Demonstrative Pronouns in Ukrainian

In Brief

Ukrainian uses цей / ця / це / ці for “this/these” and той / та / те / ті for “that/those.” The form normally matches the noun in gender, number, and case: цей дім “this house,” ця книга “this book,” це місто “this city,” and ці люди “these people.” In the separate pattern Це + noun/adjective, however, це can stay unchanged and mean “this is” or “these are”: Це моя книга “This is my book.”

Overview

A demonstrative is a pointing word: it identifies a particular person, object, place, or idea. English uses this, that, these, and those. Ukrainian makes a similar near-versus-more-distant distinction, but its demonstratives behave much like adjectives. They agree with the noun they accompany. Agreement means that related words use matching grammatical forms.

This is an A1 topic because the basic nominative forms—the forms used for a sentence’s subject or for naming something—appear constantly in introductions, shopping, directions, and everyday conversation. To say “this café,” you need the neuter form це кафе; to say “that street,” you need the feminine form та вулиця.

The system becomes richer when cases are added. A case is a change in a word’s form that shows its role in the sentence, such as who performs an action, what receives it, or where something is. You do not need every case form on day one. First learn the four nominative forms in each set; then notice that the demonstrative changes together with its noun.

How It Works

The beginner rule: match the noun

Ukrainian nouns have grammatical gender in the singular: masculine, feminine, or neuter. The plural uses one form for all genders.

Meaning	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Plural
this / these	цей	ця	це	ці
that / those	той	та	те	ті

The demonstrative normally comes before its noun:

• цей телефон — this phone (masculine)
• ця кімната — this room (feminine)
• це питання — this question (neuter)
• ці фотографії — these photographs (plural)
• той магазин — that shop (masculine)
• та зупинка — that stop (feminine)
• те місце — that place (neuter)
• ті будинки — those buildings (plural)

English learners need to make a choice that English does not require. English this book, this house, and this city all use this. Ukrainian uses ця книга, цей дім, and це місто because the nouns have different genders.

Used with a noun or on their own

A demonstrative may accompany a noun:

• Цей чай гарячий. — This tea is hot.
• Та машина дорога. — That car is expensive.

It can also stand on its own when the missing noun is obvious. Its form still reflects the person or thing being referred to:

• Який светр тобі подобається? — Цей. — Which sweater do you like? — This one.
• Яку сукню ви купуєте? — Ту. — Which dress are you buying? — That one.
• Які квитки наші? — Ці. — Which tickets are ours? — These.

Here цей, ту, and ці replace complete noun phrases. The listener understands “this sweater,” “that dress,” and “these tickets” from the context.

The special use of це: “this is” and “these are”

In Це + identification or description, це is often an invariant pointing word: it stays це rather than agreeing with what follows. Ukrainian usually omits the present-tense equivalent of English is/are.

• Це мій брат. — This is my brother.
• Це моя сестра. — This is my sister.
• Це наші друзі. — These are our friends.
• Це важливо. — This is important.

Compare the two structures:

Structure	Ukrainian	Meaning
agreeing demonstrative + noun	ця книга	this book
invariant identifying це + noun phrase	Це книга.	This is a book.

This distinction explains why Це моя книга is correct even though книга is feminine. The first це introduces or identifies something; inside моя книга, the possessive моя agrees with книга.

Case forms

When a demonstrative belongs to a noun phrase, it takes the same case as the noun. The tables below give the standard full set. “Animate” means a person or animal; this distinction matters in the accusative, the case commonly used for a direct object (the person or thing directly affected by the verb).

Declension of цей, ця, це, ці

Case	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Plural
Nominative	цей	ця	це	ці
Genitive	цього	цієї	цього	цих
Dative	цьому	цій	цьому	цим
Accusative	цей (inanimate) / цього (animate)	цю	це	ці (inanimate) / цих (animate)
Instrumental	цим	цією	цим	цими
Locative	цьому / цім	цій	цьому / цім	цих

Declension of той, та, те, ті

Case	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Plural
Nominative	той	та	те	ті
Genitive	того	тієї	того	тих
Dative	тому	тій	тому	тим
Accusative	той (inanimate) / того (animate)	ту	те	ті (inanimate) / тих (animate)
Instrumental	тим	тією	тим	тими
Locative	тому / тім	тій	тому / тім	тих

Do not try to memorize these as isolated words. Learn short phrases that keep the demonstrative and noun together:

• у цьому місті — in this city
• до тієї школи — to that school
• з цим другом — with this friend
• для тих людей — for those people

The endings are closely related to adjective endings. Once adjective and case agreement become familiar, these forms feel much less arbitrary.

Accusative: the animate distinction

For feminine singular nouns, the basic change is especially visible: ця → цю and та → ту.

• Я читаю цю книгу. — I am reading this book.
• Я бачу ту машину. — I see that car.

Masculine singular and plural forms distinguish animate from inanimate referents:

• Я бачу цей будинок. — I see this building. (masculine inanimate)
• Я бачу цього хлопця. — I see this boy. (masculine animate)
• Я бачу ці будинки. — I see these buildings. (plural inanimate)
• Я бачу цих студентів. — I see these students. (plural animate)

Examples in Context

Ukrainian	English	Note
Цей дім старий.	This house is old.	Masculine singular цей agrees with дім.
Та книга моя.	That book is mine.	Feminine singular та agrees with книга.
Це добре.	This is good.	Invariant це introduces an evaluation.
Ті люди привітні.	Those people are friendly.	Plural ті is used for all genders.
Ця кава вже холодна.	This coffee is already cold.	Кава is grammatically feminine.
Те вікно відчинене.	That window is open.	Вікно is neuter.
Це моя нова адреса.	This is my new address.	Identifying це does not change to feminine.
Це наші сусіди.	These are our neighbors.	Identifying це remains singular in form before a plural noun phrase.
Я купую цю сорочку.	I am buying this shirt.	Feminine accusative: ця → цю.
Ти знаєш того чоловіка?	Do you know that man?	Masculine animate accusative: той → того.
Ми живемо в цьому районі.	We live in this neighborhood.	Locative after в.
Вона розмовляє з тією лікаркою.	She is talking with that doctor.	Instrumental after з; feminine тією.
Я не пам’ятаю цих слів.	I do not remember these words.	Genitive plural цих.
Дай ключі тим гостям.	Give the keys to those guests.	Dative plural тим marks the recipients.
Який стілець вільний? — Оцей.	Which chair is free? — This one here.	Оцей adds a more immediate pointing sense.

Common Mistakes

Using цей for every English “this”

• Wrong: цей книга
• Right: ця книга
• Why: Книга is feminine, so the demonstrative must be feminine too. English does not mark this agreement, but Ukrainian does.

Making identifying це agree with the following noun

• Wrong: Ця моя сестра. when you mean “This is my sister.”
• Right: Це моя сестра.
• Why: In an identifying sentence, use invariant це. Ця моя сестра can instead mean “this sister of mine,” a noun phrase with a different structure and emphasis.

Forgetting case agreement

• Wrong: Я говорю з ця жінка.
• Right: Я говорю з цією жінкою.
• Why: In the meaning “with,” з takes the instrumental case. Both ця and жінка must change.

Ignoring animacy in the accusative

• Wrong: Я бачу цей студент.
• Right: Я бачу цього студента.
• Why: A student is animate. Masculine animate direct objects use a genitive-like accusative form in both the demonstrative and the noun.

Mixing singular and plural

• Wrong: ці будинок or той люди
• Right: цей будинок; ті люди
• Why: Ці and ті are plural; цей and той are masculine singular.

Translating English distance too mechanically

• Awkward in context: always choosing той merely because English says that
• Better: choose цей or той according to what is being pointed out, contrasted, or already mentioned.
• Why: The near/far contrast exists, but real conversation also relies on context, gesture, and discourse. Word-for-word replacement is not always the best guide.

Usage Notes

Цей usually presents something as near, current, or immediately relevant. Той points to something more distant, contrasts it with a nearer option, or refers back to something already identified. Physical distance is only one part of the choice:

• ця чашка, не та — this cup, not that one
• у той день — on that day
• ця проблема — this problem, the one currently under discussion

Word order can add emphasis. The neutral order is demonstrative before noun: цей будинок. A demonstrative placed after the noun may sound contrastive, expressive, or context-dependent: будинок той “that particular house / the house in question.” Beginners should use the neutral demonstrative-first order.

Ukrainian often reinforces pointing with particles or adverbs. Оцей / оця / оце / оці commonly means “this one right here,” while отой / ота / оте / оті can mean “that one there.” Ось цей and он той make the physical gesture especially clear. These forms are common in speech, but plain цей and той are always the best starting point.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master the following patterns at A1, but you will meet them frequently.

Referring back to an earlier idea

Той can point backward in a conversation or text, not only across physical space. Expressions such as у той час “at that time” and після того “after that” refer to something already established. The neuter genitive того also appears in many fixed connectors, so its meaning may be broader than a literal “of that.”

“The one who”

A standalone demonstrative can identify a person or group and be followed by a relative expression:

• Той, хто знає відповідь, може говорити. — The one who knows the answer may speak.
• Ті, хто вже закінчив, можуть іти. — Those who have already finished may leave.

Here той and ті function like English “the one” and “those.” The following хто introduces the description of that person or group.

Fixed combinations

Several useful combinations extend the basic pointing meaning:

• той самий / та сама / те саме / ті самі — the same
• і той, і цей — both that one and this one
• ні той ні цей — neither one nor the other; sometimes “neither here nor there” depending on context
• до цього — before this; up to this point
• після цього — after this

In той самий, both words change to match the noun and case: з тією самою людиною “with the same person.”

Formal and literary alternatives

You may encounter даний used with the meaning “this/given,” especially in administrative or technical writing. In clear modern prose, цей is often more natural when simple pointing is intended. This is a register issue, not a new basic demonstrative that beginners need to substitute for цей.

Practice Tips

1. Learn in gender sets. Pick one familiar noun of each gender and one plural noun: цей стіл, ця книга, це місто, ці люди. Then repeat the same set with той, та, те, ті.
2. Contrast a phrase with an identification. Say pairs such as ця фотографія “this photograph” and Це фотографія “This is a photograph.” This prevents the very common confusion between agreeing це and invariant identifying це.
3. Build cases through chunks. Instead of reciting a whole table, practice useful frames: бачу цю..., з цим..., у тому..., для тих.... Add nouns you already know and check that both words change together.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Noun Gender — explains why Ukrainian singular nouns require masculine, feminine, or neuter demonstrative forms.