In this lesson, we are going to see our first Ukrainian verb and learn to use it with different pronouns. Ukrainian verbs are a bit tricky because they require different endings for each pronoun. The key to success is to start memorizing the endings from the first day.

Useful phrase in Ukrainian
Listen and repeat the following sentence:
Я розмовля́ю украї́нською ду́же до́бре!
I speak Ukrainian very well!

Ukrainian vocabulary
In this lesson, we will practice the following Ukrainian words. Listen to the audio and remember the vocabulary:
розмовля́ти
to speak
ду́же
very
але́
but
дя́кую
thank you
він
he
вона́
she
та
and
розмовля́ти украї́нською
to speak Ukrainian
до́бре
well

Dialogues
Listen carefully to the following Ukrainian dialogues. They will help you understand this lesson’s vocabulary in the right context:
Dialogue 1
Привíт, Майкл!
Hi Michael!
Привíт, О́льга! Як ти?
Hi Olga! How are you?
Ду́же до́бре, дя́кую.
Very well, thanks.
Dialogue 2
Привíт, ти украї́нець?
Hi, are you Ukrainian?
Ні, я америка́нець, але́ розмовля́ю украї́ньскою.
No, I am American, but I speak Ukrainian.
Ого́, ти розмовля́єш украї́нською ду́же до́бре!
Wow, you speak Ukrainian very well!
Дя́кую!
Thank you!
Dialogue 3
Він америка́нець, але розмовля́є украї́нською ду́же до́бре.
He is American, but he speaks Ukrainian very well.
Вона́ америка́нка, але́ розмовля́є украї́нською ду́же до́бре.
She is American, but she speaks Ukrainian very well.

Ukrainian grammar
Let’s study the grammar used in this lesson:
Personal pronouns: third person (“he” and “she”)
In this lesson, we’ve learnt the pronouns “вiн” and “вона́”. In order to use the verb “to speak” with these pronouns, we have to memorize the following ending:
- Він розмовля́є (he speaks)
- Вона́ розмовля́є (she speaks)
As you can see, we have the same ending for “вiн” and “вона́”. In future lessons we will see that the past tense differs: there are different forms for masculine and feminine.
In our previous lesson we’ve learnt that in Ukrainian there is also the neuter gender. There is also a personal pronoun for this gender: воно́ (it is pronounced “vo-nó”). We are going to see its function in our future lessons.
Be careful!
“Воно́” ≠ “it”.
“Воно́” is not used in the same situations and as often as “it” in English! In our next lessons you will see rules and differencies in using it.
Attention!
There are many ways to say “Ukrainian”
We already know how to say “I’m Ukrainian” when speaking of our nationality: Я украї́нець (male) / Я украї́нка (female). In today’s lesson we see a new form: розмовля́ти украї́нською (to speak Ukrainian). Here we don’t speak about someone’s nationality. We speak about a language. Remember that the verb “to speak” requires the form украї́нською. If you like grammar terms you’ll probably be interested to know that украї́нською is the instrumental case of the word украї́нська (Ukrainian language).
Verb conjugation: present tense
After the first two lessons, you have already seen the conjugation of the present tense in singular (я, ти, він). Pay attention that we need to take the infinitive розмовля́ти, remove the infinitive ending “ти” and add the ending according to the pronoun.
To speak (infinitive) | Розмовля́ти |
I speak | Я розмовля́ю |
You speak | Ти розмовля́єш |
He / she speaks | Він / Вона́ розмовля́є |

Test
Check if you know this lesson: