Breakdown of Аптека знаходиться біля годинника на стіні.
на
on
знаходитися
to be located
біля
near
стіна
the wall
аптека
the pharmacy
годинник
the clock
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Questions & Answers about Аптека знаходиться біля годинника на стіні.
What does знаходиться mean, and why is it used instead of є in this sentence?
знаходиться is the reflexive form of the verb знаходити, meaning “is located” or “lies.” In Ukrainian, when you describe where something stands or is situated, you almost always use знаходиться rather than є. Saying «Аптека є біля …» would sound unnatural, whereas «Аптека знаходиться біля …» is the standard way to talk about location.
Why do we use біля годинника? Why is годинника in the genitive case?
The preposition біля (“near,” “next to”) in Ukrainian requires the noun that follows to be in the genitive case. The base form годинник (clock) changes to годинника in the genitive singular, indicating “of the clock” or “next to the clock.”
Why is на стіні using the locative case, and how do we form it?
When you use на to indicate location (i.e., “on” something), the noun takes the locative (also called prepositional) case. For стіна (wall), the locative singular is стіні. Thus на стіні means “on the wall.”
Does на стіні describe where the clock is or where the pharmacy is?
It describes where the clock is. The phrase breaks down as: Аптека знаходиться (The pharmacy is located) біля годинника (next to the clock) на стіні (that is on the wall). Grammatically and logically, на стіні modifies годинника, not аптека.
Can we replace біля with поруч із, and what case would we use then?
Yes. поруч із is a synonym of біля, meaning “beside” or “next to,” but it requires the instrumental case. So you would say: Аптека знаходиться поруч із годинником на стіні.
Could we say Аптека поруч зі стіною? Would that convey the same meaning?
You could say Аптека поруч зі стіною, but that means “The pharmacy is next to the wall,” not “next to the clock on the wall.” You’d lose the idea of the clock altogether. To keep both ideas, use поруч із годинником на стіні.
Is the word order rigid? Can I start with На стіні біля годинника…?
Ukrainian word order is fairly flexible. Starting with На стіні біля годинника знаходиться аптека is grammatically correct and shifts the emphasis to the location. However, the neutral, most common order is Аптека знаходиться біля годинника на стіні.
How do you pronounce аптека, especially the пт cluster?
In аптека you pronounce the consonant cluster пт clearly as two separate sounds: [ˈap.tɛ.ka]. Don’t insert an extra vowel or drop one of the plosives. The stress falls on the first syllable: ÁP-te-ka.