Chains of Repeated Past Events
When recounting a sequence of events that happened once in the past, Russian usually relies on perfective verbs to show that one completed action followed another. However, if you are describing a chain of events that used to happen repeatedly—like a childhood summer routine—you must use the imperfective aspect for every verb in the sequence.
Because the entire routine repeated over and over, the focus is on the recurring process, even if individual steps were completed each time.
| In childhood, we spent all summer at grandma's and often played in the attic. | В детстве мы проводили всё лето у бабушки и часто играли на чердаке. |
| At first we gathered berries, and then grandma made jam. | Сначала мы собирали ягоды, а потом бабушка варила варенье. |
Adding "Бывало" for Nostalgia
To explicitly express "used to" or "sometimes it would happen that," Russian uses the word бывало. Placing this at the beginning of a sentence sets a nostalgic, storytelling tone for repeated past actions.
| used to | бывало |
| We used to spend the whole day in the forest. | Бывало, мы весь день проводили в лесу. |
| In the summer, we used to walk for a long time, and then we would buy a hot pie. | Бывало, летом мы долго гуляли, а потом покупали горячий пирожок. |
Routine Time Markers
You will often pair these imperfective sequences with phrases like каждый вечер (every evening) or каждую ночь (every night) to emphasize that the chain of events was a regular habit.
| Every evening we drank a cup of tea on the veranda. | Каждый вечер мы пили чашку чаю на веранде. |
| Every night grandma read fairy tales, and we fell asleep. | Каждую ночь бабушка читала сказки, и мы засыпали. |
Cause and Effect in Routines
Even when one action immediately triggers another in a cause-and-effect relationship (like opening a jar and instantly smelling it, or mosquitoes biting so hard that you are forced to move inside), you still use the imperfective aspect for both verbs if the sequence describes a recurring habit.
| Grandma would open a jar, and we immediately felt the aroma of the jam. | Бабушка открывала банку, и мы сразу чувствовали аромат варенья. |
| Sometimes mosquitoes would bite so hard that we went to the attic. | Бывало, комары кусали так сильно, что мы уходили на чердак. |