement on ко́жен) transfers; the lexis and stress need the Ukrainian forms.
Common Mistakes
❌ Все лю́блять цю пі́сню.
Wrong word for people — 'everyone' is всі (plural), not все. Use: Всі лю́блять цю пі́сню.
✅ Всі лю́блять цю пі́сню.
Everyone loves this song — всі (plural), plural verb лю́блять.
❌ Всі гото́ве.
Number mismatch — все 'everything' takes a singular adjective (гото́ве), всі 'everyone' a plural one (гото́ві). For 'everything is ready': Все гото́ве.
✅ Все гото́ве.
Everything is ready — все (neuter) with neuter гото́ве.
❌ Я ба́чу сам у дзе́ркалі.
Wrong reflexive — 'I see myself' needs the object себе́, not the intensive сам: Я ба́чу себе́ в дзе́ркалі.
✅ Я ба́чу себе́ в дзе́ркалі.
I see myself in the mirror — себе́ is the reflexive object; сам would mean 'I, in person'.
❌ Ко́жен лю́ди зна́ють це.
Agreement error — ко́жен 'each' is singular: it takes a singular noun and verb. Use всі for the plural group, or Ко́жен зна́є це.
✅ Ко́жен зна́є це.
Everyone (each one) knows this — ко́жен, singular agreement зна́є.
❌ Ні оди́н студе́нт прийшо́в.
For 'not a single' Ukrainian uses жо́ден with the negated verb (double negation): Жо́ден студе́нт не прийшо́в.
✅ Жо́ден студе́нт не прийшо́в.
Not a single student came — жо́ден... не, standard double negation.
Key Takeaways
- Determinative pronouns decline and agree like adjectives: весь → всьо́го, всім, у всьо́му.
- все (neuter) = 'everything' with a singular verb; всі (plural) = 'everyone' with a plural verb — two different words.
- сам = intensive 'in person / on one's own / the very' (Я сам це зроби́в, сам дире́ктор); it is not the reflexive себе́, and the two can co-occur (Я сам себе́ не розумі́ю).
- ко́жен 'each/every' takes singular agreement (Ко́жен зна́є); всі 'all' takes plural.
- і́нший 'other', той са́мий 'the same (one)' (vs одна́ковий 'alike'), жо́ден ... не 'not a single' with double negation.
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- The Reflexive Pronoun СебеA2 — Себе́ 'oneself' is one pronoun that covers myself, yourself, himself, ourselves, themselves — it takes its person from the subject of the clause. It has NO nominative (you can never be the subject of себе́), one set of forms for every person (себе́ in gen/acc, собі́ in dat/loc, собо́ю in instr), and it always points back to whoever is doing the verb: Я ба́чу себе́, Вона́ купи́ла собі́ су́кню, Візьми́ це з собо́ю. Keep it apart from the fused verbal -ся (ми́тися) — себе́ is a separate, stressed, full word used when 'oneself' is a real argument.
- The Intensive Pronoun СамB2 — Сам / сама́ / саме́ / самі́ is the intensive-determinative pronoun covering three jobs English splits between several words: 'in person / -self' (Дире́ктор сам прийшо́в 'the director came himself'), 'alone / unaided' (Я зроби́в це сам 'I did it myself/alone'), and 'the very / right' (на са́мому верху́ 'at the very top', саме́ той 'that very one'). It AGREES with its noun and declines like a hard adjective (само́го, само́му, сами́м), so it is sharply distinct from the reflexive object себе́ ('oneself' as an argument). The unstressed form са́ме 'exactly, precisely' is a related focus particle.
- Indefinite Pronouns (Хтось, Щось, Будь-, -небудь, Деякий)A2 — Ukrainian builds 'some-/any-' words from the question pronouns plus a particle, and the particle encodes specificity: -сь for a definite-but-unknown referent (хтось 'someone'), будь- for free choice 'anyone at all' (будь-хто), -небудь for vague 'some/any' (хто-небудь), аби- for dismissive 'just anyone' (абихто). English's flat 'some/any' splits into a whole system here — and будь- and -небудь are written with an obligatory hyphen while -сь, де-, аби- are not.
- Demonstrative Pronouns (Цей, Той)A1 — Ukrainian points with two demonstratives — цей/ця/це/ці 'this' (near) and той/та/те/ті 'that' (far) — and both AGREE with their noun and DECLINE like adjectives (цей → цьо́го, цьо́му, цим; той → того́, тому́, тим). The neuter це does double duty: 'this' as a pointer (це мі́сто 'this city') and the copula-less 'this is / it is' (Це мій друг 'this is my friend'), so Ukrainian has no separate word for 'it is' — just це plus a noun.
- Numeral–Noun Agreement (The Hard Part)B1 — The notorious three-way rule: after 1 (and …1) the noun is nominative SINGULAR, after 2/3/4 (and …2/3/4) nominative PLURAL with the dual-reflex end-stress (два столи́, дві сестри́), and after 5+ genitive PLURAL — chosen by the LAST digit, and applying only when the whole phrase is nominative or inanimate-accusative.