це + Noun

The pattern це + іменник (noun) is the most common way to introduce or identify something in Ukrainian.

Key Rules:

• Invariable Form: Unlike demonstrative adjectives (цей, ця, це, ці), the particle це acts as a neuter singular 'dummy subject' (like 'it' in 'It is my brothers'). Therefore, it does not change to match gender or number. It translates to 'this is', 'these are', 'that is', and 'those are' as the universal default for identifying things. Compare Це будинок (This is a house) with Цей будинок великий (This house is big).
• То (That): While це is the universal default, you can use то (that) to specifically point out distant objects. It works exactly the same way as це. For example: То був кіт (That was a cat), Що то таке? (What is that?).
• Zero Copula: Ukrainian uses a zero present copula. You do not need to translate 'is' or 'are'.
• Past and Future Tenses: While це remains invariable, in the past and future tenses you must use the verb бути (to be). In the past tense, it agrees with the noun's gender and number: Це був кіт (This was a cat - masculine), Це була школа (This was a school - feminine), Це було вікно (This was a window - neuter), and Це були студенти (These were students - plural). In the future tense, the verb agrees in number: use буде (singular) or будуть (plural). For example: Це буде проблема (This will be a problem) and Це будуть наші гості (These will be our guests).
• Case Requirement: In the present tense, the noun following це must be in the nominative case. However, in the past and future tenses with бути, the instrumental case can also be used. If you use the instrumental case, the verb бути no longer agrees with the noun's gender. It defaults to the neuter singular було (past) or буде (future) to agree with це (e.g., Це було проблемою). Note that the instrumental case with це is generally only used for singular, abstract nouns; for plurals, stick to the nominative (Це були студенти).
• Questions: To ask what or who something is, use Що це? (What is this?) for inanimate objects and Хто це? (Who is this?) for people and animals. For emphasis, you can add таке (for things) or такий/така/такі (for people): Що це таке? or Хто це такий?. To ask a yes/no question, simply use rising intonation without changing the word order: Це кіт? (Is this a cat?).
• Negation: To say 'this is not', simply add 'не' after 'це' (Це не...). For example: Це не кіт (This is not a cat).
• Punctuation: If you place a specific subject noun before це, a dash (—) is syntactically mandatory: Київ — це столиця (Kyiv is the capital).