Impersonal Expressions in Ukrainian (Мені холодно, Треба йти, Можна…)

Have you ever noticed strange subjectless sentences — безособові речення in Ukrainian? Let’s learn some common impersonal expressions in Ukrainian!

Here are some examples:

Мені холодно.

Йому треба йти.

Можна зайти?

If you translate them literally, you’ll get confused. Nevertheless, they are very common in Ukrainian, so let’s figure out when and how to use them. As you can see, there are no subjects in these sentences, that’s why we call them impersonal.

Impersonal expressions are quite easy to build. All you need is one of the unchanging adverbs, a noun or a pronoun in the Dative case (not always), and an infinitive verb (not always).

1. Impersonal expressions to convey the feelings

Here are some impersonal expressions to convey the feelings:

Мені легко читати українською, але важко говорити. — It is easy for me to read in Ukrainian, but it’s difficult to speak.

Pay attention, in the second part of this sentence there is no “мені.” We can skip it as we already know who we are talking about.

• Тобі погано – you’re ill
• Їй нудно – she is bored
• Йому страшно – he is scared
• Нам холодно – we are cold
• Вам цікаво – you are interested
• Їм весело – they are having fun

To form a negative sentence, just add “не” before the adverb: мені не сумно, їм не страшно. After unchanging adverbs, we use an infinitive verb:Мені цікаво вивчати нові слова. – I’m interested in learning new words.

2. Impersonal expressions for necessity: треба, потрібно

Треба and потрібно are synonyms.

• Марії потрібно більше працювати. – Maria needs to work more.
• Negative: Сьогодні мені не потрібно працювати. – Today, I do not need to work. 

Learn basic Ukrainian vocabulary with flashcards, audio and examples > 1000 most useful Ukrainian words

3. Impersonal expressions for permission: можна

Можна has two meanings: “it is possible” and “it is permitted”.

• Можна зайти? – May I come in? 

We skip “мені” as it is understood that I am talking about myself. What if I want to ask if my friend may come in?

• Моєму другові можна зайти? Можна купити квиток? – May I buy a ticket?
• Тобі можна вживати алкоголь? – Are you permitted to drink alcohol?
• Не правда, що чоловікам не можна плакати. – It’s not true that men are not allowed to cry.
• Я вірю, що війну можна зупинити. – I believe that it’s possible to stop the war.

Here we don’t use nouns or pronouns as we speak in general; there is no specific actor. One more example:

• Тут можна курити? – Is smoking allowed here?

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Would you like to take some time to practice using impersonal expressions in Ukrainian? Write down 3 sentences!

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