я + -у/-ю

Present Tense with Я

Level 1Sounds Like â + -u/-û

The я form ends in -у or -ю in both conjugations: я чытаю, я пішу, я гавару.

How It Works

The я form is the easiest one to recognize: it always ends in -у or -ю, whichever conjugation the verb belongs to.

  • -ю after a vowel: чытаю (I read), ведаю (I know), працую (I work).
  • -ю after a soft consonant: люблю (I love), раблю (I do).
  • -у after a hard consonant: пішу (I write), іду (I go), жыву (I live), магу (I can).
  • -у after р, which is always hard: гавару (I speak), бяру (I take). Russian has говорю here, but Belarusian writes гавару.

Stem changes in the second conjugation. These happen only in the я form:

  • after б, п, в, м, ф an л is added: рабіць → раблю, любіць → люблю, спаць → сплю, карміць → кармлю (I feed). A в before this л becomes ў: лавіць → лаўлю (I catch). Купіць → куплю works the same way, but купіць is perfective, so куплю means "I will buy".
  • дз → дж, з → ж, с → ш: хадзіць → хаджу (I walk, I go regularly), сядзець → сяджу (I sit), прасіць → прашу (I ask).

The other persons keep the infinitive's last consonant: раблю but робіш, робяць; хаджу but ходзіш. Some first-conjugation verbs change their stem in every person, not just this one: пісаць → пішу, пішаш.

Because the ending already shows "I", the pronoun is often left out: Жыву ў Мінску. See dropping the subject pronoun.

Examples (6)

  1. Я чытаю навіны кожную раніцу.

    I read the news every morning.

    чытаю: -ю after the vowel а.

  2. Я пішу ліст.

    I am writing a letter.

    пішу: -у after the hard ш.

  3. Я гавару павольна.

    I speak slowly.

    гавару: -у after the always-hard р.

  4. Я люблю гарбату.

    I love tea.

    люблю: л appears after б.

  5. Што я раблю не так?

    What am I doing wrong?

    раблю: рабіць adds л in the я form only.

  6. Я жыву ў Гродне.

    I live in Hrodna.

    жыву: -у after в.

Common Mistakes

  • Leaving out the л after б, п, в, м or ф.

    Я любю чытаць.
    Я люблю чытаць.

    Second-conjugation verbs with these stem consonants add л in the я form: люблю, раблю, сплю.

  • Writing -ю after р, as in Russian.

    Я гаварю па-беларуску.
    Я гавару па-беларуску.

    Р is always hard in Belarusian, so the ending after it is -у.

  • Forgetting the дз → дж change.

    Я хадзю ў школу.
    Я хаджу ў школу.

    In the я form, дз changes to дж: хадзіць → хаджу, сядзець → сяджу.

How It Connects

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я + -у/-юLevel 1Present Tense with Я

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The я form needs я and both conjugations.

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