Я голодний, тож готую обід.

I am hungry, so I cook lunch.

Breakdown of Я голодний, тож готую обід.

• я: I
• обід: the lunch
• готувати: to cook
• голодний: hungry
• тож: so

Questions & Answers about Я голодний, тож готую обід.

Why is there no verb to be in Я голодний?

In Ukrainian, the present-tense copula is normally omitted. You say Я голодний (literally: I hungry) without є. You can add є only for emphasis or contrast: Я є голодний, а не ситий. In the past and future, the verb appears: Я був/була голодний/голодна, Я буду голодний/голодна.

How does the sentence change if the speaker is female or if it’s plural?

Adjectives agree with gender and number:

• Female: Я голодна, тож готую обід.
• Male: Я голодний, тож готую обід.
• Plural: Ми голодні, тож готуємо обід.
• Neuter (for a neuter noun): Дитя голодне, тож ми готуємо обід.

Can I say Мені голодно instead of Я голодний?

Yes. Мені голодно (literally: to me it’s hungry) is an impersonal, “feeling”-focused way to say you feel hungry. Я голодний/голодна treats hunger as your current state/quality. Both are natural; Мені дуже голодно is very common in speech.

What does тож mean here, and how is it different from тому, отже, or так що?

All can mean so/therefore, but nuance/register differs:

• тож = so/therefore; quite common in writing and neutral/leaning formal.
• тому (by itself) = therefore; also neutral.
• отже = therefore/so; more formal or logical-summary style.
• так що = so/so then; colloquial. Important: тому що means because, not so.

Do I need the comma before тож?

Yes. Тож is a coordinating conjunction linking two independent clauses, so a comma is standard: Я голодний, тож готую обід. Don’t put commas around тож.

Is it always one word тож, or can it be то ж?

As a conjunction meaning so/therefore, it’s one word: тож. The spaced то ж is different: то + the particle ж for emphasis (e.g., То ж я казав! = That’s what I said!).

Does готую mean “I am cooking (now)” or “I cook (in general)”?

It can mean either. Ukrainian doesn’t have a separate continuous form. Context clarifies:

• Now: Зараз готую обід.
• Habitually: Я часто готую обід.

Why not приготую? What’s the aspect difference?

• готую is imperfective: focuses on the process, present time, or habitual action.
• приготую is perfective: it means I will cook/prepare (and finish) in the future. Perfective present in Ukrainian has future meaning. For future imperfective (ongoing/habitual): Я готуватиму обід.

What case is обід in, and do I need an article?

Обід is in the accusative singular as the direct object of готую. For inanimate masculine nouns, accusative = nominative, so it looks like the dictionary form. Ukrainian has no articles; context supplies a/an/the.

Can I drop the subject pronoun Я?

Yes. It’s natural to say Готую обід. Ukrainian often omits subject pronouns when the verb ending makes the subject clear. Use я for emphasis or contrast.

Can I change the word order?

Yes, to adjust emphasis:

• Тож я готую обід. (emphasizes the result)
• Я голодний, тому готую обід. (using тому)
• Я готую обід, бо я голодний. (because-clause) Moving обід forward (Обід готую я) is possible but marked for emphasis.

What meal does обід refer to: lunch or dinner?

In Ukrainian, обід is the midday meal (lunch). The evening meal is вечеря. Breakfast is сніданок.

How does готувати conjugate?

Present:

• я готую
• ти готуєш
• він/вона/воно готує
• ми готуємо
• ви готуєте
• вони готують Past: готував (m), готувала (f), готувало (n), готували (pl).

Any quick pronunciation or romanization tips for the sentence?

• г is a voiced h-sound; ж is like zh in English “measure.”
• The cluster ую in готую sounds like “u-yu.”
• One standard romanization: Ya holodnyi, tozh hotuiu obid.