The Present Tense in Russian
The present tense is one of the basic grammar points that you should know and be able to use in Russian. Although this topic is quite basic, there are many details you need to keep in mind when using the present tense in your own speech.
In this lesson, we’ll look at the main situations in which we use the present tense in Russian and learn how to form and use it with different types of verbs.
If you’re interested in a particular part of the lesson, click the title you need:
- Uses of the present tense
- Formation of the present tense
- Tips on how to practice
When to use the present tense
When describing our lives, we often want to say what we do in general or what we’re doing at the moment. For example:
- Я работаю с понедельника по пятницу.
- (I work Monday through Friday)
- Я работаю сейчас.
- (I’m working now)
Both of the above sentences refer to the present, not the past or future.
The first sentence describes what I do in general, while the second one describes what I’m doing at the moment.
In English, we use different verb forms to indicate something that happens in general and something that is happening right now.
In Russian, however, we don’t have such a distinction. We use the same form for both situations.
The present tense in Russian is also used to indicate actions that started in the past and are still continuing:
- Я учу русский уже два года.
- (I’ve been learning Russian for two years now)
- Она работает здесь три месяца.
- (She’s been working here for three months)
We can also use the present tense to talk about future plans and arrangements:
- Завтра я иду к врачу.
- (I’m going to the doctor tomorrow)
- В пятницу мы встречаемся с друзьями.
- (We’re meeting friends on Friday)
It’s also common to use the present tense to tell stories about the past. Using the present tense to describe past events makes the story more direct and exciting:
- Вдруг машина останавливается, и из неё выходит мужчина.
- (Suddenly the car stops and a man gets out)
How to form the present tense
It’s quite simple to understand when to use the present tense in Russian, but it can be a bit tricky to form it.
The thing is that Russian verbs in the present tense change their endings according to the person performing the action.
For example, the verb работать (to work) has the following endings in the present tense:
- Я работаю
- (I work)
- Ты работаешь
- (You work)
- Он/она работает
- (He/she works)
- Мы работаем
- (We work)
- Вы работаете
- (You work)
- Они работают
- (They work)
Note that the base form of most Russian verbs ends in -ть (e.g. работать) and it’s this form that we change when putting the verb into the present tense.
First, we remove -ть from the base form and then we add the appropriate ending:
- работа + ю
- работа + ешь
- работа + ет
Verbs following the Е-pattern
Did you notice that four of the present endings of the verb работать contain the letter ‘е’?
- ты работаешь
- он работает
- мы работаем
- вы работаете
This verb is an example of a verb that follows the so-called Е-pattern.
Some other common verbs which follow this pattern are знать (know), думать (think), делать (do) and играть (play).
Verbs following the И-pattern
Another common pattern that Russian verbs follow in the present tense is the so-called И-pattern. In this pattern, most present-tense endings of a verb contain the letter ‘и’.
An example of a verb that follows this pattern is говорить:
- Я говорю
- (I speak)
- Ты говоришь
- (You speak)
- Он/она говорит
- (He/she speaks)
- Мы говорим
- (We speak)
- Вы говорите
- (You speak)
- Они говорят
- (They speak)
Note that the correct way to add endings to this verb is to first remove -ить from its base form, говорить, and only then add the endings:
- говор + ю
- говор + ишь
- говор + ят
Some other common verbs that follow the И-pattern are помнить (remember), курить (smoke) and смотреть (watch).
Note that in grammar books the E-pattern is usually referred to as the first conjugation, and the И-pattern as the second conjugation.
Which pattern to use
Some of you might be wondering, ‘How do I know if a verb follows the Е-pattern or the И-pattern?’
As a rule of thumb, most verbs that end in -ать in their base form follow the Е-pattern (e.g. работать), while most verbs that end in -ить follow the И-pattern (e.g. говорить).
However, there are many exceptions to this rule. So, if you’re not sure how to change a verb correctly, simply look it up in a dictionary.
Irregular Verbs
It’s important to note that many Russian verbs have irregular forms and, therefore, should be memorized.
The verb есть is an example of such a verb:
- Я ем
- (I eat)
- Ты ешь
- (You eat)
- Он/она ест
- (He/she eats)
- Мы едим
- (We eat)
- Вы едите
- (You eat)
- Они едят
- (They eat)
How to conjugate reflexive verbs
When it comes to using the present tense in Russian, there’s one more important detail you need to know.
When we conjugate reflexive verbs (verbs that end in -ся), we put the endings before the -ся.
For example, this is how we conjugate the reflexive verb просыпаться:
- Я просыпаюсь
- (I wake up)
- Ты просыпаешься
- (You wake up)
- Он/она просыпается
- (He/she wakes up)
- Мы просыпаемся
- (We wake up)
- Вы просыпаетесь
- (You wake up)
- Они просыпаются
- (They wake up)
Did you notice that the verb forms for я and вы use -сь instead of -ся? That’s because -ся is used after consonants, while -сь is used after vowels.
Tips on how to practice
After learning about the use and formation of the present tense in Russian, it’s a good idea to test your knowledge and practice this topic.
You can start practicing right away by doing our interactive exercises and reading or listening to our texts that focus on the present tense:
My Favorite Day
Routine and Time
To make sure you know how to use the present tense in your own speech, you can also write a short text describing your typical day.
If, while writing your text, you don’t know how to say something in Russian or want to check the right form of a verb in the present tense, you can use our online dictionary.
