до/від + Genitive

Genitive After До and Від

Level 2Sounds Like rodovij píslâ do/víd

The prepositions до (to) and від (from) always require the genitive case. They are used for movement toward or away from people and places, as well as for time limits.

How It Works

1. Spatial Movement
Use до when moving toward a person or a boundary. Use від when moving away from them.

  • People: You must use до/від for people (e.g., до лікаря - to the doctor).
  • Places: до implies 'up to' or 'toward' the destination.

2. Temporal Limits
These prepositions define time boundaries:

  • до: 'until' or 'by' (e.g., до вечора - until evening).
  • від: 'since' or 'from' (e.g., від понеділка - since Monday).

3. Case Endings (Genitive)
Remember the basic genitive endings:

  • Masculine: -а/-я (specific objects, people, and cities like Києва) or -у/-ю (abstract concepts, materials, and collective nouns).
  • Feminine: -и/-і.
  • Neuter: -а/-я.

4. Special Uses of від
Ukrainian uses від for remedies or protection, where English might use 'for': ліки від кашлю (medicine for/against a cough).

Examples (5)

  1. Я йду до лікаря.

    I am going to the doctor.

    Word by Word: I go to doctor.

    When going to a person, 'до' + genitive is mandatory.

  2. Він отримав листа від сестри.

    He received a letter from his sister.

    Word by Word: He received letter from sister.

    'Від' indicates the source or origin of the letter.

  3. Ми працювали до вечора.

    We worked until evening.

    Word by Word: We worked until evening.

    'До' marks the temporal limit of the action.

  4. Це ліки від грипу.

    This is medicine for the flu.

    Word by Word: This medicine from flu.

    Ukrainian uses 'від' (from/against) for medicines and remedies.

  5. Від Києва до Львова далеко.

    It is far from Kyiv to Lviv.

    Word by Word: From Kyiv to Lviv far.

    Shows the starting point (від) and destination (до) in space.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the Accusative case after 'до'.

    Я йду до школу.
    Я йду до школи.

    'До' always requires the genitive case (-и for feminine 'школа'), not the accusative (-у).

  • Using 'в' (in/into) when going to a person.

    Я йду в маму.
    Я йду до мами.

    In Ukrainian, you go 'to' (до) a person, never 'into' (в) them.

  • Using 'для' (for) for medicine.

    ліки для кашлю
    ліки від кашлю

    While 'для' means 'for', medicine is conceptualized as being 'against' or 'from' the illness.

How It Connects

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до/від + GenitiveLevel 2Genitive After До and Від

Learn This First

To use the Genitive case after the prepositions 'до' (to/until) and 'від' (from), you first need to understand how to form the Genitive case for different noun genders and be familiar with the prepositions themselves.

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Words in This Pattern

від