Breakdown of Діти будують сніговика на подвір'ї.
на
on
дитина
the child
будувати
to build
сніговик
the snowman
подвір'я
the yard
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Questions & Answers about Діти будують сніговика на подвір'ї.
What does the verb будують mean and what is its grammatical structure?
The verb comes from the infinitive будувати, meaning “to build.” In this sentence, будують is in the present tense, third person plural form, which agrees with the subject Діти (children).
Why is the direct object written as сніговика instead of сніговик?
In Ukrainian, masculine nouns that are considered animate have their accusative singular form identical to the genitive singular. Even though a snowman isn’t a living being, it is anthropomorphized—seen as a human-like figure—so its accusative form becomes сніговика.
What case is сніговика in, and how do we identify its role in the sentence?
сніговика is in the accusative case, indicating it is the direct object of the sentence. The ending -а shows that the noun, treated as animate, has taken the genitive-like form in the accusative singular.
What does the prepositional phrase на подвір'ї indicate, and why is there an apostrophe in подвір'ї?
The phrase на подвір'ї tells us where the action takes place—it means “in the yard” or “on the courtyard.” The apostrophe in подвір'ї is a standard Ukrainian orthographic device; it signals that the preceding consonant is not palatalized before ї, helping to preserve the correct pronunciation.
How does the word order in this Ukrainian sentence compare to a typical English sentence?
The sentence follows a Subject–Verb–Object (SVO) order: Діти (subject) → будують (verb) → сніговика (object). Although Ukrainian word order is relatively flexible due to its case system, SVO remains the most common and straightforward structure—similar to English.
Ukrainian lacks articles like “the” or “a.” How is definiteness or indefiniteness conveyed in this sentence?
Ukrainian relies on context and grammatical cases rather than using articles. In Діти будують сніговика на подвір'ї, the definiteness is understood from context. There is no need for an explicit word equivalent to “the” or “a.”
What should a learner know about the noun Діти in terms of number and form?
Діти is the plural form of дитина (child). Its irregular plural formation is common in Ukrainian, so learners should note that it does not follow a simple rule like simply adding an ending. The form Діти is used to indicate more than one child, which correctly agrees with the plural verb будують.