Russian Classroom-Verb Conjugation

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The first conjugation

The first conjugation is used for verbs ending in “ть” but not “ить”. It is the most common. To form the verb for each person you need to drop the last two letters of the infinitive (normally “ть”), and add the appropriate ending (“ю”, “ешь”, “ет”, “ем”, “ете” or “ют”).Let’s take a look at a verb that uses the first conjugation: работать (to work).

работатьTo work. (infinitive, dictionary form)

Я работаюI work

Ты работаешьYou work

Он, Она, Оно работаетHe, She, It works.

Мы работаемWe work

Вы работаетеYou work.

Они работаютThey work.

Let’s try some other Russian words from the first conjugation:

пониматьTo understand. (infinitive, dictionary form)

Я понимаюI understand.

Ты понимаешьYou understand.

Он, Она, Оно понимаетHe, She, It understands

Мы понимаемWe understand.

Вы понимаетеYou understand.

Они понимаютThey understand.

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ЗнатьTo know. (infinitive, dictionary form)

Я знаюI know.

Ты знаешьYou know.

Он, Она, Оно знаетHe, She, It knows.

Мы знаемWe know.

Вы знаете You know.

Они знаютThey know.

Remember you can make a statement negative by using the word “не” (not). For example:

Я не знаюI don’t know.

Я не понимаюI don’t understand.

Он не понимаетHe doesn’t understand.

You can also form questions:

Ты знаешь?Do you know?

Ты понимаешь?Do you understand?

Present and Past Verb Tenses

The endings of the present tense verbs change depending on person and number. In order to find the correct ending for a Russian verb you need to do the following:
1. Determine the verb’s conjugation class. There are only two conjugation classes
Conjugation Class 1 Verbs that have the following suffixes before the infinitive form ending ть: e (болеть) ова (использовать) ну (толкнуть) а,я  (most of the verbs with a and я suffixes belong to Conjugation class 1) (читать)
Conjugation Class 2 verbs that have the suffix и before the infinitive ending ть: и ( говорить) а, я (some of the verbs with a suffix belong to Conjugation class 2 if the stress is on the personal ending) (лежать)
Add the ending to the stem of the verb:
Conjugation Class 1 Conjugation Class 2
я -ю (-у) -ю (-у)
ты -ешь -ишь
он / она /оно -ет -ит
мы -ем -им
вы, Вы -ете -ите
они -ют (-ут) -ят (-ат)
Conjugation Class 1 Conjugation Class 2
я читаю, использую говорю, лежу
ты читаешь, используешь говоришь, лежишь
он / она /оно читает, использует говорит, лежит
мы читаем, используем говорим, лежим
вы, Вы читаете, используете говорите, лежите
они читают, используют говорят, лежат
To make the past tense, you replace the -ть of the infinitive or the ending of the present tense with -л plus the vowel showing the gender: no vowel for masculine –a for the feminine, –o for the neuter, –и for the plural.
Gender Ending Past form
Masc. слушал
Fem -ла слушала
Neut. -ло слушало
Pl. -ли слушали
Thus one Russian present tense corresponds to several English present tenses. Compare:
 In Russian  In English
 я читаю  I readI am readingI have been reading

2.

Verb Conjugation A Russian verb has six forms in the present tense, one for each of the subject pronouns (1st, 2nd and 3rd persons, singular and plural). By looking at the ending of the verb we can tell the person and the number of the verb. This is called verb conjugation.The Present tense form consists of a verb stem followed by an ending denoting person and number. Most Russian verbs fall into two groups: first conjugation and second conjugation.First conjugation verbs take the endings -ю(-у ); -ешь; -ет; -ем; -ете and -ют (- ут) in the Present Tense.Second conjugation verbs take the endings -ю (-у); -ишь; -ит; -им; -ите and -ят (-ат) in the Present Tense. Study the formation of the present tense:
                                     1-st conjugation verbs                       2-nd conjugation verbs
 Infinitive  читать to read  гулять to walk  говорить to speak  смотреть to watch  учить to learn (memorize)

 я – I

 ты – you

 он, она – he,she

 мы – we

 вы – you

 они – they

 читаю

 читаешь

 читает

 читаем

 читаете

 читают

 гуляю

 гуляешь

 гуляет

 гуляем

 гуляете

 гуляют

 говор-ю

 говор-ишь

 говор-ит

 говор-им

 говор-ите

 говор-ят

 смотр-ю

 смотр-ишь

 смотр-ит

 смотр-им

 смотр-ите

 смотр-ят

 уч-у

 уч-ишь

 уч-ит

 уч-им

 уч-ите

 уч-ат

Notes
  • Conjugations are memorized with pronouns.
  • To form the present tense of first conjugation verbs remove the ending -ть from infinitive and add the appropriate present tense ending.
  • To form the present tense of second  conjugation verbs remove three final letters (и or е and -ть) from infinitive and replace them by the appropriate present tense ending.
  • Never break a spelling rule when adding endings to verbs, i.e. after  к, г, х, ж, ш, щ, ч, ц  write у and а instead of юand я (я учу, они учат).

3.

First conjugation verbs with stems ending in a consonant For a few but common first conjugation verbs the stem of the present tense is different from the stem of the infinitive. Such verbs have present tense stems ending in a consonant which is not reflected in the infinitive stem. Memorize two of them for now: жить – to live (infinitive stem: жи-, present tense stem: жив-) and писать – to write (infinitive stem: писа-, present tense stem: пиш-).Study their present tense forms. Note the difference between the infinitive stem and the present tense stem:
Infinitive  жить to live  писать to write

я – I

ты – you

он, она – he,she

мы – we

вы – you

они – they

 жив-у

 жив-ёшь

 жив-ёт

 жив-ём

 жив-ёте

 жив-ут

 пиш-у

 пиш-ешь

 пиш-ет

 пиш-ем

 пиш-ете

 пиш-ут

Notes
  • First conjugation verbs with present tense stems ending in a consonant have the ending for я-form and -ут forони-form, instead of expected -ю, -ют. Compare: я читаю, они читают but я живу, они живут.
  • The vowel е is replaced by ё under stress in verb endings (ты читаешь, ты пишешь but ты живёшь)
  • Always learn both the infinitive and the conjugation of each verb.
  • Past tense of all verbs is formed from the infinitive stem: он жил, она жила, оно жило, они жили; он писал, она писала, оно писало, они писали.

Russian Verbs

In Russian there is only one way of saying “I work”, “I am working” and “I do work”. Russian verbs change their endings depending on the subject.  (Example: I work, he works). This happens according to two different patterns known as the first conjugation, and the second conjugation. (There are also some irregular verbs). Both these patterns are quite similar, and once you get the hang of it, it is not too difficult.

The first conjugation

The first conjugation is used for verbs ending in “ть” but not “ить”. It is the most common. To form the verb for each person you need to drop the last two letters of the infinitive (normally “ть”), and add the appropriate ending (“ю”, “ешь”, “ет”, “ем”, “ете” or “ют”).Let’s take a look at a verb that uses the first conjugation: работать (to work).

работатьTo work. (infinitive, dictionary form)

  • Я работаюI work
  • Ты работаешьYou work
  • Он, Она, Оно работаетHe, She, It works.
  • Мы работаемWe work
  • Вы работаетеYou work.
  • Они работаютThey work.
Let’s try some other Russian words from the first conjugation:

пониматьTo understand. (infinitive, dictionary form)

  • Я понимаюI understand.
  • Ты понимаешьYou understand.
  • Он, Она, Оно понимаетHe, She, It understands
  • Мы понимаемWe understand.
  • Вы понимаетеYou understand.
  • Они понимаютThey understand.

ЗнатьTo know. (infinitive, dictionary form)

  • Я знаюI know.
  • Ты знаешьYou know.
  • Он, Она, Оно знаетHe, She, It knows.
  • Мы знаемWe know.
  • Вы знаете You know.
  • Они знаютThey know.
Remember you can make a statement negative by using the word “не” (not). For example:
  • Я не знаюI don’t know.
  • Я не понимаюI don’t understand.
  • Он не понимаетHe doesn’t understand.
You can also form questions:
  • Ты знаешь?Do you know?
  • Ты понимаешь?Do you understand?
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