#imperfective

[languagestudymaterials]

～ている vs. ～る — what changes in reported speech

～ていた vs. plain past — why the same quotation can carry completely different weight depending on which form you use.

Two sentences, same content, different feel:

先生は「あいうえお」と言った 先生は「あいうえお」と言っていた

The difference here is less about grammar and more about how the speaker is framing the information — and what reaction they expect from the listener.

と言った — the words, nothing more

と言った puts the focus on the act of saying and the exact content of what was said. This is a neutral report — here are the words, this is what happened, moving on. You'd use it if someone asked you to quote the teacher precisely, like citing a source. No emotional weight, no implication that it matters beyond the fact itself.

と言っていた — the information is still live

と言っていた shifts the focus. The speaker isn't just reporting a past event — they're presenting the content of what was said as something that still matters now, something the listener should register and respond to. If someone said this to you out of the blue, you'd probably want more context: the teacher said that? Why? What does that mean for us?

This is the broader logic of ている at work. ている describes a state that holds — an action or event whose relevance hasn't ended. When applied to reported speech, it signals that the information being quoted is still active, still in play. The teacher said it, and that fact is carrying weight into this conversation.

The same logic, different verbs

This isn't specific to 言う. The same contrast appears with other verbs in reported or observed contexts:

彼は笑った → he laughed (neutral report of a moment) 彼は笑っていた → he was laughing / he had been laughing (the state of laughing was ongoing and relevant)

窓が開いた → the window opened (the event) 窓が開いていた → the window was open (the resulting state)

In each case, the plain past describes the event as a completed point in time. ていた describes either an ongoing state at a past moment, or a resultative state that was already in place. The distinction is about what the speaker wants to foreground — the event itself, or the state that surrounds it.

More on ている: theory · examples

[haxyr3]

Some "rules" you may find in your textbooks are simply a result of misunderstanding and authors not knowing the subject well enough.

Всегда may easily go with perfective verbs:

Возьми деньги, не стесняйся, деньги тебе всегда пригодятся. - Take the money, don't be shy, you can always make use of it. Пригодятся - perfective.

В классе всегда найдётся такой ребёнок, который молчит и ничего не спрашивает. There's always a kid in class who doesn't talk and doesn't ask anything. Найдётся - perfective.

Скучный факт всегда проиграет мифу. Boring fact will always lose to myth. Проиграет - perfective.

Don't waste your time memorizing made-up rules. Embrace actual, real language instead, read and listen in your target language.

[sophie-studies-theology-blog]

Greek Exam: D-53

I did what I said I'd do - added imperfect forms to (some) of my vocab cards. I also tried to differentiate between Aorist 1st, Aorist 2nd and Imperfect using three kinds of green pen... But I don't think I was consistent enough, so that idea didn't work out so well.

Here's a fun fact: imperfect isn't just "I was learning" and "I was seeing" and "I was baptising", but has FOUR OTHER translations: began, kept, tried, used to.

E.g. Luke 23:34 ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς ἔλεγεν· is often translated as And Jesus kept saying... to emphasise the repetitiveness of the action. But EXCUSE ME WHO DECIDED THIS? It could be one of the other options: "Jesus kept saying/began to say/used to say/was saying/tried to say

Just sayin'.

[myadventuresinrussian]

To Bring

So, instead of working on actual projects, I’m procrastinating by typing verbs. If it’s imperfective, it’s in the present tense and if it’s perfective, then it’s in the future tense.

They go with что (acc), откуда (gen with из or с), куда (acc with в or на), and кому (dat).

Приносить to bring on foot, imperf Я приношу Ты приносишь Он приносит Мы приносим Вы приносите Они приносят

Принести to bring on foot, perf Я принесу Ты принесёшь Он принесёт Мы принесём Вы принесёте Они принесут

Привозить to bring by vehicle, imperf Я привожу Ты привозишь Он привозит Мы привозим Вы привозите Они привозят

Привести to bring by vehicle, perf Я привезу Ты привезёшь Он привезёт Мы привезём Вы привезёте Они привезут

[myadventuresinrussian]

Verbs of Motion

I’ve only learned two. So I’m only including two.

Both are imperf and unidirectional (uni). 

To go on foot is идти 

Conjugation:

Present:

Я иду 

ты идёшь 

он идёт

мы идём 

вы идёте 

они идут 

Past:

он шёл 

она шла 

оно шло 

они шли 

And to go by vehicle is ехать 

Conjugation:

Present:

Я еду 

ты едешь 

он едет 

мы едем 

вы едете

они едут 

Past:

он ехал 

она ехала 

оно ехало

они ехали 

Sentences

Мы идём в кино. We are going to the movie theater.

Я еду домой. I am driving home.

Они ехали в Нью Йорк на машине. They drove to New York by car.

Вы идёте в университет пешком. You are going to the university on foot.

[haxyr3]

As a native speaker, I never think twice about what verb to use - perfective or imperfective. "Perfective verbs are for actions that have been completed, and imperfective verbs are for lasting actions, what could be easier?", I thought. Like most native speakers, I didn't even question the classic explanation of the verbal aspect.

When I started teaching Russian to speakers of other languages, I realized how inconsistent and unformalizable the Russian verbal aspect is. I was about to panic! How on Earth my students could understand that grammar topic if I myself couldn't understand why I picked perfective or imperfective verbs?

Then I found this book. It is small, but it offers a very accurate and thorough explanation of the Russian verbal aspect. Yukihide Hashimoto describes the difference between perfective and imperfective verbs so simply that, after reading this book, you'll be wondering why that topic seemed so difficult. The practical Magical Solution will help you to never make mistakes again when choosing between perfective and imperfective forms of verbs.

This book is available on Amazon Japan and in my store, free shipping worldwide. I have only a few copies left, so hurry up - oder now

[myadventuresinrussian]

Future Tense

So, I learned the future tense a couple hours ago and thought that I would share it.

In the imperfective, you conjugate быть and add the infinitive of the verb after that.

Я буду покурать buy

Ты будешь слушать 

Он/она будет смореть watch

Мы будем говорить speak

Вы будете читать read

Они будет писать write

In the perfective, you just conjugate the verb (cause there is no present tense).

написать write

Я напишу 

Ты напишешь 

Он/она напишет 

Мы напишем 

Вы напишете 

Они напишут