Infinitive (imperfective): працюва́ти — "to work, to be employed, to operate" Perfective partner: попрацюва́ти "to do some work / work for a while" Type: first conjugation; the model -юва-/-ува- verb
працюва́ти is the everyday word for working — holding a job, putting in effort, and even a machine "running." More than that, it is the cleanest example of the single most productive verb class in Ukrainian: the -юва-/-ува- type. This is the bin the language reaches for whenever it needs a new verb — borrowings and coinages stream into it (тестува́ти "to test," сканува́ти "to scan," ґуґлити is the rare exception). Master how -юва- behaves and you can conjugate hundreds of verbs you have never seen. The one trick: in the present tense the -юва- drops to -ю- (працюва́ти → працю́ю), and stress sits on that -ю- throughout. Every form below is stress-marked.
Present tense — the -юва- → -ю- shift
In the present, the infinitive's -юва- contracts to -ю-, and onto that you add the regular first-conjugation endings. Stress is fixed on the -ю́- in every person. There is no 1sg consonant mutation here — the stem ends in a vowel, so я працю́ю is perfectly smooth (this is exactly where learners coming from писа́ти/пишу́ over-apply a mutation that does not belong).
| Person | працюва́ти — PRESENT | English |
|---|---|---|
| я | працю́ю | I work |
| ти | працю́єш | you work (sg.) |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | працю́є | he / she / it works |
| ми | працю́ємо | we work |
| ви | працю́єте | you work (pl./formal) |
| вони́ | працю́ють | they work |
Я працю́ю в ба́нку вже п’ять ро́ків.
I've been working at a bank for five years now. (Present + на/в + locative ба́нку.)
Де ти працю́єш?
Where do you work? (The standard 'what do you do' question — present 2sg.)
Ліфт не працю́є, дове́деться йти схо́дами.
The lift isn't working, we'll have to take the stairs. (Inanimate subject — 'to operate, to run.')
Past tense — працюва́в / працюва́ла / працюва́ло / працюва́ли
The past is fully regular: the -в / -ла / -ло / -ли endings drop onto the full infinitive stem працюва-, agreeing in gender (singular) and number. Stress stays on -ва́-.
| Gender / number | Past | English |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | працюва́в | (he / I / you m.) worked |
| feminine | працюва́ла | (she / I / you f.) worked |
| neuter | працюва́ло | (it) worked |
| plural | працюва́ли | (we / you / they) worked |
Because працюва́ти is imperfective, its past describes work as a process or a habit — "used to work / was working / worked (for a stretch)." For a bounded "put in a session of work and stopped," use the perfective past попрацюва́в.
Мій ді́д усе́ життя́ працюва́в учи́телем у се́лищі.
My grandfather worked as a teacher in the village his whole life. (Imperfective past — a lasting state; predicate учи́телем is instrumental.)
Ра́ніше вона́ працюва́ла в Льво́ві, а тепе́р пере́їхала до Ки́єва.
She used to work in Lviv, but now she's moved to Kyiv. (Habitual/durative imperfective past.)
Future tense — all three forms
Since попрацюва́ти exists as a perfective partner, this verb shows the full Ukrainian future system: one perfective simple future (built on the perfective, looking like a present) and two imperfective futures (analytic and synthetic) built on працюва́ти.
Perfective simple future — попрацю́ю "I'll do some work"
The perfective попрацюва́ти conjugates with present-tense endings but a future meaning — a single, bounded stint of work.
| Person | попрацюва́ти (pf.) — FUTURE |
|---|---|
| я | попрацю́ю |
| ти | попрацю́єш |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | попрацю́є |
| ми | попрацю́ємо |
| ви | попрацю́єте |
| вони́ | попрацю́ють |
Imperfective futures — two ways, identical in meaning
The imperfective future ("will be working / will work") can be built analytically with бу́ду + the infinitive, or synthetically by fusing -му onto the infinitive. They mean the same thing; the synthetic -му form is a little more compact and very characteristic of Ukrainian (Russian has no such form — see the contrast below).
| Person | Analytic (бу́ду + inf.) | Synthetic (-му) |
|---|---|---|
| я | бу́ду працюва́ти | працюва́тиму |
| ти | бу́деш працюва́ти | працюва́тимеш |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | бу́де працюва́ти | працюва́тиме |
| ми | бу́демо працюва́ти | працюва́тимемо |
| ви | бу́дете працюва́ти | працюва́тимете |
| вони́ | бу́дуть працюва́ти | працюва́тимуть |
The mechanics are laid out on the synthetic -му future and the analytic future pages.
За́втра я попрацю́ю вдо́ма, а в офіс пої́ду в п’ятни́цю.
Tomorrow I'll work from home, and I'll go into the office on Friday. (Perfective future попрацю́ю — one bounded day of work.)
Улі́тку він працюва́тиме вожати́м у дитя́чому та́борі.
In the summer he'll be working as a counsellor at a children's camp. (Synthetic imperfective future працюва́тиме.)
Imperative
The imperative is built on the present -ю- stem: 2sg працю́й, 2pl/formal працю́йте, and the 3rd-person хай / неха́й + present. Stress on -ю́-.
| Addressee | Imperative |
|---|---|
| ти (informal) | працю́й |
| ми (let's) | працю́ймо |
| ви (formal / plural) | працю́йте |
| 3rd person (let him/them) | хай / неха́й працю́є |
Не лінуйся, працю́й — і все ви́йде.
Don't be lazy, keep working — and it'll all work out. (Informal imperative працю́й.)
Хай маши́на працю́є вночі́, до ра́нку все надру́кується.
Let the machine run overnight — by morning everything will be printed. (3rd-person хай + present.)
Participles and verbal adverbs
| Form | працюва́ти |
|---|---|
| active participle / adjective | працю́ючий "working, in operation" |
| imperfective verbal adverb | працю́ючи "(while) working" |
| perfective verbal adverb | попрацюва́вши "having worked" |
The verbal adverb працю́ючи is genuinely useful — "while working / by working." The participle працю́ючий is (formal / written) and is mostly seen as an adjective (працю́юче населе́ння "the working population").
Працю́ючи з людьми́, тре́ба ма́ти терпі́ння.
Working with people, you need patience. (Imperfective verbal adverb працю́ючи.)
Key uses & case government
1. над + instrumental — "work on" something
To "work on" a task, a project, a problem, use над + instrumental. This is the construction for effortful, ongoing work toward a result.
Ми вже два мі́сяці працю́ємо над цим прое́ктом.
We've been working on this project for two months. (над + instrumental прое́ктом.)
2. на + locative / в + locative — "work at" a place or company
To say where you work, use на or в/у + locative. Roughly: в/у with enclosed institutions (в ба́нку, в шко́лі), на with open or named workplaces and many companies (на заво́ді "at the factory," на по́шті "at the post office," на фірмі "at the firm"). The choice follows the general location preposition rules.
Вона́ працю́є на заво́ді змі́нами, ти́ждень де́нну, ти́ждень нічну́.
She works at the factory in shifts — one week days, one week nights. (на + locative заво́ді.)
3. працюва́ти + instrumental — "work as"
To name a profession, put the job in the instrumental, with no preposition: працюва́ти лі́карем "work as a doctor," працюва́ти во́дієм "work as a driver."
Пі́сля університе́ту я хо́чу працюва́ти перекладаче́м.
After university I want to work as a translator. (Bare instrumental перекладаче́м = 'as a translator.')
A note for Russian and English speakers
In Russian the verb is работать (rabotat’), with no -ова-/-ова- contraction visible the same way and no synthetic -му future at all. Standard Ukrainian has the distinct stem працюва́ти and the extra future option працюва́тиму — do not import работать or the Russian future буду работать as your only model. In English, "work" takes prepositions freely ("work on / at / for / with"), but each maps to a specific case in Ukrainian: над + instrumental, на/в + locative, instrumental for the profession. The preposition is not optional decoration — it selects the case.
Common Mistakes
❌ Я працю́ю на цей прое́кт.
Wrong government — 'work ON a project' is над + INSTRUMENTAL, not на + accusative: працю́ю над цим прое́ктом.
✅ Я працю́ю над цим прое́ктом.
I'm working on this project.
❌ Я працю́ю як лі́кар.
Don't use 'як' (like/as) for a profession — Ukrainian uses the bare INSTRUMENTAL: працю́ю лі́карем.
✅ Я працю́ю лі́карем.
I work as a doctor.
❌ Я бу́ду попрацюва́ти за́втра.
Aspect/future error — попрацюва́ти is PERFECTIVE, so it already IS a future on its own: попрацю́ю за́втра. бу́ду only takes an imperfective infinitive (бу́ду працюва́ти).
✅ За́втра я попрацю́ю.
I'll do some work tomorrow.
❌ Я працева́ю в шко́лі.
Stem error — the present drops -юва- to -ю-, giving працю́ю, not 'працева́ю.'
✅ Я працю́ю в шко́лі.
I work at a school.
❌ Вона́ працюва́в учи́телькою.
Agreement error — the past agrees with gender; a female subject takes працюва́ла: вона́ працюва́ла.
✅ Вона́ працюва́ла вчи́телькою.
She worked as a teacher.
Key Takeaways
- працюва́ти is the model -юва-/-ува- verb — the productive class that swallows every borrowing; the -юва- contracts to -ю- in the present (працю́ю), stress fixed on -ю́-.
- No 1sg mutation: the vowel stem gives a smooth я працю́ю — resist adding a consonant change.
- Past: працюва́в / працюва́ла / працюва́ло / працюва́ли — regular, gender-agreeing, durative in meaning.
- Future: perfective попрацю́ю (bounded) vs imperfective бу́ду працюва́ти = працюва́тиму (ongoing).
- Government: над + instrumental ('work on'), на/в + locative ('work at'), bare instrumental for the profession ('work as').
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
- Verbs in -увати/-ювати: The Borrowing FactoryA2 — The productive -ува́ти/-юва́ти class — the bin Ukrainian uses for borrowings and many native verbs. In the present, the suffix -ува-/-юва- contracts to -у-/-ю- (працюва́ти → працю́ю, малюва́ти → малю́ю, дя́кувати → дя́кую, керува́ти → керу́ю), so the present looks shorter than the infinitive; the past keeps the full -ува- (працюва́в). This is the class new and biaspectual verbs join, so the pattern is high-yield.
- Present Tense: First ConjugationA1 — The first conjugation (пе́рша дієвідмі́на) takes the present endings -у/-ю, -еш/-єш, -е/-є, -емо/-ємо, -ете/-єте, -уть/-ють, built on the theme vowel -е-/-є- with a 3pl in -уть/-ють. Drill three models: vowel-stem чита́ти (чита́ю, чита́єш…), consonant-stem нести́ (несу́, несе́ш…), mutating писа́ти (пишу́, пи́шеш…), могти́ (можу́…), and the huge -увати/-ювати class (працюва́ти → працю́ю).
- 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.
- Forming Aspect Pairs: PrefixesB1 — The most common way to build a perfective is to add a 'pure' perfectivizing prefix to the imperfective: чита́ти→прочита́ти, писа́ти→написа́ти, роби́ти→зроби́ти, ї́сти→з’ї́сти, пи́ти→ви́пити. The frequent perfectivizing prefixes are про-, на-, з-/с-/зі-, по-, ви-, при-. The catch: the SAME prefixes can instead add lexical meaning and make a NEW verb (писа́ти→переписа́ти 'rewrite'), so you must learn to tell aspect-only prefixation from meaning-changing prefixation.
- Робити / Зробити (to do / make)A1 — Complete conjugation-and-usage reference for роби́ти / зроби́ти 'to do, to make' — a second-conjugation verb with the labial л-insertion in the 1sg роблю́ AND the 3pl ро́блять (but ро́биш, ро́бить, ро́бимо, ро́бите between them), and the stress retracting to the stem after роблю́. Covers the gendered past, both imperfective futures, the imperative роби́, the model aspect pair роби́ти / зроби́ти (зроблю́ = future), the everyday question Що ти ро́биш? 'what are you doing?', the accusative object, and the rich prefix family (переробля́ти, доробля́ти, заробля́ти).
- 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.