Infinitive: ма́ти — "to have, to possess; to have to" Type: regular first-conjugation -ти verb; governs the accusative
ма́ти is the direct verb for "to have," and a learner needs it early — but with one big caveat. In everyday spoken Ukrainian, possession is more often expressed with the у ме́не є construction ("at me there-is") than with ма́ти, and choosing between them is a real skill (covered in full on the мати vs у мене є page). Where ма́ти shines is in abstract possession (ма́ти час, ма́ти пра́во, ма́ти наго́ду), in the obligation construction ма́ти + infinitive "to be (supposed) to," and in a clutch of high-frequency idioms (ма́ти ра́цію "to be right"). The verb itself is perfectly regular; the interest is all in its uses. Stress is marked on every form.
Present tense — ма́ю / ма́єш / ма́є + accusative
A textbook-regular first-conjugation present off the stem ма́-. Stress stays on the stem throughout.
| Person | Present | English |
|---|---|---|
| я | ма́ю | I have |
| ти | ма́єш | you have (sg.) |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | ма́є | he / she / it has |
| ми | ма́ємо | we have |
| ви | ма́єте | you have (pl./formal) |
| вони́ | ма́ють | they have |
The thing possessed goes in the accusative (the case of the direct object; see accusative uses). ма́ти leans toward abstract and relational objects — time, rights, a chance, relatives, an opinion — where у ме́не є sounds heavier.
Я ма́ю ще одне́ запита́ння до вас.
I have one more question for you. (ма́ти + accusative запита́ння — abstract object.)
Ти ма́єш ві́льну хвили́нку?
Have you got a free minute? (ма́ти + accusative хвили́нку — time.)
Вони́ ма́ють тро́є діте́й і соба́ку.
They have three children and a dog. (ма́ти + accusative; possible here, though у них є is just as common.)
Past tense — мав / ма́ла / ма́ло / ма́ли
A regular gendered past. Note the masculine мав (the -л- of the historic suffix has become -в, the standard Ukrainian pattern), against feminine ма́ла, neuter ма́ло, plural ма́ли.
| Gender / number | Past | English |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | мав | (he / I / you m.) had |
| feminine | ма́ла | (she / I / you f.) had |
| neuter | ма́ло | (it) had |
| plural | ма́ли | (we / you / they) had |
У шко́лі я мав бага́то дру́зів.
At school I had a lot of friends. (Masculine past мав — a male speaker.)
Вона́ ма́ла ра́цію — нам тре́ба було́ ви́йти рані́ше.
She was right — we should have left earlier. (Idiom ма́ти ра́цію in the past, feminine ма́ла.)
Future tense — both ways
As an imperfective verb, ма́ти forms its future two equivalent ways: the analytic бу́ду ма́ти and the synthetic -му future ма́тиму (formed by fusing the infinitive with the old бу́ти endings — see synthetic future). Both are fully standard; the synthetic ма́тиму is very common in speech.
| Person | Analytic | Synthetic |
|---|---|---|
| я | бу́ду ма́ти | ма́тиму |
| ти | бу́деш ма́ти | ма́тимеш |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | бу́де ма́ти | ма́тиме |
| ми | бу́демо ма́ти | ма́тимемо |
| ви | бу́дете ма́ти | ма́тимете |
| вони́ | бу́дуть ма́ти | ма́тимуть |
За́втра я ма́тиму бі́льше ча́су на розмо́ву.
Tomorrow I'll have more time to talk. (Synthetic future ма́тиму.)
Бу́демо ма́ти змо́гу зустрі́тися насту́пного ти́жня.
We'll have the chance to meet next week. (Analytic future бу́демо ма́ти + accusative змо́гу.)
Imperative
The imperative is real but not very frequent in literal "have" use; it lives mostly in fixed phrases (Май терпі́ння! "Have patience!", Майте на ува́зі… "Bear in mind…").
| Addressee | Imperative |
|---|---|
| ти (informal) | май |
| ми (let's) | ма́ймо |
| ви (formal / plural) | ма́йте |
| 3rd person (let…) | хай / неха́й ма́є |
Май терпі́ння, усе́ нала́годиться.
Have patience, everything will sort itself out. (Imperative май.)
Ма́йте на ува́зі, що ка́са працю́є до ше́стої.
Bear in mind that the till closes at six. (Idiom ма́ти на ува́зі in the imperative.)
Participle and verbal adverb
| Form | ма́ти |
|---|---|
| verbal adverb | ма́ючи "having / while having" |
| present active participle | (rare) — usually paraphrased |
ма́ючи is (literary / written) — Ма́ючи до́свід, він ле́гко впо́рався "Having experience, he managed easily."
Key uses & case government
1. Possession + accusative (especially abstract)
ма́ти + accusative is the textbook "have," but in living speech it favours abstract or relational objects — ма́ти час, гро́ші, пра́во, наго́ду, ро́дину, дума́ку — while concrete physical things lean toward у ме́не є (У ме́не є нова́ маши́на sounds more natural than Я ма́ю нову́ маши́ну in casual speech). Both are correct; the choosing page lays out the feel.
Ко́жен ма́є пра́во на вла́сну ду́мку.
Everyone has the right to their own opinion. (ма́ти + accusative пра́во — abstract; у ко́жного є would be odd here.)
2. Obligation — ма́ти + infinitive ("to be supposed to")
ма́ти + an infinitive expresses a planned, expected or mildly obligatory action — "to be (supposed) to, to be due to": Я ма́ю зустрі́тися з ним о тре́тій "I'm supposed to meet him at three." It is softer than му́сити "must" and often carries a sense of an arrangement.
Я ма́ю зда́ти прое́кт до п’я́тниці.
I'm supposed to hand in the project by Friday. (ма́ти + infinitive зда́ти — obligation/arrangement.)
По́їзд ма́в прибу́ти о деся́тій, але́ запі́знюється.
The train was due to arrive at ten, but it's running late. (Past мав + infinitive — 'was due to'.)
3. Negation — не ма́ю / нема́є + genitive
Under negation the object flips to the genitive, and the present uses the special impersonal нема́є (= "there isn't"): У ме́не нема́є ча́су / Я не ма́ю ча́су "I have no time." Both не ма́ю + genitive and the impersonal нема́є + genitive are used; the case is always genitive.
На жаль, я не ма́ю при со́бі готі́вки.
Unfortunately I don't have any cash on me. (Negation не ма́ю + genitive готі́вки.)
4. The idioms — learn them as units
ма́ти anchors several everyday fixed expressions:
- ма́ти ра́цію — "to be right" (Ти ма́єш ра́цію).
- ма́ти на ува́зі — "to mean, to have in mind" (Що ти ма́єш на ува́зі?).
- не ма́є значе́ння — "it doesn't matter."
- ма́ти спра́ву з — "to deal with, to have to do with" (+ instrumental).
Ти ма́єш ра́цію, я про це не поду́мав.
You're right, I didn't think of that. (Idiom ма́ти ра́цію.)
Не хвилю́йся, твій ві́к тут не ма́є значе́ння.
Don't worry, your age doesn't matter here. (Idiom не ма́є значе́ння.)
Common Mistakes
❌ Я не ма́ю час.
Under negation the object goes GENITIVE, not accusative: Я не ма́ю ча́су.
✅ Я не ма́ю ча́су.
I have no time — negation + genitive ча́су.
❌ Ти ма́єш пра́ва.
In the idiom 'you are right' the noun is singular accusative ра́цію, not пра́ва: Ти ма́єш ра́цію. (ма́ти пра́во exists, but means 'to have the right'.)
✅ Ти ма́єш ра́цію.
You're right — the fixed idiom ма́ти ра́цію.
❌ Вона́ мав маши́ну.
Agreement error — the past agrees with gender: a female subject takes ма́ла: Вона́ ма́ла маши́ну.
✅ Вона́ ма́ла маши́ну.
She had a car — feminine ма́ла.
❌ Я ма́ю до зустрі́тися з ним.
Obligation is ма́ти + bare INFINITIVE, with no 'до': Я ма́ю зустрі́тися з ним.
✅ Я ма́ю зустрі́тися з ним.
I'm supposed to meet him — ма́ти + infinitive.
❌ Я бу́ду ма́тиму бі́льше ча́су.
Don't combine the two futures — pick ONE: either бу́ду ма́ти or ма́тиму: Я ма́тиму бі́льше ча́су.
✅ Я ма́тиму бі́льше ча́су.
I'll have more time — synthetic future ма́тиму (or analytic бу́ду ма́ти).
Key Takeaways
- Present: ма́ю / ма́єш / ма́є / ма́ємо / ма́єте / ма́ють + accusative object; favours abstract possession (час, пра́во, наго́ду).
- Past: мав / ма́ла / ма́ло / ма́ли — gendered; future both ways: бу́ду ма́ти or ма́тиму / ма́тимеш…
- Negation flips the case to the genitive: не ма́ю ча́су, нема́є ча́су — never the accusative.
- ма́ти + infinitive = obligation / arrangement ("to be supposed to"): ма́ю зустрі́тися.
- For concrete physical possession, у ме́не є is often more natural than ма́ти — see the choosing page.
- High-frequency idioms: ма́ти ра́цію "be right," ма́ти на ува́зі "mean," не ма́є значе́ння "it doesn't matter," ма́ти спра́ву з (+ instr.).
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- 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).
- Мати vs У мене є ('to have')A2 — The decision page for the two ways to say 'I have'. У ме́не є + nominative (У ме́не є маши́на) is the everyday, spoken default for concrete possession. ма́ти + accusative (Я ма́ю маши́ну) is more bookish/formal, expresses obligation (ма́ю йти), and is required in idioms (ма́ти ра́цію). Both negate identically with нема́є / не ма́ю + genitive — so the choice is register and idiom, not meaning.
- Verb Reference: Є / Немає (there is / there isn't)A1 — The existential є ('there is') — the only surviving present of бути — and its negation немає / нема ('there isn't') + genitive, including the possession pattern У мене є + nominative / У мене немає + genitive, with past було and future буде.
- Бути (to be)A1 — Complete conjugation-and-usage reference for бу́ти 'to be' — the most important irregular verb in Ukrainian. The present is normally OMITTED (є survives only for existence, possession у ме́не є, and emphasis); the past is gendered був / була́ / було́ / були́; and бу́ду / бу́деш / бу́де / бу́демо / бу́дете / бу́дуть is both the verb's own future and the universal future auxiliary. Predicate nouns are NOMINATIVE in the present but INSTRUMENTAL in the past, future and infinitive.
- Genitive of Negation and AbsenceA2 — How Ukrainian expresses absence and negation with the genitive — нема́є/нема́ + genitive for 'there is no' (нема́є ча́су, у ме́не нема́є бра́та), не було́/не бу́де + genitive for past and future absence (вчора́ не було́ дощу́), and the case-flip on negated objects where the accusative becomes genitive (Я ма́ю кни́гу → Я не ма́ю кни́ги), the earliest must-know pattern for saying 'I don't have' in Ukrainian.
- The Synthetic Future (читатиму)A2 — Ukrainian's distinctive one-word imperfective future (про́ста фо́рма майбу́тнього ча́су): take the imperfective infinitive whole — keeping its -ти — and fuse on the enclitic endings -му, -меш, -ме, -мемо, -мете, -муть. чита́ти → чита́тиму, чита́тимеш, чита́тиме, чита́тимемо, чита́тимете, чита́тимуть; говори́ти → говори́тиму; роби́ти → роби́тиму; ходи́ти → ходи́тиму. The endings descend from a fused old 'have' (я́ти); the stress stays where the infinitive carries it. It works ONLY with imperfectives (no *прочита́тиму), so it always carries ongoing/repeated meaning, and it is fully equivalent to бу́ду + infinitive — but more compact, very common, and with NO Russian counterpart.