Breakdown of Я мию руки з милом і витираю рушником.
я
I
і
and
з
with
мило
the soap
мити
to wash
рука
the hand
витирати
to dry
рушник
the towel
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Questions & Answers about Я мию руки з милом і витираю рушником.
Why is руки in the plural, and what case is it?
Руки is the plural form of рука (“hand”). Here it’s in the accusative case because it’s the direct object of the verb мити (“to wash”). In Ukrainian you normally wash both hands, so you use the plural.
Why do we say з милом instead of simply мило?
We use з милом (“with soap”) to show the instrument or means of the action. The preposition з (“with”) plus the instrumental case tells you what you’re using to wash. The base noun мило (neuter) becomes милом in the instrumental.
What about рушником—why is it in that form, and why is there no preposition?
Рушником is also in the instrumental case (from рушник, “towel”). When marking an instrument, Ukrainian can drop the preposition and just put the noun in the instrumental. So витираю рушником literally means “I dry [my hands] by means of a towel.”
How do I form the instrumental case in Ukrainian?
- Masculine nouns ending in a consonant: add -ом (e.g., стіл → стілом) or -ем after certain soft consonants.
- Neuter nouns ending in -о or -е: replace -о/-е with -ом (e.g., мило → милом).
- Feminine nouns ending in -а: replace -а with -ою (e.g., книга → книгою) or -ею after certain stems.
- Feminine nouns ending in a soft sign -ь or -я: replace with -ю (e.g., дверть → двертю).
Why aren’t there any articles like the or a in this sentence?
Ukrainian doesn’t use definite or indefinite articles. You express specificity through context, word order, and cases rather than using separate words like the or a.
What’s the difference between мити and митися? Could I say я миюся милом?
- мити is a transitive verb meaning “to wash (something).” You use it with a direct object: я мию руки.
- митися is the reflexive form “to wash oneself.” You could say я миюся милом, which means “I wash myself with soap.” If you want to specify hands, you’d still need руки in the accusative: я миюся милом руки (though it’s more common to say я мию руки милом or я мию руки з милом).
When do I use з, із, or зі as the preposition for “with”?
They’re all forms of the same preposition meaning “with.” You choose based on ease of pronunciation:
- з before most consonants (з милом)
- зі before certain clusters or to avoid awkward consonant runs (зі мною, зі столом)
- із before vowels (із олівцем, із друзями)
Is the word order flexible? Could I say Я з милом мию руки і рушником витираю?
Yes, Ukrainian word order is relatively flexible, especially in simple sentences. You can reorder the instrument phrases for emphasis:
- Я з милом мию руки і рушником витираю.
- Я мию руки рушником і з милом витираю.
The most neutral order is subject + verb + object + instrument(s).
Why don’t we use the preposition before рушником if we use one before милом?
When marking the means or instrument in Ukrainian, you can either use the preposition з/із/зі plus the instrumental case or drop the preposition and rely on the instrumental form alone. Both are correct; dropping the preposition is common when the meaning is clear.