Infinitive (imperfective): проба́чати — "to forgive, to excuse, to pardon" Perfective partner: проба́чити — "to forgive (and have done so)" Type: a regular aspect pair; the imperfective is first-conjugation (проба́чаю), the perfective second-conjugation (проба́чу)
проба́чати / проба́чити is the everyday verb of forgiving — letting go of an offence, excusing a slip, saying "no harm done." Its grammar carries a subtlety English hides: you forgive the person in the dative and the offence in the accusative, so a full sentence can name both at once — проба́чити дру́гові помилку "forgive a friend (his) mistake." The same word, in the imperative, doubles as the most common everyday apology: Проба́чте! "Sorry! / Forgive me!" Ukrainian has a near-identical twin, вибача́ти / ви́бачити, that you can use interchangeably for forgiving, plus its reflexive вибача́тися "to apologise." Stress is fixed on -ба́- throughout. Stress is marked on every form below.
Present tense (imperfective) — проба́чаю / проба́чаєш…
The imperfective проба́чати is a regular first-conjugation verb off the проба́ча-stem with j-glide endings, stem-stressed on -ба́- throughout.
| Person | проба́чати — PRESENT | English |
|---|---|---|
| я | проба́чаю | I forgive |
| ти | проба́чаєш | you forgive (sg.) |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | проба́чає | he / she / it forgives |
| ми | проба́чаємо | we forgive |
| ви | проба́чаєте | you forgive (pl./formal) |
| вони́ | проба́чають | they forgive |
The imperfective frames forgiving as a habit, a repeated act, or a disposition.
Вона́ за́вжди проба́чає йому́ дрібні́ запі́знення.
She always forgives him for small delays. (Habitual проба́чає + dative йому́.)
Я лю́дям таке́ не проба́чаю — це для ме́не принци́п.
I don't forgive people things like that — it's a matter of principle for me. (Imperfective — a standing disposition.)
Past tense — проба́чав (impf) vs проба́чив (pf)
Both pasts are stem-stressed on -ба́-. Watch the vowel: the imperfective has -а- (проба́чав) and the perfective has -и- (проба́чив). That one vowel is the whole aspect difference in the past.
| Gender / number | проба́чати (impf) | проба́чити (pf) |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | проба́чав | проба́чив |
| feminine | проба́чала | проба́чила |
| neuter | проба́чало | проба́чило |
| plural | проба́чали | проба́чили |
Perfective проба́чив = "forgave (and it's settled)" — the single act of pardoning, the offence let go. Я тобі́ все проба́чив "I've forgiven you everything."
Він так і не проба́чив бра́тові тіє́ї зра́ди.
He never did forgive his brother for that betrayal. (Perfective проба́чив + dative бра́тові + accusative зра́ди.)
Ма́ма проба́чила мені́ розби́ту ва́зу, хоч і засму́тилася.
Mum forgave me for the broken vase, though she was upset. (Perfective проба́чила + dative мені́ + accusative ва́зу.)
Future tense
Perfective проба́чити — the simple future
The present-form of the perfective is its future. проба́чити is a second-conjugation verb, so the 1sg shows the ч-stem with no further mutation: проба́чу, and the 3pl is проба́чать (hard ч + -ать). Stem-stressed throughout.
| Person | проба́чити — FUTURE | English |
|---|---|---|
| я | проба́чу | I'll forgive |
| ти | проба́чиш | you'll forgive |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | проба́чить | he / she / it will forgive |
| ми | проба́чимо | we'll forgive |
| ви | проба́чите | you'll forgive |
| вони́ | проба́чать | they'll forgive |
Я тобі́ проба́чу, якщо́ ти ска́жеш пра́вду.
I'll forgive you if you tell the truth. (Perfective future проба́чу + dative тобі́.)
Imperfective проба́чати — both compound futures
The imperfective forms its future analytically (бу́ду + infinitive) or synthetically (the -му form), for a repeated or habitual future forgiving.
| Person | Analytic (бу́ду + inf.) | Synthetic (-му) |
|---|---|---|
| я | бу́ду проба́чати | проба́чатиму |
| ти | бу́деш проба́чати | проба́чатимеш |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | бу́де проба́чати | проба́чатиме |
| ми | бу́демо проба́чати | проба́чатимемо |
| ви | бу́дете проба́чати | проба́чатимете |
| вони́ | бу́дуть проба́чати | проба́чатимуть |
Я не зби́раюся ві́чно проба́чати ту са́му пове́дінку.
I'm not going to keep forgiving the same behaviour forever. (Imperfective future — a repeated future act.)
Imperative
The imperative is the verb's most famous use. Проба́ч (2sg) and Проба́чте (2pl/formal) are the standard everyday "Sorry / Forgive me" — to one person informally or to anyone politely.
| Addressee | проба́чати (impf) | проба́чити (pf) |
|---|---|---|
| ти (informal) | проба́чай | проба́ч |
| ви (formal / plural) | проба́чайте | проба́чте |
| 3rd person (let…) | хай / неха́й проба́чає | хай / неха́й проба́чить |
In apologies the perfective Проба́ч / Проба́чте is the everyday form; the imperfective imperative проба́чай is rarer and softer.
Проба́чте, ви не підка́жете, котра́ годи́на?
Excuse me, could you tell me what time it is? (Проба́чте! as a polite 'excuse me'.)
Проба́ч, я не хоті́в тебе́ обра́зити.
I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. (Проба́ч — informal apology.)
Participles and verbal adverbs
| Form | проба́чати / проба́чити |
|---|---|
| past passive participle (pf) | проба́чений "forgiven, pardoned" |
| imperfective verbal adverb | проба́чаючи "(while) forgiving" |
| perfective verbal adverb | проба́чивши "having forgiven" |
The verbal adverbs are (literary / written). The participle проба́чений is used predicatively in the elevated register: Усе́ проба́чено "All is forgiven."
Government
1. The person in the DATIVE
You forgive a person in the dative — проба́чити кому́сь "forgive someone." This is the same dative-of-recipient logic as in dative-experiencer verbs: forgiveness is granted to someone. See the dative uses.
Проба́ч мені́, я бі́льше так не роби́тиму.
Forgive me, I won't do it again. (проба́ч + dative мені́.)
2. The offence in the ACCUSATIVE
Alongside the dative person you can name the offence in the accusative — what is being forgiven: проба́чити кому́сь помилку / запі́знення / гру́бість. The full frame is проба́чити + dative (person) + accusative (offence). Either object can be dropped.
Він проба́чив їй усі́ обра́зливі слова́.
He forgave her all the hurtful words. (dative їй + accusative слова́.)
3. The synonym вибача́ти / ви́бачити and the reflexive вибача́тися
вибача́ти / ви́бачити is an exact synonym of проба́чати / проба́чити with the same dative-plus-accusative government, equally common: Вибача́йте! = Проба́чте! "Sorry!" The crucial difference is the reflexive form вибача́тися / ви́бачитися "to apologise" (literally "to forgive oneself out") — used with пе́ред + instrumental for the person you apologise to: вибача́тися пе́ред дру́гом "apologise to a friend." Note: there is no common reflexive пробачатися; for "apologise," reach for вибача́тися or перепро́шувати. See the meanings of -ся.
Він ви́бачився пе́ред усі́ма за свою́ рі́зкість.
He apologised to everyone for his sharpness. (Reflexive ви́бачитися + пе́ред + instrumental.)
Common Mistakes
❌ Проба́ч мене́.
Case error — you forgive a person in the DATIVE, not the accusative: Проба́ч мені́ ('forgive me'). мене́ (accusative) is the offence-slot, not the person-slot.
✅ Проба́ч мені́.
Forgive me.
❌ Я проба́чу тебе́ за все.
Person-case error — the person forgiven is dative: Я проба́чу тобі́ за все ('I'll forgive you for everything'). Use тобі́, not тебе́.
✅ Я проба́чу тобі́ за все.
I'll forgive you for everything.
❌ Я хо́чу пробача́тися пе́ред тобо́ю.
Wrong verb for 'apologise' — пробачати has no common reflexive; use вибача́тися (or перепро́шувати): Я хо́чу ви́бачитися пе́ред тобо́ю.
✅ Я хо́чу ви́бачитися пе́ред тобо́ю.
I want to apologise to you.
❌ Учо́ра він проба́чав мені́ все.
Aspect error — a single completed act of forgiving is perfective проба́чив (with -и-), not imperfective проба́чав (with -а-): Учо́ра він проба́чив мені́ все.
✅ Учо́ра він проба́чив мені́ все.
Yesterday he forgave me everything.
❌ Пробача́й, я запізни́вся.
Register/aspect mismatch — for a one-off apology the everyday form is the perfective Проба́ч / Проба́чте, not the imperfective пробача́й: Проба́ч, я запізни́вся.
✅ Проба́ч, я запізни́вся.
Sorry, I'm late.
Key Takeaways
- проба́чити кому́сь (dative) щось (accusative) — forgive the person in the dative, the offence in the accusative.
- Present (impf): проба́чаю / проба́чаєш… (first-conjugation, -а-); future (pf): проба́чу / проба́чиш… (second-conjugation, -и-).
- Past: imperfective проба́чав vs perfective проба́чив — the -а-/-и- vowel is the aspect cue.
- Проба́ч! / Проба́чте! is the everyday "Sorry / Excuse me," using the perfective imperative.
- The synonym вибача́ти / ви́бачити behaves identically; its reflexive вибача́тися пе́ред + instrumental means "to apologise."
- There is no common пробачатися: for "apologise," use вибача́тися or перепро́шувати.
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