In Russian, verbs can be divided into two main kinds: imperfective and perfective.

These two types are important because they show how actions are either completed or repeated.

Let’s take a look at the verbs "делать" (to do/make) and "сделать" (to do/make) to see how they work.

Imperfective Aspect – "делать"

1. What It Means: The verb "делать" is imperfective. This means it talks about actions that are happening right now, happen often, or are repeated.

2. How It's Used:

   • Past: Он делал домашнее задание. (He was doing his homework.)
   • Present: Я делаю покупки каждый день. (I do shopping every day.)
   • Future: Мы будем делать план. (We will be making a plan.)

In stories, we use the imperfective aspect to show the background or actions that are happening continuously.

Perfective Aspect – "сделать"

1. What It Means: The verb "сделать" is perfective. This means it talks about actions that are finished or events that happen just once.

2. How It's Used:

   • Past: Она сделала свою работу. (She completed her work.)
   • Present: Я сделаю это завтра. (I will do this tomorrow.)
   • Future: Когда ты сделаешь это? (When will you complete this?)

In stories, we use the perfective aspect to show completed actions or important moments.

Key Differences

• Action Completion:
  • "делать" is about the process (an ongoing action).
  • "сделать" is about the result (a completed action).

Examples in Context

1. In a story:
   • Однажды он делал кофе, когда позвонил его друг. (One day he was making coffee when his friend called.) – This shows something that was happening.
   • Он сделал кофе и затем позвонил другу. (He made coffee and then called his friend.) – This shows finished actions.

Conclusion

Learning about these two types of Russian verbs helps you understand stories better.

Pay attention to what is happening in the actions and choose the right type to share the meaning you want.