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Questions & Answers about Я п’ю чай з печивом.
Why is there an apostrophe in п’ю and what does it do?
In Ukrainian, the apostrophe is a separate orthographic sign (not a contraction mark) used before iotated vowels (я, ю, є, ї, йо) to show that the preceding consonant remains hard and that the vowel keeps its full j- sound. Without the apostrophe, пю would be pronounced [pʲu] (only softening the п), but п’ю is [pʲju], i.e. you hear both the soft п plus a clear “y” glide before the “u.”
How do I pronounce п’ю correctly?
Phonetically, п’ю is [pʲju]. To approximate it in English: start with a slightly softened “p” (as in peanut but a bit softer), immediately add a “y” sound (like “you”), then “oo” as in “moon.” Put together: pyoo.
Why is чай not declined after the verb “drink”?
When you drink something, that something is a direct object. In Ukrainian, inanimate masculine nouns in the accusative case look exactly like the nominative. So чай (masculine inanimate) stays чай whether it’s “the tea” or “I drink tea.”
What case is печивом and why is it used?
печивом is the instrumental singular of печиво. After the preposition з meaning “with” (in the sense of accompaniment), Ukrainian always uses the instrumental case. Thus, з печивом = “with (some) cookies.”
Could I say із печивом instead of з печивом?
Yes. із and з both mean “with” when indicating accompaniment.
– Use із before words beginning with a vowel or certain consonant clusters for euphony (e.g. із яблуком).
– з печивом is more natural here because печивом begins with a single consonant (/p/).
Why aren’t there any articles like “a” or “the” in Я п’ю чай з печивом?
Ukrainian has no articles. Definiteness or indefiniteness is understood from context. So Я п’ю чай з печивом can mean “I’m drinking tea with cookies” or “I drink the tea with cookies,” depending on situation and tone.
Does п’ю mean “I am drinking” or “I drink”?
Ukrainian uses the same present-tense form for both simple and progressive aspects. Я п’ю чай can be translated as either “I drink tea” (habitually) or “I am drinking tea” (right now), depending on context or added time expressions (e.g. зараз = “now”).
Can I talk about multiple cookies, e.g. “with the cookies”?
Yes, if you want to emphasize countable cookies, you could use the plural печива (nominative) → печивами (instrumental plural).
Example: Я п’ю чай з печивами.
However, печиво is often a mass/collective noun in Ukrainian (“cookies” in general), so печивом is more common when you’re not counting individual pieces.