Conjugation › Russian › Pet'
Russian · Verb Tables · Advanced
петь (pet') means "to sing" in Russian. Present: я (ya) пою (poyu), ты (ty) поёшь (poyosh'), он / она / оно (on / ona / ono) поёт (poyot), мы (my) поём (poyom), вы (vy) поёте (poyote), они (oni) поют (poyut). Below: all 14 tenses we teach, with examples.
Imperfective verbs only — perfective verbs have no present tense. Stem + personal endings, expresses actions happening now, repeated/habitual actions, and general truths; also covers what English marks as the present continuous.
| я (ya) | пою (poyu) |
| ты (ty) | поёшь (poyosh') |
| он / она / оно (on / ona / ono) | поёт (poyot) |
| мы (my) | поём (poyom) |
| вы (vy) | поёте (poyote) |
| они (oni) | поют (poyut) |
Perfective/imperfective distinction lives in the stem, not the ending: infinitive stem minus -ть + -л (masculine), -ла (feminine), -ло (neuter), -ли (plural) — the same ending set for every verb in the language. Does not mark person, only gender and number; agreement is with the real subject's gender, so "I"/"you (singular)" have separate masculine/feminine forms. Imperfective past describes an ongoing, repeated or general past action, or one whose completion is not in focus.
| я (ya) | пел / пела (pel / pela) |
| ты (ty) | пел / пела (pel / pela) |
| он / она / оно (on / ona / ono) | пел / пела / пело (pel / pela / pelo) |
| мы (my) | пели (peli) |
| вы (vy) | пели (peli) |
| они (oni) | пели (peli) |
Same -л/-ла/-ло/-ли endings, but on the perfective partner verb's stem (прочитать, поговорить); marks a single completed action or its result, the normal choice for narrating a sequence of finished events.
| я (ya) | спел / спела (spel / spela) |
| ты (ty) | спел / спела (spel / spela) |
| он / она / оно (on / ona / ono) | спел / спела / спело (spel / spela / spelo) |
| мы (my) | спели (speli) |
| вы (vy) | спели (speli) |
| они (oni) | спели (speli) |
Future of быть (буду, будешь, будет, будем, будете, будут) + imperfective infinitive. Used for ongoing, repeated or general actions in the future, or when the aspect of the action is not being emphasized.
| я (ya) | буду петь (budu pet') |
| ты (ty) | будешь петь (budesh' pet') |
| он / она / оно (on / ona / ono) | будет петь (budet pet') |
| мы (my) | будем петь (budem pet') |
| вы (vy) | будете петь (budete pet') |
| они (oni) | будут петь (budut pet') |
The perfective verb's present-tense-shaped conjugation (same endings as an imperfective present) automatically carries future meaning, because a perfective verb cannot describe an ongoing present. Used for a single completed action that will happen once.
| я (ya) | спою (spoyu) |
| ты (ty) | споёшь (spoyosh') |
| он / она / оно (on / ona / ono) | споёт (spoyot) |
| мы (my) | споём (spoyom) |
| вы (vy) | споёте (spoyote) |
| они (oni) | споют (spoyut) |
Past-tense form (either aspect) + the invariant, moveable particle бы. There is only one form for past, present and future hypotheticals — context and adverbs (тогда, сейчас, завтра) show the time meant. Used for hypothetical or unreal conditions (usually with если...бы), polite requests and suggestions, and wishes.
| я (ya) | пел бы / пела бы (pel by / pela by) |
| ты (ty) | пел бы / пела бы (pel by / pela by) |
| он / она / оно (on / ona / ono) | пел бы / пела бы / пело бы (pel by / pela by / pelo by) |
| мы (my) | пели бы (peli by) |
| вы (vy) | пели бы (peli by) |
| они (oni) | пели бы (peli by) |
чтобы (что + бы fused into one word) + past-tense form, used after verbs of wanting, asking, ordering something for someone else to do (хочу, чтобы...), in purpose clauses ("in order that"), and after жаль/жалко for regrets. The subordinate verb always takes this чтобы + past shape regardless of the real time of the wish.
| я (ya) | чтобы я пел / пела (chtoby ya pel / pela) |
| ты (ty) | чтобы ты пел / пела (chtoby ty pel / pela) |
| он / она / оно (on / ona / ono) | чтобы он пел / она пела / оно пело (chtoby on pel / ona pela / ono pelo) |
| мы (my) | чтобы мы пели (chtoby my peli) |
| вы (vy) | чтобы вы пели (chtoby vy peli) |
| они (oni) | чтобы они пели (chtoby oni peli) |
True 2nd-person imperative: stem + -й (after a vowel), -и (after a consonant, stressed), or -ь (after a single consonant, unstressed) for "you (singular)"; add -те for "you (plural/formal)". 1st-person plural uses давай(те) + infinitive ("let's..."); 3rd person uses пусть/пускай + the ordinary present or simple-future form (a jussive, not a true imperative). Positive commands typically use the perfective aspect for a single expected action.
| я (ya) | — |
| ты (ty) | пой (poy) |
| он / она / оно (on / ona / ono) | пусть поёт (pust' poyot) |
| мы (my) | давайте петь (davayte pet') |
| вы (vy) | пойте (poyte) |
| они (oni) | пусть поют (pust' poyut) |
не + the same imperative forms. Negative commands strongly prefer the imperfective aspect (не читай, not не прочитай), because a perfective negative imperative sounds like a warning against something happening accidentally rather than a plain prohibition.
| я (ya) | — |
| ты (ty) | не пой (ne poy) |
| он / она / оно (on / ona / ono) | пусть не поёт (pust' ne poyot) |
| мы (my) | давайте не будем петь (davayte ne budem pet') |
| вы (vy) | не пойте (ne poyte) |
| они (oni) | пусть не поют (pust' ne poyut) |
Dictionary form, ending in -ть (or -ти/-чь for some consonant stems). Used after modal words (нужно, можно, хочу) and other conjugated verbs, and as a verbal noun.
| петь (pet') |
Imperfective verbs only: 3rd-person-plural present stem + -щий, declined like an adjective for gender, case and number (citation form is masculine nominative singular). Means "[who/that is] verb-ing".
| поющий (poyushchiy) |
Past-tense stem (either aspect) + -вший (or -ший after a consonant), declined like an adjective. Means "[who/that] verbed / has verbed".
| певший / спевший (pevshiy / spevshiy) |
Mostly from perfective transitive verbs: stem + -нный/-тый, declined like an adjective; has a short form (-н/-т, agreeing only in gender/number) used as the predicate of passive sentences. The everyday way to say "is/was done".
| спетый, short спет/-а/-о/-ы (spetyy, spet/-a/-o/-y) |
Perfective only: past stem + -в (-вши before a reflexive -сь, or -ши after a consonant). Invariable; describes a completed action prior to the main verb's ("having verbed").
| спев (spev) |
| Дети поют песню на уроке музыки. Deti poyut pesnyu na uroke muzyki. | The children are singing a song in music class. |
| Спой мне что-нибудь, пожалуйста. Spoy mne chto-nibud', pozhaluysta. | Sing me something, please. |
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