In this section: Grammar
Modal words: can, want, must
The Ukrainian words for can, want, must, know how to, need, may and should — могти, хотіти, мусити, уміти, треба, можна, слід, повинен and мати — with an infinitive, and how to make them negative.
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On this page
After this page you will be able to say what you can, want, must and know how to do, using a verb in the infinitive. You will know the difference between могти́ (can, be able to) and умі́ти (know how to). You will be able to say what someone needs to do, what is allowed and what is not, and what someone should do, and you will know how to make each of these negative.
Everyday needs introduced хо́чу and мені́ тре́ба. This page puts them together with the other words of this kind.
Two kinds of modal words
Ukrainian has two kinds of words for can, want and must.
- Verbs that change for the person: я мо́жу, ти мо́жеш. The person is the subject, in the nominative.
- Words that never change: тре́ба, потрі́бно, мо́жна, слід. The person, if there is one, is in the dative: мені́ тре́ба, “to me it is necessary”.
Both kinds are followed by a verb in the infinitive.
Могти: can, be able to
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| я | мо́жу |
| ти | мо́жеш |
| він, вона́, воно́ | мо́же |
| ми | мо́жемо |
| ви | мо́жете |
| вони́ | мо́жуть |
The stem changes from мог- to мож-, and the stress is on мо́- in every present form. The past tense is міг (masculine), могла́, могло́, могли́ [src: goroh-dictionary].
Мо́жу + infinitive
Хотіти: want
The present tense of хоті́ти is in Everyday needs: хо́чу, хо́чеш, хо́че, хо́чемо, хо́чете, хо́чуть [src: goroh-dictionary]. It takes an infinitive or a noun in the accusative. The past tense is хоті́в, хоті́ла, хоті́ли, and with би or б it makes a polite wish: я хоті́в би, я хоті́ла б (I would like).
Хо́чу + infinitive
Мусити: must, have to
Му́сити means “must, have to”. The I form changes с to ш: му́шу, му́сиш, му́сить, му́симо, му́сите, му́сять [src: goroh-dictionary]. Usage guides describe it as the word for a strong need to do something, sometimes against your wishes [src: goroh-usage].
Му́шу + infinitive
Уміти: know how to
Умі́ти or вмі́ти means “to know how to, to have the skill” [src: goroh-dictionary]. It is a regular first-group verb: умі́ю, умі́єш, умі́є, умі́ємо, умі́єте, умі́ють. Choose вмі́ти after a vowel and умі́ти after a consonant [src: pravopys-2026, §23]: Вона́ вмі́є, but Він умі́є.
English uses can for both “I am able to” and “I know how to”. Ukrainian separates them:
- умі́ти is a skill you have learned: swimming, cooking, driving;
- могти́ is being able or free to do something now, or being allowed to.
вмі́ти or могти́?
Треба, потрібно: need to
Тре́ба and потрі́бно mean “it is necessary”. The person is in the dative. The dictionary gives потрі́бно, необхі́дно and слід as the meaning of тре́ба [src: goroh-dictionary].
Мені́ тре́ба…
To say that you need a thing, use потрі́бен, потрі́бна, потрі́бне, потрі́бні, which agree with the thing. Everyday needs explains this.
Можна and не можна: may, may not
Мо́жна means that something is possible or allowed [src: goroh-dictionary]. As a question, it asks for permission. Не мо́жна, written as two words, means that something is not allowed. Add a person in the dative if you need one.
Мо́жна, не мо́жна
Слід: should, ought to
Слід works like тре́ба: it does not change, and the person is in the dative. The dictionary defines it as “it is necessary, it is worth” [src: goroh-dictionary].
Слід + infinitive
Повинен: obliged to
Пови́нен means “obliged to, having the duty to” [src: goroh-dictionary]. It is not a verb. Like an adjective, it agrees with the subject in gender and number:
| Subject | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | пови́нен | Він пови́нен прийти́. |
| Feminine | пови́нна | Вона́ пови́нна прийти́. |
| Neuter | пови́нне | Дитя́ пови́нне спа́ти. |
| Plural | пови́нні | Ми пови́нні прийти́. |
A man says я пови́нен and a woman says я пови́нна. With ви said politely to one person, use пови́нні.
Usage guides keep пови́нен for a duty or an obligation. They warn against using it everywhere, especially about things: an advertisement saying that furniture “must be placed correctly” is their example of overuse [src: goroh-usage]. For a strong need, they prefer му́сити. For a smaller need, they prefer ма́ти.
Мати + infinitive: be supposed to
Ма́ти (to have) with an infinitive means that someone has to or is supposed to do something [src: goroh-dictionary]. Usage guides recommend it for a smaller need, or for something that is expected or likely to happen [src: goroh-usage]. It is conjugated as usual: ма́ю, ма́єш, ма́є.
Ма́ю + infinitive
Negation
Put не straight before the modal word. Negation explains не in general. Be careful with the meaning: some English negatives work differently.
| Ukrainian | Meaning |
|---|---|
| не мо́жу | I can’t, I’m unable to |
| не вмі́ю | I don’t know how to |
| не хо́чу | I don’t want to |
| не тре́ба | there’s no need to; don’t |
| не мо́жна | it’s not allowed |
| не му́шу | I don’t have to |
Negatives
Common mistakes and limits
Common mistake
The nominative with тре́ба, мо́жна or слід. The person goes in the dative: Мені́ тре́ба йти, Вам слід відпочи́ти.
Common mistake
Могти́ for a skill. “Can you swim?” is Ти вмі́єш пла́вати? (informal). Ти мо́жеш пла́вати? usually asks whether you are able to swim now, for example after an injury.
Common mistake
Forgetting agreement with пови́нен. It matches the subject: він пови́нен, вона́ пови́нна, вони́ пови́нні.
Remember
Не мо́жна and не тре́ба are different. Тут не мо́жна пали́ти: smoking is forbidden. Не тре́ба поспіша́ти: there is no need to hurry. The same is true of не му́шу: it means “I don’t have to”, not “I must not”.
Practice
Related topics
Audio
The example sentences on this page are read by a computer-generated voice (OpenAI text-to-speech). The recordings are not individually checked by a listener, and a computer voice can occasionally stress or pronounce a word wrongly: the written sentence, with its stress marks, is the reference. It is not a recording of a native speaker. Nothing is downloaded until you press a listen button.
Sources
- Горох — онлайн-бібліотека словників української мови: Словозміна, Тлумачення (goroh.pp.ua)
- Горох: Слововживання (типові помилки, суржик і кальки) (goroh.pp.ua)
- Стандарт державної мови «Український правопис». Офіційне видання (Національна комісія зі стандартів державної мови)
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