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Questions & Answers about Автобус зупиняється біля школи.
What gender, number, and case is Автобус in?
It’s masculine, singular, and in the nominative case, because it functions as the subject of the sentence.
What is the infinitive form of зупиняється?
The infinitive is зупинятися (“to stop; to come to a halt”).
What tense, person, and number is зупиняється?
It’s present tense, 3rd person singular.
What aspect is the verb зупинятися, and what’s its perfective counterpart?
It’s imperfective, indicating a repeated or ongoing action. Its perfective counterpart (one-time completion) is зупинитися (“to stop” once).
What does the suffix -ся do in зупиняється?
The -ся suffix makes the verb reflexive/intransitive, so the action “stopping” happens by itself (“the bus stops”). Without -ся (зупиняє), it would be transitive (“he stops something”).
What case is школи in, and why?
Школи is in the genitive singular because the preposition біля (“near, by”) always governs the genitive case.
What is the role of the word біля, and are there alternative ways to say “near”?
Біля is a preposition meaning “near” or “by.” Alternatives include поруч із + instrumental (e.g., поруч із школою) or около + genitive (more colloquial).
Why is there no article “the” before автобус?
Ukrainian does not use definite or indefinite articles. Nouns stand alone without “a” or “the.”
Can you change the word order to Біля школи зупиняється автобус, and does it affect the meaning?
Yes, you can front біля школи for emphasis (“It’s by the school that the bus stops”), but the basic meaning remains the same.
How do you turn the sentence into a question meaning “Does the bus stop near the school?”
Add the question particle чи before the verb: Чи зупиняється автобус біля школи? In speech you can also rely on rising intonation without чи.
How would you say “The bus stopped near the school” in the past tense?
Автобус зупинився біля школи. Here зупинився is the masculine singular past form of the perfective verb зупинитися.