Present Tense: Second Conjugation

The second conjugation (второ́е спряже́ние, "second conjugation") is the smaller of Russia's two verb classes, but it includes some of the most frequent verbs in the language — говори́ть ("to speak"), люби́ть ("to love"), смотре́ть ("to watch"), ви́деть ("to see"). Its signature is a theme vowel -и- running through four of the six forms, plus a -ят / -ат ending in the они́ ("they") form. The model verb is говори́ть. As with the first conjugation, remember from the start that only imperfective verbs have a present tense; a perfective verb with these endings means the future.

The model verb: говори́ть

Take the infinitive говори́ть, drop the -ить to get the stem говор-, and add the six personal endings. The я ("I") form takes -ю (here unstressed-looking but actually stressed: говорю́) and the они́ ("they") form takes -ят.

The ты-form ending -ишь is the reliable signal of second conjugation, with its theme vowel -и-. Do not trust the infinitive alone — most -ить verbs are second conjugation, but there are famous exceptions in both directions, all laid out on the two conjugations page.

Common -ить verbs

Most second-conjugation verbs end in -ить and conjugate just like говори́ть: drop -ить, add the endings. Here are nine high-frequency ones. (Three of them — люби́ть, проси́ть, плати́ть — also show a consonant change in the я-form, marked below and explained in the next section.)

The Л-insertion model: люби́ть

When a second-conjugation stem ends in one of the labial consonants б, в, м, п, ф, an extra -л- is inserted — but only in the я-form. The other five forms keep the plain stem. The classic model is люби́ть ("to love"):

This makes the я-form look irregular when it is perfectly regular — the -л- is a predictable consequence of the labial stem. The same insertion happens with гото́вить ("to cook" → гото́влю, гото́вишь), корми́ть ("to feed" → кормлю́, ко́рмишь), and купи́ть ("to buy" → куплю́, ку́пишь).

The 1sg consonant mutation

Beyond the labial -л-, many second-conjugation verbs show a consonant change in the я-form only, then snap back to the plain stem everywhere else. The most common alternations are с → ш (проси́ть → прошу́), т → ч (плати́ть → плачу́), д → ж (ходи́ть → хожу́; ви́деть → ви́жу), and з → ж (вози́ть → вожу́).

The spelling rule: -у/-ат after ж, ш, ч, щ

A Russian spelling rule forbids writing ю or я after the hushing consonants ж, ш, ч, щ; you write у and а instead. This rule reshapes the я-form and они́-form of any second-conjugation verb whose stem ends in one of those letters. The verb is still second conjugation — only the spelling of two endings changes.

Note that the я-form is слы́шу, not слы́шю, and the они́-form is слы́шат, not слы́шят — because ш cannot be followed by ю or я. The middle four forms keep their normal -ишь, -ит, -им, -ите. (Слы́шать, учи́ть and держа́ть themselves are reminders that the infinitive ending does not decide the class — слы́шать and держа́ть end in -ать yet belong to the second conjugation; they are on the famous exception list covered on the two conjugations page.)

More high-frequency models

Three more verbs you will use constantly belong to the second conjugation, two of them from the famous -еть exception group:

Present tense means imperfective only

As on the first conjugation, these endings build a true present tense only for imperfective verbs. The Russian present covers ongoing action, habit, and general truth at once, and there is no continuous periphrasis — Я говорю́ is both "I speak" and "I am speaking." A perfective verb with these endings (e.g. скажу́ from сказа́ть) means the future ("I'll say"). The full range of present meanings is on the using the present tense page.

Common Mistakes

Key Takeaways

• Second-conjugation endings: -ю/-у, -ишь, -ит, -им, -ите, -ят/-ат — theme vowel -и- (говори́ть → говорю́, говори́шь, говоря́т).
• The reliable diagnostic is the ты-form -ишь; the я-form (-ю) is identical to the first conjugation and tells you nothing.
• After a labial stem (б, в, м, п, ф), insert -л- in the я-form only: люби́ть → люблю́ but лю́бишь; гото́вить → гото́влю.
• Many verbs show a consonant mutation in the я-form only: проси́ть → прошу́ (с → ш), плати́ть → плачу́ (т → ч), ходи́ть → хожу́, ви́деть → ви́жу (д → ж). The other five forms keep the plain stem.
• After hushing consonants ж, ш, ч, щ, write -у/-ат, not -ю/-ят: слы́шать → слы́шу/слы́шат; учи́ть → учу́/у́чат; держа́ть → держу́/де́ржат.
• The я-form and они́-form are where the second conjugation hides its two systematic surprises — the 1sg mutation/Л-insertion and the spelling-rule swap.
• The present is imperfective only; perfective verbs with these endings mean the future.