У мене десять очок.

I

Breakdown of У мене десять очок.

• у: in
• десять: ten
• очко: the point (game)

Questions & Answers about У мене десять очок.

Why does У мене mean I have?

Ukrainian usually does not use a normal verb to have the way English does in simple sentences like this.

Instead, it often uses a possession pattern:

• у / в = at, by
• мене = me in the genitive case

So У мене десять очок is literally something like At me, ten points.

Natural English: I have ten points.

This is one of the most common Ukrainian patterns, and you will see it everywhere:

• У мене є час. = I have time.
• У нього машина. = He has a car.
• У нас проблема. = We have a problem.

What case is мене, and why isn’t it я?

Мене is the genitive form of я.

After the preposition у / в in this possession pattern, Ukrainian uses the genitive:

• я → у мене
• ти → у тебе
• він → у нього
• ми → у нас

So у мене is the correct form, not у я.