Kazhut, shcho: other people's words and commas
Reported speech hangs on shcho, and the comma before it is not optional. Kazhut, shcho bude dosh, vin skazav, shcho pryide, vyiavylosia, shcho kliuchi v kysheni — all three live on that comma. English often drops its that; Ukrainian keeps this one on duty every single time. For example: “Він сказав, що зателефонує ввечері” — He said he would call in the evening. A rule from the Ukrainian course: worked out on…
How it works
Reported speech hangs on shcho, and the comma before it is not optional. Kazhut, shcho bude dosh, vin skazav, shcho pryide, vyiavylosia, shcho kliuchi v kysheni — all three live on that comma. English often drops its that; Ukrainian keeps this one on duty every single time.
Tenses do not move. Whatever tense the speaker used, that tense stays: a future stays a future, no backshift, no juggling.
The source gets za plus the -om form: za slovamy svidka, za danymy politsii, za prohnozom. For gossip and common knowledge there are subject-free openers: kazhut, podeikuiut, iak vidomo, idetsia pro.
A reported yes-or-no question takes chy: vin zapytav, chy ia pryidu. There is no other little word doing that job inside the clause — chy is the whole crew.
Table
| what it introduces | the word | example |
|---|---|---|
| a statement | shcho plus a comma | skazav, shcho pryide |
| a yes-no question | chy | zapytav, chy pryidu |
| the source | za plus the -om form | za slovamy likaria |
| common knowledge | iak vidomo | iak vidomo, zyma m'iaka |
By example
- Він сказав, що зателефонує ввечеріHe said he would call in the evening
- За словами сусідки, ремонт затягнетьсяAccording to the neighbor, the repairs will drag on
- Вона спитала, чи я вже обідавShe asked whether I had already had lunch
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
Kazhut, shcho: reporting what people said?
Reported speech hangs on shcho, and the comma before it is not optional. Kazhut, shcho bude dosh, vin skazav, shcho pryide, vyiavylosia, shcho kliuchi v kysheni — all three live on that comma. English often drops its that; Ukrainian keeps this one on duty every single time.
What does it look like in an example sentence Ukrainian?
“Він сказав, що зателефонує ввечері” — He said he would call in the evening. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.