Ukladeno, pidpysano: done, doer unsaid

Office and news Ukrainian skips the was-signed machinery entirely. Instead it uses an unchanging form on -no/-to that states the deed and never names the doer. It is the headline voice English reserves for DEAL SIGNED, FLIGHT CANCELLED — except Ukrainian uses it everywhere. For example: “Договір укладено на пʼять років” — The contract is signed for five years. A rule from the Ukrainian course: worked out on…

Updated September 1, 2026 · Lingofly

How it works

Office and news Ukrainian skips the was-signed machinery entirely. Instead it uses an unchanging form on -no/-to that states the deed and never names the doer. It is the headline voice English reserves for DEAL SIGNED, FLIGHT CANCELLED — except Ukrainian uses it everywhere.

Dohovir ukladeno the deal is made, zaiavu podano the application is filed, rishennia ukhvaleno the decision is adopted. Reis skasovano the flight is cancelled, remont zaversheno, pytannia virisheno. It never changes for gender or number — that is its fingerprint.

If the doer must be named, it arrives in the bare -om form: rishennia ukhvaleno sudom — by the court, no preposition. The full was-signed chain sounds heavy; people say either dohovir pidpysaly or dohovir pidpysano.

Do not confuse this with -nyi/-tyi words. Those are plain adjectives standing next to a noun, and they do change. Pidpysanyi dohovir, zlamanyi zamok, zahublenyi bahazh.

Table

Ukladeno, pidpysano: done, doer unsaid
formthe jobexample
-no / -tothe verb, doer unsaidzaiavu podano
-nyi / -tyian adjectivepidpysanyi dohovir
a plain verbnames the doervony pidpysaly
by whomthe -om formukhvaleno sudom

By example

  • Договір укладено на пʼять років
    The contract is signed for five years
  • Рейс скасовано через туман
    The flight is cancelled because of fog
  • Підписаний договір лежить у сейфі
    The signed contract is in the safe

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

Ukladeno, skasovano: the Ukrainian headline passive?

Office and news Ukrainian skips the was-signed machinery entirely. Instead it uses an unchanging form on -no/-to that states the deed and never names the doer. It is the headline voice English reserves for DEAL SIGNED, FLIGHT CANCELLED — except Ukrainian uses it everywhere.

What does it look like in an example sentence Ukrainian?

“Договір укладено на пʼять років” — The contract is signed for five years. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.

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