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Questions & Answers about Я забув номер паспорта.
Why isn’t there an article like “a” or “the” in Я забув номер паспорта?
Ukrainian has no articles. Nouns are used without “a” or “the”. Context alone tells you whether something is general or specific.
What grammatical cases are номер and паспорта in?
номер is the direct object of забути, so it’s in the accusative case. Since it’s a masculine inanimate noun, its accusative form looks identical to the nominative.
паспорта is in the genitive case (answers “of what?” – номер кого/чого? “number of what?”), showing possession: “number of the passport.”
Why is the verb забув used instead of забував or забуваю?
забуч (imperfective) describes ongoing or repeated forgetting, and забуваю is present tense (“I am forgetting”). забути is the perfective infinitive; its past masculine form забув means the action is complete: “I forgot (and now it’s gone).”
Can I drop the pronoun Я and just say Забув номер паспорта?
Yes. Ukrainian verbs carry subject information in their endings, so pronouns like Я are optional, especially in informal speech. Забув номер паспорта is perfectly natural.
If the speaker is female, how does the sentence change?
The verb ending must agree with feminine gender. A woman would say:
Я забула номер паспорта.
Is номер паспорта the only way to say “passport number”?
No. You can also use the adjective-noun form паспортний номер. Both are correct; номер паспорта (noun + genitive) is very common in everyday speech.
How do I pronounce Я забув номер паспорта?
Approximate transliteration:
ya za-BOOV NO-mer pas-POR-ta
Stress falls on -БУВ and -ПОР-та.
IPA (rough): /ja zɐˈbʊw ˈnɔmɛr pɑsˈportɑ/
What’s the difference between the verbs забути and забувати?
забути is perfective (“to forget” with focus on completion); забувати is imperfective (“to be in the process of forgetting” or “to forget repeatedly”). Use забув when you’ve fully forgotten, and забував when referring to habitual or ongoing forgetting.
How would I ask someone else if they forgot their passport number?
Masculine informal: Ти забув номер паспорта?
Feminine informal: Ти забула номер паспорта?
Polite/formal (any gender): Ви забули номер паспорта?