Breakdown of Вмивання холодною водою корисне.
вода
the water
холодний
cold
корисний
useful
вмивання
the washing
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Questions & Answers about Вмивання холодною водою корисне.
What part of speech is вмивання and how is it formed?
вмивання is a noun (a deverbal noun) derived from the reflexive verb вмиватися (to wash one’s face/hands). It functions like a gerund in English, expressing the action of washing.
Why is холодною водою in the instrumental case?
In Ukrainian, the instrumental case indicates the means or instrument by which an action is performed. холодною водою literally means “by/with cold water.”
How do холодною and водою agree grammatically?
Both words are in the instrumental case, singular. водою is feminine singular, so its adjective холодною also takes the feminine singular instrumental ending -ою.
Why is the predicate adjective корисне in the neuter singular nominative?
The adjective корисне agrees with the subject вмивання, which is a neuter singular noun. In Ukrainian, predicate adjectives match the gender, number, and case (here, nominative) of the subject they describe.
Is the word order in this sentence fixed, or could it change?
Ukrainian word order is relatively flexible. While вмивання холодною водою корисне follows a noun-phrase-then-predicate structure, you could also say корисне вмивання холодною водою to shift emphasis onto “beneficial.”
Since Ukrainian has no articles, how do we know if this refers to washing in general or a specific instance?
Without articles, context determines specificity. Вмивання холодною водою корисне generally means “Washing with cold water is beneficial” in a universal sense, but in a particular context it could refer to a specific event.
How do you pronounce вмивання and where is the stress?
The stress falls on the second syllable: вмива́ння (vmy-VAHN-nya). For холодною, stress is on the first syllable: хо́лодною (HO-lohd-no-you).
Could this idea be expressed with a verb instead of a noun phrase?
Yes. An impersonal construction uses an adverb plus an infinitive: Корисно вмиватися холодною водою, literally “It is beneficial to wash oneself with cold water.” Here корисно functions as an adverb.