Verbs: говори́ть / сказа́ть — "to speak / to say / to tell" Aspect: говори́ть is imperfective, сказа́ть is perfective — but they come from different roots (a suppletive pair) Type: говори́ть is regular second conjugation; сказа́ть is first conjugation with a з → ж consonant mutation
This pair is the workhorse of saying things in Russian, and its central oddity is that the two aspects are not related forms of one verb — they're two different words pressed into service as an aspect pair, exactly as English uses go and went. говори́ть (imperfective) covers "speak, talk, be saying, say in general"; сказа́ть (perfective) covers "say once, tell, utter" — a single completed act of speech. Keeping the two apart by meaning, not just by form, is the whole skill here. Stress is marked on every form below, since this is a reference you'll consult for pronunciation.
Present tense — only говори́ть has one
Only the imperfective говори́ть has a present tense. It is a textbook second-conjugation verb (endings -ю/-ишь/-ит/-им/-ите/-ят) with a mobile stress that lands on the ending in the я form and on the suffix elsewhere.
| Person | говори́ть (imperfective present) |
|---|---|
| я | говорю́ |
| ты | говори́шь |
| он / она́ / оно́ | говори́т |
| мы | говори́м |
| вы | говори́те |
| они́ | говоря́т |
Я немно́го говорю́ по-ру́сски.
I speak a little Russian. — present говорю́; 'speak a language' = говори́ть по-ру́сски.
О чём вы говори́те?
What are you talking about? — говори́те, the ongoing process of talking. (говори́ть о + prepositional = 'talk about'.)
Past tense
Both verbs build a perfectly regular past on their own infinitive stem, with fixed stress on the suffix (no end-stress surprises here).
| Gender / number | говори́ть (imperfective) | сказа́ть (perfective) |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | говори́л | сказа́л |
| feminine | говори́ла | сказа́ла |
| neuter | говори́ло | сказа́ло |
| plural | говори́ли | сказа́ли |
The past is where the meaning split is most visible. говори́л = "was speaking / used to say / spoke (over time)"; сказа́л = "said (once, and finished)." The same English "he said" can be either, depending on whether you mean a habit/process or a single utterance.
Он всегда́ говори́л, что всё бу́дет хорошо́.
He always used to say that everything would be fine. — imperfective говори́л: a repeated, habitual saying.
Он сказа́л, что опозда́ет на де́сять мину́т.
He said he'd be ten minutes late. — perfective сказа́л: one specific, completed statement.
Future tense
The aspects split as always. говори́ть (imperfective) → compound future with бу́ду + infinitive. сказа́ть (perfective) → simple future, and here the з → ж mutation strikes: сказа́- → скаж-.
| Person | говори́ть → compound future | сказа́ть → simple future |
|---|---|---|
| я | бу́ду говори́ть | скажу́ |
| ты | бу́дешь говори́ть | ска́жешь |
| он / она́ / оно́ | бу́дет говори́ть | ска́жет |
| мы | бу́дем говори́ть | ска́жем |
| вы | бу́дете говори́ть | ска́жете |
| они́ | бу́дут говори́ть | ска́жут |
Three things in the сказа́ть column: the з → ж runs through the whole paradigm (скажу́, ска́жешь… ска́жут — unlike many mutations that hit only the я form), the endings are first conjugation (-у/-ешь/-ет/-ем/-ете/-ут), and the stress is mobile — end-stressed only in скажу́, then back on the root for every other person.
Я скажу́ ему́ пра́вду, когда́ он вернётся.
I'll tell him the truth when he gets back. — perfective future скажу́ + dative ему́: one future utterance.
Что ска́жут сосе́ди?
What will the neighbours say? — ска́жут, 3rd person plural (back-stress, з→ж).
Imperative
| Addressee | говори́ть (imperfective) | сказа́ть (perfective) |
|---|---|---|
| ты (informal) | говори́ | скажи́ |
| вы (formal / plural) | говори́те | скажи́те |
The perfective imperative скажи́(те) keeps the ж and is the everyday way to ask someone to tell you something: Скажи́те, пожа́луйста… ("Could you tell me, please…") is the standard polite opener for asking strangers anything.
Скажи́те, пожа́луйста, как пройти́ к вокза́лу?
Excuse me, could you tell me the way to the station? — perfective скажи́те: the standard polite request opener.
Говори́ ме́дленнее, я не успева́ю.
Speak more slowly, I can't keep up. — imperfective говори́: about the manner of an ongoing activity.
Participles and verbal adverbs
| Form | Russian | Note |
|---|---|---|
| present active participle (impf) | говоря́щий | "(one) speaking" — (formal / written) |
| verbal adverb (impf) | говоря́ | "speaking / while saying" — but also a fixed adverbial: че́стно говоря́ "frankly speaking" |
| past passive participle (pf) | ска́занный | "(what was) said" — (formal / written) |
| verbal adverb (pf) | сказа́в | "having said" — (formal / written) |
The verbal adverb говоря́ survives in everyday speech inside frozen phrases — че́стно говоря́ ("frankly"), со́бственно говоря́ ("actually"), коро́че говоря́ ("in short").
Че́стно говоря́, я не ожида́л тако́го результа́та.
Frankly speaking, I wasn't expecting this result. — the fixed verbal-adverb phrase че́стно говоря́.
Key uses & collocations
1. говори́ть = speak / talk (a language, with someone, about something)
Use говори́ть for the activity of speaking: speaking a language (говори́ть по-англи́йски), talking with someone (говори́ть с + instrumental), talking about something (говори́ть о + prepositional).
Мы до́лго говори́ли с ним о рабо́те.
We talked with him about work for a long time. — говори́ть с + instrumental, о + prepositional.
2. сказа́ть = say / tell (one completed utterance), often with a dative
Use сказа́ть for a single, bounded act of speech, frequently with the dative of the addressee and a что-clause.
Мне ника́к не сказа́ли, что встре́ча перенесена́.
No one told me the meeting had been moved. — сказа́ть + dative мне: a single (here, non-)telling.
The что-clause introduces reported speech, treated on the reported (indirect) speech page; the dative addressee is the dative indirect object.
3. говори́ть vs разгова́ривать — "say/speak" vs "converse"
A third verb, разгова́ривать (imperfective, "to converse, to be in conversation"), overlaps with говори́ть but stresses two-way conversation rather than just producing speech. Не разгова́ривай на уро́ке = "Don't chat in class"; Я говорю́ по-ру́сски = "I speak Russian" (you wouldn't say разгова́риваю here).
Они́ сиде́ли на ку́хне и ти́хо разгова́ривали.
They sat in the kitchen quietly talking (to each other). — разгова́ривать: mutual conversation, not a single utterance.
Common Mistakes
❌ Вчера́ он говори́л мне, что заболе́л. (meaning one specific telling)
Aspect slip — for a single completed 'he told me', use the perfective: он сказа́л мне. говори́л sounds like a repeated/ongoing saying.
✅ Вчера́ он сказа́л мне, что заболе́л.
Yesterday he told me he'd fallen ill.
❌ Я скажу́ ру́сский язы́к. / Я говорю́ ру́сский.
Wrong frame — 'speak a language' is говори́ть по-ру́сски (adverb), or владе́ть ру́сским. сказа́ть can't mean 'speak a language' at all.
✅ Я говорю́ по-ру́сски.
I speak Russian.
❌ Он скаже́т пра́вду. / Я скажу́ёт.
Wrong form — the он-form is ска́жет (back-stressed, first conjugation), and скажу́ is only the я-form. The з→ж runs through the whole paradigm.
✅ Он ска́жет пра́вду.
He'll tell the truth.
❌ Скажи́ мне о свои́х пла́нах. (for an extended account)
If you want a fuller account, расскажи́ ('tell/relate') fits better; скажи́ is for a short single statement. Both exist — choose by length.
✅ Расскажи́ мне о свои́х пла́нах.
Tell me about your plans.
❌ Не говори́ со мной так! — said when you mean 'stop chatting'.
Mismatch — to tell people to stop chatting use не разгова́ривай(те). говори́ть focuses on producing speech, разгова́ривать on conversing.
✅ Не разгова́ривайте во вре́мя экза́мена.
No talking during the exam.
Key Takeaways
- A suppletive aspect pair: говори́ть (imperfective, different root) ↔ сказа́ть (perfective). Choose by meaning, not form.
- говори́ть = the activity of speaking/talking, "say in general/habitually": говорю́, говори́шь, говори́т, говори́м, говори́те, говоря́т (2nd conjugation).
- сказа́ть = one completed utterance, "say once / tell." Its simple future has the з → ж mutation through the whole paradigm: скажу́, ска́жешь, ска́жет, ска́жем, ска́жете, ска́жут (1st conjugation, mobile stress).
- Past: говори́л (process/habit) vs сказа́л (single act) — both regular.
- Imperatives: говори́ / говори́те vs скажи́ / скажи́те (the polite "Скажи́те, пожа́луйста…").
- разгова́ривать = "converse" (two-way); расска́зывать / рассказа́ть = "relate, give an account." Don't use сказа́ть for "speak a language."
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- Suppletive and Irregular Aspect PairsB1 — Some aspect pairs are not built by adding a prefix or swapping a suffix — the two members come from completely different roots (говори́ть/сказа́ть, брать/взять, иска́ть/найти́) or change shape so drastically that you must memorize each pair as a unit; this page collects the high-frequency suppletive and irregular pairs and shows the contrast with one example each.
- Present Tense: Second ConjugationA1 — The second-conjugation present paradigm: говори́ть → говорю́, говори́шь, говори́т, говори́м, говори́те, говоря́т, with theme vowel -и-. Covers the Л-insertion model люби́ть → люблю́, the 1sg consonant mutation, and the spelling rule that gives слы́шу/слы́шат and учу́/у́чат after hushing consonants.
- 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.
- Reported (Indirect) SpeechB2 — Russian reports speech with one rule that overturns an English habit: there is NO tense backshift. He said 'I work' becomes Он сказал, что работает — the present tense stays present. You change the person (я → он), never the tense. This page covers reported statements, questions (with ли), and commands (with чтобы), all built on that single principle.
- Dative: The Indirect ObjectA2 — The dative's core job is the indirect object — the recipient or beneficiary, answering кому? (to whom?). The frame is subject (nom) + verb + thing (acc) + recipient (dat): Я дал дру́гу кни́гу (I gave my friend a book), Она́ написа́ла письмо́ ма́ме. The trap for English speakers is a closed list of verbs that take the dative where English uses a plain direct object — помога́ть (help), звони́ть (phone), сове́товать (advise), ве́рить (believe), меша́ть (bother), ра́доваться (be glad about) — so 'I help my brother' is Я помога́ю бра́ту (dat), not *брата.
- Спрашивать / Спросить (to ask a question)A2 — Complete conjugation-and-usage reference for the aspect pair спра́шивать / спроси́ть 'to ask (a question), to enquire'. The perfective спроси́ть has the с→ш mutation in the я-form (спрошу́); the verb governs the ACCUSATIVE of the person asked (спроси́ть учи́теля) or у + genitive, with о + prepositional for the topic — the headline contrast with проси́ть 'to ask FOR, request'.