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Questions & Answers about Мій син навчається у школі.
What does навчається mean, and what tense and person is it?
Навчається is the 3rd person singular present indicative form of the reflexive verb навчатися, which means “to study” or “to learn.” The -ся ending marks it as reflexive (literally “he studies himself,” i.e. “he is studying”).
Why is there an -ся suffix on навчається?
The suffix -ся turns a transitive verb (навчати – “to teach”) into a reflexive or medio-passive verb (навчатися – “to study”). It indicates that the subject performs the action on or for itself.
What case is школі in, and why?
Школі is feminine singular in the locative case. After the preposition у (meaning “in” or “at”), Ukrainian uses the locative to indicate location. Hence у школі = “at school.”
Why is it у школі and not в школі?
Ukrainian has two forms of the preposition “in”: в and у. As a rule, use в before words beginning with a vowel (e.g. в університеті) and у before words beginning with a consonant (e.g. у школі).
Could I say Мій син вчиться у школі instead?
Yes. The verb вчитися (“to learn, to attend school”) is more colloquial than навчатися but means essentially the same here. Both Мій син навчається у школі and Мій син вчиться у школі translate as “My son studies/attends school.”
Why do we need мій before син? In English, you can say “My son” or just “son.”
In Ukrainian, there are no articles (a/an/the), but possession must be marked. Мій is the masculine singular nominative possessive pronoun “my,” agreeing with син. Without it, Син навчається у школі would mean “(The) son studies at school,” which sounds generic.
How would I say “My daughter studies at school” with the same structure?
You’d change both the noun and the possessor to feminine:
Моя донька навчається у школі.
Here моя agrees with донька (feminine), and навчається у школі stays exactly the same.