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Questions & Answers about Краса живе в душі.
What is the grammatical structure of the sentence "Краса живе в душі"?
The sentence consists of three parts. Краса is the subject in the nominative case, живе is the third-person singular present tense form of the verb жити (to live), and в душі is a prepositional phrase where душі (soul) is in the locative case following the preposition в (in).
Why does the noun душа appear as душі in this sentence?
In Ukrainian, when using the preposition в to indicate location, the noun it governs must be in the locative case. For the feminine noun душа, the locative singular form is душі. This case ending clearly shows that the phrase describes where beauty “lives.”
How is the verb живе conjugated, and why is it appropriate for the subject краса?
The verb живе is the third-person singular form of жити in the present tense. Although краса (beauty) is a feminine noun, verbs in Ukrainian conjugate according to person and number, not gender in the present tense; thus, живе correctly agrees with the singular subject краса.
Why is the word order in "Краса живе в душі" similar to the English "Beauty lives in the soul"?
Ukrainian has a flexible word order due to its case system, but this sentence follows the standard Subject-Verb-Prepositional Phrase structure, much like English. This similarity makes it easier for learners to see the parallels between the two languages even though Ukrainian often allows variations in word order for emphasis or style.
Is there an idiomatic or cultural significance behind the sentence "Краса живе в душі"?
Yes, beyond its literal meaning, the sentence suggests that true beauty is internal rather than purely external. This reflects a common cultural and philosophical idea in Ukrainian (and many other cultures) that one’s inner qualities—one’s soul—are the true carriers of beauty.