Breakdown of Сковорода лежить біля плити.
плита
the stove
сковорода
the frying pan
лежати
to lie
біля
next to
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Ukrainian grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Сковорода лежить біля плити.
Why is the verb лежить used here instead of simply saying сковорода є біля плити?
In Ukrainian you normally use a posture verb—лежати (“to lie”), стояти (“to stand”) or сидіти (“to sit”)—to describe where things are. A frying pan lies flat, so you say сковорода лежить. Using a simple copula є in a sentence like сковорода є біля плити sounds unnatural.
What case is плити in, and why?
Плити is the genitive singular of плита (“stove”). The preposition біля always requires the genitive case, so плита (nominative) becomes плити (genitive).
How do you form the genitive singular of a feminine noun ending in -а, like плита?
For most feminine nouns ending in -а, you replace -а with -и to get the genitive singular.
Example:
• плита → плити
• книга → книги
Why aren’t there any articles (like “the” or “a”) before сковорода?
Ukrainian does not use definite or indefinite articles. Nouns appear without “a,” “an,” or “the.” Context alone tells you whether you mean “a frying pan” or “the frying pan.”
What is the gender of сковорода and плита, and how can I tell?
Both сковорода and плита are feminine. In Ukrainian, most nouns ending in -а or -я are feminine. You can also check a dictionary for confirmation.
Can I change the word order? For example, say Біля плити лежить сковорода instead of Сковорода лежить біля плити?
Yes. Ukrainian word order is flexible. Біля плити лежить сковорода still means “The frying pan is next to the stove,” but placing the location first shifts the emphasis onto біля плити.
How would I ask “Where is the frying pan?” in Ukrainian?
You would say Де лежить сковорода?
• Де = “where”
• лежить = “lies/is lying”
• сковорода = “the frying pan”
How do you say “The frying pans are next to the stove” in Ukrainian?
You make everything plural except the stove (if there’s still one):
Сковороди лежать біля плити.
• сковороди = plural of сковорода
• лежать = third-person plural of лежати
• біля плити remains the same
Could I use поруч із плитою instead of біля плити?
Yes. Both mean “next to,” but:
• біля + genitive → біля плити
• поруч із + instrumental → поруч із плитою
Where is the stress in сковорода and плита?
• сковорода: stress on the third syllable – сковорО́да
• плита: stress on the second syllable – плИ́та