Language/Russian/Grammar/Past-Tense-Conjugations

Russian → Grammar → Past Tense Conjugations

In this lesson, you will learn how to conjugate regular and irregular verbs in the past tense. This is an essential part of Russian grammar, as many verbs in everyday speech are used in the past tense. For example, telling a story, describing a recent event or simply stating what happened yesterday all make use of the past tense.

Don't miss the chance to check out these pages as you wrap up this lesson: Pronunciation Rules & Give your Opinion.

Conjugating Regular Verbs in the Past Tense

Regular verbs in the past tense are formed by adding the appropriate ending to the stem of the verb. To find the stem of a verb, remove the -ть or -ти ending from the infinitive form of the verb. Then add one of the following endings:

Person	Ending
Я (I)	-л
Ты (You)	-л
Он/Она/Оно (He/She/It)	-л
Мы (We)	-ли
Вы (You - plural or formal)	-ли
Они (They)	-ли

For example, let's take the verb "говорить" (to speak).

• Я говорил (I spoke)
• Ты говорил (You spoke - singular familiar)
• Он/Она/Оно говорил (He/She/It spoke)
• Мы говорили (We spoke)
• Вы говорили (You spoke - plural or formal)
• Они говорили (They spoke)

These endings are the same for most verbs, but some verbs have irregular past tense forms.

Irregular Past Tense Forms

Irregular past tense forms do not follow the same pattern as regular verbs. However, it is important to know these forms as they are used frequently in everyday speech. Here are some examples:

Russian	Pronunciation	English Translation
быть	byt'	to be (I was, you were, he/she/it was, we were, you were, they were)
есть	est'	to eat (I ate, you ate, he/she/it ate, we ate, you ate, they ate)
дать	dat'	to give (I gave, you gave, he/she/it gave, we gave, you gave, they gave)
идти	idti	to go (I went, you went, he/she/it went, we went, you went, they went)
есть	est'	to eat (I ate, you ate, he/she/it ate, we ate, you ate, they ate)
иметь	imet'	to have (I had, you had, he/she/it had, we had, you had, they had)
писать	pisat'	to write (I wrote, you wrote, he/she/it wrote, we wrote, you wrote, they wrote)
сидеть	sidet'	to sit (I sat, you sat, he/she/it sat, we sat, you sat, they sat)
стоять	stoyat'	to stand (I stood, you stood, he/she/it stood, we stood, you stood, they stood)
ходить	khodit'	to walk (I walked, you walked, he/she/it walked, we walked, you walked, they walked)
читать	chitat'	to read (I read, you read, he/she/it read, we read, you read, they read)

Exercises

Conjugate the following regular and irregular verbs in the past tense:

• Получить (to receive)
• Быть (to be)
• Жить (to live)
• Говорить (to speak)
• Смотреть (to watch)

Sources

• <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_grammar">Russian Grammar - Wikipedia</a>
• <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Past_tense#Russian">Past Tense - Russian - Wikipedia</a>

Other Lessons

• Present Tense Conjugations
• Give your Opinion
• Nouns
• Present Tense
• 0 to A1 Course
• Dative Case
• Nominative Case
• Adjectives
• The verb to have
• Noun Cases Overview

Sources

• Russian Past Tense - Russian Verbs
• Past Tense of the Verb - Learn Russian Grammar
• Russian/Grammar/Past tense - Wikibooks, open books for an open ...