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Lesson 16 of 24

The Complete Verb Matrix and Survival Russian

The last of the sixteen core lessons: the whole Russian verb in one grid — three tenses, two aspects, six persons — then the fourteen conjugation classes, every irregular that matters, the complete imperative, and twelve survival scenarios you can now handle without a single new word.

⏱ About 70 minutes 26 phrases 34 exercises
The complete verb grid «Все времена глагола»: rows «НСВ» and «СВ» against the columns «ПРОШЛОЕ, НАСТОЯЩЕЕ, БУДУЩЕЕ» holding делал / делаю / буду делать and сделал / — / сделаю, with the note «СВ не имеет настоящего времени».

What you will learn

  • Run any verb you know through the complete matrix — three tenses, two aspects, six persons — without stopping to think about which cell you are in
  • Sort a new verb into one of the fourteen A1 conjugation classes and conjugate it from the pattern rather than from memory
  • Produce the awkward squad from memory: быть, мочь, хотеть, дать, есть, идти, ехать, бежать, сказать, стать, взять and создать
  • Conjugate the -овать verbs correctly — танцую, рисую, путешествую — and explain out loud why работать is not one of them
  • Build the whole imperative: -й and -и for ты, -те for вы, давай and давайте for "let's", пусть for a third person
  • Recognise the -ся and -сь ending, say what it does and does not mean, and handle twelve everyday survival scenarios with the vocabulary you already have

Quick review

Say these aloud before you start. They come from earlier lessons.

  • Я не понимаю. I don't understand.
  • Сколько это стоит? How much is this?
  • У меня нет времени. I haven't got any time.
  • Я работаю врачом. I work as a doctor.
  • Когда я приеду, я позвоню тебе. When I arrive I shall ring you.
  • Помогите мне, пожалуйста. Please help me.

Theory

The complete verb matrix: three tenses, two aspects, six persons

In Lesson 2 the whole Russian verb fitted into one table: three tenses against statement, negative and question. Since then the table has grown three new dimensions. Lesson 13 split every verb in two, Lesson 14 showed that the second face has a future of its own, and Lesson 15 hung prefixes off the motion verbs. This lesson puts all of it back into a single grid, and that grid is the last piece of machinery the engine needs.

Read the grid from the aspect inward, not from the tense. The imperfective column is full: a present (читаю), a compound future built with быть (буду читать) and a past (читал). The perfective column has a hole where the present should be, and the six forms sitting in that hole — прочитаю, прочитаешь, прочитает — are not a present tense at all. They are the future. That is why the perfective future looks exactly like a present: structurally, it is one, and that is also why a perfective verb has no present at all.

The past row is the cheapest thing on the page and it is worth seeing why. Four forms, no person, and identical for both aspects: читал, читала, читало, читали, and прочитал, прочитала, прочитало, прочитали. So when you build a Russian sentence the order of decisions is aspect first, then tense, then person — and person, the thing English speakers worry about most, is the smallest choice of the three. Drill this grid with twenty verbs and the rest of the language is substitution.

  • Я читаю книгу. I am reading the book.
  • Я прочитаю книгу завтра. I shall finish the book tomorrow.
  • Я читал книгу. I read the book at some point. (imperfective: the fact)
  • Я прочитал книгу. I have read the book and finished it. (perfective: the result)

Fourteen classes, two patterns

The A1 standard sorts Russian verbs into fourteen conjugation classes, which sounds like bad news until you see how they divide. Two ending sets do all the work. Class I is -у/-ю, -ешь, -ет, -ем, -ете, -ут/-ют. Class II is -у/-ю, -ишь, -ит, -им, -ите, -ат/-ят. Every one of the other twelve classes is a variation on one of those two: a different stress pattern, a consonant alternation, or a present stem that does not look like the infinitive.

The variation that catches everybody out is -овать. танцевать does not give *танцеваю; the -ева- belongs to the infinitive only, so the present stem is танц- and you get танцую, танцуешь, танцуют. рисовать gives рисую. But работать is not an -овать verb at all — its -а- is part of the root — so it gives работаю, and путешествовать keeps its stress where the infinitive has it: путешествую. The test is always the я-form, which is why you should learn it with the infinitive every single time.

The second variation is the exception list, and it is short enough to learn whole. Eleven verbs take class-II endings without looking like class-II verbs: four end in -ать or -ять (гнать, держать, дышать, слышать) and seven end in -еть (смотреть, видеть, ненавидеть, обидеть, терпеть, зависеть, вертеть). A handful go the other way, ending in -ить but taking class-I endings: жить, пить, бить, шить, лить, вить. Between those two lists and the -овать group you have every surprise Russian conjugation holds at this level, and everything else is mechanical.

  • танцевать → танцую, танцуешь, танцуют to dance → I dance, you dance, they dance
  • рисовать → рисую, рисуешь, рисуют to draw → I draw, you draw, they draw
  • путешествовать → путешествую, путешествуешь, путешествуют to travel → I travel, you travel, they travel
  • работать → работаю, работаешь, работают to work → the -а- survives, so this is not an -овать verb

The awkward squad: twelve verbs that refuse the patterns

Twelve verbs refuse both patterns, and they are the twelve most useful verbs in the language: быть, мочь, хотеть, дать, есть, идти, ехать, бежать, сказать, стать, взять, создать. That is not a coincidence. High-frequency words erode fastest in every language, so the exceptions and the essentials are the same list, and learning the list properly covers a very large share of everyday speech.

Three of them share one shape, and it is worth learning it as a single block rather than as three verbs: дать, есть and создать all conjugate -м, -шь, -ст, -дим, -дите, -дут. дам, дашь, даст, дадим, дадите, дадут; ем, ешь, ест, едим, едите, едят; создам, создашь, создаст, создадим, создадите, создадут. Notice what the stress does in the plural — it leaves the stem in every one of them: дади́м, даду́т, еди́м, едя́т, создади́м, создаду́т.

The rest are irregular in smaller, individually learnable ways. хотеть takes class-I endings in the singular and class-II in the plural: хочу, хочешь, хочет, but хотим, хотите, хотят. бежать does two things at once: бегу, бежишь, бежим, but они бегут. сказать alternates only in the я-form: скажу, but скажешь, скажет, скажут. стать and взять both build the present on a stem the infinitive hides: стану, станешь; возьму, возьмёшь. And идти has a present that is perfectly regular — иду, идёшь, идут — sitting on a past tense from a completely different root: шёл, шла, шло, шли.

  • Я дам тебе книгу. I'll give you the book.
  • Он хочет стать врачом. He wants to become a doctor.
  • Мы едим, они едят. We eat, they eat.
  • Они бегут к метро. They are running towards the metro.

The whole imperative: -й, -и, -те, давай, пусть

Take the present stem — the они-form minus its -ут or -ют ending — and add -й if that stem ends in a vowel or -и if it ends in a consonant. читают leaves чита-, so читай. говорят leaves говор-, so говори. бегут leaves бег-, so беги. дадут leaves да-, so дай. The plural and polite form simply adds -те: читайте, говорите, бегите, дайте. That covers the perfective in exactly the same way — скажут leaves скаж-, so скажи. Two verbs break the rule outright and must be learnt whole: есть gives ешь and ешьте, быть gives будь and будьте. And a consonant stem whose stress stays on the stem ends in -ь instead of -и, so стать gives стань, never *стани.

Stress follows one rule as well. If the я-form is stressed on the ending, so is the imperative: пишу gives пиши, скажу gives скажи, бегу gives беги. If the я-form is stressed on the stem, the imperative keeps the stem stress: делаю gives делай, знаю gives знай, стану gives стань. Learn the я-form and you get the imperative for free — which is the third reason that form is the one to memorise with every new verb.

For "let's" Russian uses давай with one friend and давайте with several people or with anyone you call вы, followed either by a first-person plural form or by an infinitive: давай пойдём, давайте поедем, давай читать. For a third person there is no imperative at all; you use пусть plus the ordinary present or future form: пусть он придёт, пусть она скажет, пусть будет так. пусть is not a softener and it cannot replace давай — it works only when the doer is somebody other than you and your listener.

  • Скажите, пожалуйста, где аптека. Tell me please where the pharmacy is.
  • Давай пойдём в кино! Let's go to the cinema!
  • Пусть он придёт в три часа. Let him come at three o'clock.
  • Дай мне воду, пожалуйста. Give me some water, please.

Twelve survival scenarios — and the -ся you have already met

One ending before the scenarios, because it costs nothing and you are already using it. Add -ся after a consonant or -сь after a vowel to any form you have just built and you have a reflexive verb. Mechanically nothing changes: conjugate the verb exactly as you already do and glue the ending on afterwards — я учусь, ты учишься, они учатся; я нахожусь, он находится. What it does to the meaning is another matter, because -ся covers true reflexives (умываться), reciprocals (встречаться), passives (дом строится), states (улыбаться) and impersonals (мне хочется), and a large group — нравиться, бояться, учиться — has no non-reflexive partner at all. Lesson 18 takes -ся apart properly. For now it is enough to recognise it, produce the two forms you already know, and never drop it.

Now the point of the whole sixteen lessons. Twelve scenarios, no new words. One: introduce yourself and say where you are from. Two: stop a conversation you cannot follow — «Я не понимаю», «Скажите ещё раз, пожалуйста», «Говорите медленно», «Как вы сказали?». Three: ask a stranger for help — «Помогите», «Помогите мне, пожалуйста». Four: ask the way — «Скажите, пожалуйста, где метро», «Это далеко?», «Как пройти к вокзалу?».

Five: buy something — «Сколько это стоит?», «Дайте мне это, пожалуйста», «Я плачу картой». Six: order in a café — «Я буду кофе, пожалуйста», «Мне, пожалуйста, чай». Seven: pay — «Можно заплатить?». Eight: take transport — «Автобус идёт до вокзала?», «Давайте поедем на метро». Nine: say you feel ill and find help — «Мне плохо», «Где аптека?», «Мне нужно к врачу». Ten: report a problem — «У меня проблема», «Это не работает». Eleven: make and change plans — «Давай пойдём в кино», «Пусть он придёт в три часа». Twelve: end a conversation properly — «Я позвоню вам завтра», «Большое спасибо», «До свидания». If you can get through all twelve without falling back into English, the framework is installed, and everything from Lesson 17 onwards adds words to it rather than structure.

  • Я не понимаю. Скажите ещё раз, пожалуйста. I don't understand. Say it once more, please.
  • Скажите, пожалуйста, как пройти к вокзалу? Tell me please, how do I get to the station?
  • Давайте поедем на метро! Let's go by metro!
  • Мне нужно к врачу. I need to get to a doctor.
THE COMPLETE VERB MATRIX — читать / прочитать
НСВ: чита́ть СВ: прочита́ть
настоящее — я / ты / он чита́ю · чита́ешь · чита́ет — the perfective has no present tense
настоящее — мы / вы / они чита́ем · чита́ете · чита́ют — the six forms in the future rows ARE the present-shaped forms
будущее — я / ты / он бу́ду · бу́дешь · бу́дет чита́ть прочита́ю · прочита́ешь · прочита́ет
будущее — мы / вы / они бу́дем · бу́дете · бу́дут чита́ть прочита́ем · прочита́ете · прочита́ют
прошедшее — он / она / оно чита́л · чита́ла · чита́ло прочита́л · прочита́ла · прочита́ло
прошедшее — они чита́ли прочита́ли
повелительное — ты / вы чита́й · чита́йте прочита́й · прочита́йте

Read the grid from the aspect inward, not from the tense. The imperfective column is full — a present, a compound future built with быть, and a past. The perfective column has a hole where the present would be, and the six forms sitting in that hole are not a present tense at all: structurally the perfective future IS a present tense, which is exactly why a perfective verb has no present. The past row is the cheapest thing on the page — four forms, no person, and identical for both aspects. So when you build a sentence the order of decisions is aspect first, then tense, then person, and person is the smallest choice of the three. Drill this grid with twenty verbs and the rest of the language is substitution.

The fourteen A1 conjugation classes
What changes in the stem Verbs of this class я · ты · они
Class 1 · -ать/-ять with the stress on the stem nothing — the present stem is the infinitive minus -ть читать, знать, работать, думать, слушать, играть, гулять, отдыхать чита́ю · чита́ешь · чита́ют
Class 2 · -овать/-евать: the -ова- drops the -ова-/-ева- disappears before every ending танцевать, рисовать, организовать танцу́ю · танцу́ешь · танцу́ют
Class 3 · -овать that keeps its stem stress the same drop, but the stress never moves путешествовать путеше́ствую · путеше́ствуешь · путеше́ствуют
Class 4 · a consonant alternation in the я-form only с → ш, з → ж, к → ч, ск → щ before -у/-ю сказать, писать, искать, плакать скажу́ · ска́жешь · скажу́т
Class 5 · a present stem of its own the vowel of the infinitive disappears before the endings звать, брать, ждать зову́ · зовёшь · зову́т
Class 6 · a -н- present stem -ать verbs that insert -ну- in the present стать, встать, начать ста́ну · ста́нешь · ста́нут
Class 7 · -ить with class-I endings a closed list of six short verbs; the ending is stressed and so written ё жить, пить, бить, шить, лить, вить живу́ · живёшь · живу́т
Class 8 · -ить with class-II endings -ю/-ишь/-ит/-им/-ите/-ят; the stress is not predictable, learn the paradigm говорить, любить, платить, готовить говорю́ · говори́шь · говоря́т
Class 9 · -ать/-ять that take class-II endings the four -ать/-ять verbs of the eleven-verb exception list гнать, держать, дышать, слышать слы́шу · слы́шишь · слы́шат
Class 10 · -еть that take class-II endings the seven -еть verbs of the exception list смотреть, видеть, терпеть, зависеть, ненавидеть, обидеть, вертеть смотрю́ · смо́тришь · смо́трят
Class 11 · mixed conjugation class-I endings in the singular, class-II in the plural хотеть, чтить хочу́ · хо́чешь · хотя́т
Class 12 · two alternations at once г → ж in the stem, class-II endings, but -ут in the они-form бежать бегу́ · бежи́шь · бегу́т
Class 13 · a unique ending set: -м, -шь, -ст -м/-шь/-ст/-дим/-дите/-дут; learn the six forms as one block дать, есть (to eat), создать дам · дашь · даду́т
Class 14 · suppletive, or an irregular past no pattern in the present, or none in the past быть, идти, мочь иду́ · идёшь · иду́т

The numbering above is this course’s own ordering of the fourteen conjugation classes of the A1 standard; the classes themselves are not a teaching invention — each one is defined by the shape of the present stem, by the ending set, or by where the stress sits. The practical news is that only two ending sets exist: -у/-ю, -ешь, -ет, -ем, -ете, -ут/-ют and -у/-ю, -ишь, -ит, -им, -ите, -ат/-ят. Everything from class 3 down is a variation on one of those two. So when you meet a new verb, learn four things with it and you have the whole of it: its aspect pair, its я-form (that is where every alternation and every stress surprise lives), the case it governs, and its past tense if that past is irregular.

The awkward squad: быть · мочь · хотеть · дать · есть · идти · ехать
быть мочь хоте́ть дать есть (to eat) идти́ е́хать
я — могу́ хочу́ дам ем иду́ е́ду
ты — мо́жешь хо́чешь дашь ешь идёшь е́дешь
он / она / оно — мо́жет хо́чет даст ест идёт е́дет
мы — мо́жем хоти́м дади́м еди́м идём е́дем
вы — мо́жете хоти́те дади́те еди́те идёте е́дете
они — мо́гут хотя́т даду́т едя́т иду́т е́дут
past — он был мог хоте́л дал ел шёл е́хал
past — она была́ могла́ хоте́ла дала́ е́ла шла е́хала
past — они бы́ли мо́гли хоте́ли да́ли е́ли шли е́хали
imperative — ты / вы будь / бу́дьте — — дай / да́йте ешь / е́шьте иди́ / иди́те —

Two of these seven deserve a second look. быть has no present tense at all — the copula is zero in «Я студент» — and its future буду, будешь, будет, будем, будете, будут doubles as the auxiliary that builds the imperfective future of every other verb in the language. And ехать has no imperative of its own: Russian sends you to поехать and says поезжай, поезжайте. мочь and хотеть have no imperative either, because you do not command somebody to be able or to want. Notice what the past row does to the stress — был but была́, мог but могла́, дал but дала́, ел but е́ла. The feminine is the one that moves, and it is the one learners get wrong. The rest of the awkward squad — бежать, сказать, стать, взять, создать — is in the class table above.

The imperative: ты · вы · let’s · third person
ты (informal) вы (polite or plural) давай / давайте (let’s) пусть + form (third person)
читать — class 1, stem ends in a vowel чита́й чита́йте Дава́й чита́ть! Пусть он чита́ет.
говорить — class 8, stem ends in a consonant говори́ говори́те Дава́йте говори́ть по-ру́сски! Пусть она́ говори́т.
сказать — perfective, с becomes ж скажи́ скажи́те Дава́й ска́жем ему́! Пусть он ска́жет.
дать — unique; built on the stem да- дай да́йте Дава́й дади́м ему́ вре́мя! Пусть он даст мне кни́гу.
бежать — г becomes ж, but they-form is бегут беги́ беги́те — Пусть они́ бегу́т.
быть — suppletive будь бу́дьте — Пусть бу́дет так.

One rule does almost all of it: take the present stem — the они-form minus its -ут/-ют ending — and add -й if that stem ends in a vowel or -и if it ends in a consonant. читают leaves чита-, so читай; говорят leaves говор-, so говори; бегут leaves бег-, so беги; дадут leaves да-, so дай. Add -те for the plural or polite form. Stress follows the я-form: if the я-form is stressed on the ending, so is the imperative — пишу → пиши, скажу → скажи, бегу → беги; if it is stressed on the stem, the imperative keeps the stem stress — делаю → делай, знаю → знай — and a consonant stem that keeps its stress ends in -ь instead of -и: стать → стань, while the ending-stressed начать still gives начни. Two verbs ignore the rule completely and must be learnt whole: ешь and ешьте, будь and будьте. For "let's" put давай (ты) or давайте (вы) in front of a first-person plural form or of an imperfective infinitive. For a third person there is no imperative at all — пусть plus the ordinary verb form is the only way Russian has of saying "let him". The dash in the third column means the construction does not exist for that verb, not that it is forbidden.

Vocabulary

Learn each word with its stress mark and its pronunciation. Nouns are given with their gender, animacy and their full six-case declension; verbs are given with their aspect and, where one exists, their partner verb.

Russian English Gender / aspect Pronunciation Audio
бежа́ть imperfective to run; to flee imperfective /bʲɪˈʐatʲ/ bih-ZHAT
стать perfective to become; to start (doing) perfective /statʲ/ STYAT
созда́ть perfective to create (perfective: the finished result) perfective создава́ть /sɐzˈdatʲ/ suh-ZDYAT
создава́ть imperfective to create (imperfective: the process, or repeatedly) imperfective созда́ть /səzdɐˈvatʲ/ suh-zduh-VYAT
танцева́ть imperfective to dance imperfective /təntsɪˈvatʲ/ tun-tsih-VYAT
рисова́ть imperfective to draw, to paint imperfective /rʲɪsɐˈvatʲ/ rih-suh-VYAT
путеше́ствовать imperfective to travel imperfective /pʊtʲɪˈʂɛstvəvətʲ/ poo-tih-SHEH-stvuh-vyut
дава́й particle let's (to one friend; the ты form) particle /dɐˈvaj/ duh-VAY
дава́йте particle let's (to several people, or politely to one; the вы form) particle /dɐˈvajtʲə/ duh-VAY-tyuh
пусть particle let (him / her / them); may particle /pusʲtʲ/ POOST
быть imperfective to be imperfective /bɨtʲ/ BIHT
мочь imperfective can, to be able to imperfective /motɕ/ MOHCH
хоте́ть imperfective to want imperfective /xɐˈtʲetʲ/ khuh-TYET
чита́ть imperfective to read imperfective /tɕɪˈtatʲ/ chih-TYAT
говори́ть imperfective to speak, to talk, to say imperfective /ɡəvɐˈrʲitʲ/ guh-vuh-REET
жить imperfective to live imperfective /ʐɨtʲ/ ZHIHT
смотре́ть imperfective to look at, to watch imperfective /smɐˈtrʲetʲ/ smuh-TRYET
люби́ть imperfective to love, to like imperfective /lʲʊˈbʲitʲ/ lyoo-BEET
плати́ть imperfective to pay imperfective /plɐˈtʲitʲ/ pluh-TEET
звать imperfective to call; in the fixed formula Меня зовут… "my name is…" imperfective /zvatʲ/ ZVYAT
дава́ть imperfective to give imperfective /dɐˈvatʲ/ duh-VYAT
есть imperfective to eat imperfective /jesʲtʲ/ YEST
ви́деть imperfective to see imperfective /ˈvʲidʲɪtʲ/ VEE-dit
ждать imperfective to wait for, to expect imperfective /ʐdatʲ/ ZHDYAT
пить imperfective to drink imperfective /pʲitʲ/ PEET
идти́ imperfective to go, to walk (on foot, one way, now) imperfective /ɪˈtʲtʲi/ ih-TEE
е́хать imperfective to go, to travel (by vehicle, one way, now) imperfective /ˈjexətʲ/ YEH-khyut
учи́ться imperfective to study, to learn (to be a student) imperfective /ʊˈtɕitsə/ oo-CHIH-tsyuh
нра́виться imperfective to be pleasing — мне нра́вится means "I like" imperfective /ˈnravʲɪt͜sə/ NRAH-vih-tsyuh
сде́лать perfective to do, to get done perfective /ˈzʲdʲelətʲ/ ZDYEH-lyut
сказа́ть perfective to say, to tell perfective говори́ть /skɐˈzatʲ/ skuh-ZYAT
дать perfective to give perfective дава́ть /datʲ/ DYAT
взять perfective to take perfective /vzʲatʲ/ VZYAT

Ready-to-use phrases

Помоги́те!

Help!

IPA /pəmɐˈɡʲitʲə/

Say it puh-muh-GEE-tyuh!

The вы imperative of помогать, used on its own as a cry for help. One word, loud, and understood everywhere.

emergency emergency survival

Помоги́те мне, пожа́луйста.

Please help me.

IPA /pəmɐˈɡʲitʲə mnʲe pɐˈʐalujstə/

Say it puh-muh-GEE-tyuh muh-NYEH, puh-ZHAH-luy-stuh.

помогать governs the DATIVE, so "help me" is помогите мне and never *помогите меня. Add пожалуйста and the same sentence becomes a polite request rather than an alarm.

polite politeness emergency survival

Я не понима́ю.

I don't understand.

IPA /ja nʲe pənʲɪˈmaju/

Say it YAH NYEH puh-nih-MAH-yoo.

You have had this sentence since Lesson 2 and it is still the most useful thing in your mouth. не goes straight before the verb and nothing else moves.

neutral communication survival

Скажи́те ещё раз, пожа́луйста.

Say it once more, please.

IPA /skɐˈʐɨtʲə ɪˈʂːo ras pɐˈʐalujstə/

Say it skuh-ZHIH-tyuh yih-SHCHOH RAHS, puh-ZHAH-luy-stuh.

скажите is the вы imperative of сказать; the stem alternates з → ж, so the ты form is скажи. ещё раз is literally "one more time" — раз is the counting noun from Lesson 11. The ё of ещё carries no acute of its own (§13).

polite politeness communication survival

Вы меня́ понима́ете?

Do you understand me?

IPA /vɨ mʲɪˈna pənʲɪˈmajɪtʲə/

Say it VIH mih-NYAH puh-nih-MAH-yih-tyuh?

понимать takes the accusative, so "me" is меня, not мне — the opposite government from помогать. Learn the two together and the contrast sticks.

neutral questions communication survival

Как вы сказа́ли?

What did you say? (literally: how did you say)

IPA /kak vɨ skɐˈzalʲɪ/

Say it KAHK VIH skuh-ZAH-lih?

The polite way to ask someone to repeat themselves. Literally "how did you say?" — English asks "what", Russian asks "how", and как is doing that job here exactly as it does in как дела?

polite questions communication survival

Говори́те ме́дленно, пожа́луйста.

Speak slowly, please.

IPA /ɡəvɐˈrʲitʲə ˈmʲedlʲɪnə pɐˈʐalujstə/

Say it guh-vuh-REE-tyuh MYEH-dlih-nuh, puh-ZHAH-luy-stuh.

говорите is the вы imperative of говорить. медленно is one of the manner adverbs from Lesson 14; its opposite is быстро.

polite politeness communication survival

Скажи́те, пожа́луйста, где метро́.

Tell me please where the metro is.

IPA /skɐˈʐɨtʲə pɐˈʐalujstə ɡdʲe mʲɪˈtro/

Say it skuh-ZHIH-tyuh, puh-ZHAH-luy-stuh, guh-DYEH mih-TROH.

The embedded question keeps statement word order — где метро, never *где есть метро — because the present copula is zero. Please can go in the middle of a sentence in Russian, where it sounds natural rather than fussy.

travel travel city survival

Э́то далеко́?

Is it far?

IPA /ˈɛtə dʲɪlʲɪˈko/

Say it EH-tuh duh-lih-KOH?

далеко is a predicate adverb, so the question needs no verb at all: "it far?". Its opposite близко answers the same shape: это близко?

travel travel questions survival

Как пройти́ к вокза́лу?

How do I get to the station?

IPA /kak prɐjˈtʲi k vɐɡˈzalu/

Say it KAHK pruy-TEE k vug-ZAH-loo?

к + dative is the "towards a person or a building" preposition from Lesson 9, and пройти is one of the prefixed motion verbs of Lesson 15. Listen for two sound changes inside вокзалу: the first о reduces to [ɐ], and the к voices to [ɡ] in front of the з that follows it.

travel travel city motion survival

Ско́лько э́то сто́ит?

How much is this?

IPA /ˈskolʲkə ˈɛtə ˈstoit/

Say it SKOHL-kuh EH-tuh STOH-it?

стоить is stressed on the first syllable in every form — сто́ит, сто́ят — even though its near-homophone звони́т is stressed on the last. The price answer takes a numeral plus the genitive: пять рублей.

neutral shopping numbers questions survival

Да́йте мне э́то, пожа́луйста.

Give me that, please.

IPA /ˈdajtʲə mnʲe ˈɛtə pɐˈʐalujstə/

Say it DAY-tyuh muh-NYEH EH-tuh, puh-ZHAH-luy-stuh.

дать takes two complements and they are in different cases: the thing given is accusative (это, воду, книгу), the person who receives it is dative (мне, ему, ей). дайте is the polite вы imperative.

polite shopping politeness survival

Я плачу́ ка́ртой.

I'm paying by card.

IPA /ja plɐˈtɕu ˈkartəj/

Say it YAH pluh-CHOO KAHR-tuy.

The instrument use of the instrumental from Lesson 10: платить чем — картой, наличными, деньгами. Watch the stress: the я-form of платить is плачу́, with the acute on the ending, while every other form keeps it on the stem — пла́тишь, пла́тит, пла́тят.

neutral shopping instrumental survival

Я бу́ду ко́фе, пожа́луйста.

I'll have a coffee, please.

IPA /ja ˈbudu ˈkofʲə pɐˈʐalujstə/

Say it YAH BOO-doo KOH-fyuh, puh-ZHAH-luy-stuh.

The standard way to order: the imperfective future of быть plus the thing in the accusative, which for an inanimate masculine noun like кофе looks exactly like the nominative. кофе is indeclinable, so it cannot go wrong.

restaurant restaurant food future survival

Мне, пожа́луйста, чай.

A tea for me, please.

IPA /mnʲe pɐˈʐalujstə tɕaj/

Say it muh-NYEH, puh-ZHAH-luy-stuh, CHAY.

Even shorter than я буду чай: a dative "for me" and the thing itself, with no verb at all. This is the zero-copula habit from Lesson 1 doing real work in a real queue.

restaurant restaurant food dative survival

Мо́жно заплати́ть?

Can I pay?

IPA /ˈmoʐnə zəplɐˈtʲitʲ/

Say it MOHZH-nuh zuh-pluh-TEET?

можно plus an infinitive is the impersonal permission construction from Lesson 4 — literally "is it possible to pay?". заплатить is платить with the prefix за-, the same perfective-making model as Lesson 13: заплатить, заплачу́, заплати́т.

restaurant restaurant shopping impersonal survival

У меня́ пробле́ма.

I have a problem.

IPA /ʊ mʲɪˈna prɐˈblʲemə/

Say it oo mih-NYAH pruh-BLYEH-muh.

у + genitive for possession, and the thing possessed stays in the nominative: у меня проблема, not *у меня проблему. Say what the problem is with с + instrumental: у меня проблема с телефоном.

neutral problems genitive survival

Э́то не рабо́тает.

This doesn't work.

IPA /ˈɛtə nʲe rɐˈbotəɪt/

Say it EH-tuh NYEH ruh-BOH-tuh-yit.

The one sentence that covers a broken lift, a dead phone, a card machine that will not read your card and a ticket that will not scan. работать is class 1 despite looking like an -овать verb: its -а- belongs to the root, so the я-form is работаю and never *работую.

neutral problems negation survival

Мне пло́хо.

I feel ill.

IPA /mnʲe ˈploxə/

Say it muh-NYEH PLOH-khuh.

An impersonal state with the experiencer in the dative — the construction from Lessons 4 and 9. There is no subject and no verb to conjugate: мне плохо, мне холодно, мне интересно, мне надо. To name the symptom use болит: у меня болит голова.

emergency health impersonal emergency survival

Где апте́ка?

Where is the pharmacy?

IPA /ɡdʲe ɐˈtʲekə/

Say it guh-DYEH up-TYEH-kuh?

Two words, no verb, and the first о of аптека reduces to [ɐ]. Russian needs no article and no copula, which is why the shortest useful questions are also the easiest ones.

emergency health city questions survival

Мне ну́жно к врачу́.

I need to get to a doctor.

IPA /mnʲe ˈnuʐnə k vrɐˈtɕu/

Say it muh-NYEH NOOZH-nuh k vruh-CHOO.

мне нужно plus an infinitive means "I need to …"; here the infinitive is replaced by a destination, and к + dative is the preposition for going towards a person (к врачу, к другу). The same shape covers everything from мне нужно домой to мне нужно к начальнику.

emergency health emergency dative survival

Дава́й пойдём в кино́!

Let's go to the cinema!

IPA /dɐˈvaj pɐjˈdʲom f kʲɪˈno/

Say it duh-VAY puy-DYOHM f kih-NOH!

давай plus a first-person plural form is the ты version of "let's". пойдём is the perfective future of пойти — and remember that the six forms of a perfective verb look like a present but always mean a future.

informal imperative city survival

Дава́йте пое́дем на метро́!

Let's go by metro!

IPA /dɐˈvajtʲə pɐˈjedʲɪm nə mʲɪˈtro/

Say it duh-VAY-tyuh puh-YEH-dim nuh mih-TROH!

давайте is the same construction in the вы form, for several people or for one person you do not know well. на метро is the fixed transport chunk from Lesson 7 — on the metro, with no case ending to choose because метро is indeclinable.

polite imperative transport survival

Пусть он придёт в три часа́.

Let him come at three o'clock.

IPA /pusʲtʲ on prʲɪˈdʲot f trʲɪ tɕɪˈsa/

Say it POOST OHN prih-DYOHT f TREE chuh-SAH.

A third person cannot be told what to do, so Russian uses пусть with the ordinary verb form: придёт is the perfective future of прийти. Two numbers meet in в три часа — the numeral три governs the genitive singular, hence часа, not часов.

neutral imperative time numbers survival

Я позвоню́ вам за́втра.

I'll ring you tomorrow.

IPA /ja pəzvɐˈnʲu vam ˈzavtrə/

Say it YAH puh-zvuh-NYOO VAHM ZAHF-truh.

позвонить is звонить with the perfective prefix по-, and it governs the dative: позвонить кому — позвоню вам. The stress stays on the ending right through: позвоню́, позвони́шь, позвони́т, позвоня́т.

neutral communication future time survival

Она́ хо́чет стать врачо́м.

She wants to become a doctor.

IPA /ɐˈna ˈxotɕɪt statʲ vrɐˈtɕom/

Say it uh-NAH KHOH-chit STYAT vruh-CHOHM.

Three irregulars in one sentence and you already know all of them: хотеть mixes both conjugations (хочет, but хотим), стать builds a future on a stem the infinitive does not show (стану), and a profession after стать goes in the instrumental (врачом). хотеть plus an imperfective infinitive would mean she wants to be becoming a doctor; plus стать it means she wants the result.

neutral professions instrumental future survival

Dialogues

Asking the way near the metro

Nora stops Pavel in the street. They are strangers, so both of them use вы and the polite imperative.

  1. Nora

    Здравствуйте! Скажите, пожалуйста, где метро?

    Hello! Tell me please, where is the metro?

  2. Pavel

    Метро там, прямо. Это недалеко.

    The metro is over there, straight ahead. It isn't far.

  3. Nora

    А пешком это далеко?

    And is it far on foot?

  4. Pavel

    Нет, пять минут. Идите прямо, потом направо.

    No, five minutes. Go straight ahead, then turn right.

  5. Nora

    Потом направо? Спасибо!

    Then right? Thank you!

  6. Pavel

    Пожалуйста. Вот остановка автобуса.

    You're welcome. Here is the bus stop.

  7. Nora

    Автобус идёт до вокзала?

    Does the bus go as far as the station?

  8. Pavel

    Да, идёт. Но пешком это пять минут. Давайте я вам покажу.

    Yes, it does. But on foot it's five minutes. Let me show you.

  9. Nora

    Спасибо большое! До свидания!

    Thank you very much! Goodbye!

Saturday plans

Marco and Anya are friends, so they use ты and давай. Marco is trying to get Anya out of the flat.

  1. Marco

    Аня, что ты делаешь сегодня вечером?

    Anya, what are you doing this evening?

  2. Anya

    Ничего. Я буду дома. А что?

    Nothing. I'll be at home. Why?

  3. Marco

    Давай пойдём в кафе! Там будет музыка.

    Let's go to a café! There'll be music.

  4. Anya

    Я не танцую.

    I don't dance.

  5. Marco

    Хорошо. Давай посмотрим фильм у меня.

    All right. Let's watch a film at my place.

  6. Anya

    Давай! А завтра мы поедем в парк?

    Let's! And tomorrow shall we go to the park?

  7. Marco

    Поедем. Ты будешь рисовать, а я буду читать.

    We shall. You'll draw and I'll read.

  8. Anya

    Да! Летом я хочу путешествовать. Поедем в Италию?

    Yes! In the summer I want to travel. Shall we go to Italy?

  9. Marco

    Поедем! Но тебе надо много работать.

    We shall! But you need to work a lot.

Exercises

Answer actively — try to recall the Russian before you look at any hint.

Conjugation Exercise 1

Give the present-tense form for "я".

танцевать — я (present)
Conjugation Exercise 2

Give the present-tense form for "они".

рисовать — они (present)
Conjugation Exercise 3

Give the present-tense form for "ты".

путешествовать — ты (present)
Multiple Choice Exercise 4

Choose the correct form.

Which is the correct "я" form of сказать?
Multiple Choice Exercise 5

Choose the correct form.

What is the "они" form of дать?
Fill Gap Exercise 6

Fill the gap with the "они" form of бежать: "They are running towards the metro."

Они ___ к метро.
True False Exercise 7

Answer true or false.

A perfective verb has a present tense.
Flashcard Self Rating Exercise 8

Recall the English meaning, then rate how well you knew it.

бежать
Translate To Russian Exercise 9

Translate into Russian.

Let's go to the cinema! (said to one friend)
Translate To English Exercise 10

Translate into English.

Дайте мне воду, пожалуйста.
Multiple Choice Exercise 11

Choose the correct sentence.

Which form do you use to ask a stranger politely to say something again?
Stress Choice Exercise 12

Choose the correctly stressed form.

Where does the stress fall in «путешествовать»?
Conjugation Exercise 13

Give the future-tense form for "я".

стать — я (future)
Fill Gap Exercise 14

Fill the gap: "Let him come at three o'clock."

___ он придёт в три часа.
Conjugation Exercise 15

Give the present-tense form for "ты".

бежать — ты (present)
Conjugation Exercise 16

Give the present-tense form for "мы".

есть (to eat) — мы (present)
Conjugation Exercise 17

Give the present-tense form for "вы".

дать — вы (present)
Conjugation Exercise 18

Give the future-tense form for "они".

создать — они (future)
Aspect Choice Exercise 19

Choose the aspect that fits: "Tomorrow I shall get through the book in one evening."

Завтра я ___ книгу за один вечер.
Aspect Choice Exercise 20

Choose the aspect that fits: "Every evening she listens to music."

Каждый вечер она ___ музыку.
Sentence Transform Exercise 21

Change the aspect and the tense.

Rewrite in the perfective future: «Я читаю книгу.»
Sentence Transform Exercise 22

Rewrite it with давай or давайте.

Turn this into a "let's" sentence: «Мы пойдём в парк.»
Translate To Russian Exercise 23

Translate into Russian.

Tell me please, where is the metro?
Translate To Russian Exercise 24

Translate into Russian.

She wants to become a doctor.
Word Order Exercise 25

Put the words in order.

Build the question: "Do you understand me?"
Match Pairs Exercise 26

Pair the words.

Match each verb with its "я" form.
Listen And Type Exercise 27

Play the audio and type what you hear.

Listen and type the sentence.
Listen And Choose Exercise 28

Play the audio and pick the match.

Listen and choose the sentence you hear.
Ending Choice Exercise 29

Choose the ending.

The "они" form of бежать: они бег___
Multiple Choice Exercise 30

Choose the odd one out.

Which of these verbs does NOT lose a vowel before the endings?
Case Choice Exercise 31

Choose the correct form of учитель.

Она хочет стать ___ . (учитель)
Pronoun Choice Exercise 32

Choose the correct form of я.

Дайте ___ воду, пожалуйста.
Translate To Russian Exercise 33

Translate into Russian.

Let him come tomorrow at three o'clock.
Sentence Transform Exercise 34

Rewrite it with the perfective infinitive.

Change the aspect so that the sentence means one completed act: «Я хочу читать книгу.»

Speak now

Work through the twelve survival scenarios out loud, one at a time. Say the Russian first, then check it against the phrase list, then say your own version of the same scenario with different words — a different place, a different thing, a different person. Speed matters more than precision here. If you can get through all twelve without falling back into English, the framework is installed, and everything from Lesson 17 onwards is vocabulary rather than structure.

  • Я не понимаю. Скажите ещё раз, пожалуйста. I don't understand. Say it once more, please.
  • Скажите, пожалуйста, как пройти к метро. Tell me please how to get to the metro.
  • Помогите мне, пожалуйста. Please help me.
  • Давай пойдём в кино! Let's go to the cinema!
  • Пусть он придёт в три часа. Let him come at three o'clock.
  • Мне нужно к врачу. I need to get to a doctor.

Lesson checkpoint

Before you move on, make sure you can do all of this without looking:

  1. Put three verbs of your own through the complete matrix — present, past, compound future, simple future — and say out loud why one of the two columns has an empty cell
  2. Say the six present-tense forms of дать, есть and создать without looking, then say out loud what the three verbs have in common
  3. Give the я-form of сказать, написать, любить, платить, видеть, смотреть, жить, хотеть and бежать — nine verbs, nine different surprises
  4. Conjugate танцевать and рисовать in the present, then explain aloud why работать does not behave the same way
  5. Form the imperative of five verbs — the ты form, the вы form, then the same verb after давай and after давайте
  6. Talk your way through four of the twelve survival scenarios without switching to English, then go back and do the other eight

Remember this

  • The complete matrix has three tenses, two aspects and six persons, but only one of the two columns is ever full. The imperfective has a present, a compound future with быть and a past; the perfective has no present at all, and the six forms that look like one are its simple future.
  • Two ending sets cover the fourteen A1 conjugation classes: -у/-ю, -ешь, -ет, -ем, -ете, -ут/-ют and -у/-ю, -ишь, -ит, -им, -ите, -ат/-ят. Everything from class 3 down is a variation on one of them — a stress pattern, a consonant alternation, or a present stem of its own.
  • The -овать verbs lose the -ова- before the endings: танцевать gives танцую, рисовать gives рисую, путешествовать gives путешествую. работать is not one of them, because its -а- belongs to the root and so survives: работаю. The я-form is the test, so learn it with every infinitive.
  • дать, есть and создать share one unique shape: -м, -шь, -ст, -дим, -дите, -дут, with the stress leaving the stem in the plural — дадим, дадут, едим, едят, создадим, создадут. хотеть mixes both conjugations, бежать alternates and still ends in -ут, идти and мочь have regular presents built on irregular pasts (шёл, мог).
  • The imperative is the present stem — the они-form minus its -ут/-ют ending — plus -й after a vowel or -и after a consonant, plus -те for вы: читают → читай → читайте, говорят → говори → говорите, бегут → беги → бегите. Its stress follows the я-form, and a stem-stressed consonant stem ends in -ь instead of -и: стань, but начни. Two forms must be learnt whole: ешь and ешьте, будь and будьте.
  • давай (ты) and давайте (вы) mean "let's" and take a first-person plural form or an infinitive. пусть plus an ordinary verb form is the only way Russian has of saying "let him". -ся after a consonant and -сь after a vowel turn any of these forms into a reflexive verb without changing a single ending.

Go deeper: The fourteen A1 conjugation classes · Irregular and awkward verbs · The imperative: -й, -и, -те, давай, пусть · The two futures side by side · Aspect pairs · The -ся and -сь ending