У місті панує мир.

Peace prevails in the city.

Breakdown of У місті панує мир.

• місто: the city
• у: in
• мир: the peace
• панувати: to prevail

Questions & Answers about У місті панує мир.

What is the grammatical structure of У місті панує мир?

The sentence starts with the adverbial phrase У місті (meaning in the city), followed by the verb панує (meaning prevails or reigns), and ends with the subject мир (meaning peace). In Ukrainian, word order is flexible, and this order emphasizes the location first before stating what is prevailing.

Why is the subject мир placed at the end of the sentence instead of at the beginning?

Ukrainian often uses a flexible word order to shift emphasis. In this sentence, beginning with У місті sets the scene or context, and placing мир at the end allows the quality of peace to stand out. This is a common stylistic choice in Ukrainian, even though in English the subject typically comes before the verb.

Which grammatical cases are used in this sentence and why?

The phrase У місті uses the locative case (notice the ending in місті) because the preposition У (in) requires it to indicate location. Meanwhile, мир is in the nominative case as it is the subject of the sentence. This distinction helps clarify the roles of the words: one shows where something is happening, and the other states what is prevailing.

How is the verb панує conjugated, and what does its form tell us about the sentence?

Панує is the third person singular present form of the verb панувати (meaning to reign or to prevail). Its form indicates that the action is currently taking place and agrees with the subject мир, even though the subject comes after the verb in this sentence. This conjugation confirms that peace is the state currently prevailing in the city.

Does the word мир have more than one meaning, and how can I tell which meaning is intended here?

Yes, мир in Ukrainian can mean both peace (the absence of conflict) and world (referring to the entire universe). In this sentence, the context provided by панує (indicating a prevailing state) and the locative phrase У місті makes it clear that мир refers to peace. The idea is that a peaceful state is reigning over the city.