Language/Ukrainian/Grammar/Adjectives
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Introduction[edit | edit source]
Welcome to the lesson on Ukrainian adjectives! In this lesson, we will explore the forms, gender agreement, and comparative forms of adjectives in the Ukrainian language. Adjectives are an important part of any language as they help us describe and give more information about nouns. By the end of this lesson, you will be able to confidently use adjectives in sentences and conversations. So let's get started!
Forms of Adjectives[edit | edit source]
In Ukrainian, adjectives change their forms to agree with the gender, number, and case of the noun they modify. There are three genders in Ukrainian: masculine, feminine, and neuter. The forms of adjectives also depend on whether the noun is singular or plural, and what case it is in. Let's take a closer look at each form.
Masculine Adjectives[edit | edit source]
When modifying a masculine singular noun, adjectives typically end in -ий. However, if the noun ends in a soft consonant, the adjective will end in -ій. Let's see some examples:
| Ukrainian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| хороший (horoshyy) | [xoˈroʂɪj] | good |
| молодий (molodyy) | [moˈloɖɪj] | young |
| великий (velykyy) | [vɛˈlɪkɪj] | big |
| сильний (sylʲnyy) | [ˈsɪlʲnɪj] | strong |
When modifying a masculine plural noun, adjectives typically end in -і. However, if the noun ends in a soft consonant, the adjective will end in -і. Let's see some examples:
| Ukrainian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| хороші (horoshi) | [xoˈroʂi] | good |
| молоді (molodi) | [moˈloɖi] | young |
| великі (velyki) | [vɛˈlɪki] | big |
| сильні (sylʲni) | [ˈsɪlʲni] | strong |
Feminine Adjectives[edit | edit source]
When modifying a feminine singular noun, adjectives typically end in -а. However, if the noun ends in a soft consonant, the adjective will end in -я. Let's see some examples:
| Ukrainian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| гарна (harna) | [ˈɦɑrnɑ] | beautiful |
| молода (moloda) | [moˈlɔdɑ] | young |
| велика (velyka) | [vɛˈlɪkɑ] | big |
| сильна (sylʲna) | [ˈsɪlʲnɑ] | strong |
When modifying a feminine plural noun, adjectives typically end in -і. However, if the noun ends in a soft consonant, the adjective will end in -і. Let's see some examples:
| Ukrainian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| гарні (garni) | [ˈɦɑrnɪ] | beautiful |
| молоді (molodi) | [moˈlɔdɪ] | young |
| великі (velyki) | [vɛˈlɪkɪ] | big |
| сильні (sylʲni) | [ˈsɪlʲnɪ] | strong |
Neuter Adjectives[edit | edit source]
When modifying a neuter singular noun, adjectives typically end in -е. However, if the noun ends in a soft consonant, the adjective will end in -є. Let's see some examples:
| Ukrainian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| гарне (harne) | [ˈɦɑrnɛ] | beautiful |
| молоде (molode) | [moˈlɔdɛ] | young |
| велике (velyke) | [vɛˈlɪkɛ] | big |
| сильне (sylʲne) | [ˈsɪlʲnɛ] | strong |
When modifying a neuter plural noun, adjectives typically end in -і. However, if the noun ends in a soft consonant, the adjective will end in -і. Let's see some examples:
| Ukrainian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| гарні (garni) | [ˈɦɑrnɪ] | beautiful |
| молоді (molodi) | [moˈlɔdɪ] | young |
| великі (velyki) | [vɛˈlɪki] | big |
| сильні (sylʲni) | [ˈsɪlʲnɪ] | strong |
Gender Agreement[edit | edit source]
In Ukrainian, adjectives must agree with the gender of the noun they modify. This means that the form of the adjective changes depending on whether the noun is masculine, feminine, or neuter. Let's look at some examples to better understand gender agreement:
Masculine Agreement[edit | edit source]
When modifying a masculine noun, the adjective must have the appropriate masculine form. Let's see some examples:
| Ukrainian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| хороший день (horoshyy denʲ) | [xoˈroʂɪj deɲ] | good day |
| молодий чоловік (molodyy cholovik) | [moˈloɖɪj ʈʂoˈloʋɪk] | young man |
| великий будинок (velykyy budynok) | [vɛˈlɪkɪj buˈdɪnok] | big house |
| сильний хлопець (sylʲnyy khlopetsʲ) | [ˈsɪlʲnɪj ˈxlɔpɛt͡sʲ] | strong boy |
Feminine Agreement[edit | edit source]
When modifying a feminine noun, the adjective must have the appropriate feminine form. Let's see some examples:
| Ukrainian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| гарна жінка (harna zhinka) | [ˈɦɑrnɑ ˈʐinka] | beautiful woman |
| молода дівчина (moloda divchyna) | [moˈlɔdɑ ˈd⁽ʲ⁾iʋt͡ʃɪnɑ] | young girl |
| велика книга (velyka knyha) | [vɛˈlɪkɑ ˈk⁽ʲ⁾nɪɦɑ] | big book |
| сильна жінка (sylʲna zhinka) | [ˈsɪlʲnɑ ˈʐinka] | strong woman |
Neuter Agreement[edit | edit source]
When modifying a neuter noun, the adjective must have the appropriate neuter form. Let's see some examples:
| Ukrainian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| гарне місто (harne misto) | [ˈɦɑrnɛ ˈmistɔ] | beautiful city |
| молоде дитя (molode dytya) | [moˈlɔdɛ ˈd⁽ʲ⁾itʲɑ] | young child |
| велике озеро (velyke ozero) | [vɛˈlɪkɛ ɔˈzɛrɔ] | big lake |
| сильне слово (sylʲne slovo) | [ˈsɪlʲnɛ ˈsloʋɔ] | strong word |
Comparative Forms of Adjectives[edit | edit source]
In Ukrainian, adjectives can also be used in comparative forms to make comparisons between two or more things. The comparative forms of adjectives are used to indicate that one thing has more or less of a quality than another thing. Let's explore the comparative forms of adjectives in Ukrainian.
Comparative Form[edit | edit source]
To form the comparative degree of an adjective, you need to add the suffix -ший (-shyy) for masculine adjectives, -ша (-sha) for feminine adjectives, and -ше (-she) for neuter adjectives. Here are some examples:
| Ukrainian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| хороший → кращий (horoshyy → krashchyy) | [xoˈroʂɪj → ˈkrɑʂt͡ʃɪj] | good → better |
| молодий → молодший (molodyy → moloʈʂʲʂɪj) | [moˈloɖɪj → moˈloʈʂʲʂɪj] | young → younger |
| великий → більший (velykyy → bilʲʃɨj) | [vɛˈlɪkɪj → ˈbilʲʃɨj] | big → bigger |
| сильний → сильніший (sylʲnyy → sylʲˈniʂɨj) | [ˈsɪlʲnɪj → sɪlʲˈniʂɨj] | strong → stronger |
Superlative Form[edit | edit source]
To form the superlative degree of an adjective, you need to add the prefix най- (nay-) before the comparative form of the adjective. Here are some examples:
| Ukrainian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| хороший → найкращий (horoshyy → naykrashchyy) | [xoˈroʂɪj → ˈnajkrɑʂt͡ʃɪj] | good → the best |
| молодий → наймолодший (molodyy → naymoloʈʂʲʂɪj) | [moˈloɖɪj → najmoˈloʈʂʲʂɪj] | young → the youngest |
| великий → найбільший (velykyy → naybilʲʃɨj) | [vɛˈlɪkɪj → ˈnajbilʲʃɨj] | big → the biggest |
| сильний → найсильніший (sylʲnyy → naysylʲˈniʂɨj) | [ˈsɪlʲnɪj → najˈsɪlʲnɪʂɨj] | strong → the strongest |
Practice[edit | edit source]
Now that we have learned about Ukrainian adjectives and their forms, gender agreement, and comparative forms, let's practice using them in sentences and conversations. Here are some exercises to help you reinforce your understanding of adjectives in Ukrainian:
Exercise 1: Complete the sentences with the correct form of the adjective.
1. Цей будинок дуже ______. (великий) 2. Моя сестра дуже ______. (гарна) 3. Ця книга дуже ______. (цікава) 4. Його автомобіль дуже ______. (швидкий)
Exercise 2: Make comparisons using the comparative form of the adjective.
1. Цей телефон ______, ніж той. (дорогий) 2. Мій брат ______, ніж я. (високий) 3. Це завдання ______, ніж минуле. (складне) 4. Твоя вечеря ______, ніж моя. (смачний)
Exercise 3: Describe the following objects using adjectives in Ukrainian.
1. A beautiful flower 2. A big house 3. A fast car 4. A delicious meal
Conclusion[edit | edit source]
Congratulations! You have now learned about Ukrainian adjectives and their forms, gender agreement, and comparative forms. You can now confidently use adjectives to describe and give more information about nouns in Ukrainian. Keep practicing and using adjectives in your conversations to improve your language skills. In the next lesson, we will continue our exploration of Ukrainian grammar by learning about adverbs. До побачення! (Goodbye!)
Videos[edit | edit source]
Introduction to Ukrainian ADJECTIVES - YouTube[edit | edit source]
Ukrainian lesson 8. Adjectives (vocabulary + grammar) - YouTube[edit | edit source]
Ukrainian Vocabulary: Body Parts | Learn 60+ Nouns and Adjectives ...[edit | edit source]
Other Lessons[edit | edit source]
- Plurals
- Adverbs of quality, quantity and manner
- Pronoun
- Nouns
- Gender
- Verb to like
- Questions
- Future Tense
- Cases
- Personal Pronouns
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