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Questions & Answers about Петро вип’є чашку кави.
What tense and aspect is вип’є, and how is it formed?
Вип’є is the third person singular future perfective form of the verb випити (to drink up/finish drinking). In Ukrainian, perfective verbs express completed actions. You form this future-tense form by taking the perfective stem вип- and adding the ending -є for 3rd person singular, which here signals “he will drink (it all).”
Why is the perfective aspect used here instead of the imperfective?
Using the perfective вип’є emphasizes that Petro will finish drinking the cup of coffee. An imperfective future such as Петро буде пити чашку кави would focus on the ongoing process of drinking, not on the fact that he drinks it completely.
What does the apostrophe in вип’є indicate, and how do I pronounce it?
The apostrophe after the labial consonant п and before the iotated vowel є marks that п stays hard (not palatalized) and that є is pronounced [je]. So вип’є is pronounced roughly “vi-p-ye” (IPA: [vɪpʲje]).
Why is чашку in the accusative case, and why is кави in the genitive?
Чашку is the direct object of the verb, so it takes the accusative singular form of чашка (nominative) → чашку (accusative). Кави is genitive because it denotes the content of the cup (a typical partitive/genitive construction: “a cup of coffee”).
Could I just say Петро вип’є каву instead of чашку кави? What’s the difference?
Yes. Петро вип’є каву simply means “Petro will drink coffee” (using каву, the accusative of кава). Adding чашку кави specifies quantity (“a cup of coffee”).
Is there a periphrastic future for this verb, and when would I use it?
Yes. The imperfective verb пити forms the future with буде + infinitive: Петро буде пити (каву). You’d use that to talk about an ongoing or habitual future action (e.g. “he will be drinking coffee every morning”), not a completed one.
Where do we place stress in Петро вип’є чашку кави?
Stress falls on the second syllable of вип’є (vi-PYE), on the first syllable of чашку (CHA-shku), and on the first syllable of кави (KA-vy).
Is the word order flexible in this sentence, and does changing it affect the meaning?
Ukrainian word order is relatively flexible. The neutral order is Subject-Verb-Object: Петро вип’є чашку кави. You could move the object for emphasis—Чашку кави вип’є Петро would highlight чашку кави—but the basic meaning remains the same.