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Questions & Answers about Петро продає машину.
What is the grammatical structure of the sentence "Петро продає машину."?
The sentence follows a Subject–Verb–Object order. Петро is the subject (in the nominative case), продає is the verb in the third person singular present tense, and машину is the direct object in the accusative case.
Why does the noun appear as машину instead of машина?
In Ukrainian, direct objects are marked by the accusative case. Машина is a feminine noun, and when it serves as the direct object, its form changes to машину to signal the accusative singular ending.
What information does the verb form продає provide about the action and the subject?
The form продає is conjugated in the present tense, third person singular, indicating that the action is happening now and that the subject, Петро, is a singular entity. It is derived from the imperfective aspect of the verb, suggesting an ongoing, habitual, or general action rather than a completed one.
Why is there no article like "a" or "the" before машину in the sentence?
Ukrainian does not have articles. Instead of using words equivalent to "a" or "the," meaning is inferred through context and grammatical case endings. This is why машину appears without any accompanying article.
Is the word order in Ukrainian flexible, and could the sentence be rearranged without changing its meaning?
Yes, Ukrainian word order is relatively flexible due to the clear case markings on nouns. Although Петро продає машину follows the standard Subject–Verb–Object pattern, it could be rearranged (for example, Машину продає Петро) to place emphasis on a particular element, while the case endings continue to indicate the grammatical roles clearly.