Forming the Past Tense
Just like the past tense of быть (to be), regular Russian verbs in the past tense match the gender and number of the subject, rather than the person.
To form the past tense, drop the -ть from the infinitive (like гулять, to walk) and add the past tense suffix -л- followed by the appropriate ending:
| Subject | Ending | Example (гулять) |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | -л | гулял |
| Feminine | -ла | гуляла |
| Neuter | -ло | гуляло |
| Plural | -ли | гуляли |
For a masculine subject, use the -л ending:
| Yesterday the boy walked there for a long time. | Вчера мальчик долго гулял там. |
For a feminine subject, use the -ла ending:
| Did mom have lunch early? | Мама рано обедала? |
Notice how the ending shifts between masculine and feminine:
| My brother had dinner late. | Мой брат поздно ужинал. |
| She also had dinner late. | Она тоже поздно ужинала. |
Plural and Neuter Subjects
When the subject is plural (мы, вы, они), use the -ли ending. To make a sentence negative, place не directly before the verb:
| Yesterday we did not watch television. | Вчера мы не смотрели телевизор. |
Neuter nouns (like радио) take the -ло ending:
| The radio played quietly. | Радио тихо играло. |
Talking About Times of Day
You can set the scene for your past actions using time words like днём (in the afternoon) and ночью (at night):
| They worked a lot in the afternoon. | Они много работали днём. |
| At night the music played loudly. | Ночью музыка громко играла. |
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