In Russian, verbs can show two different ways to think about actions:

• imperfective
• perfective.

These words help us know if an action is still happening or if it’s finished.

Let’s see how this works with the verbs "играть" (to play) and "поиграть" (to play for a while) in the past tense.

Imperfective Aspect: играть

This form is used when the action was happening for a while and was not focused on finishing.

Past Tense Forms:

• я играл/играла (I played - masculine/feminine)
• ты играл/играла (you played - masculine/feminine)
• он/она играл/играла (he/she played)
• мы/вы/они играли (we/you/they played)

Example:

• Я играл в футбол вчера.
• (I played soccer yesterday.)

Perfective Aspect: поиграть

This form is used to show that the action has a clear ending or is completed.

Past Tense Forms:

• я поиграл/поиграла (I played for a while - masculine/feminine)
• ты поиграл/поиграла (you played for a while - masculine/feminine)
• он/она поиграл/поиграла (he/she played for a while)
• мы/вы/они поиграли (we/you/they played for a while)

Example:

• Я поиграл в шахматы с другом.
• (I played chess with a friend.)

Key Points to Remember

• играть = imperfective (this means the action is still happening or happens many times)
• поиграть = perfective (this means the action is finished or happened for a short time)

When you understand these two forms, it will be easier to talk about actions in Russian!