Unit 4 · Verbs
Aspect, motion, endings
Study imperfective/perfective pairs, motion verbs (идти/ходить, prefixes), then present, past, future, and imperative endings. Each lesson: How it works → Tables → Notes → Exceptions → Examples.
Lessons
Lesson 1
Aspect
Вид глагола
Almost every Russian verb is imperfective or perfective. Aspect is not tense — it is whether you look at the process, or at the result.
Lesson 2
Aspect pairs
Видовые пары
Learn verbs as pairs, not as lone infinitives. Prefixes, suffixes, and a few totally different roots all build the same imperfective ↔ perfective relationship.
Lesson 3
Motion verbs
Глаголы движения
Russian splits «go» into how you move, and whether the trip is one-way or multi-way. Then prefixes pin down arrive, leave, enter, cross…
Lesson 4
Present endings
Окончания настоящего
Present conjugation is two clubs: type I (е-endings: читаешь) and type II (и-endings: говоришь). Spell the vowel after ж/ш/ч/щ/г/к/х by the 7-letter rule.
Lesson 5
Past, future, imperative
Прошедшее, будущее, повелительное
Past is gender in the singular (-л / -ла / -ло) and -ли in the plural. Future is either буду + infinitive (impf) or conjugated perfective. Imperatives are short commands from the present stem.
Exercises
Game 1
Pick the verb
Aspect, motion, or ending cue → choose the right form.
Game 2
Fill the blank
Complete sentences with the right aspect, motion verb, or ending.
Game 3
Match pairs
Imperfective ↔ perfective, and one-way ↔ multi-way motion.
Game 4
Match to meaning
делать / сделать ↔ do / make. Pair to English, no typing.
Game 5
Self-check
20 pairs. Reveal the other language and mark if you knew it.
Next unit
Verb prefixes
Same roots, new meanings: почитать vs прочитать, записать vs написать, продать, сдать, узнать. Motion prefixes stay here in Verbs.
Open prefixes →