Thread: Valda - разные вопросы по глаголам

Someone recently helped me translate a document here (xdns).

After reading the translation, I couldn't help but wonder what's the difference between "поворачивать" and "повернуть"?

In the English version, they just used the word "turn" for both.

Откройте дверцу и положите вещи в ячейку. Закройте дверцу плотно.
1. Вставьте монету достоинством в 10 новых шекелей для однократного использования ячейки (не более 24 часов).
2. Поверните ключ влево и вытащите его (НЕ поворачивайте ключ вправо!).
3. Камера хранения работает до 22:00.
4. Штраф за потерянный ключ - 45 новых шекелей.
5. Администрация не несет ответственности за сохранность вещей, оставленных в камере хранения.
6. Ведется видеонаблюдени

поворачивать = несовершенный вид
повернуть = совершенный вид

Aspect of the Russian Verbs

Yes, it's about aspects. Поверните - completed action (in the future), поворачивайте - incomplete action (in the future too).

Originally Posted by xdns

Yes, it's about aspects. Поверните - completed action (in the future), поворачивайте - incomplete action (in the future too).

No this is not future. It is imperative mood. Future would be "повернёте".

Originally Posted by Anixx

No this is not future. It is imperative mood. Future would be "повернёте".

Oops, you're right!

Yeh I came across a sentence recently that basically stated that you can not turn left here, turn right.

So the turn left was поворачивать as it is the imperfect aspect, and you are never able, at any time, to turn left. Then it used the imperative form of повернуть (which is the perfective) to state turn right, as this is an action that will take place, and be completed in the near future (as perfective only has future/past rather than present).

I think the way I was taught to use perfective/imperfective is like if you read a book in the past but didn't finish it (you were reading) then you use the imperfective past, if you completed the book, (you read it) then you use the perfective past. This can be translated to the future tense where you can say I will be reading, I will read and complete.

Originally Posted by ShakeyX

I think the way I was taught to use perfective/imperfective is like if you read a book in the past but didn't finish it (you were reading) then you use the imperfective past, if you completed the book, (you read it) then you use the perfective past. This can be translated to the future tense where you can say I will be reading, I will read and complete.

Imperfective aspect doesn't imply the action wasn't completed, it just doesn't focus on this action as a certain point in time with a certain result. More as a repeated activity, or a prolonged activity that "was taking place" for some time. Also it is used to refer to action in general, i.e. when you ask questions whether some activity was there at all, or not, you use imperfective ("Ты читал эту книгу?" is a good example)

Thanks for the clarification, I appreciate it!