Learn Hardcore Ukrainian: Я ношу кросівки щодня, а взуття ставлю біля дверей. - I wear sneakers every day, and I place the footwear by the door.

А links the two clauses with a mild contrast or topic shift (roughly “while/whereas/and meanwhile”). І is a neutral “and” with no contrast. Both would be grammatical, but а sounds more natural here because it contrasts two related habits (wearing vs. placing). Also note the comma: in Ukrainian you put a comma before а when it connects independent clauses.

Does ношу mean “wear” or “put on”?

Ношу is from носити and means “I wear” (habitually). It does not mean “to put on.”

To say “put on,” use:
- взувати(ся) for shoes: Я взуваю(ся) кросівки/взуття.
- одягати(ся) or вдягати(ся) for clothing. Style guides often prefer одягатися (get dressed) and вдягати щось (put something on), but in modern usage you’ll hear both.

Could I say Я вдягаю/одягаю кросівки щодня?

You can, but it means “I put on sneakers every day,” focusing on the act of putting them on each day, not on wearing them as a general habit. Я ношу кросівки щодня states a general, ongoing habit of wearing.

What case is кросівки after ношу?

Accusative plural. For inanimate nouns, the accusative plural looks like the nominative plural, so ношу кросівки is correct. The genitive plural is кросівок.

Why is it кросівки, not кросовки?

Standard Ukrainian uses кросівки. Кросовки is a Russicism and is considered nonstandard in Ukrainian.

What does щодня mean, and can I use кожного дня or щоденно instead?

All mean “every day/daily.”

щодня = daily (very common, one word).
кожного дня = every day (slightly more casual).
щоденно = daily (more formal or written style). They’re interchangeable in most contexts. Don’t write it as two words (що дня) in standard Ukrainian.

Why is взуття singular if it refers to “shoes” in general?

Взуття is a collective mass noun (singular-only, neuter) meaning “footwear.” It declines as singular:

Nom/Acc: взуття
Gen: взуття
Dat: взуттю
Instr: взуттям
Loc: у взутті Use the neuter singular pronoun for it: Я ставлю його біля дверей (“I put it [the footwear] by the door”).

How do I talk about pairs if взуття is uncountable?

Name the specific type:

пара кросівок, дві пари кросівок
пара черевиків (boots), пара туфель (dress shoes) Avoid пара взуття.

Why ставлю and not кладу or залишаю?

ставити = “to set/place upright” (things that stand on a base). Shoes naturally “stand,” so ставлю взуття is idiomatic.
класти = “to lay/put down (horizontally).” Кладу взуття is possible if you picture laying them on their side.
залишати = “to leave.” Залишаю взуття біля дверей is also very natural. Perfectives: поставити, покласти, залишити.

What case does біля take, and why is it дверей?

Біля (“by/near”) requires the genitive. Двері is plural-only, so the genitive plural is дверей: біля дверей = “by the door(s).”

How would the meaning change with перед дверима or у дверях?

перед дверима (Instr. pl.) = “in front of the door(s),” i.e., in the space before them (could suggest blocking the entrance).
у дверях (Loc. pl.) = “in the doorway,” literally within the doorframe area.
Synonyms for “near”: коло дверей (more literary/regionally), поруч із дверима (next to the door).

Why is the word order а взуття ставлю біля дверей instead of а ставлю взуття…?

Both are correct. Fronting взуття adds focus/topic emphasis (“as for the footwear, I put it by the door”). Ставлю взуття… is a neutral order. Ukrainian word order is flexible and often used for emphasis.

How do I express “I wore them for a while” (perfective)?

Use поносити (wear for some time):

Masculine: Я поносив їх трохи.
Feminine: Я поносила їх трохи. Imperfective for a duration without the “for a while” nuance: Я носив/носила їх певний час.

Any pronunciation tips for tricky words like щодня, взуття, кросівки, дверей, ставлю, ношу?

щоднЯ: щ = “shch.” Stress on the last syllable.
взуттЯ: pronounced with a long/strong тт; stress on the last syllable.
кросІвки: stress on -сів-.
дверЕй: stress on the last syllable.
стАвлю: stress on ста-.
ношУ: stress on -шу. In careful IPA (approx.): щодня [ʃt͡ʃodˈnʲɑ], взуття [wzuˈt̪ʲːɑ], кросівки [krɔˈs⁽ʲ⁾iu̯kɪ], дверей [d̪wɛˈrɛi̯], ставлю [ˈstawlju], ношу [nɔˈʃu].

Can you show quick present-tense conjugations for the two verbs here?

носити (to wear/carry, imperf.): я ношу, ти носиш, він/вона носить, ми носимо, ви носите, вони носять. Past: носив/носила/носили. Future: я носитиму / я буду носити.
ставити (to set/place upright, imperf.): я ставлю, ти ставиш, він/вона ставить, ми ставимо, ви ставите, вони ставлять. Perfective single action: поставити → future: я поставлю, etc.

Are there common pitfalls or Russicisms to avoid with this sentence?

Use кросівки, not кросовки.
Use взуття, not Russian обувь.
Keep щодня as one word.
After біля, use genitive: біля дверЕЙ, not біля двері.

What’s the difference between shoe words like кросівки, кеди, черевики, туфлі?

кросівки: sneakers/trainers (athletic shoes).
кеди: canvas sneakers/plimsolls.
черевики: ankle boots/boot-like shoes.
туфлі: dress shoes (often women’s heels or men’s oxfords, depending on context).