Ми йдемо в підвал, щоб перевірити, чи там сухо після дощу.

Йдемо is the 1st person plural form of йти — to go / to be going on foot.

So Ми йдемо means we are going or we’re on our way.

This verb is used for:

• one specific trip
• movement in progress
• usually on foot

A learner often compares it with ходити. The difference is:

• йти / йдемо = going in one direction, right now or on one occasion
• ходити = going habitually, repeatedly, or in general

So here Ми йдемо в підвал means We’re going to the basement now / on this occasion, not We usually go to the basement.

In many cases, в and у both mean in / into / to, and Ukrainian often chooses between them for ease of pronunciation and smoother sound.

So:

• в підвал
• у підвал

can both be correct.

Here в підвал sounds natural after йдемо. Ukrainian often alternates в/у to avoid awkward sound combinations.

So this is mostly a phonetic choice, not a difference in meaning.

Because в can take different cases depending on the meaning:

• в + Accusative = motion into / to
• в + Locative = location in

Here the sentence describes movement:

• Ми йдемо в підвал = We are going to the basement

So підвал is in the accusative singular. For this noun, the accusative form is the same as the nominative:

• підвал = basement

Compare:

• Ми йдемо в підвал. = We are going into the basement.
• Ми в підвалі. = We are in the basement.

Щоб means in order to / so that.

It introduces a purpose clause:

• Ми йдемо в підвал, щоб перевірити...
• We are going to the basement in order to check...

A very common pattern is:

• щоб + infinitive

as in:

• щоб перевірити = to check / in order to check

So the sentence structure is:

• We are going to the basement
• for the purpose of checking something

This is a question of verb aspect.

• перевірити = perfective
• перевіряти = imperfective

Here перевірити is used because the speakers want to perform one complete check and get a result.

So:

• щоб перевірити = to check / to make sure
• emphasis: a single completed action

If you used перевіряти, it would sound more like:

• checking repeatedly
• checking as an ongoing process
• checking in a more general sense

In this sentence, the idea is clearly go there and check once whether it’s dry, so перевірити is the natural choice.

Here чи means whether / if in an indirect yes-no question.

So:

• перевірити, чи там сухо
• to check whether it is dry there

This is different from якщо, which means if in the sense of if/when on condition that.

Compare:

• Я не знаю, чи він прийде. = I don’t know whether he will come.
• Якщо він прийде, ми почнемо. = If he comes, we will start.

So in your sentence, the meaning is not a condition. It is an embedded question:

• Is it dry there or not? That is why чи is correct.

Because сухо here is not an adjective describing a noun directly. It is used as a predicative word, meaning it is dry.

In English, we say:

• it is dry

In Ukrainian, this is often expressed with words like:

• сухо = dry
• тепло = warm
• холодно = cold
• темно = dark

So:

• там сухо = it is dry there

By contrast, сухий is an adjective meaning dry for a masculine noun:

• сухий підвал = a dry basement

So:

• підвал сухий = The basement is dry.
• там сухо = It is dry there.

Both are possible in Ukrainian, but там сухо is a very natural way to talk about conditions.

Там means there.

In this sentence it refers to the basement, or more generally in that place:

• чи там сухо = whether it’s dry there

Even though the basement was just mentioned, Ukrainian still naturally uses там to refer to that location.

This is very common:

• Піду на кухню подивитися, чи там чисто.
• I’ll go to the kitchen to see whether it’s clean there.

So там helps point back to the place they are going to.

Після means after, and it requires the genitive case.

So:

• після дощу = after the rain

The noun is:

• дощ = rain

Its genitive singular form is:

• дощу

This is a common pattern:

• після уроку = after the lesson
• після роботи = after work
• після обіду = after lunch

So the learner should remember:

• після + genitive

In natural interpretation, після дощу most strongly connects with сухо:

• чи там сухо після дощу
• whether it is dry there after the rain

So the main idea is:

• they want to check the condition of the basement
• specifically, whether it stayed dry after it rained

It does not usually mean we are going after the rain. If that were the intended meaning, the wording would usually be clearer from context or arranged differently.

So the natural reading is:

• We’re going to the basement to check whether it’s dry there after the rain.

No, Ukrainian word order is fairly flexible, but different orders can sound more or less natural depending on emphasis.

The neutral order here is:

• чи там сухо

This is the most natural way to say:

• whether it’s dry there

You might also hear:

• чи сухо там

but that would usually add some emphasis or sound less neutral in everyday speech.

So for learners, чи там сухо is the safest and most natural pattern to remember.

Yes. Ukrainian often omits subject pronouns when the verb form already makes the subject clear.

Since йдемо already means we go / we are going, you could say:

• Йдемо в підвал, щоб перевірити, чи там сухо після дощу.

That still clearly means We are going to the basement...

However, ми may be included:

• for emphasis
• for contrast
• or simply because the speaker wants to make the subject explicit

So both are possible:

• Ми йдемо...
• Йдемо...

Yes, підвал is the standard and very common word for basement / cellar.

Depending on context:

• підвал can mean a basement in a building
• in some contexts it may feel close to cellar

For a learner, підвал is exactly the right everyday word to know for basement.

Then Ukrainian would use the locative after в:

• Ми в підвалі, щоб перевірити, чи там сухо після дощу.
• We are in the basement to check whether it’s dry there after the rain.

Compare the two clearly:

• Ми йдемо в підвал = We are going to the basement.
• Ми в підвалі = We are in the basement.

This is a very important Ukrainian pattern:

• motion toward a place → often accusative
• being in a place → locative