2. Konjugation im Präsens

The second conjugation is the most regular group of Latvian verbs. It contains verbs with an infinitive of more than one syllable ending in -āt, -ēt, -īt or -ot that keep that vowel in the present and add -j- before an ending: runāt (speak), strādāt (work), domāt (think), dzīvot (live), mazgāt (wash), lietot (use), dejot (dance).

Person	runāt (speak)	dzīvot (live)
es	runāju	dzīvoju
tu	runā	dzīvo
viņš / viņa	runā	dzīvo
mēs	runājam	dzīvojam
jūs	runājat	dzīvojat
viņi / viņas	runā	dzīvo

How to form it

Take the infinitive and drop -t: runā-. That bare stem is the form for "you (sg.)", "he/she" and "they". For "I", "we" and "you (pl.)", add -ju, -jam, -jat. There is no stem change at all, which makes this the easiest group to use, and new verbs entering the language usually join it.

In use

• Es strādāju birojā. - I work in an office.
• Mēs runājam latviski. - We speak Latvian.
• Es domāju par brīvdienām. - I'm thinking about the holidays.
• Mana māsa dzīvo Liepājā. - My sister lives in Liepāja.
• Jāņos visi līgo un dejo. - At Midsummer everyone sings the līgo songs and dances.

For English speakers

The three bare forms look identical, so the pronoun or the subject tells you who is acting: tu runā (you speak), viņa runā (she speaks), viņi runā (they speak). Unlike English, there is no "-s" for he/she. And the same present covers "I work" and "I'm working": Es tagad strādāju - I'm working now.

Not every verb in -īt or -ēt belongs here: lasīt (read) and sēdēt (sit) drop their vowel in the present (lasu, sēžu) and form the third conjugation.