Language/Russian/Grammar/How-to-Use-be

Russian Grammar - How to Use "be"

Hi Russian learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will learn how to use the verb "be" in Russian. We will look at the conjugation of the verb, its usage in sentences, and some examples.

Conjugation

The verb "be" in Russian is conjugated as follows:

Person	Singular	Plural
I	Я есть (ya yest')	Мы есть (my yest')
You	Ты есть (ty yest')	Вы есть (vy yest')
He/She/It	Он/Она/Оно есть (on/ona/ono yest')	Они есть (oni yest')

Usage

The verb "be" is used in Russian to express existence, identity, or location. It is also used to form the present tense.

For example:

• Я есть учитель (ya yest' uchitel') - I am a teacher.
• Он есть в классе (on yest' v klasse) - He is in the classroom.
• Она есть моя сестра (ona yest' moya sestra) - She is my sister.

Examples

Here are some examples of sentences using the verb "be":

Russian	Pronunciation	English Translation
Я есть счастливый	ya yest' schastlivyj	I am happy
Она есть дома	ona yest' doma	She is at home
Они есть друзья	oni yest' druz'ya	They are friends
Ты есть готовый?	ty yest' gotovyj?	Are you ready?
Мы есть здесь	my yest' zdes'	We are here

Let's look at a dialogue using the verb "be":

• Person 1: Где ты есть? (Gde ty yest'?) - Where are you?
• Person 2: Я есть дома. (Ya yest' doma.) - I am at home.
• Person 1: А где они есть? (A gde oni yest'?) - And where are they?
• Person 2: Они есть в школе. (Oni yest' v shkole.) - They are at school.

Cultural Information

In Russian, the verb "be" is used to express identity. For example, if someone asks you "Кто ты есть?" (Kto ty yest'?), which means "Who are you?", you can answer "Я есть учитель" (Ya yest' uchitel'), which means "I am a teacher".

Quiz

Test your knowledge of the verb "be" with this quiz:

1. How do you say "We are here" in Russian? A. Мы есть здесь (My yest' zdes') B. Мы есть там (My yest' tam) C. Мы есть дома (My yest' doma)

2. How do you say "Are you ready?" in Russian? A. Ты есть готовый? (Ty yest' gotovyj?) B. Ты есть счастливый? (Ty yest' schastlivyj?) C. Ты есть здесь? (Ty yest' zdes'?)

3. How do you say "She is my sister" in Russian? A. Она есть моя сестра (Ona yest' moya sestra) B. Она есть моя друг (Ona yest' moya drug) C. Она есть моя мама (Ona yest' moya mama)

Answers: 1. A, 2. A, 3. A

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Related Lessons

• Sentense Structure
• Punctuation
• Plurals
• Questions
• Pronouns
• Порядок слов в русском предложении
• Negation
• A vs И
• Perfective Imperfective