Infinitives: бра́ти (imperfective) / взя́ти (perfective) — "to take, to get, to pick up" Type: a suppletive first-conjugation aspect pair — the two halves share no stem at all
бра́ти / взя́ти is one of the most-used verbs in the language and also one of the trickiest to inflect, because the two aspects come from different roots. The imperfective бра́ти conjugates its present on a hidden бер- stem you cannot guess from the infinitive (беру́, бере́ш), and the perfective взя́ти conjugates on візьм- with a soft sign (візьму́, ві́зьмеш). English uses one word, "take," for both the ongoing activity and the single completed act; Ukrainian splits them across these two verbs, so the first thing to learn is which verb you need before you can even open your mouth. Stress is marked on every form below.
Present tense — imperfective бра́ти only (stem бер-)
Only the imperfective has a present tense. Note that the infinitive's -ра- disappears and the present is built on бер-, end-stressed throughout. This is a first-conjugation verb with the -е-/-у- endings.
| Person | бра́ти — PRESENT | English |
|---|---|---|
| я | беру́ | I take |
| ти | бере́ш | you take (sg.) |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | бере́ | he / she / it takes |
| ми | беремо́ | we take |
| ви | берете́ | you take (pl./formal) |
| вони́ | беру́ть | they take |
The imperfective present is for habits and ongoing action: Я за́вжди беру́ ка́ву на ви́ніс "I always get coffee to go."
Я ча́сто беру́ книжки́ в бібліоте́ці.
I often take books out of the library. (Habitual — imperfective present беру́ + accusative книжки́.)
Чому́ ти бере́ш мою́ ку́ртку без дозво́лу?
Why are you taking my jacket without permission? (Ongoing — бере́ш + accusative ку́ртку.)
Вони́ беру́ть креди́т на нову́ кварти́ру.
They're taking out a loan for a new flat. (беру́ть + accusative креди́т — the set phrase 'take a loan'.)
Past tense — gendered (брав / узя́в…)
Both aspects form a regular gendered past in -в / -ла / -ло / -ли, agreeing with the subject's gender and number. The perfective masculine has two euphonic variants, узя́в and взяв, chosen by the preceding sound: узя́в after a consonant or a pause (він узя́в ключі́) and взяв after a vowel (я взяв ключі́) — the same у/в alternation as the preposition у/в "in".
| Gender / number | бра́ти (impf) | взя́ти (pf) |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | брав | узя́в / взяв |
| feminine | брала́ | взяла́ |
| neuter | бра́ло | взяло́ |
| plural | бра́ли | взяли́ |
The imperfective past describes a process or a repeated action (я брав уро́ки "I used to take lessons"); the perfective past reports a single completed grab (я взяв ключі́ "I took the keys [and now I have them]"). Mind the mobile stress: imperfective is stem-stressed except the feminine (брав, but брала́), while the perfective is end-stressed except the masculine (взяла́, взяло́, взяли́, but узя́в/взяв).
Я взяв парасо́льку, бо хма́рилося.
I took an umbrella because it was clouding over. (Single completed act — perfective взяв + accusative парасо́льку.)
Вона́ взяла́ відпу́стку на два ти́жні.
She took two weeks off. (Perfective feminine взяла́ + accusative відпу́стку.)
У шко́лі я бра́в уро́ки фортепіа́но три ро́ки.
At school I took piano lessons for three years. (Repeated process — imperfective брав.)
Future tense
The two aspects build the future in completely different ways.
Perfective взя́ти — the simple (synthetic) future
The perfective has no present; its present-tense forms ARE its future. These are the everyday "I'll take" forms. Note the soft sign ь and the stress that lands on the ending only in 1sg (візьму́), then retracts to the stem.
| Person | взя́ти — FUTURE | English |
|---|---|---|
| я | візьму́ | I'll take |
| ти | ві́зьмеш | you'll take (sg.) |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | ві́зьме | he / she / it will take |
| ми | ві́зьмемо | we'll take |
| ви | ві́зьмете | you'll take (pl./formal) |
| вони́ | ві́зьмуть | they'll take |
Я візьму́ таксі́, бо вже за́пізно на метро́.
I'll take a taxi — it's too late for the metro. (Perfective simple future візьму́.)
Ві́зьмеш мене́ з собо́ю на конце́рт?
Will you take me along to the concert? (Future ві́зьмеш — stem-stressed.)
Imperfective бра́ти — both compound futures
The imperfective forms its future two ways, identical in meaning: the analytic future (бу́ду + infinitive) and the synthetic -му future (infinitive + -му/-меш…). Both describe taking as an ongoing or habitual future action.
| Person | Analytic (бу́ду + inf.) | Synthetic (-му) |
|---|---|---|
| я | бу́ду бра́ти | бра́тиму |
| ти | бу́деш бра́ти | бра́тимеш |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | бу́де бра́ти | бра́тиме |
| ми | бу́демо бра́ти | бра́тимемо |
| ви | бу́дете бра́ти | бра́тимете |
| вони́ | бу́дуть бра́ти | бра́тимуть |
Цьогорі́ч я бу́ду бра́ти уро́ки украї́нської дві́чі на ти́ждень.
This year I'll be taking Ukrainian lessons twice a week. (Imperfective future — habitual.)
Imperative
The imperative is built from each aspect's present/future stem. Use the imperfective for general invitations ("help yourself, take") and the perfective for a specific one-off instruction ("take this").
| Addressee | бра́ти (impf) | взя́ти (pf) |
|---|---|---|
| ти (informal) | бери́ | візьми́ |
| ви (formal / plural) | бері́ть | візьмі́ть |
| 3rd person (let…) | хай / неха́й бере́ | хай / неха́й ві́зьме |
Бери́ що хо́чеш, не соро́мся.
Take whatever you like, don't be shy. (Imperfective imperative бери́ — open invitation.)
Візьми́ парасо́льку, на ву́лиці дощ.
Take an umbrella, it's raining outside. (Perfective imperative візьми́ — a specific instruction.)
Participles and verbal adverbs
| Form | бра́ти / взя́ти |
|---|---|
| imperfective verbal adverb | беру́чи "(while) taking" |
| perfective verbal adverb | взя́вши "having taken" |
| past passive participle | взя́тий "taken" |
взя́тий is everyday ("the city was taken," "a loan taken out"); the verbal adverbs беру́чи / взя́вши are (literary / written) — Взя́вши себе́ в ру́ки, вона́ продо́вжила "Pulling herself together, she went on."
Key uses & case government
1. The direct object is accusative
Like English "take X," бра́ти / взя́ти governs a plain accusative object — взя́ти кни́жку, ключі́, та́ксі. There is no preposition. With animate nouns the accusative looks like the genitive (взя́ти дити́ну "take the child"), the regular animacy rule.
Не забу́дь узя́ти докуме́нти й гро́ші.
Don't forget to take your documents and money. (Accusative objects докуме́нти, гро́ші.)
2. бра́ти у́часть — "take part" (always imperfective бра́ти)
The fixed phrase for participating is бра́ти у́часть у + locative. It is overwhelmingly used in the imperfective, even for one event; the perfective взя́ти у́часть exists but is far rarer. This idiom has its own page, бра́ти у́часть.
Наша́ кома́нда бере́ у́часть у міжнаро́дному турні́рі.
Our team is taking part in an international tournament. (Set phrase бра́ти у́часть у + locative.)
3. взя́ти себе́ в ру́ки — "pull oneself together"
A high-frequency idiom, literally "take oneself into one's hands," meaning to regain composure. Always perfective взя́ти.
Заспоко́йся, візьми́ себе́ в ру́ки — все мина́є.
Calm down, pull yourself together — this too shall pass. (Idiom візьми́ себе́ в ру́ки.)
Common Mistakes
❌ Я браю кни́жку.
Wrong present stem — бра́ти conjugates on бер-, not 'бра-': я беру́ кни́жку.
✅ Я беру́ кни́жку.
I'm taking the book.
❌ За́втра я бу́ду взя́ти таксі́.
Aspect/future error — the perfective взя́ти already IS the future on its own; don't put it after бу́ду: За́втра я візьму́ таксі́.
✅ За́втра я візьму́ таксі́.
Tomorrow I'll take a taxi.
❌ Я візьму книжку (no soft sign).
The perfective future needs the soft sign ь: візьму́, ві́зьмеш, ві́зьме… — write візьму́, not 'визьму'.
✅ Я візьму́ кни́жку.
I'll take the book.
❌ Вона́ взяв відпу́стку.
Agreement error — the past agrees with gender; a female subject takes взяла́: Вона́ взяла́ відпу́стку.
✅ Вона́ взяла́ відпу́стку.
She took time off.
❌ Наша́ кома́нда грає у́часть у турні́рі.
Wrong verb in the idiom — 'take part' is бра́ти у́часть, not 'грати участь': Наша́ кома́нда бере́ у́часть у турні́рі.
✅ Наша́ кома́нда бере́ у́часть у турні́рі.
Our team is taking part in the tournament.
Key Takeaways
- Suppletive pair: imperfective бра́ти (present stem бер-: беру́, бере́ш, бере́, беремо́, берете́, беру́ть) vs perfective взя́ти (future stem візьм-: візьму́, ві́зьмеш, ві́зьме, ві́зьмемо, ві́зьмете, ві́зьмуть).
- Past: брав / брала́ / бра́ло / бра́ли (impf) and узя́в·взяв / взяла́ / взяло́ / взяли́ (pf) — gendered, with mobile stress.
- Future: the perfective's simple future (візьму́) is the everyday "I'll take"; the imperfective uses бу́ду бра́ти or бра́тиму for habitual future.
- Imperative: бери́ / бері́ть (impf), візьми́ / візьмі́ть (pf).
- Government: plain accusative object, no preposition (взя́ти ключі́).
- Idioms: бра́ти у́часть у + locative "take part"; взя́ти себе́ в ру́ки "pull oneself together."
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- Verbal Aspect: The Big PictureA2 — Aspect is the central, pervasive feature of the Ukrainian verb: nearly every verb belongs to an aspect PAIR — imperfective (недоко́наний вид), which views an action as a process, ongoing, repeated, or general (чита́ти), and perfective (доко́наний вид), which views it as a single completed whole with a result or boundary (прочита́ти). The consequences are sharp: imperfectives have a present, a past, and BOTH futures (бу́ду чита́ти / чита́тиму); perfectives have NO present — their present-shaped form is future (прочита́ю = 'I will read it through') — only a past (прочита́в) and a simple future (прочита́ю). Aspect is chosen for EVERY verb in EVERY clause; it is not optional, and it has no English equivalent.
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- Present Tense: First ConjugationA1 — The first conjugation (пе́рша дієвідмі́на) takes the present endings -у/-ю, -еш/-єш, -е/-є, -емо/-ємо, -ете/-єте, -уть/-ють, built on the theme vowel -е-/-є- with a 3pl in -уть/-ють. Drill three models: vowel-stem чита́ти (чита́ю, чита́єш…), consonant-stem нести́ (несу́, несе́ш…), mutating писа́ти (пишу́, пи́шеш…), могти́ (можу́…), and the huge -увати/-ювати class (працюва́ти → працю́ю).
- Давати / Дати (to give)A1 — Complete conjugation-and-usage reference for the aspect pair дава́ти (imperfective) / да́ти (perfective) 'to give'. The imperfective дава́ти is a regular -ва- present (даю́, дає́ш, дає́…); the perfective да́ти is one of the four ATHEMATIC verbs of Ukrainian, with the irregular set дам, даси́, дасть, дамо́, дасте́, даду́ть that means the FUTURE, not the present. Recipient in the DATIVE (дай мені́), thing given in the ACCUSATIVE (да́ти кни́жку), plus the everyday дай / дава́й imperatives.
- Брати участь та інші вирази з брати/датиB1 — A phrasebook of high-frequency light-verb collocations built on бра́ти / взя́ти 'take' and дава́ти / да́ти 'give' — бра́ти у́часть (у + locative) 'take part', бра́ти до ува́ги 'take into account', бра́ти приклад (з + genitive), да́ти ра́ду (+ dative) 'cope with', да́ти зго́ду 'consent', дава́ти зна́ти 'let know', бра́ти сло́во, бра́ти на се́бе. Each idiom comes with its fixed governed case, because here the meaning lives in the whole chunk, not in the literal verb.