Aspect pair: ки́дати (imperfective) — ки́нути (perfective) Meaning: "to throw, toss, hurl; to quit, give up, drop (a habit/job); to abandon, leave (someone)" Conjugation: the imperfective ки́дати is a regular -ати verb (ки́даю, ки́даєш…); the perfective ки́нути is a semelfactive -ну- verb (ки́ну, ки́неш…) — one quick, single act. Government: bare accusative. Stress is fixed on the first syllable ки́- throughout both verbs.
ки́дати / ки́нути is a beautifully clear illustration of the -ну- semelfactive: the -ну- suffix turns a repeatable action ("throwing") into a single instantaneous one ("a throw"). One toss = ки́нути; tossing again and again = ки́дати. On top of the literal "throw," this pair carries two high-frequency figurative meanings English keeps in separate verbs: "to quit / give up" (ки́нути пали́ти "quit smoking") and "to abandon / leave" (ки́нути дружи́ну "leave one's wife"). Stress never moves off ки́- — that part, at least, is mercifully easy.
Present tense — ки́дати (imperfective only)
A perfective has no present, so the present belongs to ки́дати. Regular -ати endings, stress fixed on ки́-.
| Person | Present (impf) | English |
|---|---|---|
| я | ки́даю | I throw / am throwing |
| ти | ки́даєш | you throw (sg.) |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | ки́дає | he / she / it throws |
| ми | ки́даємо | we throw |
| ви | ки́даєте | you throw (pl./formal) |
| вони́ | ки́дають | they throw |
Не кидай сміття́ повз у́рну — поста́в, де лю́ди хо́дять.
Don't toss rubbish past the bin — think where people walk. (Negated imperfective imperative; accusative сміття́.)
Він ки́дає м’яч так висо́ко, що той зника́є за дере́вами.
He throws the ball so high it vanishes behind the trees. (Habitual/repeated → imperfective ки́дає; accusative м’яч with the apostrophe.)
Future tense
The perfective ки́нути forms its future with its own present-shaped -не endings (one completed throw). The imperfective ки́дати builds the future the two regular ways: analytic бу́ду ки́дати and synthetic ки́датиму.
| Person | Perfective future (ки́нути) | Impf. analytic | Impf. synthetic |
|---|---|---|---|
| я | ки́ну | бу́ду ки́дати | ки́датиму |
| ти | ки́неш | бу́деш ки́дати | ки́датимеш |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | ки́не | бу́де ки́дати | ки́датиме |
| ми | ки́немо | бу́демо ки́дати | ки́датимемо |
| ви | ки́нете | бу́дете ки́дати | ки́датимете |
| вони́ | ки́нуть | бу́дуть ки́дати | ки́датимуть |
Ки́нь мені́ ключі́ — я відчиню́ ма́шину.
Toss me the keys — I'll open the car. (Perfective imperative ки́нь; one throw; accusative ключі́ + dative мені́ for the recipient.)
З Но́вого ро́ку я ки́ну пи́ти ка́ву на ніч.
From New Year I'm going to quit drinking coffee at night. (Figurative 'quit' → perfective future ки́ну + infinitive пи́ти.)
Past tense
Both pasts are stem-stressed on ки́-. The perfective masculine ends in -в after the vowel-у (ки́нув); the imperfective is ки́дав.
| Gender / number | Past (impf) | Past (pf) |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | ки́дав | ки́нув |
| feminine | ки́дала | ки́нула |
| neuter | ки́дало | ки́нуло |
| plural | ки́дали | ки́нули |
Вона́ ки́нула все й поверну́лася в Украї́ну до рі́дних.
She dropped everything and went back to Ukraine to her family. (Perfective feminine ки́нула 'gave up everything'; в Украї́ну.)
Imperative
The perfective 2sg is ки́нь (the stem ки́н- + soft sign), 2pl ки́ньте. The imperfective is ки́дай / ки́дайте. For the 3rd person use хай / неха́й.
| Addressee | Imperfective | Perfective |
|---|---|---|
| ти (informal) | ки́дай | ки́нь |
| ви (formal / plural) | ки́дайте | ки́ньте |
| 3rd person (let…) | хай ки́дає | хай ки́не |
Ки́нь ти ту звича́ку гри́зти ні́гті!
Do quit that habit of biting your nails! (Perfective imperative ки́нь — a one-off decision; accusative звича́ку.)
Participles and verbal adverbs
| Form | Word | Note |
|---|---|---|
| passive participle (pf) | ки́нутий | "thrown, abandoned" (ки́нута напризволя́ще — left to its fate) |
| verbal adverb (impf) | ки́даючи | "throwing / while throwing" |
| verbal adverb (pf) | ки́нувши | "having thrown" |
Government and meanings
1. Literal "throw" — bare accusative
What you throw takes the accusative, no preposition; the recipient is a dative; the target/direction uses в/на + accusative.
Хло́пці ки́дали камінці́ у во́ду й рахува́ли ко́ла.
The boys were throwing pebbles into the water and counting the ripples. (Imperfective ки́дали — repeated; accusative камінці́, у + accusative for the target.)
2. "Quit / give up" — ки́нути + accusative or + infinitive
This is one of the most useful idioms in the language: ки́нути + a habit (accusative) or + an infinitive = "give up doing." ки́нути пали́ти "quit smoking," ки́нути ро́боту "quit one's job," ки́нути спорт "give up sport."
Лі́кар сказа́в одно́значно: тре́ба ки́нути пали́ти.
The doctor was blunt: you have to quit smoking. (ки́нути + infinitive пали́ти.)
3. "Abandon / leave (a person)" — accusative
With a human object, ки́нути means "to walk out on, abandon."
Він не та́ка люди́на, що ки́не дру́га в біді́.
He's not the kind of person who'd abandon a friend in trouble. (ки́нути друга — accusative; в біді́ locative.)
4. Reflexive ки́датися / ки́нутися — "rush at, fling oneself"
With -ся, the subject hurls itself: "rush, dash, pounce." The target takes на + accusative (ки́нутися на ворога "charge the enemy") or до + genitive (ки́нутися до две́рей "dash to the door").
Соба́ка ки́нувся на поштальйо́на, ле́две втри́мали.
The dog lunged at the postman — they barely held it back. (Reflexive perfective ки́нувся; на + accusative for the target.)
Common Mistakes
❌ Я ки́даю тобі́ м’яч, лови́!
A single 'here, catch' is one act → perfective: Я ки́ну тобі́ м’яч, лови́! (ки́даю = I keep throwing, the wrong picture here.)
✅ Я ки́ну тобі́ м’яч, лови́!
I'm throwing you the ball, catch! (Perfective ки́ну — one toss; dative тобі́, accusative м’яч.)
❌ Він ки́нув пали́ння.
With 'quit', the natural complement is the infinitive, not the noun 'smoking': Він ки́нув пали́ти.
✅ Він ки́нув пали́ти.
He quit smoking. (ки́нути + infinitive пали́ти — the idiomatic frame.)
❌ Соба́ка ки́нув на хло́пчика.
'Lunge at' is the reflexive — without -ся the verb is transitive and needs a thrown object: Соба́ка ки́нувся на хло́пчика.
✅ Соба́ка ки́нувся на хло́пчика.
The dog lunged at the boy. (Reflexive ки́нувся + на + accusative.)
❌ Кида́й ту звича́ку раз і назавжди́.
Wrong aspect AND wrong stress: 'once and for all' is a single act → perfective ки́нь; and the verb is stem-stressed ки́-: Ки́нь ту звича́ку раз і назавжди́.
✅ Ки́нь ту звича́ку раз і назавжди́.
Drop that habit once and for all. (Perfective imperative ки́нь — one decisive break.)
Key Takeaways
- ки́дати / ки́нути = "throw"; the perfective is a -ну- semelfactive (one quick act). Government = bare accusative.
- Stress is fixed on ки́- in every form — easy.
- Perfective future: ки́ну / ки́неш / ки́не / ки́немо / ки́нете / ки́нуть; imperative ки́нь / ки́ньте.
- Figurative ки́нути: "quit" (+ infinitive: ки́нути пали́ти) and "abandon" (+ accusative person).
- Add -ся for "rush at / fling oneself" (ки́нутися на + accusative).
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- Semelfactive -ну- Verbs (a single act)B2 — The -ну- suffix carves a SEMELFACTIVE out of a repeatable action — one instantaneous instance: кри́кнути 'give one shout' beside крича́ти 'be shouting', сту́кнути 'knock once' beside сту́кати, махну́ти 'give one wave' beside маха́ти. These -ну- verbs are perfective and punctual; this page sets them against their multiplicative -а- imperfectives and notes the -ну- verbs that drop the suffix in the past (мерзнути → мерз).
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