Infinitive (imperfective): приходи́ться — "to have to (repeatedly / generally); to fall to one's lot; to be related to" Infinitive (perfective): прийти́сь — "to have to (in one specific case); to come to pass; to fit" Type: a reflexive -ся verb used mainly as an impersonal modal — dative experiencer + infinitive, no nominative subject
прихо́дится / пришло́сь is one of the most useful constructions in Russian and one English has no neat equivalent for. Used impersonally, it means "to have to" in the sense of an obligation forced on you by circumstances — not a duty you accept (до́лжен), not a plain necessity (на́до), but something you are driven to do because there is no other way. Мне пришло́сь уйти́ = "I had to leave" (I didn't want to; circumstances made me). The person who has to act is in the dative, the action is an infinitive, and there is no nominative subject at all — the verb sits frozen in the 3rd-person singular neuter: прихо́дится, пришло́сь, придётся. Learn it as a fixed frame: [dative] + прихо́дится/пришло́сь/придётся + infinitive. Stress is marked on every form.
The impersonal paradigm
Because there is no subject, the modal uses only the 3rd-person-singular present, the neuter past, and the 3rd-singular future. There is no "I / you / we" form — the person is carried entirely by the dative word. (The full personal conjugation does exist for the literal senses below; the impersonal modal uses only the three cells here.)
| Tense | Form (impersonal) | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| present (impf) | прихо́дится | "(one) has to / keeps having to" |
| past (impf) | приходи́лось | "used to have to / would have to" |
| past (pf) | пришло́сь | "(one) had to (in one case)" |
| future (pf) | придётся | "(one) will have to" |
Note the irregular perfective stem: the infinitive прийти́сь and the future придётся share the идти-style suppletion (compare прийти́ → приду́, придёт). The past пришло́сь is the neuter of пришёл-style forms. These are the same shapes you know from идти / прийти — learn them as a block.
Мне ча́сто прихо́дится рабо́тать по выходны́м.
I often have to work on weekends. — present прихо́дится: a recurring forced obligation; dative Мне + infinitive.
Нам пришло́сь отмени́ть пое́здку.
We had to cancel the trip. — perfective past пришло́сь: one forced act; dative Нам + infinitive.
Тебе́ придётся подожда́ть.
You'll have to wait. — future придётся: an unavoidable obligation ahead; dative Тебе́.
Aspect within the modal
The two aspects split the modal cleanly by generality vs single case. Imperfective прихо́дится / приходи́лось = a recurring or general having-to ("I keep having to / I used to have to"). Perfective пришло́сь / придётся = one specific forced act in the past or future ("I had to / I'll have to, this once"). This is the ordinary imperfective-vs-perfective contrast applied to obligation.
Ра́ньше мне приходи́лось е́здить на двух авто́бусах.
I used to have to take two buses. — imperfective приходи́лось: a recurring past obligation.
В тот день мне пришло́сь е́хать на двух авто́бусах.
That day I had to take two buses. — perfective пришло́сь: a single occasion.
Government: dative + infinitive
The frame is rigid. The person who is forced to act stands in the dative (the dative subject / experiencer), and the forced action is an infinitive. There is never a nominative subject — that is the defining trait of an impersonal construction. The dative person is grammatically just an experiencer, not the subject; the verb stays neuter-singular no matter who it is.
Ма́ме пришло́сь взять о́тпуск за свой счёт.
Mum had to take unpaid leave. — dative Ма́ме + infinitive взять; verb stays neuter пришло́сь.
Им придётся объясни́ть, где они́ бы́ли.
They'll have to explain where they were. — dative Им + infinitive объясни́ть; future придётся.
To negate, put не before the modal: не пришло́сь / не придётся = "didn't have to / won't have to." This is the natural way to say "luckily, I didn't have to."
К сча́стью, нам не пришло́сь до́лго ждать.
Luckily, we didn't have to wait long. — negated не пришло́сь.
приходи́ться vs до́лжен vs на́до
All three render English "have to / must," but they are not interchangeable. This table is the practical heart of the page.
| Construction | Subject case | Nuance |
|---|---|---|
| я до́лжен / должна́ + inf. | nominative (agrees) | a duty / obligation you bear; can be moral |
| мне на́до / ну́жно + inf. | dative | plain necessity — "I need to" |
| мне прихо́дится / пришло́сь + inf. | dative (no subject) | forced by circumstance — "I have to, like it or not" |
The fuller comparison is on the expressing necessity and до́лжен / на́до / ну́жно pages.
Я не хоте́л, но мне пришло́сь согласи́ться.
I didn't want to, but I had to agree. — пришло́сь captures the reluctant, forced 'had to' that до́лжен would not.
The literal senses (personal conjugation)
Outside the modal use, приходи́ться / прийти́сь is a normal verb and conjugates fully. Two literal senses are worth knowing.
1. приходи́ться кому-то кем-то — "to be related to"
With a dative person and an instrumental role-noun, it means "to be (someone's) relative": Он прихо́дится мне дя́дей "He is my uncle (lit. he comes-to me as an uncle)." The role goes in the instrumental predicate.
Она́ прихо́дится мне двою́родной сестро́й.
She's my cousin. — dative мне + instrumental двою́родной сестро́й; the 'be related' sense.
2. прийти́сь по + dative / прийти́сь + dative — "to fit / fall on"
прийти́сь also means "to fit" or "to fall on (a date)": Боти́нки пришли́сь впо́ру "The boots fit just right," Пра́здник пришёлся на воскресе́нье "The holiday fell on a Sunday." The idiom прийти́сь по вку́су "to be to one's taste" is very common.
Твой пода́рок пришёлся ей по душе́.
She really liked your gift (it was to her liking). — idiom прийти́сь по душе́ + dative ей.
Common Mistakes
❌ Я пришёл уйти́ ра́но.
Two errors — this is impersonal: no nominative 'Я', and the verb stays neuter-singular пришло́сь, not the personal past пришёл. Use Мне пришло́сь уйти́.
✅ Мне пришло́сь уйти́ ра́но.
I had to leave early.
❌ Меня́ пришло́сь рабо́тать в суббо́ту.
Case error — the person is in the DATIVE, not the accusative: Мне пришло́сь, not Меня́.
✅ Мне пришло́сь рабо́тать в суббо́ту.
I had to work on Saturday.
❌ За́втра мне бу́дет прийти́сь рабо́тать.
The perfective future is the single word придётся (no бу́дет) — придётся IS the future of прийти́сь.
✅ За́втра мне придётся рабо́тать.
Tomorrow I'll have to work.
❌ Тебе́ прихо́дится извини́ться.
Aspect mismatch — for one specific future obligation use the perfective придётся, not the imperfective present прихо́дится (which means 'keeps having to').
✅ Тебе́ придётся извини́ться.
You'll have to apologize.
❌ Он прихо́дит мне бра́том.
Wrong verb — the 'be related' sense is the -ся verb прихо́дится (+ instrumental): Он прихо́дится мне бра́том. прихо́дит (no -ся) means 'he comes / arrives'.
✅ Он прихо́дится мне бра́том.
He's my brother.
Key Takeaways
- Impersonal modal: [dative person] + прихо́дится / пришло́сь / придётся + infinitive = "have to," with no nominative subject — the verb is frozen neuter-singular.
- The three forms to know: present прихо́дится, perfective past пришло́сь, perfective future придётся (irregular, идти-style). Imperfective past приходи́лось = "used to have to."
- Nuance: forced by circumstance, "like it or not" — stronger and more reluctant than до́лжен (a duty) or на́до / ну́жно (plain necessity).
- Aspect: imperfective прихо́дится / приходи́лось = recurring/general; perfective пришло́сь / придётся = one specific case.
- Negate with не: не пришло́сь / не придётся = "didn't / won't have to."
- Literal senses (full personal conjugation): прийти́сь кому-то кем-то = "be related to" (+ instrumental); прийти́сь по вку́су / по душе́ = "be to one's liking."
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