Verbs are contained in most sentences of the Russian language. This is a kind of message about the actions of the subject of speech. A. N. Tolstoy argued that choosing the right verb means giving it movement.
It is no accident that our ancestors called speech a “verb”, in principle, this word is also interpreted in the dictionary of V. Dahl. Examples of verbs, their use, change, we will analyze in this article.
Verb as part of speech
The part of the speech indicating the action and answering the questions “what to do?”, “What to do?” - this is the verb. Relating to independent parts of speech, it is determined by the general grammatical meaning.
For a verb, this is an action. However, this part of speech is distinguished by shades of meaning.
- Any physical labor: cut, chop, knit.
- Intellectual or speech work: observe, speak, think.
- Moving an object in space: fly, run, sit.
- Subject condition: hate, hurt, sleep.
- State of nature: it has become colder, frostbite, it is getting darker.
Morphological and syntactic features
As for morphological features, these are all kinds of verb forms. We will analyze the examples in detail later, but for now just list them. Inclination, person, time, number, recurrence, gender, type and conjugation.
As for the syntactic role, most often the verb is used as a predicate, it forms the predicative or grammatical basis together with the subject. The verb in the sentence can be spread. This function is performed by a noun or adverb.
Infinitive
Each verb has an initial form, it is called the infinitive. We ask the following questions: "what to do?", "What to do?". Examples of indefinite verbs: learn, draw (what to do?), Learn, draw (what to do?).
This form of the verb is unchangeable, it does not determine the time, person and number - purely action. Compare two examples: "I work in the specialty" - "Man needs to work for life." In the first example, the verb indicates that the action takes place in the present tense, and the speaker himself performs it (the personal pronoun "I" indicates 1 person, singular). The second denotes the action in principle, without indicating the number and face.
There are still disputes between linguistic scholars about what exactly is (is) the infinitive: a suffix or an ending. We agree in this article with those who position it as a flexion. If the verb ends in -ch (flow, oven, burn), then this is definitely a part of the root. It should be borne in mind that when a word is changed, alternation can occur: oven-pitch; flowing; flowing; burn, burn.
The infinitive can act both in the role of the predicate and in the role of the subject: "Read - know a lot." Here the first verb “read” is the subject, the second, “know” is the predicate. By the way, such cases require a special punctuation mark - a dash.
Types of Verb
The type of verb is determined by the question to which it answers. In the Russian language there are imperfect (what to do? What does? What did?) And perfect (what to do? What will do? What did?) Types of verbs. Examples: speak, speak, speak - imperfect; say, say, said - perfect.
Types of the verb differ in semantic meaning. So, imperfect means a certain duration of action, its repeatability. For example: write - write. The action has a duration, extent. Compare with the meaning of the perfect verb: write - write - wrote. It indicates that the action is completed, it has some result. The same verbs determine the single action (shoot).
Mood
Verbs in moods also change. There are only three of them: conditional (subjunctive), indicative and imperative.
If we talk about indicative mood, then it allows the predicate to have the form of time, face and number. Examples of verbs of this mood: "We make this craft" (present) - "We will make this craft" (future tense) - "We made this craft" (past tense). Or by faces: “I made this craft” (1 person) - “You made this craft” (2 people) - “Anya made this craft” (3 people).
The verbs of the subjunctive mood indicate the performance of the action under certain conditions. This form is formed by adding to the elapsed time the particles “by” (“b”), which is always written separately. Such predicates vary by persons and numbers. The time category is not defined. Examples of verbs: "We would solve this problem with the help of a teacher" (plural, 1 person) - "I would make this craft with the help of a teacher" (singular, 1 person) - "Anya would make this craft with with the help of a teacher "(unit, 3 persons) -" The guys would make this craft with the help of a teacher "(pl., 3 persons).
The speaker prompts some action using the imperative verb . Mandatory verbs are also used to prohibit action. Examples: "Don't yell at me!" (ban) - "Wash your hands before eating!" (prompting) - “Please write a letter” (request). Let us examine in more detail the last example. To give your petition a polite tone, you should add the word “please” (“kindly”, “kindly”) to the imperative mood verb.
It should be remembered that imperative verbs end in a soft sign, and it is preserved in those that end in -sya and -te. There is an exception to this rule - the verb "lie down" (lie down - lie down - lie down).
Time category
The main forms of tense in the verb are those that indicate the time the action took place: past (called), present (called), future (will ring).
Elapsed time implies that by the time of speaking the action has already been completed. For example: "I bought this dress last year." Typically, similar verbs are formed using the suffix –l– added to the infinitive base: buy - buy. These predicates vary in numbers, and in units. number - and by birth. The shape of the face is not determined.
The form of the present tense is characteristic exclusively of an imperfect appearance. To form it, you need to add a personal ending to the verbs. Examples: washing - washing - washing - washing.
Verbs of both kinds, perfect and imperfect, are able to have a future tense form. It can be of two types: simple and complex. The first is typical for perfect verbs: build, glue, file, etc. The future complex is formed by imperfective verbs. Compare: I will build, I will glue, I will saw. Thus, this form is formed using the verb "to be", put in the future simple, and infinitive.
In the present and future tenses, verbs have a person and a number. We will talk about them below.
Face and number
If the verb is in the first person, it shows that the speaker himself performs the action. For example: "I harden every day, pouring cold water and wiping myself with snow."
The second person of the verb will tell us that the speaker’s interlocutor performs the action. For example: "You know very well how much will be two and two." Verbs in the same form can have a generalized meaning, designate actions characteristic of any person. Most often this can be found in proverbs: "You can’t put a scarf on someone else’s mouth." It is easy to distinguish such sentences: as a rule, they lack a subject.
Verbs in the third person express the action that produces or produced the subject matter. "Lermontov was alone all his life." “The hurricane was so strong that the centenary trees bent like twigs.”
Each person in the singular or plural is characterized by a specific ending of the verbs. Examples: “I am flying” - “We are flying” - “You are flying” - “You are flying” - “She (he, it) is flying” - “They are flying”.
Conjugation and personal endings of the verb
Verb conjugation - a form that implies its change in persons and numbers. It is not typical for all predicates, but only for those who stand in the indicative mood, present or future tense.
There are two conjugations in total. Present them in the table.
| I conjugation All verbs, except those on –ite, plus 2 exceptions: shave, lay | II conjugation (endings) Verbs on - except shave, lay (they belong to I conjugation), as well as drive, hold, watch, see, breathe, hear, hate, depend, tolerate, offend, twirl | Verb Examples |
| Units h | Mn h | Units h | Mn h | |
1 person | (s) | -eat | (s) | -them | We carry (I); we speak (II) |
2 face | you eat | you are | you | -ite | Carry, Carry (I); speak, speak (II) |
3 person | is | out | -it | at | Carry, Carry (I); says, say (II) |
Impersonal verbs
Personal verbs, examples of which we have examined above, are not the only ones in Russian. They are opposed by those that designate an action without an actor. They are called impersonal.
With them there is never a subject; in the sentence they fulfill the role of the predicate. Similar verbs do not have a category of number. That is, they purely determine the time, present and future. For example: “It is getting colder” (present) - “It freezes even more at night” (future), “It got colder. At night it froze even more” (past).