Learn Hardcore Ukrainian: Вона любить музику, особливо спокійну.

Вона — pronoun, nominative feminine singular (subject: she).
любить — 3rd person singular present of любити (to love/like).
музику — noun, accusative feminine singular (direct object of любить).
особливо — adverb meaning especially/particularly.
спокійну — adjective, accusative feminine singular; it agrees with the (elliptically omitted) музику after the comma. The phrase means “especially calm (music).”

Why does музика become музику?

Because it’s the direct object in the accusative case. Feminine nouns ending in -а/-я take -у/-ю in the accusative singular:

читати книгу
бачити правду Here, любить + what? + музику.

Why is it спокійну and not спокійна?

The adjective must match the (implied) noun музику in gender, number, and case. Музыку is feminine singular accusative, so the adjective is спокійну (not nominative спокійна). The full idea is “особливо спокійну (музику).”

What’s the comma doing before особливо спокійну?

It sets off a clarifying/detached attribute (a specification of the kind of music). You can also use an em dash for stronger emphasis:

Вона любить музику, особливо спокійну. (neutral)
Вона любить музику — особливо спокійну. (more emphatic) If you integrate it, there’s no comma: Вона любить особливо спокійну музику.

Is “Вона любить особливо спокійну музику” correct? Any nuance?

Yes. It’s fully integrated and slightly shifts focus to the specific type she especially likes. The original with a comma feels like “She likes music in general, especially the calm kind,” while the integrated version spotlights the preference itself.

Can the word order change?

Yes, Ukrainian allows flexible word order for emphasis:

Особливо спокійну музику вона любить. (fronts the preference)
Вона особливо любить спокійну музику. (adverb modifies the verb love)
Вона любить музику, особливо спокійну. (neutral base + clarifier)

How do I pronounce it? Where’s the stress?

Stress: Вона́ люби́ть му́зику, особли́во спокі́йну.
IPA (approx.): [ʋɔˈnɑ lʲuˈbɪtʲ ˈmuzɪku ɔsɔˈblɪʋɔ spɔˈkijnu]
Rough transliteration: Vona lyubyt muzyku, osoblyvo spokiynu. Notes: в is [ʋ] (a soft v), и is [ɪ], і is [i], and й is [j] (y‑sound).

What are the present-tense forms of любити?

я люблю
ти любиш
він/вона/воно любить
ми любимо
ви любите
вони люблять

Does любити mean “to love” or “to like”? How does it compare to подобатися?

Любити covers both like and love depending on context and object. For general preferences, it’s very common: Вона любить музику.
Подобатися literally means “to be pleasing (to someone).” Structure: Dative person + nominative thing: Їй подобається спокійна музика. Both are natural; любити can sound a bit stronger or more habitual.

Could I use кохати instead of любити here?

No. Кохати is reserved for romantic love between people. For things/activities, use любити.

What exactly does спокійний mean here? Is it “quiet” or “slow”?

Спокійний = calm, tranquil, soothing, mellow (not agitated). It’s about mood, not volume or tempo.

Quiet (low volume): тихий
Slow (tempo): повільний So “calm music” is спокійна музика, not necessarily тиха or повільна (though it can be).

Why is there no article before музика?

Ukrainian has no articles. Generic/mass nouns like “music” are used bare: любить музику = likes/loves music.

Is музика countable? Can I say музики?

Музика is usually a mass noun. The plural музики exists but is uncommon in the “mass” sense and is used for types/genres on occasion. Note: colloquially/dialectally, музики can mean “musicians,” but the standard word for musicians is музиканти.

What does особливо modify here?

In the given sentence, особливо modifies the adjective спокійну: “especially calm (music).” If you place it before the verb (e.g., Вона особливо любить…), it modifies the degree of liking rather than the adjective.

Can I put особливо after the adjective (спокійну особливо)?

No, that’s not natural. In Ukrainian, adverbs like особливо typically precede the adjective or verb: особливо спокійну, особливо любить.

Are there close alternatives to особливо? Any nuance differences?

зокрема = in particular (often introduces examples)
передусім / насамперед = first and foremost/above all
надто = overly/too (different meaning) Особливо = especially/particularly, neutral intensifier of preference.