Overview
Ukrainian has two different ways to express possession, one being the verb ма́ти (to have) and the other being a construction using the genitive case. This page goes over both variants, examples, and how to express not possessing something.1. мати
The verb ма́ти literally means "to have." This construction is heard in Western Ukraine, which has Polish influence (mieć: "to have" in Polish), but it's uncommon in Central / Eastern Ukraine. When using ма́ти, the possessed noun should be in accusative case.
| Ukrainian | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| я ма́ю | I have | я ма́ю кі́шку. / I have a cat. |
| ти ма́єш | you have | ти ма́єш автомобі́ль. / you have a car. |
| він/вона/воно ма́є | he/she/it has | вона ма́є ві́вці. / she has sheep. |
| ми ма́єм(о) | we have | ми ма́ємo буди́нок. / we have a house. |
| ви ма́єте | you (plural) have | ви ма́єте кварти́ру. / you all have an apartment. |
| вони ма́ють | they have | вони ма́ють я́щірку. / they have a lizard. |
| Лари́са ма́є | Larysa has | Лари́са ма́є сестру́. / Larysa has a sister. |
| Тара́с ма́є | Taras has | Тара́с ма́є кни́гу. / Taras has a book. |
1B. не мати
When communicating that you do not have something, the "possessed" direct object in the accusative case is negated by switching it to the genitive case. For example: Марія має кни́жку (Maria has a book). When negated, this becomes: Марія не має кни́жки (Maria does not have a book).
| Ukrainian | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| я не ма́ю | I do not have | я не ма́ю кі́шки. / I do not have a cat. |
| ти не ма́єш | you do not have | ти не ма́єш автомобі́ля. / you do not have a car. |
| він/вона/воно не ма́є | he/she/it does not have | вона не ма́є ове́ць. / she does not have sheep. |
| ми не ма́єм(о) | we do not have | ми не ма́ємo буди́нку. / we do not have a house. |
| ви не ма́єте | you (plural) do not have | ви не ма́єте кварти́ри. / you all do not have an apartment. |
| вони не ма́ють | they do not have | вони не ма́ють я́щірки. / they do not have a lizard. |
| Лари́са не ма́є | Larysa does not have | Лари́са не ма́є сестри́. / Larysa does not have a sister. |
| Тара́с не ма́є | Taras does not have | Тара́с не ма́є кни́ги. / Taras does not have a book. |
2. у мене є
Otherwise, most Ukrainians use the construction у + noun/pronoun in the genitive case + є. This roughly translates to "With me, there is/are..." When using this construction, the noun will be in nominative case. Note that, in the present tense, the third person singular є (form of бу́ти, is/are) does not conjugate or change.
When using this construction in the past tense, the verb бу́ти will switch from present є to past tense, depending on number / gender of the noun (був/була́/було́/були́). For example: У неї була кішка (She had a cat).
| Ukrainian | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| у ме́не є | I have | у ме́не є кі́шка. / I have a cat. |
| у тебе́ є | you have | у тебе́ є автомобі́ль. / you have a car. |
| у ньо́го/не́ї/ньо́го є | he/she/it has | у не́ї є ві́вці. / she has sheep. |
| у нас є | we have | у нас є буди́нок. / we have a house. |
| у вас є | you (plural) have | у вас є кварти́ра. / you all have an apartment. |
| у них є | they have | у них є я́щірка. / they have a lizard. |
| у Лари́си є | Larysa has | у Лари́си є сестра́. / Larysa has a sister. |
| у Тара́са є | Taras has | у Тара́са є кни́га. / Taras has a book. |
the disappearing є
Although it is part of the у ме́не є structure, the word є does not always get included in a sentence. There are some ways to tell when є should be left out of the structure.
1. Events. є is dropped from the structure when talking about an event. For example: Сьогодні у мене екзамен (I have an exam today). Завтра у мене концерт (I have a concert tomorrow).
2. Characteristics. It's also dropped when the important or new information given in the sentence is the object's characteristics, instead of its possession in the first place. For example: У мене два кота (I have two cats). In this case, the important information is that there are two cats, not the possession of a cat. У мене цікава кішка (I have an interesting cat). Again here, the fact that the cat is interesting is the stressed information here, not the possession.
2B. у мене нема́є
Just as with не мати, when the sentence is negated and something is not being possessed, the "possessed" object is declined in genitive case instead of accusative or nominative. For this particular structure, the affirmative є is also replaced with the word нема́(є). Like with є, нема́(є) does not conjugate or change in the present tense.
When using this negative construction in the past tense, нема́є will switch to не + the past tense 3rd-person form of бу́ти (було́́). For example: у неї не було кішки (She did not have a cat).
| Ukrainian | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| у ме́не нема́є | I do not have | у ме́не нема́є кі́шки. / I do not have a cat. |
| у тебе́ нема́є | you do not have | у тебе́ нема́є автомобі́ля. / you do not have a car. |
| у ньо́го/не́ї/ньо́го нема́є | he/she/it does not have | у не́ї нема́є ове́ць. / she does not have sheep. |
| у нас нема́є | we do not have | у нас нема́є буди́нку. / we do not have a house. |
| у вас нема́є | you (plural) do not have | у вас нема́є кварти́ри. / you all do not have an apartment. |
| у них нема́є | they do not have | у них нема́є я́щірки. / they do not have a lizard. |
| у Лари́си нема́є | Larysa does not have | у Лари́си нема́є сестри́. / Larysa does not have a sister. |
| у Тара́са нема́є | Taras does not have | у Тара́са нема́є кни́ги. / Taras does not have a book. |
2C. do you have?
This same construction is used when asking if someone has something. When asking "Do you have...?" the following may be used:
- → У тебе є + [nominative case]?
- → У вас є + [nominative case]?
Well, do you have it? If so, you can say Так or Так, є.
But if you don't, you can say Ні // Ні, нема́є // or even На жаль, нема́є.