🔤 Grammar
Verb aspect: imperfective vs. perfective
Almost every Russian verb comes in a pair — one imperfective (for ongoing, repeated, or unfinished actions) and one perfective (for a single completed action). «Читать» = to be reading (imperf.); «прочитать» = to read [and finish] (perf.).
Conjugation tables
Common aspect pairs
| Imperfective | Perfective | English |
|---|---|---|
| читать | прочитать | to read |
| писать | написать | to write |
| говорить | сказать | to speak / say |
| делать | сделать | to do |
| покупать | купить | to buy |
Читать — to read (present, imperf.)
| Pronoun | Russian |
|---|---|
| я | читаю |
| ты | читаешь |
| он / она | читает |
| мы | читаем |
| вы | читаете |
| они | читают |
Examples
- Я читаю книгу.Ya chitáyu knígu.I'm reading a book. (imperf.)
- Я прочитал книгу вчера.Ya prochitál knígu vcherá.I finished reading the book yesterday. (perf.)
Practice
Match each infinitive to its meaning.
Tap a english below, then tap the russian it belongs to — or drag it.
Russian
English
Match each aspect pair (imperfective → perfective).
Tap a perfective below, then tap the imperfective it belongs to — or drag it.
Imperfective
Perfective