Infinitive (imperfective): става́ти — "to become; to stand up; to take a position; (impersonal) to get / turn" Perfective partner: ста́ти — "to become; to stand up / come to a stop; to begin" Type: an aspect pair with a present-stem change (става- → стан-)
става́ти / ста́ти is one of the busiest verbs in the language because it carries three big jobs at once. It is the main verb of becoming (він став лі́карем "he became a doctor"), the verb of standing up / taking up a position (ста́ти в чергу́ "to get in the queue"), and — impersonally — the verb of a change of state in the world (ста́ло хо́лодно "it got cold"). On top of that, ста́ти + infinitive is one of the standard ways to say "to begin." The thread tying these together is transition: something passes into a new state. The single most important piece of government to nail is that "become" takes the INSTRUMENTAL of the new role — the same logic you met with бу́ти. Stress is marked on every form below.
Present tense — става́ти (стаю́…)
The imperfective present runs off the stem ста- with the j-glide endings (стаю́, стає́ш…), end-stressed throughout. (The -ва- of the infinitive drops out in the present — a regular feature of -вати verbs like дава́ти → даю́.)
| Person | става́ти — PRESENT | English |
|---|---|---|
| я | стаю́ | I become / am becoming |
| ти | стає́ш | you become (sg.) |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | стає́ | he / she / it becomes |
| ми | стаємо́ | we become |
| ви | стаєте́ | you become (pl./formal) |
| вони́ | стаю́ть | they become |
Imperfective става́ти describes becoming as a process ("is getting / is gradually turning into") or a recurring transition. It is also the verb in the impersonal стає́ + adverb "it's getting (cold / dark…)."
З ко́жним ро́ком він стає́ все́ бі́льше схо́жим на ба́тька.
With every year he's becoming more and more like his father. (Gradual process — imperfective стає́.)
Уве́чері стає́ прохоло́дно, візьми́ ку́ртку.
It gets chilly in the evening, take a jacket. (Impersonal стає́ + adverb прохоло́дно.)
Past tense — gendered става́в / став…
Two distinct past stems. The imperfective keeps -ва-: става́в / става́ла. The perfective is short and irregular-looking: став / ста́ла / ста́ло / ста́ли.
| Gender / number | става́ти (impf) | ста́ти (pf) |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | става́в | став |
| feminine | става́ла | ста́ла |
| neuter | става́ло | ста́ло |
| plural | става́ли | ста́ли |
The aspect contrast is vivid: imperfective става́в = "was becoming / was gradually turning into"; perfective став = "became (and now is)" — the transition complete. For a finished change of identity, you almost always want perfective став.
Закінчи́в університе́т і став інжене́ром, як і мрі́яв.
He finished university and became an engineer, just as he'd dreamt. (Perfective став + instrumental інжене́ром — the completed transition.)
Пого́да поступо́во става́ла все́ те́плішою.
The weather was gradually getting warmer. (Imperfective става́ла — an ongoing process.)
Future tense
Perfective ста́ти — the simple future
The perfective's present-form is its future, and here the stem changes to стан-: ста́ну, ста́неш… (stem-stressed). This стан-stem is the one to memorise — it does not look like the infinitive.
| Person | ста́ти — FUTURE | English |
|---|---|---|
| я | ста́ну | I'll become / stand up |
| ти | ста́неш | you'll become |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | ста́не | he / she / it will become |
| ми | ста́немо | we'll become |
| ви | ста́нете | you'll become |
| вони́ | ста́нуть | they'll become |
Я ві́рю, що одного́ дня вона́ ста́не чудо́вим лі́карем.
I believe that one day she'll become a wonderful doctor. (Perfective future ста́не + instrumental лі́карем.)
Imperfective става́ти — both compound futures
The imperfective forms its future analytically (бу́ду + infinitive) or synthetically (the -му form). It frames becoming as an unfolding future process.
| Person | Analytic (бу́ду + inf.) | Synthetic (-му) |
|---|---|---|
| я | бу́ду става́ти | става́тиму |
| ти | бу́деш става́ти | става́тимеш |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | бу́де става́ти | става́тиме |
| ми | бу́демо става́ти | става́тимемо |
| ви | бу́дете става́ти | става́тимете |
| вони́ | бу́дуть става́ти | става́тимуть |
Що бі́льше ти практику́єшся, то ле́гше става́тиме.
The more you practise, the easier it'll get. (Imperfective future става́тиме — an unfolding process.)
Imperative
The imperative runs off the perfective стан-stem: стань (2sg), ста́ньте (2pl/formal). The imperfective става́й / става́йте is also common, especially for "get up / rise."
| Addressee | става́ти (impf) | ста́ти (pf) |
|---|---|---|
| ти (informal) | става́й | стань |
| ви (formal / plural) | става́йте | ста́ньте |
| 3rd person (let…) | хай / неха́й стає́ | хай / неха́й ста́не |
Стань сюди́, звідси кра́ще ви́дно сце́ну.
Stand here, you can see the stage better from here. (Perfective imperative стань — take up a position.)
Participles and verbal adverbs
| Form | става́ти / ста́ти |
|---|---|
| imperfective verbal adverb | стаю́чи "(while) becoming" |
| perfective verbal adverb | ста́вши "having become / having stood" |
Both verbal adverbs are (literary / written) — Ста́вши доро́слим, він зрозумі́в… "Having grown up, he understood…" There is no everyday participle of this verb.
Key uses & case government
1. "Become" + INSTRUMENTAL
When ста́ти means "become," the new role or quality goes into the instrumental: став лі́карем, ста́ла відо́мою, ста́ло тради́цією. This is the same predicate-instrumental you use with past/future бу́ти, and the logic is identical — a non-permanent or newly-entered state takes the instrumental, never the nominative. See predicate nominative vs instrumental.
Ця́ пі́сня шви́дко ста́ла хі́том по всій краї́ні.
This song quickly became a hit all over the country. (ста́ла + instrumental хі́том.)
2. Impersonal ста́ло / стає́ + adverb — "it got / it gets"
With no subject and an adverb, ста́ти describes a change in the surroundings or in how one feels: ста́ло хо́лодно "it got cold," ста́ло ти́хо "it went quiet," мені́ ста́ло ле́гше "I felt better" (with a dative experiencer). This impersonal is extremely common in everyday speech.
Пі́сля розмо́ви з не́ю мені́ ста́ло наба́гато спокі́йніше.
After talking to her I felt much calmer. (Impersonal ста́ло + dative experiencer мені́ + adverb.)
3. ста́ти + infinitive — "begin to"
ста́ти + perfective or imperfective infinitive is a common way to say "begin / start to": Він став співа́ти "He began to sing," Вона́ ста́ла плакати "She started crying." It overlaps with почина́ти but feels more abrupt — the onset of a new activity. See infinitive complements.
По́тім усі́ ра́птом ста́ли крича́ти й ма́хати рука́ми.
Then everyone suddenly started shouting and waving their arms. (ста́ли + infinitive крича́ти 'began to'.)
4. "Stand up / take a position / come to a stop"
The literal physical sense — ста́ти в чергу́ "to get in the queue," ста́ти бі́ля вікна́ "to stand by the window," and (of a vehicle or machine) ста́ти "to stop / come to a halt." Distinguish this change-of-state ста́ти ("come to stand") from стоя́ти ("be standing," a state) — see стоя́ти.
Маши́на ра́птом ста́ла посере́д доро́ги.
The car suddenly stopped in the middle of the road. (ста́ти 'come to a halt'.)
Common Mistakes
❌ Він став лі́кар.
Case error — 'become' takes the INSTRUMENTAL, not the nominative: Він став лі́карем.
✅ Він став лі́карем.
He became a doctor.
❌ За́втра я ста́ваю чемпіо́ном.
Aspect error — a single completed transition is perfective ста́ну, not the imperfective present: За́втра я ста́ну чемпіо́ном.
✅ За́втра я ста́ну чемпіо́ном.
Tomorrow I'll become champion.
❌ Ста́ло хо́лодним надво́рі.
The impersonal 'it got…' takes an ADVERB, not an instrumental adjective: Ста́ло хо́лодно надво́рі.
✅ Надво́рі ста́ло хо́лодно.
It got cold outside.
❌ Вона́ став ди́ректором.
Agreement error — the past agrees with gender; a female subject takes ста́ла: Вона́ ста́ла ди́ректором.
✅ Вона́ ста́ла ди́ректором.
She became a director.
❌ Він почина́в стоя́ти бі́ля две́рей.
Confusing 'come to stand' with 'be standing' — to take up a position use ста́ти, not стоя́ти: Він став бі́ля две́рей.
✅ Він став бі́ля две́рей.
He stood by the door. (Took up the position.)
Key Takeaways
- става́ти / ста́ти does triple duty: become, stand up / take a position, and impersonally get / turn (a change of state).
- Present: стаю́ / стає́ш / стає́ / стаємо́ / стаєте́ / стаю́ть (imperfective); future перфектив: ста́ну / ста́неш / ста́не / ста́немо / ста́нете / ста́нуть — note the стан-stem.
- Past: става́в (impf) vs став / ста́ла / ста́ло / ста́ли (pf).
- "Become" + instrumental (став лі́карем) — same rule as past/future бу́ти.
- Impersonal ста́ло / стає́ + adverb (ста́ло хо́лодно; мені́ ста́ло ле́гше with a dative experiencer).
- ста́ти + infinitive = "begin to" (став співа́ти).
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- Стояти (to stand)A2 — Complete conjugation-and-usage reference for стоя́ти 'to stand, to be standing' — a second-conjugation STATE verb whose stem ends in a vowel, so the endings take -ї- after it (стою́ / стої́ш / стої́ть / стоїмо́ / стоїте́ / стоя́ть). Covers the gendered past стоя́в / стоя́ла, both imperfective futures, the imperative стій / сті́йте, the all-important contrast with the change-of-state pair встава́ти / вста́ти 'to get up' and става́ти / ста́ти 'to become / stop', the locative government (стоя́ти на зупи́нці), and the stance trio стоя́ти / сиді́ти / лежа́ти — including the fact that inanimate things 'stand': Маши́на стої́ть бі́ля до́му.