the big silver book of russian verbs -555 fully conjugated verbs

THE
BIG
SILVER
BOOK OF RUSSIAN VERBS
555
FULLY CONJUGATED VERBS
Jack E. Franke, Ph.D.
Copyright © 2005 by Jack Franke. All rights reserved. Manufactured in the United States of
America. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this
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DOI: 10.1036/0071460039
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Russian Tense Profiles 1
ț Easy-to-view summaries of formation and uses of each tense
The Basics of Conjugation 2
The Persons of the Verb 2
The Stem 3
Verbal Aspect 4
Tense 5
Conjugation 6
Mood 6
The Present Tense 7
The Past Tense 15
The Future Tense 17
The Subjunctive Mood 19
Participles 20
Verbal Adverbs 25
Commands (The Imperative) 26
Reflexive Verbs 27
Verbs of Motion 28
The Multidirectional Verb of Motion 28
The Unidirectional Verb of Motion 29
The Prefixed Verb of Motion 30
The Verb of Motion by Vehicle 31
Russian Motion Verb Index 32
555 Fully Conjugated Verbs 33
ț Alphabetically ordered with examples of common use
Top 50 Verbs: Full page of examples adjoining select conjugations
Verb Exercises
642

ț Drills to test and improve your grasp of correct verb forms
Answers to Exercises 647
English-Russian Verb Index 648
ț 555 verb models cross-referenced by their English meaning
Irregular Verb Index 654
ț Index showing the infinitive of irregular Russian verb forms
Russian Verb Index 657
ț More than 2,000 verbs cross-referenced to the full verb models
Contents
iii
Big Silver pp i-iv 10/28/04 1:08 PM Page iii
For more information about this title, click here
Preface
The Big Silver Book of Russian Verbs is intended for use with all major Russian language text-
books in any course from the first through the fourth years, or separately as a reference for inde-
pendent study. This book is comprised of verbs from the most popular textbooks in use today, as
well as reflecting frequency usage in contemporary Russian. The aim of this book is to provide
students with a single reference that they can turn to for questions on conjugation, stems, collo-
cations, and usage.
I am grateful to the following professors for their efforts in promoting Russian, and those who
provided me the foundation and inspiration to write this book: Ronni Gordon, David Stillman,
Jean Rose, Norma Barr, William Lewis, Gerald Earvin, Sophia Lubensky, Benjamin Rifkin,
Thomas Garza, Charles McDowell, Nina Aleksandrovna Lubimova, and Anto Knezevic. I would
like to express my appreciation to two colleagues who typed large portions of this manuscript:
Stephanie Rodriguez and John S. Holsonbach.
Numerous references were consulted in the preparation of this book. These include:
The Russian Verb: Prepositional and Non-Prepositional Government (Andreyeva Georg and Tolma-
chova, Moscow: Russky yazyk Publishers, 1983) was used for verbal government.
Fundamentals of Russian Verbal Government for Students and Teachers (Thomas J. Garza, Dubuque,
Iowa: Kendall/Hunt Publishing, 1994) was incorporated for the Jackobsonian one-stem verbal

stem system.
Complete Handbook of Russian Verbs (L.I. Pirogova, Lincolnwood, Illinois: Passport Books, 1995)
served as a basis to simplify Russian verbal conjugations into six classes and irregular verbs.
Bol’shoi Tolkovyj Slovar’ Russkogo Yazyka (S.A. Kuznetsov, St. Petersburg: Norint, 1998) provided
numerous contemporary examples and usage in the modern, post-soviet Russian language.
Russian-English Dictionary of Idioms (Sophia Lubensky, New York: Random House, 1995) was
used to verify the collocations and phraseology of many of the idioms.
I would also like to thank my agent, Danielle Jatlow, at Waterside Productions.
Посвящается моей жене Людмиле.
Big Silver pp i-iv 10/28/04 1:08 PM Page iv
Copyright © 2005 by Jack Franke. Click here for terms of use.
RUSSIAN
TENSE
PROFILES
Copyright © 2005 by Jack Franke. Click here for terms of use.
THE BASICS OF CONJUGATION
The verb is the most important part of speech in the Russian language. Quite frankly,
'to be' or 'not to be' is out of the question without a verb. The number of verbs in the
Russian language is vast and amorphous, and it is important that English-speaking
students learn the nuances and idiosyncrasies of the Russian verbal system. This
system is predicated on the existence of the following:
1) The Persons of the Verb
2) The infinitive
3) The stem
4) Verbal Aspect
5) Tense
6) Conjugation
7) Mood
These concepts are summarized below. Acquaint yourself with them before proceeding
to the profiles of each tense.

The Persons of the Verb in English
SINGULAR PLURAL
FIRST PERSON
Iwe
SECOND PERSON you you
THIRD PERSON he, she, it they
The Persons of the Verb in Russian
The subject pronouns in Russian correspond similarly to the English system.
SINGULAR PLURAL
FIRST PERSON
ямы
SECOND PERSON ты, вы вы
THIRD PERSON он, она, оно они
Note the following:
1·ты is the informal usage for you. It is used with family members, children, close
friends, and pets. When Russians wish to speak informally to one another for the fist
time, they say, “Давайте будем на ты.”
2·The Russian has two forms for you. They vary according to formality and number.
Ты is informal singular, вы is formal singular and informal plural. Вы is the marker
of formality, politeness, and seniority. Whenever you are in doubt about which form
to use, err on the side of caution and use the polite form (Вы) unless you are speak-
ing to a child or a pet.
The Infinitive
The infinitive is the form of the verb that is typically show in dictionaries; it is not conju-
gated. You can recognize the infinitive by its ending: -ть, -ти, or -чь. In English a verb
beginning with “to” is an infinitive. The infinitive is made up of the stem and its ending.
2 THE BASICS OF CONJUGATION
Big Silver pp 001-033-v3 10/28/04 1:17 PM Page 2
The Russian Spelling Rule
In determining whether the first person singular ending is -ю or -у, or the third person

plural ending is
-ят or -ат, it is important to memorize the spelling rule that г, к, х, ж, ч,
ш, ш, ц
are followed by а, у, but never я, ю. The reason is that these consonants are con-
sidered hard, and therefore can not be followed by the soft vowels я, ю.
The Stem
The one-stem system of Russian verbal conjugation is used throughout this book. This
system was created by the world reknowned Russian-American scholar Roman Jakobson.
By learning the stem of a given verb and a few conjugation paradigms, the learner should
be able to create the full paradigm of a given verb. In total there are eleven verb types, all
of which are represented in the model conjugations. For the sake of brevity and clarity,
however, only six verb types are classified in this book. They are:
regular type 1 verb (like работать, болеть, дуть, терять)
regular type 2 verb (like говорить, видеть, стоять, молчать)
regular type 3 verb (like пахнуть, надеяться, ждать)
regular type 4 verb (like требовать, воевать)
regular type 5 verb (like нести, красть, лезть)
regular type 6 verb (like печь, стричь, жечь)
INFINITIVE STEM
type 1 (e.g. работать) Ͼ работай-, болей-, дуй-, теряй-
type 2 (e.g. говорить) Ͼ говори-, виде-, стоя-, молча-
type 3 (e.g. пахнуть) Ͼ пахну-, надея+ся, жда-
type 4 (e.g. требовать) Ͼ требова-, воева-
type 5 (e.g. нести) Ͼ нёс-, крад-, лез-
type 6 (e.g. печь) Ͼ пёк-, стриг-, ж|г-
All other verbs types are classified in this book as irregular verbs (i).
The Two-Stem System
In Russian two methods of conjugating the verb are taught: the two-stem system and
the one-stem system. The two-stem system is taught in many high schools and colleges
for beginning students. In it, tense formation is based on an infinitive stem and a pres-

ent-future stem, to which endings are added. The infinitive stem is derived from its
dictionary form. The present-future stem is derived by dropping the last two letters
from the third person plural of the verb. The following table shows the endings of
both Conjugation I and II in the two-stem system.
делать говорить
я дела-ю говор-ю
ты дела-ешь говор-ишь
он, она дела-ет говор-ит
мы дела-ем говор-им
вы дела-ете говор-ите
они дела-ют говор-ят
THE STEM 3
The One-Stem System
The one-stem system of verb formation in Russian is fairly simple, though it requires a
knowledge of the third person plural of the present tense. Using the example verb
работать
,
to find the stem we conjugate the verb in the third person plural, thus cre-
ating работают
.
Following Russian spelling rules, this gives us the stem работай+ут.
The й is not seen in the conjugation, but whenever the letters я, е, ё, or ю are present
in a conjugation, this “semi-vowel” exists between the two vowels. The й is considered
a consonant in the conjugation, and the following two formulae are used when combin-
ing the stem with its grammatical endings.
Verb stems ending in a vowel are denoted as (V).
Verb stems ending in a cononant are denoted as (C).
Formula #1
V+C=VC Example говори- + л = говорил
C+V=CV Example работай- + у = работаю

Formula #2
V
1
+V
2
=V
2
Example жда- + у = жду
C
1
+C
2
=C
2
Example работай- + л = работал
Verbal Aspect
Virtually every verb in Russian is either imperfective or perfective in aspect. Aspect
describes how the action takes place, and these aspects describe two different kinds of
action. For example, the imperfective aspect describes actions of a general nature,
things in progress, and repetitive or habitual actions. Perfective verbs, conversely,
emphasize completion of an action (past or future) or have a restricted, focused
meaning.
Here are examples with the aspectual pairs учить/выучить and жить/прожить
Игорь учил новые слова весь вечер. (Igor studied the new words all evening.)
Наконец, Игорь выучил новые слова. (Finally, Igor learned the new words.)
Я жил всю жизнь в Москве. (I lived all my life in Moscow.)
Моя собака прожила десять лет. (My dog lived to be ten years old.)
Although this explanation of aspect is rather simplified, it provides the basis for
Russian language acquisition. However, there are numerous instances where the rules
appear to be violated, and even native Russian speakers may argue on the correctness

of a given sentence in certain situations.
4 VERBAL ASPECT
Imperfective Aspect
The imperfective may be used in all three tenses in Russian: present, past and future.
The actions must be seen as a process – incomplete, habitual, repetitive, or in general.
Imperfective verbs also refer to actions that take place simultaneously or where there is
an interruption. When in doubt, or if the result is unclear, the imperfective should be
used as the default mode.
In addition to the above-mentioned rules, there are certain adverbs and adverbial
expressions that suggest repetition or duration and encourage the use of the imperfec-
tive aspect.
всегда - always обычно - usually
время от времени - from time to time часто - often
каждый день - every day редко - rarely
ещё раз - again никогда - never
иногда - sometimes
Perfective Aspect
The perfective aspect, by its nature, has only two tenses in Russian: past and future.
Since the present tense is “in progress,” it cannot be completed. Perfective verbs are
often used where there was or will be a completed action. In addition, in questions
where the interlocutor specifically asks about an event using the perfective aspect, the
same aspect is used in the response.
As with the imperfective aspect, there are also adverbs and adverbial expressions that
suggest completion or finality and encourage the use of the perfective aspect.
вдруг - suddenly
наконец - finally
неожиданно - unexpectedly
пока не - until
совсем - quite, completely
сразу - immediately

Tense
Tense describes when the action takes place. In Russian there are three tenses: present,
past and future. The ending shows the person who performs the act and the tense.
present tense: I work. I do work. I am working. I have been working. (Я работаю.)
past tense: I worked. I did work. I was working. (Я работал.)
future tense: I will work. I will be working. (Я буду работать.)
Although Russian lacks the number of verb tenses found in English, through a combina-
tion of tense and aspect one can approximate all English tenses. The context of a given
Russian sentence will often provide clues to the equivalent English tense.
VERBAL ASPECT 5
Conjugation
In the present tense, a Russian verb has 6 endings, corresponding to the person of the
verb (see above). The singular subjects are: I (1st person), you (2nd person), or he/she/it
(3rd person). The plural subjects are: we (1st person), you (2nd person), or they (3rd
person).
In Russian there are two conjugation classes. The first conjugation is referred to as the
-
е- type (ё when stressed), and the second conjugation is referred to as the -и- type.
Below are the endings of the two conjugation classes for the present tense. Class II is
used for type 2 regular verbs. All other regular verbs follow Class I.
Conjugation Class I (-е- type)
SINGULAR PLURAL
FIRST PERSON
-ю/(-у) -ем/ём
SECOND PERSON -ешь/-ёшь -ете/ёте
THIRD PERSON -ет/ёт -ют/(-ут)
Conjugation Class II (-и- type)
SINGULAR PLURAL
FIRST PERSON
-ю/(-у) -им

SECOND PERSON -ишь -ите
THIRD PERSON -ит -ят/(-ат)
Mood
Russian and English both have three moods: indicative, imperative, and subjunctive.
The indicative mood is used to express factual statements; the imperative mood is used to
give commands; and the subjunctive mood is used to express hypothetical or contrary-to-
fact statements.
Warning
Different textbooks, both in Russia and abroad, tend to use different rules and methods
for teaching conjugation and the Russian verbal system. However, once the basic rules,
as explained above, are memorized and patterns are established, the student will be able
to predict the conjugation for the majority of verbs.
6 CONJUGATION
The Present Tense
Examine the conjugations of the six model verbs in the present tense, shown below. You
will see that endings are not added, but are truncated, for example, й+у >ю. This is one
of the key features of the Russian one-stem verbal system.
Present Tense Conjugation Types
One example of each of the verb types is shown below; variants of each type appear on
the next six pages. Although all the verbs on this page have a set stress pattern, some
verbs in the following pages exhibit a floating stress.
работать to work Type 1
работай + у Ͼ работаю работай + ем Ͼ работаем
работай + ешь Ͼ работаешь работай + ете Ͼ работаете
работай + ет Ͼ работает работай + ут Ͼ работают
говорить to speak Type 2
говори + у Ͼ говорю говори + им Ͼ говорим
говори + ишь Ͼ говоришь говори + ите Ͼ говорите
говори + ит Ͼ говорит говори + ят Ͼ говорят
пахнуть to smell Type 3

пахну + у Ͼ пахну пахну + ем Ͼ пахнем
пахну + ешь Ͼ пахнешь пахну + ете Ͼ пахнете
пахну + ет Ͼ пахнет пахну + ут Ͼ пахнут
требовать to demand Type 4
требова + у Ͼ требую требова + ем Ͼ требуем
требова + ешь Ͼ требуешь требова + ете Ͼ требуете
требова + ет Ͼ требует требова + ут Ͼ требуют
нести to carry Type 5
нёс + у Ͼ несу нёс + ем Ͼ несём
нёс + ёшь Ͼ несёшь нёс + ете Ͼ несёте
нёс + ёт Ͼ несёт нёс + ут Ͼ несут
печь to bake Type 6
пёк + у Ͼ пеку пёк + ем Ͼ печём
пёк + ешь Ͼ печёшь пёк + ете Ͼ печёте
пёк + ет Ͼ печёт пёк + ут Ͼ пекут
CONJUGATION TYPES 7
Stem+ending Singular Stem+ending Plural
Type 1 Present Tense Conjugation Samples
Type 1 verbs normally end in -ать, -еть, or -ять. These verbs typically have a stem that
ends with a vowel. These verbs take Conjugation Class I endings.
делать to work
делай + у Ͼ делаю делай + ем Ͼ делаем
делай + ешь Ͼ делаешь делай + ете Ͼ делаете
делай + ет Ͼ делает делай + ут Ͼ делают
греть(ся) to warm; to warm up reflexive
грей + у + ся Ͼ грею(сь) грей + ем + ся Ͼ греем(ся)
грей + ешь + ся Ͼ греешь(ся) грей + ете + ся Ͼ греете(сь)
грей + ет+ ся Ͼ греет(ся) грей + ут + ся Ͼ греют(ся)
дуть to blow
дуй + у Ͼ дую дуй + ем Ͼ дуем

дуй + ешь Ͼ дуешь дуй + ете Ͼ дуете
дуй + ет Ͼ дует дуй + ут Ͼ дуют
катать(ся) to ride reflexive
катай + у+ся Ͼ катаю(сь) катай + ем+ся Ͼ катаем(ся)
катай + ешь+ся Ͼ катаешь(ся) катай + ете+ся Ͼ катаете(сь)
катай + ет+ся Ͼ катает(ся) катай + ут+ся Ͼ катают(ся)
болеть to be sick, become ill; to root for
болей + у Ͼ болею болей + ем Ͼ болеем
болей + ешь Ͼ болеешь болей + ете Ͼ болеете
болей + ет Ͼ болеет болей + ут Ͼ болеют
терять to lose
теряй + у Ͼ теряю теряй + ем Ͼ теряем
теряй + ешь Ͼ теряешь теряй + ете Ͼ теряете
теряй + ет Ͼ теряет теряй + ут Ͼ теряют
8 TYPE 1 CONJUGATION
Type 2 Present Tense Conjugation Samples
Type 2 verbs normally end in -ить. However, a small number of verbs may end in -ать,
-еть,
or -ять; Some examples include: глядеть, зависеть, звучать, лежать,
молчать, смотреть, стоять, терпеть,
and шуметь. Verbs in this conjugation take
Class II endings.
жарить to fry, grill, roast
жари + ю Ͼ жарю жари + им Ͼ жарим
жари + ишь Ͼ жаришь жари + ите Ͼ жарите
жари + ит Ͼ жарит жари + ят Ͼ жарят
учить(ся) to teach; to study, learn reflexive
учи + у+ся Ͼ учу(сь) учи + им+ся Ͼ учим(ся)
учи + ишь+ся Ͼ учись(ся) учи + ите+ся Ͼ учите(сь)
учи + ит+ся Ͼ учит(ся) учи + ят+ся Ͼ учат(ся)

стоять to stand
стоя + ю Ͼ стою стоя + им Ͼ стоим
стоя + ишь Ͼ стоишь стоя + ите Ͼ стоите
стоя + ит Ͼ стоит стоя + ят Ͼ стоят
жениться to get married reflexive
жени + ю+сь Ͼ женюсь жени + им+ся Ͼ женим(ся)
жени + ишь+ся Ͼ женишься жени + ите+сь Ͼ жените(сь)
жени + ит+ся Ͼ женится жени + ят+ся Ͼ женят(ся)
молчать to be silent, keep silent
молча + у Ͼ молчу молча + им Ͼ молчим
молча + ишь Ͼ молчишь молча + ите Ͼ молчите
молча + ит Ͼ молчит молча+ ят Ͼ молчат
смотреть to watch, look at
смотре + ю Ͼ смотрю смотре + им Ͼ смотрим
смотре + ишь Ͼ смотришь смотре + ите Ͼ смотрите
смотре + ит Ͼ смотрит смотре + ят Ͼ смотрят
Note: Spelling Rules influence the 1st person singular and 3rd person plural of
учить(ся) and молчать. Additionally, there is a floating stress in учить(ся), жениться
and смотреть.
TYPE 2 CONJUGATION 9
Type 3 Present Tense Conjugation
Type 3 verbs normally end in -нуть, -еять, -аять, and a few verbs end in -ать or -ить.
These verbs are conjugated in the present tense with Conjugation Class I, -е- type
(
ё when stressed).
тонуть to sink, drown
тони + у Ͼ тону тони + ем Ͼ тонем
тони + ешь Ͼ тонешь тони + ете Ͼ тонете
тони + ет Ͼ тонет тони + ут Ͼ тонут
надеяться to hope, wish reflexive

надея + ю + сь Ͼ надеюсь надея + ем + ся Ͼ надеемся
надея + ешь + ся Ͼ надеешься надея + ете + сь Ͼ надеетесь
надея + ет+ ся Ͼ надеется надея + ют + ся Ͼ надеются
ждать to wait, expect
жда + у Ͼ жду жда + ем Ͼ ждём
жда + ешь Ͼ ждёшь жда + ете Ͼ ждёте
жда + ет Ͼ ждёт жда + ут Ͼ ждут
тянуть(ся) to pull, extend reflexive
тяну + у+сь Ͼ тяну(сь) тяну + ем+ся Ͼ тянем(ся)
тяну + ешь+ся Ͼ тянешь(ся) тяну + ете+сь Ͼ тянете(сь)
тяну + ет+ся Ͼ тянет(ся) тяну + ут+ся Ͼ тянут(ся)
вязать to knit з-ж stem change
вяза + у Ͼ вяжу вяза + ем Ͼ вяжем
вяза + ешь Ͼ вяжешь вяза + ете Ͼ вяжете
вяза + ет Ͼ вяжет вяза + ут Ͼ вяжут
рвать to tear
рва + у Ͼ рву рва + ем Ͼ рвём
рва + ешь Ͼ рвёшь рва + ете Ͼ рвёте
рва + ет Ͼ рвёт рва + ут Ͼ рвут
Note: There is a floating stress in тянуть and тонуть.
10 TYPE 3 CONJUGATION
Type 4 Present Tense Conjugation
Type 4 verbs normally end in -овать, -евать. The -ова suffix reduces to -уй-
throughout the present tense. Occasionally with -евать endings, the suffix changes to
-юй, and with a stressed ending it will take -ё Examples of such verbs include:
воевать, жевать, and клевать.
атаковать
to attack
атакова + ю Ͼ атакую атакова + ем Ͼ атакуем
атакова + ешь Ͼ атакуешь атакова + ете Ͼ атакуете

атакова + ет Ͼ атакует атакова + ут Ͼ атакуют
радовать(ся) to please, be happy reflexive
радова + ю + сь Ͼ радуюсь радова + ем + ся Ͼ радуемся
радова + ешь + ся Ͼ радуешься радова + ете + сь Ͼ радуетесь
радова + ет+ ся Ͼ радуется радова + ут + ся Ͼ радуются
воевать to be at war, fight
воева + ю Ͼ воюю воева + ем Ͼ воюем
воева + ешь Ͼ воюешь воева + ете Ͼ воюете
воева + ет Ͼ воюет воева + ют Ͼ воюют
жаловаться to complain reflexive
жалова + ю+ся Ͼ жалуюсь жалова + ем+ся Ͼ жалуемся
жалова + ешь+ся Ͼ жалуешься жалова + ете+ся Ͼ жалуетесь
жалова + ет+ся Ͼ жалуется жалова + ют+ся Ͼ жалуются
жевать to chew
жева + ю Ͼ жую жева + ем Ͼ жуём
жева + ешь Ͼ жуёшь жева + ете Ͼ жуёте
жева + ет Ͼ жуёт жева + ют Ͼ жуют
пробовать to try, taste
пробова + ю Ͼ пробую пробова + ем Ͼ пробуем
пробова + ешь Ͼ пробуешь пробова + ете Ͼ пробуете
пробова + ет Ͼ пробует пробова + ют Ͼ пробуют
TYPE 4 CONJUGATION 11
Type 5 Present Tense Conjugation
Type 5 verbs end in -сти, -зть, and-сть. Many definite form (unidirectional) motion
verbs have these endings, including their prefixed derivatives. These verbs are conju-
gated in the present tense with Conjugation I, -
е- class (ё when stressed).
красть to sink, drown
крад + у Ͼ краду крад + ём Ͼ крадём
крад + ёшь Ͼ крадёшь крад + ёте Ͼ крадёте

крад + ёт Ͼ крадёт крад + ут Ͼ крадут
грызть(ся) to fight, bicker reflexive
грыз + у + сь Ͼ грызу(сь) грыз + ём + ся Ͼ грызём(ся)
грыз + ёшь + ся Ͼ грызёшь(ся) грыз + ёте + сь Ͼ грызёте(сь)
грыз + ёт+ ся Ͼ грызёт(ся) грыз + ут + ся Ͼ грызут(ся)
лезть to climb, crawl
лез + у Ͼ лезу лез + ем Ͼ лезем
лез + ешь Ͼ лезешь лез + ете Ͼ лезете
лез + ет Ͼ лезет лез + ут Ͼ лезут
нестись to race, tear along, rush reflexive
нёс + у+сь Ͼ несусь нёс + ём+ся Ͼ несёмся
нёс + ёшь+ся Ͼ несёшься нёс + ёте+сь Ͼ несётесь
нёс + ёт+ся Ͼ несётся нёс + ут+ся Ͼ несутся
мести* to sweep с-т stem change
мёт + у Ͼ мету мёт + ем Ͼ метём
мёт + ешь Ͼ метёшь мёт + ете Ͼ метёте
мёт + ет Ͼ метёт мёт + ут Ͼ метут
брести to stroll
брёд + у Ͼ бреду брёд + ём Ͼ бредём
брёд + ёшь Ͼ бредёшь брёд + ёте Ͼ бредёте
брёд + ёт Ͼ бредёт брёд + ут Ͼ бредут
12 TYPE 5 CONJUGATION
Type 6 Present Tense Conjugation
Type 6 verbs end in -чь. Normally the final consonant is part of the stem. These verbs
are conjugated in the present tense with the Conjugation I, -
е- class (ё when stressed).
Often these verbs are encountered in the perfective aspect (non-present tense), but
below are exceptions. In this conjugation type, alternations between 1st person singular
and 3rd person plural are frequent.
жечь to burn ч-г-ж stem change

ж|г + у Ͼ жгу ж|г + ём Ͼ жжём
ж|г + ёшь Ͼ жжёшь ж|г + ёте Ͼ жжёте
ж|г + ёт Ͼ жжёт ж|г + ут Ͼ жгут
беречь(ся) to guard, protect, take care г-ж stem change reflexive
берёг + у + сь Ͼ берегу(сь) берёг + ём + ся Ͼ бережёмся
берёг + ёшь + ся Ͼ бережёшь(ся) берёг + ёте + сь Ͼ бережётесь
берёг + ёт+ ся Ͼ бережётся(сь) берёг + ут + ся Ͼ берегутся
течь to flow 3rd person only ч-к stem change
т|к + у Ͼ — т|к + ем Ͼ —
т|к + ешь Ͼ — т|к + ете Ͼ —
т|к + ет Ͼ течёт т|к + ут Ͼ текут
стричь(ся) to get a haircut ч-г stem change reflexive
стриг + у+сь Ͼ стригу(сь) стриг + ём+ся Ͼ стрижём(ся)
стриг + ёшь+ся Ͼ стрижёшь(ся) стриг + ёте+сь Ͼ стрижёте(сь)
стриг + ёт+ся Ͼ стрижёт(ся) стриг + ут+ся Ͼ стригут(ся)
сечь to cut into pieces, slash ч-к stem change
с|к + у Ͼ секу с|к + ем Ͼ сечём
с|к + ешь Ͼ сечёшь с|к + ете Ͼ сечёте
с|к + ет Ͼ сечёт с|к + ут Ͼ секут
стеречь to guard, watch ч-ж stem change
стерёг + у Ͼ стерегу стерёг + ём Ͼ стережём
стерёг + ёшь Ͼ стережёшь стерёг + ёте Ͼ стережёте
стерёг + ёт Ͼ стережёт стерёг + ут Ͼ стерегут
TYPE 6 CONJUGATION 13
Irregular Present Tense Conjugation
Just as in English, some verbs in the Russian language have irregular stems. Some of
these verbs, especially high-frequency ones, originated in Russia many centuries ago and
have totally irregular forms. Other verbs may be presented in the conjugation tables of
this book with the stem, but an explanation of their conjugation pattern exceeds the
scope of this book; they are therefore listed in the Russian Verb Index as (i), designating

as deviating from the other six types of conjugations shown in the preceding pages.
Many of these irregular verbs change their stem between the present and the past, or
have irregular vowel/consonant mutations. Examples of such verbs are listed below:
пить to drink лить to pour
пью пьём лью льём
пьёшь пьёте льёшь льёте
пьёт пьют льёт льют
есть to eat мочь to be able
ем едим могу можем
ешь едите можешь можете
ест едят может могут
петь to sing спать to sleep
пою поём сплю спим
поёшь поёте спишь спите
поёт поют спит спят
хотеть to want ч-т stem change
хоч + у Ͼ хочу хот + им Ͼ хотим
хоч + ешь Ͼ хочешь хот + ите Ͼ хотите
хоч + ет Ͼ хочет хот + ят Ͼ хотят
мыться to wash reflexive
мой + ю+сь Ͼ моюсь мой + ем+ся Ͼ моемся
мой + ешь+ся Ͼ моешься мой + ете+сь Ͼ моетесь
мой + ет+ся Ͼ моется мой + ют+ся Ͼ моются
узнавать to recognize, find out
узна + ю Ͼ узнаю узна + ём Ͼ узнаём
узна + ёшь Ͼ узнаёшь узна + ёте Ͼ узнаёте
узна + ёт Ͼ узнаёт узна + ют Ͼ узнают
вставать to get up, rise
вста + ю Ͼ встаю вста + ём Ͼ встаём
вста + ёшь Ͼ встаёшь вста + ёте Ͼ встаёте

вста + ёт Ͼ встаёт вста + ют Ͼ встают
14 IRREGULAR CONJUGATIONS
The Past Tense
For most verbs, the past tense in Russian is formed from the stem and is regular. Most
Russian verbs have two past tense forms, one in the imperfective and the other in the
perfective aspect. Note that many type 5 and type 6 verbs have irregular endings, partic-
ularly in the masculine form.
The past tense is conjugated in number (singular or plural) and gender (masculine, fem-
inine, or neuter), not by the person. It is most simply formed by dropping the last two
letters of the infinitive and adding either
-л,-ла,-ло (for the singular: maculine, femi-
nine, or neuter)
, or -ли (for the plural, all genders). With the one-stem system, the past
tense is formed by joining the stem of the verb with its ending, again
-л,-ла,-ло, or -
ли.
Imperfective Past Tense Conjugation Examples
работать to work Type 1 говорить to speak Type 2
работал(а) работали говорил(а) говорили
работал(а) работали говорил(а,о) говорили
работал(а,о) работали говорил(а,о) говорили
пахнуть to smell Type 3 требовать to demand Type 4
пахнул пахли требовал(а) требовали
пахла пахли требовал(а) требовали
пахло пахли требовал(а,о) требовали
нести to carry Type 5 печь to bake Type 6
нёс несли пёк пекли
несла несли пекла пекли
несло несли пекло пекли
Perfective Past Tense Conjugation Examples

поработать to work Type 1 поговорить to speak Type 2
поработал(а) поработали поговорил(а) поговорили
поработал(а) поработали поговорил(а) поговорили
поработал(а,о) поработали поговорил(а,о) поговорили
запахнуть to smell Type 3 обрадовать to please Type 4
запахнул запахли обрадовал(а) обрадовали
запахла запахли обрадовал(а) обрадовали
запахло запахли обрадовал(а,о) обрадовали
понести to carry Type 5 испечь to bake Type 6
понёс понесли испёк испекли
понесла понесли испекла испекли
понесло понесли испекло испекли
THE PAST TENSE 15
Uses of the Past Tense
The past tense in Russian is used for actions and events that began or took place in the
past. The selection of imperfective or perfective aspect depends on the context of the sit-
uation.
Утром она сдавала экзамен по физике. This morning she took a physics exam.
In this example, she took the exam but it is not known whether she passed it.
Утром она сдала экзамен по физике. This morning she passed a physics exam.
In this example, she took the exam and passed it.
Когда она училась в школе, она часто сдавала экзамены.
When she studied in school, she often took exams.
In this example, she often took exams in school, but repetition prevents a knowledge of
whether she passed those exams. Context or follow-up questions would ascertain whether
she passed those exams. In a narration, if she stated that she graduated, the context would
demonstrate that she passed (some of ) the exams.
The following examples further illustrate aspectual usage of the past tense.
Опыты дали хорошие результаты. Experiments yielded good results.
The verb “to give” is demonstrated here. The experiments are completed, and they yielded

(gave) good results.
Они прожили долгую жизнь, но так и не сделали друг друга счастливыми.
They lived a long life, but never made one another happy.
The verb “to do” is demonstrated here. The example shows the use of the perfective aspect,
although happiness was not achieved. The adverbial construction так и не requires the
perfective aspect.
Он вдруг обнаружил незаурядные способности к математике.
He suddenly discovered his considerable mathematical talents.
In this example of the verb “to discover,” the emphasis is on the suddenness of his
discovery. The word
вдруг is used to express “at that moment” and requires the
perfective aspect.
Детей организовали в группы по возрасту.
The children were organized into groups by age.
Here this example uses the verb “to organize,” which may be both imperfective and
perfective, that is, bi-aspectual. Only from context can it be discerned whether “They
organized the children into groups by age” (perfective) or “They were organizing the
children into groups by age” (imperfective).
Когда жена умерла, он пил от тоски.
When his wife died, he started drinking to drown his sorrow.
In this example of the verb “to drink,” the emphasis is on the implied repetitive nature
of his actions. By using the imperfective aspect, the implication is that it was not a one-
time action.
16 THE PAST TENSE
The Future Tense
The future tense in Russian has two forms - imperfective and perfective. In the imper-
fective aspect, the future tense is known as the compound future. It is formed by using
the appropriate future tense forms of the verb
быть plus the infinitive.
Imperfective Compound Future

работать to work Type 1
буду работать будем работать
будешь работать будете работать
будет работать будут работать
говорить to speak Type 2
буду говорить будем говорить
будешь говорить будете говорить
будет говорить будут говорить
пахнуть to smell Type 3
буду пахнуть будем пахнуть
будешь пахнуть будете пахнуть
будет пахнуть будут пахнуть
требовать to demand Type 4
буду требовать будем требовать
будешь требовать будете требовать
будет требовать будут требовать
нести to carry Type 5
буду нести будем нести
будешь нести будете нести
будет нести будут нести
печь to bake Type 6
буду печь будем печь
будешь печь будете печь
будет печь будут печь
THE FUTURE TENSE 17
In the perfective it is known as the simple future. The perfective future consists of a sin-
gle word formed from the stem and its endings. As with the imperfective present, there
are six main verb types; all regular verb types have Class I endings, except for type 2,
which takes Class II. Below are examples of the 6 types.
Perfective Simple Future

заработать to earn Type 1 поговорить to speak Type 2
заработаю заработаем поговорю поговорим
заработаешь заработаете поговоришь поговорите
заработает заработают поговорит поговорят
запахнуть to smell Type 3 разжевать to chew Type 4
запахну запахнем разжую разжуём
запахнешь запахнете разжуёшь разжуёте
запахнет запахнут разжуёт разжуют
понести to carry Type 5 испечь to bake Type 6
понесу понесём испеку испечём
понесёшь понесёте испечёшь испечёте
понесёт понесут испечёт испекут
Uses of the Future Tense
The compound future tense is used when:
1·there is an indication of duration.
Я буду учить новые слова весь вечер.
I will study the new words all evening.
2·
there is a general statement in the future, often when the “-ing” form could be used
in English.
Вечером я буду смотреть футбол по телевизору.
I am going to watch soccer on TV this evening.
3·
there is an indication of repetition or habituality.
Я буду часто писать родителям о жизни в армии.
I will often write my parents about army life.
4·
there is a specialized need for politeness.
Что вы будете заказывать?
What would you like to order?

The simple future (perfective), in the same way as the perfective past, focuses on the
result of a completed action. In addition, the perfective future expresses the action as a
complete event.
Я тебе потом всё скажу.
I will tell you all about it later.
Пётр позвонит мне завтра.
Peter will call me tomorrow.
18
THE FUTURE TENSE
The Subjunctive Mood
The subjunctive in Russian is formed from the past tense of an imperfective or perfective
verb and the particle бы. The subjunctive is used in expressing hypothetical or contrary-
to-fact statements. It can also be used to express advice, desires, or requests, often with
the conjunction
чтобы. Below are a few examples of verbs in the subjunctive mood, fol-
lowed by examples.
требовать to demand говорить to speak
требовал бы требовали бы говорил бы говорили бы
требовала бы требовали бы говорила бы говорили бы
требовало бы требовали бы говорило бы говорили бы
испечь to bake
испёк бы испекли бы
испекла бы испекли бы
испекло бы испекли бы
Uses of the Subjunctive Mood
The subjunctive is used when:
1) making contrary-to-fact statements.
Если бы студенты закурили в классе, то у них были бы неприятности.
If the students started smoking in class, they would encounter problems.
2) desire is expressed.

Я хочу, чтобы ты бросил курить.
I wish you would stop smoking.
3) expressing desire less emphatically.
Мне бы хотелось борща с чесноком.
I would like some borscht with garlic.
4) expressing genuine or fervent hope.
Как бы тебе сдать экзамен!
I hope you pass the exam!
5) unreal situations are conjected (hypotheses).
Если бы сегодня не было дождя, мы играли бы в футбол.
If it had not rained today, we would have played soccer.
In addition to the examples above, there are instances when predicate adverbs are used
to express a desire. These adverbs include:
желательно, нужно, надо, важно and
необходимо.
Желательно, чтобы вы были в Москве на Новый год.
It is desirable that you be in Moscow on New Year’s Day.
Note: When positive statements are made in the subjunctive mood, the perfective is
used. Conversely, negative statements are rendered in the imperfective aspect.
THE SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD 19