Learn Hardcore Ukrainian: Сестра має прати білизну сьогодні ввечері. - My sister has to wash the laundry this evening.

It expresses obligation or expectation: “is supposed to / has to.” So Сестра має прати… = “Sister has to do the laundry…”. It can also sound like a scheduled duty.

Common alternatives with nuances:

Сестра повинна прати… — should/ought to; neutral, standard.
Сестра мусить прати… — must; stronger, more insistent.
Сестрі треба прати… / Їй потрібно прати… — it’s necessary for her (impersonal style; very common in speech).

Is має just the verb “to have”? Why does it work like “has to”?

Yes, має is 3rd person singular of мати “to have,” but Ukrainian also uses мати + infinitive as a modal-like structure meaning “be supposed/obliged to.” Context and time words (like сьогодні ввечері) make clear it’s about an obligation for tonight, not simple possession.

Why is прати used, not мити?

прати = to launder fabrics/clothes/linen.
мити = to wash non-fabric surfaces (dishes, floors, hands, a car). Avoid the Russian-influenced стирати for laundering; in Ukrainian стирати mainly means “to rub off/erase.” For a one-time completed action you can use the perfective випрати or попрати.

What does білизну mean exactly? Is it only “underwear”?

The base noun білизна can mean “linen,” “underwear,” or broadly “laundry.” In the collocation прати білизну, it typically means “to do the laundry” (not necessarily only underwear). If you specifically mean clothes, you can say прати одяг or прати речі. For bed linen: постільна білизна.

Why білизну and not білизна?

Білизна is feminine singular. As a direct object after прати, it takes the accusative singular: білизну. Many -а nouns change to -у in the accusative (fem. inanimate).

What’s the difference between прати and випрати/попрати?

Aspect:

прати (imperfective) — the process, habitual/repeated action.
випрати/попрати (perfective) — a single, completed action. So:
має прати = “has to be doing laundry” (duty/process).
має випрати/попрати = “has to finish/complete the laundry.”

If I just want to say she will be doing laundry tonight (no obligation), how?

Use the future of прати:

Simple future: Вона пратиме білизну сьогодні ввечері.
Compound future: Вона буде прати білизну сьогодні ввечері.

Can I move the time phrase? How flexible is the word order?

Ukrainian word order is flexible for emphasis:

Сестра має прати білизну сьогодні ввечері. (neutral)
Сьогодні ввечері сестра має прати білизну. (emphasizes “this evening”)
Сестра сьогодні ввечері має прати білизну. (focus on timing within the clause)
Білизну сестра має прати сьогодні ввечері. (fronts the object for contrast) All are grammatical; choose based on what you want to highlight.

Why ввечері with double “в”? Is увечері also correct?

Both are correct. Ввечері/увечері are euphonic variants meaning “in the evening.” The double “в” results from в + вечері. Many speakers prefer Увечері at the beginning of a sentence to avoid the cluster, but ввечері is also standard.

How do you pronounce the sentence?

Stress-marked: Сестра́ ма́є пра́ти біли́зну сього́дні ввече́рі. Approximate IPA: /sɛsˈtrɑ ˈmɑje ˈprɑtɪ bʲiˈlɪznʊ sʲoˈɦodnʲi ˈvːɛt͡ʃerʲi/ Notes:

г in сьогодні is [ɦ] (like a voiced h), not [g].
сьо is [sʲo] (soft “s” + “o”).
вв can sound like a long [v].
и = [ɪ] (not like English “ee”).

Do I need a possessive like “my” before сестра?

Ukrainian has no articles, so сестра can be definite from context. If you need to specify, say моя сестра:

Моя сестра має прати білизну сьогодні ввечері.

Does має show gender? How would that compare to повинна?

Має (3rd person singular) doesn’t show gender. With повинен/повинна/повинне/повинні, gender/number is visible:

Вона повинна прати… (feminine)
Він повинен прати… (masculine)

How do I negate this? Difference between “doesn’t have to” and “mustn’t”?

“Doesn’t have to” (no obligation): Сестрі не треба прати білизну сьогодні ввечері. / Вона не мусить прати…
“Mustn’t” (prohibited): Їй не можна прати… / Заборонено прати… Using не має прати can sound like “is not supposed to” (context-dependent) and is less common for neutral “doesn’t need to.”

Is сьогодні ввечері redundant? Could I just say “in the evening”?

You can shorten to увечері/ввечері if “today” is clear from context. Other natural variants:

Сьогодні увечері / сьогодні ввечері (very common)
Цього вечора (this evening; a bit more formal)
Вечором (colloquial adverbial use of the instrumental)

Any regional or stylistic notes about мати + infinitive for obligation?

It’s widely understood; some perceive it as slightly formal or more common in western/regional speech. Neutral choices like повинна/мусить/треба are safe everywhere in contemporary Ukrainian.

Is ввечері a case form of вечір?

Yes, it comes from the preposition в/у + the locative of вечір, but увечері/ввечері function as set adverbials meaning “in the evening.” You don’t add a space: write увечері or ввечері, not у вечері in this meaning.