Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Ukrainian grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Я ношу книгу в рюкзаку.
What is the infinitive form and aspect of the verb ношу here?
Ношу comes from the infinitive носити, which is an imperfective, multidirectional verb meaning “to carry” (habitually or generally). Its perfective counterpart is понести, and there’s also a unidirectional imperfective нести used for a single‐way action right now.
What case is книгу, and why does it end in -у instead of -а?
Книгу is in the accusative singular. In Ukrainian, most feminine nouns ending in -а replace that ending with -у in the accusative (direct‐object) form.
Why is the preposition в used with рюкзаку, and what case is рюкзаку?
Here в means “in” and expresses location, so it governs the locative case (also called the prepositional). The locative singular of рюкзак is рюкзаку, hence в рюкзаку = “in the backpack.”
Why is it в рюкзаку instead of у рюкзаку?
Ukrainian alternates в and у for “in.” You use в before words starting with a single consonant (в рюкзаку, в місті) and у before words starting with two or more consonants (у школі, у спортзалі) or a vowel cluster that’s hard to attach to в.
Can the subject pronoun я be omitted in Я ношу книгу в рюкзаку?
Yes. Because Ukrainian verb endings mark person and number, you can say Ношу книгу в рюкзаку and it’s clear you mean “I carry…” Including я adds emphasis (e.g. “I do carry…”).
How flexible is the word order in this sentence?
Thanks to case endings, word order is fairly free. The neutral order is Subject–Verb–Object–Circumstance: Я ношу книгу в рюкзаку. You can shift elements for focus, e.g.:
- У рюкзаку я ношу книгу (emphasizing the backpack)
- Я в рюкзаку ношу книгу (emphasizing location)
- Я ношу в рюкзаку книгу (mild emphasis on the object).
Why use the imperfective ношу here instead of a perfective form?
Imperfective ношу describes an ongoing or habitual action: “I carry/habitually keep the book in my backpack.” A perfective verb would imply one completed trip or action.
How would you express “I will carry the book in my backpack” as a one‐time action?
Use the perfective infinitive понести in the future:
Я понесу книгу в рюкзаку.
That means “I will carry the book [once] in my backpack.”
What’s the difference between носити and нести?
Both mean “to carry,” but нести is unidirectional imperfective (one‐way, right now), e.g. Я несу сумку додому (“I’m carrying the bag home [this one trip]”). Носити is multidirectional or habitual (repeatedly, over time), e.g. Я ношу книгу в рюкзаку (“I carry/habitually have the book in my backpack”).
Can носити also mean “to wear” like clothes?
Yes. Носити covers “to wear” garments or accessories. For example, Я ношу шапку means “I wear a hat.”