П’ять стільців у кімнаті.

Five chairs are in the room.

Breakdown of П’ять стільців у кімнаті.

• у: in
• кімната: the room
• стілець: the chair
• п’ять: five

Questions & Answers about П’ять стільців у кімнаті.

Why is there no verb for are in this sentence?

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

So where English says There are five chairs in the room, Ukrainian can simply say:

П’ять стільців у кімнаті.

Literally, this is closer to Five chairs in the room.

This is completely normal in Ukrainian. If you want to talk about the past or future, then forms of to be do appear.

Why is стільців used instead of стільці?

Because after the number п’ять (five), the noun normally goes in the genitive plural.

• singular: стілець = chair
• nominative plural: стільці = chairs
• genitive plural: стільців = of chairs

So:

• один стілець = one chair
• два / три / чотири стільці = two / three / four chairs
• п’ять стільців = five chairs

This is a very important pattern in Ukrainian numbers:

• 1 → usually singular
• 2, 3, 4 → a special plural pattern
• 5 and above → usually genitive plural

What case is кімнаті, and why is it in that case?