Verbal aspect

The rule-of-thumb level

We use the imperfective: We use the perfective:
  • if the sentence contains adverbs of frequency like всегда always, обычно usually, часто often, иногда sometimes, редко rarely, and никогда (не) never
  • if the sentence contains other phrases that indicate frequency, especially ones like каждый день every day, каждое утро every morning, etc.
  • if the sentence contains adverbs of duration like долго for a long time and недолго for a short time.
  • if the sentence contains other phrases of duration like два часа́ for two hours and пять минут for five minutes.
  • if the English translation of the sentence has -ing in the verb phrase.
  • if the English translation of the sentence has used to in the verb phrase.
  • if the sentence contains two verbs expressing simultaneously on-going actions, e.g. "I was reading the newspaper while Dennis was getting a haircut."
  • if the English translation of the sentence is a past perfect, e.g., I had written, present perfect I have written, or future perfect I will have written verb form.
  • if the sentence has a series of verbs where the action of one ends and the next one starts, e.g. "I read the newspaper, got a haircut, and went home."
  • if the result of the one time action is in focus, e.g. "Did you buy the shoes?"