Possession
The genitive case is another one of the most commonly used cases in Ukrainian. It answers the question words Кого? (of who?) or Чого? (of what?).
One of its most common uses is expressing the relationship of possession:
книжка вчителя = a teacher's book (a book of the teacher)
батько Катерини = Kateryna's father (the father of Kateryna)
вікно матері = mother's window (the window of a mother)
The second noun in such expressions denotes the owner and takes the genitive form.
Relation
Genitive indicates that one noun relates to or otherwise describes the other. The first noun is in nominative and the second is in genitive.план міста = a plan of the city
проблема хиття = the problem of life
майдан Незалежности = Independence Square
Negating Direct Objects
When affirmative sentences with a direct object in the accusative are negated, the object takes the form of the genitive:Марія має книжку. (Maria has a book.) → Марія не має книжки. (Maria doesn't have a book.)
Роман пише лист. (Roman is writing a letter.) → Роман не пише листа. Roman is not writing a letter.
Сестра не їсть яблука. (The sister is eating an apple.) → (The sister is not eating an apple.)
Possession / Negating
The construction у + Genitive of animate noun + бути + Nominative object indicates:
a) possession of something by somebody. synonymous with expressions using the verb мати (to have) + accusative object.
У неї є авто. = She has a car. (Вона має авто.)
У мене була віза. = I had a visa. (Я мала візу.)
В Олени буде довга подорож. = Olena will have a long trip. (Олена буде мати довгу подорож.)
b) location of somebody or something at somebody's home.
Я жив у сестри Наталії місяць. = I lived at my sister Natalia's (place) for a month.
Сьогодні ваші друзі вечеряють у нас. = Today your friends have dinner at our place.
When a given person doesn't have something, бути in the above structure expressing possession is replaced by нема(є) for the present tense:
У неї нема(є) авта. = She has no car. (Вона не має авта.)
не було for the past:
У мене не було візи. = I had no visa. (Я не мала візи.)
не буде for the future:
В Олени не буде довгої подорожі. = Olena won't have a long trip. (Олена не буде мати довгої подорожі.)
The noun that indicates the missing object is in the genitive.
When an expression like Микола (є) тут. (Mykola is here.) Карта (є) там. (The map is there.) are negated, the subject takes the genitive, while the verb є is replaced by
a) нема(є) in the present,
Миколи немає тут. = Mykola isn't here. Карти немає там. = The map isn't there.
b) не було in the past,
Миколи не було тут. = Mykola wasn't here. Карти не було там. = The map wasn't there.
c) не буде in the future,
Миколи не буде тут. = Mykola won't be here. Карти не буде там. = The map won't be there.
Points in Time
The genitive is frequently used to express a point in the past, present, or future with nouns described by the adjectives: цей (this), той (last, lit. that), минулий (last), наступний (next), кожний (every).Such adjective+noun expressions of time are put in the genitive singular. Here are typical expressions of time:
| цього тижня | this week | цієї п'ятниці | this Friday |
| того року or (торік) | last year | тієї весни | last spring |
| минулого понеділка | last Monday | наступного четверга | next Thursday |
| минулої середи | last Wednesday | наступної суботи | next Saturday |
| кожної суботи | every Saturday | кожного четверга | every Thursday |
| наступного разу | next time | кожного разу | every time |
Note: кожний + noun has a more compact, one-word synonym. In it, instead of the adjective кожний (every), the prefix що~ is added to the noun in the genitive singular case:
кожного разу = щоразу (every time)
кожного дня = щодня (every day)
кожного вечора = щовечора (every evening)
кожної години = щогодини (every hour)
Prepositions
The genitive is required after the following prepositions:
від = from
з (із, зі) = from (origin)
до = to, till
після = after
без = without
крім = except for, besides
для = for
біля = near, next to
від середи до суботи = from Wednesday to Saturday
з України = from Ukraine
після дощу = after the rain
без сумніву = without a doubt
крім мене = except for me
для матері = for the mother
для вчителя = for the teacher
біля моря = near the sea
Singular Accusative Form
This section outlines how to form the accusative singular form out of the nominative (dictionary) form of a noun. The masculine accusative form depends on whether a noun is animate (something that's alive and can move: people and animals) or inanimate (non-living objects).
Masculine Nouns:
| Inanimate noun | no change in ending | Це стіл. This is a table. (Nom.) Я бачу стіл. I see a table. (Acc.) |
|---|---|---|
| Animate noun - consonant | add +а | Це друг. This is a friend. (Nom.) Я бачу друга. I see a friend. (Acc.) |
| Animate noun -o | change "-o" to "-а" | Це Петро. This is Petro. (Nom.) Я бачу Петра. I see Petro. (Acc.) |
Feminine Nouns:
| -a | replace -a → -у | Це газета. This is a newspaper. (Nom.) Я бачу газету. I see a newspaper. (Acc.) |
|---|---|---|
| -я | replace -я → -ю | Це вулиця. This is a street. (Nom.) Я бачу статтю. I see a street. (Acc.) |
Neuter nouns
Inanimate neuter nouns do not change, and almost all neuter nouns are inanimate. In other words: вікно (nom.) → вікно (acc.).
Sound Changes
There are some common sound changes in the accusative singular form:
Dropping of ~o~ (~e~)
~o~ and ~e~ in the last syllable of 2nd declension animate masculine nouns are dropped in the singular accusative,
парубок a bachelor → про парубка about a bachelor
українець a Ukrainian → про українця about a Ukrainian
учень a pupil → за учня about a pupil
Change of ~i~ to ~o~ (~e~)
~i~ often changes to ~o~ (~e~) in the final syllable of 2nd declension animate masculine nouns,
кіт a cat → про кота about a cat
кінь a horse → про коня about a horse
but!!! дід a grandfather → про діда about a grandfather
Plural Accusative Form
An easy rule of thumb for forming the accusative plural is as follows:
- Inanimate nouns → same as nominative plural for all 3 genders
- Animate nouns → same as genitive plural for all 3 genders
Masculine Nouns:
| Inanimate noun | consonant → -и/i | Це столи. These are tables. (Nom.) Я бачу столи. I see tables. (Acc.) |
|---|---|---|
| Animate noun - consonant | replace -и/і → -ів | Це друзі. These are friends. (Nom.) Я бачу друзів. I see friends. (Acc.) |
| Animate noun -o | remove the ending | Це тати. These are fathers. (Nom.) Я бачу тат. I see fathers. (Acc.) |
Feminine Nouns:
| Inanimate nouns | -a/я → -и/i | Це газети. These are newspapers. (Nom.) Я бачу газети. I see newspapers. (Acc.) |
|---|---|---|
| Animate nouns | -a/я → -0/ь | Це подруги. These are friends. (Nom.) Я бачу подруг. I see friends. (Acc.) |
Neuter Nouns:
| Inanimate nouns | -o/e → -a/я | Це вікна. These are windows. (Nom.) Я бачу вікна. I see windows. (Acc.) |
|---|---|---|
| Animate nouns | remove the ending | Це дитята. These are kids. (Nom.) Я бачу дитят. I see kids. (Acc.) |