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Questions & Answers about Петро читає свою книгу.
What is the role of the reflexive possessive adjective свою in this sentence?
The adjective свою indicates that the book belongs to the subject of the sentence, Petro. In Ukrainian, when the subject owns the object of the sentence, the reflexive possessive свій (in this case, its feminine accusative form свою) is used instead of a non-reflexive possessive like його.
Why is свою used rather than його even though Petro is male?
Even though Petro is male, the choice between свій and a pronoun like його is determined by the relationship between the subject and the object. Свою is used when the object belongs to the subject of the sentence, emphasizing that it is his own book. If the book belonged to someone else, a different possessive would be appropriate.
Which case is свою in, and how does it agree with книга?
Свою is in the accusative case and is in the feminine singular form. It agrees with книга (book), which is a feminine noun. In Ukrainian, adjectives must agree with the nouns they describe in gender, number, and case.
What is the word order of the sentence Петро читає свою книгу, and is it flexible?
The sentence follows a subject–verb–object (SVO) order: Петро (subject), читає (verb), свою книгу (object). While SVO is the default word order in Ukrainian, the language is quite flexible, and other orders can be used to emphasize different parts of the sentence if needed.
How is the verb читає conjugated in this sentence?
The verb читає is the third person singular present-tense form of читати (to read). It correctly agrees with the subject Петро in number and person, showing that Petro is performing the action of reading.
How does the use of свій differ from non-reflexive possessives in Ukrainian?
The key difference is that reflexive possessives like свій refer back to the subject of the sentence, indicating that the object is owned by the subject. Non-reflexive possessives (such as його, її, etc.) are used when the possessor is not the subject. This distinction helps avoid ambiguity and clearly shows whose item it is.