Questions tagged [вид]
Questions regarding the meaning, usage, formation and translation of aspectual forms of Russian verbs.
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Elementary understanding of the concept aspect
First, for the aim of this question I must say that I am not familiar with the Russian language, but I read a bit about it and am curious. I've never learned Russian before and just able to say a ...
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Do Russian speakers consistently produce the same perfective form for a new verb?
Suppose, for example, that a new verb снапчатовать ("to snapchat") was coined in Russian. Would Russian speakers agree on what the perfective form of this verb should be? Is that generally the case ...
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Imperatives and Aspect
When using an imperative form, what effect does the speaker's choice of aspect have?
More concretely — what's the difference between (for example) снимай пальто and сними пальто? In both cases, the ...
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сдавать/сдать экзамен
During my Russian classes and later, I never felt comfortable with the expressions "to take an exam" and "to pass an exam" as сдавать экзамен and сдать экзамен. It doesn't seem to me like taking an ...
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Is it possible to translate English tenses into Russian tenses?
How would these tenses and aspects translate into Russian? I realize that the two languages use a different system, but it seems to me that if I knew how each of these aspects translated than I would ...
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Use of не стану [делать]
I came across the following construction:
«Ерунда! – воскликнул принц. – Я не стану есть свою собаку!
The context is an Indian prince, who is told he may have to eat his dog if the food runs out.
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Difference between 'падать' and 'упасть'
I am a new student of the russian language. I came across 'падать/упасть' to fall.
Could someone explain this to me because they look like entirely different words to my untrained eyes. Even just a ...
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Difference between "открыл" and "открывал"
I am not sure I understand the difference between these two verb forms. For example, what is the difference in meaning between:
Кто-то открыл дверь.
and
Кто-то открывал дверь.
As far as I ...
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Are there truly "empty" perfectivizing prefixes in Russian? (aspectual clusters versus aspectual pairs)
Foreign learners are often taught that Russian verbs always come in aspectual pairs, with the perfective verb formed from the imperfective verb either by changing the stem or adding a prefix. The two ...
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determine the aspect of verbs of motion
Apparently one thing which makes it difficult to deal with verbs of motion is the additional distinction into two groups, beside the given division into verbs of imperfective and perfective aspect.
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Difference between поиграть and сыграть
What is the difference between «поиграть» and «сыграть»? They both are perfective forms of «играть» (to play, to perform). When should each one be used? Are they interchangeable?
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(по)вредить with accusative and/or dative
According to my dictionary (Kenneth Katzner, link):
вреди́ть v.impfv. [pfv. повреди́ть; pres. врежу́, вреди́шь] (with dat.) to harm; damage; be injurious to.
I think I should use the dative case ...
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"How are you" differences
I have seen that there are certain ways to say 'how are you' in Russian.
I understand the part where there is a formal you and an informal one.
I also understand that they are conjugated differently.
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Imperative with imperfective verbs
Is it rude to use imperative with imperfective verbs?
Like, suppose you are a customs officer asking someone to open their case, you could probably (I'm just guessing at this point) say either:
...
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What's the difference between "умереть" and "умирать"?
What's the difference between умереть and умирать? I find it very confusing as both mean 'die', just that умирать is a verb.
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What is the difference between посмеяться and засмеяться?
Question: Can someone explain what the difference between посмеяться and засмеяться is?
Both have смеяться (to laugh) as their imperfective form, so I am really confused about what the difference ...
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Несовершенный вид в значении совершенного
Мы то и дело используем в прошедшем времени несовершенный вид там, где он по базовому смыслу вполне заменим на совершенный, однако контекст требует подчеркнуть, что было выполнено некое предписанное ...
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Choice of aspect in question and answer
In a Russian dialogue course, I came across the following snippet in which the questioner uses the imperfective phrase мне выходить, and the respondent uses the perfective phrase вам выйти, and was ...
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Are "тянуть" and "растягивать" equivalent?
I've noticed that some imperfective verbs are converted to the perfective by just adding a prefix. However and oddly enough, sometimes there's an alternate imperfective formed from an internal ...
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Imperfective or perfective aspect for imperative (example “please choose”)
The word “choose” has an imperfective aspect (выбира́ть) and a perfective aspect (вы́брать).
What is the best way to translate “please choose”: “пожалуйста, выбирайте” or “пожалуйста, выберите” and ...
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How do you know when to use изменить/измениться vs менять/меняться
Coming from english, I don't see much difference in meaning between these words because they both translate to "change". Is it just a case of knowing with what situation it's supposed to be used in?
...
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Do all verbs in Russian have both an imperfective and perfective aspect?
I have a lot to learn about Russian verb usage and structure, but at least I've been introduced and somewhat understand the difference between the perfective and imperfective aspect of a verb. Early ...
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The verb слышать for finished action
На обратном пути, сжимая в руке пакет с большим пончиком, он
случайно услышал обрывки их разговора:
– Поттеры, все верно, именно так я и слышал…
Why is the imperfective version of the verb слышать ...
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Imperfective and Perfective Aspects for Non-Personal Moods
The relevance of aspect for the correct usage of verbs seems to be explained only for the personal moods of verbs (e.g. indicative), but what is the meaning of aspect for the impersonal moods, such as ...
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What's the difference between читать and прочесть?
Both seem to mean "to read", so what's the diff?
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"понима́ть" or "понять"
When saying that I don't know the language a friend taught me:
Я не понимаю по-ру́сски.
On a (German) language learner site they write to use
Извините, я не понял.
when not understanding what ...
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uncertainty about some uses of motion verbs
I did a proficiency test recently and I wanted to clarify why I got some answers wrong. In the following examples:
"Летом мы ездим на дачу каждые выходные." -- It's "ездим" / ездить because it's done ...
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Interpretation of past negation
I'm quite familiar with the use and meaning of the aspects in an affirmative past scenario. However I've noticed that they don't always correspond in a negative past scenario - where you'd expect a ...
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Perfective of таскать
Before asking my question, let me tell what I know about verbs of motion so far:
-For each verb of motion in English (ex.: to go) there are multiple verbs in Russian;
-Each nuance of motion verbs in ...
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Purpose of «по-» as prefix
The way I saw it, «шутил» was potentially the past tense of «шутить».
So, what's the reason for saying «пошутил»? Is it just to make the verb perfective? If so, does that apply to all verbs?
All I ...
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Is the phrase 'Они пойдут на концерт' the correct translation of 'They'll go to the concert?'
I've already tried to use Tatoeba/reverso.net to find out whether the phrase is acceptable. They didn't seem to give much information, so I decided to check here.
I really just had two issues:
A) If ...
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Aspect following должен
Is there any rule governing the choice of aspect following forms of должен? It seems that in a negative sentence with должен, the best choice is often the imperfective, i.e.:
Мы не должны были ...
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How does the meaning of "не мог/смог сдержа́ть/сде́рживать" vary according to the aspect used?
I'm trying to figure out how exactly these aspectual variations modify the meaning of "Она́ не могла́ сдержа́ть слёз" in the following:
Она не могла сдержать слёз.
Она не cмогла сдержать ...
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Use of the imperfective where the perfective would be expected to express a completed action in the past
This is the opening line in a dialog from a Russian course:
Я заказывал у вас номер по телефону.
Why is the imperfective заказывал used here instead of заказал if the speaker completed the ...
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Imperfective "хотеть(ся)" versus perfective "захотеть(ся)"
With most verbs, the difference between the imperfective and perfective forms is obvious to me. But not so with хотеть(ся) and захотеть(ся), perhaps because "to want" is a state or condition, and not ...
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Use of the imperative form подели
There is a lyric that goes:
"ты подели небо поровну"
What is the meaning of подели in this context?
Could I use дели and would it change the meaning?
Can I use this form with я, мы, он, etc? And ...
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Use of the perfective with постепенно
I saw the following sentence in a dictionary and wondered how it makes sense to use a perfective here:
Коллекция подобралась постепенно.
Perhaps I'm not understanding the sentence correctly, but ...
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Usage of imperfective раздобывать
I've only ever heard this verb in its perfective form раздобыть, yet the dictionary lists раздобывать as its imperfective. However is it ever used? The only context I could possibly imagine is ...
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When the perfective counterpart doesn't show up on a dictionary
I know that not all verbs have a perfective counterpart, while there are others which are perfective-only.
However, some verbs do have both aspects, but many times dictionaries don't indicate their ...
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"Презентую" - какое это время?
Слово "презентую" это настоящее время несовершенного вида или будущее время совершенного?
Одновременно ведь быть не может?
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My dictionary sometimes lists two imperfective forms
Consider the verb to send, which my dictionary translates as *посылать (imp.), слать (imp.), послать (perf.). My question is about those cases in which there are two imperfective forms, like in this ...
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How to tell apart "нареза́ть" from "наре́зать"?
Можете нарезать хлеб и сыр? (perfective)
Ты хочешь нарезать лук? (imperfective) ... I think
It seems like for the verb нарезать the perfective and imperfect infinitive forms are
нареза́ть
наре́зать
...
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What is the correct perfective partner for курить?
The dictionaries I could find did not agree on whether the perfective form of the (imperfective) verb курить is either: (i) закурить or (ii) покурить.
What is the correct perfective partner for ...
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Aspect and tense for the verb Войти/Bxодить
In a charming old book "Russian Through Pictures" designed by Harvard University we have a picture of a mother and daughter preparing to enter a shop, and the text underneath says
Они ...
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класть, ложить, положить—weird perfective and imperfective pairs?
So, does anyone want to attempt an explanation as to why класть—положить are a pair.
I know that textbooks often state that there are pairs that are "just", for no good reason different, e.g., ...
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"Услышать" or "послышать"?
In my vocabulary list, I have two different forms for the perfective of слышать listed: услышать and послышать. I know I'm not imagining this, because a practice deck I found online also had both ...
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Choice of aspect for infinitives
I'm pretty comfortable with the use of aspects in conjugated verbs. However, the choice of aspect for infinitives still gives me trouble. I recently read the following snippet, in which twice the act ...
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Can the verb "прозябать" actually be perfectivized?
I recently came across the verb прозябать in a book. Its meaning is one of eking out an existence in the sense of enduring hardship and suffering instead of truly living. This to me, is an ongoing ...
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Is the perfective aspect used to indicate failure?
If I began an action, failed it, and was unable to ever do it again, my action would be completed (but it would be completed in a way that I wouldn't expect). Would I use the perfective aspect for ...
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Is there a word that sound like сёк?
I'm doing a little project comparing Russian hard and soft sounds. A source tells me that сок means juice, which I believe is correct. This source also tells me that there's a word that sounds like ...
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