Breakdown of Нам треба купити квитки на автобус до університету.
до
to
ми
we
купити
to buy
автобус
the bus
на
for
квиток
the ticket
університет
the university
треба
need
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Questions & Answers about Нам треба купити квитки на автобус до університету.
What does Нам треба mean, and why use нам instead of ми?
Нам треба literally means “to us is needed” and is the standard way to say “we need” in Ukrainian. The verb треба is impersonal, so the person who needs something is expressed in the dative case. Hence нам (dative “to us”) rather than ми (nominative “we”).
Why is купити in the infinitive form?
After треба, Ukrainian uses the infinitive to indicate the required action. So купити (“to buy”) follows треба just like English uses “need to …” rather than “need buys.”
Why are квитки in the accusative plural?
Квитки is the direct object (“tickets”) that you need to buy. In Ukrainian, inanimate nouns in the plural have the same form in nominative and accusative, but the case is still accusative because it answers “what do we need to buy?” → квитки.
What does на автобус mean, and why not use the instrumental автобусом?
Here, на автобус means “for the bus” or “on the bus route,” specifying the type of tickets. It’s a common collocation: квитки на автобус = tickets valid for the bus. If you said їхати автобусом, that would mean “to travel by bus,” using the instrumental to express the means of transportation. But when buying tickets, you say на + accusative to name the vehicle.
Why is до університету used, and why is університету in the genitive?
The preposition до (“to, up to”) always takes the genitive case to express movement or direction toward something. So до університету means “to the university.” You cannot use nominative (університет) after до, and you wouldn’t use в університеті here because that would mean “inside the university” (locative).
Could you say Ми повинні купити квитки до університету instead? What’s the difference?
Yes, Ми повинні купити квитки до університету is grammatically correct and means the same thing. The difference is stylistic:
- Нам треба is more colloquial and impersonal (“we need to…”).
- Ми повинні is more formal and personal (“we must…”).
Both take an infinitive after them.
Can you reorder the sentence, for example, Квитки нам треба купити до університету на автобус?
Ukrainian allows some flexibility, but the neutral, most natural order is Нам треба купити квитки на автобус до університету. Moving нам or other parts front or back can sound poetic or overly marked. If you want emphasis, you might front квитки (“Квитки нам треба купити …”) but generally word order follows the pattern:
- Indirect actor/need (Нам треба)
- Verb + object (купити квитки)
- Additional details (на автобус до університету).