Learn Hardcore Ukrainian: Лікар порадив мені носити теплий светр взимку. - The doctor advised me to wear a warm sweater in winter.

In Ukrainian, the person receiving an action (the indirect object) takes the dative case. Мені is the dative form of я (“I”), so лікар порадив мені means “the doctor advised me.” Using я (nominative) would be ungrammatical in this context.

Why is порадив мені носити used instead of something like порадив, щоб я носив?

The construction порадив мені носити is a common pattern: порадити щось комусь + infinitive. It’s more concise than порадив, щоб я носив, which uses a subordinate clause with щоб. Both are possible, but the infinitive version is more idiomatic for direct advice.

What case and meaning does взимку have?

Взимку is an adverbial form derived from the noun зима (“winter”). It literally means “in winter” or “during winter.” It’s formed by adding the prefix в- and the ending -у, creating a single-word adverb of time.

Why is the adjective теплий not теплого before светр?

Both теплий светр and теплого светра are grammatically possible, but they serve different roles. Here, теплий is in the nominative case modifying the subject or direct object (the sweater). If you wanted a genitive attribute (e.g., “of a warm sweater”), you’d use теплого світра. In our sentence, теплий светр is the thing you wear, so nominative fits.

How does светр change in the accusative case?

Светр is an inanimate masculine noun with a hard stem. In Ukrainian, inanimate masculine nouns have accusative = nominative. So both nominative and accusative singular are светр. That’s why we see носити теплий светр, not светра.

What’s the difference between носити and одягати or одіти?

• Носити means “to wear” in the habitual or general sense (e.g., “I wear a sweater every winter”).
• Одягати (imperfective) and одіти (perfective) mean “to put on” clothing. For example, одягати светр means “to dress (someone) in a sweater” or “to put a sweater on (oneself).” In advice about habitual wearing, носити is the correct choice.

Could you use рекомендував instead of порадив here?

Yes, you could say Лікар рекомендував мені носити теплий светр взимку.
• Порадив comes from порада (“advice”) and is slightly more informal.
• Рекомендував comes from рекомендація (“recommendation”) and sounds a bit more formal or professional. Both verbs work with the dative + infinitive pattern.

How do you pronounce порадив and where is the stress?

Порадив is pronounced [po-RA-dýv], with the stress on the second syllable РА (po-RA-dyv). The “и” in порадив sounds like the short Ukrainian и, similar to the “i” in English “bit.”

Why isn’t there a preposition before теплий светр?

No preposition is needed because носити directly takes a direct object in the accusative case (here identical to the nominative for inanimate masculine). So you simply say носити светр, not носити в светр or anything else.