Breakdown of Наприкінці вечора я слухаю музику.
я
I
вечір
the evening
музика
the music
слухати
to listen
наприкінці
at the end
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Ukrainian grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Наприкінці вечора я слухаю музику.
What does наприкінці mean in this sentence and why is it placed at the beginning?
наприкінці is a compound adverbial phrase meaning "at the end." It establishes the temporal setting—indicating that the action occurs at the end of the evening—and its placement at the start helps frame the context before the main action is introduced.
Why is вечора used instead of вечір, and what grammatical case is it in?
вечора is the genitive singular form of вечір (“evening”). In the phrase наприкінці вечора, the word following наприкінці must be in the genitive to indicate the period of time being referenced, which here is the evening.
What does the verb слухаю imply about the subject and tense?
слухаю is the first person singular form of the verb meaning “to listen” and is in the present tense. It agrees with the subject я (“I”), indicating that the speaker is currently listening to music.
Why is музику in this particular form in the sentence?
музику is in the accusative case because it is the direct object of the verb слухаю. In Ukrainian, the direct object of a transitive verb is typically marked with the accusative case.
How does the word order in this sentence influence its emphasis or meaning?
By starting with the time phrase наприкінці вечора, the sentence immediately sets the scene and emphasizes when the action is occurring. This flexible word order in Ukrainian is used to provide context first, making it clear that “I listen to music” is an activity happening at the end of the evening.