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Questions & Answers about Цей будинок гарний.
What does цей mean, and why is it used in this sentence?
Цей is a demonstrative pronoun meaning "this." It is used here in its masculine form to specifically refer to a particular house (будинок), emphasizing which house is being described.
What does будинок mean, and what is its grammatical gender?
Будинок translates to "house." It is a masculine noun in Ukrainian, which is why the other words that modify it (like цей and гарний) take their masculine forms.
Why is there no linking verb such as is in the sentence?
In Ukrainian, the present tense form of the verb "to be" is typically omitted. Even though the English sentence is "This house is beautiful," the Ukrainian equivalent Цей будинок гарний conveys the same meaning without using an explicit verb.
How does the adjective гарний agree with the noun in this sentence?
The adjective гарний is in its masculine form, matching the gender of будинок. In Ukrainian, adjectives must agree with the nouns they describe in gender, number, and case, so гарний is correctly used with a masculine noun in the nominative case.
What case are the words in, and why is this important?
Both цей and будинок (as well as the adjective гарний) are in the nominative case because they form the subject and the predicate of the sentence. Correct case usage is important in Ukrainian as it clarifies the grammatical relationships between words.
Is the word order flexible in Ukrainian, and could this sentence be rearranged without changing its meaning?
Yes, Ukrainian word order tends to be flexible due to its rich inflectional system. While Цей будинок гарний follows a standard subject-predicate structure, rearranging the words might shift the emphasis slightly but would still preserve the overall meaning, as long as the noun–adjective agreement and case indications remain clear.
Can adjectives like гарний express degrees of comparison in Ukrainian? If so, how?
Yes, adjectives in Ukrainian have comparative and superlative forms. For example, гарний can become гарніший for the comparative form (meaning more beautiful) and найгарніший for the superlative (meaning most beautiful). These forms allow speakers to adjust the intensity of the description while still matching the corresponding noun’s gender, number, and case.