Infinitive (imperfective): петь — "to sing (as a process / habitually / be singing)" Infinitive (perfective): спеть — "to sing (once, all the way through)" Type: a first-conjugation verb with an irregular, unpredictable present stem (по-/пой-); the perfective is formed with the с- prefix
петь / спеть is the verb in every birthday party and every karaoke night — and it is a perfect example of why you can never trust a Russian infinitive to tell you the present stem. From петь you would never guess пою́, поёшь, пою́т: the infinitive's -е- vanishes and the conjugation runs on по- with a glide -й- (пой-). This is the same hidden-stem trap that makes Russian present-tense forms something you learn verb by verb rather than derive. The perfective спеть simply prefixes с- to the same forms (спою́, споёшь), a textbook case of a purely perfectivizing prefix that adds aspect without changing the meaning. Stress is marked on every form.
Present tense (петь, imperfective) — first conjugation, stem по-/пой-
A perfective verb has no present tense, so only петь has a present. The endings are the standard first-conjugation set, but the stem is the surprise: петь → по- with the -й- glide before vowel endings, and the stress sits on the ending throughout.
| Person | петь — PRESENT |
|---|---|
| я | пою́ |
| ты | поёшь |
| он / она́ / оно́ | поёт |
| мы | поём |
| вы | поёте |
| они́ | пою́т |
The infinitive петь gives you no hint of по-. The stem is пой-: before the vowel endings you get поё- (poj-o) — поёшь, поёт, поём, поёте — and the bare пою́, пою́т at the edges. Wherever you see ё, the stress is automatically on it (Russian ё is always stressed), so поёшь, поёт, поём, поёте are end-stressed, as are пою́ and пою́т. A common spelling slip is to write поюшь or поёш — the correct forms are пою́ and поёшь with the soft sign.
Я пою́ в ду́ше ка́ждое у́тро.
I sing in the shower every morning. — пою́; a habit, so imperfective.
Ты так краси́во поёшь!
You sing so beautifully! — поёшь, end-stressed, with ё.
Пти́цы пою́т под окно́м с самого́ рассве́та.
The birds have been singing outside the window since dawn. — пою́т at the edge of the paradigm.
Past tense
The past goes back to the infinitive stem пе-, not the present stem по-. It is regular and gender-marked, but watch the stress shift: masculine пел is short and stem-stressed, and so are the others — пе́ла, пе́ло, пе́ли. The stress stays on the пе- stem in the past, unlike the end-stressed present.
| Gender / number | петь (impf) | спеть (pf) |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | пел | спел |
| feminine | пе́ла | спе́ла |
| neuter | пе́ло | спе́ло |
| plural | пе́ли | спе́ли |
The aspect contrast is the usual one: пел views the singing as a process or habit ("I was singing / I used to sing"); спел views it as one completed performance, sung all the way through ("I sang [the whole song]"). For "she sang us a song (start to finish)," use the perfective спе́ла.
Она́ спе́ла одну́ пе́сню и ушла́.
She sang one song and left. — спе́ла: one completed performance, perfective.
В де́тстве ба́бушка пе́ла мне колыбе́льные.
As a child, grandma used to sing me lullabies. — пе́ла: a repeated habit, imperfective.
Future tense
The pair forms its future the two standard ways. The perfective спеть conjugates exactly like петь but with the с- prefix.
- петь (imperfective) → compound future: бу́ду петь "I'll be singing / will keep singing."
- спеть (perfective) → simple future: спою́, споёшь… спою́т, each meaning one completed future performance.
| Person | петь → бу́ду петь | спеть → simple future (perfective) |
|---|---|---|
| я | бу́ду петь | спою́ |
| ты | бу́дешь петь | споёшь |
| он / она́ / оно́ | бу́дет петь | споёт |
| мы | бу́дем петь | споём |
| вы | бу́дете петь | споёте |
| они́ | бу́дут петь | спою́т |
The forms спою́, споёшь… spell exactly like пою́, поёшь with с- on the front, and they are the future (спеть is perfective, so it can never be a present). The everyday "I'll sing one for you" is the perfective спою́ — one performance; see the perfective simple future page.
Дава́й я спо́ю тебе́ что́-нибудь на гита́ре.
Let me sing you something on the guitar. — спою́: one planned performance (perfective).
На сва́дьбе мы бу́дем петь всю ночь.
We'll sing all night at the wedding. — бу́ду петь: ongoing future singing (imperfective).
Imperative
Built on the present stem; short and stem-final.
| Addressee | петь (impf) | спеть (pf) |
|---|---|---|
| ты (informal) | пой | спой |
| вы (formal / plural) | по́йте | спо́йте |
The imperative comes from the по- stem: пой / по́йте, спой / спо́йте (the -й is the glide we saw in the present). The perfective Спой! ("Sing one!") asks for one specific song; the imperfective Пой! is an open invitation to sing, or for "keep singing."
Спо́йте нам что́-нибудь ру́сское!
Sing us something Russian! — perfective спо́йте + dative нам; one specific request.
Пой гро́мче, не стесня́йся!
Sing louder, don't be shy! — imperfective пой: ongoing, open invitation.
Participles and verbal adverbs
| Form | петь (impf) | спеть (pf) |
|---|---|---|
| present active participle | пою́щий "(the one) singing" | — (perfectives have none) |
| past active participle | пе́вший | спе́вший |
| past passive participle | — | спе́тый "sung" |
| verbal adverb | напева́я "humming" (от напева́ть) | спев "having sung" |
The imperfective петь does not form a normal verbal adverb (поя́ does not exist in standard use); to render "while singing," speakers reach for the verb напева́ть ("hum, sing softly") or a different construction. The perfective verbal adverb *спев "having sung" is normal in writing. The participle пою́щий "singing" is common: пою́щий фонта́н ("a singing fountain").
Спев после́дний купле́т, он поклони́лся.
Having sung the last verse, he took a bow. — verbal adverb спев + accusative.
Key uses & collocations
1. петь / спеть + accusative — the song sung
The thing sung is a direct object in the accusative: петь пе́сню, спеть рома́нс, петь а́рию. On feminine -а nouns the accusative shows (пе́сня → пе́сню).
Спой свою́ люби́мую пе́сню!
Sing your favourite song! — accusative пе́сню (from пе́сня).
2. петь + dative — singing to someone
Add a dative listener for "sing to someone": петь ребёнку, спеть го́стям. The song stays accusative, the audience dative — the same double frame as other verbs of giving.
Ма́ма пе́ла до́чке колыбе́льную.
Mum was singing the daughter a lullaby. — dative до́чке + accusative колыбе́льную.
3. петь под + accusative — "sing to / along with" music
To sing to an accompaniment, use под + accusative: петь под гита́ру ("sing to the guitar"), петь под минусо́вку ("sing to a backing track"), петь под кара́оке.
Все пе́ли под гита́ру у костра́.
Everyone was singing to the guitar by the campfire. — петь под + accusative гита́ру.
4. Fixed expressions
A cluster of idioms uses петь: петь дифира́мбы кому́-то "to sing someone's praises," петь в уни́сон "to sing in unison / be in complete agreement." Treat each as a unit.
Кри́тики пою́т дифира́мбы её но́вому альбо́му.
The critics are singing the praises of her new album. — idiom петь дифира́мбы + dative.
Common Mistakes
❌ Я пе́ю в хо́ре.
Stem error — the present is built on по-/пой-, not пе-: it's пою́, not *пе́ю.
✅ Я пою́ в хо́ре.
I sing in a choir.
❌ Ты поюшь о́чень краси́во.
Spelling error — the 'you' form is поёшь, with ё and a soft sign, not *поюшь.
✅ Ты поёшь о́чень краси́во.
You sing very beautifully.
❌ За́втра я бу́ду спеть на конце́рте.
Aspect error — the бу́ду future needs an IMPERFECTIVE infinitive. The perfective makes its own future: спою́ (no бу́ду).
✅ За́втра я спою́ на конце́рте.
Tomorrow I'll sing at the concert.
❌ Она́ пел пе́сню.
Agreement error — the past agrees in gender: feminine пе́ла, masculine пел. Match it to the subject.
✅ Она́ пе́ла пе́сню.
She was singing a song.
❌ Пей нам пе́сню!
Wrong verb — Пей! is 'Drink!' (from пить). The imperative of петь is Пой! / По́йте!
✅ Спо́йте нам пе́сню!
Sing us a song!
Key Takeaways
- петь / спеть is a first-conjugation pair; the perfective спеть adds the purely-perfectivizing с- prefix without changing the meaning.
- Unpredictable present stem: петь → пою́, поёшь, поёт, поём, поёте, пою́т (the по-/пой- stem with the ё/й glide). Learn it as a block.
- Past goes back to пе-: пел / пе́ла / пе́ло / пе́ли (stem-stressed) and спел / спе́ла / спе́ло / спе́ли. Note the stress moves off the ending in the past.
- Future: imperfective compound бу́ду петь; perfective simple спою́, споёшь… спою́т.
- Imperative: пой / по́йте and спой / спо́йте (don't confuse Пой! "sing" with Пей! "drink").
- Government:
- accusative for the song (петь пе́сню); + dative for the listener; под + accusative for the accompaniment (петь под гита́ру).
Now practice Russian
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Russian→Related Topics
- Present Tense: First ConjugationA1 — The first-conjugation present paradigm: чита́ть → чита́ю, чита́ешь, чита́ет, чита́ем, чита́ете, чита́ют, with endings on the theme vowel -е-. Covers the -ать stem class (де́лать, рабо́тать), the stressed consonant-stem variant (жить → живу́, живёшь), and the -овать/-евать contraction (рисова́ть → рису́ю).
- Why This Prefix? Choosing the Perfective PartnerB2 — Which prefix perfectivizes a given imperfective is a lexical property you must learn WITH the verb, like gender (писа́ть→на-, чита́ть→про-, де́лать→с-). But many prefixes do more than perfectivize — they add a 'way of action' (спо́соб де́йствия): ЗА- begins, ПО- does a bit, ПРО- does throughout (or misses), ДО- finishes, ПЕРЕ- redoes, НА-...-СЯ does to satiety, РАЗ-...-СЯ gets going, ВЗ- does suddenly. Picking the wrong prefix often makes a DIFFERENT verb (переписа́ть 'rewrite' ≠ написа́ть 'write').
- Verbal Aspect: The Big PictureA2 — Aspect is the spine of the Russian verb: nearly every verb belongs to a pair — imperfective (process, repetition, general fact) and perfective (a single completed whole with a result). This page explains the pair, the consequences for the tense system (perfectives have no present), and why you must decide 'process or result?' before you even pick a tense.
- Accusative: The Direct ObjectA1 — The accusative marks the direct object — the thing a transitive verb acts on directly. Verbs like чита́ть, смотре́ть, люби́ть, ви́деть, знать all take an accusative object (чита́ть кни́гу, люби́ть му́зыку). Because Russian word order is free, the case ending — not position — tells you which noun is being acted upon, so every direct object must be marked. Object pronouns (меня́, тебя́, его́, её, нас, вас, их) are accusative too.
- The Perfective (Simple) FutureA2 — The perfective future is a single word: you conjugate a perfective verb with the ordinary present-tense endings (-у/-ю, -ешь/-ишь…) and the result means the FUTURE — прочита́ю 'I'll read (and finish),' напишу́ 'I'll write,' куплю́ 'I'll buy,' позвоню́ 'I'll call.' The trap is that these forms look exactly like a present tense, but a perfective verb has no present, so a conjugated perfective is always future. It names a single completed action with a result, a promise, or one step in a sequence.
- Звонить / Позвонить (to call/phone)A2 — Complete conjugation-and-usage reference for the aspect pair звони́ть / позвони́ть 'to call, to phone (someone)'. A regular second-conjugation verb that governs the DATIVE (звони́ть дру́гу 'call a friend'), and the home of Russia's most famous stress shibboleth: the prescriptive norm is end-stressed звони́т, звони́шь — never the widespread but substandard *зво́нит.