Old Church Slavonic grammar

Old Church Slavonic is an inflectional language with moderately complex verbal and nominal systems.

Nouns

The nominal case category distinguishes 7 cases for nouns, 6 for pronouns and adjectives :

Abbr.	Case
N	Nominative
G	Genitive
D	Dative
A	Accusative
V	Vocative
L	Locative
I	Instrumental

Noun syntax

Number

Old Church Slavonic has three numbers: singular, dual, and plural.
The dual, and not the plural, is used when for nouns that are two. Nouns found in natural pairs, such as eyes, ears, and hands, are only found rarely in the plural. Due to its consistent use in all Old Church Slavonic texts, it appears to have been a living element of the language. The dual also affects adjectives and verbs in addition to nouns.

Nominative case

The nominative is used for the subject of a sentence, but it is only distinguished from the accusative in the masculine plural and the feminine singular, excluding the i-declension. Unlike in most modern Slavic languages, the nominative is also typically used for the complement of verbs meaning "to be". It is also used with verbs of naming and calling, but the accusative is also used for these verbs.

Accusative case

The accusative case is used for the direct object of a sentence with transitive verbs. For the masculine o/jo declension, the accusative singular for "an adult, healthy, free male person" is often shown by the use of the endings of the genitive singular. The accusative is also used with nouns for a duration of time and a measure of distance. Old Church Slavonic makes more frequent use of the accusative case after negated infinitives and participles than other Slavic languages, and it is unclear if this is an innovation of Old Church Slavonic or an archaism.

Genitive case

When used with nouns, the genitive frequently denotes the possessor of another noun or "the whole of which the other noun is a part", among other meanings. It is also used frequently with the numerals after five, and with certain pronouns, in the form of the partitive genitive.
The genitive may be used as the complement of the 'verb to' to denote possession, and it replaces the nominative as the complement of 'to be' in impersonal sentences if the verb is negated. It is also used for the object of negated infinitives or participles, and for the objects of certain verbs. It is used after some adjectives, and for objects of comparison after adjectives in the comparative. When recording a date, the month is typically written in the genitive. Unlike other Slavic languages, there is no genitive of time.

Dative case

The dative case is used for the indirect object of a sentence. In addition, it is infrequently used to denote the goal of a motion, but this is more typically shown by using the preposition къ followed by the dative. It is also used for the objects of verbs of commanding, obeying, favoring, giving, saying, showing, showing, and promising, as well as for verbs meaning "to seem", and "to be similar to". Additionally, it can be used with nouns and adjectives, particularly in impersonal constructions. It can also be used for a "dative of advantage", showing for whom an action was performed, and as an "ethic dative" that shows "emphasis or emotional involvement". Moreover, the dative can also be used to show possession, typically showing a close relationship between the possessor and the thing possessed, in which form it can occur after the verb "to be" or adjoining the noun possessed. The dative is also used for the "dative absolute" construction, a type of subordinate clause, in which a participle, often with a noun subject, are both placed in the dative.

Instrumental case

The instrumental case can show the "instrument" by which an action was performed, mark "a part of the body or state of mind accompanying the action", and denote the manner in which something was performed. The instrumental can be used to denote measure following a comparison, how many times an action was performed with numerals, an instrumental of place showing over or through what a movement occurs, to denote the time of an action, to mean "in respect to" when use with verbs, adjectives, or other nouns, and to denote the cause of verb, among other meanings. It is also used to denote the agent in passive constructions.
The instrumental is also found rarely for the complement of the verb "to be". It is not found in this meaning in the oldest Old Church Slavonic texts, the Gospels, and only occasionally in later texts.

Locative case

The locative case is used to denote the location in which something occurs. It very rarely occurs without a preceding preposition. Without a preposition, it is only used with place names, as a "locative of place". Due to more frequent use of locatives of place in Old Russian and Old Czech, it is possible that this rarity is caused by Old Church Slavonic following Greek syntax. It is also used, again rarely, for the "locative of time" to denote "in" a certain time. The locative is also used as the object of a small number of verbs; as this construction is extremely rare in other Slavic languages it is most likely an archaic form.

Vocative case

The vocative is used instead of the nominative when a noun is used in isolation as an address or exclamation. Due to this case's constitent use in translations from Greek, which has no vocative, it is clear that it was productive part of the spoken language.

o-stems

-	Singular	Dual	Plural
N	grad-ъ	grad-a	grad-i
G	grad-a	grad-u	grad-ъ
D	grad-u	grad-oma	grad-omъ
A	grad-ъ	grad-a	grad-y
V	grad-e	grad-a	grad-i
L	grad-ě	grad-u	grad-ěxъ
I	grad-omь	grad-oma	grad-y

Nouns belonging to this declension class are generally masculines ending in -ъ in the nominative singular. The only exception are the nouns in -ъ that inflect as u-stem masculines.
Sometimes, in the accusative singular, the beginnings of a difference between an animate and inanimate subgender can be seen, as the genitive may occasionally be used instead of the accusative for animate objects.
Nouns with the suffix -an-in-ъ also belong to this declension class in the singular, but in the plural they lose the -in- interfix and conform to the consonantal paradigm.

-	Singular	Dual	Plural
N	vin-o	vin-ě	vin-a
G	vin-a	vin-u	vin-ъ
D	vin-u	vin-oma	vin-omъ
A	vin-o	vin-ě	vin-a
V	vin-o	vin-ě	vin-a
L	vin-ě	vin-u	vin-ěxъ
I	vin-omь	vin-oma	vin-y

Nouns belonging to this declension class are neuters ending in -o in the nominative singular. The only exception are the few neuters that are inflected as s-stems.

jo-stems

-	Singular	Dual	Plural
N	nož-ь	nož-a	nož-i
G	nož-a	nož-u	nož-ь
D	nož-u	nož-ema	nož-emъ
A	nož-ь	nož-a	nož-ę
V	nož-u	nož-a	nož-i
L	nož-i	nož-u	nož-ixъ
I	nož-emь	nož-ema	nož-i

Nouns belonging to this declension class are masculines ending in -ь preceded by a palatal in the nominative singular.
This paradigm encompasses nouns such as krai that don't appear to be ending in a palatal, but are in fact underlyingly combinations like krajь and so undergo this declension.
Nouns ending in agentive suffixes -tel-ь and -ar-ь also belong to this class.

-	Singular	Dual	Plural
N	mor-e	mor-i	mor-a
G	mor-a	mor-u	mor-ь
D	mor-u	mor-ema	mor-emъ
A	mor-e	mor-i	mor-a
V	mor-e	mor-i	mor-a
L	mor-i	mor-u	mor-ixъ
I	mor-emь	mor-ema	mor-i

The jo-stem declension class encompasses neuters ending in -e.

a-stems

-	Singular	Dual	Plural
N	rǫk-a	rǫc-ě	rǫk-y
G	rǫk-y	rǫk-u	rǫk-ъ
D	rǫc-ě	rǫk-ama	rǫk-amъ
A	rǫk-ǫ	rǫc-ě	rǫk-y
V	rǫk-o	rǫc-ě	rǫk-y
L	rǫc-ě	rǫk-u	rǫk-axъ
I	rǫk-ojǫ	rǫk-ama	rǫk-ami

Nouns belonging to this declension class are feminines ending in -a preceded by a hard, non-palatal consonant.
Also belonging to this paradigm are the rare masculines ending in -a.

ja-stems

-	Singular	Dual	Plural
N	duš-a	duš-i	duš-ę
G	duš-ę	duš-u	duš-ь
D	duš-i	duš-ama	duš-amъ
A	duš-ǫ	duš-i	duš-ę
V	duš-e	duš-i	duš-ę
L	duš-i	duš-u	duš-axъ
I	duš-ejǫ	duš-ama	duš-ami

Noun belonging to this declension class are feminines ending in -a preceded by a soft, palatal consonant.
This paradigm also encompasses feminines ending in -i, -ica and -ьni-, and also masculines ending in -a preceded by a palatal.

i-stems

-	Singular	Dual	Plural
N	gost-ь	gost-i	gost-ьje
G	gost-i	gost-ьju	gost-ьi
D	gost-i	gost-ьma	gost-ьmъ
A	gost-ь	gost-i	gost-i
V	gost-i	gost-i	gost-ьje
L	gost-i	gost-ьju	gost-ьxъ
I	gost-ьmь	gost-ьma	gost-ьmi

Nouns belonging to this declension class are masculines ending in -ь preceded by a hard, non-palatal consonant. The only exception are a limited number of such nouns belonging to the n-stem paradigm.

-	Singular	Dual	Plural
N	kost-ь	kost-i	kost-i
G	kost-i	kost-ьju	kost-ьi
D	kost-i	kost-ьma	kost-ьmъ
A	kost-ь	kost-i	kost-i
V	kost-i	kost-i	kost-i
L	kost-i	kost-ьju	kost-ьxъ
I	kost-ьjǫ	kost-ьma	kost-ьmi

Nouns belonging to the i-stem feminine declension are feminines ending in -ь in the nominative singular.
The only exception is the noun krъvь which undergoes ъv-stem declension.

u-stems

-	Singular	Dual	Plural
N	dom-ъ	dom-y	dom-ove
G	dom-u	dom-ovu	dom-ovъ
D	dom-ovi	dom-ъma	dom-ъmъ
A	dom-ъ	dom-y	dom-y
V	dom-u	dom-y	dom-ove
L	dom-u	dom-ovu	dom-ъxъ
I	dom-ъmь	dom-ъma	dom-ъmi

Nouns belonging to this declension are a rather small group of masculines: činъ, domъ, ledъ, medъ, mirъ, polъ, sanъ, synъ, volъ, vrъxъ.

ū-stems

-	Singular	Dual	Plural
N	tyk-y	tykъv-i	tykъv-i
G	tykъv-e	tykъv-u	tykъv-ъ
D	tykъv-i	tykъv-ama	tykъv-amъ
A	tykъv-ь	tykъv-i	tykъv-i
V	tyk-y	tykъv-i	tykъv-i
L	tykъv-e	tykъv-u	tykъv-axъ
I	tykъv-ьjǫ	tykъv-ama	tykъv-ami

Nouns belonging to the ū-stem declension are: buky, brady, cěly, crьky, horǫgy, loky, ljuby, neplody, prěljuby, smoky, svekry, žrьny, kry.

n-stems

-	Singular	Dual	Plural
N	kam-y	kamen-i	kamen-e
G	kamen-e	kamen-u	kamen-ъ
D	kamen-i	kamen-ьma	kamen-ьmъ
A	kamen-ь	kamen-i	kamen-i
V	kam-y	kamen-i	kamen-e
L	kamen-e	kamen-u	kamen-ьxъ
I	kamen-ьmь	kamen-ьma	kamen-ьmi

Nouns belonging to this declension class are the following masculines: dьnь, jely, jęčьmy, kamy, kory, plamy, remy, sęženь, stepenь.

-	Singular	Dual	Plural
N	plem-ę	plemen-i	plemen-a
G	plemen-e	plemen-u	plemen-ъ
D	plemen-i	plemen-ьma	plemen-ьmъ
A	plem-ę	plemen-i	plemen-a
V	plem-ę	plemen-i	plemen-a
L	plemen-e	plemen-u	plemen-ьxъ
I	plemen-ьmь	plemen-ьma	plemen-y

Nouns belonging to this declension class are the following neuters: brěmę, čismę, imę, pismę, plemę, sěmę, slěmę, těmę, vrěmę.

s-stems

-	Singular	Dual	Plural
N	neb-o	nebes-ě	nebes-a
G	nebes-e	nebes-u	nebes-ъ
D	nebes-i	nebes-ьma	nebes-ьmъ
A	neb-o	nebes-ě	nebes-a
V	neb-o	nebes-ě	nebes-a
L	nebes-e	nebes-u	nebes-ьxъ
I	nebes-ьmь	nebes-ьma	nebes-y

Nouns belonging to this declension class are the following neuters: čudo, divo, drěvo, kolo, nebo, tělo, slovo and also uxo and oko which have dual forms like i-stems.

t-stems

-	Singular	Dual	Plural
N	tel-ę	telęt-ě	telęt-a
G	telęt-e	telęt-u	telęt-ъ
D	telęt-i	telęt-ьma	telęt-ьmъ
A	tel-ę	telęt-ě	telęt-a
V	tel-ę	telęt-ě	telęt-a
L	telęt-e	telęt-u	telęt-ьxъ
I	telęt-ьmь	telęt-ьma	telęt-y

The t-stem paradigm encompasses neuters denoting a young of an animal or human: otročę, agnę, kozьlę, kljusę, osьlę, ovьčę, telę, žrěbę etc.

r-stems

-	Singular	Dual	Plural
N	mat-i	mater-i	mater-i
G	mater-e	mater-u	mater-ъ
D	mater-i	mater-ьma	mater-ьmъ
A	mater-ь	mater-i	mater-i
V	mat-i	mater-i	mater-i
L	mater-i	mater-u	mater-ьxъ
I	mater-ьjǫ	mater-ьma	mater-ьmi

r-stem feminines are the nouns mati and dъšti.

Pronouns

Personal pronouns

-	Singular	Dual	Plural
N	azъ	vě	my
G	mene	naju	nasъ
D	mьně	nama	namъ
A	mene	na	ny
L	mьně	naju	nasъ
I	mъnojǫ	nama	nami

-	Singular	Dual	Plural
N	ty	va	vy
G	tebe	vaju	vasъ
D	tebě	vama	vamъ
A	tebe	va	vasъ
L	tebě	vaju	vasъ
I	tobojǫ	vama	vami

Just as the first and second person pronouns, the third person pronoun is commonly used only in oblique cases. Nominative singular forms are not attested in the OCS corpus, and are reconstructed. In the East South Slavic dialectal area where OCS originated, a suppletive nominative singular stem of the demonstrative tъ is used, elsewhere onъ, or very rarely sь.
By attaching the enclitic particle že to the forms of *i one obtains the relative pronoun: iže, ježe, jejuže, etc.
When following prepositions, these pronouns take a prothetic n-, hence kъ n'imъ instead of *imъ, na n'emь, etc. This is a remnant of final -m/n in the PIE prepositions *kom,

sm̥ and
h₁n̥ that yielded the OCS prepositions kъ, sъ, and vъ and then spread analogically to all the other prepositions.

-	Singular
N	-
G	sebe
D	sebě
A	sę
L	sebě
I	sobojǫ

The reflexive pronoun has only singular oblique forms, which is the state of affairs inherited from PIE :wikt:Appendix:Proto-Indo-European *swé|*swé. The reflexive pronoun refers to the subject as a whole, and can be translated as English -self

Relative pronoun

As mentioned, the third person pronoun *i participates in the formation of the relative pronoun by appending the indeclinable enclitic že. Unlike the third person pronoun, however, the nominative case forms do occur. Similarly, a prothetic n- occurs when following prepositions, e.g., vъ n'ьže.

Interrogative pronoun and adjective

-	Masculine, Feminine	Neuter
N	kъto	čьto
G	kogo	česo
D	komu	česomu
A	kogo	čьto
L	komь	čemь
I	cěmь	čimь

The interrogative pronoun has singular-only forms, with the masculine and feminine forms syncretized. Variant forms of čьto occurring in some of the oblique cases have been listed in parentheses.
The interrogative adjective, sometimes also labelled as the interrogative pronoun, also has some variant forms listed in parentheses.
The possessive interrogative adjective, sometimes also labelled as the possessive interrogative pronoun, follows the same declension.

Indefinite pronouns and adjectives

The interrogative pronouns kъto, čьto can also have the indefinite meanings of 'anybody', 'anything' respectively.
The prefix ně- imparts an indefinite meaning to the word to which it is attached: thus kъto becomes někъto, and čьto becomes něčьto. Similarly, the prefix ni- imparts a negative meaning: nikъto, ničьto. A prepositions may come between prefix and base word:

Adjectives

OCS adjectives can be in two forms: short and long, corresponding to indefinite and definite meaning respectively. The long and short forms of the adjective have distinct syntactical roles. In general the long form is used attributively, whereas the short form is predicative: чловѣкъ добръ 'a good man, man is good'; чловѣкъ добръіи 'the good man, the man who is good'. The short form is indefinite in meaning, 'man is good'. The combination of a short-form adjective with substantive is used when the signified entity is presented as new, without prior reference. Hence въ пєшть огн҄ьнѫ 'into a furnace, a fiery one'. The long form, by contrast, acts as a pointer and is definite, 'the good man'. The long-form adjective with substantive combination is used when the adjective presents a quality known to be associated with the substantive modified. Hence въ гєонѫ огн҄ьнѫѭ 'into hell the fiery'. The compound form is often rendered in English by a relative clause: 'into the hell which is fiery'. Adjectives used as substantives are themselves subject to the long and short form distinction. Again the long form refers to a substantive previously introduced or assumed known. Thus привѣшѧ къ н҄ємѹ слѣпа... и имъ слѣпаєго за рѫкѫ 'they brought to him a blind man... and having taken the blind man by the hand...'. In a sequence of coordinated participles, when used as substantives, it is typical for only the first to use the long form. The following substantives use the short form. Hence слъішѧи словєса моја и творѧ ја... 'he who hears my words and does them...'.
Indefinite adjectives are inflected as the corresponding nouns of the primary declension, e.g., novъ as rabъ, nova as žena, novo as selo, ništь as vračь, ništa as duša, nište as polje.
Definite adjectives are formed by suffixing to the indefinite form the anaphoric third-person pronoun jь, ja, je as shown in the table.

N	novъ + i = novъjь > novyi	nova + ja = novaja
G	nova + jego = novajego	novy + jeję = novyję
D	novu + jemu = novujemu	nově + jei = nověi
A	novъ + i = novъjь > novyi	novǫ + jǫ = novǫjǫ
L	nově + jemь = novějemь	nově + jei = nověi
I	novomь + imь = novъimь > novyimь	novojǫ + jejǫ = novojǫ, novǫjǫ

N	novi + i = novii	novy + ję = novyję
G	novъ + ixъ = novyixъ	novъ + ixъ = novyixъ
D	novomъ + imъ = novyimъ	novamъ + imъ = novyimъ
A	novy + ję = novyję	novy + ję = novyję
L	nověxъ + ixъ = novyixъ	novaxъ + ixъ = novyixъ
I	novy + imi = novyimi	novami + imi = novyimi

Adjective gradation

There are three levels of adjective gradation in OCS:

positive, stating an absolute property of an object;
comparative, stating a relative property of an object;
superlative, stating a property of an object in relation to any other object it may be compared to.
Comparative

Adjectives with falling tone on the root syllable:
: dragъ − draž-ii, draž-e, draž-ьši ;
: tęžьkъ − tęžii, tęže, tęžьši;
: grǫbъ − grǫblii, grǫble, grǫblьši.
Adjectives with rising tone on the root syllable:
: novъ − nov-ěi, nov-ěje, nov-ěiši;
: starъ − star-ěi, star-ěje, star-ěiši;
: junъ − jun-ěi, jun-ěje, jun-ěiši.
Declension of the comparative

Superlative

The superlative is formed:

by adding the prefix nai- to the comparative base: naidražii, naitęžьši, naigrǫble;
by combining the comparative form with the pronoun vьsego/vьsěxъ: nověi vьsego, dražii vьsěxъ.

The absolute superlative is formed:

by adding the prefix prě- to the positive: prědragъ, prěnova, prěstaro;
by using the adverb Ʒělo with the positive: Ʒělo dragъ, Ʒělo nova, Ʒělo staro.
Numerals

Cardinals

Declension of cardinal numbers

Ordinals

All ordinals are inflected like the corresponding adjectives.

Verbs

Present

The present tense is formed by adding present-tense endings onto the present tense stem, which itself is sometimes hidden due to sound changes that have occurred in the past :

bosti, vesti, krasti, iti
plesti, mesti, greti, krasti
rešti, pešti, mošti, tešti

There are several classes of verbs:
1. e-type verbs add the interfix -e- to the present stem and the endings:

Verb	Singular	Plural	Dual
bosti
rešti

2. i-type verbs exhibit the same set of endings, but this time the interfix is -i-. In the first person singular one finds the processes of iotation and epenthesis :

Verb	Singular	Plural	Dual
xvaliti
ljubiti

3. The athematic verbs byti, dati, věděti, iměti and jasti form the present tense irregularly:

Verb	Singular	Plural	Dual
byti
věděti
iměti
jasti

One should distinguish the verbs iměti, imati and jęti. Exceptional is also the verb xotěti which exhibits iotation even though it's not an i-type verb.

Aorist

The aorist is used both to narrate individual events taking place at a specific time in the past, "without reference to other events taking place at the same time or subsequently" and to narrate the beginning or end of events of longer duration. Its most important function is to show that an event took place in the past, rather than to show that it is completed.
The aorist form of imperfective verbs is used instead of the perfective aspect in the case of verbs of motion and perception, as well as of the verbs iměti, and jasti. Imperfective verbs in the aorist are also used when an entire action is negated, and may be used for verbs of saying, although the usual form for "he said" is from a perfective verb, reče.

Asigmatic aorist

The asigmatic aorist was named after the loss of the phoneme /s/ in the inflection, i.e. there is no VsV > VxV change. Over time, the asigmatic aorist became increasingly marked as an archaic language feature and was eventually replaced by the other two aorist formations.
The asigmatic aorist was formed by adding to the infinitive stem of e-type verbs with stem ending in a consonant the following endings: -ъ, -e, -e; -omъ, -ete, -ǫ; -ově, -eta, -ete.

Verb	Singular	Plural	Dual
pasti	1. pad -ъ 2. pad -e 3. pad -e	1. pad -omъ 2. pad -ete 3. pad -ǫ	1. pad -ově 2. pad -eta 3. pad -ete
tešti	1. tek -ъ 2. teč -e 3. teč -e	1. tek -omъ 2. teč -ete 3. tek -ǫ	1. tek -ově 2. teč -eta 3. teč -ete
mošti	1. mog -ъ 2. mož -e 3. mož -e	1. mog -omъ 2. mož -ete 3. mog -ǫ	1. mog -ově 2. mož -eta 3. mož -ete
dvignǫti	1. dvig -ъ 2. dviž -e 3. dviž -e	1. dvig -omъ 2. dviž -ete 3. dvig -ǫ	1. dvig -ově 2. dviž -eta 3. dviž -ete

Sigmatic aorist

The sigmatic or s-aorist was formed in the following ways:

Verbs whose stem ends in b, p, d, t, z, s form this aorist by dropping the final consonant and adding the interfix -s- plus the endings -ъ, -, -; -omъ, -te, -ę; -ově, -ta, -te. Intervocalic sigma exhibits no change. As a side effect, e is lengthened to ě, and o to a.
Verbs whose stem ends in r or k form this aorist in the same way as previously mentioned, except that intervocalic sigma changes into x, the same set of endings being suffixed to the interfix. As a side effect, e is lengthened to ě, and o to a.
Verbs whose stem ends in a vowel form this aorist by suffixing exactly the same set of endings to the infinitive stem, and intervocalic -s- changes into -x-.

Verb	Singular	Plural	Dual
xvaliti	1. xvali -x -ъ 2. xvali 3. xvali	1. xvali -x -omъ 2. xvali -s -te 3. xvali -š -ę	1. xvali -x -ově 2. xvali -s -ta 3. xvali -s -te
tešti	1. těxъ 2. teče 3. teče	1. těxomъ 2. těste 3. těšę	1. těxově 2. těsta 3. těste
greti	1. grěsъ 2. grebe 3. grebe	1. grěsomъ 2. grěste 3. grěsę	1. grěsově 2. grěsta 3. grěste
bosti	1. basъ 2. bode 3. bode	1. basomъ 2. baste 3. basę	1. basově 2. basta 3. baste

New aorist

The new aorist is formed by suffixing to the infinitive stem of e-type verbs ending in a consonant the interfix -os- and onto it the endings -ъ, -, -; -omъ, -te, -ę; -ově, -ta, -te. Intervocalic sigma s changes into x.
The 2nd and the 3rd person singular forms are not attested and thus the asigmatic aorist forms are taken as a replacement.

Verb	Singular	Plural	Dual
krasti	1. krad -ox -ъ 2. 3.	1. krad -ox -omъ 2. krad -os -te 3. krad -oš -ę	1. krad -ox -ově 2. krad -os -ta 3. krad -os -te
rešti	1. rek -ox -ъ 2. 3.	1. rek -ox -omъ 2. rek -os -te 3. rek -oš -ę	1. rek -ox -ově 2. rek -os -ta 3. rek -os -te
iti	1. id -ox -ъ 2. 3.	1. id -ox -omъ 2. id -os -te 3. id -oš -ę	1. id -ox -ově 2. id -os -ta 3. id -os -te

Imperfect

The imperfect is used either for continuous or repeated actions in the past. It is typically used to form a background in a narration, and forms a contrast with the aorist and other verb forms: it often shows that an action took place at the same time as another. Actions in the imperfect are almost always incomplete, and the tense is typically only used with verbs in the imperfective aspect. Rarely, it can be formed with perfective verbs.
There are two ways of forming the imperfect:
1. If the infinitive stems ends in -a or -ě, the interfix -ax- is appended and onto it, the endings of the asigmatic aorist: -ъ, -e, -e; -omъ, -ete, -ǫ; -ově, -eta, -ete.

Verb	Singular	Plural	Dual
glagolati	1. glagola -ax -ъ 2. glagola -aš -e 3. glagola -aš -e	1. glagola -ax -omъ 2. glagola -aš -ete 3. glagola -ax -ǫ	1. glagola -ax -ově 2. glagola -aš -eta 3. glagola -aš -ete
viděti	1. vidě -ax -ъ 2. vidě -aš -e 3. vidě -aš -e	1. vidě -ax -omъ 2. vidě -aš -ete 3. vidě -ax -ǫ	1. vidě -ax -ově 2. vidě -aš -eta 3. vidě -aš -ete

2. The other way of forming the imperfect, applying to all other verbal stems, is by adding onto the present stem the interfix -ěax- and onto it the endings of asigmatic aorist: -ъ, -e, -e; -omъ, -ete, -ǫ; -ově, -eta, -ete.

Verb	Singular	Plural	Dual
zъvati	1. zov -ě -ax -ъ 2. zov -ě -aš -e 3. zov -ě -aš -e	1. zov -ě -ax -omъ 2. zov -ě -aš -ete 3. zov -ě -ax -ǫ	1. zov -ě -ax -ově 2. zov -ě -aš -eta 3. zov -ě -aš -ete
bosti	1. bod -ě -ax -ъ 2. bod -ě -aš -e 3. bod -ě -aš -e	1. bod -ě -ax -omъ 2. bod -ě -aš -ete 3. bod -ě -ax -ǫ	1. bod -ě -ax -ově 2. bod -ě -aš -eta 3. bod -ě -aš -ete

Both of these imperfect formations often occur side by side in verbs with stem alternation:

bьrati > bьraaxъ or berěaxъ
gъnati > gъnaaxъ or ženěaxъ
plьvati > plьvaaxъ or pljujěaxъ
zъvati > zъvaaxъ or zověaxъ

In the texts of the OCS canon the forms are often contracted, so that ěax becomes ěx and aax becomes ax. An illustrating example is in Chernorizets Hrabar's famous work O pismenex "An Account of Letters":
Some forms exhibit sound changes, namely palatalization or iotation in front of ě, yat thus turning into a. The same applies if the stem ends in j which is then reduced in front of yat and yat again changes into a:

xvaliti > xval + ě + axъ > xvaljaaxъ
nositi > nos + ě + axъ > nošaaxъ
pešti > pek + ě + axъ > pečaaxъ
čuti > čuj + ě + axъ > čujaaxъ

That the second form and not the first is the original one is confirmed by the imperfect paradigm of the verb byti:

Verb	Singular	Plural	Dual
byti	1. běaxъ 2. běaše 3. běaše	1. běaxomъ 2. běašete 3. běaxǫ	1. běaxově 2. běašeta 3. běašete

Participles

Present active participle

The present active participle is formed by adding the following endings to the present stem:
1. e-type verbs and athematic verbs:

present stem + -y and -ǫšti

2. e-type verbs whose present stem ends in a palatal:

present stem + -ę and -ǫšti

3. i-type verbs:

present stem + -ę and -ęšti
Present passive participle

The present passive participle is formed by suffixing to the present stem the endings -o/e/i + m + ъ/a/o :
1. e-type verbs and athematic verbs:

present stem + o + m + ъ/a/o

2. e-type verbs whose stem ends in a palatal:

present stem + e + m + ъ/a/o

3. i-type verbs:

present stem + i + m + ъ/a/o
Past active participle

The past active participle is formed by suffixing to the infinitive stem the following endings:
1. e-type verbs and athematic verbs:

infinitive stem + -ъ or -ъši

2. i-type verbs exhibit epenthetic v, which eliminates hiatus:

infinitive stem + -vъ or -vъši

The latter i-type verbs have twofold forms of this participle - the mentioned one of older origin, and a newer one which arose due to analogical leveling:

nositi > nošъ, nošъši or nosivъ, nosivъši
roditi > roždъ, roždъši or rodivъ, rodivъši

3. Verbs with liquid metathesis form this participle from its older stem form:

mrěti > mьrъ, mьrъši
prostrěti > prostьrъ, prostьrъši

4. Irregular participles:

iti > šьdъ, šьdъši
jaxati > javъ, javъši
l-participle

The l-participle is formed by adding to the infinitive stem the interfix -l- and the endings ъ/a/o. If the stem ends in -t or -d, this consonant is dropped.

xvaliti > xvalilъ, xvalila, xvalilo
plesti > plelъ, plela, plelo
Past passive participle

The past passive participle is formed by suffixing to the infinitive stem the following endings:
1. Verbs with stem ending in a consonant, -y or -i:

infinitive stem + en + ъ/a/o

2. Verbs with stem ending in -a or -ě:

infinitive stem + n + ъ/a/o

3. Verbs with stem ending in -ę, -u, -i and -ě :

infinitive stem + t + ъ/a/o

Of the latter verbs, those with stem ending in -i.

Compound tenses

Perfect

The perfect is formed by combining the l-participle with the imperfective present forms of the auxiliary verb byti.

nosilъ/a/o jesmь, jesi, jestъ
nosili/y/a jesmъ, jeste, sǫtь
nosila/ě/ě jesvě, jesta, jeste
Pluperfect

The pluperfect can be formed in multiple ways, by combining the l-participle with the perfect, imperfect or aorist formation of the auxiliary verb byti.

nosilъ/a/o bylъ/a/o jesmь or běaxъ or běxъ
nosili/y/a byli/y/a jesmъ or běaxomъ or běxomъ
nosila/ě/ě byla/ě/ě jesvě or běaxově or běxově
Future

The future tense is usually expressed using the present tense form of the perfective verb. Imperfective verbs form the future tense by combining the auxiliary verb and the infinitive.

bǫdǫ / xoštǫ / načьnǫ / imamь xvaliti
Future perfect

The future perfect is formed by combining the l-participle with the perfective present of the auxiliary verb byti.

nosilъ/a/o bǫdǫ, bǫdeši, bǫdetъ
nosili/y/a bǫdemъ, bǫdete, bǫdǫtъ
nosila/ě/ě bǫdevě, bǫdeta, bǫdete
Conditional

The conditional modal formation is formed by combining the l-participle with special modal forms of the auxiliary verb byti :

nosilъ/a/o bimь, bi, bi
nosili/y/a bimъ, biste, bǫ/bišę

An alternative conditional is formed with the perfective aorist forms of byti:

nosilъ/a/o byxъ, by, by
nosili/y/a byxomъ, byste, byšę
Adverbs

Primary adverbs

These are original adverbs with difficult to guess etymology and origin.

abьje = right away
jedъva = hardly, barely
ješte = yet, still
nyně = now, today
paky = again, back
uže = already
Derived adverbs

Pronominal adverbs

Pronominal adverbs are derived by suffixing pronouns :

-amo = direction of movement
-ako / -ače = way, mode, manner
-de = place
-gda = time
-lь / -li / / -lě / -lьma / -lьmi = measure, amount
Nominal adverbs

Nominal adverbs are derived from nominals or turn by conversion to adverbs which are in fact inflective lexemes with adverbial semantics.
Modal adverbs are created with the suffixes -o or -ě, with no difference in meanings between suffixes, although some adverbs have only the forms in -o, and some in -ě.
Modal adverbs could also be formed deadjectivally by means of the interfix -ьsk- and the ending -y.
Adverbs could also be formed with the suffix -ь and are by origin probably inherited Proto-Slavic accusative forms.
Frequently occurring are the adverbialized a-stem instrumentals such as jednьnojǫ and also adverbially used oblique cases.
Locative adverbs are by origin mostly petrified locative case forms of nouns: gorě, dolě, nizu, and the same can be said for temporal adverbs: zimě, polu dьne.

Prepositions

Primary prepositions

The primary and non-derived prepositions are of PIE and PSl. heritage:

bez "without" + G
iz or is "from, out" + G
:izdrǫky < iz rǫky — from the hand
kъ "to, for, unto" + D
:..reče že Marθa kъ Iisusu.. — and Martha said unto Jesus
na "on, to, upon" + A or L
:zlijašę ognь na zemьjǫ — they poured fire on earth
nadъ "on, upon, over" + A or I
:nadъ glavǫ — over the head
o or ob "over, round, about" + A or L
:ob noštь vьsǫ — the whole night through
otъ "from, away" + G
:otъ nebese — from heaven
po originally "under, below" + D, A or L
:po vьsę grady — through all towns
:po tomь že — after that
:po morjǫ xodę — walking over the sea
podъ "under, beneath" + A or I
:podъ nogy, podъ nogama — under the feet
pri "at, at the time" + L
:pri vraƷěxъ — among the heathen
prědъ "in front of, before" + A or I
:prědъ gradomь — in the vicinity of the city
sъ "for the extent of" + A, "from, off, away" + G, "with" + I
:sъ lakъtь — a cubit long
:sъ nebese — down from heaven
:sъ nimь — with him
u "at, in" + G
:u dvьrьcь — at the doors
vъ "in" + A or L
:vъ tъ dьnь — that day
:vъ kupě — together
vъz or vъs "for, in exchange for" + A
:vъs kǫjǫ — why?
za "for, after, behind" + A, I or G
:ęti za vlasy — to seize by the hair
Secondary prepositions

The secondary prepositions are derived from adverbial expressions: vьslědъ from vь slědъ, prěžde is a comparative form of prědъ etc.

Conjunctions and particles

Conjunctions and particles are not easily separable because they sometimes function as an intensifier, and sometimes as a conjunction.

a, ali "but" -, setting two parts of a statement in opposition
ako, jako, ěko "that, so that, how, when, as" - introducing indirect or direct speech; highly context-dependent
ašte "if, whether" - a conditional particle, also used to generalize relative pronouns
bo "for, because" - denoting caustive relationships
da "in order that" - introducing final result
i "and; even, too" - connecting clauses or used as an adverb within a clause
ide "for, since" -
jegda, jegdaže "when, if" -
jeda "surely not" -, introducing a question expecting a negative answer
li "or", li...li "either... or" - generally when forming a question; when enclitic, usually a direct question, when proclitic, taking the meaning "or"
ne "not", ne...ni "neither... nor" - ne generally occurs before the negated item, occurring usually once in the main clause, but ni may occur several times in the same clause
nъ "but" - connecting two clauses
to "then, so" - correlative to ašte
že "on the other hand, or, and" - the commonest particle functioning both as an intensifier and a conjunction; often bound to pronouns and adverbs

Popular movies

The Hunger Games (film) - 2012 American dystopian action thriller science fiction-adventure film directed by Gary Ross and based on Suzanne Collins’s 2008 novel of the same name. It is the first insta...
untitled Captain Marvel sequel - part of Marvel Cinematic Universe....
Killers of the Flower Moon (film project) - Killers of the Flower Moon - film project in United States of America. It was presented as drama, detective fiction, thriller. The film project starred Leonardo Dicaprio, Robert De Niro. Director of...
Five Nights at Freddy's (film) - Five Nights at Freddy's - film published in 2017 in United States of America. Scenarist of the film - Scott Cawthon....

Popular books

Book of Revelation - The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament, and consequently is also the final book of the Christian Bible. Its title is derived from the first word of the Koine Greek text: apok...
Book of Genesis - account of the creation of the world, the early history of humanity, Israel's ancestors and the origins...
Gospel of Matthew - The Gospel According to Matthew is the first book of the New Testament and one of the three synoptic gospels. It tells how Israel's Messiah, rejected and executed in Israel, pronounces judgement on ...
Michelin Guide - Michelin Guides are a series of guide books published by the French tyre company Michelin for more than a century. The term normally refers to the annually published Michelin Red Guide , the oldest...
Psalms - The Book of Psalms , commonly referred to simply as Psalms , the Psalter or "the Psalms", is the first book of the Ketuvim , the third section of the Hebrew Bible, and thus a book of th...
Ecclesiastes - Ecclesiastes is one of 24 books of the Tanakh , where it is classified as one of the Ketuvim . Originally written c. 450–200 BCE, it is also among the canonical Wisdom literature of the Old Tes...
The 48 Laws of Power - non-fiction book by American author Robert Greene. The book...

Popular television series

The Crown (TV series) - historical drama web television series about the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, created and principally written by Peter Morgan, and produced by Left Bank Pictures and Sony Pictures Tel...
Friends - American sitcom television series, created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons. With an ensemble cast sta...
Young Sheldon - spin-off prequel to The Big Bang Theory and begins with the character Sheldon...
Modern Family - American television mockumentary family sitcom created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan for the American Broadcasting Company. It ran for eleven seasons, from September 23...
Loki (TV series) - upcoming American web television miniseries created for Disney+ by Michael Waldron, based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. It is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, shar...
Game of Thrones - American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It...
Shameless (American TV series) - American comedy-drama television series developed by John Wells which debuted on Showtime on January 9, 2011. It...