Sklasty ispit, not zdaty
A mistake English never tempts you into, yet every learner makes it: passing an exam is sklasty ispit, sklasty zalyk. The exam is composed, not handed over. For example: “Він склав іспит і здав гуртожиток” — He passed the exam and checked out of the dorm. A rule from the Ukrainian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
A mistake English never tempts you into, yet every learner makes it: passing an exam is sklasty ispit, sklasty zalyk. The exam is composed, not handed over.
Zdaty means to hand something out of your hands. Zdaty bahazh check in luggage, zdaty kvartyru rent the place out. Zdaty analiz krovi give a blood sample, zdaty zvit submit a report. A thing, a room, a form — yes. Knowledge — no.
A second pair: vidchynyty opens doors and windows, vidkryty opens books, eyes, secrets and bank accounts. Vidchynyty vikno, but vidkryty rakhunok. English says open for both; Ukrainian keeps a door word and an everything-else word.
And a third: pozychyty works in both directions. Pozychyty komus is to lend, pozychyty u koho is to borrow. The preposition decides, not the verb — English lends and borrows two verbs for this.
Table
| in English | in Ukrainian | about |
|---|---|---|
| pass an exam | sklasty ispit | knowledge |
| check in luggage | zdaty bahazh | a thing |
| open the window | vidchynyty vikno | doors, windows |
| open an account | vidkryty rakhunok | everything else |
By example
- Він склав іспит і здав гуртожитокHe passed the exam and checked out of the dorm
- Відчини вікно і відкрий книжкуOpen the window and open the book
- Я позичив у нього тисячуI borrowed a thousand from him
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
How to say pass an exam in Ukrainian: sklasty ispit?
A mistake English never tempts you into, yet every learner makes it: passing an exam is sklasty ispit, sklasty zalyk. The exam is composed, not handed over.
What does it look like in an example sentence Ukrainian?
“Він склав іспит і здав гуртожиток” — He passed the exam and checked out of the dorm. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.