Verb Aspect: Imperfective and Perfective

Every Russian verb comes in an aspectual pair — this is one of the most important concepts in Russian.

Imperfective (несовершенный вид)

• Actions that are ongoing, repeated, or habitual.
• "I was doing" or "I used to do".
• Can form present, past, and compound future tenses.
• Example: Что ты делал? — Читал (What were you doing? — I was reading).

Perfective (совершенный вид)

• Actions that are completed, one-time, or have a result.
• "I did" or "I will have done".
• Has past and simple future tenses ONLY (no present).
• Example: Что ты сделал? — Прочитал книгу (What did you do? — I finished reading).

Common pairs