Russian verbal aspect
From UniLang Wiki
What is Verbal Aspect you ask? Let's see. That's right. In Russian, the Aspect ("вид" in Russian) is how an action is perceived through the eyes of the Russian speaker. Russians look at an action as being in one of two states, the Imperfective and the Perfective. Not to be confused with Tense (when the action takes place in time,) Aspect is the distinction between whether the action has been been completed or not, and occurs in all tenses, past, present, and future.
Imperfective: the action itself, the carrying out of the action, is emphasized.
Perfective: the outcome of the action, or completion, is emphasized.
This definition is quite vague, yes, but hopefully the following examples will help clear up how, when, and why this distinction is important in Russian. Just keep in mind a few basic principles:
Most Verbs have both an Imperfective and a Perfective form. Many times the two forms are very similar.
The Perfective many times is simply a slight alteration of the Imperfective form's spelling (adding of a prefix, changing vowels, a different ending on stem, are some ways Perfectives are made.)
| Imperfective |
perfective |
|
| писать |
написать |
"to write" |
| читать |
прочитать |
"to read" |
| пить |
выпить |
"to drink" |
| включать |
включить |
"to turn on" |
| получать |
получить |
"to receive" |
| открывать |
открыть |
"to open" |
| вставать |
встать |
"to stand up" |
some pairs show no obvious relation between eachother
| ложиться |
лечь |
"to lie down" |
| понимать |
понять |
"to understand" |
| помогать |
помочь |
"to help" |
| покупать |
купить |
"to buy" |
yet, some verbs do not have a Perfective aspect, only imperfective (they can only be in process of being carried out, never completed)
| значить |
-------- |
"to mean" |
| знать |
-------- |
"to know" |
| выглядеть |
-------- |
"to look like" |
| помнить |
-------- |
"to remember" |
| стоить |
-------- |
"to cost" |
Imperfective: occurs in past, present, and future tenses.
Perfective: occurs in past and future only. A "completed" action cannot be happening present, can it? ;)
It's best to learn both forms together, when applicable. But refrain from thinking of the two aspects as "opposites," they are not, they merely reflect the two ways the actions are perceived in Russian.
"This is insane! How can two words both mean "to write!?"
Well, "писать" and "написать" both mean "to write" in that they illustrate to two ways the action of writing are looked at in Russian. Hopefully, these examples will clear up the usage of the aspects for you.
We'll go in a tense by tense basis, starting in past tense. NOTE: Imperfective is given in first example, followed by Perfective.
PAST
- Я писал письмо. I was writing a letter. (action itself)
- Я написал письмо. I wrote a letter. (completion)
- Я читал книгу. I was reading a book.
- Я прочитал книгу. I read a book. (finished reading)
- Я пил стакан водки. I was drinking a glass of vodka.
- Я выпил стакан водки. I drank a glass of vodka.
Heres an example, with a verb in both aspects, in the past tense:
Когда я пил стакан водки, я написал письмо. While I was drinking a glass of vodka, I wrote the letter.
The background action is imperfective, the speaker is telling of his finishing the letter writing (perf) whilst drinking (imp.)
PRESENT (only Imperfective verbs can be in present)
- Я пишу письмо. - I am writing a letter.
- Я читаю книгу. - I am reading a book.
- Я пью водку. - I am drinking vodka.
FUTURE
Forming the Future Tense is a little different...
Imperfective: uses present tense of быть (conjugated) + imperfective infinitive to make Future Tense.
This is very similiar to the english form "I will + verb" in making future.
Perfective: As we saw earlier, the Perfective often looks very similiar to the imperfective in the Infinitive as well as past tense. In the future tense, the Perfective is conjugated, in practice, as if it were a Imperfective in the present. Notice:
- Я буду писать письмо. - I will be writing a letter.
- Я напишу письмо. - I will write the letter (finish it)
(compare to"Я пишу")
- Ты будешь читать книгу? - Will you be reading the book?
- Ты прочитаешь книгу? - Will you read the book? (start to finish)
- Я не буду пить водку. - I won't be drinking vodka.
- Ну, я выпью одну бутылку! - Well, I'll drink a bottle. (but no more ;))
Here are some more examples, showing the more accute subtlities of meaning between the uses of the Imperfective and Perfective:
