Perfective and Imperfective Aspect

Level 2Sounds Like svʺršen i nesvʺršen vid

Most verbs have two partners with the same meaning: imperfective пиша (write, be writing) and perfective напиша (write, finish writing).

How It Works

1. Two ways to look at an action.

  • Imperfective: the action in progress, repeated, or in general. Пиша писмо. (I am writing a letter.) Всеки ден купувам хляб. (I buy bread every day.)
  • Perfective: one complete action, seen as a whole. Написах писмо. (I wrote a letter, and it is finished.) Ще купя торта. (I will buy a cake.)

2. How pairs are built.

  • with a prefix: пиша → напиша, чета → прочета, правя → направя; see prefix pairs
  • with a suffix or stem change: купувам → купя, казвам → кажа, давам → дам; see suffix pairs
  • with different stems: идвам → дойда, слагам → сложа; see going and coming

3. The present tense. A perfective present such as напиша cannot describe what is happening now. It appears after да, ще, ако and когато: Искам да напиша писмо. See perfective verbs after да and the perfective present.

4. The past. Both partners have an aorist, with different meanings: Прочетох книгата. (I read the book to the end.) Четох два часа. (I spent two hours reading.) See the aorist and the imperfective aorist.

5. Commands. Затвори вратата! (Close the door, once.) Затваряй вратата! (Close the door every time.) See aspect in commands.

Tip: words like сега, всеки ден and често often favor the imperfective. Use imperfective четох for reading throughout цял ден; a duration alone does not rule out a perfective verb that bounds the whole period. A clear result or a single event often favors the perfective.

Examples (6)

  1. Сега пиша писмо.

    I am writing a letter now.

    An action in progress takes the imperfective пиша.

  2. Вчера написах три писма.

    Yesterday I wrote three letters.

    Finished results take the perfective написах.

  3. Всеки ден купувам хляб.

    I buy bread every day.

  4. Утре ще купя торта.

    Tomorrow I will buy a cake.

  5. Цял ден четох.

    I read all day.

    Цял ден describes a stretch of activity, so the verb is imperfective.

  6. Прочетох книгата за два дни.

    I read the book in two days.

    The perfective shows that the whole book was finished.

Common Mistakes

  • Using a perfective present for something happening now.

    Сега напиша писмо.
    Сега пиша писмо.

    A perfective present cannot describe the present moment. Use the imperfective пиша.

  • Using прочетох to describe an ongoing reading activity lasting цял ден.

    Цял ден прочетох.
    Цял ден четох.

    To describe reading throughout цял ден, use imperfective четох. A duration does not ban every perfective verb.

  • Using a perfective verb for a habit.

    Всеки ден купя хляб.
    Всеки ден купувам хляб.

    Repeated actions take the imperfective.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Perfective and Imperfective AspectLevel 2

Learn This First

Aspect is taught once learners use present-tense verbs.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.