Reshit or reshat: once or every time
A verb here looks at the deed twice: finished or going on. Reshit zadachu — the result: took and solved, the case is closed. Reshat — the road to the result, or the habit: po vecheram ya reshayu zadachi. For example: “Я решил задачу с первого раза” — I solved the problem on the first try. A rule from the Russian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
A verb here looks at the deed twice: finished or going on. Reshit zadachu — the result: took and solved, the case is closed. Reshat — the road to the result, or the habit: po vecheram ya reshayu zadachi.
Such pairs run through the whole course: prochitat — chitat, napisat — pisat, postavit — stavit, skazat — govorit. The question chto sdelat? calls the first of the pair, chto delat? — the second.
One pair covers both cases, and the phrase itself hints the form. There is exactly one trap: reshit also means to make up one's mind.
Table
| What to get done | What to be doing | About what |
|---|---|---|
| reshit | reshat | a problem |
| prochitat | chitat | a letter |
| napisat | pisat | a dictation |
| postavit | stavit | a grade |
| skazat | govorit | an answer |
By example
- Я решил задачу с первого разаYa reshil zadachu s pervogo razaI solved the problem on the first try
- Задачу я решал полчасаZadachu ya reshal polchasaI spent half an hour on the problem
- Прочитай это письмо ещё разProchitay eto pismo eshchyo razRead this letter once more
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
Reshit or reshat?
A verb here looks at the deed twice: finished or going on. Reshit zadachu — the result: took and solved, the case is closed. Reshat — the road to the result, or the habit: po vecheram ya reshayu zadachi.
What verbal aspect is?
A verb here looks at the deed twice: finished or going on. Reshit zadachu — the result: took and solved, the case is closed. Reshat — the road to the result, or the habit: po vecheram ya reshayu zadachi.
Sdelat or delat: the difference?
Such pairs run through the whole course: prochitat — chitat, napisat — pisat, postavit — stavit, skazat — govorit. The question chto sdelat? calls the first of the pair, chto delat? — the second.
Why prochitat and chitat?
Such pairs run through the whole course: prochitat — chitat, napisat — pisat, postavit — stavit, skazat — govorit. The question chto sdelat? calls the first of the pair, chto delat? — the second.
What does it look like in a Russian example sentence?
“Я решил задачу с первого раза” (Ya reshil zadachu s pervogo raza) — I solved the problem on the first try. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.