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Questions & Answers about У кімнаті є шафа.
What is the role of є in У кімнаті є шафа?
є is the present-tense form of the verb бути when you want to express existence. It functions like English there is/there are. It tells us that something exists or is present in a given place.
Why is кімната in the form кімнаті instead of кімната?
Because after the preposition у (in) you must use the locative case to indicate location. The locative singular of кімната is кімнаті.
Why is шафа in the nominative case here?
In Ukrainian existential sentences (“there is/are” constructions), the thing that exists stays in the nominative case. That’s why шафа remains unchanged.
Can I use в instead of у and say В кімнаті є шафа?
Yes. Ukrainian has two forms of the preposition “in”: в and у. You choose the one that sounds more comfortable before the next word. Both в кімнаті є шафа and у кімнаті є шафа are correct and mean the same thing.
Is it possible to drop є and just say У кімнаті шафа?
Absolutely. In everyday speech and in certain stylistic contexts you can omit є. У кімнаті шафа still means There is a wardrobe in the room, but feels more concise or colloquial.
How do I form the question “Is there a wardrobe in the room?” in Ukrainian?
You have two common options:
- Чи є шафа в кімнаті? – using the question particle чи plus є.
- У кімнаті є шафа? – by simply using rising intonation on the statement.
Can I change the word order to Є шафа у кімнаті?
Yes. Ukrainian allows flexible word order for emphasis. Є шафа у кімнаті highlights the existence (there is), while У кімнаті є шафа foregrounds the location. Both are grammatically correct.
Why don’t we have an article like a or the before шафа?
Ukrainian does not use indefinite or definite articles. You simply say шафа without any article. Context or additional words (like ця шафа for this wardrobe) clarify specificity if needed.