У мене є пухова подушка.

I have a down pillow.

Breakdown of У мене є пухова подушка.

• я: I
• мати: to have
• у: in
• подушка: the pillow
• пуховий: down

Questions & Answers about У мене є пухова подушка.

What does У мене literally mean and what case is мене in?

It literally means “at me” and uses the preposition у with мене in the genitive case. This construction expresses possession in Ukrainian, so У мене є… corresponds to “I have…” in English.

What is the role of є in У мене є пухова подушка?

є is the third-person singular present tense form of the verb бути (to be). In this existential construction, it links the possessor phrase (У мене) to the possessed item (пухова подушка), conveying I have a down pillow.

Why is подушка in the nominative case instead of the accusative?

In the structure У мене є X, the noun X is a subject complement after the copular verb “to be” and thus remains in the nominative case. Even though in English we think of “I have” + object, in Ukrainian є is a linking verb, so пухова подушка stays nominative.

What does пухова mean and how is this adjective formed?

пухова means down or feather (filled with down). It’s formed from the noun пух (down/fluff) by adding the adjectival suffix -ов- plus the feminine ending -а to agree with подушка (a feminine noun).

How do we know the gender and number of пухова?

Adjectives in Ukrainian agree with their noun in gender, number, and case. Here:
• подушка ends in -а, so it’s feminine singular nominative.
• пухова takes the matching feminine singular nominative ending -а, showing it modifies подушка.

Why is the adjective placed before the noun? Could it come after?

The neutral word order in Ukrainian is Adjective + Noun, so пухова подушка is standard. Adjectives can follow the noun for emphasis or poetic effect (for example, подушка пухова), but that’s less common in everyday speech.

Where is the stress (accent) in пухова подушка?

Stress falls on the second syllable of each word:
• пухόва (puh-KHO-va)
• подύшка (po-DU-shka)

Can you drop є and still be understood?

Yes. In colloquial style you can say У мене пухова подушка without є, and most listeners will immediately understand “I have a down pillow.” However, including є is more standard, especially in formal contexts.

Could you use a different adjective to specify another type of pillow filling?

Absolutely. Just replace пухова with another adjective that agrees with подушка:
• хлопкова подушка (cotton pillow)
• шерстяна подушка (wool pillow)
• синтетична подушка (synthetic pillow)