Top 10 Russian Verbs — Part I Posted by Maria on Dec 16, 2019 in Grammar
If you find yourself struggling to come up with the right verb, you may want to learn the conjugation of the most common Russian verbs. They come up frequently in conversation, so being able to recognize and use them will help you with your fluency.
1. Быть – to be
Present tense
For all intents and purposes, the only remaining present form of быть is есть, and it is usually omitted if it serves as a copula. Есть may be used in the sense of “there is” or “someone has”:
- В холоди́льнике есть ры́ба (There is some fish in the fridge).
- У меня́ есть сестра́ (I have a sister).
Past tense
masculine | был |
feminine | была́ |
neuter | бы́ло |
plural | бы́ли |
This may also refer to both existence and possession.
- В холоди́льнике была́ ры́ба (There was some fish in the fridge).
- У меня́ была́ сестра́ (I had a sister).
Future tense
singular | plural | |
---|---|---|
1st person | бу́ду | бу́дем |
2nd person | бу́дешь | бу́дете |
3rd person | бу́дет | бу́дут |
Apart from its primary sense, “to be,” future forms of быть form the future tense of imperfective verbs when combined with their infinitives.
- Я бу́ду хи́миком, когда́ вы́расту (I will be a chemist when I grow up).
- Тебя́ никто́ не бу́дет слу́шать (No one will listen to you).
2. Мочь – to be able to
Мочь is an imperfective verb. Its perfective counterpart is смочь.
Present tense
singular | plural | |
---|---|---|
1st person | могу́ | мо́жем |
2nd person | мо́жешь | мо́жете |
3rd person | мо́жет | мо́гут |
- Мо́жешь перезвони́ть мне че́рез полчаса́? (Can you call me back in half an hour?)
Past tense
masculine | мог |
feminine | могла́ |
neuter | могло́ |
plural | могли́ |
- В мо́лодости он мог рабо́тать без переры́ва (In his youth, he was able to work without breaks).
Future tense
Technically, the future tense of imperfective verbs is formed from the corresponding future form of быть + the infinitive of the verb. However, in this case, that would sound very odd. It is much more common to use the perfective verb смочь. It is conjugated the same way as мочь in the present, with the addition of the с- prefix.
3. Сказа́ть – to say, to tell
Сказа́ть is a perfective verb. Is imperfective counterpart is говори́ть, explained further on this list. As a perfective verb, сказа́ть does not have present tense forms.
Past tense
masculine | сказа́л |
feminine | сказа́ла |
neuter | сказа́ло |
plural | сказа́ли |
- Мне сказа́ли, что за́втра отделе́ние не рабо́тает (I was told the office would be closed for business tomorrow).
Future tense
singular | plural | |
---|---|---|
1st person | скажу́ | ска́жем |
2nd person | ска́жешь | ска́жете |
3rd person | ска́жет | ска́жут |
- Ска́жешь мне, когда́ начнётся фильм? (Will you tell me when the movie starts?)
4. Говори́ть
Говорить is an imperfective verb. Its perfective counterparts include сказа́ть (for a specific utterance) or поговори́ть (for a conversation).
Present tense
singular | plural | |
---|---|---|
1st person | говорю́ | говори́м |
2nd person | говори́шь | говори́те |
3rd person | говори́т | говоря́т |
- Вы говори́те по-ру́сски? (Do you speak Russian?)
Past tense
masculine | говори́л |
feminine | говори́ла |
neuter | говори́ло |
plural | говори́ли |
- О чём вы говори́ли? (What did you talk about?)
Future tense
Conjugated future form of быть + говорить
- Докла́дчик бу́дет говори́ть об эконо́мике (The speaker will talk about the economy).
5. Знать – to know
Знать is imperfective. Its perfective counterpart is узнать, to find out, to learn.
Present tense
singular | plural | |
---|---|---|
1st person | зна́ю | зна́ем |
2nd person | зна́ешь | зна́ете |
3rd person | зна́ет | зна́ют |
- Ты зна́ешь э́ту пе́сню? (Do you know this song?)
Past tense
masculine | знал |
feminine | зна́ла |
neuter | зна́ло |
plural | зна́ли |
- Я не зна́ла их имён (I didn’t know their names).
Future tense
Conjugated future form of быть + знать
- По́сле прочте́ния э́той кни́ги вы бу́дете знать, во что сто́ит вложи́ть де́ньги (After reading this book, you’ll know what you should invest money in).
Stay tuned for Part II!
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