We learned the past tense and its irregularities.
Now, we will learn which aspect [imperfective or perfective] is used to clarify and understand actions in the past.
| Я читал Войну и Мир. I read War and Peace. |
| Я прочитал Войну и Мир. I read War and Peace. |
How do these sentences differ in meaning is they can be translated the same way in English?
To keep things brief, the first one is stressing the process. I read War and Peace. Whether I finished it or not or even how much I read is irrelevant. I might have read it partially or maybe completely. It just stresses that I read it to an extent. The second stresses the result, meaning that I started and finished War and Peace. I read the whole book.
Differentiating between verbal aspects can be very complicated in Russian. This is the reason why I delayed this topic.
How to best approach this complicated topic?
Hopefully, what I’m about to present will help.
| Two actions that were happening simultaneously. Actions in progress at the same time. [imperfective and imperfective] |
| Я читал книгу, а папа спал на диване. I read a book and dad slept on the couch. I was reading a book and dad was sleeping on the couch. |
| Мама готовила ужин, а сестра разговаривала с подругой. Mom prepared dinner and my sister chatted with a friend. Mom was preparing dinner and my sister was chatting with a friend. |
| An action interrupted another action. An action started and interrupted an action that was in progress. [perfective and imperfective] |
| Павел пришёл, когда мы ужинали. Pavel arrived when we were having dinner. |
| Я лежал на постели, когда позвонил друг. I was lying on the bed when a friend called. |
| An action took place followed by another. An action happened right after the other, each one completed. [perfective and perfective] |
| Он вернулся домой, поел и пошёл спать. He returned home, had a bite and went to bed. |
| Когда я прочитал эти книги, узнал больше об истории России. When I read these books, I learned more about the history of Russia. |
That should help, but let’s break things down further. Because you don’t always need to use two actions in a sentence. Sometimes just one.
The main difference, as you saw from the examples above, is between result and process.
| When the result [finished action, one-time action] is stressed, the perfective aspect is used. When the process [action in progress or happened regularly] is stressed, the imperfective is used. |
When the result is stressed, the perfective aspect is used. When the process is stressed, the imperfective is used.
Look at these examples:
| Ты прочитал Анну Каренину? Have you read Anna Karenina? | Stresses the result. This would be used if the person being asked is supposed to read the book. As if it’s an assignment for school or some type of commitment. |
| Ты читал Анну Каренину? Have you read Anna Karenina? | Stressed the process. This would be used to inquire if the person being asked has ever read it. Whether they finished it or not is irrelevant. This is why you would use the imperfective to ask about experiences. |
So, if you ever did an action regularly [with or without adverbs – often, always, sometimes] in the past, or if there was something that just was generally the norm, use the imperfective.
| Он хорошо учился и помогал одноклассникам с заданиями. He was a good student and helped classmates with assignments. |
| Она часто думала о браке и детях. She often thought about marriage and children. |
Also, if something was done over a long time, it was done with some regularity, so the imperfective tends to be used.
| Она долго думала о проблеме, но в конце концов не приняла решение. She thought about the problem for a long time, but in the end didn’t make a decision. [process versus result in the same sentence] |
| Он всю ночь учил новые слова, но их не выучил. He spent all night learning new words but didn’t memorize them. [process versus result in the same sentence] |
If an action occurred once or there is some sort of object that is stressed, then the perfective is normally used.
| Я упал и сломал ногу. I fell and broke my leg. |
| Я хочу сегодня вечером пойти на праздник. I want to go to the celebration tonight. |
| Я написал первую страницу этой книги. I wrote the first page of this book. |
Everything easy so far?
I hope this all made sense.
There will be another post on this concept.
My Slavic Studies 