Breakdown of Он поцеловал её и ушёл.
и
and
он
he / it (for a masculine noun) / it (for a neuter noun)
она
she / it (for a feminine noun)
уйти
to leave (on foot, pf) / to retreat into solitude
поцеловать
to kiss (perfective)
Questions & Answers about Он поцеловал её и ушёл.
Both verbs in this sentence (поцеловал and ушёл) are perfective. Why?
When narrating a sequence of events in the past, Russian uses perfective verbs. This shows that the first action was fully completed before the next one began. Perfective verbs like these focus on reaching a result, which is the same reason your current lesson uses the perfective aspect with за to show the time it takes to complete a goal.
How would the meaning change if we used the imperfective verbs целовал and уходил?
Imperfective verbs focus on the process or duration. If you used the imperfective verbs целовал and уходил, it would sound like simultaneous, ongoing actions instead of a clear sequence. Just like using a bare accusative time expression (like 'for an hour'), the imperfective highlights the time spent doing something rather than the final completed result.
What is the infinitive form of ушёл, and why does it look so different?
The infinitive is уйти (to leave or go away on foot). Like its base verb идти (to go), it has a highly irregular past tense. For a masculine subject, it becomes ушёл, while a feminine subject would use ушла. The prefix у- specifically adds the meaning of moving away from a place.
Is the word её in the accusative or genitive case here?
It is in the accusative case because she is the direct object receiving the action of the kiss. However, for the pronoun она (she), the accusative and genitive forms happen to be identical, which can sometimes be confusing for learners. Both are simply её.
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