Adjectives
An adjective is used to describe qualities of an object or a person. Adjectives answer the questions який? (what?) отрий? (which) чий? (whose?) In Ukrainian, adjectives fall into three categories:
qualitative (зелена трава [zel`ena trav`a] - green grass)
expressing direct features of objects that can be manifested in varying degrees:
білий [b`ily] white, світлий [sv`itly] light, широкий [shyr`oky] wide, старий
[star`y] old, добрий [d`obry] good
relative (морський бриз [morsk`y bryz] - sea breeze)
expressing the features of the objects in relation to:
- material - скляний [sklian`y] glass, дубовий [dub`ovy] oak
- person - студентський [stud`ents’ky] student’s 0
- phenomenon - сніговий [snihov`y] snowy
- time, place, action - вечірній [vech`irni] evening, міський [mis’k`y] urban
possessive (материні руки [m`ateryni r`uky] - mother’s hands) expressing the belonging of the object to a person or animal:
заячий [z`ajachy] - hare’s, мамин [m`amyn] - mother’s, братів [br`ativ] - brother’s
Adjectives change by:
- a. gender: masculine, feminine, neuter;
- b. number: singular, plural;
- c. cases: all but vocative.
Adjectives
Ukrainian adjectives have two comparison degrees - comparative and superlative. Just like in English, there are a few exceptions, that do not follow the general rule. You will find them below the table.
There are also three forms of creating the superlative degree: simple (adding suffixes or prefixes), complex (adding prefixes) and сompound form (adding words). In the comparative degree, the complex form does not exist.
The compound form is actually easier to remember because you don’t need to change the initial form of the adjective. Although, we mostly add words to the create the superlative degree of the abstract adjectives.
|
Comparison Degree --> Form of adjective |
Comparative |
Superlative |
|
Simple |
Root or stem of a qualitative adjective + suffix–іш-, -ш- Добрий(kind) – добр-іш-ий (more kind) Малий (small) – мен-ш-ий (smaller) |
Form of comparative degree + prefix най-; Добріший (more kind) – найдобріший (the kindest); Менший(smaller) - найменший (the smallest) |
|
Complex |
__________________ |
Simple form of superlative degree + prefixяк-, що-: Якнайменший, щонайменший (smallest) |
|
Compound |
Root form + the words більш (more), менш (less): більш добрий(more kind) |
1. Root form + the words найбільш (most), найменш (least); найбільш демократичний (the most democratic) найменш категоричний (the least categorical). 2. Superlative degree form + the wordsвід усіх (more than all), над усе (more than everything); дорожчий над усе (more expensive than all) |
Exceptions:
| High - higher - the highest | Високий - вищий - найвищий |
| Short - shorter - the shortest | Низький - нижчий - найнижчий |
| Near - nearer - the nearest | Близький - ближчий - найближчий |
| Heavy - heavier - the heaviest | Важкий - важчий - найважчий |
| Difficult - more difficult - the most difficult | Тяжкий - тяжчий - найтяжчий |
| Good - better - the best | Добрий - кращий - найкращий |
| Big - bigger - the biggest | Великий - більший - найбільший |
| Small - smaller - the smallest | Малий - менший - найменший |
Suffix -ш in the formation of the comparative degree of adjectives:
|
Rules |
Examples |
|
1. Suffix -ш instead of suffixes-к- -ок-, -ек- |
Короткий (short) – коротший (shorter) глибокий (deep) – глибший (deeper) далекий (far) – дальший (farther) |
|
2. Sounds are replaced: a. с + ш --> щ; b. г, ж, з + ш --> жч. Superlative degree is formed from other roots in somecases. |
високий (high) – вищий (higher), товстий (fat) – товщий (fatter) дорогий (expensive) – дорожчий (more expensive), близький (near) - ближчий (nearer) , дужий (strong) – дужчий (stronger) Exceptions: легший (lighter), довший (longer) Гарний – кращий, поганий – гірший, Великий – більший, малий - менший |
Groups of Adjectives
|
Hard |
Soft |
|
1. Qualitative and relative adjectives with the stem ending in a hard consonant, and masculine adjectives ending in-ий in the Nominative case singular:веселий (funny), глухий (deaf),поточний (current). |
1. Relative adjectives with the stem ending in soft consonant н, and masculine adjectives ending in –ій (-їй): верхній (upper), давній (ancient), пізній (late). |
|
2. Possessive adjectives with the suffixes -ів (-їв), ин (-їн) which have zero ending in the Nominative case: батьків (father’s), дідів (grandfather’s), мамин (mother’s). |
2. All the adjectives ending in -жній, -шній:ближній (neighbor), внутрішній (inner). |
|
3. All the short forms of adjectives: винен (винний - guilty), повен (повний - full), потрібен (потрібний - necessary). |
3. Relative adjectives with the stem ending in -й: безкраїй Relative with the shade of possessiveness: братній Qualitative: синій |
Declensions of Adjectives
Adjectives have the form of gender and number, and change by cases.
|
Hard group |
||||||
|
Cases |
Singular |
Plural |
||||
|
Masculine |
Neuter |
Feminine |
||||
|
Nominative |
зелен-ий |
зелен-е |
зелен-а |
зелен-і |
||
|
Genitive |
зелен-ого |
зелен-ого |
зелен-ої |
зелен-их |
||
|
Dative |
зелен-ому |
зелен-ому |
зелен-ій |
зелен-им |
||
|
Accusative |
like Nominative or Genitive |
зелен-е |
зелен-у |
like Nominative or Genitive |
||
|
Instrumental |
зелен-им |
зелен-им |
зелен-ою |
зелен-ими |
||
|
Locative |
…зелен-ому (-ім) |
…зелен-ому (-ім) |
…зелен-ій |
…зелен-их |
||
|
Soft group |
||||||
|
Nominative |
син-ій |
син-є |
син-я |
син-і |
||
|
Genitive |
синь-ого |
синь-ого |
синь-ої |
син-іх |
||
|
Dative |
синь-ому |
синь-ому |
син-ій |
син-ім |
||
|
Accusative |
like Nominative or Genitive |
син-є |
син-ю |
like Nominative or Genitive |
||
|
Instrumental |
син-ім |
син-ім |
синь-ою |
син-іми |
||
|
Locative |
…синь-ому |
…синь-ому |
…син-ій |
…син-іх |
||