Breakdown of Я повинен читати книгу ввечері.
я
I
читати
to read
книга
the book
ввечері
in the evening
повинний
must
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Ukrainian grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Я повинен читати книгу ввечері.
What part of speech is повинен and what does it mean here?
повинен is a short-form adjective (derived from повинний) used predicatively to indicate obligation; it translates to English must or have to.
Why is повинен spelled with one н instead of two?
Short-form adjectives in Ukrainian drop one н from the full form. The full adjective is spelled повинний (with нн), while the short form is повинен (with one н).
Why is the verb читати in the infinitive form?
After modal expressions like повинен, the main verb remains in the infinitive. So повинен читати literally means have to read, not a conjugated tense.
Why is читати imperfective rather than perfective? Could we use прочитати?
Imperfective aspect (читати) indicates an ongoing or habitual action. If you used повинен прочитати книгу ввечері, it would mean I must finish reading the book in the evening (perfective = completed action).
What case is книгу, and why does книга change to книгу?
Книгу is the accusative singular form of the feminine noun книга. It marks the direct object of the verb. Feminine nouns ending in -а change to -у in the accusative.
What part of speech is ввечері and why is there no preposition?
Ввечері is an adverb of time meaning in the evening. It evolved from the prepositional case of вечір but now functions as a standalone adverb, so no separate preposition is needed.
Can I say увечері instead of ввечері, and is there a difference?
Both увечері and ввечері are correct and mean in the evening. Ввечері is more common in modern usage, but увечері is also acceptable.
Is it necessary to include Я at the beginning of the sentence?
No. Ukrainian is a pro-drop language, so the subject pronoun Я can be omitted if the context is clear: Повинен читати книгу ввечері. Including Я adds emphasis or clarity but isn’t required.
Are there other ways to express have to in Ukrainian besides повинен?
Yes. You can use the impersonal треба, for example Мені треба читати книгу ввечері (I need to read a book in the evening), or the colloquial verb мусити: Я мусив/муситиму читати книгу ввечері (depending on tense), though мусити is less formal.