The present tense
Two conjugations, six endings each. Only imperfective verbs have a present, and it covers both 'I read' and 'I am reading'.
The Russian present has six forms: я, ты, он / она́ / оно́, мы, вы, они́. The three third-person singulars share one ending — чита́ет covers 'he reads', 'she reads' and 'it reads'. There is no progressive aspect in the grammar at all: Я чита́ю means 'I read', 'I am reading' and 'I do read' alike, and only the context or an adverb such as сейча́с tells you which. That is a genuine saving. English carries two forms where Russian carries one.
Two conjugations cover almost everything. Class 1 takes verbs in -ать and -ять, and the -овать group: чита́ть → чита́ю, рабо́тать → рабо́таю, знать → зна́ю. Its endings are -у/-ю, -ешь, -ет, -ем, -ете, -ут/-ют. Class 2 takes verbs in -ить: говори́ть → говорю́, люби́ть → люблю́, плати́ть → плачу́. Its endings are -у/-ю, -ишь, -ит, -им, -ите, -ат/-ят. The choice of -у or -ю, -ут or -ют, -ат or -ят depends on whether the consonant before it is soft: по́сле мя́гкого — ю, по́сле твёрдого — у.
Two spelling rules save a lot of errors. After ж, ш, щ and ч you never write ы, я or ю, so they пи́шут and молча́т, not *пишыт. And after г, к, х you write и, not ы: кни́ги, not *книгы. Also watch the -овать verbs — they lose the -ова- in the first person: рабо́тать → я рабо́таю, танцева́ть → я танцу́ю, рисова́ть → я рису́ю.
The rule that decides everything later: only imperfective verbs have a present tense. When you conjugate a perfective verb and get what looks like a present, it is in fact a future. Я прочита́ю is not 'I read' but 'I will read (and finish)'. Until you have met aspect, treat every verb you learn as imperfective — and when a form surprises you by meaning tomorrow, that is why. Stress also moves freely inside a paradigm: говори́ть gives я говорю́ but они́ говоря́т; смотре́ть gives я смотрю́ but ты смо́тришь. Learn the stress with the form.
Examples
- Я чита́ю кни́гу. I read / I am reading a book. — one form for both Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: Я чита́ю кни́гу.
- Мы рабо́таем вме́сте. We work together. Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: Мы рабо́таем вме́сте.
- Она́ говори́т по-ру́сски. She speaks Russian. Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: Она́ говори́т по-ру́сски.
- Они́ живу́т в Но́вой Зела́ндии. They live in New Zealand. Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: Они́ живу́т в Но́вой Зела́ндии.
- Что ты де́лаешь сейча́с? What are you doing now? Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: Что ты де́лаешь сейча́с?
- Вы понима́ете меня́? Do you understand me? Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: Вы понима́ете меня́?