Accusative personal pronouns
In Ukrainian, personal pronouns change when they are the object of a verb or follow certain prepositions. For example, 'я' (I) becomes 'мене' (me).
How It Works
The accusative case is used to mark the direct object of a sentence—the person or thing receiving the action.
1. The Forms:
- я (I) → мене (me)
- ти (you) → тебе (you)
- він / воно (he/it) → його (him/it)
- вона (she) → її (her)
- ми (we) → нас (us)
- ви (you pl.) → вас (you)
- вони (they) → їх (them)
2. The 'н-' Prefix Rule:
When a third-person pronoun follows a preposition that governs the accusative (like на or про), it gains a leading 'н':
- його becomes нього (e.g., чекаю на нього)
- її becomes неї (e.g., дивлюся на неї)
- їх becomes них (e.g., дивлюся на них)
3. Usage:
These forms are used after transitive verbs (like 'see', 'love', 'know') and after specific prepositions to indicate direction or the topic of a conversation.
Examples (6)
- Він бачить мене.
He sees me.
Word by Word: He sees me.
'Мене' is the accusative form of 'я' (I).
- Я люблю тебе.
I love you.
Word by Word: I love you.
'Тебе' is the accusative form of 'ти' (you).
- Ми чекаємо на нього.
We are waiting for him.
Word by Word: We wait on him.
The preposition 'на' triggers the 'н-' prefix, changing 'його' to 'нього'.
- Вона знає нас.
She knows us.
Word by Word: She knows us.
'Нас' is the accusative form of 'ми' (we).
- Я дивлюся на неї.
I am looking at her.
Word by Word: I look on her.
The preposition 'на' changes 'її' to 'неї'.
- Ти бачиш їх?
Do you see them?
Word by Word: You see them?
'Їх' is the accusative form of 'вони' (they).
Common Mistakes
Forgetting the 'н-' prefix after a preposition.
Я дивлюся на його.Я дивлюся на нього.Third-person pronouns must add the 'н-' prefix when they follow a preposition, even in the accusative case.
Adding the 'н-' prefix when there is no preposition.
Я бачу нього.Я бачу його.The 'н-' prefix is only used after prepositions. When the pronoun is the direct object of a verb without a preposition, use the form without 'н-'.
Using the nominative (subject) form as an object.
Він любить ти.Він любить тебе.In Ukrainian, pronouns must change their form when they become the object of an action. You cannot use the subject form (ти) as a direct object.
How It Connects
Learn This First
To learn the accusative forms of personal pronouns, a learner must first be familiar with the nominative (subject) forms of these pronouns, specifically the third-person and second-person plural forms.
- він/вона/воноThird-person Singular Pronouns
Understanding the base forms of third-person singular pronouns is necessary before learning their accusative case variations.
Level 1 - вониThird-person Plural Pronoun
Understanding the base form of the third-person plural pronoun is necessary before learning its accusative case variation.
Level 1 - виPolite or Plural You
Understanding the base form of the second-person plural/polite pronoun is necessary before learning its accusative case variation.
Level 1
Related Patterns
- Accusative direct object
This is the general rule for direct objects that personal pronouns follow.
Level 1 - Personal Pronoun Case Forms
Provides an overview of how personal pronouns change across all seven cases.
Level 2 - наPreposition На
One of the most common prepositions that triggers the accusative case for pronouns.
Level 1 - себеReflexive Pronoun Себе
The reflexive pronoun 'себе' follows the same declension pattern as 'тебе'.
Level 2 - Animate and Inanimate Accusative
Explains the logic of why personal pronouns (which are animate) look like the genitive case.
Level 6
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Words in This Pattern
Practice Accusative personal pronouns in Bubblegum
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