Verb Aspects
Russian verbs have two main aspects: imperfective and perfective. These aspects indicate whether an action is ongoing, repeated, or completed.
Notes
Imperfective verbs can have present, past, and future forms. Perfective verbs do not have present tense forms and only express past or future completed actions.
Understand imperfective vs perfective verbs and their usage in Russian.
| Aspect | Usage | Time Frame | Example Verbs | Example Sentences |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Imperfective | Ongoing, habitual, repeated actions | Present, past, or future | писать (to write), читать (to read), делать (to do) | Я пишу письмо. (I am writing a letter.) |
| Perfective | Completed, one-time actions | Past or future | написать (to write), прочитать (to read), сделать (to do) | Я написал письмо. (I wrote the letter.) |
Practice Exercises
Choose the correct verb aspect to complete the sentences:
Forming Perfective Verbs
Perfective verbs are often formed by adding prefixes to imperfective verbs or by using completely different verbs.
Я ___ (писать/написать) письмо сейчас.The action is ongoing ('now'), so imperfective 'пишу' is used. · answer: пишу
Вчера я ___ (писать/написать) письмо.The action was completed yesterday, so perfective past 'написал' is correct. · answer: написал
Завтра я ___ (читать/прочитать) эту книгу.Future completed action, so perfective future 'прочитаю' is correct. · answer: прочитаю
Она часто ___ (делать/сделать) домашнее задание.Habitual action, so imperfective 'делает' is correct. · answer: делает
Examples of Verb Aspect Pairs
написатьписать (imperfective) means 'to write' in a general or ongoing sense, while написать (perfective) means 'to write' with emphasis on completion. · imperfective: писать
прочитатьчитать (imperfective) means 'to read' repeatedly or habitually, прочитать (perfective) means 'to read' something completely. · imperfective: читать
сделатьделать (imperfective) means 'to do' or 'to be doing', сделать (perfective) means 'to do' with a completed result. · imperfective: делать
Overview of Verb Aspects
The imperfective aspect expresses ongoing, habitual, or repeated actions, while the perfective aspect denotes completed or one-time actions.