Я запрошую друзів на вечерю.

I

Breakdown of Я запрошую друзів на вечерю.

• друг: the friend
• запрошувати: to invite
• на: to
• вечеря: the dinner

Questions & Answers about Я запрошую друзів на вечерю.

How is the verb запрошувати conjugated in this sentence?

The verb запрошувати means "to invite." In this sentence, it is conjugated in the first person singular present tense as запрошую. The speaker uses the form запрошую (I invite) where the stem запрош- combines with the ending -ую to indicate the first person singular.

Why is the word друзів used instead of the nominative друзі?

In Ukrainian, when referring to animate masculine nouns in the direct object position, the accusative form is identical to the genitive form. The base nominative plural of "friend" is друзі, but because these friends are animate, the accusative plural becomes друзів. This is a standard animacy rule in Ukrainian grammar.

What role does the preposition на play in the phrase на вечерю?

The preposition на is used to indicate the purpose or destination of an action. In the phrase на вечерю, it translates as "to dinner" or "for dinner," showing that the invitation is intended for the dinner event. This construction is common in Ukrainian when referring to events or occasions.

What case is the noun вечеря in, and why is that form used?

The noun вечеря is in the accusative case in the phrase на вечерю. Although вечеря in its basic (nominative) form looks the same in English as "dinner," in Ukrainian the accusative feminine singular form here changes the ending to -ю. The accusative case is used with the preposition на to express direction or purpose.

Is the word order in Я запрошую друзів на вечерю fixed, or can it be varied in Ukrainian?

Ukrainian is an inflected language, which means that word order is relatively flexible compared to English. The standard order here is Subject–Verb–Object followed by the phrase indicating purpose. Although Я запрошую друзів на вечерю follows the conventional order, rearranging its components can be acceptable for emphasis or stylistic reasons, as long as the grammatical cases clearly indicate the roles of the words.