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Questions & Answers about Кафе вже закрилося.
What does the ending in закрилося mean?
It’s the past tense, neuter, reflexive form of the perfective verb закритися (to close [itself]). Breakdown:
- закри-: root “close”
- -ло: past tense, neuter singular agreement (because кафе is neuter)
- -ся: reflexive clitic So закрилося = “closed (itself)” as a completed event.
Why is there no word for “the” or “a” before кафе?
Ukrainian has no articles. Whether it’s “the café” or “a café” is inferred from context. Here, context makes it “the café.”
Do I need to say “it” (like воно) as the subject?
No. Ukrainian usually drops subject pronouns when the subject is expressed (here, кафе) or clear from context.
What does вже mean, and where should it go in the sentence?
Вже means “already.” The default placement is before the verb or near what you want to emphasize:
- Neutral: Кафе вже закрилося.
- Fronted for emphasis: Вже кафе закрилося.
- End position is possible but sounds like afterthought: Кафе закрилося вже. You may also see уже; it’s a stylistic variant of вже, with вже more common in standard usage.
Why is the perfective used (закрилося) and not the imperfective (закривалося)?
Perfective marks a completed event (“has closed/already closed”). Imperfective закривалося would mean “was closing/used to close,” focusing on the process or habitual action, not the result.
What’s the difference between закрилося, закрито, and закрите?
- Кафе вже закрилося: completed event; something (by itself/implicitly) performed the closing.
- Кафе вже закрито: impersonal/state-focused (“It is closed”); common on signs: Закрито (“Closed”).
- Кафе вже закрите: adjectival state (“The café is closed”), emphasizing the resulting state rather than the act.
Can I use зачинилося instead of закрилося?
Yes. Зачинитися and закритися are both used for doors/establishments. Subtle nuance: зачинитися often suggests physically “shut,” while закритися can imply “close (for business).” For a café at the end of the day, both are natural: Кафе вже зачинилося/закрилося.
How do I ask “Has the café closed yet?”
- Neutral yes/no: Кафе вже закрилося?
- More formal: Чи кафе вже закрилося?
- Using “yet” with negation: Кафе ще не закрилося? (implies you expect “not yet.”)
How do I say “The café hasn’t closed yet” and “The café is still open”?
- “Hasn’t closed yet”: Кафе ще не закрилося.
- “Is still open”: Кафе ще відкрите.
Why is it закрилося and not закрився or закрилася?
Agreement. Кафе is neuter, so the past reflexive form must be neuter: -лося. Other examples:
- Masculine: магазин закрився
- Feminine: крамниця закрилася
- Plural: кафе закрилися (for “cafés”)
Is кафе singular or plural? How do I say “The cafés have already closed”?
In the singular, кафе is an indeclinable neuter noun. The plural is also кафе (unchanged), and you show plurality via other words and the verb:
- Усі кафе вже закрилися. (“All the cafés have already closed.”)
Can I change the word order, like Вже кафе закрилося or Закрилося кафе?
Yes. Ukrainian allows flexible word order to adjust emphasis:
- Кафе вже закрилося: neutral.
- Вже кафе закрилося: emphasizes “already.”
- Закрилося кафе: highlights the event first, then identifies the subject (common in newsy or narrative style).
How do I say “What time did the café close?”
- О котрій (годині) кафе закрилося? You can also use a transitive version with an implied agent:
- О котрій годині зачинили кафе?
How do I say “The café is closing now / already closing”?
Use the imperfective for an ongoing process:
- “Closing now”: Кафе зараз закривається.
- “Already closing”: Кафе вже закривається.
How do I say “The café has closed down (permanently)”?
Add a clarifier:
- Кафе назавжди закрилося.
- Кафе остаточно закрилося.
- Кафе припинило роботу.
Is закрилось (with -сь) acceptable?
You may see the shortened reflexive -сь in colloquial or poetic style (e.g., закрилось). The standard written form is -ся: закрилося.
How is the sentence stressed and pronounced?
Stress: кафе́ вже закри́лося.
- ж = “s” in “measure.”
- в is a labiodental approximant [ʋ], close to English “v.”
- вже is pronounced roughly [ʋʒe].