Demonstrative Pronouns in Ukrainian

Overview

Demonstrative pronouns point out specific items -- "this" vs "that" in English. In Ukrainian, demonstratives at the CEFR A1 level involve two sets: цей/ця/це (this) and той/та/те (that). Like adjectives, these pronouns must agree with the noun they modify in gender, number, and case.

Ukrainian demonstratives are used more frequently than their English counterparts because Ukrainian lacks articles. Where English might say "the book," Ukrainian often uses "ця книга" (this book) or "та книга" (that book) to specify which item is meant.

The neuter singular form "це" also serves as a general demonstrative meaning "this is" or "these are," regardless of the gender or number of what follows -- a very common construction in everyday speech.

How It Works

Nominative Forms

	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Plural
this	цей	ця	це	ці
that	той	та	те	ті

Це as a General Demonstrative

"Це" functions independently to mean "this is" / "these are":

• Це дім. (This is a house.)
• Це мої друзі. (These are my friends.)

In this usage, "це" does not change regardless of what follows.

Declined Forms (Preview)

When modifying a noun in oblique cases, demonstratives decline:

• цей дім → цього дому (genitive)
• ця книга → цю книгу (accusative)

Examples in Context

Ukrainian	English	Note
Цей дім старий.	This house is old.	Masculine
Та книга моя.	That book is mine.	Feminine
Це добре.	This is good.	General це
Ті люди привітні.	Those people are friendly.	Plural
Ця вулиця довга.	This street is long.	Feminine
Те місто далеко.	That city is far.	Neuter
Хто це?	Who is this?	General question
Ці квіти гарні.	These flowers are beautiful.	Plural
Той чоловік -- мій батько.	That man is my father.	Masculine
Що це таке?	What is this?	Common expression

Common Mistakes

Using це when modifying a masculine/feminine noun

• Wrong: Це дім старий. (meaning "this house is old")
• Right: Цей дім старий.
• Why: When modifying a specific noun, use the gender-matched form (цей for masculine). "Це дім старий" would mean "This is an old house" (a different structure).

Mixing up ці and ті

• Wrong: Using ці when pointing to distant objects.
• Right: Use ці for "these" (near) and ті for "those" (far).
• Why: The proximity distinction (this/these vs that/those) is meaningful in Ukrainian.

Forgetting gender agreement

• Wrong: Цей книга
• Right: Ця книга
• Why: Книга is feminine; the demonstrative must match.

Usage Notes

The form "це" in the "Це + noun" construction is one of the most common structures in Ukrainian. It works for introductions (Це Марія), identification (Це моя машина), and general statements (Це добре). It never changes in this usage.

"Той/та/те" can also function as a third-person pronoun meaning "that one" and appears in many fixed expressions: тому що (because, literally "for that that"), тому (therefore), до того (before that).

Practice Tips

1. Point and name: Practice pointing at objects and using the correct demonstrative: Це стіл. Цей стіл великий. Той стіл маленький.

2. Gender matching: Given a list of nouns, write the correct "this" and "that" demonstrative for each.

3. Це vs цей/ця/це: Practice distinguishing "Це книга" (This is a book) from "Ця книга цікава" (This book is interesting).

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Noun Gender -- gender determines the demonstrative form