Learn Hardcore Ukrainian: Я планую маршрут для нашої подорожі в гори. - I am planning a route for our trip to the mountains.

Для means “for” and is used to indicate purpose or benefit. In Ukrainian, this preposition requires the noun (and any accompanying adjective) that follows to be in the genitive case. That’s why подорожі (trip) appears in the genitive, with the possessive adjective нашої also in the genitive form to match.

Why is the possessive adjective нашої used instead of forms like наша or наших?

Нашої is the genitive singular form of the adjective “our” used for feminine nouns. Since подорож (trip) is a feminine noun and its form is dictated by the preposition для (which requires the genitive), the correct adjective form is нашої.

How is the verb планую conjugated, and what does it tell us about the sentence’s subject?

The verb планую is in the first-person singular present tense of the verb планувати (to plan). It explicitly shows that the subject is “I.” Although Ukrainian often omits subject pronouns because the verb ending already indicates the subject, the inclusion of Я (I) here adds extra clarity or emphasis.

What does the phrase в гори mean, and why is гори in the accusative case?

В гори translates to “to the mountains.” When expressing movement toward a destination, the preposition в is used with the accusative case in Ukrainian. Гори (mountains) is expressed in its accusative plural form—which, for many inanimate nouns, often looks identical to the nominative form.

Why does the noun маршрут appear unchanged, even though it’s the direct object of the sentence?

In Ukrainian, many inanimate masculine nouns, like маршрут (route), have the same form in both the nominative and accusative cases. Since the direct object typically takes the accusative case, маршрут remains unchanged because its accusative form is identical to its nominative form.