Have you mastered the Russian alphabet yet? If you haven't, worry not - with my Russian Alphabet online course you will learn it in under 2 hours. If you have - congratulations! It's a major milestone in learning Russian, and you should feel a great sense of accomplishment. You're now ready to move on to the next challenge. This article introduces the most common Russian verbs in the present tense to help you start understanding basic sentences.
Russian verbs pose all sorts of challenges for English speakers. As in Spanish and French, Russian verbs change based on who or what is performing the action (this is called conjugation). In addition, each verb can represent either a completed or uncompleted action. Don't panic though - today, we're just focusing on the verbs in the present tense. These verbs in the present tense always represent an uncompleted action so you'll see just one form of each verb instead of 2.
Download this handy overview of the 8 most common Russian verbs. Review their endings in the present tense and practise their conjugation as often as you can to start creating basic sentences of your own.
TO BE
I'll start with the good news. In Russian the verb 'to be' is not used when you are talking in the present tense. So you do not need to learn to say 'I am', 'you are', 'he is' and so on.
Я студент - I am a student
THE PRESENT TENSE
More good news. In Russian there is only 1 form of the present tense so Я работаю is the only way of saying I work, I am working.
VERB CONJUGATION
This is where it starts to get a little complicated.
To make the present tense, we must:
Firstly, look at the infinitive ending
Secondly, identify the verb conjugation (1st or 2nd)
Thirdly, remove the last letters of the infinitive (usually -ть or -ить)
Finally, add the endings (different for each person of the verb) to the stem of the verb
Let’s see this in practice.
1ST CONJUGATION VERBS
Verbs whose infinitive ends in the letters -ать, -ять, -еть usually belong to the 1st conjugation verbs that follow a regular pattern of present tense endings:
-ю, -ете, -ешь, -ет, -ем, -ют
Here is the verb for to work (работать). Removing -ть, we have the following endings added to the stem of the verb to make the present tense:
работа ть (to work)
я работаю _ I work
вы работаете _ you work *
ты работаешь _ you work **
он/она работает _ he/she works
мы работаем _ we work
они работают _ they work
* 'Вы' is used when you address one person formally or a group of people both formally and informally:
Вы with a stranger/teacher/doctor/boss
Вы with more than one stranger/teacher/doctor/boss
Вы with more than one friend/family member
** 'Ты' is singular and reserved for informal usage:
Ты with a friend/family member
2ND CONJUGATION VERBS
Verbs whose infinitive ends in the letters -ить usually belong to the 2nd conjugation verbs that follow a regular pattern of present tense endings:
-ю (-у), -ите, -ишь, -ит, -им, -ят (-ат)
Here is the verb for to speak (говорить). Removing -ить, we have the following endings added to the stem of the verb to make the present tense:
говор ить (to speak)
я говорю_ I speak
вы говорите_ you speak
ты говоришь _ you speak
он/она говорит _ he/she speaks
мы говорим_ we speak
они говорят_ they speak
So far so good. This is where it gets tricky: occasionally, 2nd conjugation infinitives end in -ать, -ять or -еть:
лежать _ to lie (be lying down)
стоять _ to stand
смотреть _ to look/watch
Although their present tense is made in just the same way as for the verbs ending in -ить, identifying them as 2nd conjugation verbs is not always easy for beginners of Russian. This becomes second nature only through a lot of practice. My advice is concentrate on the most frequently used verbs first: using them as your examples, understand the difference between the 1st and the 2nd conjugation verbs and learn their endings in the present tense.
смотр еть (to watch)
я смотрю_I watch
вы смотрите_you watch
ты смотришь_you watch
он/она смотрит_he/she watches
мы смотрим_we watch
они смотрят_they watch
CONSONANT CHANGES
Some 2nd conjugation verbs change the final consonant of the stem in the first person singular only before adding the endings.
Here is a summary of consonant changes:
д - ж
з - ж
с - ш
ст - щ
т - ч
б, в, м, п, ф - бл, вл, мл, пл, фл
люб ить (to love)
я люблю_I love
вы любите_you love
ты любишь_you love
он/она любит_he/she loves
мы любим_we love
они любят_they love
IRREGULAR VERBS IN THE PRESENT TENSE
Certain verbs don’t follow the pattern of the regular verbs described above. Some common examples of such verbs: жить (to live); брать (to take); идти (to walk); класть (to put). Lets look at жить (to live) more closely:
жить (to live)
я живу_I live
вы живёте_you live
ты живёшь_you live
он/она живёт_he/she lives
мы живём_we live
они живут_they live
Note the familiar endings -у, -ут while all the other forms have the letter ё.
There are some verbs which can have the endings of both the 1st conjugation and the 2nd conjugation.
Хотеть (to want)
я хочу_I want
вы хотите_you want
ты хочешь_you want
он/она хочет_he/she wants
мы хотим_we want
они хотят_they want
These irregular patterns show why Russian verbs can be challenging. For now, just be aware of these irregularities focusing on the verbs that matter the most in your speech. As your vocabulary naturally expands, the irregular verbs will be conquered over time.
Use this helpful verb conjugator tool https://cooljugator.com/ru whenever you're unsure about your endings.
Still have a question or two about Russian verb conjugations? Let me know in the comments below, and I'll help you.
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