Друзі обмінюються книгами.

Breakdown of Друзі обмінюються книгами.

книга
the book
друг
the friend
обмінюватися
to exchange
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Questions & Answers about Друзі обмінюються книгами.

What does the -ся at the end of обмінюються indicate?

-ся is a reflexive/reciprocal suffix. In Ukrainian verbs it can mean:

  • Reflexive: the subject does something to itself (e.g. вмиватися – to wash oneself).
  • Reciprocal: the subject members do something to each other.
    Here, обмінюються is reciprocal: the friends are exchanging books with one another.
Why is книгами in the instrumental case?
The verb обмінюватися requires the instrumental to mark what is being exchanged. In Ukrainian, some verbs select specific cases for their objects. With обмінюватися, you always put the item you exchange in the instrumental.
How do you form the instrumental plural of книга?

Книга is a feminine noun ending in . To form the instrumental plural:

  1. Drop the книг-
  2. Add the ending -амикнигами
How is the verb обмінюватися conjugated in the present tense for “they”?

Обмінюватися is imperfective. Its present‐tense endings (for singular/plural) are:
я обмінюю-ся
ти обмінюєш-ся
він/вона обмінюєть-ся
ми обмінюємо-ся
ви обмінюєте-ся
вони обмінюються
So “they exchange” → вони обмінюються.

Where does the stress fall in обмінюються, and how do you pronounce it?

Stress is on the мін syllable. Phonetically it’s approximately:
ob-MIN-yu-yut-sya
(IPA: [obˈmʲinʲujut͡sʲa])

Why is the plural of друг друзі and not други?

Друзі is an irregular plural formed by a historical sound change:

  • The stem друг- changes г to з before , giving друз-ідрузі.
    Most modern speakers never use други for “friends” in Ukrainian.
How would you say “Friends exchanged books” to express a completed action?

Use the perfective обмінятися in the past tense:
Друзі обмінялися книгами.
This tells us the exchange happened and is now finished.

Do you need to add між собою or одне з одним to show the exchange is mutual?

No, the -ся on обмінюються already expresses a mutual action.
You can add між собою or одне з одним for extra emphasis though:
“Друзі обмінюються між собою книгами.”