Фішка біля карти.

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Breakdown of Фішка біля карти.

• карта: the playing card
• фішка: the game token

Questions & Answers about Фішка біля карти.

Why is there no word for is in Фішка біля карти?

In Ukrainian, the verb to be is usually omitted in the present tense.

So:

• Фішка біля карти.
  literally looks like Chip/token near the map/card.
• but it naturally means The chip/token is near the map/card.

This is completely normal Ukrainian. If you want past or future, then a form of бути appears:

• Фішка була біля карти. = The token was near the map/card.
• Фішка буде біля карти. = The token will be near the map/card.

Why is it карти and not карта?

Because the preposition біля requires the genitive case.

The base form is:

• карта = map / card

After біля, it changes to the genitive singular:

• біля карти = near the map/card

So the pattern is:

• карта → карти
• фішка → фішки if it were also put in the genitive

This is one of the most common things to learn with Ukrainian prepositions: many of them force a specific case.

What case does біля use?