Yesterday - Past Tense
Warm-up
What did you do yesterday? Last week? A long time ago? Every language needs a way to talk about the past, and Ukrainian's solution is elegant: take the verb stem and add a special ending that shows who did the action.
Unlike English, where «I worked» and «she worked» look the same, Ukrainian past tense changes based on gender, not person. «I worked» is different for men (я працював) and women (я працювала). Once you see the pattern, it's surprisingly easy!
💡 Note: This is the imperfective past tense (describing ongoing or repeated actions).
Ukrainian also has perfective past tense (for completed actions with results). You'll learn about this distinction in A2 when we study «aspect»!
For now: читав = «was reading» (ongoing)
Минулий час (past tense) часто має букву л! Вона читала. Воно читало. Ми читали. Feminine, neuter, and plural forms always contain the letter л. Masculine forms usually end in в (Я читав), which historically evolved from an l sound!
Presentation
How Ukrainian Past Tense Works
The past tense in Ukrainian is beautifully simple. You take the infinitive (like читати — to read), remove -ти, and add:
| Who | Ending | IPA | Example | IPA |
| --- | ------ | --- | ------- | --- |
| він (he) | -в | /w/ | читав | /t͡ʃɪˈtɑw/ |
| вона (she) | -ла | /lɑ/ | читала | /t͡ʃɪˈtɑlɑ/ |
| воно (it) | -ло | /lɔ/ | читало | /t͡ʃɪˈtɑlɔ/ |
| вони (they) | -ли | /lɪ/ | читали | /t͡ʃɪˈtɑlɪ/ |
Key insight: The ending matches the gender of the subject, not the person.
So «I read» is:
- Я читав (if you're male)
- Я читала (if you're female)
Formation Step by Step
Step 1: Take the infinitive
- читати (to read)
- працювати (to work)
- говорити (to speak)
Step 2: Remove -ти
- чита-
- працюва-
- говори-
Step 3: Add gender ending
- читав / читала / читало / читали
- працював / працювала / працювало / працювали
- говорив / говорила / говорило / говорили
The Magic Return of -ва-
Remember how verbs like працювати lost their -ва- in the present tense (я працюю)? Good news: In the past tense, the -ва- comes back!
The past tense is built from the infinitive (dictionary form), so the -ва- stays right there.
| Verb | Present (Now) | Past (Yesterday) |
|---|---|---|
| працювати | я працюю (no -ва-) | я працював (has -ва-!) |
| танцювати | я танцюю | я танцював |
| подорожувати | я подорожую | я подорожував |
Rule: Present tense = drop -ва-. Past tense = keep -ва-.
Reflexive Verbs in the Past (-ся)
Reflexive verbs (Module 09) follow the same gender rules, but you keep the -ся at the end.
Pattern: Gender Ending + -ся.
Let's look at сміятися (to laugh):
| Who | Result | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| Він | сміявся | /smiˈjɑwsʲɑ/ |
| Вона | сміялася | /smiˈjɑlɑsʲɑ/ |
| Воно | сміялося | /smiˈjɑlɔsʲɑ/ |
| Вони | сміялися | /smiˈjɑlɪsʲɑ/ |
Look at these sentences. What do you notice about the verb endings?
- Він читав книгу.
- Вона читала книгу.
- Ми читали книгу.
The verb changes based on who is speaking, not what tense it is!
Time Expressions for the Past
When did it happen? Use these words:
| Ukrainian | IPA | English |
|---|---|---|
| вчора | /wt͡ʃɔˈrɑ/ | yesterday |
| позавчора | /pɔzɑwˈt͡ʃɔrɑ/ | day before yesterday |
| минулого тижня | /mɪˈnulɔɦɔ ˈtɪʒnʲɑ/ | last week |
| минулого місяця | /mɪˈnulɔɦɔ ˈmisʲɑt͡sʲɑ/ | last month |
| минулого року | /mɪˈnulɔɦɔ ˈrɔku/ | last year |
| давно | /dɑwˈnɔ/ | long ago |
| недавно | /nɛˈdɑwnɔ/ | recently |
| раніше | /rɑˈnʲiʃɛ/ | earlier, before |
| колись | /ˈkɔlɪsʲ/ | once, sometime |
In the famous Ukrainian song «Червона рута» (Red Rue), the singer reminisces about finding a magical flower: «Я знайшов її колись...» (I found it once...). Past tense + колись = perfect for nostalgic stories!
Key Verbs in Past Tense
Here are essential verbs you'll use often:
| Infinitive | він | вона | вони | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| бути | був | була | були | was/were |
| робити | робив | робила | робили | was doing |
| говорити | говорив | говорила | говорили | was speaking |
| їсти | їв | їла | їли | was eating |
| пити | пив | пила | пили | was drinking |
| писати | писав | писала | писали | was writing |
| слухати | слухав | слухала | слухали | was listening |
| дивитися | дивився | дивилася | дивилися | was watching |
| жити | жив | жила | жили | was living |
| працювати | працював | працювала | працювали | was working |
| відпочивати | відпочивав | відпочивала | відпочивали | was resting |
| чекати | чекав | чекала | чекали | was waiting |
Some verbs change their stem in past tense:
- їсти → їв/їла/їли (not «їстив»)
- пити → пив/пила/пили (not «питив»)
The stem changes, but the endings stay regular!
Example Sentences
-
Вчора я працював. Yesterday I worked. (male speaker)
-
Вчора я працювала. Yesterday I worked. (female speaker)
-
Він читав книгу. He was reading a book.
-
Вона говорила по телефону. She was talking on the phone.
-
Ми говорили українською. We were speaking Ukrainian.
-
Вони жили в Києві. They lived in Kyiv.
-
Колись тут був ресторан. Once there was a restaurant here.
-
Я слухав музику. I was listening to music. (male speaker)
-
Позавчора вона писала листи. Day before yesterday she was writing letters.
-
Давно він жив тут. Long ago he lived here.
-
Минулого року ми були в Україні. Last year we were in Ukraine.
-
Недавно я слухав цю пісню. Recently I was listening to this song.
-
Раніше тут було тихо. Earlier it was quiet here.
-
Він чекав на автобус. He was waiting for the bus.
-
Вона дивилася фільм. She was watching a movie.
When Ukrainians ask «Що ти робив вчора?» (What did you do yesterday?), they're using the masculine form. If asking a woman, they'll say «Що ти робила вчора?» — the question itself changes based on who you're talking to!
Міні-діалог 1: Після вихідних (After the Weekend)
Місце дії: Офіс у понеділок вранці Setting: Office on Monday morning
Марія: Привіт, Андрію! Що ти робив у вихідні? Андрій: Привіт! Я був у Львові. Марія: О, круто! Що ти там робив? Андрій: Я гуляв по старому місту. Марія: А я працювала. Нудно! Андрій: Минулого тижня ти була на морі! Марія: Так, це правда. Там було чудово!
Translation:
— Hi, Andriy! What did you do on the weekend?
— Hi! I was in Lviv.
— Oh, cool! What did you do there?
— I was walking around the old town.
— And I worked. Boring!
— Last week you were at the sea!
— Yes, that's true. It was wonderful there!
Міні-діалог 2: Спогади (Memories)
Місце дії: Бабусин дім Setting: Grandmother's house
Онук: Бабусю, що тут було раніше? Бабуся: Колись тут був великий сад. Онук: Хто тут жив? Бабуся: Твій дідусь жив тут давно. Онук: Я не знав! Коли? Бабуся: Давно. Він був молодий. Онук: Вау! Це так давно!
Translation:
— Grandma, what was here before?
— Once there was a big garden here.
— Who lived here?
— Your grandfather lived here long ago.
— I didn't know! When?
— Long ago. He was young.
— Wow! That's so long ago!
Notice how Ukrainian uses був/була/було for «was» depending on the gender of the noun:
- Тут був сад. (The garden is masculine.)
- Тут була школа. (The school is feminine.)
- Тут було тихо. (General statements use neuter.)
Практика
Вправа 1: Переклад
Перекладіть речення на українську мову.
- I was in the office yesterday.
- She was reading a book.
- They were working last week.
📋 Підсумок
Ви навчилися говорити про минуле українською! (You've learned to talk about the past!)
Запам'ятайте основні шаблони (Key patterns):
-
Утворення (Formation): Основа дієслова + -в/-ла/-ло/-ли
- читати → читав / читала / читало / читали
-
Рід (Gender agreement): Закінчення відповідає роду
- Він працював. (He worked.)
- Вона працювала. (She worked.)
- Вони працювали. (They worked.)
-
Часові вирази (Time expressions): вчора, позавчора, минулого тижня, давно, колись
Неправильні дієслова (Irregular verbs):
- піти → пішов/пішла
- прийти → прийшов/прийшла
Наступний урок: майбутній час! Завтра ми будемо вивчати, як говорити про плани!
Ви вивчили минулий час в українській мові. Ви знаєте закінчення -в, -ла, -ло та -ли. Ви знаєте слова «вчора» та «давно». Це була гарна робота (This was good work).
Need More Practice?
External Review
🎯 Activities
Past Tense Vocabulary
Gender Endings
Masculine (-в)
Feminine (-ла)
Plural (-ли)
Complete with Past Tense
Understanding Past Tense
How do you form the past tense in Ukrainian?
Which ending does a male speaker use for "I worked"?
What does accurately the word «вчора» mean in English?
Which is the correct past tense of «їсти» for «він»?
How do you say accurately "She was reading" in Ukrainian?
What does precisely the word «колись» mean in English?
Which verb changes its stem in past tense?
How do you accurately say "We were" in Ukrainian?
What is the past tense ending for neuter nouns?
Which time expression means "last year"?
How do you conjugate «сміятися» for «вона»?
Which is the correct past tense for 'they spoke'?
Build Past Tense Sentences
Past Tense Facts
The past tense ending -в is used for masculine subjects.
«Вона працював» is grammatically correct.
«Вчора» means "tomorrow."
The past tense of «бути» for feminine is «була.»
The verb «їсти» becomes «їв» in masculine past tense.
«Ми» uses the -ли ending in past tense.
«Давно» means "recently."
The neuter past tense ending is -ло.
You keep the '-ва-' suffix in past tense (працював).
Reflexive verbs lose the '-ся' in the past.
Past tense endings in Ukrainian show person (1st, 2nd, 3rd).
The plural ending -ли is used for 'ми', 'ви', and 'вони'.
Transform to Past Tense
Time Expressions
What does accurately «минулого місяця» mean in English?
Which word means accurately "recently" in the Ukrainian language?
What does accurately «Позавчора» refer to in English?
Which word means accurately "long ago" in Ukrainian today?
What does the word «раніше» accurately mean today?
What does accurately «Минулого року» mean in English?
What does the word «колись» accurately mean today?
What does «Минулого тижня» accurately mean in English?
How do you accurately say exactly "last Monday"?
How do you accurately say exactly "last weekend"?
What does precisely the word "today" mean in Ukrainian?
What does precisely the word "tomorrow" mean in Ukrainian?
📚 Vocabulary
| Word | IPA | English | POS | Gender | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| бабусин | /babˈusɪn/ | grandmother's | adj | ||
| вау | /ʋˈau/ | wow | noun | ||
| жила | /ʒɪlˈa/ | lived (verb female), vein | noun | ж | |
| молодий | /mɔlɔdˈɪj/ | young | noun | ч | |
| недавно | /nɛdˈaʋnɔ/ | recently | adv | ||
| рута | /rˈuta/ | rue (plant) | noun | ж | |
| сад | /sad/ | garden, orchard | noun | ч | |
| тихо | /tˈɪxɔ/ | quietly, silently | adv |