The use of the infinitive

The infinitive in Ukrainian is used much as it is in many of the languages of the world, including English; in essence, it is the equivalent of the English 'to + verb' ('to read', 'to understand', and similar).

The infinitive as subject of the sentence

The most common occurrences of the Ukrainian infinitive in the role of the subject involve:

(1) constructions with це 'this is', 'that is' with or without following значить or означає 'this means', expressing a juxtaposition of ideas (the focus of the following clause can be either a noun or another infinitive); and

(2) constructions with the instrumental case.

In both instances, equivalent English constructions most commonly involve the use of the gerund; the infinitive can stand alone, or it may have an object of its own - in which case the infinitival phrase as a whole acts as a subject. The infinitive does not have to occur at the beginning of the sentence. Thus:

Читати- це радість.

Reading is pleasure.

Читати українську літературу - (це означає) розуміти Україну.

Reading Ukrainian literature means (equals) understanding Ukraine.

Найвище уміння - почати спочатку життя, розуміння, дорогу, себе.

The greatest capability is beginning (the ability to begin) life, understand­ing, (one's) path, for oneself. (Л. Костенко)

Першою думкою в Степана було довідатися, де вони.

Stepan's first thought was to find out where they were. (Коцюбинський)

Писати листи друзям щомісяця - її давня звичка.

Writing letters to her friends every month was her custom from long ago (it was long her custom to . . .).

Допомагати друзям - це наш обов'язок.

It is our duty to help (our) friends. (Helping friends is . . .)

Зустріти його було для мене втіхою.

Meeting him was a pleasure for me.

The infinitive in the predicate

The infinitive can have a variety of functions in the predicate. As a direct object, as in the case of subjectival constructions, the verb is in a sense nominalized ('the act of X'), appearing in place of a noun:

Батько любить читати (газету). Father loves reading (to read) (the newspaper).

The infinitive often occurs in impersonal constructions, in which the sense expressed varies according to the presence or absence of other elements. The presence of an element in the dative case clearly emphasizes the person at whom the verbal action is directed:

Тут нам жити легко. It is easy for us to live here.

Куди (мені) йти? Where can (I) go? (lit. Where is there for me/one to go?)

Що (мені) робити? What can one (I) do?

Whereas the absence of the dative allows the infinitive to be interpreted as a subjectival element, even if the speaker/writer intended it to be seen as an impersonal statement:

Тут жити легко. Living here is easy.

Де сховатися від ворога? Where can one hide from the enemy?

In the second example the absence of the dative does not affect the status of the construction, as the interrogative element де? causes it to retain its 'impersonal' focus. A statement beginning with сховатися від ворога ... would on the other hand clearly be subjectival: 'hiding from the wind .. .'.

The inclusion of the element було (neuter past of бути 'to be') injects a modal sense, with or without an accompanying form in the dative case; in such instances there is an understood треба 'must', можна 'could', 'might', and such. Note the possible difference between sentences with and without не, expressing 'should/would' and 'could', respectively:

He говорити було з нею ... It would have been better not to speak with her .. .

Було вам прочитати . . . You could have read . . . He було вам прочитати . . . You should not have read ...

As against, again, a purely neutral sense:

He пізнати (було) чому . . . One can (could) not tell why . ..

An understood or implied modal is also present in constructions of the conjunction якщо 'if + infinitive:

Якщо вибирати між красою і правдою, я вибираю красу.

If (I had/have to) choose between beauty and truth, I choose beauty. (О. Довженко)

One further use of the infinitive in the predicate expresses the idea of a 'goal', 'desire', or 'in order to':

Подорожувати! Побачити світ! (Oh, if one could) travel! See the world!

Ми пішли (щоб) побачити захід сонця. We went to see the sunset.

The second example is typical of sentences with verbs of motion, in which the goal of the action (a second verb in the infinitive) may be expressed with or without щоб 'in order to'.