Imperatives and Aspect in Russian

[@michaelandre9350]

Great tips and insight - thanks very much, Dr Ford.

[@danielcowan87]

Hey I recently found your channel and after watching only a few videos you've cleared up so many difficulties I've had in Russian and immediately subscribed. Благодарю вас 👊

[@harrodesu]

Обучаюсь американскому произношению по вашим видео, спасибо! :D

[@traduciendoconroger.7494]

Полезно для меня. Огромное спасибо.

[@jeremystravels]

Thanks for another great video ! )

[@betos-08]

How did you get such good pronunciation? Any advice?

[@russiangrammar]

Olga Jarrell's Amazing Russian channel has good materials on pronunciation, and you might look into Kimberly DiMattia's materials at www.unlockingrussianpronunciation.org - she has a great ear, has studied phonetics in Moscow, and can explain pronunciation in ways that make sense to non-native speakers. Beyond that - listen and practice... one technique I've liked is to find a short recorded passage to listen to & practice mimicking as closely as possible. Poems can be great for this: you can find recordings at kzbin.infofeatured , find the text, listen and practice. Memorizing poems is absolutely culturally appropriate and a terrific way to practice any time or any place. :)

[@catboy721]

Great information -- what about those GPS directions you get on your phone? Would Siri use perfective imperative to tell you to turn left or beware of construction up ahead??

[@russiangrammar]

Хороший вопрос - I just had the fun of setting Siri to Russian... she did indeed give directions saying "поверните на ...." using the perfective повернуть! Then I suggested "давай перейдём на ты," and she responded: Я совсем не против, чтобы вы обращались ко мне на «ты».

[@HalfgildWynac]

@@russiangrammar Using "поворачивайте направо/налево" would be sort of rude. Siri is an assistant (and may not even know if the road is actually there); it makes more sense to phrase her directions as instructions/suggestions. Otherwise it may sound as though the driver must hurry and obey. You would easily use the imperfective for prolonged actions, especially without a clear end point ("Езжайте прямо", "Медленно поворачивайте направо", "Говорите громче"). In "Semantics of Tense and Aspect in the Russian Language; Semantics of Narrative" by Paducheva*, the use of imperfectives for "simple commands" is described to have three major parts to it: • the focus is on the onset • you should start immediately • you are expected to comply-in fact, the necessity of the action is "obvious" from the situation; this is seen clearly in situations where your partner is ready to do as you say, only waiting for your signal (e.g., "Отпускай", "Вставляй", "Давай следующую"). There are nuances to these. "Приходить" is a verb very much focused on the END point; you use imperfective "Приходите ещё!" (unless you are summoning a demon) even though your friends will come back much later. Actual orders are perfective: the superiours do not have to justify the neccesity of their commands by the context or anything else. ___________________________ * Е.В. Падучева «Семантика времени и вида в русском языке. Семантика нарратива.»

[@russiangrammar]

Yes, those examples of the imperfective for continuing or extended actions are a nice addition, thanks. Imperatives are a good example of how aspect is so sensitive to context and nuance - I'll take a look at Paducheva's chapter on Семантика и прагматика несовершенного вида императива.

[@RussianLanguagePodcast]

Как обычно, полезное видео. Спасибо, Курт.

[@russiangrammar]

Спасибо, Татьяна! ))

[@CrazyDreamer1001]

I seem to remember (I'm now in the "learning" phase where I forget more than I learn) that it's also possible to use the past tense to give commands/requests. What are the rules for that?

[@russiangrammar]

It's very common to say пошли! or поехали! for "let's go!" You'll occasionally hear начали! for "let's begin/get started," but this use of the plural past tense is probably most common for 'going' verbs. Note that the singular past tense can be rude: Пошёл вон! = 'Get the he** out of here!'

[@traduciendoconroger.7494]

Например: Я не говорю по английски.😡 Говорите всегда по - русски.😠 I don't speak english. Always speak russian. Это правильно?😃

[@RanmaruRei]

Yes, it's grammatically correct. But the second sentence I would word this way: «Пожалуйста, говорите по-русски» (Please, speak russian).

[@russiangrammar]

по-английски, по-русски, а так - правильно! (Можно ещё добавить «пожалуйста» в зависимости от ситуации...)

[@RanmaruRei]

@@russiangrammar lol, I'm a native speaker and I did not notice this. Dashes…

[@traduciendoconroger.7494]

@@RanmaruRei This time in a fighting situation i mean. That's why i add an angry face.😡 But thanks anyway.😃 Just kidding.😊