Imperfective: приво́дити — "to bring / lead (a person or animal, on foot — habitually or in the process)" Perfective: привести́ — "to bring / lead (a person or animal) here (once, completed)" Type: prefixed motion pair, prefix при- 'toward here' on the вести́ / води́ти base
приво́дити / привести́ is the verb for bringing a living being that walks — a friend, a child, a dog. The defining difference from its neighbour приноси́ти / принести́ is that the thing brought moves on its own legs and you merely lead or accompany it. It is built from the leading base вести́ / води́ти with the prefix при- 'arrival toward the speaker'. The aspect split is the usual one: imperfective приво́дити for a habit or process, perfective привести́ for a single completed act. The perfective past is the bare suppletive set приві́в / привела́ / привело́ / привели́ — the masculine приві́в has no extra ending. There is also a very common abstract use, привести́ до + genitive "lead to / result in" (привести́ до катастро́фи "lead to a catastrophe"). Stress is marked on every form below.
Present tense — imperfective приво́дити only (д→дж in the 1sg)
Only the imperfective has a present. приво́дити takes the води́ти endings, with the consonant mutation д → дж in the 1sg приво́джу alone; every other person keeps plain -д-. Stress stays on the -во́- stem throughout.
| Person | приво́дити — PRESENT | English |
|---|---|---|
| я | приво́джу | I bring / lead (a person) |
| ти | приво́диш | you bring (sg.) |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | приво́дить | he / she / it brings |
| ми | приво́димо | we bring |
| ви | приво́дите | you bring (pl./formal) |
| вони́ | приво́дять | they bring |
Я щоп’я́тниці приво́джу до них онука́ — вони́ за ним ду́же скуча́ють.
Every Friday I bring them my grandson — they miss him a lot. (1sg приво́джу, д→дж; a weekly habit, hence imperfective.)
Вона́ за́вжди приво́дить на репети́цію свого́ ста́ршого бра́та.
She always brings her older brother to rehearsal. (3sg приво́дить — a recurring habit.)
Що́осені ці сте́жки приво́дять тури́стів про́сто до водоспа́ду.
Every autumn these trails bring tourists right up to the waterfall. (Figurative 3pl приво́дять — paths 'leading' people.)
Past tense — imperfective приво́див vs bare suppletive перфектив приві́в
The imperfective past приво́див describes a repeated or ongoing bringing ("used to bring," "was bringing"). The perfective past is the bare suppletive set приві́в / привела́ / привело́ / привели́ — the masculine приві́в has no -в added to a stem, and the stress jumps to the ending in the other three forms.
| Gender / number | приво́дити (impf.) | привести́ (pf.) — suppletive |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | приво́див | приві́в |
| feminine | приво́дила | привела́ |
| neuter | приво́дило | привело́ |
| plural | приво́дили | привели́ |
Він приві́в на вечі́рку дру́га, про яко́го ми сті́льки чу́ли.
He brought to the party the friend we'd heard so much about. (Masculine приві́в, bare suppletive past; one completed act.)
Вона́ привела́ додо́му безприту́льне щеня́ — і ми за день у нього́ закоха́лися.
She brought home a stray puppy — and within a day we'd all fallen for it. (Feminine привела́ — end-stressed; one event.)
Ра́ніше тре́нер приво́див нас на цей стадіо́н дві́чі на ти́ждень.
The coach used to bring us to this stadium twice a week. (Imperfective приво́див — a past habit.)
Future tense — perfective simple future + two imperfective futures
The perfective привести́ has a simple future built on the -вед- stem — and since perfectives have no present, this present-shaped form is its future. The stress sits on the ending throughout (приведу́, приведе́ш…). The imperfective builds two parallel futures for a future habit: the analytic бу́ду приво́дити and the synthetic приво́дитиму.
| Person | привести́ (pf.) — FUTURE | Analytic impf. | Synthetic impf. |
|---|---|---|---|
| я | приведу́ | бу́ду приво́дити | приво́дитиму |
| ти | приведе́ш | бу́деш приво́дити | приво́дитимеш |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | приведе́ | бу́де приво́дити | приво́дитиме |
| ми | приведемо́ | бу́демо приво́дити | приво́дитимемо |
| ви | приведете́ | бу́дете приво́дити | приво́дитимете |
| вони́ | приведу́ть | бу́дуть приво́дити | приво́дитимуть |
За́втра я приведу́ до вас ма́йстра — він огля́не коте́л.
Tomorrow I'll bring you a repairman — he'll take a look at the boiler. (Perfective future приведу́ — one specific act.)
По́ки ти на курса́х, я приво́дитиму діте́й зі шко́ли сам.
While you're at your course, I'll be picking the kids up from school myself. (Imperfective synthetic future приво́дитиму — a future habit.)
Imperative
The perfective приведи́ / приведі́ть orders a single completed act ("bring them"); the imperfective приво́дь / приво́дьте frames an ongoing or repeated request ("keep bringing").
| Addressee | привести́ (pf.) | приво́дити (impf.) |
|---|---|---|
| ти (informal) | приведи́ | приво́дь |
| ви (formal / plural) | приведі́ть | приво́дьте |
| 3rd person (let…) | хай / неха́й приведе́ | хай / неха́й приво́дить |
Приведи́ за собо́ю кого́сь — бу́де весе́ліше.
Bring someone along — it'll be more fun. (Perfective imperative приведи́ — a single invitation.)
Government — the person led and the abstract "lead to"
1. Accusative of the person or animal
The being you bring is in the accusative, and because it is animate, masculine animate nouns show the genitive-shaped accusative: привести́ дру́га "bring a friend," привести́ соба́ку "bring a dog," привести́ діте́й "bring the children." See accusative animacy.
Чи мо́жна привести́ на за́хід ще одного́ ко́легу?
May I bring one more colleague to the event? (Animate accusative ко́легу — genitive-shaped; perfective infinitive привести́.)
2. Destination: до + genitive or a place adverb
Where you lead the person is до + genitive (привести́ до лі́каря "take to the doctor") or a directional adverb (привести́ додо́му "bring home," привести́ сюди́ "bring here").
Приведи́ ма́лого до ба́бусі — вона́ сього́дні вдо́ма.
Take the little one to grandma's — she's home today. (Animate accusative ма́лого + destination до + genitive ба́бусі.)
3. Abstract: привести́ до + genitive — "lead to / result in"
A frequent figurative use is привести́ до + genitive "lead to / result in (a consequence)": привести́ до катастро́фи "lead to disaster," привести́ до конфлі́кту "result in conflict," привести́ до успі́ху "lead to success."
Така́ необере́жність легко́ мо́же привести́ до сер’йо́зних на́слідків.
Such carelessness could easily lead to serious consequences. (Abstract привести́ до + genitive на́слідків.)
A note for English speakers
English "bring" hides a distinction Ukrainian makes explicit: привести́ is only for a being that walks on its own. The trap for learners is reaching for принести́ (the verb for carried objects) when the object is a person or a pet — saying принести́ дитину "bring the child" sounds like you're carrying it as luggage and is genuinely odd unless the child literally cannot walk. The second trap is the accusative of an animate noun: привести́ дру́га, not 'дру́г', because masculine animate accusatives borrow the genitive ending. And note that English "lead to" (a result) maps cleanly onto привести́ до + genitive — a rare case where the literal and figurative senses line up across the two languages.
Common Mistakes
❌ Я принесу́ дру́га на вечі́рку.
Verb-choice error — a person who walks is brought with привести́, not принести́ (for carried objects): Я приведу́ дру́га на вечі́рку.
✅ Я приведу́ дру́га на вечі́рку.
I'll bring a friend to the party.
❌ Я приведу́ соба́ку додо́му за́втра щодня́.
Aspect error — a daily habit is imperfective, not the single-act perfective: Я приво́дитиму соба́ку додо́му щодня́. приведу́ is one future act.
✅ Я приво́дитиму соба́ку додо́му щодня́.
I'll be bringing the dog home every day.
❌ Я приво́жу до вас дити́ну щоти́жня.
Wrong 1sg — the д→дж mutation gives приво́джу, not 'приво́жу' (that's the 1sg of привози́ти, 'bring by vehicle'): Я приво́джу до вас дити́ну щоти́жня.
✅ Я приво́джу до вас дити́ну щоти́жня.
I bring the child to you every week.
❌ Він приві́вв на́шого тре́нера.
The masculine perfective past is bare — приві́в, with no added -в: Він приві́в на́шого тре́нера.
✅ Він приві́в на́шого тре́нера.
He brought our coach.
❌ Це мо́же привести́ катастро́фи.
The 'lead to' sense needs до + genitive: Це мо́же привести́ до катастро́фи.
✅ Це мо́же привести́ до катастро́фи.
This could lead to disaster.
Key Takeaways
- Aspect pair: imperfective приво́дити (habit / process) vs perfective привести́ (a single completed act).
- Choose by mover: привести́ is for a being that walks on its own — a person or animal; for carried objects use принести́, for wheels привезти́.
- Bare suppletive past: приві́в / привела́ / привело́ / привели́ (masculine bare; stress on the ending elsewhere).
- 1sg mutation: приво́джу (д→дж) — don't confuse with привожу from привози́ти.
- Government: animate accusative of the person/animal (привести́ дру́га); destination до + genitive; abstract привести́ до + genitive 'lead to'.
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- Prefixed Verbs of Motion: OverviewB1 — A directional prefix transforms a motion verb on two levels at once. On the UNIDIRECTIONAL stem it makes a PERFECTIVE (прийти́ 'arrive', ви́йти 'go out'); the SAME prefix on the MULTIDIRECTIONAL stem makes the matching IMPERFECTIVE (прихо́дити, вихо́дити). Each prefix has a consistent meaning across all motion verbs — при- arrive/toward, ви- out, за- drop by/behind, пере- across/relocate, до- reach, від- away, про- through/past, об- around, в-/у- in, з-/ді- down/off — so learning ~10 prefixes once unlocks all prefixed motion.
- Verb Reference: Вести / Водити (to lead / drive — uni/multi)B1 — Complete conjugation-and-usage reference for the motion pair вести́ / води́ти 'to lead (a person/animal) / to drive (a car)'. Covers the unidirectional вести́ (веду́ / веде́ш / веде́ / веду́ть) with its bare suppletive past вів / вела́, and the multidirectional води́ти (воджу́ with д→дж, во́диш, past води́в). Explains determinate vs indeterminate, the accusative object (вести́ дити́ну), the everyday idiom води́ти маши́ну 'to drive', the bare past вів, the contrast with везти́/вози́ти and нести́/носи́ти, and the errors English speakers make with aspect, mutation, and case.
- Verb Reference: Прино́сити / Принести́ (to bring on foot)B1 — Complete conjugation-and-usage reference for the prefixed motion pair прино́сити (imperfective) / принести́ (perfective) 'to bring (carrying it, on foot)'. Covers the present прино́шу / прино́сиш… with the с→ш mutation in the 1sg, the bare suppletive past прині́с / принесла́ / принесло́ / принесли́, the perfective future принесу́ / принесе́ш…, both imperfective futures, the imperative принеси́ / принесі́ть, the prefix при- 'bring toward', accusative object plus a dative recipient (принести́ дру́гові кни́гу), and the contrast with приво́дити 'bring a person' and привози́ти 'bring by vehicle'.
- Verb Reference: Приво́зити / Привезти́ (to bring by vehicle)B2 — Complete conjugation-and-usage reference for the prefixed motion pair приво́зити (imperfective) / привезти́ (perfective) 'to bring (cargo or a passenger by vehicle)'. Covers the present приво́жу / приво́зиш… with the з→ж mutation in the 1sg, the bare suppletive past приві́з / привезла́ / привезло́ / привезли́, the perfective future привезу́ / привезе́ш…, both imperfective futures, the imperative привези́ / привезі́ть, the prefix при- 'toward here', accusative cargo plus a dative recipient (привезти́ дру́гові пода́рунок), the instrumental of the vehicle, and the contrast with приноси́ти 'carry by hand' and приводи́ти 'lead a person on foot'.
- Animacy in the Accusative: Edge CasesB2 — Grammatical animacy is not biology: the dead (ба́чу мерця́), playing cards and chess pieces (відкри́ти туза́, взя́ти короля́), and dolls behave as ANIMATE — their accusative copies the genitive — while collectives like наро́д and на́товп stay inanimate, so the accusative occasionally surprises (купи́ти коня́ vs ба́чу буди́нок).
- Aspect and Verbs of MotionB2 — Motion verbs add a second axis to aspect. Unprefixed, they split into unidirectional (іти́, ї́хати) and multidirectional (ходи́ти, ї́здити) — and BOTH are imperfective. But a directional prefix reshuffles everything: that prefix on the unidirectional stem yields a PERFECTIVE (прийти́ 'arrive', піти́ 'set off'), while the SAME prefix on the multidirectional stem yields its IMPERFECTIVE partner (прихо́дити). So прийти́ (perf) / прихо́дити (impf) are an aspect pair — 'he arrives every day' is прихо́дить, 'he arrived' is прийшо́в. This two-layer system (direction + aspect) is the hardest thing in the motion system.