Comparison of the well-known present *g^u̯ íh3u̯ e/o- ‘live’ with other verbs of similar structure leaves no doubt that it is a thematized u-present, originally marked by e : zero root ablaut and h2e-conjugation inflection. Forms like Hitt. ḫuišuezzi ‘stays alive’ and Ved. tū́rvati ‘overcomes’ beside mid. tarute show, interestingly, that u-presents were thematized in the active, but not the middle, in undivided PIE. The association of thematization specifically with the active leads to a re-examination of “*b^héreti-type” thematic presents, for which a new explanation is proposed.