Aspect pair: проси́ти (imperfective) — попроси́ти (perfective) Meaning: "to ask (someone) for (something), to request; to beg" Conjugation: second conjugation; the only irregularity is the с→ш mutation in the 1sg present (прошу́).
проси́ти is "to ask for" — to request a thing, a favour, or an action from someone. It is the verb of polite imposition: Можна попроси́ти вас про дещо? "May I ask you for something?" English collapses two very different acts into the one word ask — asking for a thing (request) and asking a question (inquiry). Ukrainian keeps them strictly apart: проси́ти is request, пита́ти is inquiry. Confusing them is the single most common mistake English speakers make here, so the whole page hangs on that contrast. Stress is marked on every form.
Present tense — проси́ти (note the 1sg с→ш)
The stem is про́с-/прос-. In the 1sg only, the с mutates to ш (прошу́); every other person keeps с. The stress is mobile: end-stressed прошу́ in the 1sg, then stem-stressed про́- everywhere else.
| Person | Present (impf) | English |
|---|---|---|
| я | прошу́ | I ask / am asking |
| ти | про́сиш | you ask (sg.) |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | про́сить | he / she / it asks |
| ми | про́симо | we ask |
| ви | про́сите | you ask (pl./formal) |
| вони́ | про́сять | they ask |
Я прошу́ тебе́ про одну́ невели́ку послу́гу.
I'm asking you for one small favour. (проси́ти + accusative person тебе́ + про + accusative thing послу́гу. Note the 1sg mutation прошу́.)
Він за́вжди про́сить пора́ди, пе́рш ніж щось ро́бить.
He always asks for advice before he does anything. (про́сить — no mutation outside the 1sg; пора́ди is a partitive genitive 'some advice'.)
Past tense — проси́в / проси́ла / проси́ло / проси́ли
Regular gendered past off the проси́- stem, stress on -си́- throughout.
| Gender / number | Past (impf) |
|---|---|
| masculine | проси́в |
| feminine | проси́ла |
| neuter | проси́ло |
| plural | проси́ли |
Я проси́ла тебе́ не запі́знюватися — і ти все о́дно запі́знився.
I asked you not to be late — and you were late anyway. (Feminine past проси́ла + infinitive не запі́знюватися.)
Future — perfective simple vs imperfective both ways
The perfective попроси́ти makes its future from its own present-shaped forms (попрошу́, попро́сиш…); it means a single completed request. The imperfective проси́ти builds the future the two regular ways — analytic бу́ду проси́ти and synthetic проси́тиму.
| Person | Perfective future (попроси́ти) | Impf. analytic | Impf. synthetic |
|---|---|---|---|
| я | попрошу́ | бу́ду проси́ти | проси́тиму |
| ти | попро́сиш | бу́деш проси́ти | проси́тимеш |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | попро́сить | бу́де проси́ти | проси́тиме |
| ми | попро́симо | бу́демо проси́ти | проси́тимемо |
| ви | попро́сите | бу́дете проси́ти | проси́тимете |
| вони́ | попро́сять | бу́дуть проси́ти | проси́тимуть |
Note the perfective 1sg also mutates: попрошу́. For when to pick which aspect, see aspect overview.
Я попрошу́ ко́легу підмінити мене́ на годи́ну.
I'll ask a colleague to cover for me for an hour. (Perfective future попрошу́ — one specific, completed request + accusative ко́легу + infinitive.)
Imperative
The 2sg imperative проси́ "ask" is end-stressed; попроси́ for a one-off request. For the 3rd person use хай / неха́й + the perfective.
| Addressee | Imperfective | Perfective |
|---|---|---|
| ти (informal) | проси́ | попроси́ |
| ви (formal / plural) | просі́ть | попросі́ть |
| 3rd person (let…) | хай про́сить | хай попро́сить |
Якщо́ потрі́бна допомо́га — попроси́, не соро́мся.
If you need help, ask — don't be shy. (Perfective imperative попроси́ for a single act.)
Verbal adverb & participle
| Form | Word | Note |
|---|---|---|
| verbal adverb (impf) | про́сячи | "asking / while asking" (literary) |
| verbal adverb (pf) | попроси́вши | "having asked" |
| passive participle (pf) | попро́шений | "asked for, requested" (rare) |
Government — the three patterns
1. проси́ти + accusative person + про + accusative thing
The default frame: accusative person, then про + accusative for the thing requested. Я прошу́ вас про допомо́гу "I ask you for help."
Вони́ попроси́ли дире́ктора про зу́стріч цього́ ти́жня.
They asked the director for a meeting this week. (попроси́ти + accusative person дире́ктора + про + accusative зу́стріч.)
2. проси́ти + accusative person + infinitive ("ask sb to do")
To ask someone to do something, follow the accusative person directly with an infinitive. This is the everyday "ask sb to."
Мама́ попроси́ла мене́ ви́нести смі́ття.
Mum asked me to take out the rubbish. (попроси́ти + accusative person мене́ + infinitive ви́нести.)
3. проси́ти + щоб + past (different subjects, emphatic)
A more formal or emphatic alternative to the infinitive uses щоб + a past-tense verb, exactly as after хоті́ти — see щоб-clauses.
Я прошу́, щоб усі́ ви́мкнули телефо́ни на час виста́ви.
I ask that everyone switch off their phones for the duration of the performance. (проси́ти + щоб + past ви́мкнули — formal, addressed to a group.)
4. проси́ти + genitive ("beg for", formal/elevated)
In an elevated register, the thing begged for can stand in the bare genitive: проси́ти проще́ння "to ask forgiveness," проси́ти ми́лостині "to beg for alms."
Він прийшо́в проси́ти проще́ння за свої́ слова́.
He came to ask forgiveness for his words. (Elevated проси́ти + genitive проще́ння — a set, near-formulaic phrase.)
Про́шу! — the courtesy word
The 1sg прошу́, when used on its own as Про́шу!, is one of the most useful words in the language. It means, depending on context: "please / here you are / you're welcome / go ahead / pardon?" It is the standard reply to дя́кую ("thank you") and the word you say while handing something over.
— Дя́кую вам! — Про́шу, зверта́йтеся ще.
'Thank you!' — 'You're welcome, do come again.' (Про́шу as the reply to 'thank you'.)
Common Mistakes
❌ Я прошу́ тебе́ пита́ння.
To ask a QUESTION is пита́ти, not проси́ти; проси́ти is to request a thing/action: Я хо́чу запита́ти тебе́ дещо.
✅ Я хо́чу запита́ти тебе́ дещо.
I want to ask you something — inquiry takes пита́ти / запита́ти, not проси́ти.
❌ Я про́шу спа́ти.
Mutation error — the 1sg mutates с→ш: it is прошу́, not 'про́шу' when you mean 'I ask'. (Про́шу! as a standalone courtesy word does carry initial stress, but the verb 'I ask sb' is прошу́.)
✅ Я прошу́ тебе́ да́ти мені́ поспа́ти.
I'm asking you to let me sleep — 1sg verb прошу́ (end-stressed), с→ш.
❌ Я попроси́в його́ для допомо́ги.
The thing requested takes про + accusative, not 'для' + genitive: Я попроси́в його́ про допомо́гу.
✅ Я попроси́в його́ про допомо́гу.
I asked him for help — про + accusative допомо́гу.
❌ Я бу́ду попроси́ти тебе́ про послу́гу.
Don't put a PERFECTIVE infinitive under бу́ду — попроси́ти is already future on its own: Я попрошу́ тебе́ про послу́гу.
✅ Я попрошу́ тебе́ про послу́гу.
I'll ask you a favour — perfective future попрошу́, no auxiliary.
❌ Мама́ попроси́ла, щоб я ви́нести смі́ття.
After щоб the verb is PAST, not the infinitive: Мама́ попроси́ла, щоб я ви́ніс смі́ття (or simply + infinitive: попроси́ла мене́ ви́нести смі́ття).
✅ Мама́ попроси́ла мене́ ви́нести смі́ття.
Mum asked me to take out the rubbish — accusative person + infinitive.
Key Takeaways
- проси́ти / попроси́ти = "ask for / request," never "ask a question" — that is пита́ти.
- Present: прошу́ / про́сиш / про́сить / про́симо / про́сите / про́сять — с→ш in the 1sg only (прошу́, попрошу́).
- Government: accusative person + про + accusative thing, OR accusative person + infinitive ("ask sb to do"), OR щоб + past (formal), OR bare genitive ("beg for," elevated).
- Про́шу! standing alone = "please / you're welcome / here you are / go ahead."
- Perfective future = попрошу́… (no auxiliary); imperfective future = бу́ду проси́ти / проси́тиму.
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- Verbal Aspect: The Big PictureA2 — Aspect is the central, pervasive feature of the Ukrainian verb: nearly every verb belongs to an aspect PAIR — imperfective (недоко́наний вид), which views an action as a process, ongoing, repeated, or general (чита́ти), and perfective (доко́наний вид), which views it as a single completed whole with a result or boundary (прочита́ти). The consequences are sharp: imperfectives have a present, a past, and BOTH futures (бу́ду чита́ти / чита́тиму); perfectives have NO present — their present-shaped form is future (прочита́ю = 'I will read it through') — only a past (прочита́в) and a simple future (прочита́ю). Aspect is chosen for EVERY verb in EVERY clause; it is not optional, and it has no English equivalent.
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- 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.
- 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).
- Просити, Дякувати, Вибачатися — courtesy verbsA2 — A grouped conjugation-and-government reference for the three core Ukrainian courtesy verbs: проси́ти / попроси́ти 'ask, request' (+ accusative person + про + accusative thing, or an infinitive), дя́кувати / подя́кувати 'thank' (+ DATIVE person + за + accusative), and вибача́тися / ви́бачитися 'apologize' (+ перед + instrumental). One present-past-imperative table per verb, the everyday Про́шу / Дя́кую / Ви́бачте, and the government each verb demands. Standard Ukrainian throughout (дя́кую, не спаси́бі; Ви́бачте / Перепро́шую).