To form the present verbal adverb, begin with the они form of a present tense verb. You then remove the last two letters and replace them with -я. Of course if the stem ends in a sibilant, the spelling rule will apply and you must use -а instead. Note also that although the stem of the present verbal adverb comes from the они form, the stress follows the я form:
| Infinitive | Они form | Я form | Stem | Present verbal adverb | Meaning |
| читать | читают | чита́ю | чита- | чита́я | while reading |
| смотреть | смо́трят | смотрю́ | смотр- | смотря́ | while looking/watching |
| любить | лю́бят | люблю́ | люб- | любя́ | while loving |
| идти | идут | иду́ | ид- | идя́ | while going |
| спешить | спешат | спешу́ | спеш- | спеша́ | while hurrying |
Verbs whose stems end in -знавать, -ставать or -давать retain the -ва- in the present verbal adverb:
| Infinitive | Они form | Stem | Present verbal adverb | Meaning |
| узнава́ть | узнаю́т | узнава- | узнава́я | while finding out |
| встава́ть | встаю́т | встава- | встава́я | while getting up |
| дава́ть | даю́т | дава- | дава́я | while giving |
These forms can also be made from reflexive verbs. Again, the они form of the verb is used (minus the reflexive ending) to find the stem, then я is added, and then the reflexive ending is added. Since the verbal adverb will always end in the vowel я, the reflexive ending will always be -сь:
| Infinitive | Они form | Я form | Stem | Present verbal adverb | Meaning |
| улыба́ться | улыба́ются | улыба́юсь | улыба- | улыба́ясь | while smiling |
| труди́ться | тру́дятся | тружу́сь | труд- | трудя́сь | while toiling |
The verb быть is atypical in that it forms a present active verbal adverb with the suffix -учи, thus будучи 'while being.'
Some verbs simply do not have a standard present verbal adverb. Among them are:
A few verbs have an alternative old fashioned form ending in -учи. These are nowadays considered substandard speech, but you will also find them in folk-tales and songs:
| Infinitive | Они form | Stem | Present verbal adverb | Meaning |
| идти | идут | ид- | и́дучи | while going |
| ехать | едут | ед- | е́дучи | while riding |
Although we call this form a present verbal adverb, its use is not limited to the present tense. In meaning it is imperfective; that is, the action of the verbal adjective is always simultaneous with the action of the verb in the main clause:
Живя в Париже, мы каждый день говорили только по-французски.
While living in Paris, every day we spoke only French.
Живя в Париже, мы каждый день говорим только по-французски.
While living in Paris, we speak only French every day.
Живя в Париже, мы каждый день будем говорить только по-французски.
While living in Paris, we will speak only French every day.
The present verbal adverb expresses an action that is being performed by the subject of the sentence. That is, the sentence
Обедая в кафе, Борис позвонил Вере по мобильнику.
can only mean “While Boris was eating in the cafe, Boris called Vera on the cellphone,” not “While Vera was eating in the cafe, Boris called Vera on the cellphone.”
Note: Some reference books call the present verbal adverb a gerund. In Latin and related languages a gerund is a noun derived from a verb. Calling the Russian verbal adverb a gerund is likely to lead to confusion and thus is a bad use of technical language. Avoid the usage.
Russians usually call this form деепричастие несоверженного вида.
Rev. 2:07 AM 2/14/2012