The Annulled Result
You already know that the perfective past tense describes a completed action with a lasting result. For example, if you use a perfective verb to say that someone "opened" a window, it implies the window is still open right now.
But what if an action was completed, but its result was later reversed or "annulled"? If someone opened a window, but it is now closed again, Russian uses the imperfective past tense. This signals that the action happened, but the state has since reverted to normal.
| The safe is currently closed, but did anyone unlock it today? | Сейф сейчас закрыт, но кто-нибудь отпирал его сегодня? |
| Mom turned on the stove and the iron, but now they are cold. | Мама включала плиту и утюг, но сейчас они холодные. |
| Who opened the window above the stove? | Кто открывал окно над плитой? |
Investigating Household Mysteries
Because the past imperfective implies a temporary change of state, it is the go-to aspect for everyday detective work. Use it to point out that someone touched your things, borrowed an item and returned it, or turned something on and off again.
| This incident is suspicious: someone clearly took my key. | Этот случай подозрительный: кто-то явно брал мой ключ. |
You will frequently use imperfective verbs like перекладывать (to rearrange) or зажигать (to light) in the past tense to figure out exactly what happened when you weren't looking.
| My things are in place, but someone intentionally rearranged them. | Мои вещи на месте, но кто-то намеренно перекладывал их. |
| This candle was new. Someone clearly lit it. | Эта свеча была новая. Кто-то явно зажигал её. |
| Did someone turn on the computer in the bedroom? | Кто-то включал компьютер в спальне? |