Learn Hardcore Ukrainian: Я кладу рюкзак під сидіння трамвая.

кладу is the 1st person singular present tense of the imperfective verb класти (to put, to lay). Here it means “I put” or “I am putting.” Because it’s imperfective, it emphasizes the ongoing or habitual action, not its completion.

What is the difference between the verbs класти and покласти?

• класти is imperfective: it describes an action in progress or a repeated/habitual action (I put/I am putting).
• покласти is perfective: it describes a single, completed action (I will put/I have put).
If you want to say “I will put the backpack under the seat,” you’d use Я покладу рюкзак під сидіння трамвая.

Why is it під сидіння (accusative) instead of під сидінням (instrumental)?

Ukrainian preposition під takes:

the accusative case when the verb implies motion toward or placement into that space (here, you are placing the backpack under the seat).
the instrumental case when describing a static location (e.g., “The backpack is under the seat” → Рюкзак лежить під сидінням).

What case is трамвая, and why is it used here?

трамвая is the genitive singular of трамвай (tram). The genitive shows possession or “of” relationships. сидіння трамвая literally means “seat of the tram.”

Why isn’t рюкзак in a different form (for example рюкзака)?

рюкзак here is the direct object of кладу, so it takes the accusative case. Because рюкзак is an inanimate masculine noun, its accusative form is identical to its nominative form: рюкзак.

Do I have to include the pronoun я at the beginning?

No, subject pronouns in Ukrainian are optional because the verb ending already indicates person and number. You could simply say Кладу рюкзак під сидіння трамвая and it would still mean “I am putting the backpack under the seat of the tram.”

If I want to say “my backpack,” should I use мій рюкзак?

When the possessor is the subject of the sentence, Ukrainian prefers the reflexive possessive pronoun свій. So you’d say Я кладу свій рюкзак під сидіння трамвая, not мій рюкзак.

Can I use ставити instead of класти here?

While ставити/ставлю exists (it also means “to put/place”), it’s generally used when placing something upright (e.g., a vase on a table). For laying something down (horizontal placement), класти/кладу is the more natural choice.

How do you pronounce “Я кладу рюкзак під сидіння трамвая”?

A close phonetic approximation (IPA):
[jɑ klɑˈdu rʲukˈzɑk pid sidʲˈinnʲɑ trɑmˈwɑjɑ]
Stresses: кладу́, рю́кзак, сиді́ння, трамва́я.

What kind of noun is сидіння, and how does it decline?

сидіння is a neuter noun formed from the verb сидіти (to sit) with the suffix -ння, which often turns actions into nouns. Declension in the singular is:
• Nom/Acc: сидіння
• Gen: сидіння
• Dat: сидінню
• Inst: сидінням
• Loc: сидінні
In our sentence it’s accusative (motion toward), coinciding in form with the nominative.