Part and measure: soli, vody, trokhy
English marks part of a thing with some and of. Ukrainian bends the noun into the of form, and more strictly. For example: “Додай трохи солі й перцю” — Add a bit of salt and pepper. A rule from the Ukrainian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
English marks part of a thing with some and of. Ukrainian bends the noun into the of form, and more strictly.
Dodai soli is add some salt; podai sil is pass the salt, the whole shaker. Nalyi vody pour some water, but prynesy vodu bring the water. Same verb, different shape, different amount.
Measure words demand the of form every time. Trokhy soli a bit of salt, bahato liudei, malo chasu, kilohram yabluk. Also sklianka vody a glass of water, shmatok khliba a piece of bread.
The scale words: trokhy a little, chymalo quite a lot. Zabahato too much, zamalo too little — the usual za-. Shares: polovyna half, tretyna a third, chvert a quarter. Percent is its own word, vidsotok, grown from of the hundred: desiat vidsotkiv. Banks, news and receipts all use it.
Table
| phrase | noun shape | example |
|---|---|---|
| part of a whole | the of form | nalyi vody |
| the whole thing | object form | podai vodu |
| a measure word | the of form | sklianka vody |
| trokhy, bahato, malo | the of form | trokhy tsukru |
By example
- Додай трохи солі й перцюAdd a bit of salt and pepper
- На це піде чверть годиниIt takes a quarter of an hour
- Знижка десять відсотківTen percent off
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 add some salt in Ukrainian: dodai soli?
English marks part of a thing with some and of. Ukrainian bends the noun into the of form, and more strictly.
What does it look like in an example sentence Ukrainian?
“Додай трохи солі й перцю” — Add a bit of salt and pepper. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.