davno

[Alexey I. Fuchs]

>
> A: "Ja davno ne kurju."
> or
> B: "Ja davno ne kuril."
>

Both phrases are grammatically correct, but they bear different meanings.
A person who quitted smoking long time ago, would say "Ja davno ne kurju"
to make it clear that for a long time he refrains from smoking. He can
also say "Ja davno ne kuril," but it would be a private case, i.e. being a
non-smoker for a certain period of time, he hasn't had a cigarette.

Examples:

"Day sigaretu, ochen' hochetsya kurit', davno ne kuril."
(Gimme a cigarette, I would really like to smoke, I have not had a
cigarette for a long time [Maybe, since morning, or for a day])

"Ne predlagay mne sigaret, ya uzhe davno ne kuryu."
(Don't offer me a cigarette, I haven't been smoking for a long time.)


More generally, you may notice that in both constructs (and the like) the
adverb "davno" requires an imperfect type of verb (I do not know the exact
English term - nesovershenny vid glagola in Russian) to indicate a
repetitive action. The A-construct, with present tense, implies that the
subject stopped performing the action at a certain point in the past and
is not engaged in the mentioned repetitive activity since then. The
B-construct, with the past tense, implies that there has been a long
recess ("davno") since the last "iteration," and the intention to perform
the action in the future is clearer than in the latter construct.

Another example:

"Ya davno ne hodil v basseyn."
- I have not been in the swimming pool for a long time.
(Can be preceded by a suggestion to visit the pool.)

"Ya davno ne hozhu v basseyn."
(Can hardly be preceded by a suggestion to go there, and might be
commented/explained by an expiration of a ticket or lack of time, and the
reasons are most probably still actual.)


I hope this clarifies things.

                                                        Alexey