How to form and use the past tense in Russian?

Imperfective verbs have a number of uses in the past, all characterized by focus on duration (as opposed to the result) or repetition (as opposed to an individual action). Let’s take a closer look at each of these uses.

• To state a fact or generalization

  Imperfective verbs are used in the past tense to state a fact or make a generalization resulting from a past action.

  In this meaning they are often accompanied by the adverbs никогда[nikagDA](never), когда-нибудь[kagDAniboot](ever), раньше[RANshe](before), уже[ooZHE](already), and they are usually translated into English with the “have done” structure, for example:

  imperfective past

  Я уже где-то слышала эту песню.

  ya ooZHE GDYEta SLYshala Etoo PYESnyu

  I have already heard this song somewhere.

  Их сыновья раньше занимались карате.

  eekh synavYA RANshe zaniMAlis karaTE

  Their sons used to do karate.

  Вы когда-нибудь ели щи?

  vy kagDAniboot YEli shchee

  Have you ever eaten shchi (cabbage soup)?

  Мы никогда не играли в одной команде.

  my nikagDA ni igRAli v adNOY kaMANdye

  We have never played on one team.

• To talk about an action in progress at a certain time and simultaneous actions

  Imperfective verbs are used to describe actions that were ongoing at a certain time in the past, similarly to the English “was/were doing” structure in a situation like, “I was cooking at 5 pm yesterday.”

  imperfective past

  Ещё вчера в это время мы загорали на пляже.

  yiSHCHO fchiRA v Eta VRYEmya my zagaRAli na PLYAzhe

  Just yesterday at this time we were sunbathing on the beach.

  Я работал в саду, когда ты позвонил.

  ya raBOtal f saDOO kagDA ty pazvaNEEL

  I was working in the garden when you called.

  → The interrupting action (“you called”) is perfective. We’ll discuss this more below.

  When you are describing several actions happening all at the same time, you should use imperfective verbs as well. For example:

  imperfective past

  Вчера в 9 вечера нас не было дома, мы смотрели балет в театре.

  fchiRA v DYEvit VYEchira nas NYE byla DOma MY smaTRYEli baLYET f TYATrye

  Yesterday at 9 pm we weren’t home, we were watching ballet at the theater.

  Ваня сидел на диване, читал книгу и ел чипсы.

  VAnya siDYEL na diVAnye chiTAL KNEEgoo i yel CHEEPsy

  Vanya was sitting on the couch, reading a book, and eating potato chips.

• To talk about an action with a specific duration

  When you want to stress how long an action or situation in the past lasted, you’ll need imperfective verbs in their past forms in Russian, for example:

  imperfective past

  Во вторник с 3 до 5 я помогала подруге с переездом.

  va FTORnik c tryokh da piTEE ya pamaGAla padROOgye c piriYEZdam

  On Tuesday from 3 to 5 I was helping a friend move.

  Пока ты спал, я читала.

  paKA ty spal ya chiTAla

  While you were sleeping I was reading.

  Он два часа собирал вещи, и в итоге опоздал на самолёт.

  on dva chiSA sabiRAL VYEshchi i v iTOgye apaZDAL na samaLYOT

  He was packing for two hours, and as a result was late for his flight.

  Exception!

  With phrases that focus on how long it took to complete an action (rather than just how long it lasted) you’ll use perfective verbs instead.

  perfective past

  Он собрал вещи за пять минут.

  on saBRAL VYEshchi za pyat miNOOT

  It took him five minutes to pack his things.

  This is particularly common with phrases like за два часа[za dva chiSA]((it took) two hours) or за три дня[za tree dnya]((it took) three days).

• To talk about habitual actions

  When describing regular, repeated, or habitual past activities, imperfective verbs should be used in Russian, for instance:

  imperfective past

  Мы в детстве много играли на улице.

  my v DYETStvye MNOga igRAli na OOlitse

  As children, we used to play outside a lot.

  Где вы занимались карате?

  gdye vy zaniMAlis karaTE

  Where did you practice karate?

  На Новый год мама всегда готовила пельмени.

  na NOvyi got MAma fsigDA gaTOvila pilMYEni

  For New Years, Mom always made pelmeni (meat dumplings).

• To describe unattempted actions

  When you want to say that some action in the past didn’t take place and wasn’t even attempted, you usually need an imperfective verb, for example:

  imperfective past

  Я не нажимала эту кнопку.

  ya ni nazhyMAla Etoo KNOPkoo

  I didn’t press this button.

  Мы не заказывали такой услуги.

  my ni zaKAzyvali taKOY oosLOOgi

  We didn’t order such service.

  Он не просил тебя ему помогать.

  on ni praSEEL tiBYA yiMOO pamaGAT

  He didn’t ask you to help him.

• To talk about repeatedly attempted but failed actions

  When the action was attempted repeatedly but still failed, Russians tend to use imperfective verbs in the past too, for instance:

  imperfective past

  Я им и писал, и звонил, но никакого ответа не получил.

  ya eem i piSAL i zvaNEEL no nikaKOva atVYEta ni palooCHEEL

  I wrote to them, I called them, but got no answer.

  Тебя искала какая-то женщина.

  tiBYA isKAla kaKAyata ZHENshchina

  Some woman was looking for you.

  Они кричали, но она их слышала.

  aNEE kriCHAli no aNA eekh ni SLYshala

  They were shouting but she didn’t hear them.

  Note that in all the sentences above, we understand that the action was attempted and failed multiple times. If only one attempt was made, you’ll want to use a perfective verb instead (see below).

Perfective verbs generally tend to have an emphasis on the result of a finished action, and refer to an individual completed action. Thus, perfective verbs have a number of meanings and uses in the past described below.

• For completed actions or a series of completed actions

  When the focus is on the fact that the action is completed, and you're more concerned with the fact that it happened than the process, you need to use perfective verbs. For example:

  perfective past

  Мы купили дом в прошлом году.

  my kooPEEli dom f PROSHlam gaDOO

  We bought a house last year.

  Где ты потерял свой кошелёк?

  gdye ty patiRYAL svoy kashyLYOK

  Where did you lose your wallet?

  The same goes for describing a series of completed actions, when one action happens after another.

  perfective past

  Она поела, помыла посуду, посмотрела телевизор, приняла душ и легла спать.

  aNA paYEla paMYla paSOOdoo pasmaTRYEla tiliVEEzar priniLA doosh i ligLA spat

  She ate, did the dishes, watched TV, took a shower, and went to bed.

• To talk about a result in the present

  Perfective verbs can also be used in Russian in situations when the result of a past action is emphasized in the present, for example:

  perfective past

  Мама, посмотри какую я картину нарисовал!

  MAma pasmatREE kaKOOyu ya karTEEnoo narisaVAL

  Mom, look what a picture I’ve painted!

  Ты встала?

  ty FSTAla

  Have you gotten up?

  Мою машину уже отремонтировали?

  maYU maSHYnoo ooZHE atrimanTEEravali

  Has my car been fixed yet?

• To introduce a direct quote

  The verbs that introduce direct speech, such as сказать[skaZAT](to say), спросить[spraSEET](to ask), подумать[paDOOmat](to think), are mostly perfective verbs in Russian, used in their past forms, for example:

  perfective past

  Я спросила: “Где вы научились так вкусно готовить?”

  ya spraSEEla gdye vy naooCHEElis tak FKOOSna gaTOvit

  I asked, “Where did you learn to cook so well?”

  Он ответил: “Моя мама итальянка, она научила.”

  on atVYEtil maYA MAma italYANka aNA naooCHEEla

  He replied, “My mom is Italian, she taught me.”

• For an individual action that was attempted but failed

  With negation, perfective verbs in the past mean a single action that was attempted, but didn’t work out, or the focus on the absence of the desired result. For example:

  perfective past

  Я не понял его объяснений.

  ya ni POnyal yiVO abisNYEniy

  I didn’t understand his explanations.

  В итоге мы не заплатили ни копейки.

  v iTOgye my ni zaplaTEEli ni kaPYEYki

  In the end we didn’t pay a cent.

  Ты до сих пор не нашёл работу.

  ty da sikh por ni naSHOL raBOtoo

  You still haven’t found a job.