Infinitive (imperfective): де́лать — "to do, to make (in progress / habitually)" Infinitive (perfective): сде́лать — "to do, to make (and finish), to get done" Type: the model regular first-conjugation verb, paired with its perfective via the empty prefix с-
де́лать is the all-purpose "do / make" verb, and — like читать/прочитать — it is a perfectly regular first-conjugation stem, which makes it an ideal pair for watching aspect work. The perfective сде́лать is built by simply adding с-, a prefix that here carries no meaning of its own: it is a pure perfectivizer, turning an open-ended "do" into a completed "get done." Because the stem is unchanged, де́лать and сде́лать differ in one thing only — aspect — and that gives you the cleanest possible contrast between an imperfective present (де́лаю = "I'm doing") and a perfective future (сде́лаю = "I'll get it done"). This page also covers Russia's single most useful conversational question, Что ты де́лаешь?
Present tense (де́лать, imperfective) — regular first conjugation
A perfective verb has no present, so only де́лать has one; the сде́лать column shows the future with identical endings.
| Person | де́лать — PRESENT | сде́лать — FUTURE (perfective) |
|---|---|---|
| я | де́лаю | сде́лаю |
| ты | де́лаешь | сде́лаешь |
| он / она́ / оно́ | де́лает | сде́лает |
| мы | де́лаем | сде́лаем |
| вы | де́лаете | сде́лаете |
| они́ | де́лают | сде́лают |
The stress sits firmly on the first syllable де́- in every form of both members — nothing moves. The endings are the standard first-conjugation set. Note that the perfective adds only the prefix: сде́лаю is де́лаю with с- in front, so once you know one column you know both.
Что ты де́лаешь сего́дня ве́чером?
What are you doing tonight? — present де́лаешь; the model 'what are you up to?' question, imperfective.
Я ничего́ не де́лаю, про́сто отдыха́ю.
I'm not doing anything, just relaxing. — де́лаю with the не…ничего́ double negative.
Здесь все де́лают вид, что всё хорошо́.
Here everyone pretends everything's fine. — де́лают, the -ют first-conjugation ending; де́лать вид = 'to pretend'.
Past tense
Both members form a regular, gender-marked past; stress stays on де́-.
| Gender / number | де́лать (impf) | сде́лать (pf) |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | де́лал | сде́лал |
| feminine | де́лала | сде́лала |
| neuter | де́лало | сде́лало |
| plural | де́лали | сде́лали |
The contrast is textbook: де́лал = "was doing / used to do" (process or habit, no endpoint); сде́лал = "did and finished, got done" (a single completed act with a result).
Я весь день де́лал ремо́нт.
I was doing repairs all day. — де́лал, an extended process with no completion stated (imperfective).
Я сде́лал всё, о чём ты проси́л.
I've done everything you asked. — сде́лал: a completed result, everything is done (perfective).
Future tense
The two members make the future in two different ways — the heart of the aspect system on one regular stem.
- де́лать (imperfective) → compound future: бу́ду де́лать "I'll be doing / will do (over time)."
- сде́лать (perfective) → simple future (the forms above): сде́лаю "I'll do it (and finish)."
| Person | де́лать → бу́ду де́лать | сде́лать → simple future |
|---|---|---|
| я | бу́ду де́лать | сде́лаю |
| ты | бу́дешь де́лать | сде́лаешь |
| он / она́ / оно́ | бу́дет де́лать | сде́лает |
| мы | бу́дем де́лать | сде́лаем |
| вы | бу́дете де́лать | сде́лаете |
| они́ | бу́дут де́лать | сде́лают |
So сде́лаю is the future ("I'll get it done"), even though it conjugates like a present — because сде́лать is perfective and a perfective cannot live in the present moment. The everyday promise Я э́то сде́лаю "I'll do it / get it done" is this form. See the perfective simple future page.
Не волну́йся, я всё сде́лаю за́втра.
Don't worry, I'll get it all done tomorrow. — сде́лаю = perfective simple future: one complete act with a result.
Что ты бу́дешь де́лать на выходны́х?
What are you going to do at the weekend? — бу́ду де́лать: open-ended future activity (imperfective compound future).
Imperative
| Addressee | де́лать (impf) | сде́лать (pf) |
|---|---|---|
| ты (informal) | де́лай | сде́лай |
| вы (formal / plural) | де́лайте | сде́лайте |
The aspect contrast is sharp here. сде́лай demands one specific thing carried to completion ("do it / get it done"); де́лай is about the activity as such ("go ahead, keep doing") and is the form for negated commands ("don't do that").
Сде́лай уро́ки, пото́м гуля́й.
Do your homework, then go out. — perfective сде́лай: finish this specific task.
Не де́лай так бо́льше.
Don't do that again. — negated imperative uses the imperfective де́лай.
Participles and verbal adverbs
| Form | де́лать (impf) | сде́лать (pf) |
|---|---|---|
| present active participle | де́лающий "doing" | — (perfectives have none) |
| present passive participle | де́лаемый "(being) done" | — |
| past active participle | де́лавший | сде́лавший |
| past passive participle | — | сде́ланный "done, made" |
| verbal adverb | де́лая "while doing" | сде́лав "having done" |
The high-frequency form is the perfective passive participle сде́ланный ("done, made"). Its short neuter сде́лано is one of the most useful words in the language — Сде́лано! "Done!", Всё сде́лано "Everything's done," and the country-of-origin label Сде́лано в Росси́и "Made in Russia." The verbal adverb де́лая ("while doing") is everyday and useful.
— Ты помы́л посу́ду? — Сде́лано!
'Did you wash the dishes?' 'Done!' — short passive participle сде́лано used as a one-word 'done'.
На этике́тке напи́сано: «Сде́лано в Ита́лии».
The label says 'Made in Italy.' — сде́лано as the standard 'made in' formula.
Key uses & collocations
1. де́лать + accusative — doing/making a thing
The thing done or made is a direct object in the accusative: де́лать рабо́ту / оши́бку / вы́бор. Many of the most common uses of де́лать are fixed collocations rather than literal "make."
| Collocation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| де́лать оши́бки | to make mistakes |
| де́лать вы́бор | to make a choice |
| де́лать дома́шнее зада́ние / уро́ки | to do homework |
| де́лать вид, что… | to pretend that… |
Не бо́йся де́лать оши́бки — так все у́чатся.
Don't be afraid to make mistakes — that's how everyone learns. — collocation де́лать оши́бки.
2. The model question: Что ты де́лаешь?
Что ты де́лаешь? ("What are you doing?") is the everyday opener you will hear and say constantly. Its past is Что ты де́лал(а)? "What were you doing / What did you do?", and the more pointed perfective Что ты сде́лал? asks "What (on earth) have you done?" — about a finished result. The patterns for forming present-tense questions are on the asking questions page.
— Что ты де́лаешь? — Гото́влю у́жин.
'What are you doing?' 'Making dinner.' — the model question + answer.
Что ты сде́лал?! Тепе́рь всё сло́мано.
What have you done?! Now everything's broken. — perfective сде́лал asking about a (bad) finished result.
3. де́латься — the reflexive "to become / get done"
The reflexive де́латься / сде́латься means "to become, to get (a state)" or "to be done/happen": Мне сде́лалось пло́хо "I started feeling unwell," Что тут де́лается? "What's going on here?" Recognise it; it's common in speech.
Что у вас тут де́лается?
What's going on here? — reflexive де́латься = 'to happen, be going on'.
Common Mistakes
❌ Сейча́с я сде́лаю дома́шнее зада́ние. (meaning 'I'm doing it now')
Incorrect — сде́лаю is the perfective FUTURE ('I'll get it done'), not the present. For 'I'm doing it now' use де́лаю.
✅ Сейча́с я де́лаю дома́шнее зада́ние.
Right now I'm doing my homework.
❌ За́втра я бу́ду сде́лать э́то.
Incorrect — the бу́ду future takes an IMPERFECTIVE infinitive. The perfective makes its own future: сде́лаю (no бу́ду).
✅ За́втра я сде́лаю э́то.
I'll do it tomorrow.
❌ Я де́лаю фо́то. (meaning 'take a photo')
Wrong verb pairing — Russian 'takes' a photo with де́лать but the natural collocation is де́лать сни́мок / фотографи́ровать; for 'take a photo' say де́лать фотогра́фию or сфотографи́ровать. де́лать фо́то is colloquial.
✅ Дава́й сде́лаем фотогра́фию!
Let's take a photo!
❌ Я сде́лал оши́бки весь экза́мен. (process across the whole exam)
Aspect mismatch — an ongoing, repeated process wants the imperfective: де́лал оши́бки. сде́лал оши́бку = made one specific (completed) mistake.
✅ На экза́мене я де́лал глу́пые оши́бки.
During the exam I kept making silly mistakes.
Key Takeaways
- делать/сделать is a model aspect pair: a fully regular first-conjugation stem; the perfective is just с- + де́лать, with с- carrying no meaning beyond completion.
- Present (де́лать): де́лаю / де́лаешь / де́лает / де́лаем / де́лаете / де́лают — fixed stress on де́-.
- There is no perfective present. сде́лаю looks like a present but is the future ("I'll get it done").
- Past: де́лал (process/habit) vs сде́лал (completed, result).
- Future: imperfective compound бу́ду де́лать; perfective simple сде́лаю.
- Imperative: де́лай / сде́лай (negated commands use the imperfective де́лай).
- сде́лано "done / made" (short passive participle) is everyday; Сде́лано в… = "Made in…".
- Core question: Что ты де́лаешь? "What are you doing?"; reflexive де́латься = "to become / be going on."
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Start learning Russian→Related Topics
- Verbal Aspect: The Big PictureA2 — Aspect is the spine of the Russian verb: nearly every verb belongs to a pair — imperfective (process, repetition, general fact) and perfective (a single completed whole with a result). This page explains the pair, the consequences for the tense system (perfectives have no present), and why you must decide 'process or result?' before you even pick a tense.
- Forming Aspect Pairs: PrefixationA2 — The commonest way the perfective is built: adding a prefix to an imperfective base. With a 'pure' perfectivizing prefix (про-, на-, с-, по-…) the meaning stays the same and only completion is added — but the prefix is lexically fixed and must be memorized per verb. Most other prefixes change the meaning and build a brand-new verb.
- The Perfective (Simple) FutureA2 — The perfective future is a single word: you conjugate a perfective verb with the ordinary present-tense endings (-у/-ю, -ешь/-ишь…) and the result means the FUTURE — прочита́ю 'I'll read (and finish),' напишу́ 'I'll write,' куплю́ 'I'll buy,' позвоню́ 'I'll call.' The trap is that these forms look exactly like a present tense, but a perfective verb has no present, so a conjugated perfective is always future. It names a single completed action with a result, a promise, or one step in a sequence.
- Present Tense: First ConjugationA1 — The first-conjugation present paradigm: чита́ть → чита́ю, чита́ешь, чита́ет, чита́ем, чита́ете, чита́ют, with endings on the theme vowel -е-. Covers the -ать stem class (де́лать, рабо́тать), the stressed consonant-stem variant (жить → живу́, живёшь), and the -овать/-евать contraction (рисова́ть → рису́ю).
- Asking Simple Present-Tense QuestionsA1 — Russian asks present-tense questions with no 'do' and no inversion. Yes/no questions are just the statement with rising intonation (Ты понима́ешь?); wh-questions front the question word (Где ты живёшь?). Two patterns cover almost everything a beginner needs.
- Читать / Прочитать (to read)A1 — Complete conjugation-and-usage reference for the model aspect pair чита́ть / прочита́ть 'to read': a perfectly regular first-conjugation verb (чита́ю, чита́ешь, чита́ют) paired with its prefixed perfective прочита́ть. The cleanest pair to anchor the whole aspect system — imperfective чита́ю = present, perfective прочита́ю = future — plus the past, imperative, participle прочи́танный, and the alternant проче́сть.