Lesson 14 - Ukrainian Made Easy

Alright, welcome to Lesson 14 of UME. Today we'll learn to talk about where we are at the moment. So let's start by listening and repeating the following Ukrainian word:

Де?

Де?

Can you figure out the meaning? Imagine a guy looking for his wallet. He's checking all the usual places...the table in the hall, his nightstand, his coat pocket. Still no wallet. Frustrated he asks himself..."Man, ДЕ did I leave my wallet?"

So, де translates as "where" in the sense of "in what location." There is no movement associated with the word. After all, remember in the last lesson, we learned this exchange:

Let's go!

Пішли!

Where to?

Куди?

To the park!

В парк!

The word "Куди" also translates as "where" but it's related to motion. It's asking: Where to?

But our new word...do you remember it? де

..is asking: "in which location?"

Ask: Where's Dasha?

Де Даша?

Or this: Imagine you're with some friends at a cafe. You head to the bathroom, and when you come back, you notice that your soup is gone. In three words, ask:

Where's my soup?

Де мій суп?

So, let's see if you can retain this new word while we review some recent material. Imagine you've put on your coat, grabbed your keys and wallet and are opening the front door. Your Ukrainian roommate asks you in just two words:

Ти куди?

What did she literally ask?

You....to where?

That's her way of asking, "Where're you going?" And in Ukrainian, that's all you need to say.

Try it. Ask: Where're you headed?

Ти куди?

Say: To the center.

В центр.

Imagine your friend is showing you the shoe store she just opened. Ask her...

Is this your store?

Це твій магазин?

And back to our new word for the day, imagine you've arrived to your friend's apartment. You thought her mom would be there, too, but she isn't, so you ask: Where's your mom?

Де твоя мама?

Alright, so far so good. Here's our next new word:

зараз

One more time: зараз

Your roommate closes the fridge and turns to you: "We're out of milk. Wanna come with me to the store?"

"Sure. Зараз or later?"

"Let's go зараз. I've got some things to do later."

So, зараз translates as "now" as in, "at this moment."

Imagine your friend calls your cell. How will she ask, in two words,

Where are you?

Ти де?

Listen to the native speaker say: I'm now in the store.

Я зараз в магазині.

Ні. Я зараз у магазині.

Hmm. Seems there's a bit of conflict here. Let's try a different one. How do you say:

I'm now in the center.

Я зараз в центрі.

Ні. Я зараз у центрі.

Hold on. Are you guys telling me there's two ways to say this? I can use "v" or "u"?

Так!

It's true. In Ukrainian, there are two ways to say that you're going someplace, or that you're located someplace. They're basically choosing the one that sounds better to them in the phrase. It's not a big deal. You'll develop a great feel for it as the course progresses.

So, one more time: I'm now in the center.

Я зараз в центрі.

Or: Я зараз у центрі.

I'm now in the store.

Я зараз в магазині.

...or...

Я зараз у магазині.

That ending sound "i" is very important, because it tells the listener that you're in that location. Otherwise, as we learned in the last lesson time, the "ff" or "v" sound means "to" or "towards" and they'll think you're on your way to that place.

So, compare these two phrases:

Я зараз в магазин.

There was no "і" sound at the end, so he's saying literally: I now to the store.

...meaning: I'm now going to the store.

Compare that to this...

Я зараз в магазині.

That little "і" sound at the end tells us they are located inside the store at this moment. So, that little sound "і" has a big impact on the meaning.

With virtually any pattern, of course, there will be exceptions. For example, the Ukrainian word кафе never changes its form. Because it's not really a Ukrainian word. It's borrowed from French. So, we don't add that "і" sound at the end. Listen?

I'm now in the cafe.

Я зараз в кафе.

...or...

Я зараз у кафе.

Okay, getting back to Where we are....Check this one out. Yet another exception to the pattern.

I'm now in the park.

Я зараз в парку.

...or....

Я зараз у парку.

Most locations get an "i" ending in the locational form. But парк gets an "uu" sound at the end. парку

There's a pattern to all this, which will emerge in time. For now, don't sweat it too much. Next, let's talk about--(SFX: phone ring). Sorry...one sec...

Привіт, Марк. Де ти зараз?

Let's tell her: I'm now at Starbucks.

Я зараз в Старбаксі.

...or...

Я зараз у Старбаксі.

Let's make it McDonalds...

Я зараз в МакДональдсі.

...or...

Я зараз у МакДональдсі.

Alright. Here are our last two words of today's lesson. Listen and repeat:

на роботі

Let's get the meaning from context. So, my friend Іван has a standard, 9-to-5 job. When I called his house on Monday at 11 in the morning, it was no surprise when his wife told me...

Іван зараз на роботі.

That first word, "на", is forcing the next word to take on that "і" ending. Do you hear it?

на роботі.

But by itself, the word is just робота.

The thing you do to earn money? That is your робота.

But also, the place you go to to earn money...that is also your робота.

So робота is the Ukrainian word for "work." And на роботі translates as "at work."

Try it again I'm now at work.

Я зараз на роботі.

Я зараз на роботі.

So, let's work with it some more. You call your friend's apartment. A guy answers...

Алло?

Сергій?

Ні. Добрий день, Марк. Це Володимир. Сергій зараз на роботі.

Did you catch what he said? He said...

Ні. Добрий день, Марк.

No. Hello Mark.

Це Володимир.

This is Vladimir.

Сергій зараз на роботі.

Sergei is now at work.

So ask him, "And where's Tanya?"

А де Таня?

Say: She's now at the store.

Вона зараз в магазині.

And then Vladimir asks you: And where're you?

А ти де?

Say: I'm now downtown. Or....I'm in the city center.

Я зараз в центрі.

Or:

Я зараз у центрі.

How about this situation. You overhear your friend on the phone as she talks to her sister. How will she say: And where are Mom and Dad?

А де мама і тато?

Mom is now in a store, in the center whereas Dad is at work.

Мама зараз у магазині в центрі, а тато на роботі.

Maybe her parents are traveling. How would she say:

My mom is now in Lviv.

Моя мама зараз у Львові.

My dad is now in Kiev.

Мій тато зараз у Києві.

My friend is now in Odessa.

Мій друг зараз в Одесі.

My female friend is now in Lutsk.

Моя подруга зараз у Луцьку.

Notice that Lutsk, ending with a K, behaves like the word "park."

Я зараз у парку.

Your friend calls you while you're traveling.

So, where're you now?

А де ти зараз?

Tell her: I'm now in London.

Я зараз у Лондоні.

Add: I'm now at work.

Я зараз на роботі.

If you got all these you're doing excellent. And all I can say is keep up the great work because you're going to become a conversational Ukrainian speaker.

In the next lesson we'll learn to talk about where we live, and ask our Ukrainian friends the same question. Meanwhile, head over to UkrainianMadeEasy.com for today's transcript and audio downloads and I'll see you next time.