Verbal aspect (imperfective / perfective)
A2 Вид глагола (несовершенный и совершенный) 21 / 50
In short
Almost every Russian verb belongs to an aspect pair: an imperfective verb (чита́ть) views an action as a process, a habit, or a general fact, while its perfective partner (прочита́ть) views it as one single completed action with a result. Same event, two viewpoints. The imperfective has present, past and a compound future; the perfective has no present tense at all - its present-looking endings mean the future.
The rule
1. Two aspects, one event. Russian has no separate “I read / I was reading / I have read” tenses. Instead the aspect of the verb carries that meaning. The two members of a pair usually translate the same English verb:
- Imperfective (НСВ, несоверше́нный вид) - the action as a process, a repetition, or a plain fact, with no focus on a result: чита́ть, писа́ть, де́лать.
- Perfective (СВ, соверше́нный вид) - one single, completed action that produced a result: прочита́ть, написа́ть, сде́лать.
Compare: Я чита́л кни́гу (I was reading a book - process) vs Я прочита́л кни́гу (I read / finished the book - result, it is now done).
2. How pairs are built. You meet a verb in the dictionary together with its partner. Three main ways:
- Prefix - the perfective adds a prefix: чита́ть → прочита́ть, писа́ть → написа́ть, де́лать → сде́лать.
- Stem / suffix change - usually the imperfective is the longer one: дава́ть → дать, покупа́ть → купи́ть, реша́ть → реши́ть.
- Suppletive - two different roots: говори́ть → сказа́ть, брать → взять.
3. The big consequence - tenses. This is why aspect is taught so early: every tense form depends on it.
- The imperfective has all three: present (я чита́ю), past (я чита́л), compound future (я бу́ду чита́ть).
- The perfective has no present. Its present-shaped endings express the future: я прочита́ю = I will read / will have read (full future in lesson 24). Its past (я прочита́л) means I read and finished.
So бу́ду + infinitive is only ever imperfective (я бу́ду чита́ть). A perfective never uses бу́ду.
Forms & patterns
Aspect pairs and how they are formed. Always learn both members together:
| Imperfective (НСВ) | Perfective (СВ) | How formed | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| чита́ть | прочита́ть | prefix про- | to read |
| писа́ть | написа́ть | prefix на- | to write |
| де́лать | сде́лать | prefix с- | to do / make |
| гото́вить | пригото́вить | prefix при- | to cook / prepare |
| дава́ть | дать | stem change | to give |
| покупа́ть | купи́ть | stem change | to buy |
| реша́ть | реши́ть | stem change | to solve / decide |
| понима́ть | поня́ть | stem change | to understand |
| говори́ть | сказа́ть | suppletive | to say / tell |
| брать | взять | suppletive | to take |
The tense grid. The same pair across the three time-zones (1st person singular shown):
| Time / Время | Imperfective чита́ть | Perfective прочита́ть |
|---|---|---|
| Present / Настоя́щее | я чита́ю (I read / am reading) | — none — |
| Past / Проше́дшее | я чита́л(а) (I read / was reading) | я прочита́л(а) (I read / finished) |
| Future / Бу́дущее | я бу́ду чита́ть (I will read / be reading) | я прочита́ю (I will read / finish) |
Notice the perfective fills the empty “present” box by pushing its plain endings into the future: я прочита́ю, ты прочита́ешь, он прочита́ет - all future. The imperfective instead builds the future with бу́ду / бу́дешь / бу́дет … + infinitive.
Examples
| Русский | English |
|---|---|
| Я ка́ждый день чита́ю газе́ту. | I read the newspaper every day. (habit - НСВ) |
| Вчера́ ве́чером я прочита́л э́ту кни́гу. | Last night I read this book (finished it). (result - СВ) |
| Она́ до́лго писа́ла письмо́. | She was writing the letter for a long time. (process - НСВ) |
| Она́ написа́ла письмо́ и отпра́вила его́. | She wrote the letter and sent it. (result - СВ) |
| Что ты обы́чно де́лаешь в суббо́ту? | What do you usually do on Saturday? (general - НСВ) |
| Я уже́ сде́лал дома́шнее зада́ние. | I have already done the homework. (completed - СВ) |
| За́втра я куплю́ но́вый телефо́н. | Tomorrow I will buy a new phone. (perfective future - СВ) |
| Он всегда́ говори́т пра́вду, и сейча́с он сказа́л пра́вду. | He always tells the truth, and now he has told the truth. (НСВ habit / СВ result) |
Common mistakes
- Я прочита́ю сейча́с -> Я чита́ю сейча́с - perfective has no present; “прочита́ю” means I will read, not I am reading now.
- Я бу́ду прочита́ть -> Я прочита́ю - the perfective future is simple (one word); бу́ду + infinitive works only with the imperfective.
- Ка́ждый день я прочита́ю газе́ту -> ка́ждый день я чита́ю газе́ту - repeated, habitual actions are imperfective.
- Looking up only one verb and ignoring its partner -> learn the pair (де́лать / сде́лать) so you have both viewpoints ready.
- Я вчера́ сде́лаю -> я вчера́ сде́лал - “сде́лаю” is future; for a finished past action use the perfective past сде́лал.
Tips
- Learn verbs in pairs, like vocabulary couples: де́лать / сде́лать, писа́ть / написа́ть. Memorise the partner the moment you meet the verb.
- A quick test question: imperfective answers что де́лать?, perfective answers что сде́лать? The little с- in the question mirrors the prefixed perfective.
- If a perfective verb looks like a present tense (я напишу́, он ку́пит), read it as future - the perfective box for “now” is empty.
- Signal words point the way: ча́сто, обы́чно, ка́ждый день, до́лго, всегда́ pull the imperfective; уже́, вдруг, наконе́ц often pull the perfective result.