Ordering food for delivery is one of the most reliably useful scripts in any language — and a quiet grammar workout, because it packs together accusative objects (what you order), a direction phrase for your address (на + accusative), quantities, a price question, a delivery time with за + accusative, and the instrumental for how you pay (готі́вкою чи ка́рткою). Read it whole first; then we'll take it apart line by line and show why each form is the one a native would pick.
The dialogue
Оператор: Піцерія «Везу́вій», добри́день! Слу́хаю вас. Vesuvius Pizzeria, good afternoon! How can I help you?
Окса́на: Добри́день! Я б хоті́ла замо́вити доста́вку додо́му. Good afternoon! I'd like to order delivery to my home.
Оператор: Зві́сно. Що бу́дете замовля́ти? Of course. What will you be ordering?
Окса́на: Одну́ піцу «Маргари́ту» і дві ко́ли, будь ла́ска. One Margherita pizza and two Colas, please.
Оператор: Щось іще́? Мо́же, сала́т чи десе́рт? Anything else? Maybe a salad or a dessert?
Окса́на: Ні, дя́кую, цьо́го ви́стачить. Скі́льки кошту́є? No thanks, that's enough. How much does it cost?
Оператор: Ра́зом три́ста два́дцять гри́вень. На яку́ адре́су везти́? Three hundred and twenty hryvnias in total. To what address shall we deliver?
Окса́на: На ву́лицю Франка́, буди́нок п’ять, кварти́ра два́надцять. To Franko Street, building five, apartment twelve.
Оператор: Записа́в. Ваш но́мер телефо́ну для зв’язку́? Got it. Your phone number to keep in touch?
Окса́на: Нуль шістдеся́т сім, два́дцять три... Краще́ напишу́ вам у застосу́нку. Zero sixty-seven, twenty-three... Better I'll write it to you in the app.
Оператор: До́бре. Як бу́дете розрахо́вуватися — готі́вкою чи ка́рткою? Fine. How will you be paying — in cash or by card?
Окса́на: Ка́рткою кур’є́рові. За скі́льки приї́де? By card, to the courier. In how long will he arrive?
Оператор: Приблизно за со́рок хвили́н. Дя́куємо за замо́влення! In about forty minutes. Thank you for your order!
Line-by-line grammar
"I'd like to order" — the polite conditional + perfective infinitive
The softest, most natural way to start an order is Я б хоті́ла замо́вити — the particle б turns хоті́ла ("wanted") into a polite conditional, "I would like." A man would say Я б хоті́в. The verb that follows, замо́вити, is perfective — you picture placing the order as one finished act.
Я б хоті́ла замо́вити доста́вку додо́му.
'I'd like to order delivery to my home.' — б + past-tense хоті́ла = polite 'would like'; замо́вити is perfective (one complete act); додо́му = 'homeward.'
"What will you be ordering?" — imperfective future for the process
The operator asks Що бу́дете замовля́ти? with the imperfective замовля́ти, not perfective замо́вити. Choosing items is an open-ended process, so the imperfective future (бу́дете + infinitive) fits. See aspect in the future.
Що бу́дете замовля́ти?
'What will you be ordering?' — imperfective замовля́ти frames the ordering as an open process, not a single done deal.
The order — counted accusatives
The items ordered are direct objects in the accusative, and the numbers force their shape. Одну́ піцу ("one pizza"): один agrees in gender and case, so feminine accusative одну́. Дві ко́ли ("two Colas"): after два / дві the noun is in a special counting form (here it matches the nominative singular pattern ко́ли). See the uses of the accusative.
Одну́ піцу «Маргари́ту» і дві ко́ли, будь ла́ска.
'One Margherita pizza and two Colas, please.' — одну́ is feminine accusative of один; after дві the noun takes the count form ко́ли.
"How much?" — Скі́льки кошту́є?
The price question is fixed: Скі́льки кошту́є? ("how much does it cost?"). After скі́льки ("how much / many") a counted noun would go genitive, but here кошту́є stands alone. The answer names the sum, and гри́вень is the genitive plural after the hundreds-and-twenty number. See кошту́є / cost and money and counting.
Скі́льки кошту́є?
'How much does it cost?' — the standard price question; кошту́є is 3sg of кошту́вати.
Ра́зом три́ста два́дцять гри́вень.
'Three hundred and twenty hryvnias in total.' — гри́вень is genitive plural, the form taken after this number.
The address — на + accusative for direction
This is the key A2 point. The address is the destination of the delivery, so it takes на + accusative (motion towards), not the locative of location. На ву́лицю Франка́: ву́лиця → accusative ву́лицю; the street name Франка́ is genitive (Franko's street). The operator's question matches: На яку́ адре́су? ("to what address?") — adresa in the accusative адре́су, agreeing adjective яку́. See prepositions with the accusative.
На яку́ адре́су везти́?
'To what address shall we deliver?' — на + accusative адре́су marks the destination; везти́ is the 'deliver / carry' infinitive.
На ву́лицю Франка́, буди́нок п’ять, кварти́ра два́надцять.
'To Franko Street, building five, apartment twelve.' — ву́лицю is accusative (direction); Франка́ is genitive (Franko's).
"Got it" — perfective past, dropped subject
Записа́в ("(I've) written it down / got it") is a bare perfective past — the operator drops я, because the -в ending already says "I, masculine." The perfective marks the noting-down as complete.
Записа́в.
'Got it / written down.' — perfective past with the subject я dropped; the -в ending signals a completed act by a male speaker.
Paying — готі́вкою чи ка́рткою (instrumental of means)
"How do you pay?" uses the instrumental for the means of payment: готі́вкою ("with cash"), ка́рткою ("with a card"). No preposition — the bare instrumental answers чим? ("with what?"). The recipient, the courier, takes the dative: кур’є́рові. See uses of the instrumental.
Готі́вкою чи ка́рткою?
'In cash or by card?' — both nouns are bare instrumental (means of payment), answering чим?
Ка́рткою кур’є́рові.
'By card, to the courier.' — ка́рткою instrumental (means); кур’є́рові dative (recipient).
"How long until it arrives?" — за + accusative for time after which
За скі́льки приї́де? asks "after how much (time) will it arrive?" The construction за + accusative of a time span means "in / after that much time." The answer за со́рок хвили́н = "in forty minutes." Note приї́де, the perfective future of the motion verb приї́хати — one arrival event. See за / через for time.
За скі́льки приї́де?
'In how long will it arrive?' — за + accusative time-span = 'after how much time'; приї́де is perfective future, one arrival.
Приблизно за со́рок хвили́н.
'In about forty minutes.' — за + accusative со́рок хвили́н gives the time after which the event happens.
How this differs from English
English uses one preposition, "to," for an address — "deliver it to Franko Street" — and "in" for a delay — "in forty minutes." Ukrainian splits these across cases: direction is на + accusative (на ву́лицю), the means of payment is the bare instrumental (ка́рткою, no "by"), the recipient is the dative (кур’є́рові), and the time-after-which is за + accusative (за со́рок хвили́н). The English learner's instinct is to glue a preposition onto a nominative noun; Ukrainian instead reshapes the noun. Get the four patterns above into your fingers and an order rolls out without a stumble.
Common Mistakes
❌ На яка́ адре́са везти́?
Incorrect — the address is a destination, so it needs the accusative: на яку́ адре́су.
✅ На яку́ адре́су везти́?
Correct — на + accusative адре́су for direction.
❌ Я плачу́ з ка́рткою.
Incorrect — the means of payment is a bare instrumental; no preposition з.
✅ Я плачу́ ка́рткою.
Correct — bare instrumental ка́рткою, 'by card.'
❌ Че́рез скі́льки приї́де?
Slightly off — for 'in how long' before an event, standard spoken Ukrainian uses за + accusative, not через.
✅ За скі́льки приї́де?
Correct — за + accusative for the time after which something happens.
❌ Я б хоті́ла замовля́ти піцу.
Incorrect — to place one concrete order, use the perfective замо́вити, not imperfective замовля́ти.
✅ Я б хоті́ла замо́вити піцу.
Correct — perfective замо́вити for one completed order.
Phrases to reuse
- Я б хоті́в / хоті́ла замо́вити… — "I'd like to order…" (polite conditional + perfective)
- Що бу́дете замовля́ти? — "What will you be ordering?"
- Скі́льки кошту́є? — "How much does it cost?"
- На яку́ адре́су? — "To what address?" (на + accusative, direction)
- Готі́вкою чи ка́рткою? — "In cash or by card?" (instrumental of means)
- За скі́льки приї́де? — "In how long will it arrive?" (за + accusative time)
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Start learning Ukrainian→Related Topics
- 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 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.
- Instrumental: Core UsesA2 — What the instrumental does — the bare 'by means of' (писа́ти ру́чкою, ї́хати авто́бусом, говори́ти украї́нською) with no preposition, the predicate noun after past/future/infinitive of бу́ти and after ста́ти/працюва́ти (він був учи́телем, хо́чу ста́ти лі́карем), companionship with з (з дру́гом, чай з цу́кром), route (іти́ лі́сом), and time adverbials (вра́нці, весно́ю).
- Через, За, Про in Time and Other UsesB1 — Three high-frequency accusative prepositions: че́рез 'across / after (future) / because of' (че́рез доро́гу, че́рез годи́ну, че́рез дощ), за 'within / for / than / by' (за годи́ну, дя́кую за, ста́рший за), and про 'about' (розповісти́ про…) — with the key contrast че́рез годи́ну 'an hour from now' vs за годи́ну 'within an hour'.
- Verb Reference: Коштувати (to cost)A2 — Complete conjugation-and-usage reference for кошту́вати 'to cost' — a defective, 3rd-person-dominant verb with no everyday perfective. The thing is the subject (Кни́га кошту́є…), the price goes in the accusative (…сто гри́вень), and the everyday question is Скі́льки це кошту́є? 'How much does it cost?'. Covers the present кошту́є / кошту́ють, the past кошту́вав / кошту́вало, both imperfective futures, the figurative 'to cost (someone dearly)' sense, and the contrast with плати́ти 'to pay'.
- Money, Age, and Everyday CountingA2 — The numeral-agreement rule made practical: counting money (одна́ гри́вня, дві гри́вні, п’ять гри́вень), asking and stating prices (Скі́льки ко́штує? — ко́штує п’ять гри́вень), and the dative-experiencer age construction (Мені́ два́дцять ро́ків) where 'year' is suppletive — рік (1), ро́ки (2–4), ро́ків (5+) — so 'I am five' literally says 'to-me five years' with no verb 'to be'.