To Be (Present Tense)
Бути (теперішній час)
- In the present tense, the verb to be is usually omitted.
- This omission is a core aspect of how Ukrainian expresses simple statements, and a big part of what makes the language feel smooth and natural. In writing, an em dash (—) often marks the place where the verb would appear, while in speech a brief pause serves the same purpose.
Omitting the verb in present tense
The present tense form of бути (to be) is є. It is the Ukrainian word that says "there exists". Its form does not change by person or number and is the same in first, second, and third person.
In English, we use the verb to be all the time:
- My name is Scott.
- I am from Canada.
- These are my Ukrainian notes.
In Ukrainian, the verb is usually omitted in the present tense. Using є the same way as we do in English would sound unnatural:
Я є Скотт.Я є з Канади.Це є мої українські нотатки.
Instead, the verb's presence is implied:
Я — Скотт.
My name is Scott.
Я з Канади.
I'm from Canada.
Це мої українські нотатки.
These are my Ukrainian notes.
This omission is a distinctive feature of Ukrainian grammar, and can feel strange at first. When translated directly into English, sentences can feel awkward or incomplete - but that's actually useful! It pushes you to think in Ukrainian, not just translate word-for-word, something you should strive to do anyway.
The em dash
In writing, an em dash (—) can often mark the place where the present-tense verb to be (є) would appear. In speech, a brief pause serves the same purpose.
Ukrainian uses the em dash when linking one thing directly to another. Наприклад, when you say who someone is, or what something is (X = Y). You've seen some examples of this already:
Я — Скотт.
I'm Scott.
Англійська — моя рідна мова, а українська — моя перша іноземна мова.
English is my native language, and Ukrainian is my first foreign language.
On the other hand, when you're describing someone or something, Ukrainian usually drops the verb without adding anything.
Я з Канади.
I'm from Canada.
Це мої українські нотатки.
These are my Ukrainian notes.
There are some exceptions, but this holds true as a general rule.
Of course, the em dash isn't limited to marking omitted verbs. Just like in English, it can also separate clauses, introduce clarifications or definitions, highlight a contrast, or set off inserted information within a sentence.
Including the verb in present tense
Even though the verb to be (є) is usually omitted in the present tense, when it does appear it's used to add emphasis or to express existence, possession, or lack thereof.
Since є literally means "there exists", it's primarily used to show that someone or something exists or is present.
Є багато канадців з українським корінням.
There are many Canadians with Ukrainian heritage.
Here, є clearly marks the existence of a group of people: there are, or there exist, many Canadians with Ukrainian heritage. Without є, the meaning shifts.
Багато канадців з українським корінням.
Many Canadians have Ukrainian heritage.
This sentence no longer asserts the existence of a group of people. Instead, it describes the group and tells us something about them. Their existence is implied by the word багато (many). Similarly:
У Канаді живе багато українців та канадців з українським корінням.
Many Ukrainians and Canadians with Ukrainian heritage live in Canada.
The verb живе (lives) already implies that these people exist somewhere. Adding є would be redundant.
Expressing possession works the same way. The construction у мене є (I have) literally means "at me there exists", and includes the same shift in meaning when є is dropped.
Наприклад, this week's text (01.4) doesn't just ask whether you have a family; it asks what kind of family you have, implying their existence.
У вас є сім'я?
Do you have a family?
Яка у вас сім'я?
What kind of family do you have?
The first question emphasizes existence while the second emphasizes description, therefore dropping є. The same shift is reflected in the answers:
У мене є сім'я.
I have a family.
У мене велика і дружна сім'я.
I have a big and friendly family.
Since the family's existence is implied in their description, є is dropped. Розумієте? (Make sense?)
And finally, є can be used to explicitly emphasize that something really is the case, especially when confirming or correcting doubt.
Це правда.
It's true.
Це є правда.
It really is true.
In speech, emphasize the pronunciation of є itself to highlight the truth or certainty of the statement.
Negative forms of the verb
There are two negative forms of бути used to say that something does not exist: нема and немає. They are synonyms, so you can use them interchangeably.
Both mean "there doesn't exist", or "there is/are no". So just as є marks existence (or possession), нема and немає mark non-existence.
The structure mirrors the positive form. The only difference is that the noun after нема and немає takes the genetive case.
Тут є підручники.
There are textbooks here.
Тут нема підручників.
There are no textbooks here.
Unlike the positive form, there is no such thing as "implied non-existence". You can't simply drop the negative verb the way you can drop є. If you want to say that something doesn't exist or is not present, you must use нема or немає.
У мене є український підручник.
I have a Ukrainian textbook.
У мене немає українського підручника.
I don't have a Ukrainian textbook.
This is a lot to take in at first, but it's one of those things you get the feel for as you spend more time with the language. На щастя (fortunately), the past and future tenses of бути are far more straightforward!