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- <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><title>Chapter 1. Introduction</title><meta name="generator" content="DocBook XSL Stylesheets V1.79.2"/><link rel="home" href="index.xhtml" title="Russian verbs of motion:"/><link rel="up" href="index.xhtml" title="Russian verbs of motion:"/><link rel="prev" href="pr01.xhtml" title="Conjugation patterns of the verbs of locomotion and conveyance"/><link rel="next" href="ch02.xhtml" title="Chapter 2. Verbs of motion"/></head><body><div class="navheader"><table width="100%" summary="Navigation header"><tr><th colspan="3" align="center">Chapter 1. Introduction</th></tr><tr><td width="20%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="pr01.xhtml">Prev</a> </td><th width="60%" align="center"> </th><td width="20%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="ch02.xhtml">Next</a></td></tr></table><hr/></div><div class="chapter"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h1 class="title"><a id="d5e461"/>Chapter 1. Introduction</h1></div></div></div><p>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 <span class="bold"><strong>verbal
- idea</strong></span>. 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 <span xml:lang="ru" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="ru" class="foreignphrase">писать</em></span> and the perfective <span xml:lang="ru" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="ru" class="foreignphrase">написать</em></span>. Both mean "to write".</p><p>Perfective verbs generally express the notion of completion. For example, the perfective
- verb <span xml:lang="ru" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="ru" class="foreignphrase">написать</em></span> "to write" is used in the past
- tense below expressing the notion of a completed action. </p><div class="informaltable"><table class="informaltable" width="100%" border="1"><colgroup><col class="c1"/><col class="c2"/></colgroup><tbody><tr><td><span xml:lang="ru" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="ru" class="foreignphrase">Я написал эту книгу.</em></span></td><td>I wrote this book.</td></tr></tbody></table></div><p>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 <span xml:lang="ru" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="ru" class="foreignphrase">писать</em></span> "to write", you might find the following:</p><div class="informaltable"><table class="informaltable" width="100%" border="1"><colgroup><col class="c1"/><col class="c2"/></colgroup><tbody><tr><td><span xml:lang="ru" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="ru" class="foreignphrase">Я писал весь день.</em></span></td><td>I was writing all day. (progressive)</td></tr><tr><td valign="middle"><span xml:lang="ru" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="ru" class="foreignphrase">Я писал каждый
- день.</em></span></td><td>
- <p>I wrote every day. (repetition) </p>
- <p>I would write every day. </p>
- <p>I used to write every day.</p>
- </td></tr><tr><td><span xml:lang="ru" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="ru" class="foreignphrase">Я хорошо писал по-русски.</em></span></td><td>I wrote Russian well. (naming the action)</td></tr></tbody></table></div><p>This opposition between imperfective and perfective verbs is superficially adequate for
- most verbs in most contexts.</p><div class="informaltable"><table class="informaltable" width="100%" border="1"><colgroup><col class="c1"/><col align="left" class="c2"/><col class="c3"/><col class="c4"/></colgroup><tbody><tr><td valign="middle"><span xml:lang="ru" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="ru" class="foreignphrase">Я писал</em></span></td><td align="left">
- <p>progressive</p>
- <p>repetition</p>
- <p>naming the action</p>
- </td><td valign="middle"><span xml:lang="ru" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="ru" class="foreignphrase">я написал</em></span></td><td valign="middle">completion</td></tr></tbody></table></div><p>Before we start with the "verbs of motion" translate this sentence into English.</p><p>RUSSIAN: <span xml:lang="ru" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="ru" class="foreignphrase">Я написал это письмо</em></span>.</p><p>ENGLISH:</p><p><span class="bold"><strong>Answer</strong></span>:</p><p>ENGLISH: I wrote this letter. (a completed action)</p><p>That was simple. The perfective verb tells you it is a completed action. </p><p>O.K.:<span class="bold"><strong> translate this one.</strong></span></p><p>RUSSIAN: <span xml:lang="ru" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="ru" class="foreignphrase">Я писал маме.</em></span></p><p>ENGLISH:</p><p><span class="bold"><strong>Answer</strong></span>:</p><p>ENGLISH:</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p>I was writing Mother (when you called),</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>I wrote Mother (every day).</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>I would write to Mother (every morning before school).</p></li></ul></div><p>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 <span class="bold"><strong>not</strong></span> on a completed action.</p><p>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.</p><p><span class="bold"><strong>Where do you suppose you would look for hints on interpreting the
- meaning of an imperfective verb?</strong></span></p><p><span class="bold"><strong>Answer</strong></span>: Look at the rest of the sentence or
- paragraph.</p><p>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.</p><p><span class="bold"><strong>What are the three basic meanings of the imperfective
- verbs?</strong></span></p><div class="orderedlist"><ol class="orderedlist" type="1"><li class="listitem"><p>_______________________________</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>_______________________________</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>_______________________________</p></li></ol></div><p><span class="bold"><strong>Answer</strong></span>:</p><div class="orderedlist"><ol class="orderedlist" type="1"><li class="listitem"><p>progressive action</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>repeated action</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>naming the action</p></li></ol></div><p>Now, in the sentences below <span class="bold"><strong>choose the best meaning for the
- imperfective verbs</strong></span> according to the context of the sentences; progressive,
- repeated, or naming.</p><div class="orderedlist"><ol class="orderedlist" type="1"><li class="listitem"><p><span xml:lang="ru" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="ru" class="foreignphrase">Я писал отцу три раза.</em></span> I wrote to father
- three times.</p></li><li class="listitem"><p><span xml:lang="ru" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="ru" class="foreignphrase">Я читал всё утро.</em></span> I read (was reading)
- all morning.</p></li><li class="listitem"><p><span xml:lang="ru" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="ru" class="foreignphrase">Я говорил по-русски.</em></span> I spoke (used to
- speak) Russian.</p></li></ol></div><p><span class="bold"><strong>Answer</strong></span>:</p><div class="orderedlist"><ol class="orderedlist" type="1"><li class="listitem"><p>repeated action</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>progressive action</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>naming the action</p></li></ol></div><p>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.</p><p>Below are listed some English sentences that name the verb.</p><div class="orderedlist"><ol class="orderedlist" type="1"><li class="listitem"><p>I like to play.</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>My dog limps.</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Most people sneeze.</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>He reads Russian.</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>We eat to live.</p></li></ol></div><p>None of these verbs truly tie themselves to the notions of progression or
- repetition.</p></div><div class="navfooter"><hr/><table width="100%" summary="Navigation footer"><tr><td width="40%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="pr01.xhtml">Prev</a> </td><td width="20%" align="center"> </td><td width="40%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="ch02.xhtml">Next</a></td></tr><tr><td width="40%" align="left" valign="top">Conjugation patterns of the verbs of locomotion and conveyance </td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="h" href="index.xhtml">Home</a></td><td width="40%" align="right" valign="top"> Chapter 2. Verbs of motion</td></tr></table></div></body></html>
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