To say what someone is doing right now, you change the verb's ending for each person — I, you, he/she, we, you all, they. Russian has just two patterns for this, the first and second conjugations, and almost every verb follows one of them.
Only one aspect has a present tense
Only imperfective verbs have a true present tense. A perfective verb conjugated with these endings means the future (напишу = "I will write"). If that sounds surprising, read the verb aspect guide next.
1. The two sets of endings
The conjugations differ in their vowel: the first uses -е-, the second uses -и-.
| Person | 1st conjugation | 2nd conjugation |
|---|---|---|
| я | -ю / -у | -ю / -у |
| ты | -ешь | -ишь |
| он / она / оно | -ет | -ит |
| мы | -ем | -им |
| вы | -ете | -ите |
| они | -ют / -ут | -ят / -ат |
The я- and они-forms pick -у / -ут / -ат after a hard consonant and -ю / -ют / -ят otherwise. When the stress falls on the ending, first-conjugation -е- is written -ё-: живёшь, идёт.
2. First conjugation: читать (to read)
Most verbs, including nearly all that end in -ать and -еть, are first conjugation. Drop -ть and add the -е- endings:
читать — to read
3. Second conjugation: говорить (to speak)
Most verbs ending in -ить are second conjugation. They take the -и- endings:
говорить — to speak
4. Which pattern does a verb take?
4.1 The infinitive ending is your first clue
A rough but reliable guide from the infinitive:
- -ить → almost always second conjugation (говорить, любить, просить).
- -ать, -еть, -овать, -нуть → usually first conjugation (читать, думать, рисовать).
4.2 The famous exceptions
The clues above hold most of the time, but a fixed group breaks them and has to be learnt by heart.
The famous second-conjugation exceptions
A small group of -ать / -еть verbs are second conjugation even though their ending suggests otherwise. The classic list to memorise: гнать, держать, дышать, слышать; смотреть, видеть, ненавидеть, терпеть, обидеть, зависеть, вертеть. So it is смотришь, видишь (second), not смотрешь.
5. The я-form consonant change
Many verbs change their final stem consonant. Where it happens depends on the conjugation, and this is the detail learners most often get wrong.
5.1 Second conjugation: only the я-form changes
The change happens only in the я-form, then the consonant goes back. любить → люблю, but любишь, любит. Likewise видеть → вижу but видишь; просить → прошу but просишь.
5.2 First conjugation: the change runs through every form
When a first-conjugation verb changes its consonant, it runs through every form. писать → пишу, пишешь, пишет, пишут (never писаю).
Don't spread the я-form change
The single most common conjugation error is carrying the я-form change into the other persons of a second-conjugation verb: it is люблю but любишь — never люблишь.
6. The irregular verbs you can't avoid
A few high-frequency verbs do not follow either pattern cleanly. Learn them as whole words:
| Verb | Forms |
|---|---|
| хотеть (to want) | хочу, хочешь, хочет, хотим, хотите, хотят |
| есть (to eat) | ем, ешь, ест, едим, едите, едят |
| дать (to give, perfective) | дам, дашь, даст, дадим, дадите, дадут |
| бежать (to run) | бегу, бежишь, бежит, бежим, бежите, бегут |
хотеть is "mixed": singular like the first conjugation, plural like the second. дать is perfective, so these endings actually give its future tensesoon (дам = "I will give"). бежать is one of the verbs of motionsoon, which conjugate the same way you have just learnt. быть (to be) has no ordinary present — Russian simply drops it ("Он студент" = He is a student) and keeps it only in the past tensesoon, where the verb agrees with the subject's gender instead of its person.
Common mistakes
- Mixing the vowels: it is говоришь (second) but читаешь (first), not говорешь.
- Spreading the я-form change: люблю → любишь, not люблишь.
- Treating смотреть / видеть as first conjugation — they are second: смотрю, смотришь.
- Forgetting ё under stress: живёшь, идёт, not живешь in sound.
7. Test yourself
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