Imperfective and Perfective Aspect

Level 2

Slovak verbs come in pairs: písať (to be writing, to write regularly) and napísať (to write and finish). Pick the imperfective for a process or a habit, and the perfective for one finished result.

How It Works

Two verbs for one action

English uses one verb and changes the tense (I was writing, I wrote, I have written). Slovak usually uses two related verbs, called an aspect pair:

  • písať / napísať (to write)
  • kupovať / kúpiť (to buy)
  • robiť / urobiť (to do, to make)
  • čítať / prečítať (to read)

The first verb in each pair is imperfective and the second is perfective. Some pairs differ by a prefix, see Aspect Pairs With a Prefix, and others by a suffix, see Aspect Pairs With a Suffix.

When to use the imperfective

  • An action in progress: Práve píšem list. (I'm writing a letter right now.)
  • A habit or a repeated action: Každú sobotu kupujem čerstvý chlieb. (Every Saturday I buy fresh bread.)
  • An activity that lasted a while, without saying if it was finished: Celý večer som písala list. (I was writing a letter all evening.)

When to use the perfective

  • One action that is finished, with a result: Napísala som list. (I wrote the letter, and it is done.)
  • A single future action: Zajtra ti napíšem. (I'll write to you tomorrow.)

Which tenses each verb has

A handy test

Words for how long something lasted, such as celý deň (all day) or dve hodiny (for two hours), go with the imperfective. Words for how long it took to finish, such as za hodinu (in an hour), go with the perfective: Napísal som list za hodinu. (I wrote the letter in an hour.)

Aspect is covered in more depth in Aspect in the Past.

Examples (6)

  1. Celý večer som písala list.

    I was writing a letter all evening.

    Word by Word: Whole evening I-was writing letter.

    Imperfective písať: the activity went on for a while. We do not learn whether the letter was finished. The speaker is a woman.

  2. Napísala som list a hneď som ho poslala.

    I wrote the letter and sent it right away.

    Perfective napísať and poslať: two finished actions, one after the other.

  3. Každú sobotu kupujem čerstvý chlieb.

    Every Saturday I buy fresh bread.

    Imperfective kupovať for a habit.

  4. Kúpil som chlieb a mlieko.

    I bought bread and milk.

    Perfective kúpiť: one completed purchase.

  5. Čo robíš? – Čítam knihu.

    What are you doing? – I'm reading a book.

    Imperfective verbs for actions happening right now.

  6. Prečítam ju do nedele.

    I'll finish reading it by Sunday.

    Perfective prečítať in its present form refers to the future. Ju refers back to kniha.

Common Mistakes

  • Using a perfective verb with a phrase that says how long an activity lasted.

    Celý večer som napísal list.
    Celý večer som písal list.

    Celý večer (all evening) describes an activity that went on for some time, so it needs the imperfective písať. With the perfective, say how long it took to finish: Napísal som list za hodinu.

  • Using a perfective verb for something happening right now. The intended meaning is "I'm writing an email at the moment".

    Práve napíšem e-mail.
    Práve píšem e-mail.

    Napíšem is perfective, so it means I will write. For an action in progress, use the imperfective present píšem.

How It Connects

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

Imperfective and Perfective AspectLevel 2

Learn This First

Before Imperfective and Perfective Aspect, learn The Past Tense and Future of Imperfective Verbs. Aspect differences are easiest to see in past-tense pairs. Only imperfective verbs form a future with budem.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.