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Questions & Answers about Петро покаже мені машину.
What is the grammatical role of each word in the sentence "Петро покаже мені машину"?
In this sentence, Петро is the subject in the nominative case, покаже is the verb in the future tense (and perfective aspect), мені is in the dative case serving as the indirect object ("to me"), and машину is in the accusative case acting as the direct object ("the car").
Why does the noun form change from машина to машину in the sentence?
In Ukrainian, feminine nouns like машина change their ending in the accusative singular. The form машину is used to mark the direct object, indicating what is being shown. This case change is a common feature in Ukrainian noun declensions.
What function does мені serve, and why is it in the dative case?
МенІ is in the dative case because it denotes the indirect object, which answers the question "to whom?" In this sentence, it specifies that the car is being shown to "me." The dative case in Ukrainian is used to indicate the recipient of an action.
How is the future tense expressed in the verb покаже, and what does its form tell us about the action?
The verb покаже is the future tense form of the perfective verb показати. Ukrainian perfective verbs express actions that are seen as complete once realized. The form покаже is specifically the third person singular future form, meaning "will show."
Is the word order in "Петро покаже мені машину" fixed, and how does it compare to English sentence structure?
While Ukrainian word order is generally more flexible than English due to its case system, the sentence "Петро покаже мені машину" follows a clear structure that mirrors English: subject (Петро), verb (покаже), indirect object (мені), and direct object (машину). This order helps clarify each word’s role even if the order were to vary.