Будь-який студент може поставити питання.

Any student can ask a question.

Breakdown of Будь-який студент може поставити питання.

• могти: to be able
• студент: the student
• будь-який: any
• поставити питання: to ask a question

Questions & Answers about Будь-який студент може поставити питання.

What exactly does будь-який mean here? Is it closer to “any” or “every”?

It means any, in the sense of no matter which one. It emphasizes the absence of restriction: any student at all can do it. It’s not inherently “every,” though in many contexts the practical meaning overlaps with every.

Can I replace будь-який with кожен?

Yes, often. Кожен студент може поставити питання means every student can ask a question. Nuance: будь-який stresses lack of restriction (whichever student), while кожен stresses total coverage (each/every individual). Both are natural here.

Why is there a hyphen in будь-який?

Because compounds with the prefix будь- are written with a hyphen in Ukrainian. You’ll see the same in forms like будь-хто (anyone), будь-що (anything), будь-де (anywhere), будь-коли (any time).

Is любий студент a proper way to say “any student”?

Avoid it in Standard Ukrainian. Любий primarily means dear/beloved. In some regions it can colloquially mean any, but for standard, unambiguous Ukrainian use будь-який or який завгодно.

What case is студент in, and why?

Nominative singular (студент) because it’s the subject of the sentence. If you needed the object (e.g., “to ask the student”), you would use the accusative of an animate noun, which looks like the genitive: студента.

Why is питання shaped like that? Is it singular or plural?

Here it’s singular. Питання is a neuter noun whose nominative and accusative singular are identical to the nominative/accusative plural (also питання). Context tells you the number. Genitive plural is питань (e.g., кілька питань).

Is there a difference between питання and запитання?

Both can mean question. Many speakers use them interchangeably. Stylistically, запитання often refers more clearly to a question that expects an answer, while питання can also mean issue/matter (e.g., Це складне питання). In this sentence, either is acceptable; запитання removes any possible “issue” ambiguity.

Why поставити? Could I use задати or just запитати?

• Поставити (за)питання is a standard collocation meaning to ask a question (literally “to put a question”).
• Задати (за)питання is also widely used and acceptable in modern Ukrainian.
• Запитати is a simple verb “to ask”: you ask someone something (e.g., запитати викладача “ask the teacher”). Note: поставити питання can also mean “to raise an issue,” while запитати cannot.

Why perfective поставити and not imperfective ставити?

Aspect nuance:

• може поставити питання (perfective) = can ask a question (a single, complete act).
• може ставити питання (imperfective) = is allowed/able to ask questions in general, habitually (e.g., during lectures).

Is the word order fixed? Can I move parts around?

Ukrainian allows flexible word order for emphasis.

• Neutral: Будь-який студент може поставити питання.
• Emphasizing who can do it: Питання може поставити будь-який студент.
• Emphasizing the possibility/action: Може поставити питання будь-який студент. All are grammatical; choose by what you want to highlight.

How do I say “ask the teacher a question” using this pattern?

Use the dative for the addressee:

• поставити (за)питання викладачеві / викладачу With запитати, you can use either accusative or a preposition:
• запитати викладача (accusative)
• запитати у викладача (genitive with у)

What’s the conjugation of the verb могти relevant to може?

Present:

• я можу, ти можеш, він/вона/воно може, ми можемо, ви можете, вони можуть Past: міг (m), могла (f), могло (n), могли (pl) Future: зможу, зможеш, зможе, ... Negation: не може.

How would I make the sentence plural or more inclusive?

• Plural: Усі студенти можуть ставити (за)питання. (All students can ask questions.)
• Gender-specific: Будь-який студент (male), Будь-яка студентка (female).
• Inclusive options in writing: Будь-який студент/студентка може… or simply use the plural: Студенти можуть…

How do I pronounce and stress the words?

• будь-яки́й (stress on -ки́й)
• студе́нт
• мо́же
• поста́вити
• пита́ння (double нн makes the n sound longer/tenser; н before я is palatalized)

Could I use impersonal можна instead? How?

Yes, for permission or possibility in general:

• Можна поставити (за)питання? (May I/Is it allowed to ask a question?)
• Під час лекції можна ставити запитання. (It’s allowed to ask questions during the lecture.)

How do I say “No student can ask a question”?

Use the negative pronoun with required negation:

• Жоден студент не може поставити (за)питання. Double negation (жоден + не) is standard in Ukrainian.