#perfective

～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.

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.

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

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.