Breakdown of Вона витерла пляму за допомогою води.
вода
the water
вона
she
за допомогою
using
витирати
to wipe
Questions & Answers about Вона витерла пляму за допомогою води.
Why is it витерла and not витирала?
Because витерла is the past tense of a perfective verb: витерти.
- витерти = to wipe off / wipe away / wipe clean, with the result completed
- витирати = to be wiping / to wipe repeatedly / to wipe in general
So:
- Вона витерла пляму = She wiped the stain off / She removed the stain
- Вона витирала пляму = She was wiping the stain or She used to wipe the stain
In this sentence, the action is presented as finished, so витерла is the natural choice.
Why does витерла end in -ла?
That ending shows past tense feminine singular.
In Ukrainian past tense, verbs agree with the subject in gender and number:
- він витер = he wiped
- вона витерла = she wiped
- воно витерло = it wiped
- вони витерли = they wiped
Since вона means she, the verb must be витерла.
Why is пляма changed to пляму?