Я повернул направо после моста.

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Breakdown of Я повернул направо после моста.

• мост: the bridge
• после: after
• повернуть: to turn

Questions & Answers about Я повернул направо после моста.

Why is повернул used instead of поворачивал, and how do these aspects differ?

Russian verbs come in two aspects: perfective (completed action) and imperfective (ongoing or habitual action).
– повернул is the perfective past tense of повернуть, indicating “I completed the turn.”
– поворачивал is the imperfective, implying “I was turning” (ongoing) or “I used to turn” (habitual).
In a narrative describing a single completed event, the perfective повернул is the natural choice.

How is the Russian past tense formed, and what do endings like -л, -ла, -ло, -ли indicate?

To form the past tense, drop the infinitive -ть and add a gender/number ending:

• -л for masculine singular (я повернул)
• -ла for feminine singular (я повернула)
• -ло for neuter singular (оно повернуло)
• -ли for all plurals (мы повернули)
  These endings agree with the subject’s gender and number.

If a woman were speaking, how would the sentence change?

A female speaker takes the feminine past ending -ла:
Я повернула направо после моста.

What part of speech is направо, and can I use вправо instead?