In short

To say “X is Y” in Ukrainian present tense you use no verb at all. You simply set the subject next to what it is: Я студе́нт = “I (am a) student”. The verb бу́ти (“to be”) does have living forms, but they surface only in the past (був / була́ / було́ / були́) and the future (бу́ду / бу́деш …). English forces an “am/is/are” into every equation; Ukrainian leaves that slot empty in the present.

The rule

• Present = zero copula. A present-tense “to be” sentence is built from two parts and nothing between them: subject + predicate. Він лі́кар — “He is a doctor.” Ми ра́зом — “We are together.” There is no word for “is/are/am”.
• The one surviving present form is є. Historically бу́ти had a full present paradigm; modern standard Ukrainian keeps only є, and even that is normally dropped. Reserve є for when you must be explicit — emphatic identity (“X is indeed Y”) or existence/“there is”. You will meet it again in the “to have” pattern у ме́не є (there-is-at-me).
• Write a dash for the missing copula. When both the subject and the predicate are nouns, standard orthography marks the gap with a dash: Ки́їв — столи́ця Украї́ни (“Kyiv is the capital of Ukraine”). This is the written trace of the zero copula.
• бу́ти appears in past and future. The past agrees with the subject’s gender and number (був / була́ / було́ / були́), not with person — so я був, я була́ differ by the speaker’s gender. The future conjugates by person (бу́ду, бу́деш …).
• Negation of “is” is just не. Я не студе́нт = “I am not a student” — still no verb, only не before the predicate (see lesson 7).

Forms & patterns

Infinitive: бу́ти.

Present — the copula is normally omitted; є appears only when made explicit:

Past — one form per gender/number (no person distinction):

Future — conjugated by person:

Examples

Common mistakes

• Я є студе́нт. -> Я студе́нт. — the present copula is zero; don’t render English “am” with є.
• Це є кни́га. -> Це кни́га. — “this is …” also needs no verb; це already does the work.
• Вона́ був удо́ма. -> Вона́ була́ вдо́ма. — past бу́ти agrees with gender/number (був/була́/було́/були́), not person.
• Я хо́чу бу́ти лі́кар. -> Я хо́чу бу́ти лі́карем. — after the infinitive бу́ти the predicate noun must take the instrumental (lesson 21); after past/future бу́ти it is the usual choice too (Він був студе́нтом.).
• Ки́їв столи́ця Украї́ни. -> Ки́їв — столи́ця Украї́ни. — in writing, put a dash where the copula is dropped between two nouns.

Tips

• Default habit: to say “X is Y” now, just put the two side by side and stop — resist the urge to insert a verb.
• Keep the present predicate in the nominative (lesson 4): Він студе́нт, not any oblique case.
• Use the dash in writing when both halves are nouns: Мій брат — інжене́р.
• Treat є as special, not default: use it for emphasis or “there is/exists”, and expect it in у ме́не є (lesson 11).
• Full бу́ти lives outside the present: past by gender/number, future by person — learn those two tiny tables and the present takes care of itself (nothing).
• Questions keep the zero copula and let intonation carry them: Ти студе́нт? (see the question-formation lesson here, and the intonation lesson in the reading & pronunciation guide).
• Watch the case switch: nominative in the present, but usually instrumental after past/future бу́ти — and always after the infinitive: Я хо́чу бу́ти лі́карем (lesson 21).