Я відповідаю на питання вчителя.

I answer the teacher’s question.

Breakdown of Я відповідаю на питання вчителя.

• я: I
• на: on
• вчитель: the teacher
• питання: the question
• відповідати: to answer

Questions & Answers about Я відповідаю на питання вчителя.

What is the infinitive form of the verb відповідаю, and what does it mean?

The verb відповідаю is the first-person-singular, present-tense form of the imperfective verb відповідати. It means “to answer” or “to respond.”

Why is there a preposition на before питання? Why not just відповідаю питання?

In Ukrainian, відповідати requires the preposition на when you “answer (to) something.” So you always say відповідати на щось (answer a question, a remark, etc.). Omitting на would be ungrammatical here.

What case is питання in, and why does it look identical to the nominative?

Here питання is in the accusative case, because it’s the object of the preposition на. Neuter nouns ending in -ня have the same form in nominative, accusative and genitive singular, so питання looks unchanged.

Why is the word вчителя in the genitive case?

Питання вчителя means “the teacher’s question.” To show possession (“of the teacher”), Ukrainian uses the genitive case. The nominative is вчитель, and the genitive singular is вчителя.

Could you say Я відповідаю вчителю на питання instead?

Yes, you can. That sentence (Я відповідаю вчителю на питання) literally means “I answer to the teacher on the question.” It emphasizes that you are responding to the teacher him- or herself, rather than just stating what you do with the questions. The version in the lesson focuses on answering the questions, not directly “to the teacher.”

Can you omit the subject pronoun Я in Ukrainian?

Yes. Ukrainian verbs are fully conjugated, so відповідаю already implies “I.” You can say simply Відповідаю на питання вчителя and it remains grammatical. Including Я adds emphasis or clarity.

What’s the stress pattern in відповідаю and питання?

In відповідаю, the stress falls on the і: відвóвідàю. In питання, the stress is on the second syllable: пи́тання.

Is there a perfective counterpart to відповідати?

Yes. The perfective verb is відповісти, meaning “to answer” (once, completed). First-person singular present/future perfective is відповім (I will answer/complete the answer).

Can I use запитання instead of питання?

Both words exist and often overlap. Запитання comes from the verb запитувати (“to ask”), while питання can also mean “issue” or “topic.” In everyday speech about questions you hear both відповідаю на запитання and відповідаю на питання, and most speakers won’t mind either choice.