Verbs in Russian Stage One and Two

[Benjamin Rifkin]

As the author of a textbook (Grammatika v kontekste) in which second
conjugation verbs are presented before first conjugation verbs, I can tell
you that MY decision was pedagogical.  The terms "second conjugation" and
"first conjugation" are arbitrary anyway.  The reason that I presented the
verbs in this order is that there are fewer subtypes of the second
conjugation than there are of the first conjugation.  It is easier for the
students to master the second conjugation and then move on to the more
complex first conjugation.  The first conjugation may seem easier because it
includes verbs of the -aj- stem (such as chitat', for example), but the
conjugation variations in the first conjugation are much greater than in the
second conjugation (e.g., first conjugation verbs include pisat', skazat',
maxat', davat', tancevat', pit', otkryt', kolot', umeret', and more!)

I hope that this explanation is helpful for you.

I do not, however, make any representations on behalf of the authors of the
textbooks you mention, who may have been guided by the same principles as I
was, but who may well have been guided by other principles!

Ben Rifkin



At 05:05 PM 3/25/99 -0500, you wrote:
>Can anyone explain why in the grammar explanations in these two textbooks
>the second conjugation is placed before the first? (e.g., in Russian Stage
>Two, Appendix XI, pp. 382-3). This seems like just another complexity to be
>explained to students.
>
>Thanks!
>
>Doug
>
>
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