This page covers two devices that look like asides but obey strict grammar: apposition (one noun renaming another — мі́сто Ки́їв "the city of Kyiv") and the parenthetical (a stance or connective word dropped into a clause — на жаль "unfortunately"). For an English speaker the headline facts are two. First, a Ukrainian appositive agrees in case with the noun it renames — "the city of Kyiv" is мі́сто Ки́їв, but "in the city of Kyiv" is у мі́сті Ки́єві, with both words in the locative — whereas English keeps "Kyiv" invariant. Second, parenthetical words (на жаль, ма́буть, о́тже, по-пе́рше) are always set off by commas — a rigid punctuation rule, not a stylistic option. Get the case-agreement and the commas right and these constructions are entirely regular.
Apposition: the appositive agrees in case
An appositive (прикла́дка) is a noun that renames another noun right beside it: мі́сто Ки́їв, рі́чка Дніпро́, мій брат Іва́н, пое́тка Лі́на Косте́нко. The defining Ukrainian rule is case agreement: the appositive stands in the same case as the head noun. When the head noun inflects, the appositive inflects with it.
| Case | "the city of Kyiv" | "my brother Ivan" |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | мі́сто Ки́їв | мій брат Іва́н |
| Genitive | мі́ста Ки́єва | мого́ бра́та Іва́на |
| Locative | у мі́сті Ки́єві | про мого́ бра́та Іва́на |
| Instrumental | під мі́стом Ки́євом | з мої́м бра́том Іва́ном |
Ми прожили́ в мі́сті Ки́єві ці́лих десять ро́ків.
We lived in the city of Kyiv for a full ten years. (Both мі́сті and Ки́єві in the locative.)
Я познайо́мився з її́ бра́том Іва́ном на весі́ллі.
I met her brother Ivan at the wedding. (бра́том and Іва́ном both instrumental.)
Над рі́чкою Дніпро́м поволі підіймався тума́н.
Mist was slowly rising over the river Dnipro. (рі́чкою and Дніпро́м both instrumental.)
This is the point English speakers most often miss: English freezes the name ("in the city of Kyiv," "over the river Dnipro" — Kyiv and Dnipro never change), but Ukrainian declines the name along with its category noun. So you must inflect both words.
When the appositive does NOT agree: quoted titles
There is one important exception. When the appositive is a title in quotation marks — a newspaper, journal, publisher, ship, brand — it stays in the nominative regardless of the head noun's case. The quotation marks "seal" the title, so only the category noun inflects.
Я прочита́в це інтерв’ю́ в журна́лі «Ки́їв».
I read this interview in the journal Kyiv. (журна́лі — locative; «Ки́їв» stays nominative.)
Кни́жку ви́дало видавни́цтво «Дніпро́» ще за радянських часі́в.
The book was published by the Dnipro publishing house back in Soviet times.
So у мі́сті Ки́єві (the place name agrees, no quotes) but у журна́лі «Ки́їв» (the title does not agree, in quotes). The quotation marks are the signal.
The dash for emphatic apposition
A more emphatic or explanatory apposition — one that adds weight or a definition — is set off with a dash rather than just sitting adjacent. The dash signals "namely, that is": it draws attention to the renaming.
Його́ найбі́льша мрі́я — власна майсте́рня — наре́шті здійсни́лася.
His greatest dream — a workshop of his own — finally came true.
Ки́їв — столи́ця Украї́ни — стоїть на Дніпрі́.
Kyiv — the capital of Ukraine — stands on the Dnipro.
A common subtype: an apposition introduced by тобто / а саме "that is / namely" is comma- or dash-set as an explanatory aside (мій сусі́д, тобто Петро́, … "my neighbour, that is Petro, …").
Parentheticals (вставні́ слова́): always comma-set
A parenthetical (вставне́ сло́во) is a word or phrase that expresses the speaker's stance, certainty, source, or discourse organisation — but is not a grammatical member of the clause. It can be lifted out without breaking the sentence. The iron rule: parentheticals are always set off by commas (one comma if at the edge, two if in the middle).
| Category | Common parentheticals |
|---|---|
| attitude / emotion | на жаль (unfortunately), на щастя (luckily), на ди́во (surprisingly) |
| certainty | зві́сно / звича́йно (of course), безпере́чно (undoubtedly), ма́буть (probably), мо́же / можли́во (maybe), здає́ться (it seems) |
| source | ка́жуть (they say), по-мо́єму (in my view), на мою́ ду́мку (in my opinion), як відо́мо (as is known) |
| discourse order | по-пе́рше (firstly), по-дру́ге (secondly), наре́шті (finally), о́тже (therefore), наприклад (for example), на́впаки (on the contrary) |
На жаль, ми не всти́гли на оста́нній по́тяг.
Unfortunately, we didn't make the last train.
Він, ма́буть, уже́ забу́в про нашу домо́вленість.
He's probably already forgotten about our arrangement. (ма́буть mid-clause — two commas.)
По-пе́рше, це задо́рого; по-дру́ге, у нас про́сто нема́є на це ча́су.
Firstly, it's too expensive; secondly, we simply don't have time for it.
Зві́сно, я тобі́ допоможу́ — про що мо́ва.
Of course I'll help you — no question about it.
For the meaning and inventory of these stance words, see the opinion and stance markers page; for the comma rules in general, the punctuation page.
Parenthetical vs sentence member: the same word, two jobs
Here is the subtle part. Several words can be either a comma-set parenthetical or an ordinary sentence member — and the punctuation depends on which. As a parenthetical the word is detachable stance ("it seems / probably"); as a member it is doing real syntactic work (a predicate, an adverbial) and takes no commas.
Здає́ться, він запізнюється.
It seems he's running late. (здає́ться = parenthetical 'it seems' — comma-set.)
Усе́ це здає́ться мені́ дивним.
All of this seems strange to me. (здає́ться = the main predicate 'seems' — NO comma.)
Може, ми ще встигнемо.
Maybe we'll still make it. (може = parenthetical 'maybe' — comma-set.)
Він може допомогти́ тобі́ із цим.
He can help you with this. (може = the modal verb 'can' — NO comma.)
The test is removability: if you can lift the word out and the clause still stands and means almost the same, it's a parenthetical — set it off with commas. If removing it leaves a hole (the sentence loses its predicate or a needed adverbial), it's a sentence member — no commas.
Source-language comparison
For an English speaker, two rewirings. First, decline the name in apposition: English's invariant "of Kyiv / the river Dnipro" becomes a fully agreeing у мі́сті Ки́єві, над рі́чкою Дніпро́м — inflect both words, unless the name is a quoted title (у журна́лі «Ки́їв»), which stays put. Second, commas around parentheticals are obligatory, not optional: English may write "he probably forgot" with no commas, but Ukrainian must write він, ма́буть, забу́в. Treat stance words (на жаль, ма́буть, о́тже, по-пе́рше) as always bracketed.
For a Russian speaker, both systems match closely (the appositive agrees: в го́роде Ки́еве → у мі́сті Ки́єві; вводные слова are comma-set), so the rules transfer. Mind the lexis and orthography: на жаль (not к сожалению), зві́сно / звича́йно, по-пе́рше / по-дру́ге with hyphens, о́тже, and the Ukrainian guillemets «…» for quoted titles.
Common Mistakes
❌ Ми жили́ в мі́сті Ки́їв.
No agreement — the name must take the same case as мі́сто (locative): Ми жили́ в мі́сті Ки́єві.
✅ Ми жили́ в мі́сті Ки́єві.
We lived in the city of Kyiv.
❌ Я прочита́в це в журна́лі «Ки́єві».
Over-agreement — a quoted title stays in the nominative: Я прочита́в це в журна́лі «Ки́їв».
✅ Я прочита́в це в журна́лі «Ки́їв».
I read it in the journal Kyiv.
❌ На жаль ми запізни́лися.
Missing comma — на жаль is a parenthetical and must be comma-set: На жаль, ми запізни́лися.
✅ На жаль, ми запізни́лися.
Unfortunately, we were late.
❌ Усе́ це, здає́ться, мені́ дивним.
Wrong commas — here здає́ться is the main predicate ('seems'), not a parenthetical, so no commas: Усе́ це здає́ться мені́ дивним.
✅ Усе́ це здає́ться мені́ дивним.
All of this seems strange to me.
❌ Він може прийде́, але́ я не впе́внений.
Mixed up — parenthetical 'maybe' is може + comma + a finite verb: Може, він прийде́. (Without a comma, може is the modal 'can' + infinitive: Він може прийти́.)
✅ Може, він прийде́, але́ я не впе́внений.
Maybe he'll come, but I'm not sure.
Key Takeaways
- An appositive agrees in case with the noun it renames: мі́сто Ки́їв → у мі́сті Ки́єві, брат Іва́н → з бра́том Іва́ном, рі́чка Дніпро́ → над рі́чкою Дніпро́м — inflect both words.
- Quoted titles do NOT agree — they stay nominative: у журна́лі «Ки́їв», видавни́цтво «Дніпро́». The «…» blocks agreement.
- The dash sets off emphatic or explanatory apposition: Ки́їв — столи́ця Украї́ни — ….
- Parentheticals (вставні́ слова́) are always comma-set: на жаль, зві́сно, ма́буть, по-пе́рше, о́тже.
- The same word can be a parenthetical (comma-set) or a sentence member (no commas) — use the removability test: Може, прийду́ (maybe) vs Він може прийти́ (can).
Now practice Ukrainian
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- Double Nominative and Naming ConstructionsB1 — Identity and naming sentences chain two nominatives: це + a nominative predicate (Це мій брат), the bare zero-copula predicate (Він студе́нт), apposition where both nouns share the case (мі́сто Ки́їв, у мі́сті Ки́єві), and the present-tense nominative predicate that switches to the instrumental once a verb appears (Він був студе́нтом).
- Stance and Opinion MarkersB1 — The comma-set parentheticals that let a Ukrainian speaker frame a proposition: opinion (на мою́ ду́мку / по-мо́єму 'in my opinion', я вважа́ю 'I consider', як на ме́не 'as for me'), certainty (безпере́чно 'undoubtedly', очеви́дно 'obviously', напе́вно 'surely'), hedging (ма́буть 'probably', мо́жливо 'perhaps', зда́ється 'it seems', ні́би / ні́бито 'supposedly'), evaluation (на жаль 'unfortunately', на ща́стя 'fortunately', чесно ка́жучи 'frankly'), and the reported-speech particle мовля́в — explaining that Ukrainian carries attitude through these comma-set adverbials, not through tone alone.
- Ukrainian Punctuation and Quotation MarksB1 — The punctuation conventions that differ from English: guillemets « » for quotes, the dash for dialogue, the dash that replaces a missing 'is', the obligatory comma before що / який / щоб / бо / коли, the decimal comma, and the lowercase months, days, and nationalities.
- Agreement: Subject–Verb, Adjective–NounA2 — How Ukrainian forces words to match: present/future verbs agree with the subject in person and number, but PAST verbs agree in gender and number (not person); and everything modifying a noun — adjectives, possessives, demonstratives — agrees in gender, number, AND case at once.
- Nominative: Forms and UsesA1 — The nominative (називни́й) is the dictionary form, answering хто? 'who?' / що? 'what?'; it marks the subject and — crucially — the predicate noun after the missing present-tense 'to be', because Ukrainian has no copula in the present (Вона́ лі́карка 'she is a doctor', Київ — столи́ця 'Kyiv is the capital').