Я йду на роботу.

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Breakdown of Я йду на роботу.

• йти: to go
• робота: the work

Questions & Answers about Я йду на роботу.

What does the verb form йду tell us about the subject and the tense of the action?

The verb йду is the first-person singular present tense form of the verb йти (meaning “to go on foot”). It indicates that the speaker (“Я” meaning “I”) is currently engaged in the act of going, much like saying “I am going” in English.

Why isn’t there any auxiliary verb (like am) in the Ukrainian sentence, even though English uses one?

In Ukrainian, the verb conjugation itself carries all the necessary information about person and tense. The form йду already shows who is acting and when the action is happening, so there is no need for an additional auxiliary verb as in English.

What is the function of the preposition на in this sentence?

The preposition на here is used to denote direction or destination. It translates to “to” in English, indicating where the subject is headed—in this case, “to work.”

Why is the noun written as роботу instead of its base form робота?

When indicating movement toward a destination with the preposition на, Ukrainian requires the noun to be in the accusative case. Робота (work) changes to роботу in the accusative, clarifying that “work” is the destination of the movement.

How does the structure of this sentence compare to its English counterpart, and what does it reveal about Ukrainian word order and case usage?

The sentence follows a subject-verb-destination order—Я (I), йду (am going), на роботу (to work)—which is similar to English. However, Ukrainian relies on case endings (here, роботу in the accusative) to mark grammatical roles rather than strictly depending on word order. This provides flexibility in how sentences can be arranged.

How does the Ukrainian йду compare to the similar Russian form, and why might that be important for learners?

While Ukrainian uses йду as the first-person singular form of йти, Russian typically uses иду for the same meaning. The difference in spelling and pronunciation reflects distinct phonetic and orthographic rules in each language. For learners, being aware of such differences helps avoid confusion and aids in understanding each language’s unique patterns.