Complex Sentences in Ukrainian

Overview

Complex sentences combine a main clause with one or more subordinate clauses using conjunctions and relative pronouns. At the CEFR B1 level, constructing complex sentences is essential for expressing nuanced thoughts, explanations, and descriptions that go beyond simple statements.

Ukrainian subordinate clauses are introduced by conjunctions such as що (that), який (which/who), коли (when), щоб (in order to), and хоча (although). A distinctive feature of Ukrainian is that relative pronouns like який must decline for gender, number, and case to agree with the noun they refer to while also reflecting their grammatical role in the subordinate clause.

Ukrainian punctuation requires a comma before every subordinate clause, which is stricter than English comma rules.

How It Works

Types of Subordinate Clauses

Type	Conjunction	Example
Content	що (that)	Знаю, що ти маєш рацію.
Relative	який/яка/яке (which)	Чоловік, який живе тут.
Temporal	коли (when)	Зателефоную, коли прийду.
Purpose	щоб (in order to)	Вчуся, щоб скласти іспит.
Causal	бо / тому що (because)	Не прийшов, бо хворий.
Concessive	хоча (although)	Хоча холодно, іду.

Який: Gender-Number-Case Agreement

Який agrees with its antecedent in gender and number, but takes the case required by its role in the subordinate clause:

• Чоловік, який живе тут. (який = nom, subject of subordinate clause)
• Жінка, яку я знаю. (яку = acc, object of subordinate clause)
• Дім, у якому живу. (якому = loc, after preposition)

Examples in Context

Ukrainian	English	Note
Я знаю, що ти маєш рацію.	I know that you're right.	Content clause
Чоловік, який живе тут.	The man who lives here.	Relative, nominative
Коли прийдеш?	When will you come?	Temporal
Вчуся, щоб скласти іспит.	I'm studying to pass the exam.	Purpose
Хоча холодно, іду.	Although it's cold, I'm going.	Concessive
Книга, яку читаю, цікава.	The book I'm reading is interesting.	Relative, accusative
Думаю, що він прийде.	I think he will come.	Content
Не знаю, де він.	I don't know where he is.	Indirect question
Місто, в якому я народився.	The city where I was born.	Relative, locative
Це людина, якій допомагаю.	This is the person I help.	Relative, dative

Common Mistakes

Forgetting to decline який

• Wrong: Жінка, який живе тут. (masculine for feminine)
• Right: Жінка, яка живе тут.
• Why: Який must match its antecedent in gender and number.

Missing comma before subordinate clause

• Wrong: Знаю що ти тут.
• Right: Знаю, що ти тут.
• Why: Ukrainian always requires a comma before subordinating conjunctions.

Using що instead of який for relative clauses

• Wrong: Чоловік, що живе тут. (acceptable colloquially but less precise)
• Right: Чоловік, який живе тут.
• Why: In standard Ukrainian, який is preferred for relative clauses. Що is acceptable in casual speech but cannot show case/gender agreement.

Usage Notes

In colloquial speech, "що" is often used instead of "який" for relative clauses, but it cannot decline, so it only works when the relative pronoun would be in nominative or accusative. For oblique cases, який is required: "дім, у якому живу" (not *у що).

Щоб clauses use a special form: щоб + past tense form (not infinitive when subjects differ): "Хочу, щоб ти прийшов" (I want you to come).

Practice Tips

1. Sentence combining: Take pairs of simple sentences and combine them using що, який, коли, and щоб.

2. Який declension practice: Write relative clauses where який must be in different cases.

3. Punctuation awareness: When writing, always check for commas before subordinate clauses.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Reflexive Verbs -- many complex sentence verbs are reflexive
• Next steps: Relative Pronouns -- detailed study of який and alternatives
• Next steps: Indirect Speech -- reported speech using що-clauses
• Next steps: Complex Sentence Structures -- advanced multi-clause patterns