If you learn only ten Russian verbs first, learn these. They are the ones you reach for in almost every sentence — want, can, know, understand, speak, do, live, work, love, and the verb to be. Master their present-tense forms and you can already say a remarkable amount: order a coffee, ask if someone speaks English, say you don't understand, tell people where you live and work, and say what you love. As a bonus, this little set quietly teaches the whole machinery of Russian conjugation — it contains regular first-conjugation verbs, regular second-conjugation verbs, and the three most important irregularities you will meet again and again. Start here.
How to read the tables
Russian verbs change their ending for each person. For each verb below you get the я (I), ты (you, informal singular), and они́ (they) forms — the three that show the pattern most clearly — plus a sentence to use immediately. Two background facts make the tables make sense:
- Russian has two conjugations. First-conjugation verbs have -ешь/-ёшь in the ты-form and -ут/-ют in the они́-form; second-conjugation verbs have -ишь and -ат/-ят. (Full picture on first conjugation and second conjugation.)
- The present tense is for things happening now or generally true. Russian has no "do/does" helper and no separate continuous tense, so говорю́ covers "I speak," "I am speaking," and "I do speak" all at once.
1. быть — to be
The most important verb, and the easiest in the present, because it disappears: Russian has no present-tense "am / is / are." Я студе́нт = "I [am] a student." быть comes back to life in the past (был, была́, бы́ло, бы́ли) and the future (бу́ду, бу́дешь, бу́дет, бу́дем, бу́дете, бу́дут). The full story is on быть, "to be".
| Present | Future |
|---|---|
| я — (nothing) | я бу́ду |
| ты — (nothing) | ты бу́дешь |
| они́ — (nothing) | они́ бу́дут |
Я ру́сский. А ты?
I'm Russian. And you? (no present-tense 'am' — быть is simply absent)
За́втра я бу́ду до́ма.
Tomorrow I'll be home. (the future of быть does appear: бу́ду)
2. знать — to know (a fact)
A perfectly regular first-conjugation verb — the model pattern. Use it for knowing facts and information. (For "know how to" you need a different verb, уме́ть — see know: знать / уме́ть / мочь.)
| я | ты | они́ |
|---|---|---|
| зна́ю | зна́ешь | зна́ют |
Я не зна́ю, где метро́.
I don't know where the metro is. (regular -аю/-аешь/-ают pattern)
3. хоте́ть — to want (irregular!)
Flag this one: хоте́ть is mixed-conjugation — its singular forms are first-conjugation (-ешь) but its plural forms are second-conjugation (-им/-ите/-ят), and the consonant shifts т → ч in the singular. There is no logic to memorize; it is simply one of the verbs you learn by heart. It is worth every bit of the effort — "I want" is the single most useful thing a beginner can say.
| я | ты | он/она́ | мы | вы | они́ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| хочу́ | хо́чешь | хо́чет | хоти́м | хоти́те | хотя́т |
Я хочу́ ко́фе, пожа́луйста.
I'd like a coffee, please. (хочу́ — the т→ч shift in the singular)
Ты хо́чешь пойти́ в кино́?
Do you want to go to the cinema? (хо́чешь + an infinitive)
4. мочь — can, to be able (irregular!)
The second irregular verb, and the one for possibility / permission ("I can, I'm able to"). It alternates г / ж through the paradigm (могу́ with г, but мо́жешь with ж) and ends in -чь in the infinitive, a small class of irregular verbs. Use мочь + an infinitive.
| я | ты | он/она́ | мы | вы | они́ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| могу́ | мо́жешь | мо́жет | мо́жем | мо́жете | мо́гут |
Вы мо́жете помо́чь?
Can you help? (мо́жете — the ж variant; the 1sg and 3pl keep г: могу́, мо́гут)
Я не могу́ сейча́с говори́ть.
I can't talk right now. (могу́ + infinitive)
5. говори́ть — to speak, to say
A regular second-conjugation verb (-ю/-ишь/-ят) and an absolute workhorse: it means both "to speak / talk" and "to say / tell." This is your verb for languages.
| я | ты | они́ |
|---|---|---|
| говорю́ | говори́шь | говоря́т |
Ты говори́шь по-ру́сски?
Do you speak Russian? (the classic first question — по-ру́сски = 'in Russian')
Я немно́го говорю́ по-англи́йски.
I speak a little English. (говорю́ — second conjugation)
6. понима́ть — to understand
Regular first-conjugation, and indispensable for survival as a beginner — the difference between Я понима́ю and Я не понима́ю is a lifeline.
| я | ты | они́ |
|---|---|---|
| понима́ю | понима́ешь | понима́ют |
Извини́те, я не понима́ю.
Sorry, I don't understand. (regular first conjugation — same pattern as зна́ю)
Ты понима́ешь по-ру́сски?
Do you understand Russian? (понима́ешь)
7. де́лать — to do, to make
Regular first-conjugation. де́лать covers both "do" and "make," and gives you the most common conversational opener Что ты де́лаешь? ("What are you doing?").
| я | ты | они́ |
|---|---|---|
| де́лаю | де́лаешь | де́лают |
Что ты де́лаешь?
What are you doing? (де́лаешь — the everyday way to ask)
8. рабо́тать — to work
Regular first-conjugation. With it you can say what you do for a living and where: рабо́тать + где ("where") or + кем ("as what," instrumental).
| я | ты | они́ |
|---|---|---|
| рабо́таю | рабо́таешь | рабо́тают |
Я рабо́таю в Москве́.
I work in Moscow. (рабо́таю — first conjugation)
9. жить — to live
First-conjugation but with a small twist: a в appears in the stem of the present that is not in the infinitive — жить → живу́, живёшь, живу́т. It carries an end-stress throughout. Essential for saying where you live.
| я | ты | они́ |
|---|---|---|
| живу́ | живёшь | живу́т |
Где ты живёшь?
Where do you live? (живёшь — note the stem -ив- that isn't in the infinitive)
Я живу́ в це́нтре.
I live in the centre. (живу́)
10. люби́ть — to love, to like (irregular stem)
A second-conjugation verb with one famous quirk: an -л- appears in the я-form only — люблю́, but then лю́бишь, лю́бят with no -л-. This "labial -л-" shows up whenever a second-conjugation stem ends in б, п, в, ф, м (so it returns in гото́вить → гото́влю, спать → сплю). Flag it now; you will meet it constantly. люби́ть means both "love" (people) and "like / be fond of" (things, activities — often with an infinitive).
| я | ты | он/она́ | мы | вы | они́ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| люблю́ | лю́бишь | лю́бит | лю́бим | лю́бите | лю́бят |
Я люблю́ ко́фе.
I love / like coffee. (люблю́ — the inserted -л- in the я-form only)
Ты лю́бишь чита́ть?
Do you like reading? (лю́бишь — no -л- outside the я-form; + infinitive)
The pattern map
Look back and you have a free tour of the verb system:
| Pattern | Verbs from this set |
|---|---|
| Regular 1st conjugation (-ю/-ешь/-ют) | знать, понима́ть, де́лать, рабо́тать, (жить — with a stem change) |
| Regular 2nd conjugation (-ю/-ишь/-ят) | говори́ть |
| 2nd conjugation + labial -л- | люби́ть (люблю́) |
| Mixed / irregular | хоте́ть (хочу́/хотя́т), мочь (могу́/мо́гут) |
| Defective in the present | быть (no present forms) |
The two genuine irregulars — хоте́ть and мочь — plus other small irregular sets are gathered on the irregular verbs set. For the bigger picture of how Russian verbs work, see the verbs overview.
Common Mistakes
❌ Я есть студе́нт.
No present-tense 'to be' in Russian — don't translate English 'am'. Just drop it.
✅ Я студе́нт.
I'm a student. (быть is invisible in the present)
❌ Я хотю́ ко́фе.
Wrong form — хоте́ть is irregular; the я-form is хочу́ (т→ч), not *хотю́.
✅ Я хочу́ ко́фе.
I want a coffee. (хочу́)
❌ Я можу́ помо́чь.
Wrong form — the я-form keeps г: могу́, not *можу́. The ж appears only in мо́жешь, мо́жет…
✅ Я могу́ помо́чь.
I can help. (могу́)
❌ Я любю́ ко́фе.
Missing the inserted -л- — second-conjugation labial stems add -л- in the я-form: люблю́.
✅ Я люблю́ ко́фе.
I love coffee. (люблю́)
❌ Ты зна́ишь, где метро́?
Wrong conjugation — знать is first conjugation, so the ты-form is зна́ешь (with -е-), not *зна́ишь.
✅ Ты зна́ешь, где метро́?
Do you know where the metro is? (зна́ешь)
Key Takeaways
- These ten verbs — быть, знать, хоте́ть, мочь, говори́ть, понима́ть, де́лать, рабо́тать, жить, люби́ть — let you say a huge amount from day one.
- быть has no present tense: Я студе́нт, not *Я есть студе́нт.
- знать, понима́ть, де́лать, рабо́тать are regular first-conjugation (the зна́ю / зна́ешь / зна́ют model); говори́ть is regular second-conjugation.
- Memorize the irregulars as set forms: хоте́ть (хочу́, хо́чешь … хотя́т), мочь (могу́, мо́жешь … мо́гут), and люби́ть with the inserted -л- (люблю́, but лю́бишь, лю́бят).
- жить adds a stem -ив- in the present (живу́, живёшь). Russian present tense covers "do," "am doing," and "speak/am speaking" all at once.
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
- The Russian Verb System: OverviewA1 — A high-level map of the Russian verb: how aspect (imperfective vs perfective) — not tense — is the organizing principle, how the two conjugations work, why there are only three tenses but the past agrees by gender while the present agrees by person, plus a preview of быть, the imperative, the бы-conditional, and verbs of motion.
- The Verb Быть (To Be)A1 — Russian's verb 'to be' is unusual: in the present it is simply omitted (Я студе́нт, Она́ до́ма — no verb at all), with есть surviving only for emphatic existence/possession. The past agrees by gender (был/была́/бы́ло/бы́ли) and the future conjugates normally (бу́ду, бу́дешь, бу́дет…), doubling as the imperfective-future auxiliary. After past/future быть, a predicate noun goes into the instrumental: Он был врачо́м.
- 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).
- Present Tense: Second ConjugationA1 — The second-conjugation present paradigm: говори́ть → говорю́, говори́шь, говори́т, говори́м, говори́те, говоря́т, with theme vowel -и-. Covers the Л-insertion model люби́ть → люблю́, the 1sg consonant mutation, and the spelling rule that gives слы́шу/слы́шат and учу́/у́чат after hushing consonants.
- Irregular Present-Tense Verbs (хотеть, бежать, есть, дать)A2 — A small set of high-frequency verbs — хоте́ть (want), бежа́ть (run), есть (eat), дать (give), мочь (be able), печь (bake) — refuse to fit either regular conjugation: some mix endings from both, others keep ancient athematic forms, and all of them must be drilled because there is no rule to derive them from.
- Knowing and Being Able: Знать, Уметь, МочьA2 — English collapses three distinct ideas into 'know how' and 'can'; Russian keeps them apart. знать = know facts, information, people, a language as knowledge; уме́ть = know how to (a learned skill); мочь = be able to in a given situation (possibility, circumstance, permission). Covers why 'I can swim' is уме́ю but 'I can come' is могу́, why знать never means 'know how,' and how the perfective узна́ть shifts to 'find out / recognize.'