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Questions & Answers about Петро змусив мене бігати.
What is the literal translation of the sentence?
“Петро змусив мене бігати” translates to “Petro forced me to run.” The sentence tells us that Petro compelled or made the speaker run.
How is the causative construction expressed here?
Ukrainian uses causative verbs like змусив in a structure similar to English “make/force someone do something.” The pattern is: Subject (Петро) + Verb (змусив) + Direct Object (мене) + Infinitive (бігати). This clearly shows who is doing the forcing and what action was imposed.
Why is the verb бігати in its infinitive form instead of being conjugated?
In constructions with causative verbs such as змусив, the action that is being imposed is expressed using the infinitive form. Бігати is a non-finite verb form that denotes the general action (running) without reference to tense or agreement, much like “to run” in English.
What is the difference between бігати and similar forms like бігти?
Бігати is typically used to express habitual or ongoing actions, whereas бігти can denote a single, specific instance of running. In this sentence, the choice of бігати suggests that the running was seen as a general activity—possibly recurring—rather than a one-off event.
What grammatical cases are involved in this sentence and why?
Петро is in the nominative case as the subject, and мене is in the accusative case as the direct object of the causative verb змусив. The infinitive бігати remains uncased. Ukrainian employs cases to clearly mark the roles of nouns in a sentence.
Does the verb змусив carry an implication of strong coercion or abuse?
While змусив literally means “forced” and implies that the speaker was compelled to run, its connotation depends on context. It can suggest either physical coercion or simply that the speaker had little choice, without necessarily conveying an abusive tone.