Я записал показания счётчика.

I wrote down the meter reading.

Breakdown of Я записал показания счётчика.

• я: I
• записать: to write down
• показания счётчика: the meter reading

Questions & Answers about Я записал показания счётчика.

Why is the verb записал used here, not записывал?

Записал is the perfective past form of записать, so it presents the action as completed: the speaker wrote the reading down and finished doing it.

By contrast, записывал is imperfective and would usually suggest:

• a repeated action,
• an ongoing process,
• or focus on the fact of doing it rather than finishing it.

So:

• Я записал показания счётчика. = I wrote down the meter reading(s).
• Я записывал показания счётчика. = I was writing down / used to write down the meter reading(s).

In this sentence, Russian wants the completed, one-time action.

Why does the verb end in -л?

In the past tense, Russian verbs are formed from the past stem plus endings that agree with gender and number.

For записать, the past forms are:

• записал — masculine singular
• записала — feminine singular
• записало — neuter singular
• записали — plural

So Я записал means the speaker is male.
If the speaker were female, it would be:

• Я записала показания счётчика.

This is one of the big differences from English: in Russian, past tense often shows the speaker’s gender.

Why is показания plural?