# Dictionary of Spoken Russian/Russian-English/Section 24

§24. VERBS
Verbs are cited in the dictionary in infinitive (inf) form: читать "to read." The forms are made from two stems, a present stem (pr stem) and an infinitive stem (inf stem). Some of the forms are lacking and some differ in meaning, according to whether the verb is durative (dur) or punctual (pct); see §30. In giving the forms of a verb we often supply a lacking form by taking it from a compound.
Verbs have the following forms:
1. The following forms are made from the present stem.
The present tense (pr) has forms for actors of the first, second, and third persons, singular and plural: S1 читаю "I am reading," P1 читаем "we are reading," P2 читаете, "you are reading," S3 читает "he (she, it) is reading," P3 читают "they are reading." The S2 form is used where one uses the familiar singular ты, §21, (ты) читаешь "you (as, one child) are reading." In dur verbs the pr means action now going on; in a few also future action: куда вы идёте? "where are you (now) going? where are you bound for?" but also: куда вы идёте сегодня вечером? "where are you going (to go) this evening?" In pct verbs the pr means future action: я прочитаю эту книгу "I'll read this book (through)."
The imperative (imv) gives a command to a second person actor: S2 читай "read," P2 читайте, pct verbs and a few dur verbs use the P1 form, (with -те added as in the imperative) for commands: сделаем (or сделаемте) это "let's do that," идём (идёмте) "let's be on our way, let's go."
The present active participle (prap) is an adjective: читающий "(one who is) reading." It is made from dur verbs only, and is used almost only in writing and bookish speech.
The present gerund (prger) is an adverb. In dur verbs it means "while doing so and so": читая "while reading"; in pct verbs it means "having done so and so" (the same as the past gerund): прочтя письмо "having read (through) the letter." The pct present gerund is used chiefly in writing and bookish speech.
The present passive participle (prpp) is an adjective; it is made only from dur verbs that have an a object: читаемая книга "a book that is being read." It is used chiefly in writing.
2. The following forms are made from the infinitive stem.
The infinitive (inf): читать "to read."
The past tense (p) has forms for M, F, N, and P actors, without distinction of person:
M: я читал "I was reading" (man or boy speaking), ты читал "you were reading" (familiar, to one male), он читал "he was reading," and so for all M nouns: стол стоял в углу "a table was standing in the corner";
F: я читала "I was reading" (woman or girl speaking), ты читала "you were reading" (familiar, to one female), она читала "she was reading," чашка стояла на столе "the cup was standing on the table";
N: оно читало "it was reading," кресло стояло в углу "the armchair was standing in a corner";
P: мы читали "we were reading," вы читали "you were reading" (said to one or more persons), они читали "they were reading," ученики читали "the pupils were reading."
The past active participle (pap) is an adjective: читавший "one who has been reading," прочитавший "one who has read (through)." It is used chiefly in writing.
The past gerund (pger) is an adverb: читав "after reading," прочитав "having read (through)."
The past passive participle (ppp) is an adjective; it is made only from verbs that take an a object: прочитанная книга "a book that has been read through." This participle is used in ordinary speech.
Reflexive Forms. To the complete verb forms there is added, in various meanings, a reflexive (refl) suffix. It has the following shapes:
After vowels, except in participles, [-s], written сь: мою "I wash," моюсь [moyus] "I wash myself." Occasionally, especially after [i], the suffix is pronounced [-sj], in accordance with the spelling.
After [t, tj] the suffix is [-ca], written ся; before it [tj] of the infinitive is replaced by [t], but spelled ть: моет "he washes," моется [moy'tca] "he washes himself"; мыть "to wash," мыться [mitca] "to wash oneself."
After other consonants, and after all participle forms, the suffix is [-sa], written ся: мoем "we wash," моемся [moy'msa] "we wash ourselves," мыл "he washed," мылся "he washed himself."
The meaning of the refl form is various: action upon oneself (as above); action of several actors upon one another: мы часто видимся "we often see each other"; undergoing of an action: книга читается "the book is being read." Some verbs occur only in refl forms: бояться "to be afraid," смеяться "to laugh."
Preverbs. Verbs occur frequently in composition with preverbs, prefixes some of which are like prepositions in form: писать "to write," подписать "to sign" (preposition под "under"), выписать "to copy out" (there is no independent word corresponding to this preverb).