What are the basic Russian tenses and their functions

The basic Russian tenses and their functions are typically divided into three main categories:

1. Present Tense (настоящее время): Used for actions happening currently or habitual actions. It expresses ongoing states or actions in the present time.

2. Past Tense (прошедшее время): Used to describe actions or states that occurred or existed in the past. It expresses completed actions, events, or states in the past.

3. Future Tense (будущее время): Used for actions or events that will happen in the future. There are two forms:

   • Simple future (formed with the perfective aspect of the verb)
   • Compound future (formed with the verb “быть” in the future tense plus the imperfective infinitive)

Russian verbs also have aspects:

• Imperfective aspect: Indicates ongoing, habitual, repeated, or uncompleted actions.
• Perfective aspect: Indicates completed actions or actions that will be completed.

These tense and aspect combinations convey nuances about the time and nature of the action. For example, imperfective verbs are used in the present tense, but perfective verbs do not have a present tense form; their present form indicates future actions.

Thus, Russian verbs combine tense and aspect to express when an action takes place and whether it is completed or ongoing.

This explanation is based on linguistic descriptions of Russian grammar involving the three basic tenses (present, past, future) and the important aspectual distinction that modifies their usage and meaning. ^{1, 4}

References

• YABANCI DİL OLARAK RUS DİLİ DERSLERİNDE TÜRK ÖĞRENCİLERE CİNSİYET KATEGORİSİNİN ÖĞRETİLMESİ (BURDUR MEHMET AKİF ERSOY ÜNİVERSİTESİ TURİZM İŞLETMECİLİĞİ VE OTELCİLİK YÜKSEKOKULU GASTRONOMİ BÖLÜMÜ ÖĞRENCİLERİYLE UYGULAMALI ÇALIŞMA)

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