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Questions & Answers about Петро спонукає мене працювати.
What does спонукає mean in this sentence?
спонукає is the third person singular present form of the verb спонукати, which means "to encourage," "to prompt," or "to motivate." In this sentence, it indicates that Петро is actively encouraging someone (namely, мене) to work.
Why is мене used in the sentence?
мене is the accusative form of the pronoun for "me." In Ukrainian, the object of the verb receives the accusative case. Here, it shows that the action of encouragement by Петро is directed toward the speaker.
Why is працювати in the infinitive form?
The word працювати is in the infinitive, which translates to "to work." Similar to English, Ukrainian verbs like спонукати require an infinitive complement after the main verb to specify what action is being encouraged. There is no need for an extra particle equivalent to the English "to."
How does the structure of this sentence compare to its English equivalent "Peter encourages me to work"?
The sentence structure mirrors its English counterpart quite well. Петро corresponds to "Peter" (the subject), спонукає matches "encourages" (the verb), мене is equivalent to "me" (the object), and працювати serves as "to work" (the infinitive complement). One key difference is that Ukrainian uses the infinitive directly without an additional particle like "to."
Can the word order in this sentence be changed for emphasis in Ukrainian?
Yes, Ukrainian typically offers flexible word order thanks to its rich case system. Although the standard order here is Subject (Петро) – Verb (спонукає) – Object (мене) – Infinitive (працювати), you can rearrange the elements to emphasize a particular component. Just be sure to preserve the case markers so that the grammatical roles remain clear.