Мати (to Have) in Ukrainian

In Brief

Ukrainian has two main ways to say “have.” You can conjugate мати: Я маю час (“I have time”), or use у + person + є: У мене є час (literally, “At me there is time”). Both are normal Ukrainian, but the second pattern is especially common when you simply state that someone possesses something or that something is available.

Overview

English uses have for a wide range of meanings. Ukrainian divides that work between the verb мати and an existential construction (a pattern that says something exists), such as у мене є. You will meet both from A1 onward: they are needed to talk about family, belongings, time, plans, health, and everyday problems.

The verb мати changes according to its subject: маю, маєш, має, маємо, маєте, мають. The construction у мене є works differently. The person appears after у in a special form, while є does not change for person in the present tense. Compare Я маю книжку and У мене є книжка: both mean “I have a book,” though their grammatical structures are different.

For a beginner, the practical rule is simple: learn the six present forms of мати, and memorize у мене є / у тебе є / у нього є as complete chunks. Later sections explain case choice, negation, idioms, and past and future forms.

How It Works

The present tense of мати

Мати is the infinitive (the dictionary form of a verb). Its present-tense forms are:

Person	Ukrainian	English
я	маю	I have
ти	маєш	you have (one person, informal)
він / вона / воно	має	he / she / it has
ми	маємо	we have
ви	маєте	you have (plural or polite singular)
вони	мають	they have

The letters є and ю are part of the endings and must not be replaced with е or у. Ukrainian often omits a subject pronoun when the verb ending and context make the person clear: Маю питання naturally means “I have a question.” Keeping the pronoun is also correct, especially for contrast: Я маю час, а він не має (“I have time, but he does not”).

What follows мати

The thing possessed is normally a direct object (the person or thing directly affected by the verb), so Ukrainian generally puts it in the accusative case. A case is a change in a noun or adjective that shows its role in the sentence.

Dictionary form	After мати	Example
книжка (book)	книжку	Я маю книжку.
сестра (sister)	сестру	Вона має сестру.
квиток (ticket)	квиток	Ми маємо квиток.
план (plan)	план	Вони мають план.

Feminine nouns ending in -а commonly change to -у, as in книжка → книжку. Not every noun visibly changes. Animate masculine nouns (male people or animals) often have a distinct accusative form: Я маю брата (“I have a brother”), from брат.

The у мене є pattern

The second pattern is:

у + possessor in the genitive + є + thing possessed

The genitive case is a noun or pronoun form often used after certain prepositions, including у in this construction. English has no direct equivalent, so it is best to learn the forms as a set.

Person	Ukrainian pattern	Meaning
I	у мене є	I have
you, informal singular	у тебе є	you have
he	у нього є	he has
she	у неї є	she has
we	у нас є	we have
you, plural or polite	у вас є	you have
they	у них є	they have

The spelling в may replace у for smoother sound: вона має but у неї є; в Андрія є автомобіль is also possible. This is usually a sound and style choice, not a difference in meaning.

In an affirmative present-tense sentence, the possessed thing is in its basic subject form: У мене є сестра, У нас є квитки. Grammatically, the sentence presents the thing as existing “at” someone. That is why є stays the same whether the possessor is мене, нас, or них.

Choosing between the two patterns

Often either form works:

With мати	With у … є	English
Я маю час.	У мене є час.	I have time.
Вона має двох дітей.	У неї є двоє дітей.	She has two children.
Ми маємо проблему.	У нас є проблема.	We have a problem.

У … є is a very natural choice for neutral statements of possession, availability, family relationships, or features: У квартирі є балкон (“The apartment has a balcony” / “There is a balcony in the apartment”). Мати is useful when the possessor is the active grammatical subject, and it appears in many established expressions: мати рацію (“to be right”), мати значення (“to matter”), and мати намір (“to intend”).

Do not try to force one Ukrainian pattern onto every English use of have. English have breakfast, for example, is usually снідати, not мати сніданок. Translation depends on meaning, not just on the English verb.

Negation

Put не before a form of мати:

• Я не маю часу. — I do not have time.
• Вона не має машини. — She does not have a car.
• Ми не маємо запитань. — We do not have any questions.

After a negated verb, Ukrainian very often uses the genitive for the missing or absent thing: час → часу, машина → машини. The accusative can occur in some contexts, especially with a specific or contrasted object, but the genitive is the safest beginner pattern for general absence.

The negative counterpart of у мене є is normally у мене немає:

Affirmative	Negative
У мене є час.	У мене немає часу.
У неї є машина.	У неї немає машини.
У нас є запитання.	У нас немає запитань.

Немає already expresses “there is not / does not have,” so do not add є. The shorter нема is widespread in conversation, but немає is the safer neutral form for learners.

Questions and short answers

Ukrainian can form a yes-or-no question through intonation, without adding an equivalent of English do:

• Ти маєш час? — Do you have time?
• У вас є діти? — Do you have children? / Do you have any children?
• Вона має квиток? — Does she have a ticket?

Natural short answers include Так, маю (“Yes, I do”), Так, є (“Yes”), Ні, не маю (“No, I don’t”), and Ні, немає (“No”). Match the answer to the pattern and context rather than translating English do word for word.

Examples in Context

Ukrainian	English	Note
Я маю собаку.	I have a dog.	мати with an accusative object
У мене є час.	I have time.	Neutral statement of availability
Ти маєш рацію.	You are right.	Fixed expression; not literally “have right” in English
У нас є проблема.	We have a problem.	Common у … є pattern
Маю до вас запитання.	I have a question for you.	The subject я is omitted
Вона має молодшого брата.	She has a younger brother.	Animate masculine accusative
У нього є новий телефон.	He has a new phone.	нього means “him” after у
У цієї квартири є балкон.	This apartment has a balcony.	A feature of a place or thing
Ми не маємо достатньо часу.	We do not have enough time.	Negated мати
У неї немає машини.	She does not have a car.	немає plus genitive
Ви маєте квитки?	Do you have tickets?	Plural or polite you
У вас є вільний стіл?	Do you have a free table?	Useful in a restaurant or café
Ця деталь має велике значення.	This detail is very important.	Literally, “has great significance”
Вони мають намір переїхати.	They intend to move.	мати намір is an established phrase

Common Mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

• Wrong: Я мати час.
• Right: Я маю час.
• Why: Мати is the dictionary form. With я, use маю.

Making є agree with the possessor

• Wrong: У нас маємо проблему.
• Right: У нас є проблема.
• Why: These are two different structures. In у нас є, є does not take a first-person plural ending.

Leaving the pronoun unchanged after у

• Wrong: У я є книжка.
• Right: У мене є книжка.
• Why: After у, use the genitive pronoun мене, not the subject form я.

Keeping є in a negative sentence

• Wrong: У мене не є часу.
• Right: У мене немає часу.
• Why: Neutral Ukrainian normally uses немає to express absence, followed here by the genitive часу.

Copying every English use of have

• Wrong: Я маю сніданок о восьмій. (for “I have breakfast at eight.”)
• Right: Я снідаю о восьмій.
• Why: English uses have in many verbal expressions that Ukrainian expresses with a separate verb. Here снідати means “to have breakfast.”

Translating “you are right” word for word

• Wrong: Ти є правий.
• Right: Ти маєш рацію.
• Why: The standard expression is мати рацію. Its wording differs from English.

Usage Notes

Both мати and у … є belong to standard modern Ukrainian. It is inaccurate to treat мати as merely a formal substitute or у мене є as the only natural option. The choice depends on the phrase, focus, and rhythm. У … є often introduces the existence or availability of something, while мати can foreground the possessor and is required in certain idioms.

Ukrainian ви can address several people or one person politely. Consequently, both Ви маєте час? and У вас є час? may mean “Do you have time?” to one person in a formal setting. Capitalizing Ви in writing can signal respectful singular address; lowercase ви is used for plural address and is also common in general writing.

The word є may be omitted in some present-tense existential sentences, especially where the meaning remains clear. As a beginner, keeping it in affirmative possession statements—У мене є брат—gives you a reliable, transparent pattern. Do not omit it mechanically from every sentence.

Beyond the Basics: Past, Future, and Fine Distinctions

You do not need to master this section at A1, but these forms will appear often.

In the past tense, мати agrees with the subject’s gender and number: мав (masculine), мала (feminine), мало (neuter), мали (plural). Thus Я мав час is used by a male speaker and Я мала час by a female speaker. In the future, Ukrainian can use буду мати or the compact form матиму: Завтра я матиму більше часу (“Tomorrow I will have more time”).

The existential construction changes according to the thing possessed in the past:

• У мене був велосипед. — I had a bicycle.
• У мене була машина. — I had a car.
• У нас було питання. — We had a question.
• У них були квитки. — They had tickets.

Here був / була / було / були agrees with the thing that existed, not with the possessor after у. In the future, буде is common with a singular thing and будуть with plural things: У мене буде час; У нас будуть гості.

The difference between affirmative є and negative немає also affects case. Compare У мене є брат with У мене немає брата. This alternation is part of a broader Ukrainian pattern in which absence is commonly expressed with the genitive.

Finally, learn idioms as complete units. Мати рацію means “to be right,” мати значення means “to matter / be significant,” мати на увазі means “to mean / have in mind,” and мати змогу means “to be able / have the opportunity.” Their English translations do not always contain have, but Ukrainian consistently uses мати.

Practice Tips

1. Build two matching sets. Say each idea first with мати, then with у … є: Я маю книжку — У мене є книжка. Do this with all six persons so that both systems become automatic.
2. Practice affirmative–negative pairs. Change У нас є час to У нас немає часу and notice both changes: є → немає and час → часу.
3. Collect whole expressions. Put мати рацію, мати значення, and мати на увазі on cards as phrases with full sentences. This prevents unnatural word-for-word translation from English.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Personal Pronouns — learn я, ти, він, вона, ми, ви, вони before matching them with the forms of мати.