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Questions & Answers about Ціна цієї книги висока.
Why is the phrase цієї книги in the genitive case?
In Ukrainian, possession is typically indicated by using the genitive case. Here, цієї книги means "of this book". The demonstrative adjective цієї and the noun книги are both inflected in the genitive to show that the price belongs specifically to this book.
How does the adjective висока agree with the noun ціна in this sentence?
The adjective висока (high) agrees with the noun ціна (price) in gender, number, and case. Since ціна is a feminine singular noun in the nominative case (serving as the subject), висока is also in the feminine singular nominative form to match it correctly.
What do each of the words in the sentence mean?
Breaking it down:
• Ціна means price.
• Цієї is the genitive feminine form of the demonstrative adjective this, which tells you which book is being referred to.
• Книги is the noun book in the genitive singular form.
• Висока means high.
Altogether, the sentence translates as "The price of this book is high."
Why isn't there a preposition like "of" in the Ukrainian sentence as in English?
Ukrainian often uses inflection—specifically, case endings—to express relationships like possession. The genitive endings on цієї and книги take the place of a separate preposition. This method is common in Slavic languages, where the structure inherently indicates possession without needing a word equivalent to "of."
Is the word order in this sentence flexible, and what is its underlying structure?
Yes, Ukrainian word order can be quite flexible because the cases of nouns and adjectives clarify each word’s role. In this sentence, however, the typical structure is maintained: the subject (ціна) is followed by a genitive complement (цієї книги) that modifies it, and finally the predicate adjective (висока) describes the subject. The case endings ensure that even if the order changes, the relationships between the words remain clear.