The Ukrainian present tense is used to describe actions or states that are currently happening or are ongoing. Verbs in the present tense agree in person and number with the subject of the sentence.
Ukrainian verbs are divided into two conjugation groups.
How can I determine which conjugation a verb belongs to?
Verbs whose infinitive forms end in -ати, -яти, or -вати are typically part of conjugational group I.
For those infinitives ending in -ити, -іти, or -їти, they usually belong to conjugational group II.
It's important to note that there are exceptions to these rules, such as "хотіти" (to want), "гудіти" (to buzz), which belong to conjugation I despite not following the usual pattern. Likewise, "спати" (to sleep) and "стояти" (to stand) belong to conjugation II, even though they end in "-ати" and "-яти."
First Conjugation
Verbs of this group have an ending "-уть (-ють)" in the third person plural present (imperfective) tense. Most of the time to conjugate the verb in the first group you just need to drop the ending -ти and replace it with the appropriate personal ending.
Examples:
йти - to go
писа́ти - to write
хоті́ти - to want
зна́ти - to know
чита́ти - to read
ма́ти - to have
чу́ти - to hear
Я ма́ю мрі́ю. - I have a dream. (drop -ти from мати and add -ю for singular first-person)
Я тебе́ не чу́ю. - I can't hear you. (drop -ти from чути and add -ю for singular first-person)
Пи́ти - to drink
Я п'ю - I drink (this is an exception)
Sometimes you need to remove the ending -вати (with some exceptions), and in other cases -ути:
Купува́ти - to buy
Малюва́ти - to paint, to draw
Будува́ти - to build
Будіве́льник буду́є буди́нок - The builder build the building (drop -вати from будувати and add -є for singular third-person)
Second Conjugation
Verbs of this group have an ending "-ать (-ять)" in the third person plural present (imperfective) tense.
Examples:
ба́чити - to see
вчи́ти - to learn / teach
люби́ти - to love
роби́ти - to do
| Conjugation I йти, писа́ти, хоті́ти зна́ти, чита́ти | Conjugation II ба́чити, вчи́ти, люби́ти, роби́ти, стояти | |
|---|---|---|
| я (I) stem + у/ю* | йду, пишу́, хо́чу** зна́ю, чита́ю | ба́чу, вчу, люблю́***, роблю́, стою́ |
| ми (we) 1) stem + емо / ємо 2) stem + имо / їмо | йдемо́, пи́шемо, хо́чемо зна́ємо, чита́ємо | ба́чимо, вчимо́, лю́бимо, ро́бимо стоїмо́ |
| ти (you singular) 1) stem + еш / єш 2) stem + иш / їш | йдеш, пи́шеш, хо́чеш зна́єш, чита́єш | ба́чиш, вчиш, лю́биш, ро́биш стої́ш |
| ви (you plural) 1) stem + ете / єте 2) stem + ите / їте | йдете́, пи́шете, хо́чете зна́єте, чита́єте | ба́чите, вчите́, лю́бите, ро́бите стоїте́ |
| він, вона́, воно́ (he, she, it) 1) stem + е / є 2) stem + ить / їть | йде, пи́ше, хо́че зна́є, чита́є | ба́чить, вчить, лю́бить, ро́бить стої́ть |
| вони́ (they) 1) stem + уть / ють 2) stem + ать / ять | йдуть, пи́шуть, хо́чуть, зна́ють, чита́ють | ба́чать, вчать лю́блять***, ро́блять, стоя́ть |
**Stem ending changes with some consonants (г → ж, к → ч, х → ш, з → ж, с → ш, т → ч, ст → щ, ск → щ).
*** In the 1st person singular and the 3rd person plural, verbs with stems ending in б, п, в, м, ф gain an additional consonant "л".
Irregular Verbs
Verbs "ї́сти" (to eat), "да́ти" (to give), "відпові́сти́" (to answer), "розповіс́ти́" (to tell), and other verbs ending with "–вісти" are irregular. The verb "to eat" is the only irregular verb that can be used in the present tense.
| Singular | verb | Plural | verb |
|---|---|---|---|
| я (I) | їм | ми (we) | їмо́ |
| ти (you singular) | їси́ | ви (you plural) | їсте́ |
| він, вона́, воно́ (he, she, it) | їсть | вони́ (they) | їдя́ть |