Language/Belarusian/Grammar/Past-Tense

Belarusian Grammar → Verbs → Past Tense

As a Belarusian language teacher with over 20 years of experience, I know that learning the past tense is a crucial step in becoming a proficient Belarusian speaker. In this lesson, we will cover the basics of past tense conjugation for Belarusian verbs.

Introduction

The past tense in Belarusian is used to describe a past event or action. It is formed by adding a suffix to the verb stem. The exact suffix used depends on the gender and number of the subject performing the action.

To form the past tense, take the verb stem and add the appropriate suffix:

• For masculine singular verbs, add "-ў" to the stem.
• For feminine singular verbs, add "-ла" to the stem.
• For neuter singular verbs, add "-ла" to the stem.
• For plural verbs, add "-лі" to the stem.

It is worth noting that there are some irregular verbs that do not follow this pattern. However, for the purposes of this lesson, we will stick to regular verbs.

Let's look at some examples:

Belarusian	Pronunciation	English
я спел	ya spehl'	I sang
ты спявала	ty spi-ah-vah-lah	You (feminine) sang
ён пісаў	yohn pee-saw	He wrote
яны гаварылі	yah-nyh hah-vah-ry-lee	They (plural) spoke

As you can see, the past tense verb endings differ depending on the gender and number of the subject, which can be challenging to remember. However, with practice, you'll get the hang of it.

Conjugation of Past Tense Verbs

To conjugate a verb in the past tense, you need to know the stem of the verb. Below are the past tense verb endings for regular Belarusian verbs in each of the four gender/number categories.

Masculine Singular Past Tense

To conjugate a masculine singular verb in the past tense, add "-ў" to the verb stem.

Here is an example with the verb "вучыць" (to teach):

Belarusian	Pronunciation	English
я вучыў	ya vu-chih-oo	I taught
ты вучыў	ty vu-chih-oo	You (masculine) taught
ён вучыў	yohn vu-chih-oo	He taught

Feminine Singular and Neuter Singular Past Tense

To conjugate a feminine or neuter singular verb in the past tense, add "-ла" to the verb stem.

Here is an example with the verb "працаваць" (to work):

Belarusian	Pronunciation	English
я працаваўла	ya pra-tsah-vah-oo-lah	I worked
ты працаваўла	ty pra-tsah-vah-oo-lah	You (feminine) worked
яно працаваўла	yah-no pra-tsah-vah-oo-lah	It (neuter) worked

Plural Past Tense

To conjugate a plural verb in the past tense, add "-лі" to the verb stem.

Here is an example with the verb "гаварыць" (to speak):

Belarusian	Pronunciation	English
мы гаварылі	my hah-vah-ry-lee	We spoke
вы гаварылі	vy hah-vah-ry-lee	You (plural) spoke
яны гаварылі	yah-nyh hah-vah-ry-lee	They (plural) spoke

With practice and repetition, you'll be able to memorize the past tense conjugation patterns for different verbs.

Using the Past Tense

Now that you know how to conjugate verbs in the past tense, it's important to understand how to use them in context. Generally speaking, the past tense is used to describe an action that happened in the past and is now completed.

Here are some examples:

• Я вучыў беларускую мову тры гады. (I studied Belarusian for three years.)
• Ты зрабіла гарачыну для нашай вечарынкі. (You (feminine) made borscht for our party.)
• Ён зрабіў заданне для школы. (He did his homework for school.)
• Мы падарылі Бабулі кнігу пра шацярняю інтрыгу. (We gave Grandma a book about a thrilling adventure.)
• Вы зрабілі чудо сваёй працы. (You (plural) did a miracle with your work.)
• Яны адпачылі ў Мінску на перашкодзе ў сваёй падарожжы. (They rested in Minsk on their trip.)

As you can see, the past tense is used to describe completed actions in the past.

Conclusion

Learning the past tense is a crucial step in becoming a proficient Belarusian speaker. By understanding the conjugation patterns and how to use verbs in the past tense, you'll be able to communicate more effectively in Belarusian. In our next lesson, we'll cover the imperative mood in Belarusian. Stay tuned!

Table of Contents - Belarusian Course - 0 to A1

• Course Presentation

  ---

Basics

• Introducing Yourself
• Numbers and Time

  ---

Nouns

• Gender
• Cases
• Plurals

  ---

Family

• Family Members
• Family Events

  ---

Verbs

• Present Tense
• Infinitives
• Past Tense
• Imperative

  ---

Food

• Ingredients
• Traditional Dishes

  ---

Belarusian Holidays

• New Year's
• Kupalle

  ---

Adjectives

• Gender Agreement
• Comparatives
• Superlatives

  ---

Transportation

• Public Transportation
• Traveling by Car

  ---

Belarusian Folklore

• Belarusian Mythology
• Famous Folktales

  ---

Prepositions

• Locative Prepositions
• Prepositional Case

  ---

Environment

• Nature
• Climate
• National Symbols

Related Lessons

• Adverbs
• Future Tense
• Adjectives
• Cases
• Give your Opinion
• Gender Agreement
• Gender
• Plurals
• Prepositions
• Pronouns