Він вгадав відповідь, грав чесно і не обдурював суперника.

He guessed the answer, played fairly, and did not deceive his opponent.

Breakdown of Він вгадав відповідь, грав чесно і не обдурював суперника.

• і: and
• він: he
• грати: to play
• не: not

Questions & Answers about Він вгадав відповідь, грав чесно і не обдурював суперника.

What tense are вгадав, грав, and обдурював?

They are all past tense verb forms.

Because the subject is він (he), the verbs are in the masculine singular past:

• вгадав = he guessed
• грав = he played
• обдурював = he was deceiving / used to deceive / was cheating

In Ukrainian past tense, the form changes for gender and number:

• він вгадав = he guessed
• вона вгадала = she guessed
• вони вгадали = they guessed

So the sentence is grammatically tied together by the masculine singular subject він.

Why is він included? Could Ukrainian leave it out?

Yes, Ukrainian often drops subject pronouns when the meaning is clear from the verb form or context.

So this sentence could also be:

Вгадав відповідь, грав чесно і не обдурював суперника.

That said, він is perfectly natural here. It may be used to:

• make the subject explicit
• create a clearer standalone sentence
• add a slight contrast or emphasis: he guessed, played fairly, and did not cheat

So він is not strictly necessary, but it is very normal.

Why is the first verb вгадав and not ?