Infinitive (imperfective): стоя́ти — "to stand, to be standing, to be (positioned upright)" Type: second-conjugation state verb with a vowel-final stem (hence -ї- in the endings)
стоя́ти describes a state — being in a standing or upright position — not the act of getting up or stopping. As with сиді́ти, English speakers must separate the state from the change into it: стоя́ти "to be standing" is a state, while встава́ти / вста́ти "to get up, to rise" and става́ти / ста́ти "to become / to come to a stop" are the changes of state. Conjugation has one wrinkle worth flagging: the stem сто- ends in a vowel, so the endings appear with an iotated -ї- between vowels — стою́, стої́ш, стої́ть, стоїмо́, стоїте́ — falling back to plain -я- only in the 3pl стоя́ть. There is no consonant mutation here. The stress is end-fixed throughout. Stress is marked on every form below.
Present tense — vowel-final stem, -ї- in the endings
A second-conjugation verb with the stem сто-. Because the stem ends in a vowel, the endings appear as -ю́ / -ї́ш / -ї́ть / -їмо́ / -їте́ / -я́ть — the -ї- is the iotated spelling that bridges the two vowels. No mutation; the stress falls on the ending throughout.
| Person | стоя́ти — PRESENT | English |
|---|---|---|
| я | стою́ | I am standing |
| ти | стої́ш | you are standing (sg.) |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | стої́ть | he / she / it is standing |
| ми | стоїмо́ | we are standing |
| ви | стоїте́ | you are standing (pl./formal) |
| вони́ | стоя́ть | they are standing |
Я вже два́дцять хвили́н стою́ на зупи́нці — авто́буса нема́є.
I've been standing at the stop for twenty minutes — there's no bus. (1sg стою́ — a state, location на + locative зупи́нці.)
Чому́ ти стої́ш? Сіда́й, мі́сце є.
Why are you standing? Sit down, there's a seat. (2sg стої́ш — the standing state; сіда́й = the change to sitting.)
Лю́ди стоя́ть у до́вгій че́рзі по квитки́.
People are standing in a long queue for tickets. (3pl стоя́ть — plain -я-, end stress.)
Past tense — gendered (стоя́в…)
A regular gendered past in -в / -ла / -ло / -ли, with stress on the -о-я́- of the stem (стоя́в). No mutation. The past simply reports the standing state over a stretch of time — "was standing / stood."
| Gender / number | стоя́ти — PAST | English |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | стоя́в | (he / I m.) was standing |
| feminine | стоя́ла | (she / I f.) was standing |
| neuter | стоя́ло | (it) was standing |
| plural | стоя́ли | (we / you / they) were standing |
Маши́на ці́лий ти́ждень стоя́ла бі́ля до́му без ру́ху.
The car stood by the house all week without moving. (стоя́ла — an inanimate thing 'stands'; location бі́ля + genitive до́му.)
Ми до́вго стоя́ли під доще́м, чека́ючи на таксі́.
We stood in the rain for a long time waiting for a taxi. (стоя́ли — a state lasting a stretch of time.)
Future tense
Perfective постоя́ти — "to stand for a while"
The natural perfective of стоя́ти is постоя́ти, with the по- 'do a bit of' prefix — "to stand for a while." Its present-form set is the simple future. (The change-of-state perfectives are the separate verbs ста́ти "to come to a stop / to become" and вста́ти "to get up.")
| Person | постоя́ти — FUTURE | English |
|---|---|---|
| я | постою́ | I'll stand a while |
| ти | постої́ш | you'll stand a while |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | постої́ть | he / she / it will stand a while |
| ми | постоїмо́ | we'll stand a while |
| ви | постоїте́ | you'll stand a while |
| вони́ | постоя́ть | they'll stand a while |
Постій тут хвили́нку, я ті́льки куплю́ во́ду.
Stand here for a minute, I'll just buy some water. (Perfective постій — stand for a bounded while.)
Imperfective стоя́ти — both compound futures
For an ongoing or future state, the imperfective builds the analytic (бу́ду + infinitive) or synthetic (-му) future.
| Person | Analytic (бу́ду + inf.) | Synthetic (-му) |
|---|---|---|
| я | бу́ду стоя́ти | стоя́тиму |
| ти | бу́деш стоя́ти | стоя́тимеш |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | бу́де стоя́ти | стоя́тиме |
| ми | бу́демо стоя́ти | стоя́тимемо |
| ви | бу́дете стоя́ти | стоя́тимете |
| вони́ | бу́дуть стоя́ти | стоя́тимуть |
Без поли́ву ці кві́ти до́вго не бу́дуть стоя́ти.
Without watering these flowers won't last long. (Analytic future бу́дуть стоя́ти — 'stand' = stay fresh, of cut flowers.)
Imperative
The imperative has the irregular short form стій / сті́йте "stand! / stop!" — built without the -я-. It doubles as the everyday "Stop! / Wait!" shout.
| Addressee | стоя́ти |
|---|---|
| ти (informal) | стій |
| ви (formal / plural) | сті́йте |
| 3rd person (let…) | хай / неха́й стої́ть |
Стій! Не руша́й, там черво́не сві́тло.
Stop! Don't move, the light's red. (Imperative стій — the everyday 'stop / wait' shout.)
Verbal adverbs
| Form | стоя́ти |
|---|---|
| imperfective verbal adverb | сто́ячи "(while) standing" |
сто́ячи "while standing / on one's feet" is fairly common in descriptions and instructions — ї́сти сто́ячи "to eat standing up." Stress retracts to the сто́- stem in this form.
Key uses & case government
1. Location — на / в / бі́ля + locative or genitive (where it IS)
Because стоя́ти is a state, the place is a location, governed by a locative-type preposition: на + locative (стоя́ти на зупи́нці, на сце́ні), в / у + locative (стоя́ти в че́рзі, у две́рях), бі́ля / ко́ло + genitive (стоя́ти бі́ля вікна́). Contrast the directional accusative you'd use with the change-of-state verb става́ти "to step onto" — this is the motion-vs-location split again.
На по́лиці стоя́ть кни́жки, а на столі́ лежи́ть газе́та.
On the shelf stand books, and on the table lies a newspaper. (стоя́ть for upright books, лежи́ть for the flat newspaper — location на + locative.)
2. The stance trio — стоя́ти / сиді́ти / лежа́ти, and inanimate "standing"
Ukrainian keeps three posture verbs where English mostly says "be": стоя́ти "stand," сиді́ти "sit," лежа́ти "lie." Crucially, this extends to objects: anything taller than it is wide, or that rests on a base, stands — склянка стої́ть на столі́ "the glass is (standing) on the table," маши́на стої́ть "the car is (standing/parked) there," буди́нок стої́ть "the building stands." A flat object lies (lies), a seated being sits. Picking the right posture verb is a hallmark of natural Ukrainian.
Маши́на стої́ть бі́ля до́му, а велосипе́д лежи́ть на траві́.
The car is (standing) by the house, and the bike is (lying) on the grass. (Inanimate stance: стої́ть for the upright car, лежи́ть for the toppled bike.)
3. Idiomatic стоя́ти — "to be at a standstill, to be worth, to defend"
стоя́ти runs a productive set of idioms: стоя́ти в че́рзі "to queue," годи́нник стої́ть "the clock has stopped," робо́та стої́ть "the work is at a standstill," стоя́ти на своє́му "to stand one's ground," and стоя́ти за пра́вду "to stand up for the truth."
Він за́вжди стої́ть на своє́му й не йде на компромі́с.
He always stands his ground and won't compromise. (Idiom стоя́ти на своє́му.)
Common Mistakes
❌ Я стою́ на зупи́нку.
Wrong case — being positioned is a LOCATION: на + locative зупи́нці, not the accusative: Я стою́ на зупи́нці. (The accusative goes with motion 'onto'.)
✅ Я стою́ на зупи́нці.
I'm standing at the stop.
❌ Я стою́ ра́но щора́нку о шо́стій.
Wrong verb — 'I get up' is the change-of-state встаю́, not стою́ 'I'm standing': Я встаю́ ра́но щора́нку о шо́стій.
✅ Я встаю́ ра́но щора́нку о шо́стій.
I get up early every morning at six.
❌ Маши́на сиди́ть бі́ля до́му.
Stance error — an inanimate upright object STANDS, it doesn't 'sit': Маши́на стої́ть бі́ля до́му.
✅ Маши́на стої́ть бі́ля до́му.
The car is (standing) by the house.
❌ Ти стоя́ш у че́рзі?
Spelling error — after the vowel stem the 2sg ending takes -ї-: стої́ш, not 'стоя́ш': Ти стої́ш у че́рзі?
✅ Ти стої́ш у че́рзі?
Are you standing in the queue?
❌ Вона́ стоя́в на сце́ні.
Agreement error — the past agrees with gender; a female subject takes стоя́ла: Вона́ стоя́ла на сце́ні.
✅ Вона́ стоя́ла на сце́ні.
She was standing on the stage.
Key Takeaways
- State, not change of state: стоя́ти = "be standing / be positioned upright"; getting up is встава́ти / вста́ти, stopping/becoming is става́ти / ста́ти.
- -ї- in the endings: the vowel-final stem gives стою́, стої́ш, стої́ть, стоїмо́, стоїте́, then plain стоя́ть; end stress throughout, no mutation.
- Past: стоя́в / стоя́ла / стоя́ло / стоя́ли — gendered, stress on -о-я́-.
- Future: perfective постою́ "I'll stand a while"; imperfective бу́ду стоя́ти / стоя́тиму for an ongoing state.
- Imperative: the short стій / сті́йте "stand! / stop!"
- Government & stance: location = на / в + locative, бі́ля + genitive (never accusative). Inanimate upright things stand (маши́на стої́ть); pick стоя́ти / сиді́ти / лежа́ти by shape and posture.
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- Present Tense: Second ConjugationA1 — The second conjugation (друга дієвідміна) takes the present endings -у/-ю, -иш/-їш, -ить/-їть, -имо/-їмо, -ите/-їте, -ать/-ять, built on the theme vowel -и-/-ї- with a 3pl in -ать/-ять. Drill three models: regular говори́ти (говорю́, гово́риш, гово́рить… гово́рять), labial+л in the 1sg люби́ти (люблю́, лю́биш… лю́блять), and dental mutation in the 1sg ходи́ти (ходжу́, хо́диш… хо́дять) and ба́чити (ба́чу, ба́чиш… ба́чать — -ать, not -ять, after the hushing ч). The key insight: the mutation is confined to the я-form.
- Present-Stem Consonant ChangesA2 — When you form the present stem, a stem-final consonant often mutates: д→дж, т→ч, з→ж, с→ш, ст→щ, and any labial (б п в м ф) inserts an epenthetic -л-. In the second conjugation this happens only in the 1sg (ходи́ти→ходжу́, but хо́диш); in the first conjugation it runs through the whole present (писа́ти→пишу́, пи́шеш…). The mutations are regular, so you can derive the tricky я-form instead of memorising it.
- Сидіти (to sit / be sitting)A2 — Complete conjugation-and-usage reference for сиді́ти 'to sit, to be sitting' — a second-conjugation STATE verb with the д→дж mutation in the 1sg сиджу́ (then сиди́ш / сиди́ть / сиди́мо / сидите́ / сидя́ть). Covers the gendered past сиді́в / сиді́ла, both imperfective futures, the imperative сиди́ / сиді́ть, the all-important contrast with the change-of-state pair сіда́ти / сі́сти 'to sit DOWN', the locative government (сиді́ти на сті́льці, в кімна́ті), and the stance trio сиді́ти / стоя́ти / лежа́ти.
- Ставати / Стати (to become / stand up)B1 — Complete conjugation-and-usage reference for става́ти / ста́ти — a high-frequency verb meaning 'to become', 'to stand up / take a position', and (impersonally) 'to get / turn'. Covers the imperfective present стаю́ / стає́ш / стає́ / стаємо́ / стаєте́ / стаю́ть, the gendered past става́в / став, both imperfective futures, the perfective ста́ну / ста́неш / ста́не / ста́немо / ста́нете / ста́нуть, the predicate INSTRUMENTAL ('become' — став лі́карем), the impersonal ста́ло + adverb ('it got cold'), and ста́ти + infinitive ('begin').
- Locative: Uses (Location, Time, Topic)A2 — What the locative does — static location with у/в and на (у шко́лі, на столі́, у Ки́єві), the crucial case-not-preposition contrast with the accusative (я в шко́лі 'at school' vs іду́ в шко́лу 'to school'), calendar time with у/в (у сі́чні, у 1991 ро́ці), clock time with о + locative (о тре́тій годи́ні), 'around/along' with по (по мі́сту), and 'at/with' with при.
- Motion vs Location: The Case SwitchA2 — The three-way pivot at the centre of Ukrainian prepositions: куди? (motion toward → accusative: іду в шко́лу, кладу́ на стіл, сів за стіл), де? (location → locative with в/на, instrumental with за/під/над: я в шко́лі, лежи́ть на столі́, сиди́ть за столо́м), and зві́дки? (origin → genitive: зі шко́ли, від ліка́ря). The same preposition keeps its shape; only the case changes — в шко́лу, в шко́лі, зі шко́ли differ by case alone — so mastering the куди/де/зві́дки question is the master key to the whole preposition system.