Я думаю про неї.

I think about her.

Breakdown of Я думаю про неї.

• я: I
• про: about
• думати: to think
• неї: her

Questions & Answers about Я думаю про неї.

What does each word in Я думаю про неї literally mean?

Word by word:

• Я – I (1st person singular pronoun, nominative case)
• думаю – (I) think / am thinking (1st person singular, present tense of думати – to think)
• про – about / of / regarding (preposition)
• неї – her (object form of вона – she, used after a preposition)

So the whole sentence is literally “I think about her.”

Why is it неї and not вона or її?

Because Ukrainian changes pronouns according to case and also depending on whether there is a preposition.

• вона – she (nominative, subject form)

  • Used when she is the subject: Вона думає. – She thinks.

• її – her (accusative without a preposition, or possessive)

  • Direct object: Я бачу її. – I see her.
  • Possessive: її книга – her book.

• неї – object form used after prepositions (accusative/genitive after a preposition)

  • Я думаю про неї. – I think about her.
  • без неї – without her
  • до неї – to her

Rule of thumb:

• No preposition → usually її for the object (Я люблю її).
• With a preposition → usually неї (про неї, до неї, без неї).

Which case is неї in, and what case does про require?

In Я думаю про неї, the preposition про requires the accusative case.

For the pronoun вона, the accusative form after a preposition is неї:

• Nominative: вона – she
• Accusative (without preposition): її – I see her → Я бачу її.
• Accusative (after preposition): неї – I think about her → Я думаю про неї.

So here:

• про → requires accusative
• неї → accusative form of вона used after a preposition

Could I say Я думаю про вона instead?

No, Я думаю про вона is ungrammatical.

You must use the object form after the preposition:

• ✅ Я думаю про неї. – correct
• ❌ Я думаю про вона. – wrong (subject form used as object)

Because про needs the accusative case, and for вона that is неї (after a preposition), not вона.

Is there any difference between “I think about her” and “I am thinking about her” in Ukrainian?

Ukrainian only has one present tense for both meanings.

Я думаю про неї can mean:

• I think about her (in general, habitually).
• I am thinking about her (right now).

Context makes the meaning clear; you don’t change the verb form to show “simple” vs “continuous” like in English.

What does the verb form думаю tell me exactly?

Думаю is:

• from the infinitive думати – to think
• 1st person singular – I
• present tense
• imperfective aspect (ongoing / repeated action)

So думаю always means I think / I am thinking, never he/she/they think. The subject я is actually built into the ending -ю.

Can I drop the Я and just say Думаю про неї?

Yes.

• Я думаю про неї.
• Думаю про неї.

Both are grammatically correct. Ukrainian often omits the subject pronoun when it’s clear from the verb ending. Leaving out я can sound:

• a bit more informal or conversational,
• sometimes a bit more emotional or introspective (like “Thinking about her…”).

Is the word order fixed? Can I say Про неї я думаю or Я про неї думаю?

Word order in Ukrainian is flexible, and all of these are possible:

• Я думаю про неї. – neutral, standard order.
• Я про неї думаю. – slight emphasis that it’s about her that you’re thinking.
• Про неї я думаю. – stronger emphasis on her; could contrast with others:
  • Про неї я думаю, а про нього – ні.
    I think about her, but not about him.

Meaning stays the same; word order mostly changes emphasis or rhythm, not grammar.

What exactly does the preposition про mean, and when do I use it?

Про most commonly means about / concerning / regarding.

You use про + accusative for:

• Thinking / speaking about something:
  • думати про неї – think about her
  • говорити про фільм – talk about the film
  • читати про війну – read about the war

It’s the regular way to say “about” in this sense in modern Ukrainian.

In some places I see за used like “about”. Why is it про неї, not за неї?

Про and за can both be translated as “about” in some contexts, but they’re not interchangeable.

• про неї – literally about her (topic of thought/speech)

  • Я думаю про неї. – I think about her. (she is the topic in your mind)

• за неї – usually for her / on her behalf / instead of her
  Examples:

  • Я переживаю за неї. – I worry for her.
  • Я заплачу за неї. – I’ll pay for her.
  • Я голосував за неї. – I voted for her.

For “think about her” as in “she is on my mind”, you must say думати про неї, not думати за неї.

How would I say “I don’t think about her” in Ukrainian?

You just add the negation не before the verb:

• Я не думаю про неї. – I don’t think about her.

Pattern: [subject] + не + [verb] + про + [object in accusative]
Pronunciation-wise, не думаю is pronounced together smoothly: [не ду́маю].

How would this sentence change with different pronouns (him, them, us, you)?

Keep Я думаю про …, then change the last pronoun. Common forms:

• про нього – about him / it (masculine)
  • Я думаю про нього.
• про неї – about her
  • Я думаю про неї.
• про них – about them
  • Я думаю про них.
• про нас – about us
  • Я думаю про нас.
• про тебе – about you (singular, informal)
  • Я думаю про тебе.
• про вас – about you (plural or polite singular)
  • Я думаю про вас.

Structure stays the same: Я думаю про + [object pronoun].