Infinitive: бу́ти — "to be, to exist" Type: the central irregular verb; imperfective (its perfective sense is carried by the future forms)
бу́ти is the single most important verb in the language, and also the strangest, because for most of the present tense it simply isn't there. Ukrainian drops the present-tense copula: Він студе́нт "He is a student" has no verb at all. What survives of the present is one frozen form, є, used for existence, possession and emphasis. The past is a regular gendered set (був, була́, було́, були́), and the future (бу́ду, бу́деш…) does double duty: it is бу́ти's own future and the auxiliary that builds the analytic future of every other imperfective verb. Stress is marked on every form below.
Present tense — the invariant є (normally omitted)
Historically бу́ти had a full present paradigm; in modern standard Ukrainian it has collapsed to a single invariant form, є, used for all persons and numbers. And even є is usually dropped as a copula — it appears only when you assert that something exists or that someone has something (у ме́не є…), or for emphasis.
| Person | Present | Note |
|---|---|---|
| я | (є) | One form є for every person; normally omitted as a copula |
| ти | (є) | |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | (є) | |
| ми | (є) | |
| ви | (є) | |
| вони́ | (є) |
The archaic full set (єсть, єси́, суть…) is (archaic / liturgical) — you will meet суть "they are" only in old or very formal texts; do not use it in speech.
Він лі́кар, а вона́ вчи́телька.
He is a doctor and she is a teacher. (Present copula DROPPED — no є at all; predicate noun is nominative.)
У ме́не є пита́ння до вас.
I have a question for you. (Existence/possession — є is kept here.)
Украї́на є чле́ном Ра́ди Євро́пи.
Ukraine is a member of the Council of Europe. (Formal/written є with an instrumental predicate — emphatic, official register.)
Past tense — gendered був / була́ / було́ / були́
The past is fully regular and agrees in gender and number with the subject, like every Ukrainian past tense. There is no person marking — only gender (singular) and plurality.
| Gender / number | Past | English |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | був | (he / I / you m.) was / were |
| feminine | була́ | (she / I / you f.) was / were |
| neuter | було́ | (it) was |
| plural | були́ | (we / you / they) were |
In the past, the predicate noun shifts to the instrumental (more on this below). And було́ has an extra life as an impersonal "there was / it was" (Було́ хо́лодно "it was cold").
Учо́ра я був на робо́ті ці́лий день.
Yesterday I was at work all day. (Masculine був — a male speaker.)
Вона́ була́ найкра́щою студе́нткою на ку́рсі.
She was the best student in the year. (була́ + instrumental predicate студе́нткою.)
Ра́ніше тут було́ ма́леньке кафе́.
There used to be a small café here. (Impersonal/existential було́.)
Future tense — бу́ду / бу́деш… (and the universal auxiliary)
бу́ти forms its future with the dedicated set бу́ду, бу́деш, бу́де, бу́демо, бу́дете, бу́дуть. These are also the auxiliary that builds the imperfective future of every other verb (бу́ду чита́ти "I will read"), so they are worth automatising completely.
| Person | Future | English |
|---|---|---|
| я | бу́ду | I will be |
| ти | бу́деш | you will be (sg.) |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | бу́де | he / she / it will be |
| ми | бу́демо | we will be |
| ви | бу́дете | you will be (pl./formal) |
| вони́ | бу́дуть | they will be |
In the future, too, the predicate noun goes instrumental: Він бу́де лі́карем "He will be a doctor." Note that бу́ти has no separate "synthetic" -му future of its own — бу́ду is the only future. (The -му future, e.g. чита́тиму, is built from other verbs, never from бу́ти itself, since бу́ду already supplies the auxiliary.)
За́втра я бу́ду вдо́ма пі́сля шо́стої.
Tomorrow I'll be home after six. (Future of бу́ти.)
Не хвилю́йся, усе́ бу́де до́бре.
Don't worry, everything will be fine. (бу́де + adverb — the reassuring set phrase.)
Коли́ ви́рості, він бу́де чудо́вим інжене́ром.
When he grows up he'll be a wonderful engineer. (бу́де + instrumental predicate інжене́ром.)
Conditional — був би / була́ б / було́ б / були́ б
The conditional/subjunctive is the past form plus the invariant particle би (or б after a vowel). It expresses hypotheticals and polite wishes — Я був би ра́дий "I would be glad."
| Gender / number | Conditional |
|---|---|
| masculine | був би |
| feminine | була́ б |
| neuter | було́ б |
| plural | були́ б |
Я був би ду́же вдя́чний за допомо́гу.
I would be very grateful for your help. (Conditional був би — polite, a male speaker.)
Imperative
The imperative of бу́ти is genuinely common — "be careful," "be well." Note the 1pl бу́дьмо "let us be," famous as the Ukrainian toast.
| Addressee | Imperative |
|---|---|
| ти (informal) | будь |
| ми (let's) | бу́дьмо |
| ви (formal / plural) | бу́дьте |
| 3rd person (let him/them) | хай / неха́й бу́де |
Будь обере́жний на доро́зі!
Be careful on the road! (Informal imperative будь + nominative adjective.)
Бу́дьте здоро́ві!
Be well! / Bless you! (Formal/plural imperative — also said after a sneeze.)
Хай за́вжди бу́де со́нце.
May there always be sunshine. (3rd-person хай + бу́де — the well-known song line.)
Verbal adverb
| Form | бу́ти |
|---|---|
| verbal adverb | бу́дучи "being / while being" |
бу́дучи is (literary / written) — Бу́дучи студе́нтом, він бага́то подорожува́в "Being a student, he travelled a lot."
Key uses & case government
1. Copula — DROP it in the present, restore it in past/future
This is the heart of бу́ти. In the present, the link "X is Y" has no verb — Київ — столи́ця "Kyiv is the capital" (the dash even marks the gap). In the past and future, бу́ти reappears: Київ був столи́цею / бу́де столи́цею.
And with the verb comes a case shift in the predicate: present predicate = nominative (Він студе́нт), but past/future/infinitive predicate = instrumental (Він був студе́нтом; хо́че бу́ти лі́карем). This nominative→instrumental swap is the single trickiest thing about бу́ти; it has its own page, predicate nominative vs instrumental.
Тоді́ він був студе́нтом, а тепе́р він — досві́дчений лі́кар.
Back then he was a student, and now he's an experienced doctor. (Past був + instrumental студе́нтом; present — no copula, nominative лі́кар.)
2. Existence and possession — у + genitive + є
To say something exists or someone has it, Ukrainian uses у / в + genitive + є + the thing owned in the nominative: У ме́не *є маши́на* "I have a car" (literally "at me there-is a car"). Here є is normally kept. For the whole possession system, see мати vs у мене є.
У них є дві́ дити́ни.
They have two children. (Possession — у + genitive них + є + nominative.)
3. Negated existence — нема́є / нема́ + genitive
The negative of є is not не є but the special word нема́є (or short нема́), and what is absent goes into the genitive: У ме́не нема́є ча́су "I have no time." This genitive of negation is obligatory.
На жаль, сього́дні в ме́не нема́є ча́су.
Unfortunately I have no time today. (Negated existence — нема́є + genitive ча́су.)
4. Future auxiliary — бу́ду + imperfective infinitive
бу́ду / бу́деш… + an imperfective infinitive builds the future of other verbs: Я бу́ду чита́ти "I will read / will be reading."
Уве́чері ми бу́демо диви́тися фільм.
In the evening we'll watch a film. (Future auxiliary бу́демо + imperfective infinitive диви́тися.)
Common Mistakes
❌ Він є студе́нт.
Don't use a present copula by default — the present 'to be' is dropped: Він студе́нт. (є only for existence/possession/emphasis.)
✅ Він студе́нт.
He is a student — no copula in the present.
❌ Він був студе́нт.
In the PAST the predicate noun goes INSTRUMENTAL, not nominative: Він був студе́нтом.
✅ Він був студе́нтом.
He was a student — був + instrumental.
❌ У ме́не не є ча́су.
The negative of є is нема́є + genitive, never 'не є': У ме́не нема́є ча́су.
✅ У ме́не нема́є ча́су.
I have no time — нема́є + genitive.
❌ Вона́ був до́ма.
Agreement error — the past agrees with gender: a female subject takes була́: Вона́ була́ до́ма.
✅ Вона́ була́ до́ма.
She was at home — feminine була́.
❌ Я бу́ду прочита́ти кни́жку.
The future auxiliary бу́ду takes an IMPERFECTIVE infinitive; perfective прочита́ти already IS the future on its own: Я бу́ду чита́ти кни́жку (or Я прочита́ю кни́жку).
✅ Я бу́ду чита́ти кни́жку.
I will read the book — бу́ду + imperfective infinitive.
Key Takeaways
- Present: dropped. Він лі́кар = "He is a doctor," no verb. є is kept only for existence / possession (у ме́не є…) and emphasis; all persons share the one form є.
- Past: gendered був / була́ / було́ / були́ — agrees with the subject's gender/number.
- Future: бу́ду / бу́деш / бу́де / бу́демо / бу́дете / бу́дуть — also the auxiliary for the imperfective future of every other verb.
- Predicate case: nominative in the present (Він студе́нт), instrumental in the past, future and infinitive (був студе́нтом, бу́де лі́карем, хо́че бу́ти лі́карем).
- Negated existence: нема́є / нема́ + genitive (нема́є ча́су), never не є.
- Imperative: будь / бу́дьмо / бу́дьте; хай бу́де for the 3rd person.
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- The Present of Бути (and the Missing Copula)A1 — Ukrainian normally has NO present-tense 'to be': Він студе́нт 'he is a student', Я вдо́ма 'I'm home' — the copula simply disappears, often replaced in writing by a dash (Київ — столи́ця). The single present form є exists for all persons but is used sparingly: for existence and possession (У ме́не є час 'I have time'), for emphasis or formal definitions (Украї́на є незале́жною держа́вою), and it negates to нема́є + genitive (нема́є ча́су). Inserting є everywhere is a beginner error; forgetting it in 'у ме́не є…' is the opposite error.
- The Analytic Future (буду читати)A2 — The analytic (compound) imperfective future (складена фо́рма майбу́тнього ча́су): the future of бу́ти — бу́ду, бу́деш, бу́де, бу́демо, бу́дете, бу́дуть — followed by an IMPERFECTIVE infinitive, unchanged. бу́ду чита́ти, бу́деш чита́ти, бу́де чита́ти, бу́демо чита́ти, бу́дете чита́ти, бу́дуть чита́ти. The auxiliary must be the FUTURE of бу́ти (not its present), and the infinitive must be imperfective — no *бу́ду прочита́ти; a perfective forms its future synthetically as прочита́ю. бу́ду alone = 'I will be' (Я бу́ду вдо́ма); бу́ду + infinitive = 'I will be V-ing / will V'. It is fully synonymous with the synthetic чита́тиму — the safer default for learners, while -тиму is the idiomatic flourish.
- Predicate Nouns: Nominative vs InstrumentalB1 — The case of the noun after 'to be' and its relatives flips with the verb form: in the present zero-copula it is NOMINATIVE (Він лі́кар), but with an overt бути in the past, future, or infinitive it goes INSTRUMENTAL (Він був лі́карем, Вона́ бу́де вчи́телькою, хо́чу бу́ти лі́карем). The same instrumental follows ста́ти/става́ти 'become,' працюва́ти 'work as,' залиша́тися 'remain,' назива́тися 'be called,' вважа́тися 'be considered' — so the same role changes case with the verb, a pattern English (which keeps 'a doctor' invariant) has no analogue for.
- Genitive of Negation and AbsenceA2 — How Ukrainian expresses absence and negation with the genitive — нема́є/нема́ + genitive for 'there is no' (нема́є ча́су, у ме́не нема́є бра́та), не було́/не бу́де + genitive for past and future absence (вчора́ не було́ дощу́), and the case-flip on negated objects where the accusative becomes genitive (Я ма́ю кни́гу → Я не ма́ю кни́ги), the earliest must-know pattern for saying 'I don't have' in Ukrainian.
- Мати (to have)A1 — Complete conjugation-and-usage reference for ма́ти 'to have' — present ма́ю / ма́єш / ма́є / ма́ємо / ма́єте / ма́ють + ACCUSATIVE object, past мав / ма́ла / ма́ло / ма́ли, future both ways (бу́ду ма́ти and synthetic ма́тиму). Covers the rivalry with у ме́не є, the negation нема́є + GENITIVE, obligation ма́ти + infinitive, and the idioms ма́ти ра́цію 'be right', ма́ти на ува́зі 'mean', не ма́є значе́ння.
- Verb Reference: Є / Немає (there is / there isn't)A1 — The existential є ('there is') — the only surviving present of бути — and its negation немає / нема ('there isn't') + genitive, including the possession pattern У мене є + nominative / У мене немає + genitive, with past було and future буде.