The accusative case

The accusative case is first and foremost the case of the direct object: the case ending (where there is one that differs from the nominative) indicates that its bearer is the object of the verbal action. The English and Ukrainian terms for this case are more opaque than those of the nominative, but both indicate that something is being done to the object: Eng. accusat- < Lat. accuso 'blame', 'charge (with)', Ukr. знахід- 'find', 'discover', 'come upon'.

THE ACCUSATIVE OF AN INANIMATE OBJECT

Учитель написав книжку (nom. книжка). The teacher wrote a book.

Наш гість дивиться телевізор. (nom. телевізор). Our guest is watching television.

Ольга відчиняє вікно. (nom. вікно) Ol'ha is opening a window.

Among these examples we see that only the feminine singular has a peculiarly accusative marker, viz. -y; word order (A does В to C) and common sense (in this instance A are animate beings, C are not) dictate that 'television' and 'window' are the direct objects, hence in the accusative rather than the nom­inative. In the plural, of course, there is no differentiation of any kind between the nominative and accusative of inanimate nouns:

Учитель написав книжки. The teacher wrote the books.

Він купив телевізори. Не bought the televisions.

Ольга відчиняє вікна. Ol'ha is opening windows.

THE ACCUSATIVE OF AN ANIMATE OBJECT

Учитель побачив хлопця. (nom. хлопець) The teacher saw the boy.

Наш гість знає Ігоря. (nom. Ігор) Our guest knows Ihor.

Анна розбудила дідуся. (nom. дідусь) Anna woke grandfather.

Ми побачили швейцара-бородача. We saw the doorman who has a long beard.

An important point to note is that inanimate objects will also occasionally favour the genitive case as an accusative marker. Thus, Іван написав/писав листа 'Ivan wrote/was writing a letter'; the use of the accusative in such instances will not be seen as incorrect, however. In the plural, however, we find the expected accusative almost exclusively: Іван написав/писав листи 'Ivan wrote/was writing letters'. Compare the following quotation from a Ukrainian folk tale, in which one accusative form is clearly marked as a genitive (воза from N.sg. віз):

Візьми воза, сани й човен/човна. Take a waggon, sleigh, and boat.

In the singular only masculine animates are marked for animacy; note that this marker is the same as the genitive singular ending, and it will occur with both parts of a noun pair, as in the last example cited. In the plural, however, animacy is marked for all living (animate) beings, be they male, female, or animal. Nouns can be of all three genders, including a few common neuters; the ending is that of the genitive plural. Compare the following plural ani­mate examples (given in the singular as well as the plural):

Знаю хлопця - знаю хлопців. І know a/the boy/boys.

Знаю дівчину - знаю дівчат. І know a/the girl/girls.

Знаю дівчатко - знаю дівчаток. І know a/the girl/girls.

These constructions are naturally dependent on the function of the particular verb in question; as verbs can require the use of other cases as well, we return to this syntactic point in our discussion of the use of the verb (see 6.4). One further pattern to note is the use of the accusative (clearly evident only among animate direct objects) in 'passive' constructions involving the past passive participle of the verb, something that is unexpected from a grammat­ical point of view, as a passive implies the lack of a direct object; this is a function of the verb, however, and is examined in the context of the appropriate participles.

ACCUSATIVES IN TIME EXPRESSIONS

The accusative is used in expression not of 'time when' (compare the genitive below), but 'time during'; an entire phrase is said to be in the accusative, although this is not always apparent as a masculine inanimate noun, with its modifier(s), will appear to be in the nominative:

Цілий тиждень він працював. Не worked (for, during) the entire week. Цілий рік ... ... the whole year.

Цілий місяць ... ... the entire month.

Цілий день ... ... the entire day.

The modifier can be left out here, losing the sense 'entire', but the unit of time will still be in the accusative on its own. Compare these constructions with the following, containing a feminine noun, in which the accusative is plainly evident:

Кожну хвилину ... Every moment/minute, continually . . .

Перемовчати хвилину. То be silent (for) a minute/moment.

Якусь хвилину ... For a certain/short length of time . . .

Всю ніч ... ... all night.

Note again that the unit of time can stand on its own in the accusative, or appear with a modifier. Essentially the presence of a word like цілий or кожний will lead to the use of the accusative; note, however, that (for кожний, for example) the genitive is also possible or even preferred (see below).

The accusative also occurs in time expressions involving the use of preposi­tions.