Congratulations! You have now covered the entire system of Russian tenses and aspects. It is one of the most challenging parts of Russian grammar, and it usually requires a lot of practice to get it right. As you continue improving your Russian language skills, always remember the connection between tenses and aspect. See the table below to review what you have learned so far and to solidify your understanding of these important grammatical concepts:

Table 13-3Correlation of Tenses and Aspect in Russian

Because there is no exact correspondence between Russian and English verbal forms, take a close look at the context in to order to choose appropriate verbs. Read the following dialogues to practice recognizing Russian tenses and aspects within a particular conversational context.

Dialogue 1: Conversation about a Daily Routine

Vladimir, how do you begin your day?

I get up early, do exercises, wash my hair, brush my teeth, and make breakfast.

And what do you do in the afternoon?

In the afternoon, I work.

And in the evening?

In the evening, I usually watch TV and read.

And what do you do on Saturday and Sunday?

On weekends I clean my apartment, go to the store, and walk in the park.

Dialogue 2: An Early Morning Dialogue

Mother: (Vanya, have you already done your exercises?)

Son: (No, but I already have brushed my teeth and washed my hair.)

Mother: (Good. I have already made breakfast. Yesterday did you do your math homework?)

Son: (No, I didn't, but it's not a problem. The math lesson is tomorrow, so I have time.)

In Russian, many of the expressions we use to describe our daily activities contain imperfective or perfective verbs coupled with nouns. Grammatically these nouns are objects, so remember to use the accusative case. The following table provides a brief compilation of phrases for daily activities, both in the imperfective and perfective aspect.

Table 13-4Daily Activities