As you already know, Russian verbs exist in pairs -- imperfective and perfective. In Russian it is necessary to have at your command both verbs, the imperfective and the perfective, to express all the possibilities of a verbal idea. The imperfective and the perfective verbs are basically identical in meaning, but differ in aspect. To express the verbal idea of "writing" in English we need only one verb "to write". The Russian language has two verbs, the imperfective писать and the perfective написать. Both mean "to write".
Perfective verbs generally express the notion of completion. For example, the perfective verb написать "to write" is used in the past tense below expressing the notion of a completed action.
| Я написал эту книгу. | I wrote this book. |
Imperfective verbs describe an action without reference to its completion. imperfective verbs are used when expressing a progressive action, repetition, or simply naming the action. Considering only the past tense of the imperfective verb писать "to write", you might find the following:
| Я писал весь день. | I was writing all day. (progressive) |
| Я писал каждый день. |
I wrote every day. (repetition) I would write every day. I used to write every day. |
| Я хорошо писал по-русски. | I wrote Russian well. (naming the action) |
This opposition between imperfective and perfective verbs is superficially adequate for most verbs in most contexts.
| Я писал |
progressive repetition naming the action |
я написал | completion |
Before we start with the "verbs of motion" translate this sentence into English.
RUSSIAN: Я написал это письмо.
ENGLISH:
Answer:
ENGLISH: I wrote this letter. (a completed action)
That was simple. The perfective verb tells you it is a completed action.
O.K.: translate this one.
RUSSIAN: Я писал маме.
ENGLISH:
Answer:
ENGLISH:
I was writing Mother (when you called),
I wrote Mother (every day).
I would write to Mother (every morning before school).
The three translations above point out the problem with imperfective verbs -- they can be interpreted in several ways. All you know when you see an imperfective verb is that the emphasis is not on a completed action.
This is an important point to know about Russian verbs: perfective verbs carry an intrinsic meaning of completion, while imperfective verbs have no intrinsic meaning. The problem with imperfective verbs is one of interpretation.
Where do you suppose you would look for hints on interpreting the meaning of an imperfective verb?
Answer: Look at the rest of the sentence or paragraph.
Looking at the rest of the sentence for clues is the normal approach. Since imperfective verbs may have several meanings (interpretations), it is necessary to know the sentence context as well as the possible meanings of the imperfective verb. From now on we shall deal with imperfective verbs only.
What are the three basic meanings of the imperfective verbs?
_______________________________
_______________________________
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Answer:
progressive action
repeated action
naming the action
Now, in the sentences below choose the best meaning for the imperfective verbs according to the context of the sentences; progressive, repeated, or naming.
Я писал отцу три раза. I wrote to father three times.
Я читал всё утро. I read (was reading) all morning.
Я говорил по-русски. I spoke (used to speak) Russian.
Answer:
repeated action
progressive action
naming the action
The last answer, "naming the action" occasionally gives the student some trouble. This meaning, of imperfective verbs is used to simply state the verb without reference to any quality of action or time.
Below are listed some English sentences that name the verb.
I like to play.
My dog limps.
Most people sneeze.
He reads Russian.
We eat to live.
None of these verbs truly tie themselves to the notions of progression or repetition.