Learn Hardcore Ukrainian: Вона голодна, тому готує швидкий обід. - She is hungry, so she cooks a quick lunch.

In Ukrainian, the verb “to be” in the present tense is usually omitted. So Вона голодна literally means “She hungry,” and that’s the normal way to say “She is hungry.” You can insert є (“is”) in formal style: Вона є голодною, but in everyday speech you simply say Вона голодна.

What does тому mean here, and why is there a comma before it?

Тому means “therefore/so” and links two independent clauses. Ukrainian puts a comma before such connectors: Вона голодна, тому …. Compare with тому що (“because”), which introduces a reason clause: Вона готує швидкий обід, тому що вона голодна.

Is тому the same as тому що?

No. Тому = “therefore/so” (result). Тому що = “because” (reason). They flip the direction of the logic:

Result first: Вона голодна, тому готує швидкий обід.
Reason last: Вона готує швидкий обід, тому що вона голодна.

Can I omit or repeat the subject pronoun in the second clause?

Yes. Ukrainian often drops repeated subjects because the verb ending shows the subject. Both are correct:

Natural: Вона голодна, тому готує швидкий обід.
Also fine (more explicit): Вона голодна, тому вона готує швидкий обід.

What tense/aspect is готує? Does it mean “is cooking” or “cooks”?

Готує is present tense, imperfective aspect. It can mean either “is cooking (now)” or “cooks (habitually).” Context (or adding words like зараз = “now”) clarifies the nuance.

What’s the perfective partner of готувати and how would I say “She will cook / She cooked”?

The common perfective is приготувати.

Future (single, completed action): Вона приготує швидкий обід.
Past (completed): Вона приготувала швидкий обід.

What case is швидкий обід here? Why not швидкого обіду?

It’s a direct object in the accusative. For masculine inanimate nouns, the accusative looks like the nominative, so обід and швидкий stay unchanged. Швидкого обіду is genitive (used after “немає,” quantities, certain prepositions, etc.), not correct here.

Why швидкий and not швидко?

Швидкий is an adjective modifying a noun: швидкий обід = “a quick lunch.”
Швидко is an adverb modifying a verb: Вона швидко готує обід = “She cooks lunch quickly.” Both are fine but mean slightly different things.

Does обід mean lunch or dinner?

Обід is the midday meal (lunch). The evening meal is вечеря, and breakfast is сніданок. If you want “a quick snack,” say швидкий перекус.

Are there other natural ways to say “She is hungry”?

Yes:

Їй голодно. (Dative + predicate, “It’s hungry to her.”)
Вона хоче їсти. (“She wants to eat.”)
Вона зголодніла. (“She got hungry.”)

Is вона голодує a synonym of “she is hungry”?

Not really. Голодувати means “to starve” or “to be on a hunger strike.” Вона голодує is much stronger and implies serious hunger or a protest, not just feeling hungry.

Can I change the word order for emphasis?

Ukrainian allows flexibility. Variants like Вона голодна, тому швидкий обід готує (emphasizing the object) are possible. The neutral, most natural order here is Вона голодна, тому готує швидкий обід.

Does готувати only mean “to cook,” or also “to prepare” in general?

It means both, depending on context:

Cooking: готувати обід (“cook lunch”).
Preparing generally: готувати урок/доповідь (“prepare a lesson/report”). There’s also the reflexive готуватися = “to get ready/prepare oneself.”

How do you pronounce the sentence?

Approximate IPA: /ʋoˈnɑ ɦoˈlodnɑ, toˈmu ɦoˈtujɛ ʃʋɪdˈkɪj oˈbid/
Tips:

г = [ɦ] (a voiced h), not [g].
в between vowels is [ʋ] (like an English w/v blend).
ш = [ʃ] (as in “sh”).
и = [ɪ] (as in “bit”), while і = [i] (as in “machine”).