Grammar: ГРАММА́ТИКА
Introduction to the Russian Verb
The Present Tense: 1st and 2nd conjugations
In dictionaries, Russian verbs are represented by their infinitives.* Unlike English infinitives, which are recognized by the preceding particle “to” – “to know,” “to speak,” etc., Russian infinitives are not accompanied by any particle, but have specific endings instead, usually “-ТЬ”: знаТЬ (to know), говори́ТЬ (to speak, to talk), ду́маТЬ (to think), стоя́ТЬ (to stand), лежа́ТЬ (to lie down), рабо́таТЬ (to work), etc.
In the Present tense, Russian verbs are conjugated, i.e. they change according to person – я, ты, он, мы, вы, они.
There are two types of conjugation: 1. The first, with E (sometimes Ё) in most of its endings and У/Ю in the third person plural ending. 2. The second, with И in most of its endings and A/Я in the third person plural ending. Other than that, the two conjugations’ endings are pretty much the same. Look at the chart and compare:
| CONJUGATION I | CONJUGATION II | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| зн-А́ТЬ | говор-И́ТЬ | ||
| 1st pers., sing. | я | зна́-ю | говор-ю́ |
| 2nd pers., sing. | ты | зна́-е–шь | говор-и–шь |
| 3rd pers., sing. |
он она оно |
зна́-е–т | говор-и́–т |
| 1st pers., pl. | мы | зна́-е–м | говор-и́–м |
| 2nd pers., pl. | вы | зна́-е–те | говор-и́–те |
| 3rd pers., pl. | они | зна́-ю–т | говор-я́–т |
These two verbs are classic representatives of their conjugations. Compare the endings and you will see that they are basically the same in both conjugations, except for the “E” vs. “И” vowels in four of six persons, and “Ю” vs. “Я” in third person plural.
Dictionaries provide you with the infinitive and indicate to which of the two conjugations the verb belongs.
* The infinitive is a basic, dictionary form of a verb which is devoid of indications of person, number, tense or mood.
How to conjugate verbs
To conjugate a verb, you need to make two steps:
Step 1: drop the infinitive ending (– TЬ, – ИТЬ), which bares the stem.
Step 2: add personal endings to the bared stem.
The basic endings of the two conjugations are as follows:
| Conjugation I | Conjugation II | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| singular | plural | singular | plural | |
| 1st Person | У/Ю* | ЕМ | У/Ю* | -ИМ |
| 2nd Person | ЕШЬ | ЕТЕ | ИШЬ | ИТЕ |
| 3rd Person | ЕТ | ЮТ/УТ* | ИТ | ЯТ/АТ* |
* Here again, there are soft and hard variants (soft “Ю” usually after a vowel, hard “У” after a
consonant)
Although dictionaries always provide you with information about the type of conjugation, the following tips can be useful:
1. There are more verbs of the first conjugation in Russian. The majority of verbs whose infinitives end in – АТЬ or –ЯТЬ, and all the verbs with the infinitive ending in –ТИ (we will deal with them later) belong to the 1st conjugation.
2. If the infinitive ends in –ИТЬ, there is a high probability that it is the 2nd conjugation.
3. If you see any personal form of a verb (except the first person singular), in most of the cases you can define to which type of conjugation the verb belongs: “E/Ё” is the dominant vowel in most endings of the 1st conjugation, whereas the dominant vowel of the 2nd conjugation is “И.” 3rd person plural vowels are also indicative: “Ю/У” of the 1st conjugation and Я/A of the 2nd. Thus, if you come across such forms as “ты рабо́таЕшь” (you work) or “они́ рабо́таЮт,” (they work) you should know that it is a first conjugation verb (infinitive: “работать”). If you see, for example, “он по́мнИт” (he remembers) or “они по́мнЯт” (they remember) you can come to the conclusion that the verb “по́мнить” (to remember) belongs to the second conjugation.
When the endings are not stressed you often can’t hear the difference between the two conjugations: “Е” and “И” in an unstressed position sound very much the same. But if you want to be a good speller, always verify the conjugation of the verb.
Here is a piece of good news: there is only one present tense aspect of verbs in Russian. All the existing forms of present tense in English – “I work,” “I am working,” “I have worked,” “I have been working” – can be expressed by one form in Russian: “Я рабо́таю.” The context or situation will specify the meaning.
Caution: Never translate English auxiliary verbs into Russian: I am working – Я рабо́таю; Do you work? – Ты рабо́таешь?; She has been working – Она́ рабо́тает, etc.
Once you mastered the endings, you can conjugate most Russian verbs in the present tense.
Reading Practice – p.113
Read and translate the following dialogues. Study new words.
I. Кто ты?
|
А́нна:Ви́ктор, ты говори́шь по-ру́сски, как ру́сский, а все говоря́т, что ты америка́нец. Ви́ктор:Мой па́па ру́сский, моя́ ма́ма америка́нка, как ты ду́маешь, Анна, кто я – америка́нец и́ли ру́сский? А́нна:Ой, не зна́ю. New words – Но́вые слова́.
все – all, everybody; note that the Russian word agrees with the 3rd person plural form Note: по-ру́сски is a kind of an adverb used with such verbs as “говори́ть,” (to read) |
II. Разгово́р по телефо́ну – Telephone conversation
|
– Ка́тя, что ты сейча́с де́лаешь? – Ничего́. – Ка́к ничего́? У тебя́ за́втра экза́мен! – А я всё зна́ю. Я отли́чно чита́ю и говорю́ по-англи́йски. Ты же зна́ешь, что мой па́па америка́нец, и мы до́ма ча́сто говори́м по-англи́йски. А моя́ учи́тельница ру́сская. Я ду́маю, что я зна́ю англи́йский лу́чше, чем она́. – Ка́тя, тогда́ скажи́, что тако́е «инфинити́в»? – Что тако́е «инфинити́в»? Ой, э́то я не зна́ю. New words – Но́вые слова́.
разгово́р– conversation; (разгова́ривать (I) – to talk, to converse, to speak) |
Survival Kit
Asking to give you something
| Да́й/те мне, пожа́луйста, каранда́ш. – Give me a pencil please. |