гэта + Noun

Identifying with Гэта

Level 1Sounds Like géta + nazoŭník

Гэта + a noun means "this is" or "it is": Гэта мой брат (This is my brother), Што гэта? Гэта кніга (What is this? It is a book).

How It Works

Use гэта to point something out or to answer Што гэта? (What is this?) and Хто гэта? (Who is this?). There is no verb, because the present of быць is left out.

It does not change. In this identifying use, гэта stays the same whatever follows it:

  • Гэта мой брат. (This is my brother.)
  • Гэта мая сястра. (This is my sister.)
  • Гэта мае бацькі. (These are my parents.)

Гэта or гэты? The adjective гэты (this) agrees with its noun and does not make a sentence by itself: гэты дом is "this house". So Гэта мой дом means "This is my house", while Гэты дом мой means "This house is mine". One detail can confuse you: the feminine and neuter forms of гэты can also be written гэта, so гэта кніга on its own could mean "this book". The rest of the sentence makes it clear. See гэта and гэты.

In the past, the verb agrees with the noun that follows: Гэта быў мой брат, Гэта была мая сястра.

Examples (5)

  1. Гэта мой брат.

    This is my brother.

  2. Што гэта? Гэта кніга.

    What is this? It is a book.

  3. Гэта мая сястра Ганна.

    This is my sister Hanna.

    Гэта stays the same before a feminine noun.

  4. Гэта мае бацькі.

    These are my parents.

    Гэта stays the same before a plural noun.

  5. Хто гэта? Гэта наш новы настаўнік.

    Who is this? This is our new teacher.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the adjective гэты when you mean "This is ...".

    Гэты мой брат.
    Гэта мой брат.

    To introduce someone, use the unchanging гэта. Гэты мой брат reads as the phrase "this brother of mine". Гэты stands alone only when you pick out "this one" from several people: Гэты — мой брат, а той — мой сябар.

  • Making гэта plural to match a plural noun.

    Гэтыя мае бацькі.
    Гэта мае бацькі.

    Гэтыя is the plural adjective "these", so the sentence reads "these parents of mine" and is unfinished. Identifying гэта does not change.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

гэта + NounLevel 1Identifying with Гэта

Learn This First

Identifying with гэта uses the zero copula.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

гэта