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Questions & Answers about Петро працює тривалий час.
What is the grammatical structure of the sentence "Петро працює тривалий час"?
In this sentence, Петро is a proper noun in the nominative case serving as the subject; працює is the verb in the present tense (imperfective aspect), meaning "works"; and тривалий час is a noun phrase acting as an adverbial modifier of time—тривалий (an adjective meaning "prolonged" or "lasting") modifies час ("time").
Why does the sentence not use a preposition (like "for" in English) to express the duration?
Ukrainian often expresses time durations without a preposition. The phrase тривалий час directly conveys the idea of “a long time” without the need for an equivalent of the English preposition “for.” This is a common structure in Ukrainian where the noun phrase itself indicates duration.
What tense and aspect is the verb працює in, and what does that tell us about the action?
The verb працює is in the present tense and is in the imperfective aspect. This indicates that the action of working is ongoing or habitual rather than completed, which fits the meaning of working continuously or for a long period.
Can the word order in this sentence be changed, and if so, what would be the effect?
Yes, Ukrainian enjoys a relatively flexible word order due to its rich case system. Although the standard order is subject–verb–time modifier (i.e., Петро працює тривалий час), you could rearrange the elements (for example, placing тривалий час at the beginning) to emphasize the duration. However, the meaning remains clear because of the grammatical cases used.
What is the reason for choosing тривалий over a word like довгий when describing time in this sentence?
Both adjectives can translate to "long," but тривалий specifically emphasizes an ongoing, extended period, making it a better fit when describing the continuity of an action like working. In contrast, довгий is more often used to describe physical length or time intervals in a more general sense.
What case is the noun час in, and does its form change because there’s no preposition?
In this construction, час is understood as an accusative noun functioning adverbially. However, because час is an inanimate masculine noun, its accusative form is identical to its nominative form. Thus, even without a preposition, the noun clearly indicates duration, and its form remains unchanged.