яны + -уць/-аць

Present Tense with Яны

Level 1Sounds Like âny + -ucʹ/-acʹ

First conjugation: яны чытаюць, яны пішуць. Second conjugation: яны робяць, яны гавораць.

How It Works

Use this form with яны (they) and with any plural subject: дзеці чытаюць, кнігі ляжаць.

First conjugation:

  • -юць after a vowel: чытаюць (they read), працуюць (they work), спяваюць (they sing).
  • -уць after a consonant: пішуць (they write), ідуць (they go), жывуць (they live), бяруць (they take), хочуць (they want).

Second conjugation:

  • -яць after a soft consonant: робяць (they do), ходзяць (they walk), любяць (they love), сядзяць (they sit).
  • -аць after ж, ш, ч, р: гавораць (they speak), бачаць (they see), ляжаць (they lie).

Use it to identify the conjugation. If a dictionary gives you the яны form, you know the whole set of endings: пішуць → first conjugation; робяць → second conjugation.

Two things to notice:

  • The л of the я form does not appear here: раблю but робяць; люблю but любяць.
  • For some verbs the яны form is spelled exactly like the infinitive: ляжаць (to lie; they lie), маўчаць (to be silent; they are silent). Look at the subject to tell them apart.

Russian ends this form in -ут, -ют, -ат, -ят. Belarusian always has -ць at the end.

Examples (6)

  1. Мае сябры жывуць у Брэсце.

    My friends live in Brest.

    жывуць: first conjugation, -уць after в.

  2. Яны пішуць кнігу.

    They are writing a book.

    пішуць: first conjugation, -уць after ш.

  3. Птушкі спяваюць.

    The birds are singing.

    спяваюць: -юць after a vowel.

  4. Што яны робяць?

    What are they doing?

    робяць: second conjugation, -яць, with no л.

  5. Людзі гавораць па-беларуску.

    People speak Belarusian.

    гавораць: second conjugation, -аць after р.

  6. Кнігі ляжаць на стале.

    The books are lying on the table.

    ляжаць here is the яны form, spelled like the infinitive.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the Russian ending without -ць.

    Яны пішут ліст.
    Яны пішуць ліст.

    The Belarusian яны form always ends in -ць.

  • Carrying the л of the я form into the яны form.

    Што яны раблюць?
    Што яны робяць?

    The л appears only in the я form (раблю). The яны form is робяць.

  • Giving a second-conjugation verb the ending -уць.

    Яны гаворуць па-беларуску.
    Яны гавораць па-беларуску.

    Гаварыць is second conjugation, so its яны form ends in -аць.

How It Connects

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яны + -уць/-ацьLevel 1Present Tense with Яны

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The яны form completes the present tense.

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яны