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Present tense

Two conjugations. Which one a verb takes is mostly predictable from its infinitive, and the exceptions are a short list.

The endings are distinctive enough that the pronoun is usually dropped: чита́ю already says "I read".

Only imperfective verbs have a present

This follows from aspect — see Past tenses, where the whole thing is explained. A perfective verb conjugated in these endings comes out as a FUTURE:

• я пишу́ — I am writing (imperfective)
• я напишу́ — I will write (perfective, same endings)

That catches every learner once.

Быть has no present

Я студе́нт, with no verb at all. есть survives only for existence — у меня́ есть — and in a few frozen phrases.

Reflexive verbs

-ся (or -сь after a vowel) hooks onto the end and does several jobs:

• true reflexive: мы́ться — to wash oneself
• reciprocal: встреча́ться — to meet each other
• no object possible: учи́ться — to study
• passive: дом стро́ится — the house is being built

-ться and -тся are both said /t͡sːə/, which is why native speakers misspell them constantly.

Verbs of motion

Russian has fourteen pairs where other languages have one verb. идти́ is going in one direction right now; ходи́ть is going repeatedly or in general.

• Я иду́ в шко́лу. — I'm on my way to school.
• Я хожу́ в шко́лу. — I go to school (I attend it).

Add prefixes and each pair generates dozens more: приходи́ть, уходи́ть, входи́ть, выходи́ть, переходи́ть. It is a whole subsystem, and it has no equivalent anywhere else on this site.

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