The Simple Past Tense
Talking about actions that happened and finished in the past uses the simple past tense. This is formed using the past participle of the verb, which ends in -л (for masculine singular), -ла (for feminine singular), -ло (for neuter singular), or -ли (for plural of all genders). The ending of this form changes to match the gender and number of the subject. The corresponding past tense form of the verb быть is generally omitted in modern Russian.
Subject Gender/Number determines ending:
- Masculine Singular: -л (e.g., Он чита́л) (He read)
- Feminine Singular: -ла (e.g., Она́ чита́ла) (She read)
- Neuter Singular: -ло (e.g., Оно́ чита́ло) (It read)
- Plural (all genders): -ли (e.g., Они́ чита́ли) (They read)
Examples: Вчера́ я рабо́тал (masc.) (Yesterday I worked). Вчера́ она́ рабо́тала (fem.) (Yesterday she worked). Мы ви́дели фильм (We saw a film). Они́ прибы́ли по́здно (They arrived late).