Question 1

What case is щоденнику in, and why does it end with -у instead of -і?

Accepted Answer

щоденнику is in the prepositional case (sometimes called locative), used here with the preposition в to mean “in.”  
• Most masculine nouns form the prepositional by replacing the ending with -і (e.g. в домі, в парку).  
• Nouns ending in certain consonant clusters or suffixes (like -ник in щоденник) take -у instead of -і, so в щоденнику is correct.

Question 2

Why is the preposition в used here instead of у?

Accepted Answer

In Ukrainian “в” becomes “у” before awkward clusters of two consonants (for ease of pronunciation).  
• Use в before a single consonant sound: в місто, в школі, в щоденнику (because щ is one sound).  
• Use у before words that start with two (or more) consonants, e.g. у Львові (Л + в).

Question 3

Why is про used to mean “about,” and why is it followed by свої плани in the accusative?

Accepted Answer

Ukrainian has two common ways to say “about”:  
1. про + accusative (e.g. про плани) – very common in speech and writing.  
2. о/об + prepositional (e.g. о планах) – a bit more bookish or formal.  
Here, про takes the accusative plural плани (inanimate plurals have the same form as the nominative).

Question 4

Why is the reflexive pronoun свої used instead of мої, and why is it plural?

Accepted Answer

• свій/свої refers back to the subject (“my own”), so it’s preferred when that subject is also the possessor (я → свої плани).  
• It agrees in gender, number, and case with плани (masculine, plural, accusative).  
• It’s plural because you presumably have multiple plans. If you had only one, you’d say про свій план.

Question 5

What does пишу mean here, and could I use написав or напишу instead?

Accepted Answer

• пишу is the present tense, imperfective aspect of писати (“I am writing” or “I write/habitually write”).  
• написав is past tense, perfective (“I wrote/finished writing”).  
• напишу is future tense, perfective (“I will write—and finish writing”).  
Choose imperfective (пишу) to emphasize an ongoing or repeated action.

Question 6

Is the pronoun я necessary? Can I drop it?

Accepted Answer

In Ukrainian you can often omit subject pronouns because the verb ending indicates the subject.  
• пишу already implies “I,” so Я is optional.  
• Including я adds emphasis or clarity.  
Both Я пишу… and Пишу… are correct.

Question 7

Does word order matter here? Could I say Я пишу про свої плани в щоденнику?

Accepted Answer

Yes, Ukrainian word order is relatively flexible.  
• Я пишу в щоденнику про свої плани puts slight emphasis on where you write.  
• Я пишу про свої плани в щоденнику shifts emphasis to what you write.  
Both versions are grammatically correct; the difference is in what you choose to highlight.

Question 8

What exactly is a щоденник? Is it the same as a зошит?

Accepted Answer

• щоденник = diary/journal for personal entries, thoughts or plans, usually dated.  
• зошит = notebook, typically for schoolwork or general notes.  
• блокнот = notepad or pad of paper.  
So a щоденник is specifically your diary or journal, not just any notebook.

Я пишу в щоденнику про свої плани.

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