How many tenses are there in the Russian language?
I was randomly wondering about the number of tenses in the Russian language. I remember someone once told me that there are around 50-something, and that we don't use a lot of them (from old Russian?) and don't notice when we use the rest. That sounds like an insanely large number, and I have no idea if there's any inkling of truth in it as I've been living in America for 12 years and speak Russian only at home (never formally studied grammar). I'd love to hear any thoughts about this! ![]()
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3 tenses (simple past, present, future) + infinitive + imperative.
I would be ashamed forgetting the language of my Fatherland.
Just 3:
"present, past future", but different ways to use them..
.Ya podmetu pol= I will sweep the floor.
Ya budu podmetat=I intent to sweep the floor for some time
Formally, they both are "future" but one is perfect, and another continuous.
The same with the past.
Ya vyshla pogyliat=I went out for a walk.
Ona vyhodila na stsenu kaajdyi vecher=
She spepped on the stage every evening.
It is called "sovershennaya or nesovershannaya"
form of the verb.
3 tenses: simple past, present, future + infinitive + imperative.
4 tenses: present, past, future, and conditional. (Plus, as others have said, the infinitive and the imperative.)
HOWEVER, most Russian verb roots have two forms — perfect and imperfect, the perfect form being constructed using a prefix. (E.g., chitat’ — to read, imperfect; prochitat’ — to have read, perfect.) The use of perfect and imperfect verb forms is the Russian equivalent of indicative, continuous and perfect tenses. I am not sure the Russian system in that regard can be characterized as "tenses" per se, but it certainly adds an important nuance.