Увечері ліхтар біля під’їзду яскравий, і я бачу біля нього кожну калюжу.

Увечері means in the evening / at evening time. In modern Ukrainian, learners often treat it as a fixed adverbial time expression.

Historically, it is related to вечір (evening), but in this sentence you can simply understand увечері as an adverb answering when?

• Увечері = in the evening
• similar time expressions:
  • вранці = in the morning
  • вдень = during the day / in the daytime
  • вночі = at night

So here it sets the scene: In the evening...

Ліхтар can mean lamp, lantern, or streetlight/streetlamp, depending on context.

In this sentence, because it is біля під’їзду (near the entrance), the most natural meaning is something like:

• the lamp by the entrance
• the light near the entrance
• possibly the streetlamp by the entrance

So the word is broader than just one English equivalent. Context tells you which translation sounds best.

Під’їзд is a very common word in Ukrainian and Russian-speaking contexts, especially for apartment buildings.

It usually means the entrance section of an apartment building, often including the doorway and the stairwell area inside. So it is not just any entrance in the abstract.

In English, depending on context, you might translate it as:

• entrance
• entryway
• apartment entrance
• building entrance

So біля під’їзду means by the entrance to the building.

The apostrophe in Ukrainian shows that the consonant before it is not softened and that the following vowel begins a separate y-like sound.

So під’їзд is pronounced roughly like:

• pid-yizd

not as if the sounds merged into one softened consonant.

This is a spelling feature you will see in many Ukrainian words, for example:

• ім’я = name
• об’єкт = object
• під’їзд = entrance of a building

It is not like an English apostrophe showing possession or omission.

Because біля (near/by) requires the genitive case.

The dictionary form is:

• під’їзд = nominative singular

After біля, it changes to genitive singular:

• біля під’їзду

This is a very common pattern:

• біля будинку = near the house
• біля школи = near the school
• біля машини = near the car

So here:

• біля під’їзду = near the entrance

In the present tense, Ukrainian usually omits the verb to be (є) in simple statements.

So:

• ліхтар яскравий literally looks like the lamp bright
• but it means the lamp is bright

That is completely normal.

Also, the adjective stays in the nominative here because it is part of a simple present-tense description:

• ліхтар = masculine singular nominative
• яскравий = masculine singular nominative

You can think of it as:

• Ліхтар яскравий. = The lamp is bright.

Using forms like яскравим would belong to different structures, not this basic one.

Because it agrees with ліхтар, which is a masculine singular noun.

In Ukrainian, adjectives must agree with the noun they describe in:

• gender
• number
• case

So:

• ліхтар = masculine singular nominative
• яскравий = masculine singular nominative

If the noun were feminine, you would get a different form:

• лампа яскрава = the lamp is bright

If it were plural:

• ліхтарі яскраві = the lamps are bright

Because і here joins two separate clauses:

1. Увечері ліхтар біля під’їзду яскравий
2. я бачу біля нього кожну калюжу

Each clause has its own grammatical center:

• first clause: ліхтар ... яскравий
• second clause: я бачу

So the comma is standard punctuation before і when it connects two full clauses.

Бачити means to see, while дивитися means to look/watch.

So:

• я бачу = I see
• я дивлюся = I am looking

In this sentence the idea is about what is visible because the lamp is bright. That is why бачу is the natural choice.

Also, бачу is the 1st person singular present form of бачити:

• я бачу = I see

Нього refers back to ліхтар.

So:

• біля нього = near it / near him
• here it clearly means near the lamp/light

Again, біля requires the genitive case, so the pronoun changes form:

• nominative: він = he / it
• genitive after біля: нього

Compare:

• біля нього = near him/it
• для нього = for him
• у нього = at his place / he has

In this sentence, the meaning is near the lamp.

It could be біля ліхтаря, and that would also be correct.

Using біля нього avoids repeating ліхтар too soon. English does the same:

• The lamp by the entrance is bright, and I can see every puddle near it.

So this is normal, natural pronoun use.

Compare:

• ...і я бачу біля ліхтаря кожну калюжу = grammatically fine, but slightly more repetitive
• ...і я бачу біля нього кожну калюжу = smoother

Because бачу takes a direct object, and the direct object here is in the accusative case.

The dictionary forms are:

• кожна = each/every (feminine nominative)
• калюжа = puddle (feminine nominative)

In the accusative singular feminine, they become:

• кожну
• калюжу

So:

• бачу кожну калюжу = I see every puddle

The adjective/determiner and noun both change because they must agree with each other in case, number, and gender.

For many feminine nouns ending in -а, the accusative singular ends in -у / -ю.

So:

• nominative: калюжа
• accusative: калюжу

This is a very common pattern:

• книга → книгу
• машина → машину
• вулиця → вулицю

Since калюжа is the thing being seen, it appears in the accusative.

Yes. Кожен / кожна / кожне can often be translated as either every or each, depending on style.

Here кожну калюжу suggests:

• every puddle
• each puddle

English usually prefers every puddle in a sentence like this, but the Ukrainian word itself covers both ideas.

Yes, Ukrainian word order is fairly flexible, though not completely free. This sentence uses a natural, neutral order.

Current version:

• Увечері ліхтар біля під’їзду яскравий, і я бачу біля нього кожну калюжу.

This emphasizes the time first, then describes the lamp, then gives the result.

You could rearrange parts for emphasis, for example:

• Біля під’їзду увечері ліхтар яскравий...
• Я біля нього бачу кожну калюжу...

But the original sounds natural and straightforward.

Its core meaning is bright, but like English bright, it can be used in different ways depending on context.

For example, it can describe:

• strong light
• vivid colors
• sometimes figuratively, something striking or impressive

In this sentence it clearly means bright in the sense of giving a lot of light.

Yes, вечором can also mean in the evening.

So both are possible in many contexts:

• увечері
• вечором

There can be slight stylistic differences, but for many everyday sentences they overlap. In this sentence, увечері sounds perfectly natural and standard.