To Be (Present Tense)

Бути (теперішній час)

In the present tense, the verb to be is usually omitted.
This omission is a crucial aspect of making Ukrainian sound smooth and natural. The verb is otherwise used for emphasis and to express existence, possession, or lack thereof.

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 would appear. In speech, a brief pause serves the same purpose.

Ukrainian uses the em dash when linking one thing directly to another. For example, when you say who or what someone or something is (X = Y). You've already seen some examples of this in the first four weeks:

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.

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 when the second part explains or adds detail to the first.

Можливо, ви також з Канади. Або можливо, ви з інших країн — з Європи, Азії чи Південної Америки.

Including the verb in present tense

Even though the verb to be (є) is usually omitted in the present tense, it does appear when the sentence needs to explicitly express existence, possession, or add emphasis.

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 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: "Many Canadians have Ukrainian heritage". 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. For example, text 01.4 doesn't simply ask whether you have a family, but what kind of family you have.

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 happens 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 does not exist or is not present, you must use нема and немає.

У мене є український підручник. I have a Ukrainian textbook.
У мене немає українського підручника. I don't have a Ukrainian textbook.