The Imperfective Rule for Phase Verbs
When you talk about the stages of an action—starting, continuing, or finishing it—the second verb (the action being performed) must always be in the imperfective infinitive.
Why? Because you can only start, continue, or finish an ongoing process.
Finishing an Action: заканчивать / закончить
To say you are finishing or will finish a task, use заканчивать (imperfective) or закончить (perfective). While the phase verb itself can be perfective (because the act of finishing can be a completed event), the work you are finishing must remain imperfective.
| We will finish packing the products after the shift. | Мы закончим упаковывать продукты после смены. |
| Did you finish copying the reports on duty? | Ты закончил копировать отчёты на дежурстве? |
Starting an Action: начинать / начать
To say you begin doing something, use начинать (imperfective) or начать (perfective). Just like with finishing, the activity you begin is always an imperfective process.
| On duty, the doctor begins to test the newest medicine. | На дежурстве врач начинает тестировать самое новое лекарство. |
| It is hard for us, but we began to print the documents. | Нам тяжело, но мы начали печатать документы. |
Continuing an Action: продолжать
To express that an ongoing process keeps going, use продолжать (to continue).
| The student continues to edit the text in order to finish the task. | Студент продолжает редактировать текст, чтобы закончить задание. |
| The factory continues to produce the newest cars. | Завод продолжает выпускать самые новые автомобили. |
Shifting Between Stages
During a busy shift or work assignment, you might finish one stage of a process and immediately begin the next. Notice how the phase verbs adapt to the tense and aspect of the sentence, while the actual tasks always stay in the imperfective infinitive.
| The company finished producing the parts and began to pack them. | Компания закончила выпускать детали и начала их упаковывать. |
