Infinitive (imperfective): случа́ться — "to happen (repeatedly, generally, as a tendency)" Infinitive (perfective): случи́ться — "to happen (one particular event, completed)" Type: an impersonal-leaning pair — the grammatical subject is the event itself, so the verb is used almost only in the 3rd person and the neuter
случа́ться / случи́ться is the verb you reach for the moment something goes wrong, surprises you, or simply takes place: Что случи́лось? "What happened?", Случи́лась беда́ "Disaster struck." What makes it worth a dedicated page is not its conjugation — which is regular — but its grammar of subjecthood. In English, a person can "have something happen to them," but the thing that happens is rarely the subject of a verb that you bother to conjugate across all six persons. In Russian, the event is the subject: Ава́рия случи́лась literally "An accident happened (itself)." Because events are things, not people, the verb sits in the 3rd person — singular when the event is one noun, plural when it is several — and goes neuter in the past whenever there is no concrete noun subject at all (the bare Что случи́лось?). You will almost never say я случа́юсь or ты случа́ешься; those forms exist mechanically but mean nothing useful. Treat this as a verb you conjugate in two or three slots, not twelve.
Present tense (случа́ться, imperfective)
Only the imperfective случа́ться has a present. It is a first-conjugation -ать verb with the reflexive -ся ending; stress stays on -ча́- throughout. The full paradigm is given for completeness, but the shaded reality is that only the 3rd-person forms (случа́ется, случа́ются) are used in living speech.
| Person | случа́ться — PRESENT | (usage) |
|---|---|---|
| я | случа́юсь | — (not used) |
| ты | случа́ешься | — (not used) |
| он / она́ / оно́ | случа́ется | ← the everyday form |
| мы | случа́емся | — (not used) |
| вы | случа́етесь | — (not used) |
| они́ | случа́ются | ← for plural events |
The present imperfective describes things that happen generally, repeatedly, or as a tendency: "such things happen," "it happens from time to time." A single concrete event almost never sits in the present — for that you need the perfective past or future.
Тако́е иногда́ случа́ется, не пережива́й.
That kind of thing happens sometimes, don't worry. — case случа́ется: a general tendency, imperfective present.
Опеча́тки случа́ются да́же у профессиона́лов.
Typos happen even to professionals. — plural subject опеча́тки → случа́ются.
Со мной таки́е глу́пости постоя́нно случа́ются.
Stupid things like this are constantly happening to me. — со мной = 'to me' (с + instrumental); habitual.
Past tense
This is where the verb lives most of its life. The past agrees with the event-subject in gender and number. When there is a concrete noun event, the verb matches it: Случи́лась беда́ (feminine), Случи́лся пожа́р (masculine), Случи́лось несча́стье (neuter). When there is no noun subject — the bare "What happened?" — the verb defaults to the neuter singular: Что случи́лось? Stress stays on -чи́- in the perfective and on -ча́- in the imperfective.
| Gender / number | случа́ться (impf) | случи́ться (pf) |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | случа́лся | случи́лся |
| feminine | случа́лась | случи́лась |
| neuter (default / "what") | случа́лось | случи́лось |
| plural | случа́лись | случи́лись |
The aspect contrast is the standard one. случа́лось views the happening as repeated or as a background possibility ("it used to happen, it would happen, such things did occur"); случи́лось views it as one completed event ("it happened, it occurred"). The single most useful form in the whole paradigm is the neuter perfective случи́лось, because it carries the universal question Что случи́лось? and its answer Ничего́ не случи́лось "Nothing happened."
Что случи́лось? Ты весь день молчи́шь.
What happened? You've been silent all day. — neuter default случи́лось, no noun subject.
Случи́лась беда́: маши́на слома́лась на тра́ссе.
Disaster struck: the car broke down on the highway. — feminine subject беда́ → случи́лась.
В де́тстве со мной не раз случа́лись таки́е исто́рии.
As a kid, stories like that happened to me more than once. — repeated events, imperfective случа́лись + plural subject.
Future tense
The pair forms its future in the two standard ways, but again only the 3rd person is used in practice.
- случа́ться (imperfective) → compound future: бу́дет случа́ться "it will (keep) happen(ing)" — rare, for repeated future events.
- случи́ться (perfective) → simple future (the case-/case forms): случи́тся "it will happen (one event)."
| Person | случа́ться → compound | случи́ться → simple future |
|---|---|---|
| он / она́ / оно́ (the event) | бу́дет случа́ться | случи́тся |
| они́ (the events) | бу́дут случа́ться | случа́тся |
The everyday future form is the perfective случи́тся "it'll happen / it'll come to pass." It is extremely common in conditional and hypothetical sentences: Е́сли что́-нибудь случи́тся, звони́ "If anything happens, call." Note the stress shift in the perfective future: infinitive случи́ться but 3sg case случи́тся, 3pl случа́тся (stress on -ча- in the plural).
Е́сли что́-нибудь случи́тся, сра́зу звони́ мне.
If anything happens, call me right away. — perfective future случи́тся in a conditional.
Никто́ не зна́ет, что случи́тся за́втра.
No one knows what will happen tomorrow. — случи́тся, single future event.
Imperative
There is no imperative. You cannot command an event to happen, and there is no one to address — the subject is a thing, not a person. Forms like случи́сь exist only in frozen literary or folkloric formulas (e.g. как на грех случи́сь… "as ill luck would have it") and are best treated as (archaic / literary) set phrases, not a productive imperative you should form yourself.
Participles and verbal adverbs
| Form | случа́ться (impf) | случи́ться (pf) |
|---|---|---|
| present active participle | случа́ющийся "(that which) happens" | — (perfectives have none) |
| past active participle | случа́вшийся | случи́вшийся "(that which) happened" |
| verbal adverb | случа́ясь (rare) | случи́вшись "having happened" |
The one you will actually meet is the past active participle случи́вшееся used as a noun — "what happened, the incident": Он до́лго не мог забы́ть случи́вшееся "He couldn't forget what had happened for a long time." This is (literary / written) but very common in narrative prose and news.
Поли́ция рассле́дует случи́вшееся на про́шлой неде́ле.
The police are investigating what happened last week. — participle случи́вшееся used as a noun, 'the incident'.
Key uses & collocations
1. The event as subject — agreement is with the event
The core grammar: the noun naming the event is the subject, and the verb agrees with it. There is no "dummy it" as in English. Произошла́ ава́рия / Случи́лась ава́рия — the accident itself happens.
Вчера́ на заво́де случи́лся пожа́р.
There was a fire at the factory yesterday. — masculine subject пожа́р → случи́лся; lit. 'a fire happened'.
2. с + instrumental — "happen TO someone"
To say something happened to a person, Russian uses с + instrumental, not a dative or a direct object. Что с тобо́й случи́лось? "What happened to you?" The person is governed by с in the instrumental case; the event remains the subject.
Что с тобо́й случи́лось? На тебе́ лица́ нет.
What happened to you? You look terrible. — с тобо́й = 'to you', с + instrumental; case event is the unstated subject (neuter случи́лось).
С ним случи́лось несча́стье на рабо́те.
Something terrible happened to him at work. — с ним (instrumental) + neuter subject несча́стье → случи́лось.
3. The synonym происходи́ть / произойти́
The near-synonym происходи́ть / произойти́ "to happen, to take place, to occur" overlaps heavily with случа́ться / случи́ться. The difference is one of register and nuance: происходи́ть is more neutral and broad (events, processes, things "taking place" or "going on"), while случа́ться leans toward the unexpected, the incidental, or the unfortunate. Что происхо́дит? "What's going on?" (an ongoing situation) feels different from Что случи́лось? "What happened?" (a discrete, often alarming event). Use происходи́ть for ongoing or scheduled events, случа́ться for sudden ones.
Что здесь происхо́дит? Почему́ все крича́т?
What's going on here? Why is everyone shouting? — происхо́дит for an ongoing situation, not a single past event.
Common Mistakes
❌ Я случи́лся пробле́му.
Wrong subject — the event is the subject, not the person, and случи́ться has no direct object. Say: У меня́ случи́лась пробле́ма (the problem happened to me).
✅ У меня́ случи́лась пробле́ма с маши́ной.
I've had a problem with my car. — пробле́ма is the subject (feminine → случи́лась).
❌ Что случи́л?
Missing -ся and wrong gender — this verb is reflexive and defaults to neuter when there's no noun subject: Что случи́лось?
✅ Что случи́лось?
What happened?
❌ Что случи́лось тебе́?
Case error — 'happen to someone' is с + INSTRUMENTAL, not the dative: с тобо́й, not тебе́.
✅ Что с тобо́й случи́лось?
What happened to you?
❌ Беда́ случи́лось.
Agreement error — the past agrees with the event-subject in gender. Feminine беда́ → случи́лась, not the neuter default.
✅ Случи́лась беда́.
Disaster struck.
❌ За́втра бу́дет случи́ться затме́ние.
Aspect error — the бу́дет future needs an imperfective. A single future event uses the perfective simple future: случи́тся (no бу́дет).
✅ За́втра случи́тся со́лнечное затме́ние.
Tomorrow there will be a solar eclipse.
Key Takeaways
- The event is the subject. случа́ться / случи́ться is impersonal-leaning: you don't conjugate it across persons — you use случа́ется / случа́ются (present) and the gender-agreeing past (случи́лся / случи́лась / случи́лось / случи́лись).
- Neuter is the default when there's no noun subject: Что случи́лось? "What happened?" — the cornerstone question.
- "Happen to someone" = с + instrumental: Что с тобо́й случи́лось? — never the dative.
- Future: perfective simple случи́тся (one event; common in conditionals — Е́сли что-то случи́тся…); imperfective compound бу́дет случа́ться is rare.
- No imperative — you can't command an event.
- Synonym происходи́ть / произойти́ is broader and more neutral ("take place, go on"); случа́ться leans toward the sudden or unfortunate.
Now practice Russian
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Russian→Related Topics
- Instrumental with С (Together With)A2 — The preposition с/со + instrumental means 'together with, accompanied by, having' — ко́фе с молоко́м, иду́ с дру́гом, мы с бра́том ('my brother and I'). It is ONLY for accompaniment and ingredients, never for tools (those take the bare instrumental). Watch the trap: the same с + genitive means 'from/off' (с рабо́ты).
- 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.
- Past-Tense Gender and Number AgreementA2 — The Russian past tense agrees with its subject in gender (singular) and number — он чита́л, она́ чита́ла, оно́ чита́ло, они́ чита́ли. The traps: я/ты take the gender of the real speaker or addressee; polite Вы always takes plural -ли even for one person; кто forces masculine and что forces neuter regardless of the real referent. This page works through every agreement target.
- 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.
- Казаться / Показаться (to seem)B1 — Complete conjugation-and-usage reference for the aspect pair каза́ться / показа́ться 'to seem, to appear'. A reflexive verb with the з→ж mutation in the я-form (кажу́сь), it governs an INSTRUMENTAL predicate (Он каза́лся у́мным 'He seemed clever') and pairs with a DATIVE experiencer. Its frozen impersonal Мне ка́жется, что… 'It seems to me that…' is one of the most common ways to soften an opinion in Russian.
- Находиться (to be located)A2 — Complete conjugation-and-usage reference for находи́ться 'to be located, to be situated'. A second-conjugation reflexive verb with the д→ж mutation in the я-form (нахожу́сь, нахо́дишься, нахо́дятся), it is the neutral way to say where a place or thing is (Где нахо́дится вокза́л? 'Where is the station?'), governing в/на + the prepositional case — contrasted with the posture verbs стоя́ть / лежа́ть / висе́ть and with быть.