Learn Hardcore Ukrainian: Позич мені, будь ласка, ручку; я, мабуть, забув свою. - Lend me a pen, please; I probably forgot mine.

Lend: позичити комусь щось (dative recipient). Example: Позич мені ручку = Lend me a pen.
Borrow: позичити щось у когось (use у/в
- genitive for the source). Example: Я позичив ручку у Марійки = I borrowed a pen from Mary.

Here it’s clearly “lend,” because мені (to me) is the recipient.

Why is it мені and not мене?

Because the recipient of something is in the dative case. Мені = “to me” (dative); мене = “me” as a direct object (accusative). With “lend (to someone),” Ukrainian uses the dative:

Позич мені ручку. = Lend a pen to me. Using мене here would be ungrammatical.

Why is ручку (not ручка) used?

It’s the direct object of a transitive verb, so it goes in the accusative. Feminine nouns ending in -а change to -у in the accusative:

ручка → ручку
книжка → книжку

What’s the role of будь ласка, and why is it set off by commas?

Будь ласка means “please.” When inserted mid-sentence, it’s treated as a parenthetical and set off by commas:

Позич мені, будь ласка, ручку. Placement is flexible:
Будь ласка, позич мені ручку.
Позич мені ручку, будь ласка. Writing it without commas mid-sentence is nonstandard.

Is the bare imperative Позич too direct or rude?

It’s fine in friendly/informal contexts, and будь ласка softens it. To be more formal/polite:

Позичте, будь ласка, ручку. (polite/plural form)
Чи не позичите мені, будь ласка, ручку?
Very polite: Будь ласка, чи могли б ви позичити мені ручку? A simple alternative many people use is Дайте, будь ласка, ручку.

Why is there a semicolon before the second clause?

Ukrainian uses the semicolon much like English: to join two closely related independent clauses without a conjunction. You could also write:

Period: …ручку. Я, мабуть, забув свою.
Dash (more informal/expressive): …ручку — я, мабуть, забув свою. Avoid a plain comma between two independent clauses.

Why are there commas around мабуть?

Мабуть (“probably”) often functions as a parenthetical sentence adverb and is set off by commas: я, мабуть, забув… In casual writing you may see it without commas, but the commaed version is a safe, standard choice. Nuance:

мабуть ≈ probably/likely (tentative)
напевно ≈ surely/probably (often a bit more confident)

Why is it забув? How does gender/number affect it?

Забув is the masculine past form of the perfective verb забути (“to forget”). It agrees with the subject:

I (male): я забув
I (female): я забула
We/they: ми/вони забули

What does свою stand for, and why is it feminine?

Свою is the reflexive-possessive pronoun свій agreeing with an implied noun. It stands for (свою) ручку and matches ручку in gender/number/case (feminine singular accusative). You could also say the full form:

Я, мабуть, забув свою ручку. While мою is possible (забув мою (ручку)), Ukrainian prefers свій when the possessor is the subject of the same clause, so свою is more idiomatic.

Could I use Позичай instead of Позич?

Позич is perfective (a single, one-off action). Позичай is the imperfective imperative, which can sound habitual or ongoing. For a one-time request right now, Позич is the default. Позичай might fit contexts like repeated lending: Позичай мені книжки частіше.

How flexible is the word order around будь ласка and pronouns?

Quite flexible. Natural options include:

Позич мені, будь ласка, ручку.
Будь ласка, позич мені ручку.
Позич, будь ласка, мені ручку. Avoid splitting the object unnaturally or burying мені far from the verb without reason.

Can I drop будь ласка? Any other softeners?

Yes; the sentence becomes more direct. Other softeners:

прошу: Позич мені ручку, прошу.
якщо можна: Позич мені, якщо можна, ручку.
Polite negative question: Не позичиш ручку? (very common, friendly softener)

Why not Позич мене ручку?

Because мене is accusative (“me” as a direct object). Here “me” is the recipient, so use dative мені (“to me”):

Correct: Позич мені ручку.

Is ручка always “pen”?

Context decides. Ручка commonly means “pen,” but it can also mean “handle” (door handle) or a diminutive “hand” (child’s hand). In a writing context, listeners will understand it as “pen.” If you specifically mean a pencil, say олівець.

Any quick pronunciation and stress tips?

Позич: po-ZÝCH (по-зИч) [poˈzɪt͡ʃ]
мені: me-NÍ [meˈnʲi]
ручку: RÚCH-ku [ˈrut͡ʃku]
будь ласка: budʲ LÁ-ska [budʲ ˈlɑskɑ]
мабуть: ma-BÚTʲ [mɑˈbutʲ]
забув: za-BÚV [zɑˈbuw]
свою: svo-YÚ [swoˈju] Primary stress is marked in caps.

Could I rephrase the second clause differently?

Yes, common variants:

Я, мабуть, свою забув. (moves свою earlier)
Мабуть, я забув свою. (fronts the adverb)
More explicit: Я, мабуть, забув свою ручку. All are natural; word order tweaks mainly affect emphasis/flow.

How else could I make the request even more neutral/indirect?

Availability check: Чи є в когось ручка? (Does anyone have a pen?)
Need statement: Мені потрібна ручка. (I need a pen.)
Hinted request: У тебе не знайдеться ручки? (You wouldn’t happen to have a pen?)