приходиться + Infinitive

Compelled by Circumstances

Level 5Sounds Like prihoditʹsâ + infinitiv

The construction приходиться + infinitive is used when you 'have to' do something because of the situation, not because you want to or feel a moral duty. It often implies reluctance or inconvenience.

How It Works

The verb приходиться (imperfective) and its partner прийтись (perfective) describe necessity dictated by the world around you. Unlike нужно (general need) or должен (moral obligation), this pattern suggests your hand was forced.

1. Grammatical Structure:

  • Subject: The person is in the Dative case (мне, тебе, Ивану).
  • Verb Forms: Since it is impersonal, it only uses:
    - Present: приходится (regularly/generally)
    - Past: пришлось (perfective, one-time) or приходилось (imperfective, repeated)
    - Future: придётся (perfective, specific future necessity)
  • Action: Followed by an infinitive.

2. Aspect Nuances:
Use the imperfective приходится for habits or general states (e.g., 'I have to wake up early every day'). Use the perfective пришлось/придётся for specific instances (e.g., 'I had to take a taxi yesterday').

3. Tone:
It often carries a sense of resignation. If you say 'Мне пришлось уйти', it implies you didn't necessarily want to leave, but something (a phone call, a headache, a deadline) made it necessary.

Examples (4)

  1. Мне пришлось вызвать такси, потому что я опоздал на автобус.

    I had to call a taxi because I missed the bus.

    Word by Word: To me [it] had-to to-call taxi, because I was-late for bus.

    Uses the perfective past 'пришлось' because missing the bus was a specific event that forced the action.

  2. Студентам часто приходится подрабатывать по вечерам.

    Students often have to work part-time in the evenings.

    Word by Word: To-students often [it] has-to to-work-additionally along evenings.

    Uses the imperfective 'приходится' for a recurring, general necessity.

  3. Тебе придётся подождать ещё десять минут.

    You will have to wait another ten minutes.

    Word by Word: To-you [it] will-have-to to-wait still ten minutes.

    Uses the perfective future 'придётся' to indicate a specific future necessity caused by the situation.

  4. Нам приходилось много тренироваться перед соревнованиями.

    We had to train a lot before the competitions.

    Word by Word: To-us [it] had-to much to-train before competitions.

    Uses the imperfective past 'приходилось' to describe a repeated necessity over a period of time.

Common Mistakes

  • Using a Nominative subject instead of Dative.

    Я пришлось купить новый телефон.
    Мне пришлось купить новый телефон.

    In Russian, 'приходиться' is impersonal. You cannot say 'I had to' using 'Я'; you must say 'To me it had to' using 'Мне'.

  • Changing the verb gender in the past tense to match the person.

    Она пришлась уехать раньше.
    Ей пришлось уехать раньше.

    Even if the person acting is female, the verb must remain in the neuter singular form 'пришлось' because the construction is impersonal.

How It Connects

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приходиться + InfinitiveLevel 5Compelled by Circumstances

Learn This First

To understand 'приходиться + инфинитив', a learner needs to be familiar with the dative case used for the person experiencing the necessity, the formation of the infinitive, and how reflexive verbs (ending in -ся) behave in impersonal constructions.

Words in This Pattern

приходиться