Infinitive (imperfective): ходи́ти — "to go (on foot), to walk" Type: the multidirectional verb of the іти́ / ходи́ти motion pair; second conjugation with d→dž mutation in the 1sg
ходи́ти is half of one of the most important — and most foreign — distinctions in Ukrainian: the split between determinate (unidirectional) іти́ and indeterminate (multidirectional) ходи́ти. English has one verb, "to walk / to go," for both. Ukrainian forces you to choose: іти́ is a single trip going one way right now (Я йду додо́му "I'm walking home"), while ходи́ти is the all-purpose verb for habits (Я ходжу́ на робо́ту "I go to work"), round trips (Я ходи́в у магази́н "I went to the shop and came back"), ability (дити́на вже хо́дить "the baby can walk now"), and aimless motion (ходи́ти туди́-сюди́ "to pace back and forth"). Conjugation-wise it has one mutation worth flagging: the д → дж in the 1sg ходжу́ only. Stress is marked on every form below.
Present tense — second conjugation, д→дж in the 1sg only
A second-conjugation verb: stem ход- (→ ходж- in the 1sg) plus the -у / -иш / -ить / -имо / -ите / -ять endings. The mutation appears only in ходжу́; every other form has plain -д-, with the stress on the хо́- stem throughout the singular and the 3pl.
| Person | ходи́ти — PRESENT | English |
|---|---|---|
| я | ходжу́ | I go / walk (habitually) |
| ти | хо́диш | you go (sg.) |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | хо́дить | he / she / it goes |
| ми | хо́димо | we go |
| ви | хо́дите | you go (pl./formal) |
| вони́ | хо́дять | they go |
Я ходжу́ до шко́ли пі́шки, бо вона́ по́руч.
I walk to school on foot, because it's nearby. (1sg ходжу́ — note the д→дж; a habitual round trip.)
Ти ча́сто хо́диш у спортза́л?
Do you go to the gym often? (2sg хо́диш — plain -д-, a recurring habit, hence multidirectional.)
На́ша мала́ вже хо́дить і навіть бі́гає.
Our little one can already walk and even run. (3sg хо́дить — the 'be able to walk' meaning.)
Past tense — gendered (ходи́в…) = a completed round trip
A regular gendered past in -в / -ла / -ло / -ли, stress on the -и́- of the stem. The key meaning point: because ходи́ти is multidirectional, the past ходи́в usually means a completed there-and-back trip — Я ходи́в у магази́н = "I went to the shop (and I'm back)," not "I was on my way."
| Gender / number | ходи́ти — PAST | English |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | ходи́в | (he / I m.) went / used to go |
| feminine | ходи́ла | (she / I f.) went |
| neuter | ходи́ло | (it) went |
| plural | ходи́ли | (we / you / they) went |
Учо́ра я ходи́ла до лі́каря — нічого́ страшно́го.
Yesterday I went to the doctor — nothing serious. (ходи́ла = a completed round trip there and back, a female speaker.)
У дити́нстві ми щолі́та ходи́ли в по́ходи.
As children we went hiking every summer. (ходи́ли — a repeated habit in the past.)
Future tense
ходи́ти is imperfective, so it has no simple (perfective) future of its own — for "I'll go and come back once" you would use the prefixed perfective сходи́ти (Я схо́джу в апте́ку "I'll pop to the pharmacy"). The plain ходи́ти builds an ordinary imperfective future for a future habit: analytic (бу́ду + infinitive) or synthetic (-му).
| Person | Analytic (бу́ду + inf.) | Synthetic (-му) |
|---|---|---|
| я | бу́ду ходи́ти | ходи́тиму |
| ти | бу́деш ходи́ти | ходи́тимеш |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | бу́де ходи́ти | ходи́тиме |
| ми | бу́демо ходи́ти | ходи́тимемо |
| ви | бу́дете ходи́ти | ходи́тимете |
| вони́ | бу́дуть ходи́ти | ходи́тимуть |
З ве́ресня я бу́ду ходи́ти на ку́рси украї́нської.
From September I'll be going to Ukrainian classes. (Analytic imperfective future — a future ongoing habit.)
Imperative
The imperative is end-stressed on the ход- stem. Note the very common hortative ході́мо "let's go," and that the bare ході́ть / ходи́ is the everyday "come (over here)" invitation — Ukrainian uses ходи́ where English says "come."
| Addressee | ходи́ти |
|---|---|
| ти (informal) | ходи́ |
| ми (let's — hortative) | ході́мо |
| ви (formal / plural) | ході́ть |
| 3rd person (let…) | хай / неха́й хо́дить |
Ході́мо вже́, бо запі́знимося на по́їзд!
Let's get going, or we'll miss the train! (Hortative ході́мо — 'let's go'.)
Ходи́ сюди́, я тобі́ щось покажу́.
Come here, I'll show you something. (Imperative ходи́ — Ukrainian uses 'go' where English says 'come'.)
Verbal adverbs
| Form | ходи́ти |
|---|---|
| imperfective verbal adverb | хо́дячи "(while) walking / going about" |
хо́дячи is (literary / written) — Хо́дячи мі́стом, він ду́мав про до́му "Walking through the city, he thought of home." In everyday speech you would recast this with a clause.
Key uses & case government
1. Direction — до + genitive, у/в + accusative, на + accusative
Where you are going takes a directional preposition, never a locative one. People and institutions named by a person take до + genitive (ходи́ти до лі́каря, до дру́га); enclosed places take у / в + accusative (ходи́ти в магази́н, у шко́лу); open or event-type places take на + accusative (ходи́ти на робо́ту, на конце́рт). Compare this with where you are, which uses the locative.
Щонеді́лі вони́ хо́дять до це́ркви, а пото́му на база́р.
Every Sunday they go to church and then to the market. (Direction: до + genitive це́ркви; на + accusative база́р.)
2. Multidirectional vs unidirectional — ходи́ти vs іти́
This is the choice that has no English equivalent. ходи́ти = habit, round trip, ability, no single direction; іти́ = one trip, one direction, happening now. Я ходжу́ на робо́ту "I go to work (every day)" but Я йду на робо́ту "I'm on my way to work (right now)." The full logic is on іти́ vs ходи́ти.
Я ча́сто ходжу́ в теа́тр, а за́раз са́ме йду на ви́ставу.
I often go to the theatre, and right now I'm on my way to a show. (ходжу́ = habit, multidirectional; йду = one trip happening now.)
3. Prefixed imperfectives — прихо́дити, вихо́дити, захо́дити
Adding a directional prefix to -ходи́ти yields a family of imperfective verbs whose perfective partners are built on -йти: прихо́дити / прийти́ "to arrive," вихо́дити / ви́йти "to leave, go out," захо́дити / зайти́ "to drop in." These all keep the second-conjugation ходи́ти endings and are catalogued under prefixed motion.
Він зазвича́й прихо́дить на робо́ту о дев’я́тій.
He usually arrives at work at nine. (Prefixed imperfective прихо́дить — a habit, so не прийде́.)
Common Mistakes
❌ Я хо́дю до шко́ли.
Missing the 1sg mutation — -ди- becomes -джу in the 1sg: Я ходжу́ до шко́ли.
✅ Я ходжу́ до шко́ли.
I go to school.
❌ Я ходжу́ на робо́ту за́раз.
Aspect/direction error — for one trip happening NOW use the unidirectional іти́: Я йду на робо́ту за́раз. (ходи́ти = habit/round trip, not a single trip in progress.)
✅ Я йду на робо́ту.
I'm on my way to work.
❌ Я ходжу́ в шко́лі.
Wrong case — motion TO a place takes the accusative, not the locative: Я ходжу́ в шко́лу. (в шко́лі = location, 'in school'.)
✅ Я ходжу́ в шко́лу.
I go to school.
❌ Вони́ хо́дять до лі́кар.
Government error — 'to the doctor' is до + genitive: до лі́каря; the noun must inflect: Вони́ хо́дять до лі́каря.
✅ Вони́ хо́дять до лі́каря.
They go to the doctor.
❌ Ходімо́ вже́!
Stress error — the hortative is stressed ході́мо, not 'ходімо́': Ході́мо вже́!
✅ Ході́мо вже́!
Let's get going!
Key Takeaways
- Multidirectional: ходи́ти covers habits, round trips, ability to walk, and aimless motion — never one trip happening now (that's іти́).
- 1sg mutation: ходжу́ (д→дж), then plain -д- everywhere else: хо́диш, хо́дить, хо́димо, хо́дите, хо́дять.
- Past ходи́в = usually a completed there-and-back trip ("went and came back"), or a past habit.
- Future: imperfective only — бу́ду ходи́ти / ходи́тиму for a future habit; for one round trip use perfective сходи́ти.
- Imperative: ходи́ / ході́ть, plus the very common hortative ході́мо "let's go"; ходи́ also means "come here."
- Government: direction by до + genitive (до лі́каря), у/в + accusative (у шко́лу), на + accusative (на робо́ту) — never the locative.
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- Verbs of Motion: OverviewA2 — A single English 'go' splits into FOUR base verbs by mode (on foot іти́/ходи́ти vs by vehicle ї́хати/ї́здити) AND directionality — unidirectional (one trip, one way, in progress: іду́) vs multidirectional (habitual, round-trip, general: ходжу́). This base two-by-two of mode × direction is the foundation of the whole motion system, before prefixes (прийти́, піти́, ви́йти) add direction and aspect on top.
- Prefixed Verbs of Motion: OverviewB1 — A directional prefix transforms a motion verb on two levels at once. On the UNIDIRECTIONAL stem it makes a PERFECTIVE (прийти́ 'arrive', ви́йти 'go out'); the SAME prefix on the MULTIDIRECTIONAL stem makes the matching IMPERFECTIVE (прихо́дити, вихо́дити). Each prefix has a consistent meaning across all motion verbs — при- arrive/toward, ви- out, за- drop by/behind, пере- across/relocate, до- reach, від- away, про- through/past, об- around, в-/у- in, з-/ді- down/off — so learning ~10 prefixes once unlocks all prefixed motion.
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