Infinitive (imperfective): кла́сти — "to put, to lay (down), to place flat" Perfective partner: покла́сти — "to put (down), to lay, to place" Type: a first-conjugation verb with a suppletive present stem (клад-); the verb of putting something flat
кла́сти is one of three Ukrainian verbs that all translate the lazy English "put," and choosing among them is a real B1 skill. кла́сти puts something into a horizontal / lying position — you lay a book on the table, put a spoon in the drawer, put sugar in your tea. Its sister verb ста́вити puts things upright / standing (a vase, a glass, a bottle), and ві́шати hangs them (a coat, a picture). The conjugation hides a classic suppletion: the infinitive shows клас-, but the whole present runs off a different stem, клад- (кладу́, кладе́ш). Stress is end-fixed throughout the present. Stress is marked on every form below.
Present tense — the suppletive клад-stem
The infinitive кла́с-ти gives no hint of the present: the present runs off клад- (a -д- that the infinitive's -т- swallowed). The endings are the first-conjugation set -у / -еш / -е / -емо / -ете / -уть, and the stress sits on the ending throughout (кладу́, кладе́ш…).
| Person | кла́сти — PRESENT | English |
|---|---|---|
| я | кладу́ | I put / lay |
| ти | кладе́ш | you put (sg.) |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | кладе́ | he / she / it puts |
| ми | кладемо́ | we put |
| ви | кладете́ | you put (pl./formal) |
| вони́ | кладу́ть | they put |
Imperfective кла́сти describes the process or habit of putting — what you regularly do, or an action in progress.
Я за́вжди кладу́ ключі́ в одну́ й ту са́му кише́ню.
I always put my keys in the same pocket. (Habitual present кладу́ + у + accusative кише́ню.)
Скі́льки ло́жок цу́кру ти кладе́ш у ка́ву?
How many spoons of sugar do you put in your coffee? (2sg кладе́ш — note the suppletive клад-stem.)
Не клади́ телефо́н на край сто́лу — впаде́.
Don't put your phone on the edge of the table — it'll fall. (Negated imperative клади́ + на + accusative.)
Past tense — gendered клав / кла́ла / кла́ло / кла́ли
The past returns to the клас- family but drops the -д- and -с-: masculine клав (no -в-on-в, just клав), feminine кла́ла, etc. Stress sits on the stem in the feminine/neuter/plural (кла́-).
| Gender / number | кла́сти (impf) | покла́сти (pf) |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | клав | покла́в |
| feminine | кла́ла | покла́ла |
| neuter | кла́ло | покла́ло |
| plural | кла́ли | покла́ли |
Imperfective клав = "was putting / used to put" (process or habit); perfective покла́в = "put (and it's done)" — the single completed act with a result. This is the everyday choice: a one-off "I put it there" is almost always perfective покла́в.
Я то́чно покла́в па́спорт у цю́ ша́фу — а тепе́р його́ нема́є.
I definitely put my passport in this cupboard — and now it's gone. (Perfective покла́в — one completed act, a result expected.)
Ра́ніше ма́ма за́вжди кла́ла мені́ я́блуко в по́ртфель.
Mum always used to put an apple in my school bag. (Imperfective кла́ла — a repeated habit in the past.)
Future tense
Perfective покла́сти — the simple future
The present-form of the perfective is its future: покладу́ "I'll put." Same клад-stem with the prefix по-, end-stress throughout.
| Person | покла́сти — FUTURE | English |
|---|---|---|
| я | покладу́ | I'll put |
| ти | покладе́ш | you'll put |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | покладе́ | he / she / it will put |
| ми | покладемо́ | we'll put |
| ви | покладете́ | you'll put |
| вони́ | покладу́ть | they'll put |
Я покладу́ твої́ докуме́нти на стіл, добре?
I'll put your documents on the table, okay? (Perfective future покладу́ — one definite action.)
Imperfective кла́сти — both compound futures
The imperfective makes its future analytically (бу́ду + infinitive) or synthetically (the -му form). You reach for it for a repeated or ongoing future putting — I'll be putting money aside each month.
| Person | Analytic (бу́ду + inf.) | Synthetic (-му) |
|---|---|---|
| я | бу́ду кла́сти | кла́стиму |
| ти | бу́деш кла́сти | кла́стимеш |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | бу́де кла́сти | кла́стиме |
| ми | бу́демо кла́сти | кла́стимемо |
| ви | бу́дете кла́сти | кла́стимете |
| вони́ | бу́дуть кла́сти | кла́стимуть |
Відтепе́р я кла́стиму части́ну зарпла́ти на оща́дний раху́нок.
From now on I'll put part of my salary into a savings account. (Imperfective future кла́стиму — a repeated future habit.)
Imperative
The imperative is built off the клад-stem: клади́ (2sg), кладі́ть (2pl/formal), with end-stress. The perfective gives поклади́ / покладі́ть.
| Addressee | кла́сти (impf) | покла́сти (pf) |
|---|---|---|
| ти (informal) | клади́ | поклади́ |
| ви (formal / plural) | кладі́ть | покладі́ть |
| 3rd person (let…) | хай / неха́й кладе́ | хай / неха́й покладе́ |
Поклади́ телефо́н і послу́хай мене́, будь ла́ска.
Put the phone down and listen to me, please. (Perfective imperative поклади́ — a single, completed request.)
Participles and verbal adverbs
| Form | кла́сти / покла́сти |
|---|---|
| past passive participle (pf) | покла́дений "put, laid, placed" |
| imperfective verbal adverb | кладу́чи "(while) putting" |
| perfective verbal adverb | покла́вши "having put" |
The passive participle покла́дений is common in fixed expressions — обо́в’язки, покла́дені на ньо́го "the duties placed on him." The verbal adverbs are (literary / written).
Key uses & case government
1. Accusative object + directional у / на / під + accusative
кла́сти takes a direct accusative object (the thing put) and a directional phrase showing where it ends up — almost always у / в, на, під, за + accusative (motion into / onto / under / behind a goal). The accusative-of-direction is non-negotiable: you are moving the object to a place, not describing where it sits. See the accusative of direction.
Поклади́ ви́делки на стіл, а ножі́ — пра́воруч.
Put the forks on the table, and the knives on the right. (Accusative object ви́делки + на + accusative стіл.)
Він покла́в гро́ші в конве́рт і запеча́тав його́.
He put the money in an envelope and sealed it. (Object гро́ші + в + accusative конве́рт.)
2. кла́сти vs ста́вити vs ві́шати — flat, upright, or hanging
This is where English "put" splinters. Use кла́сти when the object comes to rest lying down (a book, a phone, cutlery, a person into bed). Use ста́вити when it ends up standing upright (a glass, a vase, a pot, a bottle, a car in a parking spot). Use ві́шати when it hangs (a coat on a hook, a picture on a wall). The test is the resting posture: ask "will it lie, stand, or hang?" — see ста́вити / стоя́ти.
Скля́нку тре́ба ста́вити, а не кла́сти — інакше ро́злиєш.
A glass you have to stand up, not lay down — otherwise you'll spill it. (Contrast ста́вити 'upright' vs кла́сти 'flat'.)
3. Fixed and figurative uses
кла́сти feeds a host of set phrases: кла́сти спа́ти "put (a child) to bed," кла́сти край (чому́сь) "put an end (to something)," кла́сти в ліка́рню "admit to hospital," and the reflexive cluster кла́стися спа́ти "lie down to sleep." Note that кла́сти край takes the dative of the thing ended.
Час кла́сти край цій безглу́здій супере́чці.
It's time to put an end to this pointless argument. (Set phrase кла́сти край + dative супере́чці.)
Common Mistakes
❌ Я положу́ кни́жку на стіл.
Wrong verb — положи́ти / положу́ is Russian; the standard Ukrainian perfective is покла́сти / покладу́: Я покладу́ кни́жку на стіл.
✅ Я покладу́ кни́жку на стіл.
I'll put the book on the table.
❌ Покла́ди скля́нку на по́лицю.
Wrong 'put' verb — a glass stands upright, so it takes ста́вити, not кла́сти: Поста́в скля́нку на по́лицю.
✅ Поста́в скля́нку на по́лицю.
Put the glass on the shelf.
❌ Я покла́в гро́ші в банк щомі́сяця.
Aspect error — a repeated habit ('every month') takes the IMPERFECTIVE клав, not the perfective покла́в (which marks a single completed act): Я клав гро́ші в банк щомі́сяця.
✅ Я клав гро́ші в банк щомі́сяця.
I put money in the bank every month. (Habit → imperfective клав.)
❌ Він кла́в кни́жку на столі́.
Case error — putting is MOTION, so the goal is accusative, not locative: …на стіл (accusative), not на столі́ (locative).
✅ Він покла́в кни́жку на стіл.
He put the book on the table.
❌ Я кладу́сь телефо́н на стіл.
Don't add -ся — кла́сти is not reflexive when you put an object; -ся (кла́стися) means 'lie down oneself': Я кладу́ телефо́н на стіл.
✅ Я кладу́ телефо́н на стіл.
I put the phone on the table.
Key Takeaways
- кла́сти = lay something FLAT; contrast ста́вити (stand upright) and ві́шати (hang). The resting posture decides the verb.
- Present: suppletive клад-stem — кладу́ / кладе́ш / кладе́ / кладемо́ / кладете́ / кладу́ть, end-stressed.
- Past: клав / кла́ла / кла́ло / кла́ли; perfective покла́в "put (done)."
- Future: perfective покладу́ "I'll put"; imperfective бу́ду кла́сти / кла́стиму for a habit.
- Government: accusative object + directional у / на / під + accusative (motion to a goal), never the locative.
- The standard perfective is покла́сти / покладу́ — положи́ти is Russian; avoid it.
Now practice Ukrainian
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Ukrainian→Related Topics
- Accusative: Uses Beyond the Direct ObjectB1 — The accusative does more than mark the object — with в/у, на, за, під, через it marks motion TOWARD a target (іду в школу), it expresses bare-preposition duration (чекав годину 'waited an hour'), and it stands in a pivotal contrast with the locative: the same prepositions в/у and на take the accusative for direction (куди? в школу) but the locative for static location (де? в школі).
- Motion vs Location: The Case SwitchA2 — The three-way pivot at the centre of Ukrainian prepositions: куди? (motion toward → accusative: іду в шко́лу, кладу́ на стіл, сів за стіл), де? (location → locative with в/на, instrumental with за/під/над: я в шко́лі, лежи́ть на столі́, сиди́ть за столо́м), and зві́дки? (origin → genitive: зі шко́ли, від ліка́ря). The same preposition keeps its shape; only the case changes — в шко́лу, в шко́лі, зі шко́ли differ by case alone — so mastering the куди/де/зві́дки question is the master key to the whole preposition system.
- Verb Government: Which Case for the ObjectB1 — Most Ukrainian verbs take an accusative object (читаю книгу), but a large core group governs the dative (дякую тобі, допомагаю мамі), the genitive (боюся темряви, потребую допомоги), or the instrumental (керую фірмою, ціка́влюся історією) — and the governed case is a fixed lexical property of each verb that English speakers must memorise, because none of these behave like English transitives.
- Imperfective vs Perfective: The Master DecisionB1 — A decision-tree for the single hardest choice in Ukrainian: which aspect. Order the diagnostic questions and most decisions are made for you before you ever weigh 'process vs result' — present/ongoing, repeated/habitual, duration, and phase verbs FORCE the imperfective; a single completed result or one event in a sequence forces the perfective. Worked mini-cases, minimal pairs, and the top-five aspect traps.
- Verb Reference: Відкладати / ВідкластиB2 — Full stress-marked conjugation and usage of the aspect pair відклада́ти / відкла́сти (to postpone, to set aside), whose perfective conjugates on the -кладу stem like кла́сти, with its case government and learner errors.
- Стояти (to stand)A2 — Complete conjugation-and-usage reference for стоя́ти 'to stand, to be standing' — a second-conjugation STATE verb whose stem ends in a vowel, so the endings take -ї- after it (стою́ / стої́ш / стої́ть / стоїмо́ / стоїте́ / стоя́ть). Covers the gendered past стоя́в / стоя́ла, both imperfective futures, the imperative стій / сті́йте, the all-important contrast with the change-of-state pair встава́ти / вста́ти 'to get up' and става́ти / ста́ти 'to become / stop', the locative government (стоя́ти на зупи́нці), and the stance trio стоя́ти / сиді́ти / лежа́ти — including the fact that inanimate things 'stand': Маши́на стої́ть бі́ля до́му.