Пляма є на рукаві.

to be

Breakdown of Пляма є на рукаві.

• на: on
• рукав: the sleeve
• пляма: the stain

Questions & Answers about Пляма є на рукаві.

Why is є used here? I thought Ukrainian often drops to be in the present tense.

That’s a very common question. In Ukrainian, the present-tense to be is often omitted in simple sentences:

• Пляма на рукаві. = There is a stain on the sleeve / The stain is on the sleeve

But є can be added when you want to clearly express there is / there exists / is present. So:

• Пляма є на рукаві. = There is a stain on the sleeve

This sounds a bit more explicit or emphatic than the version without є. In everyday speech, many speakers would simply say Пляма на рукаві.

What exactly does є mean in this sentence?

Here є means is or there is.

It is the present-tense form of бути (to be), but in modern Ukrainian it often works more like an existence marker:

• є = is / exists / there is

So Пляма є на рукаві literally feels like A stain is on the sleeve or There is a stain on the sleeve.

Why is it на рукаві and not на рукав?