By B2 you can pick aspect in a finite clause: imperfective (несоверше́нный вид) for process, repetition and general fact; perfective (соверше́нный вид) for a completed, single, result-bearing event. But infinitives raise the question in a sharper form. An infinitive carries no tense and often no obvious context — and yet it still must be one aspect or the other, and choosing wrong sounds as off to a Russian ear as a wrong verb form. The good news: in many frames the governing word decides for you, and where it doesn't, the same process-vs-result logic applies, only without a tense to lean on. This page sorts the infinitive-governing constructions into those that force an aspect and those that leave a choice.
The underlying logic, restated for infinitives
The infinitive names an action in the abstract, so aspect here answers a pure question: are you presenting the action as an unbounded activity, or as a single bounded act that reaches a result?
- Imperfective infinitive → the activity itself, the process, a repeated or habitual act, or an action viewed without regard to its completion.
- Perfective infinitive → one specific act seen through to its result.
Я хочу́ чита́ть — мне ску́чно.
I want to read — I'm bored. — чита́ть (imperfective): the activity of reading, no particular book, no endpoint.
Я хочу́ прочита́ть э́ту кни́гу до отъе́зда.
I want to read this book (through) before I leave. — прочита́ть (perfective): one book, finished, by a deadline.
That pair is the whole concept in miniature. Now the frames.
Phase verbs: imperfective only
Verbs that name the beginning, continuation or end of an activity take an imperfective infinitive — always, with no exceptions. This is not a tendency; it is a hard grammatical rule. The phase verb already locates you at the start, middle or end of a process, and a process is by definition imperfective. The core members are нача́ть / начина́ть ("to begin"), стать in its "begin" sense, продолжа́ть ("to continue"), конча́ть / ко́нчить and переста́ть / перестава́ть ("to stop, to cease").
Она́ начала́ изуча́ть кита́йский в про́шлом году́.
She began studying Chinese last year. — начала́ + imperfective изуча́ть; never *начала́ изучи́ть.
Перестань спо́рить и послу́шай меня́.
Stop arguing and listen to me. — перестань + imperfective спо́рить.
Он вдруг стал расска́зывать о войне́.
He suddenly started telling stories about the war. — стал (here = 'began') + imperfective расска́зывать.
Modals and "wanting": the choice is yours
Verbs of desire, ability and obligation — хоте́ть ("to want"), мочь ("to be able"), реши́ть ("to decide"), проси́ть ("to ask, request"), the predicatives на́до / ну́жно ("must, need to") — do not fix the aspect. They open a genuine process-vs-result choice, and the aspect you pick changes the meaning. Ask yourself whether you mean the activity or one completed act.
| Imperfective infinitive — the activity | Perfective infinitive — one completed act |
|---|---|
| Я хочу́ отдыха́ть. — I want to rest (to be resting, generally). | Я хочу́ отдохну́ть. — I want to (take a) rest / get some rest now. |
| Мо́жно звони́ть в любо́е вре́мя? — Is it OK to call any time? (a standing permission) | Мо́жно позвони́ть? — May I make a call? (one specific call) |
| Он реши́л учи́ть испа́нский. — He decided to study Spanish (take it up). | Он реши́л вы́учить э́ти слова́. — He decided to learn these words (master them). |
Мо́жно мне закры́ть окно́? Здесь хо́лодно.
May I close the window? It's cold in here. — perfective закры́ть: one specific act with a result.
Я прошу́ тебя́ не шуме́ть по́сле оди́ннадцати.
I'm asking you not to make noise after eleven. — imperfective шуме́ть under negation: a general, repeated prohibition.
На́до купи́ть хлеб, у нас ничего́ нет.
We need to buy bread, we've got nothing. — perfective купи́ть: one concrete errand to complete.
There is one reliable default inside this group: an affirmative single request or intention aimed at a result tilts perfective (на́до купи́ть, хочу́ позвони́ть), while a request under negation ("ask not to…", "don't need to…") strongly favours imperfective — for which see the next section and the aspect and negation page.
"No point in" and "time to": leaning imperfective
A cluster of evaluative frames — не сто́ит ("it's not worth it / no point in"), не на́до ("no need to / don't"), не ну́жно, не сове́тую ("I don't advise"), and the time-pressure word пора́ ("it's time to") — overwhelmingly takes the imperfective infinitive. The negated ones do so because they wave off an activity as a whole rather than block one specific result; пора́ does so because "time to start doing X" is inherently about entering a process.
Не сто́ит волнова́ться — всё бу́дет хорошо́.
There's no point in worrying — everything will be fine. — не сто́ит + imperfective волнова́ться.
Не на́до спеши́ть, у нас мно́го вре́мени.
There's no need to hurry, we have plenty of time. — не на́до + imperfective спеши́ть.
Уже́ по́здно, пора́ идти́ домо́й.
It's late, time to head home. — пора́ + imperfective идти́.
Я не сове́тую тебе́ туда́ е́здить одному́.
I wouldn't advise going there alone. — не сове́тую + imperfective е́здить (repeated/general).
Prohibitions as rules: the imperfective infinitive
A bare infinitive can stand as a command or general rule, with no governing verb at all — and Russian's public prohibitions live in this construction. Crucially, a negated standing prohibition uses the imperfective infinitive, because it forbids the activity in general, for everyone, indefinitely. This is why signs read Не кури́ть, not *Не закури́ть.
Не входи́ть!
Do not enter! — imperfective входи́ть: a standing rule, not a one-time instruction.
Не кури́ть на террито́рии шко́лы.
No smoking on school grounds. — imperfective кури́ть; the canonical sign-Russian prohibition.
По газо́нам не ходи́ть.
Keep off the grass. (lit. 'Do not walk on the lawns') — imperfective ходи́ть.
By contrast, a positive bare infinitive used as a curt order or a question of obligation can go either way on the usual logic — and a single-word shout like Молча́ть! ("Silence! / Be quiet!") is imperfective because it demands a sustained state, not a single act.
Молча́ть! Я не зако́нчил говори́ть.
Quiet! I haven't finished speaking. — imperfective молча́ть: stay silent, an ongoing state.
The wider picture of how aspect shapes commands is on aspect in the imperative and negative imperatives and warnings.
When the governing verb dictates the aspect
This is the insight that turns guesswork into rule-following: several very common governing verbs lock in the aspect of their infinitive by their own meaning. You don't weigh process vs result — you recognise the frame.
Take the imperfective infinitive (the action is an ongoing skill or habit you settle into):
- научи́ться / учи́ться ("to learn to") — you acquire an ongoing ability: научи́ться пла́вать, "to learn to swim."
- привы́кнуть ("to get used to") — you habituate to a repeated activity: привы́кнуть встава́ть ра́но.
- уме́ть ("to know how to") — a standing skill: уме́ть гото́вить.
- люби́ть / нра́виться ("to like doing") — a habitual preference: люблю́ гуля́ть по у́тру.
Он научи́лся гото́вить по видеоро́ликам.
He learned to cook from videos. — научи́ться + imperfective гото́вить: an ongoing skill.
Я ника́к не привы́кну рабо́тать по ноча́м.
I just can't get used to working nights. — привы́кнуть + imperfective рабо́тать.
Take the perfective infinitive (the action is a single completed act, often against a deadline or a slip):
- успе́ть ("to manage in time") — you complete one act before time runs out: успе́ть сде́лать, успе́ть купи́ть.
- забы́ть ("to forget to") — you fail to perform one specific act: забы́л позвони́ть, забы́л вы́ключить свет.
- удава́ться / уда́ться ("to manage, succeed in") — a single successful outcome: мне удало́сь дозвони́ться.
- успе́ть vs забы́ть are the pair to memorise, because they are frequent and their aspect is fixed.
Я не успе́л купи́ть биле́ты — все распро́даны.
I didn't manage to buy tickets in time — they're all sold out. — успе́ть + perfective купи́ть.
Чёрт, я забы́л позвони́ть ма́ме.
Damn, I forgot to call my mum. — забы́ть + perfective позвони́ть: one specific call not made.
A working order of operations
When you face an infinitive, run this checklist:
- Phase verb (нача́ть, продолжа́ть, переста́ть)? → imperfective, no thought required.
- Dictating verb (научи́ться, привы́кнуть → imperfective; успе́ть, забы́ть → perfective)? → the verb decides.
- Standing prohibition (Не кури́ть, Не входи́ть)? → imperfective.
- Negated advice / "no point" (не сто́ит, не на́до, не сове́тую) or пора́? → lean imperfective.
- Otherwise (хоте́ть, мочь, на́до, реши́ть) → genuine choice: imperfective for the activity, perfective for one completed result.
The decision-guide logic for cases that fall through to step 5 is laid out on the imperfective-or-perfective decision guide.
Common Mistakes
❌ Он на́чал прочита́ть кни́гу.
Wrong — phase verbs take the imperfective infinitive only: на́чал чита́ть, never на́чал прочита́ть.
✅ Он на́чал чита́ть кни́гу.
He started reading the book.
❌ Я научи́лся пригото́вить борщ.
Wrong — научи́ться 'learn to' governs the imperfective (an ongoing skill): научи́лся гото́вить.
✅ Я научи́лся гото́вить борщ.
I learned to cook borscht.
❌ Я не успе́л покупа́ть биле́ты.
Wrong — успе́ть 'manage in time' governs the perfective (one completed act): успе́л купи́ть.
✅ Я не успе́л купи́ть биле́ты.
I didn't manage to buy tickets in time.
❌ Не закури́ть здесь!
Wrong — a standing prohibition uses the imperfective infinitive: Не кури́ть.
✅ Не кури́ть здесь!
No smoking here!
❌ Не сто́ит поволнова́ться из-за тако́й ме́лочи.
Wrong — не сто́ит ('no point in') waves off the activity, so imperfective: не сто́ит волнова́ться.
✅ Не сто́ит волнова́ться из-за тако́й ме́лочи.
There's no point worrying over such a trifle.
Key Takeaways
- An infinitive still carries aspect; the governing word often fixes it, and where it doesn't, the process-vs-result logic applies without a tense.
- Phase verbs (нача́ть, стать 'begin', продолжа́ть, переста́ть, конча́ть) → imperfective infinitive only.
- Modals / wanting (хоте́ть, мочь, на́до, реши́ть, проси́ть) → free choice: imperfective = the activity (хочу́ чита́ть), perfective = one completed result (хочу́ прочита́ть э́ту кни́гу).
- научи́ться, привы́кнуть, уме́ть → imperfective (an ongoing skill/habit); успе́ть, забы́ть, уда́ться → perfective (one bounded act, met or missed in time).
- Standing prohibitions (Не кури́ть, Не входи́ть) and sustained-state orders (Молча́ть!) → imperfective; не сто́ит / не на́до / не сове́тую and пора́ lean imperfective too.
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- Aspect After Phase and Modal VerbsB2 — Phase verbs — начина́ть/нача́ть (begin), продолжа́ть (continue), конча́ть/ко́нчить and перестава́ть/переста́ть (stop) — take ONLY an imperfective infinitive complement, an absolute rule with no exceptions (Я на́чал чита́ть, never *начал прочита́ть); with modal/desiderative verbs (хоте́ть, мочь, до́лжен, на́до) both aspects are possible and carry the usual process/result meaning, so the phase-verb rule must not be over-applied there.
- Decision Guide: Imperfective or Perfective?B1 — A practical, question-ordered procedure you run for every verb. Most aspect agonizing disappears once you notice that some choices are forced (present tense and phase verbs are always imperfective) and the rest reduce to one real question: process or completed result? This page gives you a checklist and walks sentences through it.
- The InfinitiveA1 — The infinitive is the dictionary form of the verb — a single word ending in -ть, -ти, or -чь (чита́ть, идти́, мочь). It names the action without person, tense, or number, carries aspect, and follows modal words, phase verbs, and impersonal expressions with no 'to' particle: хочу́ чита́ть, на́до идти́, Кури́ть запрещено́.
- Negative Imperatives and WarningsB1 — Negative commands force an aspect choice that changes their force: не + imperfective is a standing prohibition (Не кури́! Не открыва́й окно́! Не волну́йся!), while не + perfective is a warning against an accidental, undesired result (Не упади́! Не забу́дь ключи́! Смотри́ не опозда́й!) — plus the softeners Не на́до and Не сто́ит.
- Aspect and NegationB2 — Negation interacts with aspect in ways English collapses: a negated imperfective denies the action wholesale ('never did it / wasn't doing it'), while a negated perfective says a specific expected result failed to materialize ('didn't manage to'). This page covers negated past, negated commands (prohibition vs warning), and не на́до / не сто́ит advice — with minimal pairs throughout.
- Aspect in the ImperativeB1 — Commands force an aspect choice too: perfective for a single concrete request expecting completion (Прочита́й э́то! Купи́ хлеб!), imperfective for process, habit, and — crucially — polite invitations and 'go ahead' permission (Сади́тесь! Входи́те!); and negative commands flip the default, with imperfective for a prohibition (Не открыва́й!) but perfective for a warning against an accidental result (Не упади́! Не забу́дь!).