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Questions & Answers about У парку дує вітер.
What is the literal translation of “У парку дує вітер,” and why does the word order differ from typical English structure?
Literally, the sentence translates as “In the park blows wind.” Unlike English, which typically follows a Subject–Verb–Object or Subject–Verb–Complement order, Ukrainian relies on case endings to indicate grammatical roles. This means the subject (вітер meaning wind) and the verb (дує meaning blows) can be arranged flexibly. In this example, placing “wind” after the verb emphasizes the action or the setting, while still keeping the sentence clear.
Which case is used for парку in the phrase “У парку”, and what does it indicate?
The noun парку is in the prepositional case. In Ukrainian, when used with the preposition у (meaning “in”), the prepositional case indicates location. So “У парку” clearly means “in the park.”
How is the verb дує conjugated, and why is it appropriate for this sentence?
The verb дує is the third person singular form of дути (to blow) in the present tense. This conjugation agrees with its subject, вітер (wind), which is singular. The inflection clearly shows who is performing the action, even though the subject follows the verb.
Why is the subject вітер (wind) placed at the end of the sentence instead of the beginning?
Ukrainian allows a flexible word order because grammatical relationships are marked by case endings rather than by word order. In this sentence, placing вітер at the end can serve to focus the listener’s attention on the action (blowing) or the location first. This inversion is common in Ukrainian and does not obscure the meaning because the noun endings unambiguously indicate that вітер is the subject.
How does the use of the preposition у work in this sentence, and can it change form in other contexts?
The preposition у means “in” and is used to establish spatial relationships. When it precedes a noun in the prepositional case, as seen with парку, it designates a location. In some cases, especially before words starting with certain consonant clusters or vowels, the preposition can appear as в instead of у, but in this instance, у is properly used with парку to mean “in the park.”