Слушать/послушать
The verb pair слушать/послушать means “to listen,” and it is completely regular in its formation:
| to listen | ||
| Imperfective | Perfective | |
| Infinitive | слушать | послушать |
| Past |
слушал слушала слушало слушали |
послушал послушала послушало послушали |
| Present |
слушаю слушаешь слушает слушаем слушаете слушают |
No such thing as perfective present in Russian. |
| Future |
буду слушать будешь слушать будет слушать будем слушать будете слушать будут слушать |
послушаю послушаешь послушает послушаем послушаете послушают |
| Imperative | слушай(те) | послушай(те) |
In English the verb takes an object after the preposition “to,” but in Russian the thing you listen to appears in the accusative case with no preposition preceding it; that is, the verb takes a direct object:
| Ты кодга-нибудь слушал группу «Дискотека Авария»? | Have you ever listened to the group [named] “Accident Disco”? |
| Нет, я только слушаю классическую музыку. | No, I only listen to classical music. |
| Больше не слушай брата. Он просто втянет тебя во всякие глупости. | Don't listen to your brother anymore. He'll just drag you into all sorts of stupid situations. |
| Мы послушали последнего конкурента на «Американ Айдол» и выключили телевизор. | We listened to the last contestant on “American Idol” and turned off the television. |
The verb sometimes has the meaning “to obey,” just as the English verb also carries that shade of meaning:
| Папа сказал, чтобы сын не дотрагивался до плиты, но сын не послушал папу. | The father told his son not to touch the stove, but the son didn't listen/obey. |
Sometimes the verb is best translated “to attend” when a lecture or concert is involved:
| Вчера мы слушали лекцию по ядерной физике. После неё мне страшно захотелось поесть пончиков. | Yesterday we attended a lecture on nuclear physics. Afterwards I had a huge craving for doughnuts. |
| Завтра мы послушаем концерт художественной самодеятельности. | Tomorrow we will attend an amateur performance concert. |
There are also several stock phrases that make use of this verb, the most common of which is the telephone greeting «Слушаю!» or «Слушаю вас!», both of which are best translated as “Hello.” Last but not least is «Слушайте внимательно!» “Listen attentively!” This is a phrase used by every teacher in every Russian classroom when they want the children's attention.
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