Hello, dear student! Today I would like to give consideration to small but so important topic on verbs in Russian language. Students often do not consider it so important; however, it is an important focus of the Russian language and gives opportunity to a foreigner to formulate the Russian speech correctly. Verbs' moods are different forms of verbs which you, probably, have already seen, for example:
Читай книгу! [Chitaj knigu!] - Read the book!
А если я не буду читать, то что будет тогда? [A esli ya nebudu chitat', to shto budit tagda?] - If I don't read the book, what will happen then?
Я прочитаю за тебя [ Ya prachitayu za tibya] - I will read for you.
The thing is that there are three moods in Russian:
Условное [Uslovnae] - Conditional
Повелительное [Pavelitel'nae] - Imperative
Изъявительное [Iz'ivitel'nae] - Indicative
1. Conditional mood is action that happens only under some circumstances or upon condition, for example:
Если бы ты спросил у меня, он не поехал бы на море в такую погоду - If you had asked me, he would not have gone to the sea in such weather.
Conditional sentences are often used with the particle "бы" [by], which can be a signal word for you to determine a conditional mood.
Verbs of this mood are changed in numbers and gender, if they are in the singular, for example:
Он бы прыгнул [On by prygnul] - He would jump
Она бы приготовила [Ana by prigatovila] - She would cook
Оно бы исчезло [Ano by ischezla] - It would disappear
However, these verbs do not change their tense, conditional mood is always in the past tense.
2. Imperative mood is a kind of advice, order or some request which another person should carry out, for example:
Катя, принеси,пожалуйста, стул! [Katya, prinisi, pazhalujsta, stul!] - Kate, could you please bring me a chair!
Учитель в школе всегда выкрикивала нам: "сядьте быстро на место!" [Uchitel' f shkole fsigda vykrikivala nam: " syat'te bystra na mesta!"] - The teacher at school always yelled: "sit down quickly!"
Я не знаю, как исправить твой телефон, посоветуйся лучше со специалистом в этой области![Ya ni znayu, kak ispravit' tvoj tilefon, pasavetujsya luchshe sa spetsialistam v ekhtaj oblasti!] - I don't know how to fix your phone, you'd better talk to the specialist in this sphere.
Verbs in this mood do not change in tenses and do not have one; we cannot find out when a person speaks or write about it.
3. Verbs of indicative mood, to my mind, are the easiest ones because they have the same meanings as ordinary verbs:
Я путешествую по Сибири [Ya putishestvuju pa Sibiri] - I am travelling around Siberia
Я путешествовал по Сибири [[Ya putishestvaval pa Sibiri] - I was travelling around Siberia
Я буду путешествовать по Сибири [Ya budu putishestvavat' pa Sibiri] - I will travel around Siberia
As the examples show, this mood can be easily changed in tenses and show that action takes place, was taken place or will take place.