пакуль

While and Until with Пакуль

Level 3Sounds Like pakulʹ

Пакуль ты спаў, я гатаваў. (While you slept, I cooked.) Пачакай, пакуль я не вярнуся. (Wait until I come back.)

How It Works

While. Пакуль introduces a stretch of time during which the main action happens. The verb is imperfective, because it describes something ongoing: Пакуль ты спаў, я гатаваў. (While you slept, I cooked.) Пакуль мы гутарылі, пачаўся дождж. (While we were talking, it started to rain.)

Until. Пакуль не marks the moment the main action stops. The verb is usually perfective: Пачакай, пакуль я не вярнуся. (Wait until I come back.) Мы сядзелі, пакуль не сцямнела. (We sat until it got dark.) The не is not negation: the first sentence means that I will come back.

After чакаць (wait), пакуль can also mean until without не: Мы чакалі, пакуль ён прачнецца. (We waited for him to wake up.) Both are correct; пакуль не is the most common way to say until.

Future time. As with калі, a future event takes a future verb: пакуль я не вярнуся, literally until I will come back. See the perfective future.

For now. As an adverb, пакуль and пакуль што mean for now, so far: Пакуль усё добра. (So far everything is fine.) Some people also say Пакуль! for bye, copying Russian пока. Dictionaries do not give пакуль this meaning, so say Бывай! or Да пабачэння! instead (see saying goodbye).

Watch the aspect: imperfective for while, perfective for until. For an action that comes before another, use перш чым (before).

Examples (6)

  1. Пакуль ты спаў, я гатаваў вячэру.

    While you were sleeping, I cooked dinner.

    Word by Word: While you slept, I was-cooking dinner.

  2. Пачакай, пакуль я не вярнуся.

    Wait until I come back.

    Word by Word: Wait, until I not will-return.

    Не does not negate here: I will come back.

  3. Мы сядзелі ў парку, пакуль не сцямнела.

    We sat in the park until it got dark.

    Word by Word: We sat in park, until not got-dark.

  4. Пакуль дзеці гулялі, мама чытала.

    While the children played, Mom read.

    Word by Word: While children played, mom was-reading.

  5. Не ідзі, пакуль дождж не скончыцца.

    Don't go until the rain stops.

    Word by Word: Not go, until rain not will-end.

  6. Пакуль усё добра.

    So far everything is fine.

    Word by Word: For-now all good.

Common Mistakes

  • Using a perfective verb for while.

    Пакуль ты заснуў, я гатаваў.
    Пакуль ты спаў, я гатаваў.

    Заснуць means to fall asleep, which happens in a moment. While needs a lasting action, so use the imperfective спаць.

  • Using the preposition да before a clause.

    Пачакай, да я вярнуся.
    Пачакай, пакуль я не вярнуся.

    Да means until only before a noun: да вечара (until evening). Before a whole clause, use пакуль не.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

пакульLevel 3While and Until with Пакуль

Learn This First

Пакуль needs time clauses and aspect.

Words in This Pattern

пакульне