Ми п’ємо воду.

to drink

Breakdown of Ми п’ємо воду.

• вода: the water
• ми: we

Questions & Answers about Ми п’ємо воду.

What does Ми mean in this sentence?

Ми means "we" in English. It is the subject pronoun referring to a group including the speaker. Although Ukrainian often omits subject pronouns when context is clear, including Ми here emphasizes who is performing the action.

What is the base form of п’ємо, and what does its form indicate?

The base form is пити, meaning "to drink." П’ємо is the first-person plural present tense form. This means the sentence is describing an action currently being done by "we."

Why is there an apostrophe in п’ємо?

The apostrophe indicates that the consonant п should not be palatalized before the vowel є. It creates a slight separation in sound, ensuring proper pronunciation by preventing unwanted softening of the consonant.

Why is the word for water written as воду instead of вода?

Вода is a feminine noun. In Ukrainian, the direct object of a sentence must be in the accusative case. For feminine nouns ending in -а, the accusative form changes the ending to -у. That is why "water" becomes воду in this sentence.

Is the subject pronoun always necessary in Ukrainian, or can it be dropped?

Ukrainian is a pro-drop language, meaning that the subject pronoun can be omitted if the context makes it clear who is performing the action. However, including Ми emphasizes the subject and can be especially helpful for learners who are still getting used to Ukrainian sentence structure.