Перш ніж сканувати паспорт, поклади його на сканер.

Перш ніж means before in the sense of before doing something or before something happens.

In this sentence:

• Перш ніж сканувати паспорт = Before scanning the passport

It often introduces a subordinate clause, and it can be followed by:

• an infinitive: перш ніж сканувати
• or a full clause: перш ніж ти почнеш сканувати

It is a very common way to say before in Ukrainian.

Because Перш ніж сканувати паспорт is an introductory subordinate clause, and in Ukrainian it is normally separated from the main clause by a comma.

So the structure is:

• subordinate clause: Перш ніж сканувати паспорт
• main clause: поклади його на сканер

This is similar to English:

• Before scanning the passport, put it on the scanner.

After перш ніж, Ukrainian often uses the infinitive when the subject is general or understood from context.

So:

• перш ніж сканувати паспорт literally means before to scan the passport
• natural English: before scanning the passport

This is a normal and natural construction in Ukrainian.

A fuller version with an explicit subject would also be possible, for example:

• Перш ніж ти будеш сканувати паспорт...
• Перш ніж сканувати паспорт...

The infinitive version is shorter and very common in instructions.

Покласти is the infinitive: to put / to place.

Поклади is the imperative form: put! / place!

So:

• покласти = to put
• поклади = put! (said to one person, informal singular)

This sentence is giving an instruction, so the imperative is needed.

Related forms:

• поклади = singular informal command
• покладіть = plural or formal command

The verb поклади comes from the perfective verb покласти. Perfective verbs are very common in commands when you want someone to complete a single action.

Here the idea is:

• поклади його на сканер = put it onto the scanner as one completed step

If you used an imperfective command, it would sound more like focusing on the process or repeated action. In practical instructions, the perfective is usually the natural choice.

Because його is the object form of he/it, while він is the subject form.

Here, паспорт is the thing being placed, so the pronoun must be in the object form:

• він = he / it
• його = him / it

So:

• поклади його = put it

In this sentence, його refers to паспорт.

In сканувати паспорт, паспорт is in the accusative case because it is the direct object of сканувати.

For masculine inanimate nouns like паспорт, the accusative singular usually looks the same as the nominative singular:

• nominative: паспорт
• accusative: паспорт

So even though the form does not change, its function is accusative here.

Because Ukrainian uses different cases after на depending on whether you mean:

• movement onto something → accusative
• location on something → locative

Here we have movement:

• поклади його на сканер = put it onto the scanner

So сканер is in the accusative.

Compare:

• Поклади паспорт на сканер. = Put the passport onto the scanner.
• Паспорт лежить на сканері. = The passport is lying on the scanner.

So:

• на сканер = onto the scanner
• на сканері = on the scanner

Ukrainian does not have articles like a or the.

So паспорт can mean:

• a passport
• the passport

The exact meaning depends on context.

In instructions like this, the context makes it clear which passport is meant, so no article is needed.

Yes. Ukrainian word order is more flexible than English, although some orders sound more natural in certain contexts.

The original sentence is natural because it presents the sequence clearly:

• Перш ніж сканувати паспорт, поклади його на сканер.

You could also say:

• Поклади його на сканер, перш ніж сканувати паспорт.

That is still correct and means basically the same thing.

The original version sounds especially natural in instructions because it first sets up the condition or time frame, then gives the command.

Сканер is a borrowing, ultimately from English scanner, but it behaves like a normal Ukrainian noun.

It declines like a regular masculine noun:

• nominative: сканер
• genitive: сканера
• locative: сканері

So even though the word is borrowed, its grammar is fully Ukrainian.

Yes. Перед тим як is another common way to say before.

For example:

• Перед тим як сканувати паспорт, поклади його на сканер.

This is also correct.

Very roughly:

• перш ніж is compact and very common in both speech and writing
• перед тим як is also common and can sound a little more explicit

In this sentence, перш ніж sounds very natural.

It is grammatically neutral, but the command поклади is informal singular: you are speaking to one person with ти.

If you wanted to address someone formally or more than one person, you would say:

• Перш ніж сканувати паспорт, покладіть його на сканер.

So the difference is:

• поклади = informal singular
• покладіть = formal singular or plural

This is a very common question. In Ukrainian, after expressions like перш ніж, the imperfective infinitive is often used to refer to the action in a general way, as an activity or process.

So:

• перш ніж сканувати паспорт = before scanning the passport

The focus is not on the completed result of the scanning, but on the action itself.

You may sometimes encounter a perfective verb in similar contexts, but here the imperfective сканувати is the most natural choice for a general instruction.