Conjugation Patterns of "быть"

The verb "быть" means "to be" in Russian. It’s a big deal in the language.

Unlike many other verbs, "быть" does not follow the usual rules.

You will mostly find it used in the past and future tenses.

In fact, we often skip it in the present tense!

Present Tense (mostly for "I"):

• Я есть (I am)

Past Tense:

• Я был (I was - for boys/men)
• Я была (I was - for girls/women)
• Мы были (We were - for a group)

Future Tense (used for actions that will happen):

• Я буду (I will be)
• Ты будешь (You will be - when talking to one person)
• Он/Она будет (He/She will be)
• Мы будем (We will be)
• Вы будете (You will be - when talking to a group)
• Они будут (They will be)

Knowing these different forms is super important.

It helps you build sentences and talk about when things happen in Russian!