Children first encounter the question of what the infinitive is in Russian in elementary school, a more detailed study begins in the fifth grade. Usually mastering the material on this topic is easy, but some aspects can be difficult even for an adult. Which? Consider this article.
What is an infinitive in Russian?
The infinitive is the indefinite or, as it is called in another way, the initial form of the verb. It has the meaning of action, but at the same time does not specify it, that is, it does not have signs of person, time, number and mood.
The issue of the indefinite form of the verb in modern Russian has long been controversial in the circles of domestic linguists. The classical point of view is opposed by the opinion that the infinitive is a special part of speech. However, the vast majority of scientists are inclined to believe that this is the basic form of the verb.
The formative suffixes "t" and "ti" act as a formal indicator of the infinitive. Some tutorials treat them as inflections. The suffix "t" is productive, with itsall new verbs in Russian are formed with the help.
In a small group of words, the indicator of the infinitive is "ch" (lie down, help, guard, cut), which is part of the root and is preserved in derivative forms.
Morphological features
It's easy to understand what an infinitive is in Russian. Much more difficulties arise in determining part-of-speech features of the initial form of the verb.
To properly parse an infinitive, you must remember that it is an immutable word. This means that it does not have inconstant signs that are characteristic of verb forms: number, gender, person, tense, mood.
From the constant features of the infinitive, the following categories can be identified: aspect, conjugation, reflexivity and transitivity.
How to determine the type and recurrence?
The aspect of the verb in the indefinite form can be perfect or imperfect. In the first case, the infinitive gives an answer to the question: "What to do?" (sing, dance, read, dig, hang), in the second - "What to do?" (ride, draw, view, sing, wash).
Recurrence is a constant feature that indicates that the action is directed at its performer. The formal indicator is the postfix "sya". If it is present in the word, the infinitive is reflexive (to bathe, worry, laugh), if not, it is irrevocable (grind, believe, do).
Define the conjugation
The infinitive canrefer to I or II conjugation, be heterogeneous or be part of the exceptions.
Verbs of I conjugation in the initial form can end in "yat", "et", "ut", "at", "ot", "yt". II conjugation - only on "it". When changing the infinitive for persons and numbers, words of the first type have endings: -u (-u), -eat, -et, -em, -et, -ut (-yut). The second type: -u (-u), -ish, -ite, -im, -it, -at (-yat).
The conjugation of the infinitive of the verb in Russian is determined according to the standard plan, the observance of which will avoid mistakes:
- First you need to put the stress in the word.
- If the vowel before the formal indicator of the infinitive is in a strong position, the conjugation is set according to it.
- When she is unstressed, the word is changed by persons and numbers and see which letter is in the ending.
The indefinite form of the heterogeneous type includes such words as "want" and "run". When changing in persons and numbers, both types of endings can be observed.
The verbs “give” and “eat” are conjugated in a special way. They are called isolated because in the first person singular there are endings that are not typical for other words.
Transitivity
The transitivity of the infinitive is determined by the ability of a word to combine with a direct object, which can be represented by a noun or a pronoun:
- In the accusative case without a preposition.
- In the genitive case, if there is an indication of a partwhole or used together with the negative particle "not".
Functions of the infinitive in Russian
The stem of the infinitive acts as a basis for the formation of new words: verbs and past participles, perfective gerunds. But this is not the only function.
In Russian in a sentence, the infinitive can be any member:
- Predicate ("It's best to say it right away").
- Subject ("Knowing the meaning of life is the main goal for many philosophers").
- Addition ("The king ordered to bring a guest to him").
- Circumstance ("People come here to look for a better life from different cities").
- Inconsistent definition ("He often had the same thought - to quit a boring job").
We answered the question: "What is the infinitive in Russian?". And also considered the difficulties that may arise in the study of this topic. Now you can easily find the indefinite form of a verb in a sentence, and then establish what morphological features it has. This knowledge will help not only to use the infinitive correctly, but also to avoid mistakes in subsequent word formation.
