стоит + Infinitive

It Is Worth Doing

Level 5Sounds Like stoit + infinitiv

Use стоит + infinitive to suggest that an action is advisable, beneficial, or worth the effort. It is a softer, more evaluative way to say 'should' or 'ought to'.

How It Works

The pattern стоит + инфинитив is a versatile tool in Russian for giving advice or making observations about the value of an action.

1. Meaning and Nuance
Unlike нужно or надо, which imply necessity, стоит focuses on the benefit or result. It translates to 'it is worth it' or 'it makes sense.'

2. Grammatical Structure

  • The Verb: In this impersonal construction, the verb is typically in the 3rd-person singular (стоит) or neuter past (стоило). For future events, the present tense is typically used (e.g., Это стоит посмотреть), or the expanded construction будет стоить того, чтобы + infinitive. The future is also widely used with nouns for literal financial costs (e.g., Сколько это будет стоить?) as well as metaphorical costs (e.g., Это будет стоить мне нервов / карьеры / жизни). Note on pronunciation: The stress is on the first syllable. Do not confuse it with стоит (he/she/it stands), which has the stress on the second syllable.
  • The Subject: This is an impersonal construction. The person receiving the advice can be specified using dative case pronouns (мне, тебе, ему, ей, нам, вам, им). Placing the dative pronoun before the verb is standard for giving advice (e.g., Тебе стоит..., Мне не стоит...). It is also frequently omitted to give general advice to anyone. Note that placing the pronoun after the verb (e.g., Стоит нам поговорить) is perfectly normal and common for regular advice due to Russian's flexible word order, although this specific word order is also highly characteristic of a two-part conditional idiom (e.g., Стоит тебе... как...) meaning 'As soon as you...' or 'All you have to do is...' (see section 4).
  • The Object: The object of the infinitive remains in the accusative case. Learners often mistake Это in phrases like Это стоит посмотреть for the nominative subject, but it is actually the accusative object. This becomes clear with feminine singular nouns, where the ending visibly changes, e.g., Эту книгу стоит прочитать (This book is worth reading).
  • Aspect: In positive sentences, use the perfective aspect for specific, one-time results, or the imperfective aspect for general advice, habits, or ongoing actions. In negative sentences (не стоит), the imperfective aspect is mandatory when giving advice. (Note: idioms like ничего не стоит 'it costs nothing to / is very easy to' can take the perfective).

3. Softening Advice (стоило бы)
To make advice sound more polite or hypothetical, Russians use the conditional form: стоило бы + инфинитив. It translates to 'it would be worth it' or 'you should (ideally).'

4. Immediate Consequence (стоит только... как)
A specific usage of this pattern is стоит только [infinitive], как [result]. This means 'one only has to do X, and Y immediately happens.' It is often used to describe recurring coincidences or very easy actions. Note that только can be replaced by лишь (стоит лишь... как) or omitted entirely (стоит... как). In storytelling, the past tense equivalent стоило (только) [infinitive], как [result] is extremely common.

5. Negation (не стоит)
The negative form means 'it's not worth it' or 'don't bother.' It is the standard, polite way to say 'you shouldn't' or 'it's better not to,' and is much softer and more tactful than не надо or нельзя. It is also a standard polite response to 'thank you,' short for не стоит благодарности (literally: 'it is not worth gratitude'), similar to 'don't mention it' or 'it was nothing.'

6. Past Regret and Criticism (не стоило)
To express regret or criticize a past action, use не стоило + imperfective infinitive. It translates to 'you shouldn't have done that' or 'it wasn't worth doing.'

7. Emphasizing Value (стоит того, чтобы)
To strongly emphasize the value of an action, use the expanded phrase стоит того, чтобы + infinitive (e.g., Это стоит того, чтобы туда поехать - 'It is worth going there'). You will also frequently hear the standalone phrase Оно того (не) стоит ('It is (not) worth it') when the action is already understood from context.

Examples (6)

  1. Стоит отметить, что этот вопрос очень важен.

    It is worth noting that this question is very important.

    Word by Word: Worth to-note, that this question very important.

    A common formal expression used in writing and presentations.

  2. Тебе стоило бы больше отдыхать.

    You should rest more (it would be worth it for you).

    Word by Word: To-you worth would more to-rest.

    The conditional particle 'бы' softens the advice, making it sound like a suggestion rather than a command.

  3. Стоит только выйти на улицу, как начинается дождь.

    One only has to go outside, and it starts raining.

    Word by Word: Worth only to-go-out onto street, how starts rain.

    This construction describes an immediate consequence: as soon as one action happens, another follows.

  4. Не стоит так сильно расстраиваться из-за пустяков.

    It's not worth getting so upset over trifles.

    Word by Word: Not worth so strongly to-get-upset because-of trifles.

    When giving negative advice, the imperfective aspect is mandatory.

  5. Нам стоит обсудить этот план ещё раз.

    It makes sense for us to discuss this plan one more time.

    Word by Word: To-us worth to-discuss this plan still once.

    Uses the dative 'нам' (to us) to indicate the group involved in the recommendation.

  6. Нам не стоило туда ходить.

    We shouldn't have gone there.

    Word by Word: To-us not worth-was there to-go.

    Using 'не стоило' with an imperfective infinitive is the standard way to express regret or criticize a past action.

Common Mistakes

  • Confusing the past tense forms of 'стоить' (to be worth) and 'стоять' (to stand).

    Тебе стояло больше отдыхать.
    Тебе стоило больше отдыхать.

    Because 'стоит' (is worth) and 'стоит' (stands) are spelled identically in the present tense, learners sometimes confuse their past tense forms. For this pattern, always use the neuter past tense of 'стоить', which is 'стоило' (not 'стояло').

  • Using the nominative case for the person instead of the dative.

    Ты стоит пойти к врачу.
    Тебе стоит пойти к врачу.

    Because this is an impersonal construction, the person is not the grammatical subject. They must be in the dative case (тебе, ему, нам, etc.).

How It Connects

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

стоит + InfinitiveLevel 5It Is Worth Doing

Learn This First

To understand 'стоит + инфинитив', a learner needs to be familiar with the third-person singular conjugation of verbs and the use of the infinitive. It is also helpful to understand how impersonal constructions in Russian express necessity or recommendation, similar to 'нужно' or 'можно'.

Words in This Pattern

стоить