Я йду до лікарні.

I go to the hospital.

Breakdown of Я йду до лікарні.

• я: I
• йти: to go
• до: to
• лікарня: the hospital

Questions & Answers about Я йду до лікарні.

Why is the preposition до used instead of в or у?

The preposition до means “towards” or “up to (the vicinity of).” It emphasizes that you are going as far as the hospital (but doesn’t explicitly state entering it). In contrast, в (or у before vowels) means “into” or “in,” so Я йду в лікарню would more strongly imply “I am going into the hospital.”

Why is лікарні in the genitive case?

Because the preposition до always governs the genitive case. The noun лікарня (hospital) is a first-declension feminine noun, so its singular genitive form is лікарні.

Could I say Я йду в лікарню instead? What’s the nuance?

Yes, you can say Я йду в лікарню. The nuance is:

• до лікарні (to the hospital, up to the area of it)
• в лікарню (into the hospital, entering it) Choose в if you want to stress that you will go inside; до is more neutral about whether you’ll go in or just arrive nearby.

What’s the difference between the verbs йти and ходити?

They form a unidirectional–multidirectional pair: • йти (unidirectional) – to go (one-way, right now)
– e.g. Я йду до лікарні (“I am going to the hospital [this one time]”)
• ходити (multidirectional) – to go regularly or back and forth
– e.g. Я ходжу до лікарні щодня (“I go to the hospital every day”)

How is the present tense of йти formed for я?

The present-tense conjugation for йти is irregular: • я йду
• ти йдеш
• він/вона/воно йде
• ми йдемо
• ви йдете
• вони йдуть

So йду is the first-person singular form.

Why is there no word for “the” or “a” before лікарні?

Ukrainian does not use articles (no equivalents of “the” or “a”). Definiteness or indefiniteness is inferred from context or extra words (like demonstratives цей “this” or possessives).

How do I pronounce йду до лікарні correctly?

• й sounds like English “y” in “yes.”
• і is like English “ee” in “see.”
• Stress is on лі́ in лікарні: [y-DOO do lih-KAR-nee].
Putting it together: “y-doo doh lih-KAR-nee.”

Could I say Я іду до лікарні with an і instead of й?

Standard literary Ukrainian uses йти with й (so я йду). Some dialects or colloquial speech might say іти → іду, but in formal speech and writing you should use йду.