Russian verb forms and aspect in context
How it works
In Russian, there are two aspects of verbs: the imperfective (‹несовершенный вид›) and the perfective (‹совершенный вид›). The imperfective aspect (e.g. ‹читать› – читать) describes a repeated, ongoing, or unfinished action. The perfective aspect (e.g. ‹прочитать› – (to) finish reading) emphasizes the result or completion of an action. The correct choice of aspect depends on the context: Is the action viewed as completed or not? The tense form (present, past, future) also plays a role. Forms of perfective verbs with present endings, for example ‹прочитаю›, have future meaning in Russian; there is no true present tense with perfective aspect.
Choose the aspect and verb form to match the context: imperfective for processes, repetitions, habits, or open-ended actions; perfective for actions presented as completed or directed toward a result. Pay attention to the entire sentence context: words like ‹уже›, ‹ещё› or ‹часто› can provide clues, but they do not decide by themselves. Time expressions such as ‹вчера› and question words such as ‹когда› do not automatically determine the aspect.
An example
Which verb form is correct? ‹Вчера мой брат наконец ___ книгу.›
Try it yourself now
50 Exercises
To the learning unit →Own explanation and own practice exercises by AmyMath. Subject reference framework: Russian. The topic assignment may vary by federal state.