Я подарую тобі ручку.

I will give you a pen.

Breakdown of Я подарую тобі ручку.

• я: I
• ручка: the pen
• подарувати: to give
• тобі: you

Questions & Answers about Я подарую тобі ручку.

What does each word in Я подарую тобі ручку correspond to?

• Я = I
• подарую = will gift (perfective future)
• тобі = to you (dative, singular, informal)
• ручку = a pen (accusative singular) Literal structure: I will-gift to-you pen.

Why is тобі used here, and what case is it?

Тобі is dative case because the recipient of a gift takes the dative in Ukrainian. Verbs like подарувати (to gift), дати (to give) typically use the dative for the person receiving something.

Common dative pronouns:

• мені (to me), тобі (to you, sg), йому (to him/it), їй (to her), нам (to us), вам (to you, pl/formal), їм (to them)

Why does ручка become ручку?

It’s the accusative singular of a feminine noun ending in -а. For most feminine -а nouns, the accusative singular ends in -у/-ю:

• ручка → ручку
• книжка → книжку
• машина → машину
• Марія → Марію

What’s the difference between подарую and дам?

• подарую = I will gift (as a present)
• дам = I will give (neutral, not necessarily a present) So Я подарую тобі ручку implies it’s a present; Я дам тобі ручку could mean just handing you a pen.

How is подарую different from дарую or буду дарувати?

Aspect and tense:

• подарую: perfective future, a single completed act in the future (I’ll gift it).
• дарую: imperfective present (I am gifting/I gift, right now or habitually).
• буду дарувати or даруватиму: imperfective future (I will be gifting/will gift repeatedly or over time).

Is the subject pronoun Я necessary?

No. Ukrainian often drops subject pronouns because the verb ending shows the person. You can say:

• Подарую тобі ручку. Use Я if you want to emphasize the subject.

Where can I place тобі? Does word order change the meaning?

All are grammatical; word order shifts emphasis:

• Я подарую тобі ручку. Neutral.
• Я тобі подарую ручку. Slight emphasis on you as the recipient.
• Тобі я подарую ручку. Strong focus on you (as opposed to someone else).
• Я подарую ручку тобі. End-focus on you (often contrastive).

How do I make it polite/formal?

Use the dative plural/formal pronoun вам:

• Я подарую вам ручку. In formal writing, you may see capitalized Вам.

Ukrainian has no articles. How do I say this/that pen?

Use demonstratives:

• цю ручку = this pen (accusative)
• ту ручку = that pen Example: Я подарую тобі цю ручку.

How do I negate the sentence?

Place не before the verb:

• Я не подарую тобі ручку. (I will not gift you a pen.)

Does the sentence change if the speaker is female?

No. In the future (and present), verb forms don’t show the speaker’s gender. Gender shows up in the past tense (e.g., я подарував/подарувала).

Pronunciation tips?

Approximate: ya po-da-ROO-yu to-BEE ROOCH-koo.

• я = ya
• о = o (not schwa)
• і = ee
• ю = yu
• ч = ch as in church The cluster чк in ручку is pronounced ch+k.

Why is there no word for “to” before тобі?

Ukrainian uses the dative case without a preposition to mark the recipient. Adding a preposition like до here would be ungrammatical in this context.

Could I use дарувати instead and still talk about the future?

Yes, with an auxiliary or the synthetic future:

• Я буду дарувати тобі ручку. (I will be gifting/plan to gift.)
• Я даруватиму тобі ручку. (synthetic imperfective future) For a single, completed act, подарую is the most natural.

Does ручка always mean pen?

No. Ручка can mean:

• a pen
• a handle/knob Context clarifies. If needed, specify: кулькова ручка (ballpoint pen), пір’ясна/перьова ручка (fountain pen).

How do I conjugate подарувати in the future?

Perfective present forms have future meaning:

• я подарую
• ти подаруєш
• він/вона/воно подарує
• ми подаруємо
• ви подаруєте
• вони подарують