This, that, such, all and self

After this page you will be able to say this book, that house, such a nice day, the whole family and I’ll do it myself in any case. You will know the full forms of цей (this), той (that), таки́й (such), уве́сь or весь (all, the whole) and сам (oneself), the difference between це and цей, and when to say той са́мий (the same).

All of these words agree with their noun in gender, number and case, just like adjectives. Adjectives in all cases explains the endings they share.

цей and той: this and that

Цей points to something near the speaker, and той to something further away. The dictionary defines цей as the opposite of той [src: goroh-dictionary].

це: “this is”, “these are”

Це is also used on its own to point at something and name it: this is…, these are…, it is…. Used like this, it does not change, whatever the gender or number of the noun that follows. Compare it with цей, ця and ці, which stand directly before a noun and agree with it.

цей in all cases

The forms below follow the spelling standard [src: pravopys-2026, §111] and the dictionary [src: goroh-dictionary]. As with adjectives, the masculine accusative is like the genitive for people and animals and like the nominative for things; the plural accusative works the same way.

The dative and the locative differ only in stress: цьому́ (to this) but у цьо́му (in this). The spelling standard gives цьо́му as the locative for both masculine and neuter [src: pravopys-2026, §111]. The dictionary gives it for the masculine but цьому́ for the neuter [src: goroh-dictionary], so the neuter locative is left unmarked in the table.

той in all cases

The feminine forms то́ї and то́ю are rare; the standard gives тіє́ї and тіє́ю first [src: pravopys-2026, §111]. Цей and той have the same pattern: ціє́ї and тіє́ї, цьому́ and тому́, ци́ми and ти́ми.

Stress after a preposition

As with до ме́не on Personal pronouns in all cases, a preposition pulls the stress forward in forms such as від то́го, у цьо́го, на то́му, при цьо́му, з усьо́го, в усьо́му [src: pravopys-2026, §113, note 2].

такий: such, so

Таки́й means such, this kind of, or, before an adjective, so [src: goroh-dictionary]. It takes the endings of hard adjectives such as нови́й: тако́го, тако́му, таки́м, тако́ї, таки́ми [src: goroh-dictionary].

весь, увесь: all, the whole

Уве́сь (also весь and ввесь) means all, the whole. In the plural, усі́ or всі also means everyone, and the neuter усе́ or все means everything. Every form has a version with у- and one with в-, chosen by the usual у/в rule [src: pravopys-2026, §113, note 1; §23].

The genitive and dative masculine and neuter are left unmarked: the spelling standard stresses the ending (усього, усьому) when there is no preposition, while the dictionary stresses the stem [src: pravopys-2026, §113; goroh-dictionary]. After a preposition both stress the stem: з усьо́го, в усьо́му.

сам: oneself, on one’s own

Сам (feminine сама́, plural самі́) stresses who does something or who is meant: myself, yourself, himself and so on. It can also mean alone, on one’s own [src: goroh-dictionary]. It changes like a hard adjective [src: pravopys-2026, §113, note 1]. The neuter has two forms, саме́ and само́ [src: goroh-dictionary].

Сам agrees with the person it refers to. A woman says я сама́, a man я сам, a group ми самі́.

сам and самий

The spelling standard lists two more words alongside сам: сами́й, stressed on the ending, and са́мий, stressed on the stem, as in той са́мий [src: pravopys-2026, §113, note 1]. The dictionary treats сами́й as another form of сам [src: goroh-dictionary]. Са́мий has its own uses [src: goroh-dictionary]:

• After той, цей or таки́й, it means the same: той са́мий (the same, the very one), таки́й са́мий (the same kind of). Usage guides recommend той са́мий rather than той же or один і той же [src: goroh-usage].
• With a preposition and a word for a time or a place, it means the very: до са́мого ве́чора (right up until the evening).

Common mistakes and limits