Infinitives: пи́ти (imperfective) / ви́пити (perfective) — "to drink" Type: an irregular-looking first-conjugation pair; the perfective adds the prefix ви-, which also pulls the stress onto itself (ви́пити, ви́п’ю)
пи́ти / ви́пити is a high-frequency everyday verb that hides two real traps. The first is spelling: the stem ends in a labial п, so before the iotated endings you must write an apostrophe — п’ю, п’єш, п’є — never пю, пє. The apostrophe is not decoration; it tells you the *п and the following vowel are pronounced separately, [pju] not [pʲu]. The second trap is case government: when you drink the whole of something you use the accusative (ви́пив во́ду "drank the water"), but when you drink some of it you switch to the partitive genitive (ви́пив води́ "drank some water"). English has no such switch — it leans on "some" instead — so this is where learners slip. Stress is marked on every form below.
Present tense — imperfective пи́ти only
Only the imperfective has a present. The infinitive пи́ти is stem-stressed, but the personal forms shift the stress onto the endings from the plural onward (п’ємо́, п’єте́), while keeping the apostrophe throughout.
| Person | пи́ти — PRESENT | English |
|---|---|---|
| я | п’ю | I drink / am drinking |
| ти | п’єш | you drink (sg.) |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | п’є | he / she / it drinks |
| ми | п’ємо́ | we drink |
| ви | п’єте́ | you drink (pl./formal) |
| вони́ | п’ють | they drink |
Note that the monosyllables п’ю, п’єш, п’є, п’ють carry no stress mark — a single-syllable word needs none. The stress mark appears only on the two-syllable plural forms п’ємо́, п’єте́, where it sits on the ending.
Я щора́нку п’ю ка́ву без цу́кру.
Every morning I drink coffee without sugar. (Habitual present — п’ю + accusative ка́ву.)
Ти так бага́то п’єш во́ди — це до́бре.
You drink so much water — that's good. (п’єш + partitive genitive во́ди, because of the quantity бага́то.)
Вони́ ніко́ли не п’ють алкого́лю за кермо́м.
They never drink alcohol at the wheel. (Negated present — не п’ють + genitive алкого́лю; note ніко́ли, the standard Ukrainian word.)
Past tense — gendered пив / пила́ / пило́ / пили́
Both aspects build a regular gendered past. Watch the stress: imperfective пив / пила́ / пило́ / пили́ is end-stressed everywhere except the monosyllabic masculine пив, while the perfective ви́пив / ви́пила / ви́пило / ви́пили is stem-stressed throughout (the prefix ви- locks the stress).
| Gender / number | пи́ти (impf) | ви́пити (pf) |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | пив | ви́пив |
| feminine | пила́ | ви́пила |
| neuter | пило́ | ви́пило |
| plural | пили́ | ви́пили |
The imperfective past describes drinking as a process or a habit (вона́ пила́ чай і чита́ла "she was drinking tea and reading"); the perfective reports the drink finished off (вона́ ви́пила чай "she drank up the tea").
Учо́ра вона́ ви́пила ці́лий ча́йник чаю́.
Yesterday she drank a whole pot of tea. (Completed result — perfective ви́пила; чаю́ is the partitive genitive after a container word.)
У ди́тинстві ми пили́ молоко́ пря́мо від коро́ви.
As children we used to drink milk straight from the cow. (Habitual past — imperfective пили́, end-stressed.)
Він пив во́ду пові́льно, ма́ленькими ковтка́ми.
He drank the water slowly, in small sips. (Process, focus on the manner — imperfective пив.)
Future tense
The two aspects build the future in completely different ways.
Perfective ви́пити — the simple (synthetic) future
The perfective has no present; its present-looking forms ARE its future. It keeps the apostrophe (ви́п’ю, ви́п’єш…) and the prefix ви- keeps the stress, so unlike the present п’ю, the whole perfective is stem-stressed.
| Person | ви́пити — FUTURE | English |
|---|---|---|
| я | ви́п’ю | I'll drink (up) |
| ти | ви́п’єш | you'll drink (sg.) |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | ви́п’є | he / she / it will drink |
| ми | ви́п’ємо | we'll drink |
| ви | ви́п’єте | you'll drink (pl./formal) |
| вони́ | ви́п’ють | they'll drink |
Я ви́п’ю ще одну́ ча́шку ка́ви — і йдемо́.
I'll have one more cup of coffee — and then we'll go. (Perfective future ви́п’ю, a single completed drink.)
Дава́й ви́п’ємо за здоро́в’я моло́дих!
Let's drink to the health of the newlyweds! (за + accusative — the toast construction; пити за + acc. 'drink to'.)
Imperfective пи́ти — both compound futures
The imperfective forms its future two ways, identical in meaning: the analytic future (бу́ду + infinitive) and the synthetic -му future. Both describe drinking as a repeated or ongoing future activity.
| Person | Analytic (бу́ду + inf.) | Synthetic (-му) |
|---|---|---|
| я | бу́ду пи́ти | пи́тиму |
| ти | бу́деш пи́ти | пи́тимеш |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | бу́де пи́ти | пи́тиме |
| ми | бу́демо пи́ти | пи́тимемо |
| ви | бу́дете пи́ти | пи́тимете |
| вони́ | бу́дуть пи́ти | пи́тимуть |
Лі́кар сказа́в, що тепе́р я бу́ду пи́ти бі́льше води́.
The doctor said that from now on I'll be drinking more water. (Imperfective future — an ongoing new habit; води́ partitive after бі́льше.)
Imperative
The imperative is built from each aspect's present/future stem. The imperfective пий / пи́йте invites or urges ongoing drinking (often caring — "drink up your milk"); the perfective ви́пий / ви́пийте pushes for a single, complete act (down it).
| Addressee | пи́ти (impf) | ви́пити (pf) |
|---|---|---|
| ти (informal) | пий | ви́пий |
| ви (formal / plural) | пи́йте | ви́пийте |
| 3rd person (let…) | хай / неха́й п’є | хай / неха́й ви́п’є |
Пий во́ду, поки́ вона́ ще те́пла.
Drink the water while it's still warm. (Imperfective imperative — process; bare accusative во́ду, the whole glass.)
Ви́пий таблетку — і одра́зу ляга́й спа́ти.
Take the pill — and go straight to bed. (Perfective imperative ви́пий for a single complete act; пити таблетку = 'take a tablet'.)
Participles and verbal adverbs
| Form | пи́ти / ви́пити |
|---|---|
| imperfective verbal adverb | п’ючи́ "(while) drinking" |
| perfective verbal adverb | ви́пивши "having drunk" |
| past passive participle | ви́питий "drunk (up)" |
The verbal adverbs п’ючи́ / ви́пивши are (literary / written) — Ви́пивши ка́ву, він узя́вся за робо́ту "Having finished his coffee, he got down to work." The passive participle ви́питий appears in phrases like ви́пита до дна ча́шка "a cup drained to the bottom."
Key uses & case government
1. Whole object → accusative; some of it → partitive genitive
This is the heart of the verb. Drink the whole of a definite thing and the object is accusative: ви́пив *во́ду* "drank the water (all of it)." Drink an indefinite amount — "some" — and Ukrainian switches the object to the partitive genitive: *ви́пив води́* "drank some water." There is no separate word for "some"; the case itself carries that meaning, which is exactly what trips English speakers up. The partitive is especially common after the perfective and after quantity words (бага́то, тро́хи, скі́льки). See the partitive genitive.
Хо́чеш, я нали́ю тобі́ ча́ю?
Do you want me to pour you some tea? (Partitive genitive ча́ю — 'some tea', an indefinite portion.)
Він за́лпом ви́пив уве́сь сік.
He downed the whole juice in one go. (Whole, definite object — accusative сік, reinforced by уве́сь 'all'.)
2. пити за + accusative — 'to drink a toast to'
To toast someone or something, use пити / ви́пити за + accusative: ви́пити *за здоро́в’я, за перемо́гу, за вас*. This is the standard formula at any celebration.
Пропону́ю ви́пити за на́шу дру́жбу!
I propose a toast to our friendship! (за + accusative дру́жбу.)
3. пити — 'to drink (alcohol)' as a lifestyle
On its own, with no object, пити often means specifically "to drink (alcohol), to be a drinker": Він не п’є "He doesn't drink." Context disambiguates; with an object it is neutral.
Він ки́нув пи́ти три ро́ки тому́.
He quit drinking three years ago. (Object-less пити = 'drink alcohol'; ки́нув + infinitive = 'quit doing'.)
Common Mistakes
❌ Я пю ка́ву щора́нку.
Spelling error — the labial п before an iotated vowel needs an apostrophe: Я п’ю ка́ву щора́нку.
✅ Я п’ю ка́ву щора́нку.
I drink coffee every morning — apostrophe in п’ю.
❌ Я бу́ду ви́пити сік.
Aspect/future error — perfective ви́пити already IS the future; never after бу́ду: Я ви́п’ю сік (or imperfective Я бу́ду пи́ти сік).
✅ Я ви́п’ю сік.
I'll drink the juice — perfective simple future ви́п’ю.
❌ Нали́й мені́ во́ду, будь ла́ска.
When you mean 'some water', use the partitive genitive, not the accusative of the whole: Нали́й мені́ води́, будь ла́ска.
✅ Нали́й мені́ води́, будь ла́ска.
Pour me some water, please — partitive genitive води́.
❌ Вона́ пив чай.
Agreement error — a female subject takes the feminine пила́: Вона́ пила́ чай.
✅ Вона́ пила́ чай.
She was drinking tea — feminine пила́.
❌ Ви́пиймо до здоро́в’я!
Government error — you toast 'to' someone with за + accusative, not до + genitive: Ви́пиймо за здоро́в’я!
✅ Ви́пиймо за здоро́в’я!
Let's drink to health! — за + accusative.
Key Takeaways
- Apostrophe everywhere in the present: п’ю, п’єш, п’є, п’ємо́, п’єте́, п’ють — the labial п before an iotated vowel always takes ’.
- Aspect pair: imperfective пи́ти (present п’ю…) vs perfective ви́пити (future ви́п’ю…); the prefix ви- also takes the stress.
- Past: gendered пив / пила́ / пило́ / пили́ (impf, end-stressed except masc. пив) vs ви́пив / ви́пила… (pf, stem-stressed).
- Government — the key choice: accusative for the whole (ви́пив во́ду) vs partitive genitive for some (ви́пив води́). Ukrainian uses the case, not a word like "some."
- пити за + accusative = "drink a toast to"; object-less пити often means "drink alcohol."
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- The Apostrophe (Апостроф)A1 — The Ukrainian apostrophe ’ is a full orthographic sign, not punctuation: it marks that a hard consonant is followed by an iotated vowel (я ю є ї) pronounced with a clear /j/ glide — blocking the softening that would otherwise happen. It is written after the labials б п в м ф and after р, and after consonant-final prefixes.
- Genitive: Partitive and DatesB1 — Two more genitive jobs English handles differently: the partitive genitive marks an indefinite portion (налий води 'pour some water', випив води 'drank some water') and lets Ukrainian distinguish 'some' from 'the whole' by case alone (води vs воду); and dates put the ordinal day plus month both in the genitive with no 'on' — першого вересня 'on the first of September'.
- 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).
- 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.
- 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.
- Їсти / З’їсти (to eat)A1 — Complete conjugation-and-usage reference for the aspect pair ї́сти (imperfective) / з’ї́сти (perfective) 'to eat'. ї́сти is one of the four ATHEMATIC verbs of Ukrainian, with the irregular present їм, їси́, їсть, їмо́, їсте́, їдя́ть; the perfective з’ї́сти (note the apostrophe) follows the same pattern with future meaning (з’їм, з’їси́, з’їсть, з’їдя́ть). Covers the past їв / ї́ла, the imperative їж / ї́жте, and the partitive-genitive object that distinguishes поїв супу 'ate some soup' from з’їв суп 'ate the (whole) soup'.