Aspect and tense: where delat or sdelat must be chosen
Most verbs come in pairs: delat and sdelat, bronirovat and zabronirovat, chitat and prochitat. One half answers what was going on?, the other — what got done? The choice cannot be skipped: every verb in the past stands on one of the two sides. For example: “Я забронировал номер ещё в марте, а собирался бронировать с лета” — I booked the room back in March, though I only meant to book in the summer. A rule from the…
How it works
Most verbs come in pairs: delat and sdelat, bronirovat and zabronirovat, chitat and prochitat. One half answers what was going on?, the other — what got done? The choice cannot be skipped: every verb in the past stands on one of the two sides.
The future shows the choice best. Budu bronirovat — a process, with effort and maybe without result; zabroniruyu — a result, once and for good. The past works the same: broniroval ves vecher — and no one knows if it worked; zabroniroval za minutu — done, the question is closed.
The present exists only for the process half: broniruyu, chitayu, delayu. That is why sdelayu seychas is not said about right now: now means process, and a result belongs to the past or the future.
Hence the phrase ne dolgo dumaya — right away, without thinking it over. Pairs like poteryat and teryat work the same: poteryal — done, start searching; teryal — and still searching.
Table
| Process | Result | The difference in one line |
|---|---|---|
| delat | sdelat | an hour of doing — done within the hour |
| bronirovat | zabronirovat | tried all evening — booked in a minute |
| chitat | prochitat | was reading the book — read it to the end |
| reshat | reshit | decided all night — decided by morning |
| teryat | poteryat | was losing and finding — lost for good |
| future | budu delat / sdelayu | the aspect picks the form for you |
| present | process only | no done form about right now |
By example
- Я забронировал номер ещё в марте, а собирался бронировать с летаYa zabroniroval nomer eshchyo v marte, a sobiralsya bronirovat s letaI booked the room back in March, though I only meant to book in the summer
- Завтра сделаю всё, что сегодня не сделалZavtra sdelayu vsyo, chto segodnya ne sdelalTomorrow I will finish what I did not get done today
- Он долго выбирал машину и наконец выбрал краснуюOn dolgo vybiral mashinu i nakonets vybral krasnuyuHe spent a long time choosing a car and in the end took the red one
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
Delat vs sdelat in past and future?
Most verbs come in pairs: delat and sdelat, bronirovat and zabronirovat, chitat and prochitat. One half answers what was going on?, the other — what got done? The choice cannot be skipped: every verb in the past stands on one of the two sides.
Budu bronirovat or zabroniruyu?
The future shows the choice best. Budu bronirovat — a process, with effort and maybe without result; zabroniruyu — a result, once and for good. The past works the same: broniroval ves vecher — and no one knows if it worked; zabroniroval za minutu — done, the question is closed.
Why sdelayu seychas is not said?
The present exists only for the process half: broniruyu, chitayu, delayu. That is why sdelayu seychas is not said about right now: now means process, and a result belongs to the past or the future.
Ne dolgo dumaya: what the phrase means?
Hence the phrase ne dolgo dumaya — right away, without thinking it over. Pairs like poteryat and teryat work the same: poteryal — done, start searching; teryal — and still searching.
What does it look like in a Russian example sentence?
“Я забронировал номер ещё в марте, а собирался бронировать с лета” (Ya zabroniroval nomer eshchyo v marte, a sobiralsya bronirovat s leta) — I booked the room back in March, though I only meant to book in the summer. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.