ён / яна + -е/-іць

Present Tense with Ён and Яна

Level 1Sounds Like ën âna + -e/-ícʹ

First conjugation: ён чытае, яна піша. Second conjugation: ён робіць, яна гаворыць.

How It Works

This form goes with ён, яна and яно and with any singular noun: мама чытае, кот ляжыць, сонца свеціць. The verb does not show gender in the present tense.

First conjugation: a vowel at the end.

  • -е after a vowel or a soft consonant: чытае (reads), працуе (works), ідзе (goes), жыве (lives).
  • -э after ж, ш, ч, р when stressed: бярэ (takes), пячэ (bakes).
  • -а after ж, ш, ч, р when unstressed: піша (writes), кажа (says), хоча (wants), можа (can).

Russian has -ет here (читает), but Belarusian adds nothing after the vowel: чытае.

Second conjugation: -іць or -ыць.

  • -іць after a soft consonant: робіць (does), ходзіць (walks), любіць (loves).
  • -ыць after ж, ш, ч, р: гаворыць (speaks), бачыць (sees), ляжыць (lies).

The final -ць matches Russian -т (говорит, лежит), just as in the infinitive; see tsekanye. Some second-conjugation forms look exactly like the infinitive: ён робіць and рабіць differ, but ён любіць and the infinitive любіць are spelled the same. The sentence tells you which one it is.

Examples (6)

  1. Бабуля чытае газету.

    Grandma is reading the newspaper.

    чытае: first conjugation, ends in -е.

  2. Ён піша вельмі хутка.

    He writes very fast.

    піша: unstressed after ш, so -а.

  3. Яна бярэ таксі.

    She is taking a taxi.

    бярэ: stressed after р, so -э.

  4. Кот ляжыць на канапе.

    The cat is lying on the sofa.

    ляжыць: second conjugation, -ыць after ж.

  5. Хто там гаворыць?

    Who is speaking over there?

    Хто takes the singular form: гаворыць.

  6. Сонца свеціць.

    The sun is shining.

    свеціць: a neuter noun takes the same form as ён and яна.

Common Mistakes

  • Adding -ць to a first-conjugation ён/яна form.

    Мама чытаець.
    Мама чытае.

    First-conjugation verbs end in a vowel here. The -ць ending belongs to the second conjugation (робіць) and to яны (чытаюць).

  • Writing е in an unstressed ending after ш.

    Яна пішэ ліст.
    Яна піша ліст.

    The stress in піша is on the stem, so the vowel after ш is written а.

  • Using the Russian ending -т.

    Кот ляжыт на канапе.
    Кот ляжыць на канапе.

    Belarusian has ць where Russian has т: ляжыць, робіць.

How It Connects

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ён / яна + -е/-іцьLevel 1Present Tense with Ён and Яна

Learn This First

The ён/яна form follows ты.

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Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

ёнянаяно