Learn Hardcore Ukrainian: Після тренування я говорю упевненіше з друзями. - After the workout I speak more confidently with friends.

Після тренування = After training
тренування is in the genitive singular (even though it looks the same as the nominative for this noun).

Why is it «Після тренування» and not something like «Після тренуванням» or «Після тренуванні»?

Because of two things:

The preposition
- «Після» requires genitive.
The noun type
- «Тренування» is a neuter noun ending in -ння.
- For these nouns, nominative singular = genitive singular in form:
  - Nominative sg: тренування – training
  - Genitive sg: тренування – of training

So “Після тренування” literally is “after of training” → after (the) training.

Forms like тренуванням (instrumental) or тренуванні (locative) would be wrong after «після».

What is the nuance of «говорю» here? Is it “speak,” “talk,” or “say”?

«Говорю» is the 1st person singular present of «говорити», which broadly means “to speak / to talk.”

In this sentence:

Я говорю упевненіше = I speak more confidently or I talk more confidently.

Nuance:

говорити – neutral, standard verb: to speak, to talk (what you do with your mouth / language).
сказати / казати – to say (usually about individual statements, messages).
розмовляти – to converse, to chat with someone (two-way communication).

You could also say:

Після тренування я розмовляю з друзями упевненіше.
→ Focus more on the idea of having conversations, not just “speaking” in general.

Why is it present tense «я говорю» if we’re talking about something that happens after training? Shouldn’t it be future?

Ukrainian (like English) uses the present tense for:

regular, repeated actions
general tendencies or habits

«Після тренування я говорю упевненіше з друзями.» can mean:

After (my) training sessions, I (generally) speak more confidently with friends.
After training, I tend to speak more confidently with friends.

If you wanted a one‑time future event, you could say e.g.:

Після тренування я говоритиму з друзями упевненіше.
→ After the training, I will speak more confidently with my friends.

But the original sentence sounds like a habitual or typical effect of training.

What is the difference between «упевненіше» and «більш упевнено»? Are both correct?

Yes, both are correct, but they’re formed differently.

упевнено – an adverb: confidently
упевненіше – the comparative form of that adverb: more confidently
більш упевнено – literally more confidently using більш (“more”) + the base adverb

So:

Я говорю упевнено. – I speak confidently.
Я говорю упевненіше. – I speak more confidently.
Я говорю більш упевнено. – I speak more confidently.

Meaning:
«упевненіше» and «більш упевнено» are practically the same in meaning.
«упевненіше» is more compact and very natural here.

I often see «впевнено» and «упевнено». Is «упевненіше» correct, or should it be «впевненіше»?

Both variants exist in modern Ukrainian:

упевнений / упевнено / упевненіше
впевнений / впевнено / впевненіше

Key points:

«упевнений» is usually considered the normative / preferred form in many style guides.
«впевнений» is also extremely common in real usage and widely accepted.
In everyday speech and writing, you will see both.

So:

Я говорю упевненіше з друзями. – fully correct.
Я говорю впевненіше з друзями. – also correct and common.

Just try to be consistent inside one text (don’t mix у and в versions randomly).

Why is it «з друзями» and not just «друзями»?

In Ukrainian, when you say you are doing something with someone (in their company), you usually use:

з / із / зі + instrumental case

Here:

з друзями = with (my) friends
друзями is instrumental plural of друг (friend).

So the pattern is:

з + друзями
like English with + friends

Without «з», друзями on its own would just be an instrumental form without a clear preposition; it would sound incomplete here.

Why is it «друзями» and not «другами»?

This is a common confusion, especially if you know some Russian.

The basic noun is друг (friend).
Nominative plural: друзі (friends).
Instrumental plural: друзями (with friends).

So the pattern is:

друг → друзі → друзями

«Другами» is not correct in Ukrainian; that form belongs to Russian (другами). Ukrainian changes the stem in the plural: друг → друз-.

Which case is «друзями», and when else is that case used?

«Друзями» is instrumental plural.

The instrumental case is used for:

Company / accompaniment
- з друзями – with friends
- з батьками – with parents
Means / instrument
- писати ручкою – to write with a pen
- різати ножем – to cut with a knife
Roles, states (often with “to be”)
- Вони стали друзями. – They became friends.
- Він працює вчителем. – He works as a teacher.

In this sentence it’s clear company: speaking with friends.

Could the word order be different, like «Після тренування я з друзями говорю упевненіше»? Does that change the meaning?

You can change the word order in Ukrainian quite freely to adjust emphasis. Some options:

Після тренування я говорю упевненіше з друзями.
– Neutral, light emphasis on “with friends” at the end.
Після тренування я з друзями говорю упевненіше.
– Slightly more emphasis on “with friends” as the context in which you speak more confidently.
Я говорю з друзями упевненіше після тренування.
– Emphasis that this higher confidence happens after training.

All are grammatical; the core meaning remains the same.
The original sentence is the most straightforward, neutral-sounding version.

Could I use «потім» instead of «після» here?

You could, but the nuance changes slightly.

після + genitive – “after (some event)”
→ Після тренування = after training (after the training session)
потім – “then / afterwards / later” (an adverb, no case)
→ Потім я говорю упевненіше з друзями. = Then I speak more confidently with friends.

So:

Після тренування я говорю упевненіше з друзями.
– Directly links the increased confidence to training (“after training”).
Потім я говорю упевненіше з друзями.
– Just says “then/afterwards” with no explicit mention of after what; it relies more on previous context.

In your sentence, «після тренування» is clearer and more informative.

How is the whole sentence pronounced, and where is the stress?

Stresses (marked in uppercase letters here):

ПІсля – [PÍ-slia]
тренувÁння – [tre-nu-VÁN-nia]
я – [ya]
говорЮ – [ho-vo-RÝU]
упевнЕніше – [u-pev-NÉ-ni-she]
з друзЯми – [z dru-ZYА-my]

Together, more naturally:

ПІсля тренувÁння я говорЮ упевнЕніше з друзЯми.

Also note:

з друзями is pronounced with a voiced [z] because д is voiced: [z dru-ZYА-my].