Subject: Adjectives. Adverbs.

About adjectives

The words highlighted in bold print give us more information about each noun e.g. what kind of centre / church? which countries? what sea? etc. These words are adjectives and generally, though not exclusively, come in front of the noun in Ukrainian.

Just as nouns change their endings according to case, number etc., so do adjectives.

As can be seen from the above phrases (all of which are in the nominative case), an adjective must agree with the gender and number of the noun it describes:

• центр is masculine, so the adjective ends in –ий

• церква is feminine, so the adjective ends in –а

• море is neuter, so the adjective ends in –е

• країни is plural, so the adjective ends in –і.

The endings given above are for hard adjectives. There are also adjectives with soft endings (-ій, –я, –є, –і). More about this on page 9.3.

The ability to “match” which adjective describes which noun in a sentence is an essential skill to acquire when reading Ukrainian, as this may not always be obvious, in particular if the sentence is long and involved!

To begin practising this, go to Exercise 9.1A and Exercise 9.1B.

Forming adjectives from nouns

Many adjectives are derived from nouns. If you know the meaning of a noun, you can usually work out what the adjective means; for example:

N.B. In English, as seen above, nouns frequently act as modifiers, and do not change to an adjectival form. In Ukrainian, this only happens in loan words e.g. «інтернет–магазин».

To practise this, go to Exercise 9.2A and Exercise 9.2B.

Some adjectives are compounds of two words. In such cases, you can usually understand the whole if you identify its constituent parts, e.g.:

• цілодобовий is composed of цілий (whole) + доба (24 hours), so «цілодобовий доступ» means “24-hour access”

• двосторонній is composed of два (two) + сторона (side, party), so «двосторонні переговори» means “bi-partite talks”.

For more practise in working out the meanings of compound adjectives go to Exercise 9.2C

Case endings of adjectives

As already mentioned, the endings of adjectives in Ukrainian change according to the number and gender of the noun they describe (-ий for masculine, –а for feminine, etc.). To revise this see page 9.1.

In addition, adjectives change their endings according to case. They have the same case as the noun which they describe (i.e. agree with the noun). So, if a noun is in the accusative, the adjective must also be in the accusative, for example:

In this sentence, both the noun and adjective are in the accusative.

Given below are the case endings for adjectives (these are either hard or soft, but it is easy to spot the similarities in the endings):

Hard ending: Зелений (green)

Soft ending: Синій (dark blue)

If you’ve learned the noun endings, understanding the adjective endings shouldn’t be a problem. A couple of points need to be noted:

• The animate/inanimate distinction in the accusative applies as it does to nouns, e.g. «Вона сфотографувала гарний будинок» (inanimate, as for nominative); «Вона сфотографувала гарного хлопця» (animate, as for genitive).

• There is no separate form of the vocative, which is the same as the nominative.

• Plural forms are the same for all genders.

Given on the next page are some commonly used adjectives, which you should learn.

Commonly used adjectives

Given below are some commonly used adjectives, which you should learn. Those which are marked * have soft endings.

Colour

Size and shape

Other

 

Ukrainian adjectives agree with the nouns they modify in gender, number, and case.

In Ukrainian, there is a small number of adjectives, primarily possessives, which exist in the masculine in the so-called short form. This “short” form is a relic of the indefinite declension of adjectives in Common Slavic. Common examples of this anomalous declension are бабин (masculine) compared to бабина (feminine); братів (masculine) compared to братова (feminine); and повинен (masculine) compared to повинна. This short form only exists in the masculine nominative form. All other forms are regular.

Declension

In Ukrainian, 2 different declension types: hard and soft. The soft type can be further subdivided into two types. It should be noted that unlike for the nouns, the post-alveolar sibilants are counted as hard.

 

 

Note about the declensions:

• (1) In the accusative case (except the feminine singular), a difference is made between animate (=genitive) and inanimate (=nominative) adjectives.

• (2) The ending in -ому is more often encountered. The other form is a relic of the indefinite declension of adjectives in Common Slavic.

Other forms of the adjective

In Ukrainian adjectives also have a comparative and superlative forms.

The comparative form is created by dropping ий and adding the ending -(і)ший. The resulting form is declined like a regular hard stem adjective. As usual, some adjectives have irregular forms.

The superlative form is created by prefixing най- to the comparative form. Words associated with religion often prefix пре- (very) to the comparative form. As usual, some adjectives have irregular forms.

Adverbs

In Ukrainian, adverbs are formed by taking the stem of the adjective and adding the ending

• -о, if the stem is hard,

• -е, if the stem is a soft consonant, and

• -є, if the stem is a vowel.

For example, гарний gives гарно.

Comparative and superlative degrees of adjectives

Read the following sentences:

Example 1 gives the positive degree of the adjective, which simply describes the noun itself.

Example 2 gives the comparative degree of the adjective which, as its name suggests, compares the noun with another, i.e. the pencil in 2 is longer than the pencil in 1.

Example 3 gives the superlative degree of the adjective, defining the pencil as being the longest of all the pencils.

 

The comparative degree

Here are some examples of comparatives of adjectives:

The comparative form of adjectives in Ukrainiaormally ends in –ший, –іший or, less frequently, in –жчий or –щий. The stem of the adjective can also change, but this should not be an obstacle to identifying the comparative.

The comparative may also be formed by putting більш or менш before the adjective:

The superlative degree

The superlative of adjectives is straightforward, as it normally consists of the comparative with the prefix най-:

There are a small number of adjectives which have irregular forms in the comparative and superlative:

To practise degrees of adjectives go to Exercise 9.5A.

Adjectives used as pronouns

In this unit so far, we have discussed adjectives only as words which describe a noun.

They can also, however, stand in place of a noun (i.e. act as pronouns). In the examples below, the answer can be limited to just an adjective, providing it is clear what is being referred to. The adjective, however, must be in the appropriate case (i.e. agreeing with the noun).

 

Adverbs

Although this unit focuses primarily on adjectives (words which describe nouns), it is logical to touch briefly on adverbs (words which describe verbs). There are three types of adverb.

Adverbs of time

These describe when an action happens, for example:

Завтра студенти будуть складати екзамен.
Tomorrow the students will be taking an exam.

Some other useful adverbs of time are:

Adverbs of place

These describe where an action happens, for example:

Де відбудеться лекція? Тут.
Where will the lecture take place? Here.

Some other useful adverbs of place are:

Adverbs of manner

These describe how an action happens. In Ukrainian, as in English and many other languages, these adverbs are usually formed from adjectives, for example:

Цей поїзд повільний. Він їде повільно.
This is a slow train. It travels slowly.

Most adverbs of manner end in –о, for example:

Some adverbs of manner have endings in –е. This is usually because they are mixed, with stems in –ж-, –ч-, –ш– or –щ-, for example:

This also applies to comparatives and superlatives of adverbs, which usually end in –ше, –ще, etc, for example:

and also to the adverbs добре – well, дуже – very.

To practise using adverbs, go to Exercise 9.7A.

 

VOCABULARY

To use this glossary, you must have Cyrillic fonts installed. If you do not see proper Cyrillic characters below and need help, go the the Cyrillic Fonts menu item.

Stressed vowels marked in red. If no red, one word syllable or stress same as in the initial form (listed first).

Word listing formats:
Verbs: infinitive, third person singular (e.g., (he) reads) if there are changes in the stem while conjugating, or ending (preceded by – ) of the third person singular that replaces the infinitive –ти ending.
Nouns: nominative, other cases if there are stem changes, plural ending (preceded by – ). Stressed endings are always marked in red.
Adjectives: masculine nominative.
Other words: comments whenever necessary.

Abbreviations:

adj = adjective dat = dative case f = feminine gen = genitive case

imp = imperfective verb instr = instrumental case m = masculine = neuter

per = perfective verb pl = plural prep = prepositional case

А     Б     В    Г    Д    Є    Ж    З  И  І    Ї    Й    К    Л    М    Н    О    П    Р    С    Т    У    Х    Ц    Ч    Ш    Щ  Ь  Ю   Я

А
автобус (m), pl: -и	bus
аеропорт (m), pl: -и	airport
аж (unchangeable particle)	used for emphasis, can be roughly translated “as much/many as”
Ало	hello (phone greeting)
Америка, dat, prep: Америці (f)	America

 

Б
багатенько (diminutive)	a lot, many, much
Багато	a lot, many, much
батько, pl: –и	father, pl: parents
бачити, -ить (imp)	to see
Без	without
берег (m), prep: березі, pl: –и	shore, bank, coast
березень (m)	March
бізнесмен (m), pl: – и	businessman
Більше	more
Бо	because (since, for)
брат (m), pl:-и	brother
будь ласка	please; you are welcome
бути (imp),     є in all persons of the present tense	to be

 

В
в	in, at
валюта (f), unc.	(foreign) currency
вам	dat. of ви
ваш	your, yours
ввечері	in the evening
вдома	at home
вересень (m)	September
весь (m)	whole
вечеряти, -є (imp)	to have dinner/supper
вже	already
взяти, візьм (per)	to take
вибачте	excuse me
вийти, вийде (per)	to walk/go out
виходити, виходить (imp)	to walk/go out; to result in
ви	you (formal and plural)
вівторок (m), pl: вівторки	Tuesday
відбутися, відбудеться (per)	to take place
відвідувати, відвідує (per)	to visit
відрядження (n), pl: no change	business trip
візьміть (per)	imperative of “take”
вікно (n), pl: – а	window
він	he
вокзал (m), pl: – и	train station
волосся (n), pl: no change	hair
воно	neuter pronoun
восьмий	eighth
вставати, встає (imp)	to rise, to get up
встати, встане (per)	to rise, to get up
вулиця (f), pl: – і	street
вчити, вчить (imp)	to learn, to study

 

Г
газета (f), pl: – и	newspaper
гаразд	OK
гість (m), pl: гості	guest
говорити, говорить (imp)	to speak
година (f), pl: – и	hour, o’clock
готель (m), pl: – і	hotel
грам (m), pl: -и	gram
гривня (f), pl: – і	hryvnya (name of Ukr. currency)
грудень (m)	December

 

Д
давати, дає (imp)	to give
давно	for a long time; a long time ago
дата (f), pl: – и	date
дев’ятий	nineth
день (m), gen: дня, pl: -і	day
десь	somewhere; approximately
десятий	tenth
де	where
дивитися, дивиться (imp)	to look (at)
дівчина (f), pl: дівчата	girl
дізнатися, дізнається (per)	to find out
Дніпро	Dnipro (name of a river, also translated as Dnieper)
добре	well; good; OK
добрий	good; kind
додому	home (in directions, e.g., to go home)
дозволяти, -є (imp)	to allow, to permit
документ (m), pl: – и	document
долар (m), pl: – и	dollar
до побачення	good-bye
другий	second
друг (m), prep: (на) друзі; pl: друзі	friend
дрібний	small; tiny
дуже	very
душ (m), pl: -і	shower
дякувати, дякує (imp)	to thank
дякую	thank you (literally: (I) thank)

 

Є
є	see бути

 

Ж
жаль	на жаль — unfortunately
жетон (m), pl: – и	metro token
жовтень (m)	October

 

З
з	with
за	for; in exchange of
заборонено	forbidden
забронювати, забронює (per)	to book
закінчитися, закінчиться (per)	to end
зараз	now
зателефонувати, зателефонує (per)	to phone, to call
захворіти, -є (per)	to fall ill
захоплюватися, захоплюється (imp)	to admire
зачинено	closed; locked
заїхати, заїде (per)	to stop by
збори (always pl)	(staff) meeting
зважити, зважить (per)	to weigh
звати, зове (imp)	to call (by name)
звідки	where from
здача (f), unc.	change
змогти, зможе (per)	can; be able to
знайомий	acquaintance
знаменний	memorable; singular
знати, -є (imp)	to know
знову	again
зупинитися, зупиниться (per)	to stop
зупинка (f), dat, prep: зупинці, pl: -и	stop; station
зустрітися, зустрінеться (per)	to meet
зустріти, зустріне (per)	to meet
зустрічатися, зустрічається (im)	to meet
зустріч (f), pl: – і	meeting; encounter

 

І
ім’я (n), gen, dat, prep: імені; pl: імена	name
інженер (m), pl: – и	engineer
іноземний	foreign
історія (f), pl: – ї	history; story

 

Ї
їхати, їде (imp)	to go (by vehicle)

 

Й
його	gen. case of він
йому	dat. case of він

 

К
кава (f) unc.	coffee
кав’ярня (f), pl: – і	cafe
карта (f), pl: – и	map
картка (f), pl: – и	card
квартира (f), pl: – и	apartment; flat
квиток (m), gen: квитка, pl: квитки	ticket
квітень (m)	April
Київ (m), gen: Києва	Kyiv (capital of Ukraine)
кімната (f), pl: – и	room
коли	when
комп’ютер (m), pl: – и	computer
концерт (m), pl: – и	concert
копійка (f), dat, prep: копійці; pl: – и	kopeck
котрий	which; котра година? — what time is it?
коштувати, коштує (imp)	to cost
країна (f), pl: – и	country
куди	where to
купувати, купує (imp)	to buy

 

Л
лежати, лежить (imp)	to lie
липень (m)	July
листопад (m)	November
ліжко (n), pl: – а	bed
лікар (m), pl: –і	doctor (physician)
лютий (m)	February
лягати, -є (imp)	to lie down
лягти, ляже (per)	to lie down

 

М
магазин (m), pl: – и	store
мама (f), pl: – и	mom
масло (n), unc.	butter
машина (f), pl: – и	car; machine
мати, має (imp)	to have; to have (to do smth)
мене	gen. of я
мені	dat. of я
метро (n), unchangeable	subway; metro
мешкати, -є (imp)	to be resident; to live
ми	we
мій	my; mine
місто (n), pl: –а	city; town
місце (n), pl: –я	place
місяць (n), pl: –і	month
мобільний	mobile
могти, може (imp)	can; be able to
можливо	maybe; perhaps
море (n), pl: – я	sea
мусити, я мушу, він мусить (imp)	must

 

Н
на	on (other meanings possible)
на все добре	formal good bye (literally: all the best)
навчатися, навчається (imp)	to study
нагадувати, нагадує (imp)	to remind
найбільший	largest
написати, напише (per)	to write
наступний	next
неділя (f), pl: – і	Sunday
нема	don’t/doesn’t (have)
нехай	let it be
не	negative particle not, no
ніч (f), gen, pl.: ночі	night
номер (m), pl: –и	number; hotel room

 

О
о	at (for time: at nine o’clock)
обідати, -є (imp)	to have lunch
обідній	adj. lunch (e.g., lunch break)
обличчя (n), pl: the same	face
обмін (m), pl: – и	exchange
оглянути, огляне (per)	to look at/around; to see
ось	here
офіс (m), pl: – и	office

 

П
пальто (n), pl: пальта	coat
пам’ятний	memorable
парасолька (f), pl: – и	umbrella
паспорт (m), pl: –и	passport
передати, передасть (per)	to hand over, to give
перекладати, -є (imp)	to translate
перекласти, перекладе (per)	to translate
перепрошую	excuse me
перерва (f), pl: – и	break
перший	first
писати, пише (imp)	to write
пів	half (colloquial)
підручник (m), pl: – и	textbook
повернутися, повернеться (per)	to return
повертатися, повертається (imp)	to return
повечеряти, -є (per)	to have dinner/supper
повинний	must; required
повторити, повторить (per)	to repeat; to recapitulate
поговорити, поговорить (per)	to speak
подивитися, подивиться (per)	to see; to take a look; to watch
подорожувати, подорожує (imp)	to travel
подруга (f), dat, prep: подрузі; pl: -и	girl friend
подія (f), pl: – ї	event
познайомитися, познайомиться (per)	to get acquainted; to meet
позначено	indicated
показати, покаже (per)	to show
поле (n), pl: – я	field
половина (f), pl: – и	half
поміняти, -є (per)	to exchange
понад	more than
понеділок (m), pl: понеділки	Monday
пообідати, -є (per)	to have lunch
поснідати, -є (per)	to have breakfast
потрібний	necessary
починатися, починається (imp)	to start; to begin
пошта (f), pl: – и	mail; post office
поїхати, поїде (per)	to start going (by vehicle)
правда	however; the truth is
працювати, працює (imp)	to work
привіт	hi
приймати, -є (imp)	to accept; to take
прийняти, прийме (per)	to accept; to take
прийти, прийде (per)	to come (on foot)
прилетіти, прилетить (per)	to come by plane; to fly in
приємно	pleasant; nice
приїхати, приїде (per)	to come (by vehicle)
прізвище (n), pl: – а	last name
пройти, пройде (per)	to pass
прокидатися, прокидається (imp)	to wake up
прокинутися, прокинеться (per)	to wake up
пропрацювати, пропрацює (per)	to work through
просто	easy, simple
прохід (m) gen, dat: проходу; pl: проходи	(walking) passage
прочитати, -є (per)	to read
прошу	please; you’re welcome; (I would like to) ask
проїзд (m), pl: – и	passage (for vehicles)
п’ятий	fifth
п’ятниця (f), pl: – і	Friday

 

Р
разом	together
ранку	in the morning
ранок (m), gen, dat, prep: ранку, pl: ранки	morning
рано	early
рахунок (m), gen, dat, prep: рахунку, pl: рахунки	bill
решта (f)	the rest
рік (m), gen, dat: року, pl: роки	year
річка (f), pl: – и	river
робота (f), pl: роботи	work
робочий	worker; working
розміняти, -є (per)	to change (for smaller bills/coins)
розташований	located
ручка (f), pl: – и	pen; handle

 

С
свій	one’s own
“Світоч”	Svitoch (chocolate brand name)
село (n), pl: – а	village
середа (f), pl: середи	Wednesday
серед	among
серпень (m)	August
сестра (f), pl: – и	sister
сім’я (f), pl: – ї	family
січень (m)	January
скільки	how much/many. Скільки з мене? How much should I pay?
снідати, -є (imp)	to have breakfast
сонце (n), pl: – я	sun
спати, спить (imp)	to sleep
спершу	first (of all)
справа (f), pl: – и	business
стіл, gen, dat: столу, pl: столи	table
столиця (f), pl: – і	capital city
стояти, стоїть (imp)	to stand
студент (m), pl: – и	student
субота (f), pl: -и	Saturday
сукня (f), pl: – і	dress
сусідній	neighboring
сьогодні	today
сьомий	seventh

 

Т
так	this way; so
там	there
телефонний	telephone (adj.)
телефонувати, телефонує (imp)	to phone
телефон (m), pl: – и	telephone
терміново	urgently
тиждень (m), gen: тижня, pl: тижні	week
тому що	because
травень (m)	May
третій	third
туалет (m), pl: – и	toilet; restroom
турист (m), – и	tourist
тут	here

 

У
у вас (idiom.)	you have
уже (also: вже)	already
Україна (f)	Ukraine
український	Ukrainian

 

Х
хвилина (f), pl: – и	minute
хвилинка (f), pl: – и	minute (diminutive)
хотів би	would like to
хто	who

 

Ц
це	this
цукерка (f), pl: – и	candy

 

Ч
час (m), pl: -и	time
червень (m)	June
четвертий	fourth
четвер (m), pl: четверги	Thursday
чимало	quite a few; many/much
число (n), pl: – а	number; date
читати, -є (imp)	to read
чоловік (m), pl: –и	man; husband; pl. gen. of people
чорний	black

 

Ш
шоколадний	chocolate (adj.)
шостий	sixth
шукати, -є (imp)	to search, to look for

 

Щ
ще	more; moreover
що	what; that
щойно	just now
щороку	every year
щось	something

 

Я
я	I
яблуко (n), pl: – а	apple
якщо	if

 

 

REFERENCES:

1. Бахтіярова Х. Ш., Лукашевич С. С., Майданюк І. З. Українська мова. Практичний курс для іноземців: Посібник для слухачів підготовчих відділень і факультетів. – Тернопіль: Укрмедкнига, 1999. – 319 c.

2. Джура М. Вивчаємо українську мову (Let’s learn Ukrainian). – Львів, 2007. – 209 c.

3. Olena Bekh, James Dingley. Teach yourself Ukrainian. – London, 2003. – 310 p.

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