Learn Hardcore Ukrainian: Мій улюблений герой часто жартує.

You may also see любимий, but it is often considered a Russian-influenced form in standard Ukrainian. Улюблений is the preferred, standard form.

Why is the order мій улюблений герой and not улюблений мій герой?

The neutral, most common order is:

мій улюблений герой – my favorite hero

The typical sequence is:

Possessive (мій)
Qualifying adjective (улюблений)
Noun (герой)

You can say улюблений мій герой, but it sounds more emotional, poetic, or stylistically marked, like:

Улюблений мій герой часто жартує.
(Something like: My beloved hero often jokes, with a more expressive feeling.)

For everyday speech and standard sentences, мій улюблений герой is the normal order.

What case is герой, and how do I recognize it?

In Мій улюблений герой часто жартує, the word герой is:

Nominative singular (називний відмінок, однина)
It is the subject of the sentence – the one who is doing the action (жартує).

Clues:

The verb жартує (jokes) needs a subject: хто? – герой (who? – the hero).
Adjectives and possessive pronouns (мій улюблений) are also in nominative masculine singular to match герой.

Other main forms of герой:

Nominative: герой – a hero (subject)
Genitive: героя – of a hero
Dative: героєві / герою – to a hero
Accusative: героя – (see) a hero
Locative: на героєві / на герою – on the hero
Instrumental: героєм – with/by the hero

What is the infinitive and full conjugation of жартує?

The infinitive is жартувати – to joke.

Жартує is:

3rd person singular
present tense
imperfective aspect

Conjugation (present tense):

я жартую – I joke / I am joking
ти жартуєш – you (sg.) joke
він / вона / воно жартує – he / she / it jokes
ми жартуємо – we joke
ви жартуєте – you (pl. / polite) joke
вони жартують – they joke

So Мій улюблений герой часто жартує = My favorite hero often jokes / My favorite hero often makes jokes.

Does жартувати need an object or preposition, like "joke about" or "make fun of"?

It depends on the meaning:

To joke in general – no object needed:
- Він часто жартує. – He often jokes.
- Ми любимо жартувати. – We like to joke.
To joke about something – use про:
- Він жартує про роботу. – He jokes about work.
To make fun of someone – use з
- genitive:
- Він жартує з мене. – He makes fun of me.
- Не жартуй з нього. – Don’t make fun of him.

In your sentence, жартує is just jokes in general; no object is required.

Can часто be placed in other positions? Does the meaning change?

Yes, часто (often) can move, and the basic meaning (frequency) stays the same, but the focus can shift slightly.

All of these are grammatically correct:

Мій улюблений герой часто жартує.
– Neutral, standard: states that he often jokes.
Часто мій улюблений герой жартує.
– Slight emphasis on часто (Often, my favorite hero jokes).
Мій улюблений герой жартує часто.
– Possible, but a bit less neutral; might sound more like a contrast (He jokes often, as opposed to doing something else).

For learners, Мій улюблений герой часто жартує is the safest, most typical word order.

How would this sentence change for a female hero or for plural heroes?

For a female hero / heroine:

Noun: героїня (feminine)
Adjective and pronoun must agree in feminine:

Моя улюблена героїня часто жартує.
My favorite (female) hero often jokes.

Changes:

мій → моя (feminine)
улюблений → улюблена (feminine)
герой → героїня (feminine noun)
жартує stays the same (3rd person singular, works for he/she/it)

For plural heroes:

Мої улюблені герої часто жартують.
My favorite heroes often joke.

Changes:

мій → мої (plural)
улюблений → улюблені (plural)
герой → герої (plural)
жартує → жартують (3rd person plural)

How would I say "My favorite hero doesn’t often joke" or "My favorite hero often doesn’t joke" in Ukrainian?

Negation with adverbs like часто can slightly change the nuance, just like in English.

My favorite hero doesn’t often joke.
(He rarely jokes.)

Мій улюблений герой не часто жартує.

не часто together means not often / rarely.

My favorite hero often doesn’t joke.
(In many situations he doesn’t joke.)

Мій улюблений герой часто не жартує.

Here часто modifies the whole не жартує (often doesn’t joke).

So:

не часто жартує ≈ rarely jokes
часто не жартує ≈ often does not joke

Why is there no separate word for "is" in this sentence?

Ukrainian usually omits the present tense form of бути (to be) when it serves as is / am / are.

But in your sentence:

Мій улюблений герой часто жартує.

you don’t need "is" at all, because the main verb is жартує (jokes). It’s a simple verb sentence:

Subject: Мій улюблений герой – My favorite hero
Verb: жартує – jokes
Adverb: часто – often

If you had a sentence with a noun or adjective as the predicate, you would also typically omit is in the present:

Мій улюблений герой смішний. – My favorite hero is funny. (no separate is in Ukrainian)

Does Ukrainian distinguish between "jokes" and "is joking" like English does?

Ukrainian present tense covers both English simple present and present continuous.

Жартує can mean:

He jokes / he often jokes (habitual action)
He is joking (right now) (action in progress – context decides)

Examples:

Він часто жартує. – He often jokes.
Ти серйозно? Він зараз жартує. – Are you serious? He is joking now.

In your sentence, часто clearly shows it’s a habitual action:

Мій улюблений герой часто жартує.
My favorite hero often jokes.

How do I pronounce this sentence and where is the stress in each word?

Word by word (stressed syllables in bold):

Мій – [mʲij] (only one syllable, stress on Мій)
улю́блений – u-лю́-б-ле-ни-й → [uˈlʲublenɪj]
геро́й – he-ро́й → [ɦeˈrɔj]
ча́сто – ча́-сто → [ˈt͡ʃɑstɔ]
жарту́є – жар-ту́-є → [ʒɑrˈtujɛ]

Full sentence, with main stresses:

Мій улю́блений геро́й ча́сто жарту́є.

Natural rhythm in speech: stresses on Мій – люб – рой – ча – ту.

Are there any articles like "a" or "the" in this sentence?

Ukrainian has no articles (no direct equivalents of a / an / the).

So Мій улюблений герой can correspond to:

my favorite hero
my favourite hero (British spelling)

Context can sometimes make it feel more specific or more general, but grammatically there is no separate word for a or the.

In this particular sentence, the possessive мій already makes the noun specific: my favorite hero (a specific person known from context).