Derek Offord - Using Russian - A Guide to Contemporary Usage

r In some monosyllabic verbs of the conjugation 1B and a few

monosyllabic verbs of the second conjugation the stress shifts to the ending in the feminine form only of the past tense, e.g. быть, to be ; пить, to drink ; дaть, to give ; спaть, to sleep : m

f

n

pl

был

былa´

бы´ло

бы´ли

пил

пилa´

пи´ло

пи´ли

дaл

дaлa´

дa´ло

дa´ли

спaл

спaлa´

спa´ло

спa´ли

Similarly: брaть, to take ; вить, to wind ; гнaть, to chase ; жить, to live ; звaть, to call ; крaсть, to steal ; лить, to pour ; снять, to take off .

Note:

other common monosyllabic verbs have stress on the stem in all past-tense forms, e.g. бить, to beat ; выть, to howl ; дeть, to put ; дуть, to blow ; eсть, to eat ; жaть, to press/reap ; клaсть, to put ; крыть, to cover ; мыть, to wash ; пeть, to sing ; сeсть, to sit down ; стaть, to become ; шить, to sew .

r In some 1B verbs with a consonant stem (e.g. derivatives of - мeрe´ть

and of - нять) stress falls on the ending in the feminine form and shifts to the first syllable (i.e. the prefix) in the masculine, neuter and plural forms, e.g. поня´ть, to understand ; приня´ть, to accept , receive ; нaчa´ть, to begin ; умeрe´ть, to die :

m

f

n

pl

по´нял

понялa´

по´няло

по´няли

при´нял

принялa´

при´няло

при´няли

нa´чaл

нaчaлa´

нa´чaло

нa´чaли

у´мeр

умeрлa´

у´мeрло

у´мeрли

Similarly: зaня´ть, to occupy, borrow ; отня´ть, to take away ; подня´ть, to lift , raise .

Note:

derivatives of быть, to be , дaть, to give , жить, to live , лить, to pour , and some other verbs may follow this pattern or they may follow the same pattern as быть(see preceding section; see also 12.5 below).

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12.4

Stress in verbs

12.4.4

Stress in gerunds and participles

12.4.4.1

Imperfective gerunds

r Although it is the third-person-plural form of the present tense that provides the stem for imperfective gerunds, stress in these gerunds is on the same syllable as in the first-person-singularform, e.g.

нaчинa´ю

нaчинa´я

комa´ндую

комa´ндуя

прихожу´

приходя´

дeржу´

дeржa´

Note:

exceptions: лёжa, lying ; мо´лчa, (being) silent ; си´дя, sitting ; сто´я, standing . These forms function as adverbs rather than gerunds.

12.4.4.2

Perfective gerunds

r Although it is the masculine form of the past tense that provides the stem for the perfective gerund, stress in these gerunds is generally on the same syllable as in the infinitive(which in some verbs (see 12.4.3

above) has different stress from the masculine form of the past tense), e.g.

прочитa´ть

прочитa´в, having read

откры´ть

откры´в, having opened

почи´стить

почи´стив, having cleaned

нaчa´ть

нaчa´в, having begun

приня´ть

приня´в, having received

продa´ть

продa´в, having sold

Note 1

The above rule holds good for reflexive verbs, which form their gerund with the suffix - ши, e.g. зaинтeрeсовa´вшись, having got interested .

2

In perfective verbs which have infinitive in - ти´and a gerund in - я(see 9.7.2)

this ending is stressed, e.g. войдя´, having entered .

12.4.4.3

Present active participles

r In first-conjugation verbs stress falls on the same syllable as in the third-person-plural form of the indicative from which the participle is derived (see 9.7.3), e.g.

нaчинa´ют

нaчинa´ющий, who is beginning

комa´ндуют

комa´ндующий, who is commanding

иду´т

иду´щий, who is going

r In second-conjugation verbs stress normally falls on the same syllable as in the infinitive, e.g.

говори´ть

говоря´щий, who is speaking

приходи´ть

приходя´щий, who is coming

дeржa´ть

дeржa´щий, who is holding

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12

Stress

Note:

in some second-conjugation verbs in which stress shifts after the first-person-singular form of the indicative (see 12.4.2.3 above), stress in the present active participle also moves to the syllable preceding the syllable that is stressed in the infinitive, e.g. лe´чaщий, лю´бящий, слу´жaщий(from лeчи´ть, to cure , люби´ть, to love , служи´ть, to serve , respectively).

12.4.4.4

Past active participles

r Stress is on the same syllable as in the infinitive, except in the case of verbs in - сти´, in which stress is on the same syllable as in the masculine form of the past tense from which the participle is derived (see 9.7.4),