Взимку я гуляю біля озера.

In winter, I walk by the lake.

Breakdown of Взимку я гуляю біля озера.

• я: I
• гуляти: to walk
• біля: by
• озеро: the lake
• взимку: in winter

Questions & Answers about Взимку я гуляю біля озера.

What part of speech is взимку, and how is it formed?

Взимку is an adverb of time meaning “in winter.” It’s not a case form but a fused time-adverb built from the preposition в + the accusative singular of зима (зиму). You’ll see the same pattern with other seasons: влітку (“in summer”), восени (“in autumn”), весною (“in spring”).

Why is біля followed by озера? Which case is озера?

The preposition біля (“near, by”) always takes the genitive case. Озеро is a neuter noun; its genitive singular form is озера. Hence біля озера = “by the lake.”

What does the ending -ю in гуляю indicate?

The -ю ending marks first-person singular present tense in an imperfective verb of the first conjugation (infinitive ending in -ти, here гуляти). So я гуляю means “I walk” or “I am walking.”

What aspect is conveyed by гуляю, and how would you express a single, completed walk?

Гуляю is imperfective, signaling a habitual, repeated or ongoing action (“I walk (regularly), I am walking”). To talk about one complete walk, use the perfective verb прогулятися. For example:
• Взимку я прогулявся біля озера (male speaker)
• Взимку я прогулялася біля озера (female speaker)

Can you omit the pronoun я in this sentence?

Yes. Ukrainian is a pro-drop language, so (В)зимку гуляю біля озера. is perfectly natural when it’s clear from context who is the subject. Including я adds emphasis or clarity.

How flexible is the word order in Взимку я гуляю біля озера?

Very flexible. Thanks to case marking, you can rearrange elements for emphasis:
• Я біля озера гуляю взимку. (emphasizes “I”)
• Біля озера я гуляю взимку. (emphasizes the place)
• Я взимку гуляю біля озера. (neutral)
The typical neutral order is Time → Subject → Verb → Place.

Where does the stress fall in взимку, гуляю, біля озера?

• взимку: on the second syllable – взи́мку
• гуляю: on the middle syllable – гуля́ю
• біля: on the first syllable – бі́ля
• озера: on the second syllable – озе́ра

How would you say “In winter I will walk by the lake” and “In winter I walked by the lake”?

For future habitual (imperfective):
• Взимку я гулятиму біля озера.
For past imperfective (habitual or descriptive):
• Взимку я гуляв біля озера. (male speaker)
• Взимку я гуляла біля озера. (female speaker)

Is there an alternative way to say “in winter” besides взимку?

Yes, you can use the adverb зимою (“in winter”) without в. It’s a bit more poetic or formal, but perfectly correct:
• Зимою я гуляю біля озера.