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Questions & Answers about Петро дарує мені квітку.
What is the grammatical function of Петро in the sentence?
Петро is the subject of the sentence and is in the nominative case. As a proper noun, it indicates who is performing the action—namely, Peter in this context.
Why is the pronoun мені used without a preposition, and what case does it represent?
Менi is in the dative case, which Ukrainian uses to mark the indirect object—the recipient of the action. In this sentence, it means “to me.” Unlike English, which typically requires the preposition “to” with the indirect object, Ukrainian shows this relationship through the case ending alone.
How does квітка change in the sentence, and why is that change made?
The noun квітка is modified to квітку because it is the direct object and must be in the accusative case. For many feminine nouns in Ukrainian, the accusative singular form ends in -у (or -ю), helping to clearly indicate the noun’s role as the recipient of the verb’s direct action.
What does the verb дарує mean, and what does its form reveal about the action?
Дарує is the third person singular present tense form of the verb дарувати, which means “to give as a gift.” Since the present tense in Ukrainian is used only with imperfective verbs, this form implies that the action is either ongoing, habitual, or generally current, rather than a one-time, completed event.
Why are there no articles (like “a” or “the”) in the Ukrainian sentence, compared to the English sentence “Peter gives me a flower”?
Ukrainian does not have articles. Nouns are used without additional words to indicate definiteness or indefiniteness. The meaning is understood from context, so while English requires an article (in this case “a”) to signal an indefinite object, Ukrainian conveys the same idea without one.