The prefix page showed that a prefix can do one of two things: perfectivize a verb without changing its meaning (писа́ть → написа́ть), or add a meaning and build a new verb (писа́ть → записа́ть, "write down"). That second case leaves a gap: записа́ть is perfective, so what is its imperfective partner? Russian fills the gap by working in the opposite direction — it takes the prefixed perfective and adds a suffix to make it imperfective again. This is called the secondary imperfective, and it is the productive, predictable mechanism that keeps the whole aspect system in balance.
The idea: a suffix re-imperfectivizes
Once a prefix has created a new perfective, Russian inserts an imperfectivizing suffix into the stem (between the root and the ending). The result is the imperfective partner of that prefixed verb. The classic outcome is a triplet:
писа́ть (write, imperfective) → записа́ть (write down, perfective) → запи́сывать (write down, imperfective)
The base verb писа́ть and the secondary imperfective запи́сывать are different verbs with different meanings ("write" vs. "write down"), but each forms a clean aspect pair: писа́ть/написа́ть and запи́сывать/записа́ть.
Я обы́чно запи́сываю ле́кции в тетра́дь.
I usually write down the lectures in a notebook. — запи́сывать (secondary imperfective): habit, so imperfective.
Подожди́, я запишу́ твой а́дрес.
Hang on, I'll write down your address. — записа́ть (perfective): a single completed future act.
Suffix 1: -ыва- / -ива- (the workhorse)
This is the most productive secondary-imperfective suffix. It attaches to a great many prefixed perfectives. Use -ыва- after hard consonants and -ива- after soft consonants, husher consonants (ж, ш, ч, щ), or velars (г, к, х).
| Perfective | Imperfective (secondary) | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| переписа́ть | перепи́сывать | to rewrite / copy out |
| записа́ть | запи́сывать | to write down / record |
| рассказа́ть | расска́зывать | to tell / recount |
| показа́ть | пока́зывать | to show |
| подписа́ть | подпи́сывать | to sign |
| опозда́ть | опа́здывать | to be late |
| спроси́ть | спра́шивать | to ask |
Не опа́здывай — по́езд не ждёт.
Don't be late — the train won't wait. — опа́здывать (imperfective): a general warning / habit.
Он ка́ждый ве́чер расска́зывал де́тям ска́зку.
Every evening he told the children a fairy tale. — расска́зывать (imperfective): repeated, habitual.
Watch the stem changes that travel with this suffix — they are regular but visible:
- Stress shift. The accent usually moves leftward onto the syllable before the suffix: записа́ть → запи́сывать, рассказа́ть → расска́зывать, подписа́ть → подпи́сывать.
- Vowel change о → а in the root of some verbs: опозда́ть → опа́здывать, спроси́ть → спра́шивать, заработать → зараба́тывать.
- Consonant mutation before -ива-: спроси́ть → спрашивать (с → ш). This is the same kind of mutation you meet across the verb system.
Почему́ ты всегда́ спра́шиваешь одно́ и то же?
Why do you always ask the same thing? — спра́шивать (imperfective of спроси́ть): note с → ш and the stress on спра́-.
Suffix 2: -ва- (after a vowel-final stem)
When the perfective stem ends in a vowel, the imperfective is often built with -ва-. The accent typically lands on the syllable right before -ва-.
| Perfective | Imperfective (secondary) | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| дать | дава́ть | to give |
| откры́ть | открыва́ть | to open |
| закры́ть | закрыва́ть | to close |
| забы́ть | забыва́ть | to forget |
| уста́ть | устава́ть | to get tired |
| встать | встава́ть | to get up |
Не забыва́й закрыва́ть дверь на ключ.
Don't forget to lock the door. — забыва́ть / закрыва́ть (both imperfective in -ва-): a habitual instruction.
Я встаю́ в семь и сра́зу открыва́ю о́кна.
I get up at seven and open the windows right away. — встава́ть / открыва́ть: present tense, so imperfective.
A spelling-and-conjugation note: verbs in -ава́ть (дава́ть, встава́ть, узнава́ть) drop the -ва- in the present tense — я даю́, ты даёшь; я встаю́, ты встаёшь — but keep it in the infinitive, past, and imperative (дава́л, дава́й). Compare the perfective дать, which has no present at all (its future is я дам, irregular).
Suffix 3: -а́- (with consonant mutation)
A third group builds the imperfective with a stressed -а́-, very often with a consonant mutation at the end of the root. These look irregular at first but cover a batch of very high-frequency verbs, so they reward memorizing.
| Perfective | Imperfective (secondary) | Meaning | What changed |
|---|---|---|---|
| реши́ть | реша́ть | to solve / decide | и → а́ |
| получи́ть | получа́ть | to receive / get | и → а́ |
| бро́сить | броса́ть | to throw / quit | stress shift, си → са́ |
| отве́тить | отвеча́ть | to answer | т → ч (mutation) |
| встре́тить | встреча́ть | to meet | т → ч (mutation) |
| объясни́ть | объясня́ть | to explain | и → я́ (soft -а́-) |
Я ка́ждый ме́сяц получа́ю зарпла́ту пя́того числа́.
I get my salary on the fifth every month. — получа́ть (imperfective of получи́ть): habitual.
Он до́лго не отвеча́л на мои́ сообще́ния.
He didn't answer my messages for a long time. — отвеча́ть (imperfective of отве́тить): note the т → ч mutation; a drawn-out process.
Я бро́сил кури́ть в про́шлом году́.
I quit smoking last year. — бро́сить (perfective): a single completed act; its imperfective partner is броса́ть.
Why this matters: the pattern is predictable
The payoff is large. Unlike the prefix, which you must memorize per verb, the secondary-imperfective suffix is largely predictable once you know the perfective. Meet a prefixed perfective and you can usually derive its imperfective partner by reflex:
- ends in -ать/-ить with a writeable stem → most likely -ыва-/-ива- (рассказа́ть → расска́зывать);
- vowel-final stem → often -ва- (откры́ть → открыва́ть);
- many -ить perfectives → -а́- with mutation (реши́ть → реша́ть, отве́тить → отвеча́ть).
This turns hundreds of seemingly random pairs into a system. Instead of memorizing записа́ть/запи́сывать, рассказа́ть/расска́зывать, показа́ть/пока́зывать as three unrelated facts, you see one suffix at work and predict the rest.
Common Mistakes
❌ опозда́ть → опозда́вать (for the imperfective 'to be late').
Wrong — the secondary imperfective is опа́здывать, with -ыва-, the о → а vowel change, and stress on опа́-. The -ва- suffix is for vowel-final stems like дать/дава́ть.
✅ опозда́ть → опа́здывать.
to be late (perfective → imperfective).
❌ спроси́ть → спроси́вать (for 'to ask, imperfective').
Wrong — the partner is спра́шивать, with the с → ш mutation and stress on спра́-. The mutation is regular before -ива-.
✅ спроси́ть → спра́шивать.
to ask (perfective → imperfective).
❌ Я дава́ю тебе́ э́то на́всегда — present of дать.
Right form, wrong reasoning if you think дать has a present — дать is perfective and has no present. Я даю́ is the present of дава́ть (imperfective); note the -ва- drops in the present.
✅ Я даю́ (дава́ть, present); я дам (дать, perfective future).
present of the imperfective vs. simple future of the perfective.
❌ реши́ть → реши́вать (for 'to work on / be solving').
Wrong — the imperfective partner is реша́ть, with -а́- and the и → а change. реша́л = was working on it; реши́л = solved it.
✅ реши́ть → реша́ть.
to solve / decide (perfective → imperfective).
Key Takeaways
- The imperfective partner of a prefixed perfective is built by suffix — the secondary imperfective.
- Three suffix patterns: -ыва-/-ива- (the workhorse: записа́ть → запи́сывать, рассказа́ть → расска́зывать), -ва- (vowel-final stems: дать → дава́ть, откры́ть → открыва́ть), and -а́- (often with mutation: реши́ть → реша́ть, отве́тить → отвеча́ть).
- Suffixation comes with regular stress shifts (запи́сывать), vowel changes (опозда́ть → опа́здывать), and consonant mutations (спроси́ть → спра́шивать, отве́тить → отвеча́ть).
- The system works in two steps, giving triplets: писа́ть → записа́ть → запи́сывать. A prefix perfectivizes; a suffix re-imperfectivizes.
- Unlike the prefix, the suffix is largely predictable — learn the patterns once and you can derive the imperfective partner of most prefixed perfectives.
- Verbs in -ава́ть drop -ва- in the present (дава́ть → я даю́), but keep it elsewhere; the perfective дать has no present (future: я дам).
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Start learning Russian→Related Topics
- 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.
- 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.
- Why This Prefix? Choosing the Perfective PartnerB2 — Which prefix perfectivizes a given imperfective is a lexical property you must learn WITH the verb, like gender (писа́ть→на-, чита́ть→про-, де́лать→с-). But many prefixes do more than perfectivize — they add a 'way of action' (спо́соб де́йствия): ЗА- begins, ПО- does a bit, ПРО- does throughout (or misses), ДО- finishes, ПЕРЕ- redoes, НА-...-СЯ does to satiety, РАЗ-...-СЯ gets going, ВЗ- does suddenly. Picking the wrong prefix often makes a DIFFERENT verb (переписа́ть 'rewrite' ≠ написа́ть 'write').
- Telling the Imperfective from the PerfectiveA2 — A practical recognition skill: how to tell which member of an aspect pair is imperfective and which is perfective. The base/longer-process form is usually imperfective; a prefixed or shorter-suffixed member is usually perfective; suppletive pairs must be memorised. Dictionaries cite the imperfective first.
- High-Frequency Aspect Pairs: A Reference ListA2 — A reference list of the aspect pairs a beginner must memorize as units, grouped by how the perfective is built. Prefix pairs (де́лать/сде́лать, чита́ть/прочита́ть), suffix/secondary pairs (покупа́ть/купи́ть, открыва́ть/откры́ть), and suppletive pairs (говори́ть/сказа́ть, брать/взять, класть/положи́ть) — the last of which obey no rule and must be learned together. Each pair comes with an English gloss, the stress marked, and a one-line usage note.
- Verbs with Two Imperfectives (and Aspect Triplets)B2 — Prefixation creates a new perfective that then needs its own imperfective, so one root can span an imperfective–perfective–secondary-imperfective triplet (писа́ть → переписа́ть → перепи́сывать); a few roots even have two competing imperfectives with different nuance (the neutral base vs. an iterative -ывать form), and the archaic frequentatives (ха́живал 'used to go') survive in literature.