Infinitive (imperfective): кра́сти — "to steal, to take what isn't yours" Perfective partner: вкра́сти / укра́сти — "to steal (once, and get away with it)" Type: a first-conjugation verb with a crad-/клас-type stem (present крад-) and a mixed-stress present
кра́сти belongs to the same small, awkward class as кла́сти: the infinitive shows крас-, but the whole present runs off a different stem, крад- (краду́, кра́деш). Its perfective is вкра́сти (or equally укра́сти — the в-/у- alternation is purely phonetic, chosen for euphony). Two things make this a B2 verb. First, the stress is genuinely mixed: the 1sg ends in -у́ (краду́), but the rest of the present is stem-stressed (кра́деш, кра́де, кра́дуть) — unlike кла́сти, which is end-stressed all the way through. Second, the past drops to the bare masculine крав with a stem-stressed feminine кра́ла. Both traps are flagged at every step. Stress is marked on every form below.
Present tense — the крад-stem, mixed stress
The infinitive кра́с-ти hides the present, which runs off крад- (the -д- that the infinitive's -т- swallowed), with first-conjugation endings -у / -еш / -е / -емо / -ете / -уть. The stress is the catch: краду́ is end-stressed, but from the 2sg onward it retreats to the stem — кра́деш, кра́де, кра́демо, кра́дете, кра́дуть.
| Person | кра́сти — PRESENT | English |
|---|---|---|
| я | краду́ | I steal |
| ти | кра́деш | you steal (sg.) |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | кра́де | he / she / it steals |
| ми | кра́демо | we steal |
| ви | кра́дете | you steal (pl./formal) |
| вони́ | кра́дуть | they steal |
The imperfective кра́сти describes habitual or ongoing thieving — a recurring pattern, not a single act.
Він кра́де по дрібни́цях, ду́маючи, що ніхто́ не помі́тить.
He steals little things, thinking no one will notice. (3sg кра́де — stem-stressed, a habit.)
Не розумі́ю, як де́які лю́ди краду́ть і спокі́йно сплять.
I don't understand how some people steal and sleep soundly. (3pl кра́дуть — stem-stressed.)
Я нічо́го не краду́ — це непорозумі́ння.
I'm not stealing anything — this is a misunderstanding. (1sg краду́ — end-stressed, the one exception.)
Past tense — крав / кра́ла / кра́ло / кра́ли
The past returns to a bare crad/cras stem: the masculine collapses to the monosyllable крав (no vowel you would predict, unmarked because it's a single syllable), while the feminine, neuter and plural are stem-stressed on кра́- and keep the -л-: кра́ла, кра́ло, кра́ли. The perfective вкрав / укра́в follows suit. See l-to-v and consonant-stem pasts.
| Gender / number | кра́сти (impf) | вкра́сти / укра́сти (pf) |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | крав | вкрав / укра́в |
| feminine | кра́ла | вкра́ла / укра́ла |
| neuter | кра́ло | вкра́ло / укра́ло |
| plural | кра́ли | вкра́ли / укра́ли |
Imperfective крав = "was stealing / used to steal" (process or habit); perfective вкрав = "stole (a single completed theft, with a result)." A one-off "someone stole my bike" is the perfective: хтось украв мій велосипе́д.
Хтось украв у ме́не гамане́ць про́сто в метро́.
Someone stole my wallet right in the metro. (Perfective украв — a single completed theft.)
У дити́нстві він і́нколи крав я́блука з сусі́дського саду́.
As a child he sometimes stole apples from the neighbour's garden. (Imperfective крав — a repeated childhood habit.)
Future tense
Perfective вкра́сти / укра́сти — the simple future
The present-form of the perfective is its future. It carries the same mixed stress as the base verb: end-stressed вкраду́ in the 1sg, then stem-stressed вкра́деш, вкра́де, вкра́дуть (likewise украду́ / укра́деш).
| Person | вкра́сти / укра́сти — FUTURE | English |
|---|---|---|
| я | вкраду́ / украду́ | I'll steal |
| ти | вкра́деш / укра́деш | you'll steal |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | вкра́де / укра́де | he / she / it will steal |
| ми | вкра́демо / укра́демо | we'll steal |
| ви | вкра́дете / укра́дете | you'll steal |
| вони́ | вкра́дуть / укра́дуть | they'll steal |
Якщо́ зали́шиш велосипе́д без замка́, його́ вкра́дуть за п’ять хвили́н.
If you leave the bike unlocked, they'll steal it in five minutes. (Perfective future вкра́дуть — stem-stressed.)
Imperfective кра́сти — both compound futures
The imperfective forms its future analytically (бу́ду + infinitive) or synthetically (the -му form), for repeated or ongoing future stealing.
| Person | Analytic (бу́ду + inf.) | Synthetic (-му) |
|---|---|---|
| я | бу́ду кра́сти | кра́стиму |
| ти | бу́деш кра́сти | кра́стимеш |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | бу́де кра́сти | кра́стиме |
| ми | бу́демо кра́сти | кра́стимемо |
| ви | бу́дете кра́сти | кра́стимете |
| вони́ | бу́дуть кра́сти | кра́стимуть |
По́ки не зни́кне бі́дність, дехто́ кра́стиме, щоб ви́жити.
As long as poverty exists, some will keep stealing to survive. (Imperfective future кра́стиме — repeated future action.)
Imperative
The imperative is built off the крад-stem and is end-stressed: кради́ (2sg), краді́ть (2pl/formal). In real life it appears mostly negated ("don't steal") or ironically. The perfective gives вкради́ / укради́.
| Addressee | кра́сти (impf) | вкра́сти / укра́сти (pf) |
|---|---|---|
| ти (informal) | кради́ | вкради́ / укради́ |
| ви (formal / plural) | краді́ть | вкраді́ть / украді́ть |
| 3rd person (let…) | хай / неха́й кра́де | хай / неха́й вкра́де |
Не кради́ — за це мо́жна потра́пити за ґра́ти.
Don't steal — you can end up behind bars for that. (Negated imperative кради́ — end-stressed.)
Participles and verbal adverbs
| Form | кра́сти / вкра́сти |
|---|---|
| past passive participle (pf) | вкра́дений / укра́дений "stolen" |
| impersonal predicative | вкра́дено / укра́дено "(it has been) stolen" |
| imperfective verbal adverb | краду́чи "(while) stealing" |
| perfective verbal adverb | вкра́вши / укра́вши "having stolen" |
The -но/-то impersonal is heavily used in Ukrainian and is worth its own note. Вкра́дено гамане́ць "a wallet has been stolen" is a complete sentence with no subject — the doer is unknown or irrelevant. It takes the accusative of the thing (гамане́ць), not the nominative: this is the genuinely Ukrainian agentless passive, far more idiomatic here than the participle. See the -но/-то impersonal.
З музе́ю вночі́ вкра́дено три карти́ни.
Three paintings were stolen from the museum overnight. (Impersonal вкра́дено + accusative карти́ни — no named thief.)
Government
1. Accusative thing + в / у + genitive victim
The thing stolen is the direct accusative object; the victim is marked with в / у + the genitive — literally "steal something at / from someone." So вкра́сти гро́ші в ко́гось "steal money from someone," украв ключі́ в сусі́да "stole the keys from the neighbour." This в-of-removal is the same construction you see in забра́ти в ко́гось "take from someone"; it is not the в of location. See possession and the genitive of belonging and case government.
У нас укра́ли ноутбу́к про́сто з о́фісу.
They stole a laptop from us right out of the office. (в/у + genitive нас victim + accusative ноутбу́к.)
Він украв у дру́га іде́ю і вида́в її́ за свою́.
He stole an idea from a friend and passed it off as his own. (Figurative: в + genitive дру́га + accusative іде́ю.)
2. кра́сти vs грабува́ти — steal vs rob
English blurs "steal" and "rob," but Ukrainian keeps them apart by what is the object. кра́сти takes the thing taken (вкра́сти гро́ші "steal money"); грабува́ти takes the victim or place robbed (грабува́ти банк "rob a bank," грабува́ти люде́й "rob people") and implies force or open violence. You steal an object; you rob a target.
Зло́дій украв прикра́си, а от ба́нду, що грабу́є інкаса́торів, ще не спійма́ли.
The thief stole the jewellery, but the gang that robs cash couriers hasn't been caught yet. (украв + accusative thing vs грабу́є + accusative victim.)
Common Mistakes
❌ Ти краде́ш гро́ші в люде́й.
Stress error — from the 2sg on, the present is STEM-stressed: кра́деш, not *краде́ш (that would copy the кла́сти pattern, which кра́сти doesn't follow).
✅ Ти кра́деш гро́ші в люде́й.
You steal money from people.
❌ Хтось украв мене́ гамане́ць.
Government error — the victim takes в / у + genitive, not the accusative: украв у ме́не гамане́ць ('stole my wallet from me').
✅ Хтось украв у ме́не гамане́ць.
Someone stole my wallet.
❌ Він краднув мій телефо́н.
No such form — кра́сти has no -ну- perfective; the perfective is вкра́сти / укра́сти: Він украв мій телефо́н.
✅ Він украв мій телефо́н.
He stole my phone.
❌ Учо́ра вони́ укра́ли магази́н.
Wrong verb — you don't 'steal' a shop, you ROB it; красти takes the thing, грабувати takes the target: Учо́ра вони́ пограбува́ли магази́н.
✅ Учо́ра вони́ пограбува́ли магази́н.
Yesterday they robbed the shop.
❌ Вкра́дений гамане́ць.
When you want an agentless 'a wallet was stolen', the idiomatic Ukrainian is the -но/-то impersonal with the ACCUSATIVE, not the participle as a sentence: Вкра́дено гамане́ць.
✅ Вкра́дено гамане́ць.
A wallet has been stolen.
Key Takeaways
- кра́сти / вкра́сти (укра́сти) = steal a THING; грабува́ти = rob a person or place. Don't swap them.
- Present, MIXED stress: краду́ (1sg, end-stressed) but кра́деш / кра́де / кра́демо / кра́дете / кра́дуть (stem-stressed) — this is where кра́сти diverges from кла́сти.
- Past: крав (bare masculine, unmarked) / кра́ла / кра́ло / кра́ли (stem-stressed).
- Future: perfective вкраду́ "I'll steal" (same mixed stress); imperfective бу́ду кра́сти / кра́стиму.
- Government: accusative (thing) + в / у + genitive (victim): вкра́сти гро́ші в ко́гось.
- The agentless -но/-то impersonal Вкра́дено + accusative is the natural way to say "X was stolen."
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