Learn Hardcore Ukrainian: Енергія сильна.

In Ukrainian, adjectives must agree with the noun they modify in gender, number, and case. Since енергія is a feminine noun in the nominative case, the adjective appears in its feminine singular form as сильна.

Why is there no verb like “is” in the sentence?

Ukrainian typically omits the present tense of the verb to be. Instead of saying “Energy is strong,” the language simply places the adjective after the noun to express the state or quality.

If I wanted to describe a masculine noun as being strong, how would the adjective change?

Adjectives must match the gender of the noun. For a masculine noun, you would use the masculine form сильний. For example, if referring to a masculine subject, the construction would be similar but with the appropriate adjective ending.

Is word order flexible in Ukrainian, and does rearranging the words in this sentence affect its meaning?

Yes, Ukrainian generally allows for flexible word order, which can be used to emphasize different parts of a sentence. However, in a simple statement like Енергія сильна, the subject-adjective order is standard, and reordering the words would typically only change the emphasis without altering the core meaning.

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

Ukrainian does not have articles. Nouns are used without definite or indefinite articles, so енергія simply means “energy” without needing an article.

How should I pronounce Енергія сильна?

A rough guide to pronunciation is: “eh-ner-HEE-ya seel-NA.” Note that the Ukrainian г is pronounced more like an h than the English g sound, and the stress can vary slightly with regional accents.