Breakdown of Ні шарф, ні рукавички не лежать у сумці.
у
in
не
not
лежати
to lie
сумка
the bag
ні
neither
шарф
the scarf
ні
nor
рукавичка
the glove
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Questions & Answers about Ні шарф, ні рукавички не лежать у сумці.
Why is the verb plural лежать instead of singular лежить?
Because the subject is compound: ні шарф, ні рукавички. With two (or more) subjects linked by ні ... ні, the predicate normally takes the plural: не лежать. Using singular would be wrong here.
Do I have to use не with ні ... ні?
Yes. Ukrainian uses negative concord: ні ... ні requires the verb to be negated. So you say ні X, ні Y не .... Omitting не is ungrammatical in standard Ukrainian.
Can I use ані ... ані instead? What’s the difference?
Yes. Ані ... ані is a more emphatic, literary variant of ні ... ні. Both require не with the verb. Your sentence would be Ані шарф, ані рукавички не лежать у сумці, which sounds stronger/stylized.
What case are шарф and рукавички in, and why?
Nominative. They are the grammatical subject of лежать, so they stay in the nominative: шарф, рукавички.
Why is it у сумці and not в сумці?
Choice between у and в follows euphony. After a word ending in a consonant (here лежать), speakers usually pick у to avoid a heavy consonant cluster: лежать у сумці. In other contexts you might hear в (e.g., after a vowel or before a vowel). Both mean “in.”
Why is it сумці and not сумку or сумка?
У/в + Locative expresses static location. Сумка in the locative singular is сумці. Compare: static place — у сумці; motion into — в сумку.
Is лежать necessary? Could I say the same thing with нема(є)?
Yes. A very natural alternative is: У сумці немає ні шарфа, ні рукавичок. With немає, the items switch to the genitive (шарфа, рукавичок) because the verb expresses absence.
Can I change the word order?
Yes; Ukrainian word order is flexible. Common options:
- У сумці не лежать ні шарф, ні рукавички.
- Ні шарф, ні рукавички у сумці не лежать. The meaning stays the same; fronting a phrase can add emphasis to it.
Why is there a comma after ні шарф?
In the correlative construction ні X, ні Y, you use a comma between the items (and between each pair if there are more): ні X, ні Y, ні Z не .... No comma is placed before не.
What’s the difference between рукавички and рукавиці?
- рукавички = gloves (separate fingers). Singular: рукавичка (one glove).
- рукавиці = mittens (thumb + one compartment). Singular: рукавиця.
Could I say Ні шарфа, ні рукавичок не лежать у сумці?
Not with лежать. With a normal verb, the subjects must be nominative (шарф, рукавички). The genitive forms (шарфа, рукавичок) are correct only with an “absence” verb like немає: У сумці немає ні шарфа, ні рукавичок.
How would I say “Either the scarf or the gloves are in the bag”?
Use a disjunction: Або шарф, або рукавички лежать у сумці. You can also use чи: Чи шарф, чи рукавички лежать у сумці. With disjunction, the verb often agrees with the nearer noun; here plural fits because of рукавички.
Can I say Не шарф і не рукавички лежать у сумці?
That means something different: “It isn’t the scarf and it isn’t the gloves that are in the bag” (implying something else is there). Your original sentence states that neither item is there at all. Use ні ... ні не ... for that meaning.
What happens if I add adjectives?
They agree in gender/number/case with each noun, and the verb stays plural: Ні червоний шарф, ні теплі рукавички не лежать у сумці.
Can both items be singular and still take a plural verb?
Yes. With two singular nouns joined by ні ... ні, the verb is normally plural: Ні шарф, ні капелюх не лежать у сумці. A singular verb is rare and stylistic; stick to plural.
Can I list more than two items with ні?
Yes: repeat ні before each item and keep the verb plural. Example: Ні шарф, ні рукавички, ні шапка не лежать у сумці.