Іноді складно говорити спокійно.

Sometimes it is difficult to speak calmly.

Breakdown of Іноді складно говорити спокійно.

• іноді: sometimes
• спокійно: calmly
• говорити: to speak
• складно: difficult

Questions & Answers about Іноді складно говорити спокійно.

Why is there no word for “it” in this sentence, like in “Sometimes it is difficult to speak calmly”?

Ukrainian often uses impersonal sentences where English would use “it” as a dummy subject.

• Іноді складно говорити спокійно.
  Literally: Sometimes difficult to speak calmly.

There is no grammatical subject here. The idea of “it” (as in it is difficult) is simply understood from the context and the form складно + infinitive.

You could add a person in the dative if you want to emphasize for whom it’s difficult:

• Іноді мені складно говорити спокійно. – Sometimes it’s difficult for me to speak calmly.
• Іноді нам складно говорити спокійно. – Sometimes it’s difficult for us to speak calmly.

But you still don’t add any separate word for “it”; Ukrainian just doesn’t need it here.

What is the structure “складно + infinitive”? Is it a special pattern?

Yes. This is a very common impersonal pattern in Ukrainian:

[adverb of evaluation] + infinitive

In this sentence:

• складно – “difficult, hard” (predicate adverb)
• говорити – infinitive “to speak”

Other common examples:

• Легко вчитися. – It’s easy to study.
• Важко працювати вночі. – It’s hard to work at night.
• Приємно з тобою говорити. – It’s pleasant to talk with you.

So складно говорити literally is “to speak is difficult”, and “Іноді” just adds “sometimes” to this pattern.

What part of speech is складно here? Is it an adjective or an adverb?

In this sentence складно functions as a predicative adverb (often called a category of state in Slavic grammar).

Compare:

• складний – adjective, “difficult” (e.g., складне завдання – “a difficult task”)
• складно – predicative adverb, used mainly in sentences like “It is difficult (to do something)”.

So:

• Завдання складне. – The task is difficult. (adjective)
• Складно говорити. – It is difficult to speak. (predicative adverb, impersonal sentence)

Grammatically it does not agree in gender/number with anything in this sentence; it’s just a fixed form used as the predicate.

Could we say “важко” instead of “складно” here? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can say:

• Іноді важко говорити спокійно.

Both складно and важко can mean “hard / difficult” and are often interchangeable.

Nuances (very slight and context-dependent):

• складно – can hint more at complexity, “complicated, tricky, not simple”.
• важко – can hint more at heaviness / burden, “hard, tough (emotionally or physically)”.

In everyday speech, many people would use either one here without thinking about a difference. Both sound natural.

Why is говорити in the infinitive? Could we use a conjugated form like говорю?

Here говорити is in the infinitive because it is part of the impersonal pattern:

(Іноді) + складно + [infinitive]

The infinitive expresses a general action: “to speak (in general)”, not “I speak” or “he speaks”.

If you change it to a conjugated form like говорю (“I speak”), you get a different structure:

• Іноді я говорю спокійно. – Sometimes I speak calmly.
  (Now the focus is just on when you speak calmly, not on the difficulty.)

To keep the meaning “Sometimes it is difficult to speak calmly”, you must use the infinitive after складно.

What is the difference between говорити, казати, and розмовляти?

All relate to speaking but are used differently:

• говорити – to speak, to talk
  Very general, can be about the ability or process of speaking.

  • Він говорить повільно. – He speaks slowly.
  • Говорити спокійно складно. – It’s hard to speak calmly.

• казати – to say, to tell
  More about saying specific words / giving information.

  • Він казав правду. – He was telling the truth.
  • Що ти казав? – What did you say?

• розмовляти – to converse, to chat, to have a conversation
  Focus on a two-way conversation.

  • Ми годину розмовляли по телефону. – We talked on the phone for an hour.

In Іноді складно говорити спокійно, говорити is best because we mean the general act of speaking/talking calmly, not saying some specific phrase and not necessarily having a full conversation.

Can I change the word order? For example: “Іноді складно спокійно говорити” or “Говорити спокійно іноді складно”?

Yes, Ukrainian word order is fairly flexible, especially with adverbs and infinitives. All of these are grammatically correct:

1. Іноді складно говорити спокійно.
2. Іноді складно спокійно говорити.
3. Говорити спокійно іноді складно.
4. Спокійно говорити іноді складно.

They all convey essentially the same idea.

Very subtle tendencies:

• Keeping говорити спокійно together (as in 1) makes “speak calmly” feel like one unit.
• Putting іноді first (as in 1 & 2) slightly emphasizes “sometimes”.
• Starting with говорити/спокійно говорити (3 & 4) focuses first on the action, then adds that it is sometimes difficult.

For a learner, version 1 is the most neutral and natural.

Why is спокійно used and not the adjective спокійний?

Because спокійно is an adverb, and it describes how the action of speaking is done:

• говорити спокійно – to speak calmly (calmly = adverb modifying the verb)

The adjective спокійний describes nouns, not verbs:

• спокійний голос – a calm voice
• спокійна людина – a calm person

So:

• Він говорить спокійно. – He speaks calmly. (adverb)
• У нього спокійний голос. – He has a calm voice. (adjective)

How do you pronounce and where is the stress in each word: Іноді складно говорити спокійно?

Approximate pronunciation and stress (stressed syllables in CAPS):

• Іноді – Í-no-di
  Ukrainian: і́ноді

• складно – SKLAD-no
  Ukrainian: скла́дно

• говорити – ho-vo-RY-ty
  Ukrainian: говори́ти

• спокійно – spo-KIY-no (the їй part is stressed)
  Ukrainian: спокі́йно

So the whole sentence has stress on: І́ноді скла́дно говори́ти спокі́йно.

Is Іноді always used at the beginning of a sentence, like “Sometimes” in English?

No, Іноді can appear in several positions in the sentence, and all are acceptable:

• Іноді складно говорити спокійно.
• Складно іноді говорити спокійно.
• Складно говорити іноді спокійно. (less common, a bit awkward)
• Говорити іноді складно спокійно. (can sound stylistic or poetic)

The most neutral and common positions are:

• At the beginning: Іноді…
• Right after the main predicate element: Складно іноді говорити…

For everyday speech, placing Іноді at the beginning (as in your sentence) is perfectly natural and clear.

How would I say “Sometimes it’s difficult for me to speak calmly” using this pattern?

You add мені (dative of “I”) to show for whom it is difficult:

• Іноді мені складно говорити спокійно.

Structure:

• Іноді – sometimes
• мені – to me / for me (dative case)
• складно – it is difficult
• говорити спокійно – to speak calmly

You can replace мені with other pronouns or nouns:

• Іноді йому складно говорити спокійно. – Sometimes it’s difficult for him…
• Іноді людям складно говорити спокійно. – Sometimes it’s difficult for people…