Some verbs do not have a future or present tense form

Alexander Kislov, Natalya Nosova
Alexander Kislov, Natalya Nosova
They are called ‘insufficient’.

There are several verbs in Russian that do not have a first person singular form in the future or present tense, due to phonetic cacophony.

The most famous verb is ‘pobedit’ – to win. You cannot say “I’ll win” as “Ya pobezhy or pobezhdy”. In the future tense, it is better to say: “Ya smogy pobedit” (“I can win”). The verb ‘ubedit’ (‘to convince’) is similar. 

The verb ‘bdet’ (‘to keep awake’) doesn’t have a first person present tense.

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