Learn Hardcore Ukrainian: Я готую їжу.

It means I cook food. In this sentence, Я stands for I, готую is the first-person singular present tense of готувати (to cook), and їжу is the accusative form of їжа (food).

What tense and person is used in the verb готую?

The verb готую is in the present tense and is conjugated for the first-person singular. It tells us that the speaker is currently performing the action of cooking.

Why does the noun for food change from їжа to їжу in this sentence?

In Ukrainian, when a noun is used as the direct object of a verb, it takes the accusative case. For the feminine noun їжа, the accusative form becomes їжу. This case change signals that їжу is what is being cooked.

Why is the subject Я explicitly included when Ukrainian is a pro-drop language?

Although Ukrainian verbs are inflected to show the subject (making it possible to omit the personal pronoun), including Я can add clarity or emphasize who is performing the action. It functions similarly to emphasizing I in English.

How is the first-person singular form готую formed from the infinitive готувати?