The Past Tense: Verbs and Agreement

Welcome to the lesson on the Russian Past Tense!

Good news: forming the past tense in Russian is generally much simpler than forming the present tense. The main difference from English is that past tense verbs don't change based on the person (I, you, he), but they must agree with the gender (masculine, feminine, neuter) and number (singular, plural) of the subject.

📖 The Basic Rule

To form the past tense, you usually take the infinitive form of the verb, remove the final -ть, and add the past tense suffix. The main suffix is -л.

Let's take the verb читать (to read).
Infinitive: читать
Remove -ть: чита-
Add the masculine suffix -л: чита + л = читал

This form, читал, is the masculine singular past tense.

⚙️ Agreement with Gender and Number

This is the most important concept to master. The verb ending changes depending on the subject.

➡️ Masculine Singular (for subjects like 'он', 'студент', 'мой друг')
Add the suffix -л.
▫️ Он работал вчера. (He worked yesterday.)
▫️ Иван смотрел телевизор. (Ivan watched TV.)

➡️ Feminine Singular (for subjects like 'она', 'студентка', 'моя подруга')
Add the suffix -ла.
▫️ Она работала вчера. (She worked yesterday.)
▫️ Анна смотрела телевизор. (Anna watched TV.)

➡️ Neuter Singular (for subjects like 'оно', 'письмо', 'солнце')
Add the suffix -ло.
▫️ Солнце светило. (The sun was shining.)
▫️ Письмо лежало на столе. (The letter lay on the table.)

➡️ Plural (for subjects like 'они', 'мы', 'вы', 'студенты')
For any plural subject, regardless of gender, add the suffix -ли.
▫️ Они работали вчера. (They worked yesterday.)
▫️ Мы смотрели телевизор. (We watched TV.)
▫️ Вы гуляли в парке? (Were you walking in the park?)

🙋‍♂️🙋‍♀️ Using 'Я' (I) and 'Ты' (you)

For the pronouns 'я' and 'ты', the verb ending depends on the gender of the person you are referring to.

👤 If a man is speaking or being spoken to:
▫️ Я читал книгу. (I read a book.)
▫️ Ты уже завтракал? (Have you already had breakfast?)

👩 If a woman is speaking or being spoken to:
▫️ Я читала книгу. (I read a book.)
▫️ Ты уже завтракала? (Have you already had breakfast?)

⚠️ Important Irregular Verbs

Some very common verbs have irregular past tense forms. It is essential to memorize them.

🚶 Идти (to go on foot, to be going)
▫️ Masculine: шёл (Он шёл в парк.)
▫️ Feminine: шла (Она шла домой.)
▫️ Neuter: шло (Время шло быстро. - Time went by fast.)
▫️ Plural: шли (Мы шли в кино.)

💪 Мочь (to be able to / can)
▫️ Masculine: мог (Я не мог прийти. - I couldn't come.)
▫️ Feminine: могла (Она могла помочь.)
▫️ Neuter: могло (Это могло быть. - It could be.)
▫️ Plural: могли (Они могли позвонить. - They could have called.)

✨ Reflexive Verbs (-ся)

For reflexive verbs like учиться (to study), the particle -ся is kept. It just changes its form slightly.
Rule: Use -ся after a consonant (like -л). Use -сь after a vowel (like -ла, -ло, -ли).

▫️ Он учился. (He studied.)
▫️ Она училась. (She studied.)
▫️ Они учились. (They studied.)

To summarize, always identify the gender and number of your subject first. This will tell you exactly which ending (-л, -ла, -ло, or -ли) to use. Practice will make it second nature!