There is no variety of tenses in the Russian language. There are only three of them and they are rather simple: Present, Past and Future.

The Present tense is used both in the sense of Present Simple and in the sense of Present Continuous. In Russian, the meaning is conveyed not by temporal forms, but by other lexical and grammatical means.

In other words, the Present tense is used when we speak about actions habitual or occurring at the time of speaking. 

Verbs in the Present tense change by the person and number of the subject like in the table below. In order to make a Present tense form, you need to replace the infinitive ‘-ть’ ending with the appropriate present tense ending.

Listen to the audio & read the examples:

1. А: Вы работаете в банке?
    В: Да, я работаю в банке.

    А: Do you work in a bank?
    В: Yes, I work in a bank.

2. А: Вы сейчас гуляете в парке?
    В: Нет, мы играем в теннис.

    А: Are you walking in the park now?
    В: No, we are playing tennis.

In order to make negative sentence, use the particle ‘не’ before the verb like in examples:

1. Я не играю в футбол.
    I don’t play football.

2. А: Ты сейчас работаешь?
    В: Нет, я сейчас не работаю. Я отдыхаю.

    А: Are you working now?
    В: No, I’m not working now. I’m resting.

Here is some advice on how to master the Present tense in Russian.

Listen to the audio to hear the correct answers

Listen to the audio to hear the correct answers

Listen to the audio to hear the correct answers

Listen to the audio to hear the correct answers

Listen to the audio to hear the correct answers

Listen to the audio to hear the correct answers

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