Breakdown of Взагалі доставка швидка, але наразі вона повільна.
швидкий
fast
вона
she
але
but
взагалі
in general
наразі
currently
доставка
the delivery
повільний
slow
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Questions & Answers about Взагалі доставка швидка, але наразі вона повільна.
Where is the verb “is” here? Do I need to add є?
No. Ukrainian normally drops the present-tense verb бути (to be). So Доставка швидка is the standard way to say “Delivery is fast.” You would not add є here. Use є mainly in existential sentences or when you need to stress existence, e.g., Наразі є затримки (There are delays at the moment).
Why is it швидка and повільна, not швидко and повільно?
Because you’re describing a noun (доставка), so you need adjectives: швидка, повільна. The adverbs швидко/повільно modify verbs. For example: Зазвичай доставляють швидко, але зараз доставляють повільно.
Why does it use вона? Can I omit it?
- Доставка is feminine, so the pronoun is вона (she/it).
- You may omit it in the second clause because the subject is clear: …але наразі повільна. Keeping вона is also fine and slightly clearer.
What exactly does взагалі mean here? Is it the same as “usually”?
- Взагалі = “in general/overall.”
- It’s not identical to “usually” (зазвичай).
- Rough nuance:
- взагалі/загалом = in general, overall
- зазвичай = usually, as a rule (habit)
- In negatives, взагалі can mean “at all”: взагалі не… = “not at all.”
What’s the difference between наразі, зараз, and тепер?
- наразі = currently/at present; a bit more formal (common in news/official speech).
- зараз = now; the most common in everyday speech.
- тепер = now (often contrasts past vs present: “nowadays”).
- You could make the sentence more colloquial by using зараз: …але зараз вона повільна.
- Related: поки що = for now/for the time being.
Is the comma before але required?
Yes. In Ukrainian, you place a comma before але when it connects clauses: …швидка, але наразі…
Can I change the word order?
Yes, with slight shifts in emphasis:
- Взагалі доставка швидка… (neutral, common)
- Доставка взагалі швидка… (similar meaning; взагалі leans toward the adjective phrase)
- Second clause: …але наразі вона повільна / …але вона наразі повільна / …але наразі повільна (all acceptable; dropping вона is fine when the subject is clear).
Does швидка also mean “ambulance”? Is that confusing here?
Yes, colloquially швидка = ambulance (short for швидка допомога). In this sentence it’s clearly an adjective agreeing with доставка, so there’s no ambiguity.
How do the adjectives agree with доставка?
They match the noun’s gender and number:
- Masculine: швидкий, повільний
- Feminine: швидка, повільна (used here with feminine доставка)
- Neuter: швидке, повільне
- Plural: швидкі, повільні
Could I use проте, однак, or та instead of але?
- проте, однак = “however,” more formal/literary than але.
- та can sometimes mean “but” (more literary), though it usually means “and.”
- Punctuation: you still need a comma before these when they link clauses: …, проте наразі…
Do I need a comma after Взагалі?
Both are possible:
- Взагалі доставка швидка… (no comma) — neutral.
- Взагалі, доставка швидка… (with a comma) — treats взагалі as an introductory parenthetical with a slight pause.
Choose based on the pause/intonation you want.
Could I use це instead of вона for “it”?
Use вона to refer back to доставка (feminine noun). Це is a demonstrative (“this/that/it” in the sense of identifying something):
- Identification: Це доставка. After that, you’d refer to it as вона.
- Це повільно describes a situation/process as slow, not the delivery (noun) itself.
How would this work in the past tense? Do I need a special case?
With past-tense бути, both nominative and instrumental predicatives occur:
- Common/idiomatic for a temporary state: Вона була повільною. (instrumental)
- Also possible (more neutral/bookish): Вона була повільна.
In the present, you normally drop є: Вона повільна.
How would I say it with adverbs instead?
Use a verb and adverbs:
- Зазвичай доставляють швидко, але зараз доставляють повільно.
- Or: Зазвичай доставляють швидко, але наразі виходить повільно.
Where is the stress? Any quick pronunciation tips?
Stress (capitalized syllables in rough transliteration):
- взагалі: vza-ha-LI
- доставка: do-STAV-ka
- швидка: shvyd-KA
- але: a-LE
- наразі: na-RA-zi
- вона: vo-NA
- повільна: po-VIL-na
Note: Ukrainian г is a voiced h [ɦ], and і is like “ee.”