Events with a Life of Their Own
In English, you can say "I started the movie" or "The movie started." Russian uses different verbs for these situations. When an event, gathering, or natural phenomenon starts, continues, or ends on its own, use an intransitive reflexive verb (ending in -ся or -сь). The event itself is the subject of the sentence, in the Nominative case.
Use the imperfective verbs начинаться (to start), продолжаться (to continue), and заканчиваться (to end) for ongoing processes, continuous actions, or scheduled routines.
| The screening begins at exactly eight. | Сеанс начинается ровно в восемь. |
| When does the screening usually end? | Когда обычно заканчивается сеанс? |
| Both the strike and the epidemic are continuing. | И забастовка, и эпидемия продолжаются. |
Perfective Forms for Single Events
For a specific, one-time event that has concluded or is scheduled for the future, use the perfective verbs начаться (to start) and закончиться (to end). (Продолжаться does not have a direct perfective equivalent when used this way.)
| We need to leave before the epidemic starts. | Нам надо уехать до того, как начнётся эпидемия. |
| They hope that the strike will end soon. | Они надеются, что забастовка скоро закончится. |
Past Tense Agreement
In the past tense, the verb must agree with the subject's gender and number. Notice how the reflexive suffix changes:
- Masculine (like ураган): ends in -лся
- Feminine (like эпидемия): ends in -лась
- Neuter (like представление): ends in -лось
- Plural: ends in -лись
| The hurricane began much earlier. | Ураган начался гораздо раньше. |
| The performance has already begun! | Представление уже началось! |
| The voting ended much earlier. | Голосование закончилось намного раньше. |
