Verbs: намага́тися (imperfective) · спро́бувати (perfective) — "to try, to attempt" Type: an uneven pair. намага́тися is an imperfective with no everyday perfective partner; спро́бувати is a perfective that pairs in form with the imperfective про́бувати "to be trying / sampling." They share the meaning "try," but each pulls in a different direction: намага́тися = strive, make an ongoing effort; спро́бувати = give it a single shot.
English "try" hides two ideas that Ukrainian keeps apart. намага́тися is trying as effort that continues — straining toward a goal, attempting over and over: "I'm trying to understand" (Я намага́юся зрозумі́ти). спро́бувати is trying as a one-off attempt — "let me give it a try," "try the soup": a single, bounded act. Because намага́тися is inherently about ongoing effort, it has no natural perfective ("намагтися" does not exist), and when you need the "give-it-a-go" meaning you switch verbs entirely to спро́бувати. Both verbs most often take an infinitive of what you are trying to do; only спро́бувати adds a second pattern — + genitive for tasting / sampling a thing.
At a glance
| Verb | 1sg | Aspect | Reflexive? | Core sense | Governs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| намага́тися | намага́юся | imperfective | yes (-ся) | strive, keep trying | infinitive |
| спро́бувати | спро́бую | perfective | no | give it a try (once) | infinitive · genitive ('taste') |
A near-synonym worth knowing is стара́тися (стара́юся) "to try hard, to make an effort," very close to намага́тися and slightly warmer/more about diligence ("doing one's best"). In most sentences they swap freely: Я намага́юся / стара́юся не запізню́ватися "I try not to be late."
Намагатися — present (imperfective, the effort verb)
намага́тися is a regular first-conjugation -а́ти verb with reflexive -ся, end-stressed on -га́- throughout. The 1sg is the plain намага́юся — no consonant mutation.
| Person | намага́тися — PRESENT | English |
|---|---|---|
| я | намага́юся | I try / am trying |
| ти | намага́єшся | you try (sg.) |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | намага́ється | he / she / it tries |
| ми | намага́ємося | we try |
| ви | намага́єтеся | you try (pl./formal) |
| вони́ | намага́ються | they try |
The present is the verb's natural home: it describes effort in progress or as a habit. The complement is almost always an infinitive — and note that the infinitive after намага́тися is typically perfective, because you strive to achieve something complete: намага́юся зрозумі́ти (pf) "I'm trying to understand [and get there]."
Я намага́юся зрозумі́ти, що́ ти ма́єш на ува́зі, але́ ма́рно.
I'm trying to understand what you mean, but it's no use. (Ongoing effort — present намага́юся + perfective infinitive зрозумі́ти.)
Вона́ щодня́ намага́ється приді́лити дітя́м хоч годи́ну.
Every day she tries to give the kids at least an hour. (Habitual effort — намага́ється + infinitive.)
Past tense — gendered
Both build a regular gendered past. намага́тися keeps its -ся; спро́бувати does not. Note that намага́вся (impf) describes trying that went on, while спро́бував (pf) reports one completed attempt, success or failure.
| Gender / number | намага́тися (impf) | спро́бувати (pf) |
|---|---|---|
| masculine (він) | намага́вся | спро́бував |
| feminine (вона́) | намага́лася | спро́бувала |
| neuter (воно́) | намага́лося | спро́бувало |
| plural (вони́) | намага́лися | спро́бували |
Він до́вго намага́вся ки́нути пали́ти, по́ки наре́шті не зміг.
He tried for a long time to quit smoking, until he finally managed it. (Imperfective намага́вся = the prolonged effort; the result comes from a different verb.)
Я спро́бував перезаванта́жити телефо́н, і це допомогло́.
I tried restarting the phone, and it worked. (Perfective спро́бував = one bounded attempt that produced a result.)
Future tense — the two aspects diverge
The perfective спро́бувати — the simple (synthetic) future
спро́бувати has no present: its present-looking forms ARE its future. It is an -ува-/-у- verb, so the future stem swaps -ува- for -у-: спро́бую, спро́буєш… Stress stays fixed on спро́- in every form.
| Person | спро́бувати — FUTURE | English |
|---|---|---|
| я | спро́бую | I'll try / give it a try |
| ти | спро́буєш | you'll try (sg.) |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | спро́бує | he / she / it will try |
| ми | спро́буємо | we'll try |
| ви | спро́буєте | you'll try (pl./formal) |
| вони́ | спро́бують | they'll try |
Дай я спро́бую — мо́же, у ме́не ви́йде відкри́ти.
Let me try — maybe I'll manage to open it. (Perfective simple future спро́бую = one attempt about to happen.)
The imperfective намага́тися — both compound futures
намага́тися builds the future the imperfective way: analytic (бу́ду + infinitive) or synthetic -му, identical in meaning — both describe effort that will be ongoing.
| Person | Analytic (бу́ду + inf.) | Synthetic (-му) |
|---|---|---|
| я | бу́ду намага́тися | намага́тимуся |
| ти | бу́деш намага́тися | намага́тимешся |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | бу́де намага́тися | намага́тиметься |
| ми | бу́демо намага́тися | намага́тимемося |
| ви | бу́дете намага́тися | намага́тиметеся |
| вони́ | бу́дуть намага́тися | намага́тимуться |
Я бу́ду намага́тися дзвони́ти тобі́ щотижня́, обіця́ю.
I'll try to call you every week, I promise. (Imperfective future — recurring effort over time.)
Imperative
The everyday imperative is the perfective спро́буй! "give it a try / go on, try!" — an invitation to attempt something once. The imperfective намага́йся is more of an exhortation: "make an effort / do try." The 3rd person uses хай / неха́й.
| Addressee | намага́тися (impf) | спро́бувати (pf) |
|---|---|---|
| ти (informal) | намага́йся | спро́буй |
| ви (formal / plural) | намага́йтеся | спро́буйте |
| 3rd person (let…) | хай / неха́й намага́ється | хай / неха́й спро́бує |
Спро́буй цей борщ — він із копче́ними ре́брцями.
Try this borscht — it's made with smoked ribs. (Perfective imperative спро́буй = 'have a taste / give it a go'.)
Намага́йся не нервува́тися — у те́бе все ви́йде.
Try not to get worked up — you'll do fine. (Imperfective imperative намага́йся = an ongoing 'do try', natural with не.)
Participles and verbal adverbs
The verbal adverbs намага́ючись "(while) trying" and спро́бувавши "having tried" are (literary / written): Намага́ючись не розбуди́ти діте́й, вона́ йшла навшпи́ньки "Trying not to wake the children, she walked on tiptoe." Neither verb forms a common passive participle from this "attempt" sense.
Government & key uses
1. Both take an INFINITIVE of the action attempted
The default complement for both verbs is an infinitive — what you are trying to do. After намага́тися the effort is ongoing; after спро́бувати it is one shot.
Спро́буй поговори́ти з ним спокі́йно — мо́же, він зрозумі́є.
Try talking to him calmly — maybe he'll understand. (спро́бувати + infinitive — one attempt to act differently.)
2. спро́бувати + GENITIVE = "to taste / sample" a thing
A pattern unique to спро́бувати: when the object is food or drink you are tasting, спро́бувати takes a partitive genitive of the thing. спро́бувати су́пу "to taste (some of) the soup," спро́бувати вина́ "to try the wine." This mirrors English "have a taste of," and the genitive signals you sampled some, not all.
Хо́чеш спро́бувати дома́шнього си́ру? Ма́ма вчо́ра зроби́ла.
Do you want to try some homemade cheese? Mum made it yesterday. (спро́бувати + GENITIVE си́ру — sampling food.)
3. намага́тися is reflexive; спро́бувати is not
This is the formal trap. намага́тися always ends in -ся (there is no verb намага́ти). *спро́бувати never takes -ся (the reflexive спро́буватися is not used in this sense). Mixing them up is the most frequent error.
Я намага́юся пи́сати щодня́, хоч і не за́вжди вихо́дить.
I try to write every day, though it doesn't always work out. (Reflexive намага́юся — keep the -ся.)
Common Mistakes
❌ Я намага́ю зрозумі́ти.
намага́тися is inherently reflexive — you can't drop -ся: Я намага́юся зрозумі́ти.
✅ Я намага́юся зрозумі́ти.
I'm trying to understand — keep the -ся.
❌ Спро́буйся ще раз.
спро́бувати is not reflexive — no -ся: Спро́буй ще раз.
✅ Спро́буй ще раз.
Try again — no -ся on спро́бувати.
❌ За́втра я бу́ду спро́бувати поговори́ти з ним.
Aspect/future error — perfective спро́бувати already IS the future; never after бу́ду: За́втра я спро́бую поговори́ти з ним.
✅ За́втра я спро́бую поговори́ти з ним.
Tomorrow I'll try to talk to him — perfective simple future спро́бую.
❌ Спро́буй цей суп.
When tasting, спро́бувати takes the partitive GENITIVE, not the accusative: Спро́буй цьо́го су́пу.
✅ Спро́буй цьо́го су́пу.
Have a taste of this soup — genitive су́пу for sampling.
❌ Він намага́в ки́нути пали́ти.
Missing -ся and (here) wrong aspect for a repeated struggle — use the reflexive imperfective: Він намага́вся ки́нути пали́ти.
✅ Він намага́вся ки́нути пали́ти.
He was trying to quit smoking — reflexive imperfective намага́вся.
Key Takeaways
- Uneven pair. намага́тися (imperfective, reflexive, намага́юся) = strive / keep trying — it has no everyday perfective. спро́бувати (perfective, NOT reflexive, спро́бую) = give it a single try.
- The future of спро́бувати is its present-looking simple future (спро́бую…); намага́тися builds the compound future (бу́ду намага́тися / намага́тимуся).
- Both take an infinitive of the attempted action; only спро́бувати also takes a partitive genitive for tasting a thing (спро́бувати су́пу).
- The -ся trap: намага́тися always has -ся; спро́бувати never does.
- Near-synonym стара́тися ("try hard, do one's best") swaps freely with намага́тися in most contexts.
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