Вони копають ґрунт лопатою.

Yes, вони means they.

In this sentence, it is the 3rd person plural subject: more than one person is doing the action.

A few useful notes:

• він = he
• вона = she
• воно = it
• вони = they

Ukrainian often leaves subject pronouns out when the verb already makes the subject clear, but вони can still be included for clarity or emphasis.

Копають is the 3rd person plural present tense form of копати (to dig).

So:

• копати = infinitive, to dig
• копають = they dig / they are digging

The ending -ють is a normal present-tense ending for this verb in the they form.

A short pattern:

• я копаю = I dig / am digging
• ти копаєш
• він/вона копає
• ми копаємо
• ви копаєте
• вони копають

It can mean both.

In Ukrainian, the present tense often covers both:

• they dig
• they are digging

The exact English translation depends on context. Ukrainian does not require a separate form like English are digging.

Because it is the direct object of the verb, so it is in the accusative case. But for many inanimate masculine nouns, the accusative singular looks exactly like the nominative singular.

So:

• nominative: ґрунт
• accusative: ґрунт

That is why the word does not change in this sentence.

Yes, землю could also be possible in some contexts, but the meanings are slightly different.

• ґрунт = soil, ground, often more technical or physical
• земля = earth, land, ground, and sometimes soil

So:

• копають ґрунт suggests digging soil/ground
• копають землю is also natural and often very common in everyday speech

In many situations, both can work, but ґрунт sounds a bit more specifically like soil.

Because лопатою is in the instrumental case, which is often used to show the tool or means by which something is done.

Here, лопатою means:

• with a shovel
• using a shovel

The base form is:

• лопата = shovel

Instrumental singular:

• лопатою = with a shovel

So the sentence literally works like:

• They dig soil with a shovel

Very often, yes.

When you say someone does something with an instrument or tool, Ukrainian commonly uses the instrumental case without needing a separate word for with.

Examples:

• писати ручкою = to write with a pen
• різати ножем = to cut with a knife
• копати лопатою = to dig with a shovel

So this is a very useful pattern to learn.

Yes. Ukrainian word order is fairly flexible because the case endings show the grammatical roles.

The neutral order here is:

• Вони копають ґрунт лопатою.

But other orders are possible, for example:

• Лопатою вони копають ґрунт.
• Ґрунт вони копають лопатою.

These versions can change the focus or emphasis, but the basic meaning stays the same.

Yes, absolutely.

Because копають already shows they, the pronoun is often unnecessary if the subject is clear from context.

So both are possible:

• Вони копають ґрунт лопатою.
• Копають ґрунт лопатою.

Including вони may sound more explicit or contrastive, like they are digging the soil with a shovel.

Because Ukrainian does not have articles like English a/an and the.

So:

• ґрунт can mean soil, the soil, or some soil
• лопатою can mean with a shovel or with the shovel

The exact meaning depends on context.

This is a common learner question.

• ґ is a hard g sound, like in English go
• г in Ukrainian is usually pronounced more like a voiced h / ɦ

So:

• ґрунт starts with a real g sound
• it is not pronounced like the letter г

This distinction matters in Ukrainian spelling and pronunciation, even though in everyday speech some speakers may pronounce things a bit differently depending on region.

Yes, копати is an imperfective verb.

That means it usually presents the action as:

• ongoing
• repeated
• habitual
• without focusing on completion

So Вони копають ґрунт лопатою suggests:

• they are in the process of digging
• or they dig soil with a shovel as a general activity

If you wanted to emphasize a completed result, Ukrainian would often use a different, perfective verb depending on the exact meaning.