Present tense

After this page you will be able to put a Ukrainian verb into the present tense. You will know the two groups of endings and how to tell which group a verb belongs to. You will have seen three common verbs in full, and you will know that the stress can move from one form to another.

One tense for “I read” and “I am reading”

Ukrainian has one present tense where English has two. Я чита́ю can mean “I read” or “I am reading”, and the context decides.

The verb changes its ending for each person: I, you (informal), he/she/it, we, you (formal or plural) and they. That makes six forms. Changing a verb’s endings like this is called conjugation. In English only he/she/it gets a different ending (reads), so Ukrainian needs more endings to learn. (A rough comparison.)

To make the present tense, take the dictionary form (the infinitive, which ends in -ти), remove the ending and add the present-tense endings. Which endings you add depends on the verb’s group.

Two groups of endings

Ukrainian verbs fall into two groups, called the first and second conjugation. The two groups share the I ending, -у or -ю. The other endings have a different vowel:

• First group: е or є in the endings (чита́єш, пи́шеш), and -уть or -ють for they.
• Second group: и or ї in the endings (гово́риш), and -ать or -ять for they.

The two spellings of each ending (-у or -ю, -еш or -єш) are really one ending. The second spelling is used after a vowel or a soft consonant.

Which group is a verb in?

The infinitive does not always tell you. Many verbs in -ати are in the first group and many in -ити are in the second, but there are exceptions in both directions. The safest guide is the you (ти) form: -еш or -єш means the first group, and -иш or -їш the second.

Dictionaries tell you the group. On Горох, the inflection page of an imperfective verb says 1 дієвідмі́на (first conjugation) or 2 дієвідмі́на (second conjugation), and lists all the present-tense forms with their stress.

First group: “to read”

Чита́ти is a regular first-group verb. Remove -ти to get чита-. The stem ends in a vowel, so the endings are spelled with ю and є.

The stress stays on the same syllable, -та́-, in every form. Many common verbs work exactly like this, for example зна́ти (to know: зна́ю, зна́єш), ма́ти (to have: ма́ю, ма́єш) and розмовля́ти (to talk: розмовля́ю, розмовля́єш).

First group with a change: “to write”

Писа́ти is also in the first group, but two things change. The с of the stem becomes ш in every present-tense form. And the stress moves.

Here the stem ends in a consonant (пиш-), so the endings are spelled with у and е instead of ю and є.

Second group: “to speak”

Говори́ти is a second-group verb. Remove -ити to get the stem говор-, then add the second-group endings.

Notice the he/she/it form: second-group verbs end in -ить (гово́рить), with a т. First-group verbs have no т there (чита́є, пи́ше).

Ба́чити (to see) is a second-group verb with fixed stress: ба́чу, ба́чиш, ба́чить, ба́чимо, ба́чите, ба́чать.

Where the stress goes

Stress in the present tense follows one of a few patterns. You can’t tell which one from the infinitive, so learn the I and you (ти) forms of each new verb. Together they show both the group and the stress.

Жи́ти (to live) is a first-group verb with the stem жив-, and the stress falls on the ending in every form: живу́, живе́ш, живе́, живемо́, живете́, живу́ть.

More patterns you will meet soon

Verbs like “to work”

Many verbs end in -ува́ти or -юва́ти. In the present tense, -ува- becomes -у- (and -юва- becomes -ю-), and they take first-group endings.

A changed consonant in the I form

In some second-group verbs, the consonant before the ending changes in the I form. Ходи́ти (to walk, to go on foot) has ходжу́ but хо́диш. Роби́ти (to do, to make) has роблю́ but ро́биш; it adds л in the they form too: ро́блять. In both verbs the stress also moves, like говори́ти.

Reflexive verbs

Some verbs end in -ся, which stays at the very end, after the person ending. Навча́тися (to study, to be a student) is a first-group verb: я навча́юся, ти навча́єшся, він навча́ється, ми навча́ємося, ви навча́єтеся, вони́ навча́ються. After a vowel, dictionaries also give a shorter -сь: навча́юсь.

The present tense in sentences

Only imperfective verbs have a present tense. All the verbs on this page have a present tense. Perfective verbs, the other kind, take the same endings but give them a future meaning. The page on the future tense explains this.

Common mistakes and limits