чета/четеш

First Conjugation: Е-Verbs

Level 1Sounds Like pʺrvo spreženie: četa/četeš

чета, четеш, чете, четем, четете, четат. The he and she form ends in -е: Той чете.

How It Works

Three model verbs.

  • аз: чета, пиша, живея
  • ти: четеш, пишеш, живееш
  • той, тя, то: чете, пише, живее
  • ние: четем, пишем, живеем
  • вие: четете, пишете, живеете
  • те: четат, пишат, живеят

Spot the group. The he and she form tells you the conjugation: чете (-е) is first, говори (-и) is second, and чака (-а) is third.

Say ъ, write а. When the ending is stressed, the I and they endings sound like ъ: чета̀ sounds like [четъ̀] and чета̀т like [четъ̀т]. Always write а or я: чета, четат.

More verbs like this. пия (drink), пея (sing), живея (live), пиша (write), бера (pick).

Watch for consonant changes. A few verbs change their last consonant before е: мога → можеш (can), пека → печеш (bake). See consonant changes.

Dictionary form. Dictionaries list these verbs in the I form, like чета. See verbs listed in the first person.

Examples (6)

  1. Той чете вестник.

    He is reading a newspaper.

    Word by Word: He reads newspaper.

    The he form ends in -е.

  2. Ние пишем писмо.

    We are writing a letter.

    Word by Word: We write letter.

  3. Къде живеете?

    Where do you live?

    Word by Word: Where (you)-live?

    The вие form of живея, for a group or polite.

  4. Какво пиеш? — Чай.

    What are you drinking? — Tea.

    Word by Word: What (you)-drink? — Tea.

  5. Децата четат много.

    The children read a lot.

    Word by Word: Children-the read much.

    The they form ends in -ат.

  6. Аз пиша, а ти четеш.

    I am writing, and you are reading.

    Word by Word: I write, and you read.

Common Mistakes

  • Spelling the stressed ending with ъ.

    Те четът книги.
    Те четат книги.

    The ending sounds like [ът], but it is always written -ат (or -ят).

  • Using the -и ending of the second conjugation.

    Той чети вестник.
    Той чете вестник.

    Чета is a first-conjugation verb, so the he form is чете. Чети is the command form: Read!

  • Adding -м as in the third conjugation.

    Аз четам.
    Аз чета.

    First-conjugation verbs end in -а or -я in the I form. The -м ending belongs to verbs like чакам.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

чета/четешLevel 1First Conjugation: Е-Verbs

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The first conjugation builds on how verbs are listed.

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Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

чета