Language/Russian/Grammar/Use-of-the-verb-быть-in-the-past

To use the verb to be in the past in Russian

Hello everybody,

In today's lesson you will learn some useful vocabulary about ¨HOW TO USE THE VERB TO BE IN THE PAST¨ in Russian.

Feel free to edit this page by adding new words and expressions!

Very often, when they talk about the past, Russians use the past tense of быть:

Upon finishing this course material, you may want to delve into these connected themes: Russian Grammar → Russian Nouns and Gender → Genitive Case ..., Use of the verb быть in the past, Sentense Structure & Punctuation.

The conjugation of the verb быть

• я, ты, он был (male)
• я, ты, она была (female)
• оно было (neutral and impersonal)
• они были (plural)

Examples (примеры)

• Когда это было?

When was it?

• Это было вчера.

It was yesterday.

• Это было здорово!

It was great!

• Где ты был?

Where were you?

• Книга была интересной.

The book was interesting.

• Вчера мы были в театре.

Yesterday we were at the theater.

How to say 'I had', 'you had', etc

Do you remember how you say 'I have' in Russian? It's the same pattern for saying 'I had'.

Examples

• У меня была температура вчера. - I had a fever yesterday.
• У него были проблемы, но сейчас всё хорошо. - He had problems, but now everything is fine.

Температура is a feminine word, so we use the feminine form of the verb быть. Проблемы is plural, so we use были.

In negative sentences, we always use было irrespective of gender of subject. Remember that in this case, the subject is still genitive.

• У нас не было денег. - We did not have money.
• У них не было документов. - They had no papers.
• У него не было выхода. - He had no solution.
• У меня никогда не было велосипеда. - I never had a bike.

Some explanations for using the verb to be in the past in Russian

ENGLISH	PRONUNCIATION ENGLISH	RUSSIAN	PRONUNCIATION BRAZILIAN PORTUGUESE	BRAZILIAN PORTUGUESE
I was	yah buhl (a)	Я  БЫЛ (A)	iá bâL (a)	Eu era / estava
You were	tuh buhl (ah)	TЫ  БЫЛ (A)	tâ bâL (a)	Você era / estava
He was	ohn buhl /	OH  БЫЛ	on bâL	Ele era / estava
She was	ah nah buh lah	OHA  БЫЛA	aná bâ la	Ela era / estava
We were	muh buh lih	MЫ  БЫЛИ	mâ bâ li	Nós éramos / estávamos
You were	vuh buh lih	BЫ  БЫЛИ	vâ bâ li	Vocês eram / estavam
They were	ah nih buh lih	OHИ  БЫЛИ	aní bâ li	Eles eram / estavam Elas eram / estavam

Examples

ENGLISH	PRONUNCIATION ENGLISH	RUSSIAN	PRONUNCIATION BRAZILIAN PORTUGUESE	BRAZILIAN PORTUGUESE
When was it?	kahg dah eh tah buh lah	Когда это было?	ka gui dá é ta bâ la	Quando foi isso?
It was yesterday.	eh tah buh lah vcheh rah	Это было вчера.	é ta bâ la vtche rá	Foi ontem.
It was great!	eh tah buh lah zdah roh vah	Это было здорово!	é ta bâ la zda rô va	Foi ótimo!
Where were you?	gih dyeh tuh buhl	Где ты был?	gui die tâ bâL	Onde você estava?
The book was interesting.	knih gah buh lah ihn teh ryehs noy	Книга была интересной.	ki ni ga bâ la in te ries noi	O livro foi interessante.
Yesterday we were at the theater.	vchehrah muh buh lih vih tih ah tryeh	Вчера мы были в театре.	vtche rá mâ bâ li vi te a trie	Ontem nós estávamos no teatro.

Note that in this type of sentences, the Russians accentuate the particle не and do not put emphasis on the verb было.

Other Lessons

• Questions
• A vs И
• The verb to be
• The verb to have
• А vs Но
• Sentense Structure
• Conditional Mood
• Порядок слов в русском предложении
• Russian cases
• Nouns