The Russian Verb: Aspect and Voice

A. A. Vilgelminina's book is intended as a guide in studying the system of Russian verb forms for Aspect and Voice, which are among the most difficult grammatical categories. It is not meant for the general reader, but is primarily intended for teachers of Russian and students specialising in Russian or the Slavonic languages in general. The book may also prove useful to those who, knowing the fundamentals of Russian, wish to read Russian literature, since it deals with verb forms which are not explained in Russian-English dictionaries and present difficulties that can be overcome only if the Russian verb system is understood. The book is divided into two parts, Part I , Aspect, and Part II, Voice. Part I comprises five sections. The first section gives the definition of Aspect, its meaning and formal characteristics. The second section deals with the meanings of verb prefixes used to form the Perfective Aspect. The third section explains the formation of Aspects and Aspect stages, discussing mainly the means of Aspect formation (prefixes, suffixes, etc.). The fourth section, on the other hand, deals with the semantic side of Aspect formation: the correlation between the meanings of Aspect forms. The fifth section, which consists of only 4 tables, provides supplementary material on the interchange of sounds in Aspect formation. Part I is followed by Exercises with the Key to them. Nearly all the exercises are compiled from classic and modern Russian authors and they require of the student a fairly wide range of Russian vocabulary. People wishing to study the Russian verb system only for general linguistic purposes need not do the exercises. Part II consists of 17 tables. It first deals with transitive and intransitive verbs and then with the problem of Voice in general and, finally, with more specific categories: the Active Voice, the Passive Voice and the Middle Reflexive Voice and its subgroups. At the end of Part II Exercises with the Key to them are supplied. Students reading the book for general linguistics purposes need not do the exercises.