Imperfective: ї́сти — "to eat, to be eating" Perfective: з’ї́сти — "to eat up, to finish eating (something whole)" Type: an athematic verb (one of only four in Ukrainian); the perfective adds the prefix з- with a hardening apostrophe
ї́сти is the everyday verb for eating, and it is irregular in exactly the same way as да́ти: it is athematic. There is no -е-/-и- theme vowel between the stem and the personal endings, so the present looks nothing like a normal first- or second-conjugation verb — їм, їси́, їсть, їмо́, їсте́, їдя́ть. The perfective з’ї́сти is built with the prefix з-, and because the root begins with the iotated ї, an apostrophe is required to keep the з hard and the ї a full syllable: з’ї́сти, з’їм, з’їв. Getting that apostrophe right (it is the curly ’ , U+2019) is part of spelling the word correctly. The pair also illustrates a beautiful aspect-and-case interaction: eating some of something puts the food in the partitive genitive, while eating it all up takes the accusative. Stress is marked on every form.
Present tense — the athematic set (imperfective ї́сти only)
Only the imperfective ї́сти has a present tense, and it is one of the most irregular paradigms in the language. The endings attach directly to the stem; note the 3sg їсть (-сть, not -е/-ить) and the 3pl їдя́ть with its inserted -д-.
| Person | ї́сти — PRESENT | English |
|---|---|---|
| я | їм | I eat / am eating |
| ти | їси́ | you eat (sg.) |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | їсть | he / she / it eats |
| ми | їмо́ | we eat |
| ви | їсте́ | you eat (pl./formal) |
| вони́ | їдя́ть | they eat |
The stress moves to the ending in all forms except the monosyllabic їм: їси́, їмо́, їсте́, їдя́ть are all end-stressed, while їсть is a stressed monosyllable. The present means a habit or an action in progress — Я не їм м’я́са "I don't eat meat."
Я не їм м’я́са вже п’ять ро́ків.
I haven't eaten meat for five years. — habitual present їм; genitive м’я́са under negation.
Чому́ ти нічо́го не їси́? Тобі́ не смаку́є?
Why aren't you eating anything? Don't you like it? — 2sg їси́, end-stressed.
Вони́ за́вжди їдя́ть ра́зом о пе́ршій.
They always eat together at one o'clock. — 3pl їдя́ть with the inserted -д-.
Future tense — з’ї́сти (perfective, athematic) vs ї́сти (imperfective)
The perfective з’ї́сти conjugates exactly like ї́сти but means the future, because perfective verbs have no present. Keep the apostrophe in every form. The imperfective uses the two ordinary futures.
| Person | Perfective simple future (з’ї́сти) | Imperfective analytic (бу́ду…) | Imperfective synthetic (-му) |
|---|---|---|---|
| я | з’їм | бу́ду ї́сти | ї́стиму |
| ти | з’їси́ | бу́деш ї́сти | ї́стимеш |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | з’їсть | бу́де ї́сти | ї́стиме |
| ми | з’їмо́ | бу́демо ї́сти | ї́стимемо |
| ви | з’їсте́ | бу́дете ї́сти | ї́стимете |
| вони́ | з’їдя́ть | бу́дуть ї́сти | ї́стимуть |
Я з’їм цей сала́т, а ти бери́ су́п.
I'll eat this salad, you take the soup. — perfective з’їм = future, eating it whole.
Не хвилю́йся, діти́ все з’їдя́ть до кінця́.
Don't worry, the kids will eat it all up. — 3pl з’їдя́ть, perfective 'eat up completely'.
Past tense — їв / ї́ла / ї́ло / ї́ли
The past is regular for both aspects, off the stems ї- (with the historical -в) — note that the masculine їв keeps -в where you might expect *їл. The perfective adds the prefix: з’їв, з’ї́ла…
| Gender / number | Imperfective ї́сти | Perfective з’ї́сти |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | їв | з’їв |
| feminine | ї́ла | з’ї́ла |
| neuter | ї́ло | з’ї́ло |
| plural | ї́ли | з’ї́ли |
The imperfective past describes the activity or a habit ("was eating / used to eat"), the perfective a finished meal ("ate up, finished"). Stress stays on the ї- stem throughout — ї́ла, ї́ло, ї́ли, з’ї́ла — except the monosyllables їв / з’їв.
Я ще не їв сього́дні — ці́лий день на нога́х.
I haven't eaten yet today — I've been on my feet all day. — imperfective їв, the process/state.
Дити́на з’ї́ла всю ка́шу й попроси́ла ще.
The child ate up all the porridge and asked for more. — perfective з’ї́ла, the whole portion.
Imperative — їж / ї́жте
The imperative comes off the present stem: їж (2sg), ї́жте (2pl). It is one of the most common things you'll hear at a Ukrainian table — Їж, поки́ гаря́че! "Eat while it's hot!" The perfective з’їж / з’ї́жте urges someone to finish.
| Addressee | Imperfective ї́сти | Perfective з’ї́сти |
|---|---|---|
| ти (informal) | їж | з’їж |
| ви (formal / plural) | ї́жте | з’ї́жте |
| 3rd person (let him/them) | хай / неха́й їсть | хай / неха́й з’їсть |
Їж, поки́ гаря́че, а то охоло́не.
Eat while it's hot, or it'll go cold. — imperfective imperative їж, an invitation to start.
З’їж хоч щось пе́ред доро́гою.
At least eat something before the journey. — perfective з’їж, 'get it down you'.
Participles and verbal adverbs
| Form | ї́сти / з’ї́сти |
|---|---|
| passive past participle (pf.) | з’ї́дений "eaten (up)" |
| imperfective verbal adverb | ї́вши "having eaten" (rare) |
| perfective verbal adverb | з’ї́вши "having eaten up" |
The passive participle з’ї́дений is everyday ("the cake is eaten / gone"). The verbal adverbs are (literary / written).
Key uses & case government
1. Accusative whole vs partitive genitive "some"
This is the elegant payoff of the pair. The perfective з’ї́сти implies the whole object, so it takes the accusative: з’їв су́п "ate the soup (all of it)." But to say you ate some of something — a portion, not the lot — Ukrainian uses the partitive genitive, very often with the prefix по-: поїв супу "had some soup." The case literally signals "part of," not "all." See partitive genitive and the genitive-vs-accusative object page.
Він з’їв уве́сь борщ і попроси́в добавки.
He ate up all the borshch and asked for seconds. — perfective з’їв + accusative whole борщ.
Я тро́хи поїв су́пу й побі́г на робо́ту.
I had a bit of soup and ran off to work. — partitive genitive су́пу = 'some soup', not the whole bowl.
2. Negated object → genitive
Under negation the object normally goes to the genitive of negation: Я не їм м’я́са "I don't eat meat," Я не з’їв і шматка́ "I didn't eat even a piece."
Він і шматка́ хлі́ба не з’їв за весь день.
He didn't eat even a piece of bread all day. — genitive шматка́ under negation.
3. ї́сти as an intransitive "to have a meal"
Without an object, ї́сти simply means "to eat / to have food" — Хо́чеш ї́сти? "Are you hungry? (lit. do you want to eat?)" is the standard way to ask.
Ти, ма́буть, хо́чеш ї́сти — я зараз щось приготу́ю.
You're probably hungry — I'll make something right away. — intransitive ї́сти 'to eat / be hungry'.
Common Mistakes
❌ Я їжу́ ка́шу щора́нку.
Wrong stem — ї́сти is athematic, so the 1sg is їм, not the regular-looking *їжу́: Я їм ка́шу щора́нку.
✅ Я їм ка́шу щора́нку.
I eat porridge every morning.
❌ Вони́ їсть ра́зом.
Wrong person — їсть is the 3rd-person SINGULAR; the 3pl is їдя́ть: Вони́ їдя́ть ра́зом.
✅ Вони́ їдя́ть ра́зом.
They eat together.
❌ Я зїм цей сала́т.
Spelling error — the prefix з- before the iotated ї needs an APOSTROPHE: з’їм (with ’, U+2019), never зїм or зьїм.
✅ Я з’їм цей сала́т.
I'll eat this salad.
❌ Я бу́ду з’ї́сти су́п.
Aspect/future error — the perfective з’ї́сти already IS the future (з’їм); бу́ду takes only an imperfective infinitive: Я з’їм су́п (or Я бу́ду ї́сти су́п).
✅ Я з’їм су́п.
I'll eat the soup.
❌ Поїв весь су́п.
Aspect/case mismatch — по- + genitive means 'had SOME'; to mean 'ate the WHOLE soup' you need з’їсти + accusative: З’їв весь су́п.
✅ Він з’їв весь су́п.
He ate up the whole soup.
Key Takeaways
- ї́сти is athematic: present їм / їси́ / їсть / їмо́ / їсте́ / їдя́ть — no theme vowel, with -сть in 3sg and -дя́ть in 3pl.
- Perfective з’ї́сти = "eat up (whole)"; its forms (з’їм, з’їси́, з’їсть, з’їдя́ть) are the future — and always keep the apostrophe ’ (U+2019).
- Past: їв / ї́ла / ї́ло / ї́ли (note the masculine -в); perfective з’їв / з’ї́ла…
- Aspect ↔ case: accusative for the whole thing (з’їв су́п), partitive genitive for "some" (поїв супу); genitive of negation under не.
- Imperative їж / ї́жте is the everyday table invitation; intransitive ї́сти = "to be hungry" (Хо́чеш ї́сти?).
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