LinguaThe other set of six endings
Russian verbs fall into two conjugations, and there are only two. The first, which you already have, is built on -е-; the second is built on -и-. Most verbs whose infinitive ends in -ить belong here.
| Person | First conjugation | Second conjugation |
|---|---|---|
| я | работаю | говорю |
| ты | работаешь | говоришь |
| он, она | работает | говорит |
| мы | работаем | говорим |
| вы | работаете | говорите |
| они | работают | говорят |
Look at the ты row: -ешь against -ишь. That single letter is the whole difference, and it is the fastest way to tell which conjugation a verb belongs to once you have heard it used.
Not every -ить verb, and not only -ить verbs
Some verbs in -еть are second conjugation as well: смотреть, видеть, сидеть. There is no rule that predicts them from the infinitive, so they are learned with the verb.
| Verb | я | ты | они |
|---|---|---|---|
| говорить | говорю | говоришь | говорят |
| смотреть | смотрю | смотришь | смотрят |
| учить | учу | учишь | учат |
| звонить | звоню | звонишь | звонят |
The л that appears out of nowhere
Verbs whose stem ends in б п в ф м insert an л in the я form only: любить gives люблю, спать gives сплю. Every other person is regular, which is exactly what makes the я form easy to forget.
Я люблю русский язык.I love the Russian language.
Вы говорите по-русски?Do you speak Russian?
Words in this lesson
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| говорить | to speak, to say | Мы говорим по-русски. We speak Russian. |
| смотреть | to watch, to look | Они смотрят фильм. They are watching a film. |
| любить | to love, to like | Я люблю музыку. I love music. |
| учить | to learn, to teach | Она учит новые слова. She is learning new words. |
| звонить | to call, to ring | Я звоню маме. I am calling my mother. |
| видеть | to see | Ты видишь этот дом? Do you see that house? |
| помнить | to remember | Я помню его имя. I remember his name. |
| спешить | to hurry | Извините, я спешу. Sorry, I am in a hurry. |
| сидеть | to sit, to stay | Дети сидят дома. The children are staying at home. |
| часто | often | Он часто звонит. He calls often. |
Exercises
This lesson has 10 exercises in the app:
- multiple choice: 3
- match the pairs: 1
- fill the gap: 2
- build the sentence: 1
- translate the sentence: 2
- listen and type: 1
Try the first one
Which ending marks the second conjugation in the ты form?
The answer, the other exercises, the audio and your progress are in the app – free at A0 and A1.