Russian Verb Conjugation Marathon
Master Russian verb conjugation: the 24 most essential verbs across both aspects (imperfective and perfective), every tense and person — with stress marks, romanization, audio and a full practice engine. Built for English speakers.
Conjugation tables
Which verbs
| быть | to be |
|---|---|
| име́ть | to have |
| де́лать / сде́лать | to do/make |
| идти́ / пойти́ | to go |
| приходи́ть / прийти́ | to come |
| хоте́ть / захоте́ть | to want |
| мочь / смочь | to be able (can) |
| говори́ть / сказа́ть | to say |
| ви́деть / уви́деть | to see |
| знать | to know |
| есть / съесть | to eat |
| пить / вы́пить | to drink |
| говори́ть / поговори́ть | to speak |
| жить / пожи́ть | to live |
| рабо́тать / порабо́тать | to work |
| учи́ться / научи́ться | to study |
| покупа́ть / купи́ть | to buy |
| дава́ть / дать | to give |
| брать / взять | to take |
| люби́ть | to love |
| писа́ть / написа́ть | to write |
| чита́ть / прочита́ть | to read |
| спать / поспа́ть | to sleep |
| ду́мать / поду́мать | to think |
How Russian verbs work
The 24 most essential Russian verbs — both aspects, every tense and person. Full tables with stress marks, romanization and audio, plus a practice engine that drills your weak spots.
Russian conjugation looks intimidating, but it rests on a small number of moving parts. Once you see them, the whole system clicks into place — and these two dozen verbs cover most of what you will actually say.
The single biggest idea is aspect. Almost every Russian verb comes as a pair: an imperfective partner for the process (ongoing, repeated, habitual — "I was reading", "I read every day") and a perfective partner for the result (one completed whole — "I read it through and finished"). Choosing the right partner matters more than any ending.
There are only three tenses — present, past and future — but the two aspects split them cleanly: the imperfective owns the present, while the perfective borrows the present-tense endings to express a completed future. The reference below lays out every pattern before you drill it.
How Russian verbs work
1 · Aspect: process vs. result
Learn each verb as a pair and pick by meaning:
imperfective ongoing, repeated or habitual action — the process. It has a real present tense and a compound future.
perfective a single action seen as a finished whole — the result. It has no present tense; its present-shaped forms mean the future.
2 · Present tense (imperfective only) — two conjugation classes
Every imperfective verb follows one of two ending sets. Remove the ending and add:
| Person | 1st conj. (-e-/-ё-)e.g. де́лать, знать | 2nd conj. (-и-)e.g. говори́ть, люби́ть |
|---|---|---|
| я I | -ю / -уде́лаю · délayu | -ю / -уговорю́ · govoryú |
| ты you (sg.) | -ешьде́лаешь · délayesh | -ишьговори́шь · govorísh |
| он/она he/she | -етде́лает · délayet | -итговори́т · govorít |
| мы we | -емде́лаем · délayem | -имговори́м · govorím |
| вы you (pl./formal) | -етеде́лаете · délayete | -итеговори́те · govoríte |
| они they | -ют / -утде́лают · délayut | -ят / -атговоря́т · govoryát |
3 · Past tense — agrees with gender, not person
Drop the infinitive's -ть and add a gender/number ending. The same form covers every person; only the subject's gender and number change it:
-л masculine · -ла feminine · -ло neuter · -ли plural.
4 · Future tense — one form per aspect
imperfective compound future: conjugate быть (to be) and add the infinitive.
бу́ду, бу́дешь, бу́дет, бу́дем, бу́дете, бу́дут + infinitive → я бу́ду де́лать ("I will be doing").
perfective simple future: take the perfective verb and add present-tense endings — the meaning is future. я сде́лаю ("I will do / finish").
Practice
Pick your verbs, tenses, question count and mode. Get one wrong and it comes back — and after each round you can drill just your mistakes.