The Russian Past Tense: Simpler Than You Expect
How the Russian past tense works, with endings for gender and number rather than person.
The past tense is one of the easiest parts of Russian verbs. It does not change with person, only with gender and number.
How it is formed
Take the infinitive, remove -ть, and add -л, plus an ending:
| Subject | Ending | Example with читать |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | -л | он читал |
| feminine | -ла | она читала |
| neuter | -ло | оно читало |
| plural | -ли | мы, вы, они читали |
Gender matches the speaker
The past tense shows the gender of the subject:
- Я читал книгу. (said by a man)
- Я читала книгу. (said by a woman)
More examples
- Вчера я работал дома. Yesterday I worked at home.
- Мы жили в Москве. We lived in Moscow.
- Она знала ответ. She knew the answer.
Irregular verbs
A few common verbs differ:
- идти (to go on foot) has шёл, шла, шло, шли.
- мочь (can) has мог, могла, могли.
The verb "to be"
- был, была, было, были
Вчера я был в парке. Yesterday I was in the park.
Negatives
Add не before the verb:
- Я не читал. I didn't read.
Aspect
Russian past tense can be formed from imperfective and perfective verbs, which changes the meaning slightly, as the next articles explain.
Tips
- Learn the four endings.
- Match gender to the speaker.
- Use the dictionary to check irregular past forms.
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