Голка в тканині.

The needle is in the fabric.

Breakdown of Голка в тканині.

• в: in
• голка: the needle
• тканина: the fabric

Questions & Answers about Голка в тканині.

Why is there no word for is in this sentence?

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

So:

• Голка в тканині. = The needle is in the fabric.

A full form with є is sometimes possible for emphasis, but in normal everyday Ukrainian, leaving it out is standard.

Why is тканина written as тканині here?

Because after в when it means in and shows a location, Ukrainian uses the locative case.

• dictionary form: тканина = fabric
• locative singular: тканині = in the fabric

So:

• в тканині = in the fabric

This is one of the most common things English speakers need to get used to: nouns change form depending on their role in the sentence.

What case is голка, and why doesn’t it change?

Голка is in the nominative case, which is the basic dictionary form.

Here it is the main noun of the sentence, so it stays nominative:

• голка = needle

The location phrase is в тканині, and that is the part that changes because of the preposition в.