Of course, at the beginning it will be difficult to grasp, what the aspect of a verb to choose to form the Past Tense. But, as you study the language, you will catch in correct using. Just in case, I repeat. In the Past Tense the verbs of perfect aspect are used:
1. Action is taking place 1 time.
2. Action is completed, there is a result.
The verbs of imperfect aspect are used:
1. Action is taking place several times (repeated).
2. Action is not completed, there is no result.
The most important in the formation of the Past Tense is suffix Л! And, of course, learn the verbs from table 2.
The Present Tense
The Correlation between Tense and Verbal Aspect
As you already understood, at formation of the Past Tense in Russian 2 verbal aspects and suffix-Л are used. What is the correlation between an aspect of a verb and the formation of the Present and the Future Tenses? Well talk about this later, but now lets talk on another point for the beginning. All verbs in Russian in the Present Tense and the Future Tense change their endings depending on pronouns. For example, the verb знать. Depending on a pronoun the verb will change: Я знаю. Мы знаем. Ты знаешь. Вы знаете. Он, она знает. Они знают. Another example. Работать (н.в.). Я работаю. Мы работаем. Ты работаешь. Вы работаете. Он, она работает. Они работают.
And all these changing forms need to learn! (Do you still want to learn Russian? -)). Its wrong to say: Я работать. Or: Я работаем. When я, so, its correct to say: Я работаЮ.
The verb знать is of imperfective aspect. This means that the phrase Я знаю refers to the Present Tense. Why? The fact is that the Present Tense of verbs in Russian is formed from the verbs of imperfective aspect only! Thus, when you want to say about what youre doing now or about repeated action, you use the verbs of imperfective aspect. To the question Что ты сейчас делаешь?, you can answer, for example, Я читаю. (читать н.в.). Я сплю. (спать н.в.). Я работаю. (работать н.в.).
One more example. Я покупаю продукты. (покупать н.в.). Compare, for example, with the phrase Я куплю (купить с.в.) продукты. The verbs купить-покупать have one and the same meaning and differ in aspects only. While in the first sentence, we are talking about an event that occurs at the present moment (for example, you are in a store and talk on the phone) or about repeated event. The verb покупать is of imperfective aspect, it refers to the present tense. The verb купить is of perfective aspect, therefore, all forms formed from it, refer to the future tense. For example, when Russian says: Я куплю машину, the Future Tense is meant. (Youll read more about the Future Tense in the next chapter). An example of repeated action, when the verbs of imperfective aspects are used and which refer to the Present Tense, are the following sentences: Я езжу (ездить н.в.) на работу на автобусе. (I go (to go imperf.) to work by bus. ) Летом часто идут (идти н.в.) дожди. (It rains (to rain imperf.) often in summer), « Я часто звоню (звонить н.в.) домой. ( I often call (to call imperf.) home. ) In table 1 you can see all endings of verbs. Pay your attention, that endings of verbs are different. For example, Он учится (н.в.) the ending is ИТ. Он работает (н.в.) the ending is ЕТ. The choice between ит or ет depends on conjugation (the 1st conjugation predetermines the verbs ending ЕТ, the 2nd conjugation predetermines -ИТ). Your brain might blow up from the amount of information that you need to remember. Therefore, in order to make this task easier, at the initial stage the verbs will be given in finished form. The main thing is to change the ending of a verb in relation to pronoun or noun.
The Future Tense
The Future Tense is formed from the verbs of perfective aspect, for example звонить позвонить (to call shall/will have called). Звонить is the verb of imperfective aspect, so we can form The Present Tense from it only. Позвонить is the verb of perfective aspect of the 2nd conjugation, so from this verb we can form only the Future Tense. Я позвоню. Мы позвоним. Ты позвонишь. Вы позвоните. Он, она позвонит. Они позвонят. I.e. when Russian says Я звоню домой часто, the Present Tense is meant. But the phrase Он позвонит мне means that someone will phone me in future. The endings of the verbs of perfective aspect such as of the verbs of imperfective aspect depend on their conjugation (1st or 2nd).). Я сделаю. Мы сделаем. Ты сделаешь. Вы сделаете. Он, она сделает. Они сделают. See table 1.
So, you should know the aspect of a verb which you use to construct a sentence correctly. When you talk about a future event, you should use a verb of perfective aspect. When you talk about an event which is repeated or is taking place right now, you should use a verb of imperfective aspect.
Conclusions
At forming The Past Tense the verbs of perfective or imperfective aspect are used. At forming The Present Tense the verbs of imperfective aspect are used. At forming The Future Tense the verbs of perfective aspect are used.
The endings in Russian in the Present Tense and the Future Tense vary in relation to pronouns (я, мы, ты, вы, он, она, они) or nouns.
The choose of ending ЕМ or (-ИМ), -ЕШЬ (-ИШЬ), -ЕТЕ (-ИТЕ), ЕТ (-ИТ), ЮТ (-АТ) depends on the conjugations (1st or 2nd).
Sometimes the Future Tense is formed with the help of the verb БЫТЬ + Infinitive (imperfective aspect). For example: Я буду работать. Мы будем работать. Ты будешь работать? Вы будете работать? Он будет работать там? Они будут работать? This variant is used when an event refers to the future or it is long in time (repeated). Я буду звонить часто. (Ill call often). Я буду любить тебя всю жизнь. (Ill love you all my life). Я буду учиться. (Ill study). The forming of the Future Tense in such way is rather rare, than the forming of the Future Tense from the verbs of perfective aspect.
At the end of the textbook you will find the table of all verbs used here, in which verbal aspect is indicated on purpose you to know what Tense can be formed from one or another verb.
Exercise 9.
А) Find the meanings of the words in the dictionary. Define the Tense of the verbs. Learn them!
жить (н.в.) 1 спр. я живу, мы живём, ты живёшь, вы живёте, он, она живёт, они живут.
учиться (н.в.) 2 спр. я учусь, мы учимся, ты учишься, вы учитесь, он, она учится, они учатся.