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Questions & Answers about Петро працює в майстерні.
What does the verb працює mean, and how is it formed?
The verb працює means “works” in English. It is the third-person singular present tense form of the verb працювати (“to work”), indicating that Petro is currently engaged in work.
Why does the sentence use в майстерні, and what is its grammatical structure?
The phrase в майстерні translates to “in the workshop.” The preposition в means “in” and requires the noun that follows (майстерня) to be in the prepositional case (майстерні). This construction is used in Ukrainian to indicate the location where the action takes place.
Why is there no article (like “the” or “a”) before майстерні in the sentence?
Ukrainian does not include articles as part of its grammar. Instead of using words like “the” or “a,” context and word inflections convey definiteness or indefiniteness. Hence, майстерні is used without an article even though in English we might say “in a workshop” or “in the workshop.”
How do we know that Петро is the subject of the sentence?
Петро is a proper noun that comes at the beginning of the sentence. In Ukrainian, word order generally places the subject first, and the verb працює is conjugated in the third-person singular form, which confirms that the subject—Петро—is the one performing the action.
Is the word order in Ukrainian as fixed as in English? Could this sentence be rearranged?
Ukrainian has a relatively flexible word order compared to English, thanks to its rich system of inflections. Although Петро працює в майстерні follows the common subject-verb-location order, the sentence can be rearranged for emphasis or stylistic reasons without drastically changing its meaning.
What determines the use of the prepositional case in the phrase в майстерні?
The prepositional case in в майстерні is determined by the preposition в when it indicates location. In Ukrainian, when в is used to denote where an action occurs, the noun that follows must be in the prepositional case, which in this instance is майстерні.