ABSTRACT
Infinitives: The infinitive is the form of a verb given in a dictionary. In Russian all verbs have two infinitives: a perfective one and an imperfective one. The terms perfective and imperfective refer to the two aspects in the Russian verbal system. Aspect is a relatively complex concept and will be treated in several units in this book; for a short definition, see the Glossary of Grammatical Terms. The infinitive of the majority of verbs ends in -ть – читать, смотреть, говорить. The infinitive of a small number of verbs ends in -ти – идти, нести or -чь – мочь. The infinitive of reflexive verbs ends in -ться, -тись or -чься. Expressing likes: One of the ways of expressing what you like or enjoy doing is to use the verb любить followed by an infinitive. The verb любить is a second conjugation verb (see Unit 6). In the present tense it is conjugated as follows:
Person Singular Plural First я люблю мы любим Second ты любишь вы любите Third он/она/оно любит они любят
Infinitives after the verb любить are usually in the imperfective aspect:
Я люблю купаться. ‘I like swimming.’ Они любят загорать. ‘They like sun-bathing.’ Она любит читать. ‘She likes reading.’ Он любит кататься на лыжах. ‘Не likes skiing.’
