Я купив нову книжку.

I bought a new book.

Breakdown of Я купив нову книжку.

• я: I
• новий: new
• купити: to buy
• книжка: the book

Questions & Answers about Я купив нову книжку.

Why is the verb купив used instead of another form?

Купив is the masculine past tense form of the verb купити, which indicates that the speaker is male. In Ukrainian, past tense verbs agree with the gender of the subject, so if a female were speaking, the form would be купила instead.

Why is the adjective нову used instead of нова?

Adjectives in Ukrainian must agree with the noun they modify in gender, number, and case. Here, the noun книжка is feminine and appears in the accusative case (because it’s the object of the sentence). Therefore, the adjective новий changes form to нову to match the feminine singular accusative ending.

What case is книжку in, and how is that form determined?

Книжку is in the accusative case, which is used for the direct object of a sentence. For many feminine nouns ending in -ка, the accusative singular form changes the ending to -ку. This modification signals its role as the object receiving the action.

Why doesn’t the sentence include articles like a or the?

Ukrainian, like many Slavic languages, does not have articles. Definiteness or indefiniteness is understood from context rather than marked by separate words, making articles unnecessary in sentences like this.

What is the basic word order of the sentence, and is there any flexibility?

The sentence follows a subject-verb-object order: Я (subject), купив (verb), and нову книжку (object). Although Ukrainian word order is generally flexible due to the clear case markings on nouns and adjectives, using this order is common and helps beginners clearly identify each sentence element.