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### The Present Tense

In Russian, dictionary forms of verbs (the infinitive) usually end in **-ть**. The largest group of verbs ends in **-ать**, such as **делать** (to do) and **знать** (to know). This is known as the First Conjugation.

Russian has only one present tense. Depending on the context, a verb like **делаю** can mean either "I do" or "I am doing". To emphasize that an action is happening right at this moment, you can add the word **сейчас** (now).

### Singular Endings

To conjugate a verb in the present tense, drop the **-ть** from the infinitive and add the ending that matches the subject:

| Pronoun | Ending | Example (**делать**) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| я (I) | -ю | делаю |
| ты (you) | -ешь | делаешь |
| он / она / оно (he/she/it) | -ет | делает |

Here is the **ты** form in action:

{{item:896665}}

To make a verb negative, simply place **не** directly before it. Notice how the verb endings change when switching from **я** to **он**:

{{item:896667}}

### Nouns as the Subject

When the subject of the sentence is a singular noun—like your brother, a woman, or your family—treat it like **он**, **она**, or **оно** and use the **-ет** ending.

{{item:896669}}

If you want to say that someone does something "a lot", use the word **много**. It usually goes immediately before the verb. For example, with the verb **работать** (to work):

{{item:896673}}

### Contrasting Actions

As you learn more verbs like **отдыхать** (to rest), you can contrast who is doing what by using the conjunction **а** (and/but). Pay close attention to how the ending of each verb matches its specific pronoun:

{{item:896682}}

First conjugation verbs, singular (-ать)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

predicative

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Presentative (это)

Noun gender

Soft-sign nouns (-ь)

Subject pronouns (я, ты, он...)

Yes/no questions (да / нет)

Basic interrogatives (кто / что)

Basic negation (не)

Coordinating conjunctions (и / а)

Possessive pronouns (мой, твой, наш, ваш)

Demonstrative pronouns (этот, эта, это)

Adjective agreement

Which and whose (какой, чей)

First conjugation verbs, plural (-ать)

Second conjugation verbs (-ить)

Irregular present tense verbs

Adverbs of manner (как, очень)

Locations in prepositional case (в / на)

Prepositional case modifiers (-ом, -ой)

Topics of speech (о, об)

Direct objects (-у, -ю)

Direct object pronouns (меня, тебя)

Verbs of motion (идти, ехать)

Destination (куда, в, на)

Plural nouns (-ы, -и, -а, -я)

Irregular plural nouns (друзья, дети)

Plural adjectives and pronouns (-ые, -ие)

Numbers 1 to 10 (один, два, три)

Possession with pronouns (у меня есть)

Possession with nouns (-а, -я, -ы, -и)

Genitive of negation (нет)

Numbers 2, 3, and 4

Quantities with mass nouns (сколько, много, мало)

Animate direct objects

The past tense of to be (был, была, было, были)

Regular past tense verbs

Time sequence expressions (вчера, завтра, раньше, потом)

Verb aspect in the past tense

Dative personal pronouns (мне, тебе, ему)

Expressing likes (нравится, нравятся)

Absence (нет)

Expressing age (год, года, лет)

Indirect objects (-у, -ю, -е)

Modal verbs (хотеть, мочь)

Reason and contrast (поэтому, но)

Double negation (ничего, никогда)

Reflexive verbs (-ся, -сь)

Polite requests and instructions (-ите, -йте)

Days of the week (в + Accusative)

Compound future tense (буду...)

Simple future tense

Accompaniment (с)

Multidirectional verbs of motion (ходить, ездить)

Greetings and goodbyes (здравствуйте, привет)

Thank you and sorry (спасибо, извините)

Countries and languages (русский, английский)

Meeting people (меня зовут, как дела)

Public transport (трамвай, остановка)

Left, right and the compass (слева, справа)

Places in the city (цирк, зоопарк)

Fruit and vegetables (помидор, огурец)

Post and travel (открытка, чемодан)

Family and relatives (внук, родственник)

Jobs and professions (инженер, продавец)

Sport and games (футбол, теннис)

Describing people (умный, сильный)

Health and the body (болен, здоровье)

The months of the year (январь, февраль)

Accusative feminine and inanimate adjectives (-ую, -юю)

Accusative animate masculine adjectives (-ого, -его)

Short-form adjectives (готов, занят)

Personal obligation (должен, должна)

Professions in the instrumental case

Genitive singular adjectives and possessives

Prepositions of absence and purpose (без, для)

Dative singular adjectives and possessives

Impersonal states (мне холодно)

Impersonal obligation (надо, нужно)

Impersonal permission (можно / нельзя)

Instrumental adjectives and pronouns

Reciprocal verbs (с + Instrumental)

Reflexive possessive pronouns (свой)

Reflexive pronouns (себя)

Specific indefinite pronouns (-то)

Non-specific indefinite pronouns (-нибудь)

Negative pronouns (никто / ничто)

Numbers 11 to 20

Tens to 100

Question	Answer
now	сейчас
to do	делать
What are you doing now?	Что ты сейчас делаешь?
to know	знать
I do not know what he is doing.	Я не знаю, что он делает.
to have breakfast	завтракать
My brother is having breakfast now.	Мой брат сейчас завтракает.
Do you know where our cat is?	Ты знаешь, где наш кот?
a lot	много
to work	работать
This woman works a lot.	Эта женщина много работает.
I work at home.	Я работаю дома.
to read	читать
I am reading this new magazine.	Я читаю этот новый журнал.
Is your dad reading the text now?	Твой папа сейчас читает текст?
to understand	понимать
Do you understand this text?	Ты понимаешь этот текст?
My sister does not understand this film.	Моя сестра не понимает этот фильм.
to rest	отдыхать
I am resting now, and you are working.	Я сейчас отдыхаю, а ты работаешь.
My dad rests a lot.	Мой папа много отдыхает.
to think	думать
Your friend thinks a lot.	Твой друг много думает.
What do you think?	Что ты думаешь?
My family is having breakfast at home.	Моя семья завтракает дома.