Місто на півночі.

In Ukrainian, the verb to be is usually omitted in the present tense.

So:

• Місто на півночі literally looks like City in the north
• but it naturally means The city is in the north

This is very normal in Ukrainian.

If you wanted to say it more explicitly, you could use a fuller sentence such as:

• Місто розташоване на півночі = The city is located in the north

Місто is in the nominative singular.

Why?

• It is the main noun of the sentence
• It functions like the subject: the city

Also, місто is a neuter noun. Its dictionary form is also місто.

Because this sentence describes location, not movement.

• на півночі = in the north / in the northern part
• на північ = to the north / northward

So compare:

• Місто на півночі. = The city is in the north.
• Ми їдемо на північ. = We are going north.

This is a very common distinction in Ukrainian:

• where? -> location case form
• where to? -> direction form

Півночі here is the locative singular form of північ.

After the preposition на, when you are talking about location, Ukrainian often uses the locative case.

So:

• dictionary form: північ = north
• locative form: на півночі = in the north

This is just how Ukrainian expresses this idea. With regions and directional areas, Ukrainian commonly uses на where English uses in.

For example:

• на півночі = in the north
• на півдні = in the south
• на сході = in the east
• на заході = in the west

So you should learn на півночі as the normal Ukrainian pattern.

It can mean either one, depending on context, because Ukrainian has no articles.

So місто can correspond to:

• a city
• the city

As a standalone sentence, Місто на півночі will often be understood as The city is in the north, but context decides.

This is something English speakers have to get used to: Ukrainian usually leaves definiteness unstated unless the context makes it clear.

Yes, Ukrainian word order is fairly flexible, but different orders can sound more or less natural depending on context.

• Місто на півночі. = neutral, straightforward
• На півночі місто. = marked; possible in special contexts, but less neutral

So for a learner, Місто на півночі is the safest and most natural basic order here.

Yes. Північ can mean both:

• north
• midnight

Context tells you which meaning is intended.

In Місто на півночі, it clearly means north, because the phrase на півночі means in the north.

If you mean at midnight, Ukrainian often uses:

• опівночі = at midnight

No, not in standard usage for this meaning.

For geographic direction or area, Ukrainian normally says:

• на півночі

So:

• Місто на півночі. = correct
• Місто у півночі. = not the normal way to say it

This is one of those preposition patterns that is best memorized as a whole expression.

It can function as a full sentence in Ukrainian, because the present-tense is is understood.

So Місто на півночі is a valid complete sentence meaning:

• The city is in the north

At the same time, without context, it can also feel a little compact, almost like a caption or short descriptive statement.

If you want a more explicit full sentence, you could say:

• Місто є на півночі — grammatical, but usually less natural in ordinary speech
• Місто розташоване на півночі — more natural and explicit