Я стану викладачем в університеті.

I will become a lecturer at the university.

Breakdown of Я стану викладачем в університеті.

• я: I
• стати: to become
• університет: the university
• в: at
• викладач: the lecturer

Questions & Answers about Я стану викладачем в університеті.

What does стану mean, and from which verb is it derived?

стану is the first-person-singular future form of the perfective verb стати, meaning “to become.”

Why is the noun for “teacher” in this sentence викладачем rather than викладач?

Ukrainian uses the instrumental case for predicate nouns after verbs like стати or бути to indicate the role or profession you become or are. The instrumental singular of викладач is викладачем.

Why is there no article before викладачем (such as “a” or “the”)?

Ukrainian has no definite or indefinite articles. You simply state professions and roles without adding a or the.

What case is університеті in, and why does it take that ending?

університеті is in the locative (prepositional) case, singular. With prepositions like в, the locative expresses location (“in the university”), so університет changes to університеті.

Why is the preposition в used instead of у before університеті?

The basic preposition for “in” is в, but its variant у appears before words beginning with certain consonants to ease pronunciation. Here університеті starts with a vowel, so we keep the full form в (avoiding у + у).

Can you drop the pronoun Я in this sentence? Why or why not?

Yes. Ukrainian is a pro-drop language, and verb endings already indicate the subject. So Я стану викладачем в університеті can be shortened to Стану викладачем в університеті without losing clarity, though including я adds emphasis.

What’s the difference between Я стану викладачем… and Я буду викладачем…?

Я стану uses the perfective aspect and highlights the moment of becoming. Я буду uses the imperfective and simply states that you will be in the role of a teacher at some future time, without emphasizing the change itself.

How would you say “I am going to become a teacher” if you want to stress the process or your intention?

To stress an ongoing process, use the imperfective future: Я буду ставати викладачем.
To express intention, say Я збираюся стати викладачем, literally “I am intending to become a teacher.”