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Questions & Answers about Напишіть адресу в зошиті.
What grammatical mood and person is Напишіть, and how do I interpret it in English?
Напишіть is the imperative mood of the perfective verb написати (“to write”). It’s in the second-person plural form, which in Ukrainian doubles as a polite form when addressing one person. In English you’d render it as “Write…” when speaking to several people or as a polite “Please write…” to one person.
Why is адресу in the accusative case?
In Ukrainian, the direct object of an action takes the accusative case. Адреса (nominative) changes to адресу in the singular accusative because it’s a feminine noun ending in –а. So “write the address” becomes Напишіть адресу.
Why is the phrase в зошиті used, and why is зошиті in the locative case?
The preposition в (“in”) requires the locative case to indicate location. Зошит (“notebook”) in the locative singular becomes зошиті, so в зошиті means “in the notebook.”
Could I use у зошиті instead of в зошиті, and is there any difference?
Both в and у can mean “in,” but there’s a phonetic preference:
- в is often used before words starting with consonants, as in в зошиті.
- у is preferred before words beginning with vowels.
Meaning stays the same—this is just a matter of euphony.
Why can’t I say в зошит instead of в зошиті?
That would leave зошит in the nominative (or accusative) case, which doesn’t match the preposition в when you want to express location. To say “in the notebook,” you must use the locative case: в зошиті.
Can I say Запишіть адресу в зошиті instead? What’s the nuance compared to Напишіть?
Yes, Запишіть is the imperative of записати (“to record/note down”), and it also takes the accusative адресу.
- Напишіть focuses on the act of writing itself.
- Запишіть carries the nuance of making a record or note of something you’ve heard or decided.
In many contexts they’re interchangeable, but запишіть hints more at “note this down.”
How do you pronounce зошиті, and where is the stress?
You pronounce it [zo-SHI-ti], with the stress on the second syllable: зошИті.