Thread: On verbal stems

Studying verbal stems I see some questions that I beg you to confirm or correct, since what follows is my perception of the matter:
1) Every verb has a basic stem, that got from 3rd. p. pl. pre. ind.: готов-ят, жив-ут, читай-ут. That stem will give birth, after some taxed modifications, result of combination rules, to a "modificated stem" from which we can get past and infinitive tenses:
готов(+и)-ят ->готови-ть, готови-л ; жив(-в)-ут, жи-ть, жи-л, читай(-й)-ут, чита-ть, чита-л. The vocals having been taken (if any) from the infinitive and adding for past and for infinitive endings acording to some rules.
This present tense stem is got not having in mind consonant changes, so пиш-ут -> пис-ут -> пис(а)-ут -> stem: писа-. And infinitive becomes (of course) писа-ть and past писа-л. In other places I have been seen that this verb has two stems: пиш- and писа-. Strictly, in the measure of one must go to infinitive to look for some information...

2) So, only after having made the adjustments mentioned, and seen that they don't stick to reality, we can say that we are in front of a verb having two or even three stems (each of them giving source to patterns for some verbal forms). However after so a wide consideration of formation of tenses perhaps it will be difficult to find a "two stems verb", apart from хотеть and his friends .
My question rises of the fact that I have read in other place that in general verbs have two stems. Are there many heresies in these opinions?
Thanks

Does it really matter?

Does Grammar matter? Does Quantitative Methods on Managing Enterprises matter? Does Mozart matter? Millions of people live and have lived not having the faintest idea on these irrelevant matters. Let's sleep.

Originally Posted by Vladi

Does Grammar matter? Does Quantitative Methods on Managing Enterprises matter? Does Mozart matter? Millions of people live and have lived not having the faintest idea on these irrelevant matters. Let's sleep.

Grammar matters, yes. But getting so worked up about verbal stems doesn't. If you want to learn verbs, learning this sort of stuff won't help much.

Where did you read that verbs have two stems? There are different systems of classifying stems, but is there really one that says each verb has two stems?

I have found this concept at least in two places: 1) In the course of Princeton www.princeton.edu/russian/sla101/chapter%203 Lesson 31 it says about the verb "{спи+/спа+}", sleep, "What is strange about the Present Tense conjugation of this double stem verb? Do you remember what we said about the Present Tense of all double-stem verbs?". 2) In Cornell University http://russian.dmll.cornell.edu/verbs/i ... basics.htm "Conjugation Endings and stems; spelling Russian vowels" it says "Every form of a Russian verb has an ending; if the ending is peeled off, the part of the word that is left is called the stem. As a rule, the Russian verb can be said to have two stems: the non-past stem for non-past forms and the past stem for the infinitive and past tense forms". And gives as an example: to write, two stems: пиш- and писа- . To avoid semantic problems I will not mention the times I have encountered "the themes" of verbs that also it is said to be normally two (present and past) or even three (+ infinitive). In any case my will was simply to ask a question and not to draw out an academical question. So, for me, the matter is over. Thanks.