Source: http://www.russianlessons.net/lessons/lesson5_main.php Russian Pronouns Here are the Russian pronouns that can be used as the subject of a sentence. (Known as the nominative case.)

Я - I

Ты - You (informal)

Он - He, It (m)

Она - She, It (f)

Оно - It (n)

Мы - We

Вы - You (formal, or plural)

Они - They

Вы is used as the formal singular “you”, and the plural “you” (slang: “yous” or “you all”) when talking to more than one person.

Here are the Russian pronouns that can be used as the object of a sentence. (Known as the accusative case)

Меня - Me

Тебя - You (informal)

Его - (“yevo”) - Him, It (m,n)

Её - Her, It (f)

Нас - Us

Вас - You (formal, or plural)

Их - Them

The first conjugation

The first conjugation is used for verbs ending in “ть” but not “ить”. It is the most common.

To form the verb for each person you need to drop the last two letters of the infinitive (normally “ть”), and add the appropriate ending (“ю”, “ешь”, “ет”, “ем”, “ете” or “ют”).Let’s take a look at a verb that uses the first conjugation: работать (to work).

Play Russian Audio работать - To work. (infinitive, dictionary form)

Play Russian Audio Я работаю - I work

Play Russian Audio Ты работаешь - You work

Play Russian Audio Он, Она, Оно работает - He, She, It works.

Play Russian Audio Мы работаем - We work

Play Russian Audio Вы работаете - You work.

Play Russian Audio Они работают - They work.

Let's try some other Russian words from the first conjugation:

Play Russian Audio понимать - To understand. (infinitive, dictionary form)

Play Russian Audio Я понимаю - I understand.

Play Russian Audio Ты понимаешь - You understand.

Play Russian Audio Он, Она, Оно понимает - He, She, It understands

Play Russian Audio Мы понимаем - We understand.

Play Russian Audio Вы понимаете - You understand.

Play Russian Audio Они понимают - They understand.

Play Russian Audio Знать - To know. (infinitive, dictionary form)

Play Russian Audio Я знаю - I know.

Play Russian Audio Ты знаешь - You know.

Play Russian Audio Он, Она, Оно знает - He, She, It knows.

Play Russian Audio Мы знаем - We know.

Play Russian Audio Вы знаете - You know.

Play Russian Audio Они знают - They know.

Remember you can make a statement negative by using the word “не” (not). For example:

Play Russian Audio Я не знаю - I don't know.

Play Russian Audio Я не понимаю - I don't understand.

Play Russian Audio Он не понимает - He doesn't understand.

You can also form questions:

Ты знаешь? - Do you know?

Play Russian Audio Ты понимаешь? - Do you understand?

The second conjugation

Verbs where the infinitive ends in “ить” use the second conjugation.

Now we will introduce some verbs from the second conjugation. There are also some other verbs that use this conjugation.

The second conjugation uses the endings “ю” (or “у”) “ишь” “ит” “им” “ите” “ят” (or “ат”), which replace “ить”.

Note 1: The second conjugation is affected by the spelling rules.

Note 2: The first person singuar is affected by the rule of consonant mutation. Remember, this only applies to the first-person singular (Я).

Play Russian Audio говорить - To speak. (infinitive, dictionary form)

Play Russian Audio Я говорю - I speak.

Play Russian Audio Ты говоришь - You speak.

Он, Она, Оно говорит - He, She, It Speaks.

Мы говорим - We speak.

Вы говорите - You speak.

Они говорят - They speak.

Play Russian Audio слышать - To hear.

Play Russian Audio слышу - I hear.

Play Russian Audio слышишь - You hear.

слышит - He, She, It hears.

слышим - We hear.

слышите - You hear.

слышат - They hear.

For Example:

Play Russian Audio Я говорю по-английски - I speak English

Play Russian Audio Он говорит по-русски - He speaks Russian

Play Russian Audio Вы говорите по-русски? - Do you speak Russian?

Play Russian Audio Мы не говорим по-русски - We don't speak Russian.

Play Russian Audio Собака не говорит по-английски - The dog doesn't speak English.

Irregular Verbs

There are a number of irregular verbs in Russian. (Verbs that don't exactly follow the above rules). However, often once you know the stem of the verb, you can often predict the endings. Even irregular verbs normally follow a similar pattern to those above.

Some examples:

Play Russian Audio Ехать - To go (by transport).

Play Russian Audio Я еду - I go (by transport).

Play Russian Audio Ты едешь - You go (by transport).

Play Russian Audio Он, Она, Оно едет - He, She, It goes (by transport).

Play Russian Audio Мы едем - We go (by transport).

Play Russian Audio Вы едете - You go (by transport).

Play Russian Audio Они едут - They go (by transport).

Notice that once you know the stem “Ед” it almost follows the first conjuction, except that “у” replaces “ю”.

Play Russian Audio Жить - To live.

Play Russian Audio Я живу - I live.

Play Russian Audio Ты живёшь - You live.

Play Russian Audio Он, Она, Оно живёт - He, She, It lives.

Мы живём - We live.

Вы живёте - You live.

Они живут - They live.

Notice that “ё” is used instead of “е” when the stress falls on the ending.

Examples:

Я живу в Лондоне - I live in London.

Он едет домой - He is going home