dovesti

Dovesti is a verb found in several Slavic languages, most notably Russian, Ukrainian, and Serbo-Croatian varieties, with the core meaning of bringing someone or something to a particular state or result. In many contexts it is used in the perfective aspect, signaling a completed action or a definite outcome, and has an imperfective counterpart used for ongoing processes.

Etymology and usage across languages: The word is formed from a prefix do- meaning “to, until” and the root vesti/vesti meaning “to lead, to bring.” This yields senses like to bring to a conclusion, to lead to a certain condition, or to cause to reach a certain point. Related forms and exact nuances vary by language, but the general idea remains consistent: to cause or bring about a specified result.

Common constructions and meanings: Dovesti is used with a range of complement patterns such as to bring to an end, to bring to tears, or to bring to court. Examples include phrases like довести дело до суда (to bring the matter to court), довести до конца (to bring to completion), and довести до слёз (to bring to tears). In many contexts it also expresses bringing a situation to an extreme or final state, as in довести до абсурда (to drive to the point of absurdity).

Conjugation and forms: The infinitive is typically довести in Russian and Ukrainian (perfective). The imperfective counterpart is доводить. In Russian, future/imperative forms include доведу, доведёшь, доведёт, доведём, доведёте, доведут and the imperative доведи / доведите. Past forms agree in gender and number: довёл, довела, довели.

See also:вести (to lead), доводити (Ukrainian imperfective), доводити/довести (Slavic verb pairs).