Infinitive (imperfective): приноси́ть — "to bring (carrying), to keep bringing" Infinitive (perfective): принести́ — "to bring (one completed delivery on foot)" Type: a prefixed transitive motion pair — при- ("arrival, up to here") + the carry-verb нести́ / носи́ть
приноси́ть / принести́ is the everyday verb for bringing something by carrying it — a glass of water, the bill, good news, an umbrella. It is built on the transitive motion root нес-/нос- ("carry on foot, in your hands") with the prefix при-, which everywhere in Russian means "arrival, getting all the way here." So принести́ is literally "to carry to a destination and arrive with it." Because the base is a carry verb, this is the on-foot, in-the-hands counterpart of привози́ть / привезти́, which brings things by vehicle. The pair governs two cases at once — the accusative of the thing carried and the dative of the person you bring it to — and the perfective past hides one of Russian's classic traps: the masculine принёс ends in -с with no -л. Every form below is stress-marked.
Present tense (приноси́ть, imperfective)
Only the imperfective приноси́ть has a present. It is a regular second-conjugation verb, but note the stem stress shift: the stress sits on the ending in the я-form (приношу́) and on the stem -но́с- in every other form. The first-person singular also shows the regular с → ш mutation (приношу́, not *приноси́ю).
| Person | приноси́ть — PRESENT |
|---|---|
| я | приношу́ |
| ты | прино́сишь |
| он / она́ / оно́ | прино́сит |
| мы | прино́сим |
| вы | прино́сите |
| они́ | прино́сят |
The imperfective describes a repeated or habitual bringing — what someone does regularly, again and again. The base носи́ть is the multidirectional carry verb, so приноси́ть inherits that "over and over" flavour.
Почтальо́н прино́сит газе́ты ка́ждое у́тро.
The postman brings the newspapers every morning. — прино́сит: a daily habit, imperfective.
Я всегда́ приношу́ на рабо́ту свой обе́д.
I always bring my own lunch to work. — приношу́ (я-form), end-stressed; a standing habit.
Э́ти но́вости прино́сят то́лько беспоко́йство.
This news brings nothing but worry. — figurative приноси́ть: 'bring' an abstract result.
Past tense
Here is the form learners get wrong. The perfective принести́ builds its past on the consonant stem принёс-, and the masculine drops the expected -л: it is simply принёс (ending in -с). The feminine, neuter, and plural add the ending after the stem, and the stress moves onto that ending: принесла́, принесло́, принесли́. The ё of принёс is automatically stressed; once an ending follows, the ё disappears and stress lands on the ending.
| Gender / number | приноси́ть (impf) | принести́ (pf) |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | приноси́л | принёс |
| feminine | приноси́ла | принесла́ |
| neuter | приноси́ло | принесло́ |
| plural | приноси́ли | принесли́ |
The aspect contrast is the usual one: приноси́л views the bringing as a repeated event or background process ("used to bring / was bringing"); принёс views one completed delivery with a result ("brought it, and here it is"). A single finished "I brought it" is almost always принёс / принесла́.
Он принёс цветы́ и торт — никто́ не ожида́л.
He brought flowers and a cake — nobody expected it. — masculine принёс (no -л!), one completed act, perfective.
Она́ принесла́ мне ча́шку ча́я и ушла́.
She brought me a cup of tea and left. — feminine принесла́ (end-stress); one completed delivery.
В шко́ле я ка́ждый день приноси́л с собо́й кни́гу.
At school I brought a book with me every day. — приноси́л: a repeated habit, imperfective.
Future tense
The pair forms its future the two standard ways.
- приноси́ть (imperfective) → compound future: бу́ду приноси́ть "I'll be bringing / will keep bringing."
- принести́ (perfective) → simple future (the принес- forms), each meaning one completed future delivery: принесу́ "I'll bring (it)."
| Person | приноси́ть → бу́ду приноси́ть | принести́ → simple future |
|---|---|---|
| я | бу́ду приноси́ть | принесу́ |
| ты | бу́дешь приноси́ть | принесёшь |
| он / она́ / оно́ | бу́дет приноси́ть | принесёт |
| мы | бу́дем приноси́ть | принесём |
| вы | бу́дете приноси́ть | принесёте |
| они́ | бу́дут приноси́ть | принесу́т |
The forms принесу́, принесёшь… принесу́т look like a present tense but are the future, because принести́ is perfective and a perfective can never describe the present moment. The everyday "I'll bring it" — one specific, concrete delivery — is the perfective принесу́. See the perfective simple future page.
Не волну́йся, я принесу́ тебе́ ключи́ за́втра.
Don't worry, I'll bring you the keys tomorrow. — принесу́: one planned future delivery, perfective.
Я бу́ду приноси́ть тебе́ све́жий хлеб ка́ждое у́тро.
I'll bring you fresh bread every morning. — бу́ду приноси́ть: a repeated future habit, imperfective.
Imperative
Both stems form a regular, end-stressed imperative, and the aspect contrast carries the usual nuance.
| Addressee | приноси́ть (impf) | принести́ (pf) |
|---|---|---|
| ты (informal) | приноси́ | принеси́ |
| вы (formal / plural) | приноси́те | принеси́те |
Принеси́ is the everyday request for one specific thing — "bring this now." Приноси́ is the imperfective: "keep bringing, bring regularly" — used for standing arrangements and, importantly, for negated commands (Не приноси́ сюда́ еду́ — "don't bring food in here").
Принеси́ мне, пожа́луйста, стака́н воды́.
Bring me a glass of water, please. — принеси́ + dative мне + accusative стака́н: one concrete request, perfective.
Приноси́ све́жие иде́и на ка́ждую встре́чу.
Bring fresh ideas to every meeting. — приноси́: a standing, repeated instruction, imperfective.
Participles and verbal adverbs
| Form | приноси́ть (impf) | принести́ (pf) |
|---|---|---|
| present active participle | принося́щий "bringing" | — (perfectives have none) |
| past active participle | приноси́вший | принёсший |
| past passive participle | — | принесённый "brought" |
| verbal adverb | принося́ "while bringing" | принеся́ "having brought" |
The most useful of these is the perfective passive participle принесённый "brought" (принесённые проду́кты "the groceries that were brought in"). The verbal adverb принеся́ "having brought" appears in (literary / written) style. Note that the abstract idiom "to apologise" uses this verb: принести́ извине́ния "to offer one's apologies."
Принеся́ извине́ния, дире́ктор бы́стро ушёл.
Having offered his apologies, the director quickly left. — verbal adverb принеся́; принести́ извине́ния = 'apologise'.
Key uses & collocations
1. принести́ + accusative (thing) + dative (person)
The core pattern is double: the thing brought stands in the accusative, and the person you bring it to stands in the dative, with no preposition — принеси́ мне (dative) во́ду (accusative). Word order is flexible, but the cases keep the roles clear.
Официа́нт принёс нам счёт и ме́ню.
The waiter brought us the bill and the menu. — нам (dative person) + счёт, ме́ню (accusative things).
2. принести́ + abstract result — "bring" benefits, harm, news
приноси́ть is the standard verb for an outcome that something brings: приноси́ть по́льзу "be of benefit," приноси́ть вред "do harm," приноси́ть дохо́д / при́быль "generate income / profit," приноси́ть сча́стье / уда́чу "bring happiness / luck." These are fixed collocations.
Спорт прино́сит по́льзу и те́лу, и настрое́нию.
Sport benefits both body and mood. — приноси́ть по́льзу, a fixed collocation.
3. The contrast with привезти́ (by vehicle)
If the thing arrives carried, in someone's hands or on their person, use принести́. If it arrives by car, train, plane — any vehicle, switch to привезти́. Russian forces this choice that English ("bring") leaves unmarked, the same way the base pair нести́ / везти́ does.
Сосе́д принёс нам я́блоки из своего́ са́да.
Our neighbour brought us apples from his garden. — carried on foot → принёс (not привёз).
Common Mistakes
❌ Он принёсл мне письмо́. / Он принесл письмо́.
Form error — the masculine perfective past has NO -л: it is принёс (ending in -с). The -л appears only in принесла́ / принесло́ / принесли́.
✅ Он принёс мне письмо́.
He brought me a letter.
❌ Принеси́ меня́ во́ду.
Case error — the person is the DATIVE (мне), and only the thing is accusative: принеси́ мне во́ду. меня́ would mean 'bring ME' as the object.
✅ Принеси́ мне во́ду.
Bring me some water.
❌ Друг привёз мне кни́гу в рука́х.
Wrong verb — if you carry it by hand, use принести́, not привезти́ (by vehicle): друг принёс мне кни́гу.
✅ Друг принёс мне кни́гу.
My friend brought me a book.
❌ За́втра я бу́ду принести́ тебе́ докуме́нты.
Aspect error — the бу́ду future takes an IMPERFECTIVE infinitive. The perfective makes its own future: принесу́ (no бу́ду).
✅ За́втра я принесу́ тебе́ докуме́нты.
I'll bring you the documents tomorrow.
❌ Ка́ждый день он принёс на рабо́ту обе́д.
Aspect mismatch — for a repeated daily habit use the imperfective прино́сит, not the perfective принёс (one completed act).
✅ Ка́ждый день он прино́сит на рабо́ту обе́д.
Every day he brings lunch to work.
Key Takeaways
- приноси́ть / принести́ = "bring by carrying (on foot)" — при- ("arrival") + the carry verb нести́/носи́ть. Vehicle delivery is привезти́.
- Present (приноси́ть only): приношу́ / прино́сишь / прино́сит / прино́сим / прино́сите / прино́сят — second conjugation, stress on the ending only in приношу́.
- Past: приноси́л (habit/process) vs принёс / принесла́ / принесло́ / принесли́ — the masculine принёс has no -л and ends in -с.
- Future: imperfective compound бу́ду приноси́ть; perfective simple принесу́ / принесёшь / принесу́т (the everyday "I'll bring it").
- Imperative: принеси́ (one concrete request) vs приноси́ (standing arrangement, and negation).
- Government: accusative of the thing + dative of the person (принеси́ мне во́ду). Also figurative: приноси́ть по́льзу / вред / дохо́д.
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- Carrying, Leading, Transporting: Нести/Носить, Вести/Водить, Везти/ВозитьB1 — The three transitive motion pairs — the ones that take a direct object (the thing or person you move). НЕСТИ́/НОСИ́ТЬ (carry on foot; носи́ть = also 'wear'), ВЕСТИ́/ВОДИ́ТЬ (lead/take a person; води́ть = also 'drive a car'), ВЕЗТИ́/ВОЗИ́ТЬ (transport by vehicle; везёт impersonally = 'be lucky'). Watch the 1sg homonym trap: вожу́ is both 'I lead' and 'I transport', told apart only by во́дишь vs во́зишь.
- Dative: The Indirect ObjectA2 — The dative's core job is the indirect object — the recipient or beneficiary, answering кому? (to whom?). The frame is subject (nom) + verb + thing (acc) + recipient (dat): Я дал дру́гу кни́гу (I gave my friend a book), Она́ написа́ла письмо́ ма́ме. The trap for English speakers is a closed list of verbs that take the dative where English uses a plain direct object — помога́ть (help), звони́ть (phone), сове́товать (advise), ве́рить (believe), меша́ть (bother), ра́доваться (be glad about) — so 'I help my brother' is Я помога́ю бра́ту (dat), not *брата.
- Привозить / Привезти (to bring [by vehicle])B1 — Complete conjugation-and-usage reference for the prefixed transitive motion pair привози́ть / привезти́ 'to bring (something, by vehicle)'. Imperfective привози́ть (привожу́, приво́зишь) versus perfective привезти́ (привезу́, привезёшь, привезу́т; past привёз / привезла́), built from при- 'arrival' + везти́ 'transport'. Governs the accusative of the thing and the dative of the person, and contrasts with приноси́ть (bring on foot).
- Forming Aspect Pairs: PrefixationA2 — The commonest way the perfective is built: adding a prefix to an imperfective base. With a 'pure' perfectivizing prefix (про-, на-, с-, по-…) the meaning stays the same and only completion is added — but the prefix is lexically fixed and must be memorized per verb. Most other prefixes change the meaning and build a brand-new verb.
- Accusative: The Direct ObjectA1 — The accusative marks the direct object — the thing a transitive verb acts on directly. Verbs like чита́ть, смотре́ть, люби́ть, ви́деть, знать all take an accusative object (чита́ть кни́гу, люби́ть му́зыку). Because Russian word order is free, the case ending — not position — tells you which noun is being acted upon, so every direct object must be marked. Object pronouns (меня́, тебя́, его́, её, нас, вас, их) are accusative too.
- Verbs Governing the DativeB1 — The closed set of high-frequency verbs that take a DATIVE object with no preposition, where English uses a plain direct object — a persistent error source. помога́ть (help), звони́ть (phone), ве́рить (believe/trust), сове́товать (advise), меша́ть (disturb), отвеча́ть (answer), удивля́ться (be surprised at), ра́доваться (be glad of), зави́довать (envy), угрожа́ть (threaten), подража́ть (imitate), принадлежа́ть (belong to), сле́довать (follow), разреша́ть/запреща́ть (allow/forbid). The unifying thread is loose — 'directing an action toward someone' — so they must be drilled with the dative until automatic, because English transitivity interference is strong.