Let's talk about the initial form of the verb (it is also often called indefinite, or infinitive). It is necessary to know about it because in the vast construction of human knowledge the initial form of the verb is one of the basic, bearing elements.
What is a verb
Those who have long graduated from school and managed to forget a lot should be reminded: the verb refers to the part of speech that describes the action. I read, go, do, write, draw, dream - all these words are verbs that differ only in their characters.
About the verb
In Russian grammar, verbs have 7 signs: time, type, face, mood, gender, number, voice; quite often conjugation is also considered as a sign. Not in every case is it legitimate to talk about a particular attribute or all at once. In particular, the past tense is characterized by the absence of a face, and the present, like the future, makes the conversation about the kind of verb meaningless.
To study these signs, their differences from each other, as well as the possibility of conjugation is pointless, without establishing the main thing: what is the initial form of the verb. A synonym for this definition is the concept of indefinite form and the term "infinitive."
The infinitive expresses a verb in a dictionary. This form is not accidentally called the initial one - it really is the start for the further study of these parts of speech. Questions of the initial form of the verb - "What to do?" and "What to do?" Examples of infinitive: lie down and forgive, cut and run, leave and return, call in and consider. Well, now you can talk about verbs in more detail, considering their distinguishing features in more detail.
About face and time
Dealing with the face of the verb (there are 3) is simple by determining who exactly reports the described action. The person reflects the attitude of the communicator to the ongoing process. The first singular is the actions of the communicant himself: I do, I go. The same thing in the plural is the actions of the group that the communicator represents: we do, we walk. Verbs of the second person characterize the actions of the interlocutor of the communicator or the group that he represents: do, walk, do, walk. The third person, regardless of the number, is the actions of unauthorized persons who are not participating in the dialogue: doing, walking, doing, walking. Understanding which person the verb belongs to will help the corresponding noun or pronoun.
The tenses of the verb characterize the relation to the moment when the described action is performed. There are 3 forms of the verb representing the present, past and future tenses. Examples of verbs of the present tense: I go, they do. For the past and future tense, similar options: walked, did, will walk, will do.
Important to remember! The initial form of the verb is impersonal. The infinitive also does not apply the concept of a person, number, time.
The gender of the verb and its mood
Verb changes occur not only in numbers, persons or tenses, but also in gender, like nouns. There are three kinds: feminine, masculine, middle - a verb or a noun used with it can also help determine whether a verb belongs to them. A sign of the kind of verb appears exclusively in the past tense and is determined by the end: walked, walked, did. The concept of gender is not applicable to the infinitive of a verb .
An important characteristic of a verb is its mood, which can be indicative, imperative or conditional. Using the indicative mood, they describe actions that either ever occurred, or occur at the present moment, or will occur subsequently. Examples of indicative mood of verbs: walked, walked, will walk, did, do, will do. Conditional mood informs about the actions desired or those that are possible under certain conditions. In the formation of conditional mood, the initial form of the verb without ending, the suffix "l", and also the particle "would" are taken as the basis. Examples of conditional mood: would walk, would do. Imperative verbs are a command, an order, an invitation to action. Examples: do, go, bring! Often a “-ka" particle is added to such verbs, which this order partly softens: do it, go!
About types of verb
In appearance, the verbs can be classified as perfect and imperfect. Imperfects characterize an action without any indication of its end, and the question “What to do?” Will apply to them in the form of an infinitive. Examples: walk, draw. In perfect form, these same examples will look different: go, draw, because here the verbs describe the completed action. The question that can be posed to their infinitive is “What to do?”.
Most types of verbs are characterized by both types: draw – draw, burn – burn, eat – eat. However, there are verbs without a paired form. Such, in particular, refers to “belong” - here only an imperfect appearance is possible. Or “find oneself” - on the contrary, this word can exist only in its perfect form. There are also two-type verbs (these include "execute") - they combine the meanings of both types. Often in the case of two-species, the ending of the verbs in the initial form looks like “-iri” (“emigrate”).
Transitivity and pledge of the verb
Properties such as transitivity and pledge of the verb indicate its relationship with other objects. The concept of transitivity indicates the presence of an action object. Examples of transitive verbs: eat (soup), read (magazine) - here soup and magazine are objects of action. The intransitiveness of a verb implies the absence of an application object. Examples of the intransitive verb - work, live (there is no specific object to which this action is applied). A special case of intransitive verbs is reflexive; here the producing action is at the same time the one to whom it is directed. In these cases, the initial form of the verb ends in "-sya": swim, laugh, worry.
The pledge of the verb considers the relationship between the subjects and objects of action. A valid voice characterizes an active design. For example: a cat ate fish. The cat (subject) performed an active action on the object (fish), the pledge of the verb “ate” is valid. The same idea, formulated differently: the fish was eaten by a cat. This construction, unlike the previous one, is passive, and therefore the pledge of the verb in it is passive.
And again about the infinitive
Knowing the characteristic features of verbs, it is worth talking about the infinitive in more detail. How to determine the initial form of a verb? It is very simple to ask a question. If in relation to the action taken, you can ask: "What to do?" or “What to do?” means that the form of the verb describing this action is indefinite. Of all the considered features, only the kind is inherent in the infinitive, as well as such properties as transitivity and return.
The formation of the infinitive occurs by adding the formative suffix to the root of the word. The characteristic suffix in the initial form of the verb is “-ty”, “-ty”, “-ty”. Examples of infinitive: climb, carry, bake.
On verb conjugations
Conjugation of a verb is called its change depending on persons and numbers: I write, he writes, we write, etc. Each verb can be attributed to the first or second conjugation; to know about this affiliation is necessary in order to achieve the correct spelling for any particular case. Mistakes in the conjugation process are especially common in the case of unstressed verb endings.
For the correct definition of conjugations, you need to know what the initial form of the verb. The first conjugation is represented by all the mentioned parts of speech with the ending “-to” - to train, to inform. A number of verbs ending in “-et”, “-at”, “-at”, as well as “lay” and “shave” (ending “-it”) belong to the same conjugation. The second conjugation is represented by all verbs with the ending "-it", with the exception of those already mentioned. Separate verbs with the ending “-at” and “-yat” are also included here if the stress falls on them (to lie, stand). The second conjugation also includes a part of the verbs (look, hate, etc.) that cannot be adjusted to any standards - you just need to remember them. Knowing the rules for conjugating verbs is the key to correct spelling, and just a literacy requirement. By the way, the infinitive itself is not conjugated and does not change depending on persons and numbers.
Verbs in a sentence
The roles of these parts of speech in a sentence can be different. Most often, the verb acts as an ordinary (simple) predicate: "Tolya bought bread." There are frequent cases of a complex verb predicate: "Vanya decided to run away to the store." Predictable in the present case is the whole construction (I decided to run away), and the second verb in it is represented by the infinitive. Sometimes a verb can act as an inconsistent definition: “I did not like the idea of going there” (going there is an inconsistent definition).
The Russian language in its own way is unique in that it also allows for more complex, truly fantastic designs. “We decided to send to go find to buy a drink” - a proposal of 6 verbs, 5 of which represent an infinitive with complete meaning and compliance with the rules of grammar. Foreigners cry!
Conclusion
Most linguistic scholars are unanimous in their opinion that the first word spoken by an ancient person was a verb. It is unlikely that our distant ancestor in those harsh times needed adjectives in the vocabulary to describe the beauty of the night sky, and most nouns could well replace the pointing gesture in their direction. But the “Run!” Command, given to the fellow tribesman, could well save his life, the word “I want” and the corresponding movement towards the carcass of the mammoth also left no doubt about what was said. In acute necessity, only a verb could completely replace all other parts of speech.
By the way, modern approaches to the study of foreign languages also require the primary study of verbs as the main means of expressing human needs. Naturally, native speakers need a good knowledge of these parts of speech, their signs and properties. And the infinitive plays a special role in the study of verbs.