Questions & Answers about Це безпечне місце на острові.
What does Це mean in this sentence and why is it used?
Це is the demonstrative pronoun “this” or “it” used to introduce or identify something. In Ukrainian, Це is invariable and often placed at the beginning of a sentence to point out or define the subject. Here it signals “This (is) a safe place on the island.”
Why does безпечне end in -е?
Ukrainian adjectives agree with the noun they modify in gender, number, and case. місце is a neuter noun in the nominative singular, so the adjective безпечний (safe) must take the neuter nominative singular ending -е, giving безпечне.
What gender and case is місце, and how do we know?
місце is a neuter noun in the nominative case. We know it’s neuter because it ends in -е, a typical marker of neuter nouns in the second declension. It’s in the nominative because it’s the “subject” or main thing being identified by Це (“What is this? – This is a place.”).
What case is острові in, and why is that case used?
острові is in the locative case (sometimes called the prepositional case). After the preposition на to express location (“on”), Ukrainian uses the locative. The masculine noun острів changes to острові in the singular locative.