Infinitive (imperfective): ду́мать — "to think (as a process / habitually); to have an opinion" Infinitive (perfective): поду́мать — "to give it some thought, to have a think (one bout of thinking)" Type: regular first-conjugation verb of the читать-type
ду́мать is one of the first verbs you reach for past the survival phase, and it hides two things English speakers regularly trip over. First, you do not "think about" something with a word for about plus a direct object — Russian uses о + prepositional: ду́мать о рабо́те ("think about work"). Second, the prefix turns the meaning, not just the aspect: поду́мать is the gentle inceptive "have a think / give it some thought," while a different prefix gives приду́мать "think up, invent" — a separate verb you should not confuse with the aspect partner. The conjugation is the easy part: ду́мать is a textbook first-conjugation verb, stem-stressed everywhere.
Present tense (ду́мать, imperfective) — first conjugation, stem-stressed
Only the imperfective ду́мать has a present. The perfective поду́мать column shows the future with the identical endings.
| Person | ду́мать — PRESENT | поду́мать — FUTURE (perfective) |
|---|---|---|
| я | ду́маю | поду́маю |
| ты | ду́маешь | поду́маешь |
| он / она́ / оно́ | ду́мает | поду́мает |
| мы | ду́маем | поду́маем |
| вы | ду́маете | поду́маете |
| они́ | ду́мают | поду́мают |
These are the regular first-conjugation endings (-ю, -ешь, -ет, -ем, -ете, -ют) on the unchanging stem ду́ма-. The stress never leaves the ду́- stem, which makes this one of the most forgiving verbs to conjugate — see the first-conjugation page for the pattern.
Я ду́маю о тебе́ ка́ждый день.
I think about you every day. — ду́маю о + prepositional тебе́; the ongoing process.
О чём ты ду́маешь?
What are you thinking about? — о чём = о + prepositional of что; note the о, not a bare object.
Я ду́маю, что он прав.
I think (that) he's right. — ду́маю, что + clause: stating an opinion.
Past tense
A regular, gender-marked past off the -а- stem. Stress stays on ду́- throughout.
| Gender / number | ду́мать (impf) | поду́мать (pf) |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | ду́мал | поду́мал |
| feminine | ду́мала | поду́мала |
| neuter | ду́мало | поду́мало |
| plural | ду́мали | поду́мали |
The aspect contrast: imperfective ду́мал views thinking as an ongoing process or a held opinion ("I was thinking / I used to think / I thought [= believed]"); perfective поду́мал marks one bounded bout of thought ("I thought it over [and decided] / it crossed my mind / I had a think"). A flash of "I thought to myself…" is the perfective поду́мал.
Я до́лго ду́мал, как ему́ об э́том сказа́ть.
I thought for a long time about how to tell him. — ду́мал: a drawn-out process, imperfective.
Я поду́мал и согласи́лся.
I thought it over and agreed. — поду́мал: one bounded act of thinking with a result.
Future tense
The pair forms its future the two standard ways.
- ду́мать (imperfective) → compound future: бу́ду ду́мать "I'll be thinking / will keep thinking it over."
- поду́мать (perfective) → simple future (conjugated above): поду́маю "I'll have a think (about it), I'll consider it."
| Person | ду́мать → бу́ду ду́мать | поду́мать → simple future |
|---|---|---|
| я | бу́ду ду́мать | поду́маю |
| ты | бу́дешь ду́мать | поду́маешь |
| он / она́ / оно́ | бу́дет ду́мать | поду́мает |
| мы | бу́дем ду́мать | поду́маем |
| вы | бу́дете ду́мать | поду́маете |
| они́ | бу́дут ду́мать | поду́мают |
The everyday "I'll think about it" — the polite hedge before a decision — is the perfective Я поду́маю. The compound бу́ду ду́мать is "I'll keep thinking / I'll be mulling it over." The mechanics are on the perfective simple future page.
Спаси́бо за предложе́ние, я поду́маю.
Thanks for the offer, I'll think about it. — поду́маю: the standard polite 'let me consider it'.
Я бу́ду ду́мать о тебе́, пока́ тебя́ нет.
I'll be thinking of you while you're away. — бу́ду ду́мать о + prepositional; ongoing.
Imperative
Regular, stem-stressed for both aspects.
| Addressee | ду́мать (impf) | поду́мать (pf) |
|---|---|---|
| ты (informal) | ду́май | поду́май |
| вы (formal / plural) | ду́майте | поду́майте |
The perfective Поду́май asks for one act of reflection — "have a think, think it over (before you answer)." The imperfective Ду́май is more of a present-tense nudge to keep one's mind engaged, and appears in fixed warnings like Ду́май, что говори́шь! "Watch what you're saying!" (literally "think what you're saying").
Поду́май хороше́нько, пре́жде чем реша́ть.
Think it over well before deciding. — perfective поду́май: one act of reflection.
Ду́май, что говори́шь!
Watch what you're saying! — imperfective ду́май, a fixed reproach.
Participles and verbal adverbs
| Form | ду́мать (impf) | поду́мать (pf) |
|---|---|---|
| present active participle | ду́мающий "(the one) thinking" | — (perfectives have none) |
| past active participle | ду́мавший | поду́мавший |
| verbal adverb | ду́мая "thinking / while thinking" | поду́мав "having thought" |
The imperfective verbal adverb ду́мая ("thinking, while thinking") is genuinely common in speech and writing: не ду́мая "without thinking, on impulse." The perfective поду́мав ("having thought, after a moment's thought") is also frequent: поду́мав, он отказа́лся "after some thought, he declined."
Не ду́мая ни секу́нды, она́ прыгну́ла в во́ду.
Without a second's thought, she jumped into the water. — verbal adverb ду́мая in не ду́мая.
Key uses & collocations
1. ду́мать о + prepositional — to think about something
The core pattern for "think about X" is о + prepositional (о + prepositional): ду́мать о рабо́те, о бу́дущем, о де́тях, о тебе́. Use об before a vowel (об э́том, об отце́) and обо in the fixed обо мне, обо всём.
Переста́нь ду́мать о пробле́мах хотя́ бы на ве́чер.
Stop thinking about problems at least for the evening. — ду́мать о + prepositional пробле́мах.
2. ду́мать, что… — to think / hold an opinion
To report an opinion, use a что-clause: ду́маю, что… "I think (that)…". The comma before что is obligatory. This is also the structure for "I think so" — Ду́маю, да / Я так ду́маю.
Я ду́маю, что нам пора́ идти́.
I think (that) it's time for us to go. — ду́мать, что + clause.
3. поду́мать vs приду́мать — reflect vs invent
The aspect partner of ду́мать is поду́мать (have a think). Do not confuse it with приду́мать (perfective; impf приду́мывать) "to think up, invent, come up with" — a different verb with its own meaning, governing the accusative of the thing invented: приду́мать план, отгово́рку, и́мя. See aspect pairs by prefix for how prefixes reshape meaning.
Он приду́мал отли́чную отгово́рку.
He came up with a great excuse. — приду́мать + accusative: invent, not just ponder.
Common Mistakes
❌ Я ду́маю тебя́ ка́ждый день.
Government error — 'think about' is ду́мать О + prepositional, not a bare object: ду́маю о тебе́.
✅ Я ду́маю о тебе́ ка́ждый день.
I think about you every day.
❌ Я ду́маю о тебя́.
Case error — after о in this sense use the PREPOSITIONAL (о тебе́), not the accusative. ду́мать о + prepositional.
✅ Я ду́маю о тебе́.
I think about you.
❌ Я поду́мал отли́чную иде́ю.
Wrong verb — to 'come up with / invent' is приду́мать (+ accusative), not поду́мать. поду́мать = to reflect, not to produce an idea.
✅ Я приду́мал отли́чную иде́ю.
I came up with a great idea.
❌ За́втра я бу́ду поду́мать об э́том.
Aspect error — the бу́ду future needs an imperfective infinitive. The perfective makes its own future: поду́маю (no бу́ду).
✅ Я поду́маю об э́том за́втра.
I'll think about it tomorrow.
❌ Я ду́маю что ты прав.
Punctuation error — Russian requires a comma before что introducing a clause: ду́маю, что…
✅ Я ду́маю, что ты прав.
I think (that) you're right.
Key Takeaways
- ду́мать is a regular first-conjugation verb, stem-stressed everywhere: ду́маю / ду́маешь / ду́мает / ду́маем / ду́маете / ду́мают. No mutation, no stress shift.
- No perfective present. поду́маю looks like a present but is the future (perfective поду́мать = "have a think").
- Past: ду́мал (process / held opinion) vs поду́мал (one bounded bout of thought, "it crossed my mind").
- Future: imperfective compound бу́ду ду́мать; perfective simple поду́маю (the polite "I'll think about it").
- Imperative: поду́май (think it over) vs ду́май, что говори́шь (a reproach).
- Government: "think about" = о + prepositional (ду́мать о рабо́те); opinion = что-clause (ду́маю, что…); to puzzle over = над + instrumental (ду́мать над зада́чей).
- Don't confuse поду́мать (reflect) with приду́мать (invent / think up, + accusative).
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- Prepositional for Topic (о/об 'about')A1 — о/об/обо + prepositional means 'about, concerning' — ду́мать о бу́дущем, кни́га о войне́, мечта́ть о ле́те. The preposition changes shape: о before consonants (о ма́ме), об before vowels (об Анне, об э́том), обо in fixed phrases (обо мне, обо всём). Several verbs that are transitive in English need о + prepositional in Russian.
- 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.
- Present Tense: First ConjugationA1 — The first-conjugation present paradigm: чита́ть → чита́ю, чита́ешь, чита́ет, чита́ем, чита́ете, чита́ют, with endings on the theme vowel -е-. Covers the -ать stem class (де́лать, рабо́тать), the stressed consonant-stem variant (жить → живу́, живёшь), and the -овать/-евать contraction (рисова́ть → рису́ю).
- Verbal Aspect: The Big PictureA2 — Aspect is the spine of the Russian verb: nearly every verb belongs to a pair — imperfective (process, repetition, general fact) and perfective (a single completed whole with a result). This page explains the pair, the consequences for the tense system (perfectives have no present), and why you must decide 'process or result?' before you even pick a tense.
- The Perfective (Simple) FutureA2 — The perfective future is a single word: you conjugate a perfective verb with the ordinary present-tense endings (-у/-ю, -ешь/-ишь…) and the result means the FUTURE — прочита́ю 'I'll read (and finish),' напишу́ 'I'll write,' куплю́ 'I'll buy,' позвоню́ 'I'll call.' The trap is that these forms look exactly like a present tense, but a perfective verb has no present, so a conjugated perfective is always future. It names a single completed action with a result, a promise, or one step in a sequence.
- Верить / Поверить (to believe)B1 — Complete conjugation-and-usage reference for the aspect pair ве́рить / пове́рить 'to believe, to trust'. A regular second-conjugation verb whose government splits on meaning: the DATIVE for trusting a person (ве́рить дру́гу 'believe a friend') versus в + accusative for belief IN something (ве́рить в Бо́га, ве́рить в себя́).