Russian Verbs: An Introduction to the 1st (е/ё) Conjugation

A clear, detailed introduction to conjugating Russian verbs of the first (е/ё) conjugation, with tips on best practices for study. We'll cover the basic verb endings, how they change with stress and different stem types, and an essential tip for learning Russian verbs as efficiently as possible!
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[@henokT68]

Спасибо

[@Born2Prank1]

Thanks a lot!!! I study Russian at university, but this has been a great help! Please continue to make videos when you have time. It is much appreciated!

[@JoeYabukiW]

Thank you for all the content, it is highly appreciated

[@VerticalBlank]

This brings back memories of the four principal parts of verbs in Latin. "fero, ferre, tuli, latum" anyone? After Latin, Russian holds few terrors. I think that one only needs to learn infinitive, я and он forms, and the rest can be built from them (excepting the very few truly irregular verbs), right? Even for verbs with -овать or -евать, just learning how the stem collapses in the я and он forms to -у|ю, -у|ет can help you build the other forms in live speech.

[@russiangrammar]

An advantage of the они form is that you can use its stem for participles and commands (again, except for a handful of exceptions): любить > люби! любящий, печь > пеки! пекущий. I like being able to say 'just drop the -т from the они form and add -щий to make the pres. active participle,' which works for just about any verb. :)

[@victorziegler6001]

Hey, just wondering about your advice to learn the infinitive + the я ты они forms: Wouldn't it be sufficient to learn the infinitive + я + Ты, since the я and the они follow the same vowel/consonant pattern? Thanks for the great content!!

[@russiangrammar]

That would work for some verbs (я пеку, ты печёшь, and они пекут), but some verbs have a change in the я form that's not in the они form (я люблю, они любят; я куплю, они купят). My feeling is that it's easier to just make a habit of learning all 3 forms than to keep track of which verbs might let you get away with just the я & ты forms. Спасибо за вопрос!

[@VerticalBlank]

Very useful, thank you! I would add that in 1st conjugation, any mutation to the stem applies across all six forms of the present tense, and the они form is always the я form +т. (please correct me if I'm wrong)

[@russiangrammar]

Yes, good point about mutations - I mention it briefly in the video about и-conjugation, where it typically occurs only in the я form, but it's worth mentioning here too, thanks. I'll do a better job of highlighting that contrast in an update to и-conjugation video. I've never thought of the они form being the я form + т, but I can't offhand think of any verb where that doesn't hold! So that's a good memory trick.

[@VerticalBlank]

@@russiangrammar You're welcome! I was also taught that in 2nd (и-) conjugation, any mutation applies *only* to the я form (whereas you say "typically" so I am interested to watch your video), and the они form is always -ят (except when spelling rules require -ат). Again, please correct me if I'm wrong. Your videos are so useful! I find it very helpful to combine input from both native Russian speakers and native English speakers who are experts in Russian, such as yourself. Many thanks once again.

[@russiangrammar]

Good catch - I wrote 'typically' because I hesitate to make generalizations unless I've had time to think and/or check. Мало ли что! But I do think you're right about mutations and the я form, and the они ending being -ят for 2nd conjugation verbs (unless the 8-letter spelling rule comes in, as in учатся, держат, etc.).

[@HSO-ro3bd]

I need to join your Russian library project, I'm about a year in a half in and I can't even make (speak) a simple sentence. Although I do understand more 😕

[@russiangrammar]

Have a look around the sample lessons & see if it's right for you! :) Don't be too hard on yourself, many of the bigger challenges of Russian come right in the first year - there's no 'simplified' version of the language for basic conversation... but keep at it, one step at a time, and you'll get there. 🙂

[@HSO-ro3bd]

@@russiangrammar Thanks! Btw do you accept American Express as payment to join the project?

[@russiangrammar]

@@HSO-ro3bd Yes, American Express should work fine. Спасибо!

[@mariorossi-kh9yy]

👏👏👏👏👏🤝very clear🤝🤝🤝👏👏🇷🇺❤‼️

[@fairleighlansing2121]

🙃 Promo-SM

[@ziloj-perezivat]

1:54 u w0t m8

[@russiangrammar]

? knot sure w0t u mean )

[@ziloj-perezivat]

i was confused but im not anymore@@russiangrammar

[@russiangrammar]

Ah OK. Anyway, questions are always welcome!