16.7 - A different type of case

To conclude this unit, a different type of case – upper or lower – needs to be considered. In many situations word-initial capital letters are used in Ukrainian just as in English, although there are some differences. When reading, of course, you do not have to worry about when to use upper or lower case. Awareness of the rules, however, can facilitate understanding of a text.

Lower case is used (in contrast to English) in the following situations (unless the relevant word occurs at the beginning of a sentence).

• in nouns (and adjectives) denoting nationality or origin as, for example:

* Ukrainian ethnic group living in the Carpathians

• in the names of months of the year and days of the week:

• for nouns denoting geographical features, institutions, towns, villages, streets etc., where these are used in apposition to proper nouns, in addresses etc:

• in noun groups denoting names of events, organisations and institutions (other than the highest Ukrainian state instututions and international bodies - see below), titles of publications etc. only the first noun in the group is capitalised, as, for example:

For comparison, uses of upper case (mainly as in English) are given below.

• in nouns and phrases denoting countries and states as, for example:

• in nouns and phrases denoting certain unions of states as, for example:

• in phrases denoting the highest Ukrainian state institutions and international bodies: