Infinitive (imperfective): ста́вить — "to put / stand (into an upright position)" Infinitive (perfective): поста́вить — "to put / stand (one completed act)" Type: a prefixed aspect pair (по- + ставить), second conjugation with the в→вл mutation in the 1sg
ста́вить / поста́вить means "to put something so that it ends up standing upright" — a vase on a table, a car in the garage, a kettle on the stove. It is the upright counterpart of класть / положи́ть "to put lying/flat": Russian makes you choose the verb by the final posture of the object, a distinction English buries under a single "put." Unlike that suppletive pair, ставить / поставить is a clean, regular aspect pair: the perfective поста́вить is just the imperfective with the prefix по- added, and both conjugate identically as second-conjugation verbs. The only wrinkle is the consonant mutation в → вл in the first-person singular (ста́влю, поста́влю) — a regular feature of second-conjugation stems ending in a labial.
Present tense (ста́вить, imperfective)
Only ста́вить has a present (поста́вить is perfective). It is second conjugation, with the endings -лю / -ишь / -ит / -им / -ите / -ят, and fixed stem-stress on ста́- throughout. Watch the 1sg: the stem-final в becomes вл before the ending — ста́влю, not *ста́вю.
| Person | ста́вить — PRESENT |
|---|---|
| я | ста́влю |
| ты | ста́вишь |
| он / она́ / оно́ | ста́вит |
| мы | ста́вим |
| вы | ста́вите |
| они́ | ста́вят |
The в→вл mutation appears only in the 1sg and then disappears for the rest of the paradigm — exactly the same pattern as люблю́ / лю́бишь (любить) or гото́влю / гото́вишь (гото́вить). This is a regular trait of second-conjugation stems whose stem ends in a "labial" consonant (б, п, в, ф, м); the inserted -л- is called the epenthetic l. See the regular second conjugation page.
Я ка́ждое у́тро ста́влю ча́йник.
Every morning I put the kettle on. — present ста́влю (1sg with в→вл), a habit, imperfective.
Ты ча́сто ста́вишь маши́ну во дворе́?
Do you often park the car in the courtyard? — ста́вишь (no -л- after the 1sg), imperfective.
Они́ ста́вят но́вый спекта́кль в теа́тре.
They're staging a new play at the theatre. — ста́вят 'are staging'; ставить спекта́кль is a fixed collocation.
Past tense
A completely regular -ил past, with fixed stem-stress on ста́- in both members and in every gender (no end-stressed feminine here).
| Gender / number | ста́вить (impf) | поста́вить (pf) |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | ста́вил | поста́вил |
| feminine | ста́вила | поста́вила |
| neuter | ста́вило | поста́вило |
| plural | ста́вили | поста́вили |
The aspect contrast is the standard one. ста́вил views the placing as a process or habit ("I was putting / used to put"); поста́вил views it as one completed act with a result ("I put it [there], and now it stands there"). As with the lying-pair, the single completed "I put X upright" is usually the perfective поста́вил.
Я поста́вил буты́лку вина́ в холоди́льник.
I put a bottle of wine in the fridge. — поста́вил: one completed act; the bottle now stands there. Perfective.
Она́ поста́вила буди́льник на семь утра́.
She set the alarm for seven a.m. — поста́вила; поставить буди́льник = 'set the alarm', a fixed use.
В шко́ле нам ча́сто ста́вили пятёрки за дикта́нт.
At school they often gave us top marks for dictation. — ста́вили (repeated, imperfective); ставить оце́нку = 'give a grade'.
Future tense
The two members form the future in the two standard ways.
- ста́вить (imperfective) → compound future: бу́ду ста́вить "I'll be putting / will keep putting."
- поста́вить (perfective) → simple future (the conjugated forms below). The в→вл mutation appears again in the 1sg поста́влю; stress stays fixed on -ста́- throughout.
| Person | ста́вить → бу́ду ста́вить | поста́вить → simple future |
|---|---|---|
| я | бу́ду ста́вить | поста́влю |
| ты | бу́дешь ста́вить | поста́вишь |
| он / она́ / оно́ | бу́дет ста́вить | поста́вит |
| мы | бу́дем ста́вить | поста́вим |
| вы | бу́дете ста́вить | поста́вите |
| они́ | бу́дут ста́вить | поста́вят |
Because the only difference between the two members is the prefix по-, the perfective future поста́влю / поста́вишь is the present-tense paradigm of ставить with по- bolted on the front — a clean illustration of how a prefix turns an imperfective present into a perfective future. See aspect pairs formed by prefixes.
Я поста́влю маши́ну в гара́ж и приду́.
I'll put the car in the garage and come in. — поста́влю = perfective simple future, one act (note the в→вл).
Поста́вишь чай? Я почти́ гото́ва.
Will you put the kettle on? I'm almost ready. — поста́вишь, perfective future, no -л- after the 1sg.
Imperative
Note the imperative of ста́вить: because the stem ending -вь is preceded by a stressed vowel elsewhere but the imperative drops to a bare soft-stem, the form is the soft ставь (one syllable, no ending), plural ста́вьте. The perfective adds по-: поста́вь / поста́вьте.
| Addressee | ста́вить (impf) | поста́вить (pf) |
|---|---|---|
| ты (informal) | ставь | поста́вь |
| вы (formal / plural) | ста́вьте | поста́вьте |
поста́вь asks for one specific thing to be set somewhere now; ставь is the imperfective — for a general/repeated instruction and for negated commands.
Поста́вь ва́зу на по́лку, осторо́жно.
Put the vase on the shelf, carefully. — поста́вь: one specific act, perfective.
Не ставь горя́чую кастрю́лю на стол!
Don't put the hot pot on the table! — negated command takes the imperfective ставь.
Participles and verbal adverbs
| Form | ста́вить (impf) | поста́вить (pf) |
|---|---|---|
| present active participle | ста́вящий "putting" | — (perfectives have none) |
| past active participle | ста́вивший | поста́вивший |
| past passive participle | — | поста́вленный "put, placed" |
| verbal adverb | ста́вя "while putting" | поста́вив "having put" |
The past passive participle поста́вленный "placed, supplied, staged" is common (поста́вленная за́дача "the task set," поста́вленный го́лос "a trained voice"). The в→вл mutation shows up here too: поста́вленный. The perfective verbal adverb поста́вив "having put" is frequent in writing.
Поста́вив маши́ну, он подня́лся в кварти́ру.
Having parked the car, he went up to the apartment. — verbal adverb поста́вив (having put).
Key uses & collocations
1. ставить / поставить + accusative + a "куда́" goal
The frame is verb + accusative (the thing) + a directional phrase answering куда́?, with в / на + accusative for the destination (motion into / onto) — not the prepositional, which marks static location.
Поста́вь цветы́ в во́ду.
Put the flowers in the water. — в во́ду (accusative, motion to a goal), not в воде́ (prepositional, location).
2. The "standing" member of the put-class
Choose ставить / поставить when the object ends up upright / standing; choose класть / положи́ть when it ends up lying / flat; choose ве́шать / пове́сить when it ends up hanging. Cup standing → поста́вить; plate laid flat → положи́ть; coat on a hook → пове́сить. The static counterparts ("it stands / lies / hangs") are стоя́ть / лежа́ть / висе́ть — see be-located: стоять vs лежать.
Ча́шку поста́вь на стол, а блю́дце положи́ ря́дом.
Stand the cup on the table, and lay the saucer next to it. — поставь (upright) vs положи́ (flat).
3. Idiomatic "set / assign / stage": grades, alarms, plays, tasks, diagnoses
ставить / поставить is extremely productive in fixed expressions: поста́вить оце́нку "give a grade," поста́вить буди́льник "set an alarm," поста́вить спекта́кль "stage a play," поста́вить за́дачу "set a task," поста́вить диа́гноз "make a diagnosis," поста́вить реко́рд "set a record."
Врач поста́вил то́чный диа́гноз с пе́рвого ра́за.
The doctor made an accurate diagnosis on the first try. — fixed idiom поставить диа́гноз.
Common Mistakes
❌ Я ста́вю ча́йник ка́ждое у́тро.
Mutation error — second-conjugation stems in -в take в→вл in the 1sg: ста́влю, not 'ста́вю'. (Same for поста́влю, гото́влю, люблю́.)
✅ Я ста́влю ча́йник ка́ждое у́тро.
I put the kettle on every morning.
❌ Поста́вь таре́лку на стол. (a flat plate)
Wrong posture verb — a plate ends up lying flat, so use положи́. Reserve поста́вь for objects that end up upright (a cup, a vase, a bottle).
✅ Положи́ таре́лку на стол, а ча́шку поста́вь.
Lay the plate on the table, and stand the cup up.
❌ За́втра я бу́ду поста́вить маши́ну в гара́ж.
Incorrect — the бу́ду future needs an IMPERFECTIVE infinitive. The perfective поста́вить makes its own future: поста́влю (no бу́ду).
✅ За́втра я поста́влю маши́ну в гара́ж.
Tomorrow I'll put the car in the garage.
❌ Поста́вь ва́зу на по́лке.
Wrong case — 'put onto X' is direction, so на + ACCUSATIVE: на по́лку. The prepositional на по́лке is for static location.
✅ Поста́вь ва́зу на по́лку.
Put the vase onto the shelf.
❌ Поста́ви ва́зу сюда́.
Imperative error — the imperative of (по)ставить is the soft-stem поста́вь / ставь, not '*поста́ви'. Plural: поста́вьте / ста́вьте.
✅ Поста́вь ва́зу сюда́.
Put the vase here.
Key Takeaways
- ста́вить / поста́вить is a clean prefixed pair: the perfective is just по- + ста́вить; both are regular second-conjugation verbs.
- The в→вл mutation appears only in the 1sg: ста́влю, поста́влю (and in the participle поста́вленный) — everywhere else it's plain -в- (ста́вишь, поста́вит).
- Present (ста́вить only): ста́влю / ста́вишь / ста́вит / ста́вим / ста́вите / ста́вят — fixed stem-stress on ста́-.
- Past: ста́вил / ста́вила / ста́вило / ста́вили (no end-stressed feminine) and поста́вил / поста́вила / …
- Future: imperfective compound бу́ду ста́вить; perfective simple поста́влю / поста́вишь / поста́вят.
- Imperative: ставь / поста́вь (soft-stem, no -и).
- Government:
- accusative (the thing) + в/на + accusative for the "куда́" goal. Posture system: ставить/поставить = upright, класть/положи́ть = flat, ве́шать/пове́сить = hanging. Highly idiomatic (оце́нку, буди́льник, диа́гноз, спекта́кль).
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- Putting Things: Класть/Положить, Ставить/Поставить, Вешать/ПовеситьB1 — Russian splits the single English verb 'put' into three verbs chosen by the resulting orientation of the object: класть/положи́ть (put down flat/lying), ста́вить/поста́вить (put upright/standing), and ве́шать/пове́сить (hang). Covers the suppletive класть/положи́ть pair (never *ло́жить), the accusative-of-destination construction, and how each verb maps to its 'be located' counterpart.
- Being Located: Стоять, Лежать, Сидеть, ВисетьB1 — Russian objects do not simply 'be' somewhere — they stand (стоя́ть), lie (лежа́ть), sit (сиде́ть), or hang (висе́ть). These intransitive position verbs are the static counterparts of the 'put' verbs and take в/на + the prepositional case. Covers which posture each object takes, the neutral нахо́диться/быть alternatives, and the systematic pairing with ставить/класть/вешать.
- Класть / Положить (to put, lay down)B1 — Complete conjugation-and-usage reference for the notorious suppletive pair класть / положи́ть 'to put (into a lying position)': imperfective класть (кладу́, кладёшь, кладу́т; past клал — no *покла́сть) versus perfective положи́ть (положу́, поло́жишь; imperative положи́), built on two different roots. The most-mistaken put-verb pair, with the critical warning that *ло́жить does not exist in the standard language, its accusative + куда́ government, and the posture contrast with ставить/поставить.
- Present Tense: Second ConjugationA1 — The second-conjugation present paradigm: говори́ть → говорю́, говори́шь, говори́т, говори́м, говори́те, говоря́т, with theme vowel -и-. Covers the Л-insertion model люби́ть → люблю́, the 1sg consonant mutation, and the spelling rule that gives слы́шу/слы́шат and учу́/у́чат after hushing consonants.
- Accusative After Prepositions (в, на, за, под, через, про)A2 — The accusative is the case of DESTINATION and DURATION after prepositions: в/на/за/под switch to the accusative the moment there is motion toward a place (иду́ в шко́лу, кладу́ под стол), paired against their prepositional/instrumental location forms (я в шко́ле); plus through/across/in-a-time че́рез + acc (че́рез мост, че́рез час), the barrier-piercing сквозь, the colloquial 'about' про, and о/об in the sense of 'against' (уда́риться о ка́мень).
- 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.