LinguaA short list, used constantly
A handful of Russian verbs refuse both conjugations. There are not many of them, but they are the verbs you need on the first day, so they are learned as whole tables rather than as patterns.
хотеть: two conjugations in one verb
Хотеть is the famous one. The singular follows the first conjugation, the plural follows the second, and the consonant changes in the middle.
| Person | Form | Person | Form |
|---|---|---|---|
| я | хочу | мы | хотим |
| ты | хочешь | вы | хотите |
| он | хочет | они | хотят |
The verbs мочь, жить and идти
Мочь means to be able, and it also changes its consonant: могу, but можешь. Жить inserts a в that the infinitive does not show. Идти means going on foot and has its own stem entirely.
| Verb | я | ты | они |
|---|---|---|---|
| мочь | могу | можешь | могут |
| жить | живу | живёшь | живут |
| идти | иду | идёшь | идут |
| ждать | жду | ждёшь | ждут |
есть and пить
Есть (to eat) has a table shared by almost nothing else in the language, and пить loses its и in every person.
| Person | есть (to eat) | пить (to drink) |
|---|---|---|
| я | ем | пью |
| ты | ешь | пьёшь |
| он | ест | пьёт |
| они | едят | пьют |
Я хочу есть.I am hungry.
Мы не можем ждать.We cannot wait.
Words in this lesson
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| хотеть | to want | Я хочу спать. I want to sleep. |
| мочь | to be able, can | Я не могу помочь. I cannot help. |
| жить | to live | Они живут в центре. They live in the centre. |
| есть | to eat | Дети едят суп. The children are eating soup. |
| пить | to drink | Он пьёт чай. He is drinking tea. |
| писать | to write | Я пишу письмо. I am writing a letter. |
| идти | to go on foot | Куда ты идёшь? Where are you going? |
| спать | to sleep | Ребёнок спит. The child is sleeping. |
| ждать | to wait for | Мы ждём автобус. We are waiting for the bus. |
| иногда | sometimes | Иногда я работаю дома. Sometimes I work at home. |
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 form belongs to я?
The answer, the other exercises, the audio and your progress are in the app – free at A0 and A1.